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Les diagrammes suivants illustrant la mAthode. by errata ned to lent une peluro, fapon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 i E^ 4 .J • ^COMCBI DIS F] Laie of t) '^ --^ i THE C A N A D A S , AS THEY AT PRESENT COMMEND TUEMSKLVES TO THE ENTEUPRIZE OF EMIGRANTS, COLONISTS, '/; . -*i»*l*^.4, 4. I 4 ( ^ AND , ♦ CAPITALISTS. COMPREHUNDINQ A ^ Warirtp of Coposrap&ical Eeports concbrninq the quality ok the land, etc., in different districts; and the fullest general information: > COMPILED and condensed FROM ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS FURNISHED BY JOHN GALT, Esq. Laie of the Canada Company, and now of tlie BrilUh American Lani A$aociation, and other authentic sources, By ANDREW PICKEN. WITH A MAP. LONDON:— 1832. PUBLISHED BY EFFINGHAM WILSOi^, ^ royal exchange. ft P5 LONDON : Feinted by William CLOvrsa^ if;tamford Street. Inde you and o that a from Canai those your ] — it ii at ho settle! effect Co popul impor have \ ^^' . TO JOHN GALT, Esq. F.R.S. <5'c. 8^c. Sfc. / Dear Sir, Independent of any consideration of the assistance you have afforded me in the present compilation, and of the feelings of private friendship, it is proper that a work of this kind should be inscribed to you, from the services you are known to have rendered to Canadian Colonization. Of the extent and value of those services — services which will hereafter connect your name with the history of this interesting colony, — it is to be hoped, for your own sake, that the public at home may yet become as fully aware, as the settlers are in those parts of the province where the effects of them are more particularly felt. Colonization, as a means of relief to an over- populated mother country, has of late assumed an importance which every year seems to augment. To have formed associate bodies for the efficient pro- IV DEDICATION. motion of such an object ; and to have laid down and brought into operation principles of management, for the settlement of large tracts of wilderness country, the soundness and liberality of which, as connected with prosperity, have been amply proved by ex- perience, — are public services deserving a praise, that well may be put in honourable competition with an extended literary fame. That your known talents for business and public undertakings, may yet be attended with some measure of reward to yourself, is the earnest wish of Dear Sir, Yours most sincerely, ANDREW PICKEN. Regent's Park, East, ICth May, 1(132. laid down and nagement, for ness country, as connected iroved by ex- f a praise, that tition with an 58 and public some measure ill of PICKEN. ADVERTISEMENT. This book is presented to the public with great confidence by the compiler. He claims no merit for himself, but it will be difficult to find a recent work, in which so many official and authentic documents are brought together respecting any country, ^he size of the work may seem to offer something like a contradiction to this asser- tion, but a very cursory inspection will convince the reader, that the materials from which it has been compiled are of no ordinary stamp. Indeed, had it not been-4)wing to the circum- stances, of two great public bodies, as well as the government, being interested in collecting the information, which the compiler has been so fortunate as to obtain access to, it could not have been within the means of an individual to accu- VI ADVERTISEMENT. mulatc such a vari(»ty of important and, to emi- grants, necessary kiiowlcdgc. In addition to the valuable papers and reports to which reference has been made, and the numer- ous publications quo!cd in the course of the compilation, the compiler has great pleasure in acknowledging his obligations to private sources, and, besides Mr. Gait, particularly to Nathaniel Gould, Esq., Deputy Governor of the British American Land Company, for the use of his very shrewd and interesting remarks in the notes which he made in his travels in the two Canadas. The Huron Tract, in the Upper Province, having lately been strongly recommended as an advantageous spot for settlement, the compiler applied to the Canada Company for access to a * Report of an Inspection of great part of it made by their order, as he is informed, and transmitted to them; but for some unassigned reason the Directors declined allowing a sight of any docu- ments which they had not themselves printed. V, vV and, to cmi- and reports dthc numer- CONTENTS. )urso of the pleasure in Pago ^ate sources. Intuoulction . . . . . 1 .0 Nathaniel Topographical Sketches: — the British Paut I. — Lower Canada . . 39 of his very 5 notes which • Paut II. — Upper Canada , . 109 nadas. TraveUhig to the ('auadas : — 3r Province, 1 vRT I. — The St. Lawrence • . 203 mded as an le compiler access to a P II.— By New York, Albany, &c. Paut lil. — Expenses, Distances, &c. . 225 . 250 of it made , General Considerations for Colonists, &c. . 287 transmitted Commissioner's Report . 296 reason the any docu^ Appendix . . • . • • 1 printed. 1 INTRODUCTION. The subject of emigration, or rather colonization, and all the enquiries connected with it, is, from the circumstances of the country at home, becoming daily of increased interest to all classes of the community. The employment of capital, not less than the employ- ment of labour; the relief of distressed trades, of overpeopled districts, of individuals and their families struggling vainly without hope, and of overflowing manufactures seeking a market and a beneficial re- turn ; all are connected with it, and with the effects that grow out of it in a new country. It is not there- fore to be wondered at, that the public should not be easily satisfied in their enquiries upon a subject, which, in times like the present, comes so home to the busi- nesses and bosoms of a large and enterprising class of individuals. As the interest of the subject rises above those classes by whom it has hitherto been looked upon merely as an ultimato relief from pressing distress, and extends to persons in better circumstances, who begin to enquire carefully into the state and pros- pects of those new countries, which open such a field for industry or adventure, — either with ideas of set- tling there tliemselves, or with a view to the profit- ^ B ' INTRODUCTIOX. able investment of capital in connexion with colonial companies formed at home, — a species of information comes to be required, more pa rticular and authentic than the hasty opinions of publishing travellers, or the brief reports of settlers in the woods. In order as much as possible to meet this object, and yet to confine the information given to a price that shall be within the reach of the ordinary emigrant, the present has been undertaken ; upon the plan of se- lecting, compiling, and condensing, from every soui^ce deemed authentic, all the practical information and accredited opinion, which has been given upon the whole subject, both in evidence before the Com- mittees of the House of Commons, and in every other shape in which that information seems to be worthy of entire reliance. In this point of view, a large portion of the present compilation has been devoted to condensed topographical sketches of as much of Lower and Upper Canada, as seemed to commend themselves to the enquiries of proposed settlers, or purchasers of land, either at home or in the colonies, — a species of information, which appeared to the editor to be of the first importance, both for general and particular guidance. In compiling this part of the present publication, the compiler has, in reference to Lower Canada, made free use of the valuable topo- graphical dictionary contained in the large work of Colonel Bouchette, the able and indefatigable Sur- veyor-general ; and upon the upper province, parti- cularly that where the lands belonging to the Canada ^> INTRODUCTION. ^^ Company are situated, and the contiguous parts, he is indebted to original reports of inspections, and other documents, kindly furnished him by Mr. Gait, some of which he has given verbatim as he received them. The intelligent reader who is disposed to look comprehensively at a subject of such present as well as prospective importance, may also observe, that in the arrangement of his facts and the selection of his documents, as well as the correction of many vague opinions, he has been largely indebted to the com- municative industry of the latter gentleman, whose accuracy of knowledge of Canadian colonization, and power of observation upon all its details, need no eulogium in this place. Upon all matters of state- ment or calculation, the editor has uniformly spoken from authority vi^here compression was deemed neces- sary, or rather has preferred giving the documents themselves wherever they seemed sufficiently con- densed and general for a popular publication, in- tended to comprehend as much matter as possible, that should be merely useful. Before, however, proceeding to the usual particulars, a few general observations will naturally be expected. Confining, for the present, the field of emigration from the United Kingdom to his Majesty's domi- nions in the two Canadas, what sort of persons should seriously think of so important a step, has often been matter of considerable discussion. Upon this subject, however, we are furnished by nature with one general rule, which, unhappily for this country, is becoming B 2 ^ I* 4 INTRODUCTION. daily and imperatively more extensively applicable ; , namely, the great rule of necessity, which to minds of any decision, placed in circumstances but too com- mon, soon precludes aU controversy. It is the feel- ing of the necessity of the case, arising from a fair view of a man's situation and prospects in the old country, — that is, in general, that impelling principle of self-preservation, which is too powerful to admit of long deliberation, or a plain question between subsist- ence and want, — which is not only the speediest decider between a balance of evils, but which, in its operations in new circumstances, is the best stimu- lant to exertion, and the surest safeguard of success. This great law of the natural sense, is now fast begin- ning to apply, not only to the peasant and the arti- zan, who in too many cases see nought before them in this\lensely-populated country, but the melancholy consummation of the parish work-housp, and the pauper's grave, but, to a vast number who have been 'Otherwise situated, on whom the crowded mart of overdriven industry of all sorts, has shut every door of j^decent employment at home, and left them no choice between personal labour, of an unwonted species, in another land, with a view to an ultimate independence, and the last state of degradation and misery where they are ; with the bitter aggravation, in such an alternative, of being perfectly unable to help themselves. This rule of necessity, naturally divides itself among three classes, all of whom feel it equally urgent, but not with the same degree of hope in refer- ence to emigration. i lelp des fer- INTRODUCTION. 5 Tlie first and most numerous is composed of those, who, as mere labourers, and standing at the bottom of the scale of society at home, would be happy to go to any spot, where they could procure a subsistence by physical exertion. Though there is no doubt that, as far as individuals are concerned, this class ought to be the first to emigrate, yet the situation of such per- sons is rendered so completely helpless, by their entire destitution, and so formidable even to a colony from their numbers, that they become more the proper objects of the care of others than of themelves *, The operation of the feeling of necessity itself, then, ought to be checked, in reference to the helpless orders, by such regulations, even in the supply of labour beyond the Atlantic, as may prevent destitute families from throwing themselves in shoals upon a new country, without even the means of their own conveyance to tliose inland settlements where their labour may procure them present subsistence. Upon this subject, the Committee of the House of Commons, in the course of their enquiries, make in their Third Report a very important and obvious dis- tinction, which ought to be impressed at home, as well upon the poor man himself, before he suffers himself to be decoyed on board ship by low and mer- cenary agents, as upon bodies of individuals who are interested in the removal of the helpless. This dis- tinction is, between Emigration and Colonization. The former in its simple sense, is mere change of * See paper A, in the Appendix. I ■A h^ li 6 INTRODUCTION. place, whereas colonization in all its consequences ought to be the real and only object of the removal from the old country ; for, as the Report expresses it, were the Government at home, or parishes for their own relief, to transfer men to the Canadas who have not the means of becoming industrious colonists, such would only have the effect of a bridge thrown across the Atlantic, for thousands to hasten to the other side to glut the market for labour, extensive as it is — to embarrass the frontier towns, as has already been done, with the starving poor of the old country; while the victims of ignorance themselves, unable to proceed to where their labour was available, were left to die in the wilderness. It is therefore a general rule, applying most of all to that class which is strongest goaded by necessity, that no man ought to leave the old country, without the means, not only of paying his passage to the Canadian shores, but of subsisting until he reaches the settlements up the country, where he may be enabled to commence ac- tual colonization, in its simplest form, by the disposal and exertion of his own labour *. To the second, and a better class of persons, at least in reference to intelligence and handicraft ac- quirement, namely, men reared to manufactures of all sorts, who cannot procure employment at home, there is no rule will apply so generally as the great rule of necessity in favour of emigration ; if such persons * For further opinion upon the emigration of this class, see paper B, in the Appendix. INTRODUCTION', tk at ac- all ^ere of >ns Isee can only save or procure the means of support until they reach the place where they can be paid for their labour. Some controversy having been maintained as to the rationality of advising persons, accustomed to sedentary and in-door employments at home, to go where they shall be set to chop trees in the woods, and this occasioning many to waver in their resolves, in spite of the strongest feelings of the necessity of the step, this subject may require a few further remarks. If the experience of persons who have followed the sedentary employment of weaving may be taken as generally applicable on this point, we have the fullest satisfaction in the evidence given before the Com- mittee of the House of Commons, in the Report just referred to. In the year 1827, during a time of great distress, the urgency of their circumstances had caused the weavers of the West of Scotland to form tliemselves into numerous societies, for the promotion of associated plans of emigration, in connexion with which they earnestly applied for the assistance of Government, On this occasion, delegates from them were examined before the Committee, and stated, that the anxieties of the weavers to emigrate to Canada were enhanced by the favourable reports daily received from those of their own class who had already been settled there. Various letters from persons who had formerly been weavers, but who had emigrated for some time, were laid before the Committee ; but the substance of them will best appear in the following questions and their answers. — {Vide Examination of •I^» 8 INTRODT/CTION. V John Tait. — Third Report, Minutes of Evidence^ p. 106.) * Are the weavers aware of tlio nature of the labour of a new settler ? * * They are perfectly aware of the great hardships they must encounter in the first two or three years.* * Do you think they will muk^ good fellers of heavy wood, and that they will be able to stump up roots and clear land V * A good many of them have been accustomed to out-door labour ; and during last summer a good number were employed in breaking stones — a species of labour harder than that of felling trees ; and if they can exert themselves in one way, they will do it in another/ Tlie editor of a Glasgow newspaper examined. — (lb, p. 90.) * Have you any knowledge as to the state of those parties now in Canada ? ' * I have ; I know that many who went over to Canada, in a state of utter destitution, in 1820, are now in a state of comparative happiness ; many of them have written to their friends desirous of coming over, telling them that they certainly en- countered great hardships for eighteen or twenty months, but that after that time they found that their situation got progressively better, and that they would gladly endure five times the amount of hardship, in order to be placed in the situation in which they now are.' INTRODUCTION. to ire py of As tlic subject is raised to apply to a third, and su- perior class at homo, the answer to the question of who should emigrate? becomes more complicated, and is more involved in considerations of acquired habits, associations, and mental wants affecting liap- piness, which only the strong feeling of neceMilyy resulting from an appalling balance of evils, can in many minds overcome *. * And yet the feeling of necessity itself, arising from the pres- sure of the severest distress, though affording, ])erhaps, the best general rule for the expediency of emigration, has not always been sufficient to overcome the prejudices entertained in some parts of the country against the step. It appears by the evidence of a magistrate of the county of Nottingham, (the Rev. Mr. Beeche)'',) given to the Committee before mentioned, that in 1819, during a time of the severest distress, * many artificers in those days^ who had lived in absolute luxury and comparative affluence, were reduced to such an abject situation that they worked as common labourers for tenpence a-day, and submitted to this drudgery sooner than accept colonization.* This prejudice arises very much, however, from the operation of the poor-laws, which tends gradually to degrade the poor, and deprive them of all manly spirit and self-dependence. The same witness adds, — * I am also of ojjinion that the same feeling still exists, and will probably prevail in other places where the poor know as well as they do in Nottinghamshire that they are, under the present laws, entitled to parochial support.* The infer- ence drawn by this intelligent philanthropist is still more in- teresting, and illustrative of human nature. * I think,' he adds, that when a family becomes actually pauperised, both in the parents and in their progeny, which is constantly the case, we appear in our legislation to want some provision beyond a work-house, or a prison; and I leave it to the judgment of the Committee to consider whether there may not be a class of paupers to whom colonization might be proposed, 10 INTRODUCTION. H To the mere agriculturist, who is accustomed to farming employment at home, and has some means left to prosecute l;is fortune, colonization in Canada is more a matter of choice and speculation ; and, when adopted, will well repay the industrious and enter- prising emigrant. The man, ho.vever, whose habits are to be broke up, and whose pursuit^^ are to suffer a total change by such a step, yet whj is goaded on by the strong hand of necessity, will find, from the reports c f all men who have tried it, that the first hardships of making a settlement, in a country which presents such an inexhaustible field of exertion and enterprise as Canada, is as nothing compared to the appalling prospects, particularly for large families, that await the declining ani the friendless in an overpopulated country. Upon a subject of this kind, however, which ap- plies to men of broken fortunes or narrow m^eans at home, and refers to habits of mind and disposition as various as the features of the face, opinion will of course be as various and it will be difficult to point out any general rule upon the subject ; unless the accompanied with a conditioTi, that, if rejected, these paupers should not become in future entitled to parochial relief.' — {Vide Minutes of Evidence, ^c, Third Report, p. 401.) It should be added, however, that the colonization, against which the Nottingham artificers entertained such prejudices, was that to the Cape of Good Hope, — Canada not being then so well known and appreciated as a field for emigration. A few, however, did consent to go ; and, after being supplied with every necessary, were shipped to Algoa bay. The result is well known. INTRODUCTION. 11 i feelinf^ of necessity itself, in a mind of some decision, is sulficiently strong to overcome all obstacles to the undertakings and a resolute self-denial and perse- vering industry in the execution, comes into active operation, to ensure ultimate comfort and inde- pendence, as it no doubt will do. As to persons who have been accustomed to city comforts and city excite- ment at home, the question of the expediency of emi- gration, as far as their own feelings are concerned, is one of the mind, still more than even the habits ; therefore, the mind itself is the most competent, from its own consciousness, to give the answer. To some minds, the mere feeling of conscious prosperity and prospective inde})endence, is sufficient to make labour itself an enjoyment, and petcy inconveniences a sub- ject of mirth rather than spleen ; while to others, these latter things are subjects of constant murmur and harassment. Upon this point we have the following opinion, in reference even to the greatest preliminary hardships of the worst provided settlers, by the son of the well-known Colonel Talbot, the celebrated colonizer on lake Erie, Upper Canada, whose experience and opportunities of observation well entitle him to be heard on any part of this snb- ject. ' It is a grievance of no inconsiderable magnitude,* says he, ' to be compelled, after a day of severe labour, to stretch one's weary limbs on the bare ground in the cold month of November, and to be protected from the " fierce North-wind, with his 12 INTRODUCTION. h airy forces," and from the cliilling frost, only by a miserable hut, with a fire sufficiently nccir it to counteract, in some degree, their b(nnunbing cflTects. But (he hove of indvpendence is sufficient to sustain the rr, , under privations still greater than these ; and he, who can bring himself to think, when lying down to rest on the bare earth, that the day is not far distant when he may happily repose on a more inviting couch, without one anxious thought respect- ing the future jirospects of himself and his family, regards these transient suflerings with a kind of feel,- ing nearly allied to actual pleasure. lie sees the time fast approaching, when the wilderness to him shall be *' a fruitful field, and the desert shall blos- som as the rose;" — when the productive soil shall gratefully yield an ample reward to his toils ; — and when the hardships of his situation shall, by the blessing of heaven on his exertions, gradually disap- pear, and leave him in possession of health, plenty, and independence. While indulging in such pleasing visions, the wooden pillow of a new and industrious settler becomes softer than bolsters of down, and his solitary blanket feels more comfortable that sheets of Holland *.' These considerations will apply well to the feelings of a still better class of persons, whom the vicissi- tudes of life in this commercial country are daily re- ducing to circumstances and prospects, which they and their families well may look upon with dismay. * Talbot's Five Years^ Residence in the Canadas, vol. i. p. 118. INTRODUCTION'. la re- ey y- 8. To such inilividiials, the prospect of losing casir in iheir own country, of descending beneath and being avoided by their former equals ; of incurring, in short, tlie common consequences of misfortune, in respect to social intercourse and estimation in arti- ficial life, — presents often an evil more terrible to a proud mind than the want of bread itself; and rouses, in its most imperative form, the high resolves and deep determination which grow out of the most ur- gent operation of the great principle of necessity. To liide their heads in the wilderness, therefore, and sub- mit to contend with the evils with which Nature sur- rounds the first intruder upon her domain, rather than further grapple with ills that seem more intensely galling, aiid are certainly mixed with less ultimate promise, has been the resolve of not a few deter- mined minds, and, where there arc any means left to begin the world on the other side, is a disposition which can hardly miss the reward of activity, and the triumph of its own perseverance. These are the sort of persons whom the late clever engineer Mactag- gart designates as those who have been * badgered and abused' at home, but who, in spite of all their misfortunes, having a little cash left, if tlicir minds are unbroken and their frames healthy, make, after all, the best settlers in Canada. It is for persons of this sort, as well as all who, possessing intelligence and minds disposed to enter- prise and activity, with some little substance that they cannot make a safe or hopeful use of at home, that 14 INTRODUCTION. • ■ wc more particularly design tlie information and opinion collected or condensed in the following pa<;es. These we give as far as convenient in dif- ferent siiapes, that individuals may be better enabled to form a judgment, both as to the difficulties to be encountered, and the nature and extent of the pro- mised advantages. Particulars as to these, however, will be more fully given in the latter part of the volume, and in the shape of statement or quotation in the Appendix. As the evils of home to the better classes of whom we have been speaking, are chiefly those of the mind and liabits, including the incessant cares, fears, despondency, and harassment, which are incident to a life of narrow circumstances, or com- mercial vicissitude ; the evils to be endured in such a place as the Canadas, after the first difficulties are surmounted, seem chiefly to assume the shapes of mental and social privation, with unwonted field em- ployment, and in general a certain rudeness and rus- ticity, as well as loneliness of life, to which some minds take with tolerable facility, while others never can thoroughly bend into it. To these last, therefore, the occupations, as well as the rewards of coloniza- tion, only gives them a new modification of that con- stitutional discontent, which to many is the common burden and curse of existence. But this disposition, however common, is very different from the clear- headed, ii priori perception, manly resolution, and heroic perseverance of stronger minds, which, in cases such as that of Mr. Philemon Wright, the American, •■ L INTRODUCTION. 15 (see Aj)|»en(lix,) Colonel Talbot, on lake Krie, the Highland Chieftain M*Nab, on the Ottawa, and a hundred others now prosper! nj2[ in Canada, have been the foundation of such marked colonizint;^ success. To persons to whom colonization in Canada is, to a great degree, matter of choice, the consideration of time of life is, by all writers, allowed to be one of the most important. AVere you/ifr men of the handi- craft class more g'^nerally to train themselves for putting forth their exertions in the extensive field of a WW country, nmch misery would be saved to themselves and their descendants. But man is a gambler in his own fortune ; and, while life is young and hope is fresh, he would ratlier take his fate among the vast array of blanks that appear around him, for the barest chance of the solitary prize that occasionally turns up to his competitors, than betake himself to a country where the very nature of things makes the advantages sure, and almost present. So it is with persons in the better classes of life, — buoyed up by hope, they struggle on from disappointment to disappointment, until the rational emigrant who has gone before, tells him at last that it is now too late. The next common consideration of the highest im- portance is, with reference to making provisions for growing families. At home, every one knows, there is not a more difficult problem that an anxious parent has to solve, than, what he is to dowith his children? Unless, then, he possesses some peculiar advantages 16 INTRODUCTION. for placing them eligibly in the world, few contem- plations can be more melancholy than their probable career, left to struggle with the overwhelming com- petitions of overpeopled society. It is these consi- derations that often make the elderly parent seek an asylum for himself, and a field for the independence of his family, among the echoing forests of the Ca- nadian wilderness. To all tliese classes, however, and particularly to a restless schemino: sort of men who have dabbled in many of the artificial employments of the old country,' it is important to observe, that while in England there is an endless variety of profession and occu- pation, in Canada there is, properly speaking, only one ; or at least, that, excepting for a few of the simplest artisnn employments, yft/'mi/zg-, and farming only, should be looked to as the staple profession of all who mean to emigrate. The plans and enterprises that are connected with farming, and the raising of a new settlement, will alwavs commend themselves to m\ active mind, but they bear no proportion to the sta})le concerns of the clearing of land and the raising of produce, to which a steady and rational mind ought to give its first attention. Though the various shades of folly, as to emigration, that grow out of the vices and discontents of an old countrv, oucht to be discouraged, both as to their wild pknis and extra- vagant hopes, yet it seems, after all, to be a general rule, in respect to this interesting field of human exertion, that any, or ' every individual j^ as Howisun icr 'o id IS )f to ll n INTRODUCTION. 17 expresses it, ' who to youth and health joins persever- ance and industry, will eventually prosper/ ' Mechanics,' adds the same observer, * cannot fail to do well in Upper Canada ; for, when not em- ployed in clearing lands, they will find it easy to gain a little money by working at their professions; and they likewise have the advantage of being able to improve their dwelling-houses, and repair their farm- ing utensils at no expense */ The sort of mechanics recommended for emigration by the Canada Company, — even to Upper Canada, in which the wants of the population may be supposed to be more limited than in the Lower Province, where there are several cities — are * working artisans of almost all descriptions, particularly blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, and plasterers ; masons, coopers, millwrights, and wheelwrights, get ^'igh wages, and are much wanted.' * Industrious men, adds the Company, * may look forward with con- fidence to an improvement in their situation, as they may save enough out of one season's work, to buy land themselves, in settled townships.* With respect, however, to another shade of the merely clever classes, the opinion of Mr. Talbot, * Howison's Upper Canada, p. 239. See also an excellent; description of the proceedings of a new settlement, and of Andrew Gimlet, a carpenter, in jMr. Gait's * Bogle Corbet,' vol. iii. p. 31 — 142, &c. See in this book, Appendix Paper C, an interesting account of the eaily proceedings of Mr. Wright and his associates, in the township of Hull, published at the expense of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. ^ C 18 INTRODUCTION. formerly quoted, is much to tlie point. He says, * with respect to the emigration of young men of talent and enterprise, but of no particular profes- sion, I think it my duty, most decidedly to urge upon their choice the preference that is due to the king- doms of Europe, and especially to that of Great Britain. For they who imagine that any other part of Canada, than the cities of Montreal and Quebec, is favourable to their views of literary, scientific, or commercial advancement, are of all men the most dreadfully deluded. I have heard of many such persons, who have recently arrived in the province, and I feel sorry tc say, that I am not able to men- tion a single exception in which they have not been compelled to resort to the use of the axe, or to some other office which they consider equally degrading*.* Mr. Talbot's book, however, was published in 1824. since which the reader may allow for some slight degree of change. Further, as a matter of choice and speculation, there is no class to whom colonization in the Canadas presents more manifest advantages than persons of small capital, — small, independent incomes, with large families, whom they are naturally anxious to see settled in life ; particularly if such persons and their children are at all wiUing to engage heartily themselves in active employments, for the sake of freedom from despondency, and future comfort. Undoubtedly, to persons accustomed to artificial * Five Year's Residence, vol. ii. p. 247. INTRODUCTION. 19 ' circumstances, and possessed of the feelings of gentle- men, farming occupations, in a new country, imply many sacrifices ; yet, it ought to be recollected that, after all, field-labour, and the tilling of the ground, are the original and most natural employments of man, and even age and the fixed habits of artificial life cannot altogether destroy the relish with whicL the healthy mind returns to these, almost at any period. In confirmation of this, we have the uni- form testimony of most travellers and residents in the new country, and the letter of a half- pay officer, who, with his family, had emigrated from Wales, and settled in Upper Canada, to Captain Basil Hall, speaks as strongly to the point, as any that we have met with. * Even a person not brought up to labour, and under many disadvantages,' he recommends to the step he had himself taken ; particularly, if the person had ' a good heart,' and was * of an indus- trious turn, and will turn his hand to anything, he will soon better his situation. Tor example,' he adds, * while in England, on half-pay, nearly all my income went for food ; hce it nearly all goes for clothing of British manufacture. My family is supported with respectability and comfort, having abundance of all the necessaries of life within my farm, and my pay enabling me to supply all other requisites. Here we can keep the door of hospitality open without inconvenience, and find leisure to visit our friends, and enjoy ourselves in a pleasant way, keeping a pair of good horses, sleighs, &c. &c. c 2 20 INTRODUCTION. * Persons with families, as thev have the most urgent reasons to migrate, so they will always make the best settlers. Their children can assist mate- rially in the mode of farming pursued on wild land, and may do so without its being looked upon as a degradation. If they are well educated, there is little doubt of their advancement in the professions ; and if not, they will be always sure of a provision by farming, as their parents may, with a moderate outlay, acquire property for them. As British goods of almost every description are now brought, down to a moderate price, gentlemen coming out will do well not to stock themselves with more than they want for their own use, as they will find their money more useful than superfluous articles of any description ; and such, with an income of from fifty to two hundred pounds a year, with prudence, may live in the most comfortable and respectable way here, being able, by means of a farm, to supply the table with abundance, and to enjoy themselves at their leisure, in as good society as can be found in most country towns in England. Indeed, were it not for the differences of fences, occasional dissight of old stumps, or dead standing trees, and now and then " I guess," a person ia this neighbourhood can hardly fancy himself in a foreign country, * It is a great error, and to be lamented, that most gentlemen from the old country, as the United Kingdom is called, bring too much of theirnative prejudices with them here ; by which means, they I ' 1» k < INTRODUCTION. 21 often expend much money uselessly, and frequently get into difficulties ; and I have known some wholly fail from such imprudence. It is from such that unfavourable accounts of this country originate. I think it should be a rule for persons coining to a new country, always first to follow the customs of that country as closely as possible, reserving their improvements till they get firmly established, and see good reason to apply thern^ It should generally be an object for gentlemen, if they settle in new townships, to endeavour to get near another, or others, of character, already settled ; as, by this means they will haw. a good chance to be set in the right way, and thereby saved from much imposition, besides the pleasure of having at hand a friend, and society suited to their taste. As land may be bought at very easy rates and price — seven, and even ten years, allowed to pay it in, — it will be preferable for a gentleman, or any person with small means, to purchase near settle- ments, or on main roads, as they will thereby avoid many difficulties I had to contend with.' — Letter^ &c. in Hall's North America, vol. i. pp. .333 to 335. * A settler in this country,' says another, writing to the same intelligent traveller, * though he may have an income, must do all he can to assist in getting on the work; and he must come here with the full determination to become a farmer to all intents and purposes. The lady must be a good economist and housekeeper; and if she is willing, contented. INTRODUCTIO.V. and reasonable, slie will have it in her power to save her husband many an hour of anxiety and pain. * Try to surmount all difficulties ; and as there is always constant employment for both head and hands, never for a moment let your mind dwell on your apparent unpleasant situation ; look forward with hope, and all will go on well, no danger.'— 76. p. 3r20. * Half-pay officers under field rank/ Mr. Talbot also says, ' who have large families and are chiefly dependent on their pay for their support, will find this county a very advantageous place of retreat. They are exempted from personal labour in the field, because they are enabled by the receipt of their money to have their estates cultivated by hired men ; and thus they continue in the same sphere of life, with regard to their non-professional employments, in which they had been accustomed to move, though they cannot mix with the same agreeable society.* — Five Years' Residence, vol. ii. p. 246. Upon deciding in favour of colonization, the next question for the individual is, as to the quarter or spot to which he shall emigrate. In this important inquiry, we take it for granted that the intending emigrant decides in favour of either of the Canadas ; as the general question with reference to the various parts of the world to which the attention of the super- abundant population of the United Kingdom has been directed of late years, is too wide a subject to be considered here. But the comparative nearness K^ f hi t INTRODUCTION. 28 s of the Caiadas to the mother-country ; the known saluhrity of the climate, and their being peopled in general by persons of European habits, who differ but little from those of the emigrant ; must ever make this the first country looked to for the choice of British subjects. In addition to these important consider- ations, the known richness and productiveness of the soil, Avhich has been abundantly proved of late years ; the facilities afforded of water communication, throughout the whole tract of country, by means of its noble rivers and extensive lakes ; the comparative nearness of all parts of it to markets and home asso- ciations, and its rapid progress of settlement by indi- viduals from the same country, and prosecuting simi- lar pursuits; — all these considerations give Lower and Upper Canada a preference in the mind of the enter- prising colonist with capital, as well as in that of the anxious, and industrious poor man, which every day*s experience seems to increase. * The colonies in North America,' says the official paper published by authority of the Commissioners for" Emigration, ' to which emigrants can with advan- tage proceed, are Lower Canada, Upper Canada, and New Brunswick. From the reports received from the other British colonies in North America, namely, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, it appears that they do not contain the means either of affording em- ployment or wages, to a considerable number of emigrants, or of settling tliem upon land.' — J/i- formatioUy p. 8. 24 INTRODUCTION. With regard to the preparations for emigrating, when tlie mind is made up, all tliat need be said upon this part of our subject, comes within small compass, and is soon disposed of. The great and general preparation, applying to the poorest class upwards, is the gathering together of as mucli money as can possibly be mustered; fortius, of course, commands the greatest number of advantages. Mattresses and bedding will be required for the voyage, and these will, of course, be a most valuable species of luggage to carry afterwards to places of settlement ; but clothing, and most other goods necessary in the in- terior, can be purchased in Montreal, &c., much about as cheaply as in England, and suitable qualities are better understood. Gentlemen, however, to whom luxuries for the table, &c., are of some importance, such as sauces, pickles, &c., had better furnish them- selves before their embarkation, as the carriage of these on the other side will be quite the same as from the frontier towns. To every class, however, who intend to work, and this must include nearly the whole, there is one spe- cies of preparation, which, when it can be made, will be found of the utmost l;enefit to the industrious settler. That is, some little acquaintance with one or more of the useful trades, a hint that is well illus- trated by Mr. Gait, in his * Bogle Corbet,' where he makes a smart lad, who had gone to the woods with- out any handicraft knowledge, and had only been accustomed to the duties of a domestic servant, attend for a time ' a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a tailor I ♦ I t INTRODUCTION. 25 alternately, twice in each week during the winter/ even after his arrival in Canada. * I do not mean,' adds Mr. Gait, speaking of this plan, * that all young persons who come to the colo- nies should be fully instructed in any trade ; but, were emigration conducted on proper princij)les, instead of encouraging the helpless to come abroad, and then leaving tliem to shift for themselves, I would have them prospectively prepared by some instruction in handicrafts. It is the want of it, as I had by this time seen, that makes the privations of the woods greater than they would otherwise be.' — vol. iii. p. 136. With respect to the port whence the emigrant ought to proceed, tliere is no other rule but to take the one nearest to where he resides in the United Kingdom, as this being the rnost convenient, will be found generally the cheapest. From all ports, such as Liverpool, London, Hull, Greenock, Cork, &c., there will be found, every spring, vessels going out in ballast to the Canadas for timber, whose interiors are fitted up for emigrant passengers. In reference to proposed emigrants of the poorer sort, who may have friends in America whom they wish to get near, and who may have little acquaintance with the geo- graphy of that part of the world, there is one point of the utmost importance for them to attend to, namely, when they arrive in any port where they mean to embark, to seek out the Agent either for the Canada Company already appointed at all the principal ports, or of the Agents of the British American Land INTRODUCTION. '! Association, liercaftcr to be established ; and wlicn they have found these gentlemen, to enquire par- ticularly ybr the place where their friends live^ men- tioning as near as they can tlie district, county, or township, as, for want of such enquiries, persons iirnorant of the vast extent of J3ritish America, have often taken passages for a totally diflercnt quarter, and never reached their friends for months or years after their landing. The Agents already established by the Canada Company are — Bristol — Messrs. Acraman. Dublin — John Astle, Esq. Greenock — Messrs. Robert Ewing and Co. Omagh^ Londonder'^y — George Buchanan, Esq. Glasgow — Messrs. Gilkison and Brown. New Rossj Ireland — Messrs. Watson and Graves. Great Yarmouth- Mr. Anthony Morgan. Norwich — Mr. Isaac Lenny. The different ship-owners and brokers in the Canada tiade, at the several out-ports, will generally be ready to give proposed emigrants every informa- tion in their power; and poor persons, having the good sense to make their enquiries in a respectful, intelligent manner, and never in any case to apply to other than respectable gentlemen, will always meet with proper attention, and be saved from imposition. All other preliminary information, particularly cal- culated for settlers of the poorer class, may be found, in official form, in the following paper, published from authority, by the Commissioners for Emigra- tion, and calculated for this present season. 'I 27 INFORMATION, published by his Majesty's Com- missioiwrs for Emigration, respecting the British Colonies in North America. CoLONiAi, Office, 9//i February, 1832. ' TiiE object of the present notice is to afford such information as is likely to be useful to persons who desire either to emigrate, or to assist others to emi- grate, to the British Possessions in North America. * In the first place, it seems desirable to define the nature of the assistance to be expected from Govern- ment by persons proceeding to th 3se colonies. No pecuniary aid will be allowed by government to emi- grants to the North American colonies; nor, after their arrival, will they receive grants of land, or gifts of tools, or a supply of provisions. Hopes of all these things have been sometimes held out to emigrants by speculators in this country, desirous of niaking a profii, by their conveyance to North America, and willing for that purpose to delude them with un- founded expectations, regardless of their subsequent disappointment. But the wish of government is to furnish those who emigrate with a real knowledge of the circumstances they will find in the countries to which they are going. * No assistance of the extraordinary extent above described is allowed, because in colonies where those 28 INTRODUCTION. who desire to work cannot fail to do well for tluMn- selves, none such la needed. Land, indeed, used formerly to he granted gratuitously ; but when it was taken l)y poor people, they found that they had not the means of living during the interval necessary to raise their crops, and further, that they knew not enough of the manner of farming in the colonics to make any progress. After all, therefore, they were obliged to work for wages, until they could make a , few savings, and could learn a little of the way of farming in Canada. But now, land is not disposed of except by sale. The produce of the sales, although the price is very moderate, is likely to become a con- siderable fund, which can be turned to the benefit of the colonies, and therefore of the emigrants ; while yet no hardship is inflicted on the poor emigrant, who will work for wages just as he did before, and may, after a while, acquire land, if land be his object, by the savings which the high wages in these colonies enable him speedily to make. * These are the reasons why government does not think it necessary to give away land in a country, where, by the lowness of its price, the plentifulness of work, and the high rate of wages, an industrious man can earn enough in a few seasons to become a freeholder by means of his own acquisitions *. ' The land which is for sale will be open to public competition, and of course, therefore, its price must depend upon the offers that may be made ; but ♦ See a series of papers D, in the Appendix. INTRODUCTION. 29 it will generally not be sold for loss than from As. to 5.V. per acre; and in situations wliero roads have been made, or the ground has heen j)artially cleared, the connnon prices lately have been 7«. 6rf., lOa., and 15.S'. Further particulars will be best learned upon the spot, where every endeavour will be made to meet the dillerent circumstances and views of dif- ferent purchasers. * Although government will not make any gifts at the public expense to emigrants to North America, Agents will be maintained at the principal colo- nial ports, whose duty it will be, without fee or rew..rd from private individuals, to protect emigrants against imposition upon their first landing, to ac- quaint them with the demand for labour in different districts, to point out the most advantageous routes, and to furnish them generally with all useful advice upon the objects which they have had in view in emi- grating. And when a private engagement cannot be immediately obtained, employment will be afforded on some of the public works in progress in the colo- nies. Persons newly arrived should not omit ta consult the Government Agent for Emigrants, and as much as possible should avoid detention in the ports, where they are exposed to all kinds of im- positions and of pretexts for keeping them at taverns till any money they may possess has been ex- pended. — For the same purpose of guarding against the frauds practised on new comers, and of prevent- ing an improvident expenditure at the first moment 30 INTRODUCTION. of arrival, it seems very desirable that individuals who may wish to furnish emigrants with money for their use in the colony, should have the means of making the money payable there, instead of giving it into the hands of the emigrants in this country. The Commissioners for Emigration are engaged in effecting general arrangements for this purpose, and due notice will be given to the public when they shall be completed. Agents for emigration have been appointed at St. John's, St. Andrew's, and Miramichi > in New Brunswick; and at Quebec and York in Canada. The Agent at Quebec is A. C. Buchanan, Esq. ; at St. John's, A. Wedderburn, Esq. ; at jSt. Andrews, G. N. Smith, Esq. ; at Miramichi, J. Cunard, Esq. ; the name of the Agent at York has not yet been reported to the Colonial Department. On this whole subject of the manner of proceeding upon landing, it may be observed, in conclusion, that no effort will be spared to exempt emigrants from any necessity for delay at the place of disembarka- tion, and from uncertainty as to the opportunities of at once turning their labour to account. * After this explanation of the extent of the aid to be expected from government, the following statements are subjoined of the ordinary charges for passage to the North American Colonies, as well as of the usual rates of wages and usual prices in them, in order that every individual may have the means of judging for himself of the inducements to emigrate to these parts of the British dominions,' ! INTRODUCTION. SI PASSAGE. )m of \ " * Passages to Quebec or New Brunswick may either be engaged inclusive of provisions ; or exclusive of provisions, in which case the ship-owner finds nothing but water, fuel, and bed-places, without bedding. Children under fourteen years of age are charged one half, and under seven years of age one third of the full price ; and for children under twelve months of age no charge is made. Upon these conditions the price of passage from London, or from places on the east coast of Great Britain, has gene- rally been £Q with provisions, or £'3 without. From Liverpool, Greenock, and the principal ports of Ireland, as the chances of delay are fewer, the charge is somewhat lower ; this year it will probably be from £2 to £2 10s. without provisions, or from ^^4 to £^ including provisions. It is possible that, in March and April, passages may be obtained from Dublin for 35s., or even 30.?. ; but the prices always grow higher as the season advances. In ships sail- ing from Scotland or Ireland, it has mostly been the custom for passengers to find their own provisions ; but this practice has not been so general in London ; and some ship-owners, sensible of the dangerous mistakes which may be made in this matter through ignorance, are very averse to receive passengers who will not agree to be victualled by the ship. Those who do resolve to supply their own provisions, i 32 INTRODUCTION. should at least be careful not to lay in an insufficient stock ; fifty days is the shortest period for which it is safe to provide, and from London the passage is sometimes prolonged to seventy-five days. ' The best months for leaving England are certainly March and April ; the later emigrants do not find employment so adundant, and have less time in the colony before the commencement of winter. The names of vessels proceeding to the North American colonies, and the addresses of their brokers, may be learnt at all ports of the United Kingdom, including the port of London, by jjersonal application at the Custom- House of each port. The officers of cus- toms, however, will not be able to answer written inquiries on the subject ; and persons residing inland,, who may require information of this nature, must depute the inquiry to some one at the port where they wish to embark. Many shij)s are advertised in the public newspapers. ' Various frauds are attempted upon emigrants, which can only be effectually defeated by the good sense of the parties against whom tliey are contrived. Sometimes agents take payment from the emigrant for his passage, and then recommend him to some tavern, where he is detained from day to day, under false pretences for delay, until, before the departure of the ship, the whole of his money is extracted from him. This of course cannot happen with agents connected with respectable houses ; but the best security is to name in the bargain for passage a par- * •I i t INTRODUCTION. 33 ticular clay, after which, whether or not the ship sails, the passenger is to be received on board and vic- tualled by the owners. In this manner the emigrant cannot be intentionally brought to the place of em- barkation too soon, and be compelled to spend his money at public-houses, by false accounts of the time of sailing ; for from the very day of his arrival at the port, being the day previously agreed upon» the ship becomes his home. * The conveyance of passengers to the British pos- sessions in North America is regulated by an Act of Parliament (9 Geo. IV. c. 21), of which the follow- ing are the principal provisions: ships are not allowed to carry passengers to these colonies unless they be of the height of five feet and a half between decks, and they must not carry more than three pas- sengers for every four tons of the registered burthen ; there must be on board at least fifty gallons of pure water, and fifty pounds of bread, biscuit, oatmeal, or bread stuff, for each passenger. When the ship carries the full number of passengers allowed by law, no part of the cargo, and no stores or provisions, may be carried between decks ; but if there be less than the complete number of passengers, goods may be stowed between decks in a proportion not exceed- ing three cubical feet for each passenger wanting of the highest number. Masters of vessels who land passengers, unless with their own consent, at a place different from that originally agreed upon, are sub- ject to a penalty of ^20, ecoverable by summary D 34 INTRODUCTION. process before two Justices of the Peace in any of the North American colonies. ' The enforcement of this law rests chiefly with the officers of his Majesty's Customs ; and persons having complaints to make of its infraction, should address themselves to the nearest custom-house. * Besides the sea voy?.ge from England, persons pro- ceeding to Canada should be provided with the means of paying for the journey which they may have to make after their arrival at Quebec. The cost of this^ journey must, of course, depend upon the situation of the place where the individual may find employment, or where he may have previously formed a wish to settle ; but to all it will probably be useful to possess the following report of the prices of conveyance, during the last season, on the route from Quebec to York, the capital of Upper Canada. From Quebec to Montreal (180 miles), by steam-boat, the charge for an adult was 6.9. 6rf. ; from Montreal to Prescot (120 miles), by boats or barges, 7s. ; from Prescot to York (250 miles), by steam-boat- 7s. The journey, performed in this manner, usually occupies ten or twelve days; adding, therefore, lis. for pro- visions, the total cost from Quebec to York (a dis- tance of 550 miles) may be stated, according to the charges of last year, at £\, lis. 6rf. Persons who are possessed of sufficient means prefer to travel by land that part of the route where the river St Lawrence is not navigable by steam-boats, and the journey is then usually performed in six days, at a ^ ^1 .'•? ^ \ i t INTRODUCTION. 35 cost of £0. It must be observed that tlie prices of conveyance arc necessarily fluctuating, and that the foregoing account is only presented as sufficiently accurate for purposes of information in this country ; leaving it to the government agent at Quebec to supply emigrants with more exact particulars, accord- ing to the circumstances of the time at which they may arrive.' h These remarks are admitted to be very judicious^ and coming from the Colonial Office in Downing Street, reflect credit on the information and intelli- gence of government. It is, however, to be observed, that the pamphlet, published by authority, from which this extract has been made, cannot, in its other parts, be entitled to so much praise, as the prices of labour, as well as of agricultural produce, are ever more or less variable. But with caution, they are nevertheless worthy of consideration, inas- much as they may be said to supply medium points, below which prices may be found sometimes to fall, and in like manner to rise above them. It is, how- ever to be noticed, that the Emigration Board has chiefly in view the offer of advice to poor emigrants, in the publication alluded to, and in so far it merits special approbation, but emigrants of a better class stand scarcely less in need of counselling, though it must be of another sort. The oidy thing to be added to what has been suggested on the subject of preparation for emigration, p 2 36 INTRODUCTION. I in reference to disengaged young men of the labour- ing class, is thus simply expressed by Mr. Pickering, an intelligent^ practical farmer from the West of England, who emigrated in 1824, and has spent several years in Upper Canada. * I would recommend,' he says, * those that intend to marry, to bring out wives with them, if they can get good ones. Women are wanted ; and, although there is no very great scarcity, there are more males than females, which is the reverse of England; therefore it would be a pity to increase the number of the latter, already unavoidably doomed to re- main single ; and besides, generally speaking, a man will find a woman of his own country more congenial to his habits and taste, as a wife, than any other. This is not a bad country for single females to iiome to as house servants ; they will get from 20s. to 30s. a month ; and, if steady, industrious, and deserving, may probably soon (if they choose) become the m^tress of a house of their own. Strong, handy boys will get the same wages per month, and board. ' The inducements held out by Canada to men of capital, combined with skill, are great, and equal to any country. Money can be invested in almost every kind of property to advantage, if done with judgment: — in purchasing land, particularly near towns and villages that must increase ; in building houses, mills, &c. ; in establishing breweries on a moderate scale ; in distilleries, furnaces, and forges. ^V ; I ! I INTRODUCTION. 37 img a res. and all manufactures.'— E/wigra^/o/i or no Emi» gration, Appendix^ p. 126. In respect of comforts for the voyage, besides taking care that he has due and healthful accommo- dation in the ship m whicii he takes his passage, such considerations will naturally suggest themselves to the common sense of the intelligent and provident emigrant, however poor, according to his means, and the necessities of his previous habits, in encounter- ing the discomforts' of a voyage across the Atlantic. Poor passengers are now pretty well protected from imposition, if they go in respectable vessels : we, however, think the following suggestions of a late intelligent settler in the township of Perth, Upper Canada, worthy of quotation, — sea-sickness, and its concomitant sufferings, on first leaving their native shores, having more effect upon the spirits, and perhaps the success, of emigrants, than is generally supposed. — ' In some ships,' says this reverend colonizer, * you may find abundance of good and wholesome food for the passengers, but in others, it is scarcely fit for hogs. Even when the captain engages to find provisions, as sickness may be expected, pas- sengers would do well to carry a few necessary articles along with them, such as currant-jelly, goose berry -jam, raisins, gingerbread, eggs, cheese, butter, tea, sugar, &c. A few simple medicines should also be at hand, and all should take physic whenever they come ashore, even though they 38 INTRODUCTIOX. should not be sick. For want of tliis precaution, many are laid up with a flux, for months after they arrive, and most of the children that die, are carried off by that disorder.' — BelCs Hints to Emigrants^ p. 165 *. On arrival at Quebec, the emigrant will receive every necessary information from Mr. Buchanan, the Government Agent, and the only general advice he requires is not to suffer himself to be persuaded by any one to linger in that city or Montreal, but' to proceed at once, either into the interior, or to the Upper Province. In the mean time, the study of the following geographical and statistical account of the two provinces, with particulars of the advantages or disadvantages of the several localities and town- ships, will the better enable him to form a choice, both as to the rout he shall take, and to his future settlement, in a country whose superfices is so ex- tended, and whose several points and situations for industry form so many temptations to the enter- prizing mind. 1 See also paper E, Appendix. caution, ;er they carried grants, receive lan, the [vice he aded by but' to to the tudy of ount of antages i town- choice, future so ex- ons for enter- GEOGRAPIIICAL AND TOPOGRA- PHICAL SKETCHES. PART I. LOWER CANADA. The proposed settler in any of the Canadas will find the importance and benefit of making himself familiar with the map of both provinces, that he may have a clear idea in his mind, not only of the general shape of the country, but of the relative situations of the principal places, in order fully to understand the comparative advantages and disadvantages of those localities among which he may have to 'nake a choice for the stage of his future exertions. Presuming upon his knowledge in this respect, we shall, in that part of our subject so important to proposed settlers, namely, topograpliical sketches of the different divi- sions of this extensive country, avoid, as much as pos- sible, those minute descriptions of situation and those repetitions of unfamiliar names, which are so embar- rassing at first to the English enquirer. In order further to assist the emigrant of substance in forming his choice, before descending to the particulars of the two Canadas respectively, we shall commence, by a few comprehensive observations, to give him some general idea of the natural and present state of the \ 40 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. whole country from tlie mouth of the St. Lawrence to the great Lake Huron, heyond which there is scarcely any settlement in Upper Canada. The lower part of the St. Lawrence, near the Gulf, as the stranger enters this great river, consists, hoth north and south, of a wild country hut little settled, except by fishers and luml^rers. To the north, that vast and wild mountainous country, which extends from the Saguenay P.iver considerably up the gt. Lawrence eastward, round the coast and the gulf, until it joins the great tract of Labrador, is generally styled the Domaine ; and, excepting the solitary and picturesque settlement of Portneuf, a small trading port, situated about 40 mi^es below the Saguenay River, for the convenience jf the fur-traders of the inte- rior and those connected with the fisheries on the coast, hardly a human habitation is to be seen to relieve the gloom of dark pine-woods and bold mountains. On the south side of the river, at its mouth, is the inferior district of Gaspe ; above that, the superior district of Quebec embraces both sides of the St. Lawrence, and possesses, besides, the advantage of the important river Chaudiere and its branches intersecting the country from a great distance to the south ; and above this, the district of Three Rivers, — so called from the same number of considerable streams flowing also into the chief recipient of the Candian waters, — in- cludes an extensive tract of territory, which, parti- cularly towards the south, and meeting the inferior district of St. Francis, will be found most eligibly situated for the purposes of settlement. The district \ LOWER CANADA. 41 ence to icarcely le Gulf, ts, both settled, th, that extends the gt. le gulf, jnerally iry and trading guenay he inte- e coast, eve the On nferior rict of je, and >ortant g the above »m the also ,— -in- parti- ferior igibly strict i%i of Montreal lies next, higher up the St. Lawrence, on both sides also of that river, distinguished by its ex- traordinary facilities of water-carriage and internal communication, as may be seen from the slightest inspection of the map. This extensive district, the most inland of Lower Canada, meets the United States territory to the south, by the counties of Huntingdon and Bedford, lying on both sides the river Richelieu, at its conil'ience with Lake Champlain, —joins the province of Upper Canada at Point-au- Baudet, on the St. Lawrence, as may be seen on the map by a double dotted line running from thence northward to the Great Ottawa River, and includes the island and county of Montreal, which, together with the Isle of Jesus, lying to the north of it, occu- pies that lake -shaped space of land and water which is formed by the confluence of the two great rivers just alluded to. The reader who is seeking some general acquaint- ance with this extensive country, will here observe, that from the imaginary line on the 45th degree of north latitude, which divides Lower Canada from the terri- tory of the United States, all the rest of the country westward and south, along the St. Lawrence, the Lake Ontario, as well as at the east side of the waters of the Niagara, the south of Lake Erie, and round to the western side of the great Lake Huron, belongs to the States ; and that Upper Canada stretches west- ward along the northern side of the St. Lawrence, and the Lakes Ontario and Erie, and is inclosed on that side by the eastern limb of Lake Huron ; by the If I) 1 I 42 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Frencli TJiver, which t,nitcs tho hitter portion of the great lake with tlie smaller Nipissing Lake, far to the north, and in a country hardly known as yet; and by the Grand Ottawa T?iver, which, flowinjr from the latter lake, bisects tiiis extensive country northward, until it enters Lower Canada and joins the St. Law- rence at the island of Montreal. Here it may also be mentioned, that all along the banks of the St. Lawrence in Lower Canada, particularly to the ssouth, where the land is good, — from the seaward county of Gaspe westward to the inner boundary of the province, and along the same river in Upper Canada to the north, as well as the borders of the Lakes On- tario and Erie, — the frontage is settled, more or less thickly, and partly cleared, to a distance inwards from these frontier waters of several miles ; and that the lands in all parts are of course enhanced in value as well by these natural advantages and the thickness of population and local improvements in their neighbour- hood, as by the more common quality of the natural productiveness of the soil. When the proposed settler or purchaser of land in the Canadas has made himself acquainted with the general geographical form of this part of the country, he is thus better prepared for studying or referring to those topographical and statistical particulars, the knowledofe of which is so necessary and useful to the intelligent emigrant. To return to Lower Canada: the first thing, upon inspecting the map, that will strike the enquirer who is anxious to decide where he shall set himself down, ( W LOWER C APT AD A. 43 iion of tlie , far to the et ; and by from the lortliward, St. Ltiw- may also of the St. y to the seaward ary of the *" Canada »akes On- rc or less ards from that the value as «nes8 of ghbour- natural land in vith the ountry, iferring iculars, jcful to upon ^r who down. and at the same time save himself the toil and ex- pense of travellin«^, is the manifest advantages of its geographical position, with reference i)arti('ular]y to that important "^dvanta.re, the contiguity of markets for the produce of the land. But here it may be pro- per to remark, that however important the proximity of a shipping market may be to the merchant, it is a thing that ought to be but a secondary consideration with the emigrant. In all parts of the country, mer- cantile stores arc to b(; met with, and it is at these stores, properly speaking, that the settler is to seek his customer. The fact is, that the little crop of the settler is not worthy of ijeing sent, on his own account, to the great emporiums, and it should suffice with him to find a purchaser for liis produce in the nearest store -keeper, rather than incur the risk and expense of being himself the shipper to the sea-ports, with the cost of ag encv there. This observation deserves the more attention, as the distinction between the market suitable for the settler and that for the purchaser of his produce is not suffi- ciently considered. When the merchant speaks of the advantages of the proximity of markets, he merely adverts to the places most eligible for disposing of the produce he has purchased up and down in the country, but not of that market which the settler shoulc^ ^requent. It is but of late, no doubt, that the store-keepers in the interior of the country may be said to have become generally speculators in produce for the dis- V I I' >! 44 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. if I <5T 1^1 I ] I I.I ! (.1 i ' I ' tant sea-port markets: but those rude and simple times are fast wearing away wlien the trade of the country was a kind of barter — money is daily becom- ing more plentiful, and the country store-keepers, in most places, are now ready to give cash for the grain which, in former days, they received in payment of debts, or in exchange for other commodities. It is, therefore, most earnestly entreated that the emigrant will not allow himself to be swayed so much with considerations respecting the export markets as near or far off, as an individual, a respectable store- keeper, in the neighbourhood where he may settle, is of far more importance than a general market ; for he will find in the store-keeper a satisfactory purchaser, who will take upon himself all the risk and chance of sending the produce to the remotest emporia, or to places where it becomes an object of competition for export. The comparative advantages offered by the Upper and Lower Provinces however, as they apply to dif- ferent classes of emigrants, will be more fully noticed in a later portion of this book. Meanwhile we shall proceed to describe briefly the several districts, counties, and townships in both ; and for the sake of clearness, as well as the avoiding of technicalities, shall commence our general notices at the very mouth of the St. Lawrence, and proceeding gradually along its course into the interior, pursue the same plan of progressing westward, when we come to speak of the great divisions of the upper province. LOWER CANADA. 45 simple of the becom- oers, in e grain [lent of lat the much rkets as 1 store- ettle, is ; for he [■chaser^ lance of or to on for Upper to dif- noticed ve shall stricts, sake of alities, very actually same ) speak To begin with the exterior small district of Gaspt?, being the seaward peninsula of the province lying between the St. Lawrence to the north, and the Bay of Chaleurs and New Brunswick to the south, and nearly surrounded by the waters of the former river and the gulf of the same name. This tract is bounded at its inner or western side by the greater district of Quebec, and, possessing so much coast seaward, has been chiefly resorted to from its great facilities for fishing; its greatest breadth, from north to south, is about 90 miles. Besides its extensive coast, the interior of this district is intersected by numerous rivers falling into the gulf of St. Lawrence and the bay of Cha- leurs, as also with small lakes almost innumeri^/jle, which, together with the rivers, abound in fish in great variety. The face of the country, says Bouchette, is, gene- rally speaking, uneven ; in some parts it is decidedly mountainous, and the valleys, which are often irre- gular and broken, are occasionally intersected by deep ravines ; but the mass of the lands is, nevertheless, perfectly adapted to agriculture. With the exception of some of the higher hills that are thinly clad with a diminutive growth of timber, the country is very well wooded, the forests chiefly consisting of maple, beech, pine, larch, white cedar, spruce, and hemlock ; but there is a scarcity of oak, and what there is, is inferior in size and quality*. The timber trade of this district * As in our notices of the qualities of the land in the dif- ferent townships, we shall have frequent occasion to specify tha M I tj ' f 1 } ' . i ) [i 46 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. has only commenced since 1815, and yet we are in- formed, by the same author, in 1825 and 1826 about 60 sail of vessels were ei-< gaged in the trade from hence, and the vast quantities of pine timber growing in certain parts of the district render this branch of trade susceptible of great augmentation. The timber trade of Gaspe, however, is surpassed by tliat of its fisheries all along the coast, the chief of kinds of timber found growing on them, as understood to indi- cate the nature of the soil, we give from Mr. Stuart's little book, published in 1820, the following general rules upon the subject : — * The oak and chestnut generally grow on dry j^round j the latter more especially on ridges. ' The black oak and chestnut grow on a sandy and poor soil, as do the various species of the pine, including the hemlock. * White and red oak, blended with other woods, bespeak a strong and lasting soil. ' Beech and white oak lands seem most favourable for w""^ eat. * The maples and black walnut, particularly the latter, wuere it grows in large clusters, point out the richest so.'s ; generally low and somewhat damp in a state of nature, but only requiring clearance to become abundantly dry. * Amongst the underwood, the prickly ash and spice-wood promise the best. * In a general view, the largest, tallest, and thickest woods denote the most fertile soils.' — Stuart's Emigrant's Guide, p. 60, &c. An opinion begins to prevail that the species of wood found on the land indicates also the condition of the soil, several in- stances having occurred of timber of a different kind rising, after that which had been previously removed ; as if nature herself gave the example of a succession even in her most per- manent crops. i I LOWER CANADA. 47 are m- i about le from rowing anch of rpassed chief of i to indi- rt's little upon the undj the poor soil, |xilock. 36 speak a 'or w^^ eat. :er, wiiere ;enerally requiring lice-wood ist woods s Guide) >od found everal in- id rising, if nature most pcr- wliich is the cocl ; which, with the whale, herring, and sahnon fisheries, employ about 2000 persons, and 20 square-rigged vessels, besides 50 smaller ones in the summer exportation. The productiveness of these branches of industry has caused the population of this district, about 8000 souls, very much to neglect agriculture, although there is much good land in it. Tho district also abounds with lirre, particularly at Gaspe bay, the north shore of which, as given in evi- dence before the Committee on the Crown Lands of Lower Canada, ' is, from its entrance, including cape Gaspti upwards, a series of capes and precipices of the best limestone.' This bay, and particularly the bay of Chaleurs, says the Commissioners' Report, * are sus- ceptible of the most improved agriculture.' * Indubitable indications of coal mines,' says Col. Bouchette, 'have been traced in the vicinity of Gasp€ bay, on the shores of which, and in the bay of Chaleurs are found a variety of pebbles, such as cornelian, agate, and jasper, susceptible of the highest polish, and rivalling in beauty the precious stones of the same description from India.' At and near Perce, in certain spots, the capes appear to be partly of variegated marble, and are composed of marine petrifactions. The district of Gaspe is divided into two coun- ties, Gasp^ and Bonaventura, and nominally sub- divided into ten townships internally, and seven seigniories along the coast. But a small portion of the whole is settled ; no part of the district has yet tii li III w 48 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. been erected into parishes; the few roads in the interior are bad and only of the bridle sort, that is, such as may be travelled on horseback ; and there is, indeed, but little internal communication through a district consist'ng of 7289 square miles of super- ficies. Thougii the soil is in many parts considered well adapted to the culture of hemp, as well as corn and r ots, agriculture of all sorts has as yet been so much neglected, for ^'le coasting and timber employment, that the country is almost destitute of mills and every convenience for such pursuits. The advantages of situation will no doubt render this district of immense importance hereafter, in the several respects of its fisheries, its timber trade, and its cultivation. As to climate, though situated up- wards of a degree north of Quebec, it is not said to be much, if at all, more rigorous than the more southern parts of Lower Canada. * The thermometer,' we are told, ' ranges from -^jj in winter, to 80 in summer, in the shade, the severity of the cold being generally tempered by the waters of the expansive bay, and the heat of summer moderated by a regular lake and sea breeze in the morning, and land wind at night.* DISTRICT OF QUEBEC, &c. The next division of country higher up on the same side of the St. Lawrence, and making part of the district of Quebec, including the city, is that LOWER CANADA, 43 in the that is, there is, :ough a [ super- nsidered as corn jret been I timber destitute pursuits, nder this , in the 'ade, and ated up- )t said to he more IOmeter,' 80 in d being xpansive 1 regular wind at ) on the ing part r, is that tract which lies eastward of the Chaudiere river, and between it and the district of Gaspe just spoken of. The frontier part of this section of Lower Canada runs along the southern bank of the St. Lawrence, to an extent of 257 miles, from the point where the Chaudiere joins the former river, to the line- boundary of Gaspe district lower down. This section of coun- try meets also, at its southern extremity, the range of highland, called Mars-hill, which is understood to form the line of separation between Lower Canada and the United States territory, the nearest point of which is about 62 miles inland from the St. Lawrence. The superficial extent of this large tract of country is, according to Bouchette, about 18,800 square miles, and its population about 65,500 souls. Like its neighbouring district, it is well watered by numerous rivers and small lakes, which also abound with a variety of excellent fish. The face of the country, though abounding with extensive valleys and flats, is generally rather hilly, yet less so than the bold mountainous tract on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence. Like the rest of the lower province, this district is divided first into counties, which are next sub-divided into seigniories or townships. In order, however, that the reader may understand tae nature and mean- ing of several arbitrary divisions of this country, a few general observations will here be necessary. Lower Canada, having originally been a French colony, its first inhabitants were French, and their I! I ill' III ! I i ? i 50 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. descendants are its present cliief occupants, under the general name of Canadians. Speaking a provin- cialism of the French language, and professing the Koman Catholic religion, the Canadians still manifest an attachment to the laws and customs, the institutes of which were originally brought from the mother country ; and since the province fell by conquest into the hands of the English, by the liberal policy of the British government their laws have been but little disturbed. One of the most remarkable of these laws affecting property in this province, is the tenure by which the l?».nds were originally granted to the first settlers, and by which they are still held by the present possessors. That tenure is founded on the usages of the feudal law, or rather is strictly feudal itself, the lands granted being held by the seigreursy or lords of the soil in feu, or en fiefe^ that is, in vassalage to the crown, under a condition of homage or service ; and again the portions conceded by the seigneurs to their tenants or vassals, called tenanciersy on censitaires^ are held by the latter under the seigneurs, en roiure, that is, not as freeholds, but subject also to some par- ticular conditions of service to him, as well as to a small annual rent in money or in produce, which forms the income of this feudal chief, who is con- sidered somewhat like the ancient Lord of the Manor in England. The original grantees or seigneurs of the land naturally settled themselves on the frontier spots ii . f LOWER CANADA. 51 igam their vires, )lure, par- Ito a ^hich con- anor lland Ipots along tlie banks of tlie St. Lawrence, as well as on several of the larger interior rivers ; hence all tliese parts are already granted and occupied in seigniories, while it is only the interior country which, since the accession of the British, and the settlement of the law, has been laid out in townsliips for English colonists. As emigrants from the United Kingdom are seldom disposed to settle among the Canadian French and under their laws, however advantageous this step might often be for educated persons possessing capital, as hereafter to be noticed, wc shall, in our topographical notices of this improving province, pass entirely over these frontier settlements, and describe as we are enabled only the internal townships about which emigrants from England may be sup- posed to be interested. Some of the counties of tliis province are entirely granted in seigniories and fiefs. Most of them how- ever have portions inland, which remaining ungranted at the time of the conouest, have since been laid out by the Legislative Assembly as townships for settlers from the mother country. The counties as they occur in each district which have any part surveyed as townships*, we notice for the sake of reference in * A township inland is usually a square tract of land, ex- tending ten miles every way, and coi:itaining about 61,000 acres, exclusive of an allowance made in the surveys of five acres in every hundred for highways. These townships are subdivided into eleven ranges of land, each range containing 28 lots, and each lot 200 acres. Thus the inland townships contain 308 lots of land, of 200 acres each, exclusive of an allowance for e2 JJI )!'ti lifli! ^'•iM 1 1 , i ■ ! |l ' ! ? ll ' ■ i '■■•■ 52 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. alphabetical order ; with the townships also in the several counties, we in general pursue the same plan. highways. Of these lots 220 are granted or sold to settlers, and the remaining 88 reserved in every township for the Crown, and the support of the protestant i^lergy, under the name of Crown and Clergy Reserves, a term that will be frequently re- peated in the course of our notice of townships. The lands thus reserved, remaining in general in a wilderness state, have been found, in most cases, a great hindrance to improvement ; but in Upper Canada the Crown reserves have been sold by the government to the Canada Company. v. Townships, however, having been surveyed and laid out upon mathematical principles,'and in straight lines, without reference, excepting on the banks of large rivers, to natural boundaries, these imaginary or mere measurement boundaries of all kinds, have been a fruitful source of dispute and litigation, and are a frequent subject of complaint with the settlers. • All classes of people in Canada,' says Mactaggart, ' but the Lawyers, lament the manuer in which the townships have been laid out and surveyed. The surveyors are become perfectly ashamed of themselves. Let a law be passed as soon as possible,' adds this spirited observer, ' that the townships be laid out according to their natural boundaries ; let all concession lines be run ac- cording to the order of nature ; and give all settlers deeds of their lands, that their progeny may know them a thousand years hence.' * The fauciful blazed lines of straightness formed by the surveyors,' he adds, ' are only made to bewilder, proving often roads of ruin in the wilderness.* — Vide Three Years in Canada, vol. ii. p. 96, A township fronting a river or lake, is generally surveyed so as to be, as near as possible, nine miles broad in front by twelve miles deep inland from the lake or river. Thas it will contain about 67,200 acres, exclusive of the allowance for highways ; ■which,. formed into twelve ranges of 28 lots, will make 336 lots, of land, each lot, as usual, containing 200 acres. Of these lots 240 are grantable to settlers, and the remaining 96 are reserved or the Crown and Clergy. ill the 5 plan. 3rs, and Crown, lame of ntly re- ids thus ve been nt; but by the lut upon iference, indaries, 1 kinds, lid are a lasses ot* , lament 3ut and imed of e,' adds icording 1 run ac- [leeds of housand I formed proving ears m i^eyed so y twelve contain hways ; 336 lots hese lots reserved LOWER CANADA. 53 The situation of these several counties and townships the reader will be at little loss to find on the map ; and proceeding thus, the first county to be noticed in this district is called Beauce. The County of Beauce on the Chaudiere, is 68 miles in length, and its average breadth is 21 miles. It contains 1987 square miles, is uneven and moun- tainous — well watered, principally by the Chaudiere, du Loup, and la Famine rivers. It is also intersected by numerous roads, the chiet of which is the new Kinnebec road, which forms the most direct and shortest communication from Quebec to Boston in the United States. This County sends two members to the Canadian assembly, and, besides seven Seig- niories, contains nine townships, of which the fol- lowing is the brief description, viz. Cranbourne, 45 miles from Quebec, well watered by the rivers Des Fleurs and Guillaume, and lakes Etchemin and Petit Lac. The land is in general of good quality, particularly the part between the main branch of the river Etchemin and the lake of that name, which consists of an excellent upland soil. There are 40,000 acres of land in this township un- located, and the price offered lately for clearing land is 50s. per acre. DiTCHFiELD, bordering on the east side of Lake Megantic, and lying between the townships of Spald- ing to the north-east, and Woburn to the south. This township seems only to be projected, and we have as yet no authentic account of its soil or capabilities. )ll j; I t \ 1 t 1 'I !^ I a ■ inh: 54 TOrOORAPHICAL SKKTCHRS. Frampton, situated at the rear of tlie Seigniory of St. Joseph and Stc. Marie, on the Cliaudiere, and lying between tlie townships of Cranbourne to tlie south- east, and Auckland to tlie south-west. Tiiis township is situated at the commencement of the mountainous tract, separating the waters of the St. Lav/rcnce from those of the St. John, and presents very different ap- pearances on its near and farther sides. A part of it to the south-east is intersected by a chain of mountain-^ ous uplands in many places impracticable for roads. The uplands are well wooded, principally with maple and bir3h, and are susceptible of cultivation to a higher degree than the valleys which, thougli in general possessing a moderately good soil, are in their natural state rather swampy. The upland soil is a strong white or yellow clay, producing excellent crops of wheat and other grain. The grass, in the valleys which are cultivated, is very fine, causing the butter made in this township to have a superior re- putation at Quebec. The surface of the land is ge- nerally much encumbered with loose stones, which adds to ihe cost of cultivation, and in the valleys are found considerable quantities of potter's earth. The whole is well watered, and on the branches of the Etchemin, as also the streams communicating with the Chaudiere, are numerous excellent mill seats, and two small lakes on one side abound with trout. This township is well settled by several exceedingly re- spectable proprietors, and there are consequently numerous roads through it. There is also one corn- L0WP:R CANADA. 55 re- itly rn- rrill, one tavern, ont; prarl-ushcry anfl two poJ-asheries, a good portion of breeding iivo stock, and the }K)pu. latiun at the last survey amounted to 2G3 souls. Tiiis townsiiip is spoken of as superior in soil and situation to the neigh oouring ones of Buckland, Cran- bourne, and Standon, yet there is no village as yet, though it contains about (iO houses. The quantity of unsold or granted land we are not able, with any accuracv, to state. Jersey, a tr.'angular-shaped tract, but only pro- jected as a township, lying between the rivers Chau- diere and du Loup and bounded on the south by Marlow. Of this township no particular description is yet transmitted,' and the ungranted lands amount to 33,000 acres. Marlow, lying to the south of the above and near to RiSBOROuGH, another projected township, of which we have also no particular description, more than of its neighbouring township of Spalding, lying to the east of the Chaudiere, and reaching to the province boundary line westward. The next county in this district is Bellechasse, running inland from the St. Lawrence to the south- east boundary of the province. Its front breadth on the St. Lawrence is 19 miles, its average breadth 17, and its depth about 35 miles. It sends two members to the assembly, and contains a population of nearly 15,000. Its surface is uneven, and rather moun- tainous, particularly as it recedes inwards towards the t I ill; I i f ! M 56 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. i'l'i I V States. The soil nevertheless produces abundance of good timber, and is of course suscoptible of cultivation, being pretty well watered. The inhabitants are nearly all French Canadians ; and passing over a chain of flourishing Seigniories fronting the St. Law- rence, we come to the following four townships, viz. Armagh, traversed to the south-west by the river Du Sud. Soil not very good, but meadow-land between the hills. No part settled. ^ Buck LAND. The surface of this township is much varied : in many places rising into swelling uplands, with the intervals rather swampy. Yet i\ i soil is, we are told, in general, excellent, and even the wet lands are by no means of a bad quality. The rear and south-east centre of Buckland, however, is moun- tainous and barren, entirely unfit for agricultural purposes. Still the other parts are well timbered and watered, with many good situations for mills, and much meadow-land along the borders of the streams. Only one fourth of this township has been surveyed, which is now the property of William Holmes, Esq. of Quebec. Population about 30 persons, and lands ungranted, 20,000 acres. Standon, lying to the south-east of the former. A rough hilly country and very indifferent land. The good parts of the land at the rear of Frampton are already granted, but there is a part between the river Etchemin and the lake, near the south angle of the township, which is said to be excellent upland, and well calculated for settling. LOWER CANADA. 57 1 Of tlic next county, namely, L*Tslet, running southward also from the St. Lawrence, being almost entirely occupied with French Canadians, and divided into Seigniories, we do not think it necessary to give any particular description. It contains only one township, situated as usual in the rear of the Seigniory, which is called AsuFORD, and the soil is not spoken of as very good, though susceptible of cultivation, and at present bearing pine, beech, maple and spruce. It is tra- versed by rocky cliffs, and watered by small slroams. The next county is Kamouraska, fronted, like the others, by prosperous Seigniories, along the St. Law- rence, &c., and possessing many inland recommen- dations. The lands left for free soccage amount only to three projected townships, the first of which is called Bungay, — of which we have no account. IxwoRTH, situated at the rear of the Seigniory and to the south of the river Quelle. Here there are 32,000 acres ungranted and unlocated ; but no more than 1200 acres of this township have been surveyed,, the whole of which is said to be most excellent land, and has been granted to Mathew O'Meara, and part of it is in a forward state of cultivation. On the re- mainder of this township is a large quantity of good pine timber, much of which is transported by the river Ouelle to the St. Lawrence, and thence to Quebec. it. ^^ i. 58 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. p ■ II i :ili'' Vv'ooDBRiDGE, Iving between the two former, but as yet unsurveyed. Another county in this district is Lotbiniere, meeting also tlic St. Lawrence, the land of which is described to be in general of excellent quality, although it is less abundantly watered than most others. As this county is entirely distributed into Seigniories, and occupied by French peojjie, we do not think it necessary to give any further particulars regarding it. The county of Megantic, in this district, and lying north of the lake of the same name, skirts the boundary line of the United States to the south, and runs along the Chaudiere to the west. This inland county is entirely free of Seigniorial grants, and divided into townships. I'he population that has as yet spread over it consists of English, Irish, Scotch, and Americans, without any native Canadians ; it there- fore may require a more particular description. Its extreme length is 6*5 miles, its breadth 28 ; it is divided into sixteen townships, and contains 1465 square miles. The surface of this county, says the official surveyor, is mountainous and broken, pre- senting, however, large swells of excellent land and meadows', and, notwithstanding the irregularity of its surface, it possesses considerable advantages in its soil and timber. It is well and conveniently watered by streams and lakes ; and towards the lake, which gives name to the county, the scenery is de- \i( .h LOWER CANADA. 59 and ,here- Its it is 1465 ys the pre- d and ty of es in iently lake, is de- t scribed as beautiful. It is traversed m cliief by Craig's road, along which are the principal settle- ments, as we shall have occasion to notice when particularizing the townships, the first of which, in alphabetical order, is Adstock, adjoining Tring and Thetford, and not yet surveyed. Then Broughton, which, though rather mountainous, contains, we are told, much land of a good quality, at present much stocked with beech, maple, birch, elm, and other useful timber, besides abundance more of an inferior quality. There is good grass land in the hollows, and many of the inferior swells, if culti- vated, would produce good grain crops. The town- ship is moderately watered, and some roads have been made at the expense of the government by aa act of the provisional parliament. A Mr. Hull re- ceived a grant of 22,000 acres in this township, who has made some progress in forming a settlement, and cultivating some part of it, besides erecting some mills. The population, however, in 1829, was only 75, and there was still unlocated 12,400 acres. CoLERAiNE, as yct only a projected township, lying to the south of Thetford, and to the west of Tring, and watered by lake St. Francis, besides some smaller lakes and streams. Dorset, on the west side of the river Chaudiere, and encompassed on the other sides by various lands still unsurveyed. The most inferior part of this large township is along the rocky bank of the river Chau- ■M 'tl 'HI lit! ill li'il ' I'iS ^1 IM ffiir v , : sn hi \\l 'i; 60 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. diere, and the rest is said to consist chiefly of fine rises of good land, very fit for tillage, and every where favourable for the culture of hemp and flax, which are well known to require the best soils, though no settlements are as yet made on it. The usual valuable timbers at present grow upon this township, which is admirably watered througho'i hy lakes and rivers, and on the banks of the streams are some fine breadths of the best meadow lan^d. The whole belongs to the heirs of Simon M*Tavish, Esq., who, no doubt, has an agent for it at Quebec. Gayhurst, on the Chaudiere — projected. Watered by the Eugenie, &c. Halifax. Soil generally very good. Low to the north-east, and a few swamps here, but rises and is uneven towards the south. The south-east half has been granted, but none of it is cultivated. Ungranted, 7200 acres. Intersected, in part, by Craig's road. Population, 15. Inverness, — next the former. The land to the south is of a superior quality, and the rest above me- diocrity, except an extent of swamp of about 8000 acres to the northward, which is covered with hem- lock, spruce fir, and cedar ; excellent timber on the ilry lands. Watered by lake William, and several small rivulets. Ungranted in 1828, 15,500 acres. Population, 117. Saw mills, 7. Ireland, — betwixt Halifax and the former. Land to the north-west is of a good quality ; the south- east, a series of rugged hills, with small lakes and Mi I of fine d every nd flax, t soils, t. The on this ho- '■:: hy streams w lan4. Tavish, Quebec. rVatered w to the s and is lalf has granted, road. to the ove me- ut 8000 h hem- on the several ) acres. Land south- ^es and LOWER CANADA. 61 swamps in the intervals. The north-west quarter has been surveyed and granted, and is partly inha* bited by a few settlers. The whole is well watered, and Craig's road passes through it. Above 14,000 acres yet ungranted. Population, 181. Corn mills, 1 ; saw ditto, 1 ; taverns, 1. Leeds. The land generally very good, except in the north-east quarter, where it is poor and stony. AVell wooded, and watered by several branches of the Becancour, and intersected by Craig's road. Con- siderably settled and cultivated of late. Population 173. Saw-mills, 2. Ungranted lands, 5,225 acres. Nelson, lying between the former and the aug- mentation to Lotbenit^re. The land is low, but tolerably good, and well watered. Towards the south-east end are some rising grounds, much su- perior to the opposite side. The limber is maple, beech, birch, and pine, besides basswood, cedar, spruce, hemlock, &c., on the low and moist grounds No part of this township was lately under culti- vation. OuLNEY, — projected only, as yet. Shenley. This, like some of the above, is ratheir an irregular tract than a township, between Dorset and Tring. The surface is irregular in some places, though in some parts the soil is moderately good. Wooded, but not well watered. No part of the tract under cultivation. Somerset, to the north-west of Halifax and In^ ■HI ! ; ■1 'ft ■a I i I 62 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. verness ; lying low, but in general of a tolerably- good quality. Well timbered and watered. Thetford, between Broughton and Ireland. — Though generally mountainous, this township has a few intervals of good land ; but that to the south- east is very indifferent, lying upon a bed of stone. Well watered, and but little wood. Tring, between Broughton and Shenley. A good deal of land fit for tillage in this tract, and some ex- cellent timber. Very well watered. Population, 10 persons. WiNSLOW, be^-ween Gayhurst and Stratford; not surveyed. In the county of Quebec, which is mostly gr ^nted in seigniories and fiefs, the only townships are Stoneham and Tewkesbury, lying contiguous to each other in the interior, and subdivided many years ago, yet still but indifferently settled. Great part of the surface of both is mountainous, rocky, and unfit for cultivation ; yet there are some scanty patches of tolerable land in the vallies, and the part extending towards the river Jacques Cardiere is chiefly arable. Population, 70 persons. DISTRICT OF THREE RIVERS. The diotrict of Three Rivers, lying next higher up t> ^ St. Lawrence, and including in its original m LOWER CANADA. 63 not ible. flier inal , eiiameration the greater part of the townships in the inferior but fertile district of St. Francis, towards the south, is still more important to the enquirer as a field of extensive future settlement. It extends, like the former, to both sides of the St. Lawrence, along which, and its principal rivers, it is settled in seignio- ries; but in its interior portion, towards the south, it is surveyed into townships, well intersected by roads a.)l rivers ; and from the quality of the land, the mildness of the climate, and the local advantages, is of great interest to land purchasers and settlers. The surface of the country, south of the St. Lawrence, is level near that river, until it approaches the townships in the neighbourhood of Ascot, where it rises into broad swells, and in some parts becomes mountainous. Near the St. Lawrence and the frontier rivers the soil is light and sandy, but receding inwards it becomes infinitely better. There are also several villages in the townships, and the streams and lakes will be noticed in speaking of the counties and townships. • On the St. Lawrence, south and west of the river Becancour, including also the main branches of the St. Nicolet and the St. Francis, is the county of Drummond in this district, which is entirely laid out in townships to the number of 19. The extreme length of this county is 66 miles, its breadth 47, and it con- tains 1,674 square miles ; sends one member to the provisional parliament. The first township in alpha- betical order is the inland one of Acton, between Roxton on the Yamuska and fj'\ : I :ii; ■ 1 'I 5 ■ f:| ^. , I iM 64 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Grantham. The land is level, and lying rather low, ■with wooded swamps. About one half has been granted, but no part settled. Arthabaska, on the Nicolet, south of Bulstrode, not settled. Many parts of the land good where it is high, but the lower lands swampy. Aston, and its augmentation on the Becancour, and to the rear of the seigniory of that name. On the abovenamed river, and the river Blanche, the banlsa are picturesque, the lands are rather high, but inward they descend into a low flat. The soil is in general good, and promises to be very productive by cultiva- tion. Oak, elm, pin^^ beech, birch, maple, &c., grow near the rivers, with which it is well watered. A few set- tlers in the front ranges. A road leads into the southern townships. Above 26,000 acres as yet ungranted. Bulstrode, inland, and south-east of the Becan- cour. In general level and low, wit., -numerous swamps and brutes^ particularly towards the centre, but some few places higher land. The swamps and low lands are in some places of a sandy soil, and in others a black mould. There is only one settlement which is on the Becancour, and contains 40 souls. Chester, to the rear of Arthabaska. The soil very fit for the purposes of agriculture, and the ad- vantages, in point of locality, considerable. Well wooded and tolerably well watered. Craig's road traverses it diagonally. Ungranted, 4,975 acres» Population, 10 persons. Durham, on the inland part of the St. Francis, and LOWER CANADA. 6S r low, been trode, liere it ncour, 3n the banH* inward general mltiva- ., grow ew set- mthern ited. Becan- erous entre, s and land in ement uls. e soil lie ad- Well road acres* and between Acton and Ely. The land is in general good, presenting several extensive and improvable tracts. Wooded like the others, and watered by nu- merous small rivulets. This township contains two bridges, one over the Black River, and the other over a ravine formed by the St. Francis. The Drummond- ville road runs also through it, on which there are several settlements. There are two saw-mills, and many excellent mill seats on the Black river. Po- pulation, 367. Grantham, on the west side of the St. Francis, on which river the ground is high, but broken into ravi. es. Quantities of iron ore is found in the neighbourhoc - of the stream. Large extents of the land in this po- pulously settled township produce fine luxuriant na- tural grass, which, drying upon the ground when ripe, is little inferior to good hay. Several respecta- ble proprietors living in Montreal and Drummondville hold lands here, and to about 30 Canadian families portions of it have been sold, on credit, by a Mr. Richardson, at 5.9. per acre. There is both a post road, between Quebec and Boston, running through this township, and another road from Drummond- ville ferry to Wickham higher up the St. Francis, which also passes through it. There are also two bridges, a village, (Drummondville,) two Roman Ca- tholic churches, two schools, two corn-mills, three saw-mills, four tanneries, four pot and four pearl asheries, two taverns, a carding and a fulling mill, and the population is about 400. Though there is F •i ^1 !!: M! V J ! li r.t, hi I^j ;i| If ill i>- V .1 66 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. miicli good land in this township, that through which the chief road ])asses is flat, sandy, and hut little suited for cultivation. Ham, hetween Weedon and Tingwick, possesses land that niiglit be brought into cultivation with much advantage. The surface is diversified by swells rather than hills, which are covered with wood, and in several places the low grounds are swampy. HoRTON, to the west of Bulstrode, is a small irre- gular tract, with the Nicolct running through it, and contains only one settler. KiNGSEY, on the east bank of the St. Francis, and between Shipton and Warwick. The front on the river, where also a road runs, and the side next to Shipton, are of the best quality of land, and are already settled to a population of above 300 persons. The parts adjoining Warwick and Simpson are low and swampy, covered with cedar and other woods. Several branches of the Nicolet also water this town- ship advantageously, and from the fertility of the soil and other circumstances, it is likely to thrive and be- come populous. The family of Donald Maclean hold a part of this township. Ungranted, 12,100 acres. Simpson, north of the former, is low and level, with very few swamps, and is of a good quality for the cultivation of grain of all sorts. Lying also on the St. Francis, a few settlers, amounting to a population of 35, have planted themselves on this side next the road ; and several branches of the Nicolet, by which it is also watered, present some good mill seats. ■#"■ LOWER CANADA. 67 )n the lext to id are rsons. e low oods. town- e soil d be- hold res. jwith r the the ation tthe hich Stanfold, on the Becancour, i > tween Somerset and Bulstrode, is low and extremely vvampy, with but little land fit for cultivation. TiNGWiCK, between Chester and Kingscy, not surveyed. Upton is of an irregular figure, on the St. Francis, to the north-west of Acton and Grantham. The land is in general fl'^t and low, with extensive swamps covered with tau.ar: ;k, alder, and cedar. There is a road through X wliich is settled however to the amount of 277 persons ; and here, and by the side of the St. Franc's and other streams, there are a few spots of toler..ijle land. Warwick, on the Nicolet, north of Tingwick, a poor, and excepting the first three ranges, a perfectly sterile tract, thickly covered with spruce and hem lock. Wendover, near Simpson. The land near the St. Francis is best and will admit of cultivation, but a short distance thence it sinks into low deep swamps, where the soil is chiefly sand and gravel. AViCKHAM, on the St. Francis, between Grantham and Durham. The land is generally level, but the interior and rear are swampy and but little capable of cultivation. Near the river, and also towards the two beforementioned townships, the land is more elevated and considerably better in quality, and might soon be made to produce most sorts of grain. The high road 'oetween Quebec and Boston leads through this township, and the mail passes once a week. F 2 m Hi i\\ ,». ""i i ' B-|:[ I'!), 68 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Hence there arc settlers to the amount of 256 of a population, with one corn and one saw mill. WoLFSTOWN, on the upper branches of the Nicolet, and between Ham and Ireland. The north-west half of this township is noderately good, but the south- east is a mere chain of rocky heights of no use. WoTTON, iO the west of the above, — unsurveyed. The county of Nicolet, on the St. Lawrence, con- sists chiefly of seigniories and fiefs on that river apd the Nicolet. It contains only two townships in the rear of these, viz. Blandford, to the west of the Becancour. Tlie land is generally level, with many good savannas, and the soil for the most part good. This township is well watered by several small streair«* and lakes besides the above, but having been but lately granted in free soccage, there is no road through it, but a winter one 15 miles in length. About 600 acres, however, have been cleared along the Becancour, and a saw-mill erected. Haddington, lower down the same river, which separates it from the townships of Bulstrode and Aston. The land is low in the interior and towards the south, but more elevated towards the west and south-west. There are many savannas, and the soil in general is tolerably good. In some places it is of a superior quality, in others rocky and bad. In the urveyed parts contiguous to the river, the land is as good as that of Aston. Only one settlement, how- ever, of 12 persons, is made near the Becancour. A ?? *i 1 -'. ti LOWER CANADA. 69 6 of a Jicolet, est half south- >• fveyed. ;e, con- er apd in the . Tlie rannas, wnship 1 lakes TanteJ but a acres, ncour, which le and )wards and le soil is of n the is as how- r. A winter road runs through it, and there arc several good situations tor mills. The next county in this district is that of St. Mau- rice, lying on the north of the St. Lawrence, and along the river of the same name, including the town of Three Rivers, and the well known falls of the St. Maurice. This county is chiefly remarkable for its iron mines and its numerous and extensive forges and founderies ; in which are manufactured the stoves, potash-kettles, and every kind of large cast-iron work used in the provinces. These employ nearly 300 persons, the overseers and model-makers are English and Scotch, and the workmen chiefly Cana- dians. There is much good land along the lofty banks of the St. Maurice, but it having been originally granted to the lessee of the forges is not yet con" ceded to settlers. The rest is chiefly held in seignio- ries and fiefs, as usual in Lower Canada, and there are only three townships laid out in the interior, viz, Caxton, lying between the lands belonging to the forges of the St. Maurice to the south-east, and the other township of Hunterstown ; the seigniory of St. Etienne, &c., being in front towards the St. Lawrence. This township having attracted the attention of the provincial government, two good roads have been opened through it and many bridges built, whereby a direct communication is opened to the St. Lawrence by water, namely the river du Loup ; the value of the land is greatly enhanced, although as yet there are very few settlers. In general the land is low, with a I I TO TOPOORAPHICAL SKKTCHES. >f M 1.1 e I I , if i .)* ■'■* A ! )' I..? ^ few tliickly wooded hills, and in most places tlirourrh which the roads have hcen cut, it is described to be of the best (juality, witli nuii)le, birch, beecli, and ash — some savannas, and cedar spruce, ike, on the lower parts. HuNTERSTowN, joinini( the former, is described by the surveyor as a tract of very little value, l)eing a continued stratum of rock lying very near the sur- face; and towards the rear it rises into broken and almost mountainous ridges, but generally well wooded. New Glasgow, not surveyed. The important county of Sherbrooke, divided entirely into townslups, and occupying great part of the interior district of St. Francis, remains next to be noticed. It has the county of Megantic in Quebec district to the east, Drummond in its own district to* the north, and the province line dividing it from the United States to the south. Its extreme length is 68 miles, its breadth 57, and it contains 2786 square miles. It contains three villages, the chief of which, Sherbrooke, may be called the county town, and is the seat of the district court of St. Francis. This county sends two members to tlie provincial parliar ment, is well watered by the St. Francis and numerous other streams and lakes, and already contains a po- pulation of between 5 and 6000 souls. Tlie face of the country in the vicinity of Eaton and eastward, is generally level to the ridge of highlands towards the head of Connecticut ; to the we&t, in the vicinity of 1^1 I LOWEIl CANADA. 71 If. Orford, tli(i land is iinov(Mi and broken, and presents high ridges. The soil and timber arc descril)ed as generally of good quality, and the country in every resj)ect possesses considerable advantages from its locality, and the numerous roads which run through it, which are skirted, for the most part, by flourish- ing new settlements. The chief route from the St. Lawrence to the United States passes through the village of Sherbrooke. From the importance of this large tract, it is likely hereafter to be subdivided into several counties. At present it is laid out into twenty-nine townships, which in alphabetical order are as follows : — Ascot, advantageously situated on the upper parts of the St. Francis and between Compton and Eaton. In every point of view, says the surveyor-general, this is a desirable tract. The land is of exceedingly good quality, and so well varied as to answer all the pur- poses of the farmer. It is both well watered and contains considerable facility of inland carriage by water, as well as presenting numerous sites for mills, some of which have alreadv been taken p.dvantajye of. Settlements on a very lars^e scale have been made here, and several farms by the sides of rivers have attained a degree of flourishing superiority, which shows their improvement to have been very rapid, as no part of the land was grantc ' prior to the year 1803. The majority of the sett : s here, as well as in most part of the neighbouring townships, are native Americans, wlio have taken the oath of all©- m .,|r 72 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. giance to the British Government, and who, adapting th'^ir operations to the nature and quahty of the ma- terials they have to work upon, make much hetter farmers than the Canadians. This township contains two villages. Sherbrooke^ occupying an elevated situation on both banks of the Magog, at the forks of the St. Francis, contains 75 houses, a population of 350, two churches, and is con- sidered the emporium of the township trade, on its^ transit to the St. Lawrence, which consists chiefly of pot and pearl ashes, horses, horned cattle, and some sheep. Lennoxville is the other village, situated about three miles south of the former, and contains one church, 20 houses, and a population of 120. A rich mine of iron ore much impregnated with sulphur has been discovered on a farm near Sherbrooke, and a mineral spring near the rentre of the township. Th& cultivation of hemp has been found productive, and the distillation of whiskey from potatoes is a source of much profit. AVhole population of the township about 1000 — 2 corn-mills, 3 saw-mills, 2 each pot and pearl asheries, 5 stores, and 3 taverns. Auckland, lying at the southern extremity of the county, between Emberton and Chfton, near the boundary line, is uneven and rugged, in some places mountainous, and in others sinks into swamps. The level and dry tracts have a soil moderately good, and some portions are rich enough for the cultivation of hemp. Well watered, and a sort of footpath runs through it, by which the Indians make their way to i I LOWER CANADA. 73 the Chaiidiere. The north half has been granted, but no part of the whole is as yet settled. Brompton, west of the St. Francis, between Orford and Ely, is to the south, uneven, rocky and untract- able, but in the north part and by the river, the land is of a fiiir quality, and fit for good crops of grain. It is watered by a lake and several streams besides the St. Francis, and on the latter river several settle- ments have been formed which are doing well. Po- pulation, 255. Bury, lying between Dudswell and Hampden. Of this township only one quarter has been surveyed, but the land is reported to be of a moderately good soil and very susceptible of cultivation. The timber is butternut, maple, basswood, beech, ash, &c., and it is watered by small streams. An intended road into Vermont, and joining Craig's road, has already been marked and blazed. Chesham, projected only. Clifton, between Auckland and Eaton. The surface is mountainous and broken, yet is the soil generally good, as indicated by the best sort of trees. Watered by two or three rivers and many streams falUng into the St. Francis. Some roads, but not ra- pidly improving, and one bridge. A population of 88 ; a id the settlements are chiefly on the road to Eaton, and on the Salmon river. There are some swamps in different directions which might be drained with facility, and there is much - unexceptionable soil. There are 2 pot-asheries, a pearl-ashery, a corn-mill, • a saw-mill, and a school. 74 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. m J- Clinton, a very small township, is most agree- ably situated at the south extremity of the lake Megantic. The soil, in general, is of the very first quality, exhibiting many large patches of luxuriant pastures. Although this small tract abc luds with good situations, where the land is fit for any species of agriculture, and is well watered by the Arnold, and other streams falling into the lake, no part has yet been settled. ^ CoMPTON, joins Ascot and Clifton, and the land is in no respect inferior to that of the former township. In various parts, it has many wide spread- ing but gentle rises of most excellent land, thickly covered with the best v/oods ; is completely watered, and through the most cultivated parts roads have been opened, and bridges thrown over the river, which are kept in good repair; so that an eligible com- munication is formed with the main road to Quebec, and the state of Vermont. Numerous flourishing settlements skirt the banks of the rivers, which, with the thriving industry of a population already exceed- ing 1200, are fast introducing commerce, and confer a comparative importance upon this increash.^ .un- ship. There are not less than 7 saw mills, 2 com do., 1 carding do., 1 falling do., a pot-ashery, a pearl do., 2 stores, 2 taverns, and a school. Croydon, on the province line — not surveyed. DiTTON, between Marsden, Hampden, and Em- berton, is irregular in its surface, some places rising into large eminences ; but, in general, the soil LOWER CANADA. 75 a Is ll is moderately good, and timbered well. It is inter- sected by several streams that fall into the St. Francis, and the south-west quarter has been surveyed and granted, but no part settled. Ungranted, 33,000 acres. Drayton, lying in the rear of Auckland and Emberton, is bounded, on the south, by the main branch of the river Connecticut. This township has neither been surveyed nor granted, but the quality of the land may be inferred from the fact, of above 20 families from the United States, having already taken up a settlement on it. The lands occupied by these persons form one of the points of dispute between his Majesty's government and that of the States. It is watered by several streams, as also Back lake : there are some roads, and two bridges, and the principal settler, a Dr. Taylor, has 100 acres cleared, a good house, and a distillery. Population, 60. DuDswELL, between Weedon and Bury, in many places uneven in surface, and in one place rises to a considerable mountain, that stretches westward into Wotton, the top of which, being flat table-land, wholly free from trees or underwood, causes it to be called the Bald Mountain. A great variety of good timber in this township, and where the land is level, it is applicable to the culture of grain. The St. Francis, with other streams, provide a complete irrigation, but only one quarter of this tract has been laid out, and some farms have obtained considerable m r- '^P^.: Mi 1 ■ If i 76 TOPOGRAPTilCAL SKETCHES. prosperity. A line of road, pursuant to an act of the Assembly, is now in progress throagli this township, which will much benefit it. Eaton, between Newport and Ascot, east and west, is of a uniform and favourable quality generally, although the north-west part is rather low and swampy, and the other parts may be called hilly, being a series of bold swells, whose bases may be traced by the sources of numerous small brooks with which this tract is sufficiently watered : much of the soil is stony, and occasionally sandy. ' Towards the north-west,* says the surveyor, * at an i^ngle with the horizon of between 60 and 70 degrf,es, inasses of granite are occasionally met with on the surface, as well as large masses of alluvial rocks, some having the appearance of vitrifaction. Slate m good quahty is also abun- dant, and some blacklead ore has been found. A great part of the west half has been settled : there ar^ some : Mdhng roads ; about 9000 acres are already cleared, and the population is above 800. The town- ship is already divided into 2 parishes, in each of which there is a Protestant church. There are not less than 6 saw-mills, 3 corn do., a carding and a fulling do., 2 taverns, a tannery, a pot-ashery, a pearl do., and a distillery. Ungranted, about 3100 acres. Emberton, between Ditton, Auckland, and Dray- ton, and watered by the Margalloway, as yet only projected. Garthby, north-east of Weedon, and nearly divided by the lake St. Francis, only projected. I. ^ s LOWER CANADA. 11 t of the •wnship, ast and nerally, 3VV and y, being aced by lich this s stony, h-west,' rizon of nite are as large learance o abun- nd. A lere ar^ already |e town- lach of lare not and a |a peari acres. Dray- kt only nearly Hampden, an irregular tract be! ^eon Tviaraton, Ditton, Lingwick, and Greyliurst, — • injvjcted as a township. Hereford, between Drayton and Auckland, east and west, and on the boundary line south of Clifton. The surface is uneven, and, approaching the Connecticut river, rather mountainous, yet the greater part of the land is tolerably good, and, ia general, applicable to agricultural purposes. It is well watered by the subsidiary streams of the Con- necticut, on which, to the south of the township, about 26 families are settled. It is well adapted for grazing, and some settlers on it keep 30 head of neat cattle, besides horses and sheep. The Here- ford mountain is in the north-west p^rt; there arc 2 King's highways through th^^ townsh'p, 4 bridges, the timber is various, and in jTen^^-iil good ; there are 2 schools, to a population r ' 160, 2 saw- mills, a corn do., and a pearl-ashery. Flax and herip grow luxuriantly, and there are above ii>,000 acres of land ungranted, iind unlocated. Lingwick, to the north-east of the unsurveyed townships of Stratford and Hampden, and south-west of Bury and Weedon, is similar, in the quality of the land, to the level district of Dudswell. It is watered by several streams that run into the St. Francis ; the west half has been surveyed and granted, but none of it as yet settled. , Marston, on the west side of the lake Megantic, and between Clinton and Hampden, is watered by f1 y m I' i , I V'' tl l^'t I 78 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. several streams and small lakes, besides the principal one in its front, near which are some g'ood meadows. The land, though irregular in surface, hilly, and in many places very stony, is mostly of a moderately good soil. One quarter of this township has been granted, but no part as yet settled. The scenery near the lake, from which the land rises gradually, clothed with rich verdure, and groups of stately trees, is described as enchantingly romantic. The water abounds v/ith fish, and the country is the resort of almost every species of game, Ungranted, about 44,000 acres. Melbourne, on the St. Francis, and between Durham and Brompton, is well timbered and watered and already contains several large settlements; there are some good roads in progress, and 7 bridges have been laid over the several streams. The land is described as of quite a superior quality ; a large extent of it is the property of the Honourable John Caldwell, which, though very valuable, is yet in a state of wilderness. Roads are projected through the pari along the St. Francis ; there are already several saw-mills at work in other parts, with pot and pearl asheries, and the population at survey was 526. Newport, between Eaton, Ditton, and Bury. The land is in many parts uneven in surface, but the general tendency of the soil is good, and even the swampy land is described as fit for culture. The North river runs nearly through the middle of this township, from the banks of which the land rises in LDWER CANADA. 79 a series of gentle swells to the north and south. Besides that river, there are numerous small streams running into it, and also into the Newport, which traverses the south-west angle. This and its oppo- site angle are hilly ; none of the rivers are navigable, and the roads that are as yet made through it ; are in a bad state. The timber on this township is of a good sort ; about 1000 acres of the land are already cleared ; the population in about 100, with acorn and a saw mill, a pot and a pearl ashery, and 15,000 acres still un granted. Slate has been obtained in this township in great abundance, and blacklead ore has also been found. Orford, on the Magog, between Ascot, Hatley, and Brompton, and near the village of Sherbrooke, is rough and mountainous in surface, and, though containing some good timber, is almost entirely unfit for tillage. It is well watered, but has no regular roads, although one is projected, which must be a thoroughfare. There is a high chain of mountains runs through this township. Still, from its situation, it has a population of 242, who raise some grain, and feed a large quantity of cattle. Shipton, between Melbourne, Windsor, and King- say. The land of this township is of a pretty uni- form and superior quality, being decidedly the best of all within the district. It is exceedingly well watered by a large branch of the Nicolet, as also by several rivulets flowing from the uplands into the St. Francis. Here the Nicolet is navigable for boats and scows I ■■*> fjt ■J! J' m tf . 80 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. hence to the St. Lawrence, and, with the St. Francis, now forms an excellent water-conveyance. The roads in this important township are not yet complete ; yet there are 2 villages, Richmond, and Interior, 1 Protestant church, 4 corn-mills, 2 carding, a fulling, 2 cloth, and 7 saw-mills, besides 3 tanneries, a hat manufactory, and more other indications of increasing industry and importance, than there is here space to enumerate. The population, last survey, was 917, while there were 1800 acres un granted. Stoke, on the east bank of the St. Francis, be- tween Windsor and Dudswell, is well watered ])y the streams meeting that river ; the wood good ; and though a few swamps, or wet lands occur, in some places the soil is of first-rate quality. There are several large extents of most luxuriant meadows on this as yet neglected township, on which there are no roads, and 7000 acres remain still ungranted. Stratford, between Winslaw, Garthby, and Ling- wick, projected. Weedon between Ham and Lingwick, only pro- jected, Westbury, a small, triangular-shaped township, containing little more than 12,000 acres, lies be- tween Stoke, Eaton, Dudswell, and Bury. The east side is rough, swampy, and inferior land, but to the west it is much better, and capable of tolerable fjroduction. Well watered, the population 56, with a corn and a saw mill. Whitton, between Adstock, Stratford, and Gay- hurst, projected only. .1 1 LOWER CANADA. 81 ICIS, ^ads ete; rior, ling, a hat ising ce to 917, Windsor, on the St. Francis, with "*^''otton in its rear, is a fine tract of land, the soil excellent and varied, so as to be fit for the cultivation of almost any- kind of produce. The best sorts of timber grow upon an undulating surface of land, which is inter- spersed by a few swamps, and the whole is sufficiently watered. But little of this excellent land, however, has yet been settled, no mention is made of anyroad ; the population is stated at 151, and there is 1 corn-mill. i 1, be- V the ; and some e are tvs on re are .ing- pro- iship, iS be- The )ut to trable with IGay- DISTRICT OF MONTREAL. The next great division of Lower Canada, lying' higher up the St. Lawrence, is the large district of Montreal, embracing the Island, Seigniory, and County of that name, and extending to a considerable distance on both sides of that river ; also border- ing the upper province on the Ottawa, in the angle between it and the former, as well as to an immense extent on its northern side. This district in its general character is low and level, especially the settled parts. There are, however, a few isolated mountains in the southern section of it ; and towards the province line which forms its southern boundary, it assumes a bolder outline, and is in some parts even mountainous, particularly in Hemmingford, Bolton, and the vicinity. On the northern side of the St. Lawrence, there is a ridge of mountains crossing the Ottawa at the Grand Calumet, and north of this 'fit i ^•! > I i! . ] 82 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ridge the country is more or less liilly and uneven, until it meets the Hudson's Bay territory. An excellent soil, in general ; a salubrious and temperate climate ; most favourable locality for the purposes of commerce, and numerous public roads traversing it in every direction, make this extensive tract of country most interesting as well to the settler as to the land speculator and commercial man. Like the other districts of Lower Canada which were at first settled by the French, its frontier parts next the chief rivers have been granted in seigniories, excepting along the Ottawa, on which a great num- ber of townships has been laid out for English settlers, which, as well as those in the rear of the seigniories, it shall be our business to describe as far as they have been surveyed. It need scarcely be added, that these townships are daily becoming more important from their local situation, as the country around becomes settled. The district is divided into 9 counties, which contain 70 seignio- ries, G fiefs, and 59 townships. The counties stand in alphabetical order thus : — Acadie. La Prairie. « Beauharnois. L'Assomption, Berthier. Chamblay. Lachenaye. Missisqui. Montreal. Ottawa* ^ Acadie county, in the ancient county of Hunt- ingdon, lying between the river Richelieu and the St. Lawrence, and bouinled on the seu^ by th# I I LOWKR CANADA. 83 [unt- the province line, contains only one township, vvitli two seigniories, and two islands in the river on which it 16. It is only 22 miles long, and 20 broad ; and the population, which is nearly 10,000, is about one-half Canadian, and the? 'other half consists of Americans, English, Irish, and Scotch. But our chief business is with the township of Sherrington, which is an irregular-shaped tract between Hemmingford and Chateauguay, on the river La Tortue, with which, and several smaller streams, it is conveniently watered ; the soil and timber much diversified, but almost the whole un- exceptionable as to quality, with the latter of which it is in general well covered. To the nortli- east there are many swamps, some of which are thickly grown with black ash, others with cedar. To the south-west, the land rises in many places into eminences, and the soil is various. The chief river is not navigable for boats, but rafts are brought down to the La Tortue mills. There are two roads, and about the 8th and 9th ranges is a small and thriving settlement of English families, besides a number of Canadians who are settled on it. A principal land- owner in this township, Mr. Langue- doc, has commenced the cultivation of hemp, and leBBCted a hemp-mill. Population, 3125. Beauharnoiif county, west of the former, and on the St, Lawrence at the boundary- line, with the river Chateauguay running through it, is a triangular section, Whoie efxtensife front^e to the 3t. I!!■ ^'l 96 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. floated to the Ottawa, — it is watered by eight or nine small lakes, near its rear, as also by the West River, which is navigable for six miles through it ; as well as by numerous small streams. On the first range, in par- ticular, the settlements along the public road are nu- merous and flourishing, as well as partly on the second range. Beyond the fourth, and up to the eighth range, (in which are situated several blocks of crown and clergy reserves,) it remains almost a total wilderness, thus precluding the few settlers in the rear from all communication directly with the great river in front. Besides the public road along the front, near the Ottawa, which is the main route from JMontreal to the upper townships, two other roads bend some dis- tance towards the rear, and one reaches as far as the twelfth range, which ends at Chute Mills. The in- habitants of this tract are English, Scotch, Irish, Americans, and a few Canadians, amounting in all to a population of 1073, who have two public schools, well attended. There is one village of twenty-one dwelling-houses, called Davisville ; and linen cloth is made in the township to some extent. There are 3 saw-mills, 2 stores in the village, 4 taverns, &c. In the rear of the neighbouring seigniory of Ar- genteuil, which separates it from the Ottawa, is a smaller tract, called Chatham Gore, the front portion of which only, to the extent of four ranges, haL been surveyed. This tract is distinguished by several beau- tiful lakes, which make the country round picturesque and romantic. These abound in fish, particularly ■♦ l:i I or nine River, well as in par- ire nu- second I range, vn and lerness, rom all n front, iar the I to the ne dis- asthe 'he in- Irish, in all jchools, Itv-one loth is re are c. of Ar- , is a lortion been beau- ■esque ularly LOWER CANADA. 97 ># ,1 ! lake Bouchelte, who waters arc remarkably clear, and afFord plenty of line sahnon-trout. The land is, in general, fit for cultivation, being a clayey, sandy loam, and for the growth of wheat and Indian com is not to be surpassed, notwithstanding tlie moun- tainous ciiaractcr of the surface and the intermixture of rock with tlie soil in some parts. The timber is chiefly mai)le and beech, with otlier varieties ; there are three middling roads leading into the seigniory in front, and the settlers, who have some good farms along tlie sides of the lakes, are all Irish, and of the church of England. The whole population is about 40o, having one church, a well attended school, with pot and pearl ash factories, tanneries, and other public erections. Grenville, with its augmentation, also on the Ottawa, and next higher up than Chatham, namely, to the west of it, and bounded in the rear by the waste lands of the crown, and La Petite Nation, is chiefly remarkable for its canal, which has been formed at great expense along the river to avoid the dangerous rapids of the Long Sault, the Carillon Rapids, and another, which, in front of this township, form one of the many interruptions to its navigation. The surface is in general mountainous, yet some of the lower hills afford good land for tillage, with many small valleys between, where the soil is excellent. In many parts the soil would produce hemp and flax, but it varies from the richest clay loam to the poorest fox-land. An extensive valley runs through the east H '; X 98 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.' it '• / J ! ' part of the augmentation, along the Beaver Meadow Creek and Rouge River, from which several other valleys diverge, which offer the best situations for settlers. Besides these rivers, with which, including the Kingham and the Calumet, the township is well watered, there are many lakes which are well stored with trout. On the Calumet is abundance of superior limestone, as also a black-lead mine, which has partly been worked. The timber in these valleys is elm, maple, birch, tamarisk, with some cedar, ash, pine, and hemlock, and the soil is chiefly argillaceous, and mixed occasionally with a siliceous rock. The roads are in various directions up to about the seventh range, and of as various goodness. The best settle- ments -He on the eastern section , and the whole town- ship seems peculiarly adapted for the breeding of cattle from the manner those already introduced have thriven. There are 970 acres under cultivation, and 100 of pasture. There is a military establishment on the canal, which chiefly consists of the staff" corps, and there is a village with 50 inhabitants, and a school with 40 scholars on the second range. The whole population, including the augmentation, is 1875, who have 3 saw-mills, 3 pot-asheries, 1 corn- mill, I pottery, &c. &c. Harrington, lying in the rear of the above, only- projected. Howard, in the rear of Wentworth, and only projected. Wentworth, just in the rear of Chatham, is ge« 4 d K 'I i| LOWER CANADA. 99 only- only |» ge- nerally mountainous, and esteemed unfit for arable purposes, particularly in the rear of the three first ranges, where the land is of a tolerable quality, but as yet entirely unsettled. This township, however, produces excellent timber for naval purposes and in great abundance, and has the advantage of easy con- veyance for it by the North River, with which, with other streams and several small lakes, the whole ii watered. The last county in the Lower Province is that of Ottawa, stretching westward, and northward along the north bank of the grand river of that name, from the seigniory of La Petite Nation east, which joins it to the former county, up to the Temiscaming lake, and then bounded by the Hudson's Bay territory in the rear. Many townships are laid out along the grand river, which separates this county from the territory of Upper Canada, with which an imperfect commu- nication is formed by a line of bridges thrown across the rapids, between Hull on the one side, and By Town on the other; but none of these being sur- veyed higher up than Clarendon, we shall proceed to notice them as they stand in their order along the bank of the river from La Petite Nation northward. The first of these is — Buckingham, between the before-mentioned sei- gniory and Templeton above it ; is well watered in the surveyed parts, namely, up to the fifth range, by the river Au Lievre, and its streams running into the Ottawa in front. The major part of tiie first ran^ H 2 1 too TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES?. ,t 'i il ii is |5 •\ w on this and the other townships on the grand river is overflowed in the spring and fall by that great stream spreading considerably beyond its ordinary banks, which prevents buildings being erected near it, yet, by its copious irrigation of the soil at these seasons, leaves, when the waters recede, most whole- some and rich pasturage. From the river backwards to the fourth range, the surface of the land is low, and generally level, with several gentle slopes of fertile land, covered with large and well grown timber. Beyond this, north, the surface rises, and is often eteep and abrupt. There are several very eligible sites for villages in this township, particularly in two places near a basin, into which the river Au Lievre discharges its waters. But some lands granted by letters patent to the late Captain Robinson, as well as the crown reserves on the second range, being still unsettled, and left in a state of nature, consi- derably retard the general improvement of the town- ship. As far back, however, as 1827, Mr. Beglovv, a large proprietor, living on the spot, had cleared about 400 acres, and erected a saw-mill on the river. The roads are as yet bad ; the whole population is ^66; there are 2 saw and 1 corn mill, with a pottery, a pot-ashery, and a tavern. Templeton, next to the above, and bounded in the "rear by the partly surveyed township of Portland. Approaching the Ottawa the land is low, but the «oil is tolerably good, and in many parts backwards, mhkh rise from the front in fertile swells, it is of an iVi LOWER CANADA. 10> 1 river t great rdinary (1 near it these whole- kwards is low, pes of timber. i often eligible in two Lievre itecl by as well being consi- town- iow, leared river. ion is ith a exceedingly good quality. Norway white and yellow pine are abundant in the fore parts, besides spruce, cedar, bass wood, and balsam, and in the rear it is chiefly timbered by elm, birch, beech, maple, &c. Tho settlements made here are chiefly in the south-west quarter, along a road which has been opened by the commissioners in front of the township; but these are as yet few, the population being only 60, and the road is by no means in good order. It is, however, exceedingly well watered by several streams and long narrow ponds or lakes. There is one pot-ashery and a pearl do. Portland, in the rear of the above, is watered by the river Blanche, and, imperfectly surveyed, is re- ported to be momitainous and rocky. Hull, next on the Ottawa above Templeton, and owing its present prosperity to the exertions of the celebrated Philemon Wright and his associates^ extends 16 ranges in depth, and contains 82,429 acres. Of this large tract Mr. Wright, in 1806, obtained a grant by letters-patent of 12,000 acres, of which, between 5000 and 6000 are now under culti- vation ; and to this enterprising American and his family, in reward for his great industry and manage- ment, there have also been granted 5000 acres in the neighbouring township of Templeton, besides nearly as much in Lochaber, so that his property and power are immense in this part of the country. As this township has been more particularly inspected than any of the others on the Ottawa, and as its characr v%. ^ <¥• i i; H •1r % \ii 102 TOPO&RAPHICAL SKETCHES. '■i i i i . f '- , 1 V ! teristics are more or less that of those aboye and below it, a more particular description, at least of what remains to be granted and located of it, is deemed of importance. The front of this township, says Bouchette, is, generally, a plain, undulated by gradual swells as far back as the liighlands in the sixth range, which traverse it in a curvilinear direction almost parallel with the Ottawa. Beyond these, the surface rise s into more fre- quent and abrupt slopes, though by no means unfit for tillage, and becomes a rich grazing country. The general features of Hull are mountainous, and about its centre there runs a range of hills from east to west, the highest of which rises to 900 feet above the level of the river. The excellence of the timber growing upon this hilly land, and the slopes descending behind the range as well as towards the front, shows, how- ever, the richness of the soil, and the swamps are said to be but few and of small extent. The oak growing here, of which there are 4 species, is fit for naval purposes, and of the pine, of which there are Hot less than 10 species, much is of large dimen- sions. Of the birch, there are 5 sorts ; the maple, 6 ; the beech, 2 ; the ash, 2 ; the elm, 2 ; the cherry, 3 ; and the willow, 6 ; making in all, even as far as has been yet observed, 42 species of forest trees and shrubs. An iron bed, o^ great richness, has also been discovered here, but has not yet been opened. There is also a lead mine on the Gatineau River, from which the Indians have brought down quantities of ore, but LOWER CANADA. 103 owing to the reluctance of these aborigines to speak of discoveries of this nature, its site has not been pub- licly ascertained. In this township, as well as along the Ottawa above it, there is abundance of the finest marble, which is chiefly on the Gatineau river ; and upon it, there is also the best sort of limestone, besides granite, tliat is found among the ranges of rocks in the interior. These particulars are given briefly, in order to indicate what is likely to be found also in the neighbouring townships, when as well known as this is. The whole is well watered by the above river and by numerous lakes, which are found in the chain of highlands in the interior, some of which lakes are extremely beautiful, and abound with trout. Mr. Wright* has, at great expense and labour, opened several roads both towards the interior and for the facility of communication along the shores of the river through the lower townships to Montreal, from which Hull is distant 120 miles. There is also the village of Wright, pleasantly situated on the south-east angle of the township, which contains a handsome church, with a steeple 120 feet high, a comfortable hotel, and several other public edifices. The population, which is rapidly increasing, consisted, originally, almost entirely of Americans, and in 1828 amoi nted to 1 066. There are 3 schools, 2 tanneries. * For a further account of the proceedings of this enter- prising individual; see Appendix. it 104 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ^■1 ;: V 'i !■■ I 1 I? < ' It 1 t- ' 12 lime-kilns, 2 brick-kilns, 4 saw-mills, 2 distilleries, and other manufactories to correspond ; and the lands still ungrante(' nrd unlocated amount to 21,250 acres. Eardly, next higher up the Ottawa, or rather on the lake Chaudiere, formed by it in this place, is indented, in its frontage, by two large bays of the lake, into which two small rivers discharge their streams, with others of inferior size, plentifully water- ing the front ranges of the township. It contains also sonie small lakes in the interior, but no con- siderable rivers, and being but thinly settled, even in front, has no regular roads. Hilly ground com- mences along the sixth range, from which, to the margin of the lake, the country is, in general, level, or rises into rich and gradual swells of excellent land. Large tracts of fine land are yet ungranted in this township, which, says Bouchette, * if placed under the superintendence of an active agent, may, in time, become a settlement of interest and conse- quence.* By the last report of the population, it only amounts to 156 persons, which are chiefly from the neighbourh«g prosperous township of Hull. There is 1 school, and 19,590 acres of land still ungranted. . Onslow, higher up the Ottawa, or, rather, the lake Chaudiere, which is an expansion of that river, is re- markably rocky and uneven in surface, with little land that is likely to tempt the settler. It is well watered, but there are no roads, and only 31 persons settled on it, with 1 imw-mill. Bristol, next above the former, is but little settled, (I K !ir liH ■' : LOWER CANADA, 105 j and ^ardly known, nor has it any roads. Popu- lation, 33. Clarf.ndon is the next, and 150 miles from Mcn- treal. It is the last township up the Ottawa that is partly settled, having 98 souls upon it, with a eorn- mill, a saw-mill, and a pot-ashery. It is descrihed aa very well watered hut little more is known concern- ing this remote township. it would not he doing justice to a district of country that seems destined, at no distant period, to hecomc most important, were we to close this hrief account of these partially known townshij)s without some notice of the interesting river Gatineau, which, rising in some large lakes far in the interior, traverses Hul) as before-mentioned, and falls into the Ottawa about lialf a mile farther down, namely, in the western front of the township of Templeton. This wide, and, in the upper parts, rapid river, is navigable for steam- boats nearly 3 miles from its mouth, and above that, becoming rapid for about 15 miles, and turning seve- ral mills, thence is navigable for canoes, &c., to a distance, it is said, of 300 miles, traversing an immense and interesting vale, full of natural riches, and abounding in views of the wildest and most ro- mantic scenery. Mr. M*Taggart, civil engineer in the British service, having explored a considerable portion of this remarkable vale, speaks in the highest terms of its general capabilities ; and in his zeal to see it cleared and made use of, makes a curious suggestion, viz., that I . \\ . '! I ■ w . ' 1>I t ir t' i ' ■ Itl ■ ! ! 'i i I 106 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. our Govet.iment should, for a time, transport the con- victs thither for tiiat purpose, ohscrving, that here they would he quite apart from ' ^t of the inhahitants of the colony, and, if placed lUgn enough on the river, it would, on account of the intervening woods, he per- fectly impossible for them to escape. * It embraces/ says he, ' an area of 25,000 square miles, perfectly distinct from all lands of location, ranging between the 46° and 48° of north latitude, and may average about 300 feet above the level of the ocean. It is covered with a dense wilderness of trees, generally of the hard wood kind, oak, beech, maple, butter-nut, &c., which are of the very best quality. The snow falls in the beginning of December, and generally vanishes with the month of March It is subject to two floods in the spring, like the Ottawa.' Speaking of his convicts, he adds, * As the local situation also is excellent with regard to Upper and Lower Canada and the interior, it might become a place of great im- portance and utility to the mother country*;' and Bouchette speaks of it as a most promising quarter for the cultivation of that important article of British commerce — hemp and flax. ' Our ignorance of this river,' adds the latter author, ' is partly explained by the common report of its course ; because, for up- wards of 100 miles before it joins the Ottawa, it flows parallr^ with, and but at a short distance from it, so that no Indian traders have found it worth their while to make establishments on it. This river has * M'Taggart's Three Years iu Canada, vol. ii. p. 262. LOWER CANADA. 107 t the con- here they ibitants of e river, it 3, be per- mbraces/ perfectly between average m. It is lerally of jtter-nut, 'he snow generally ibject to Jpeaking tion also Canada reat inl- and quarter British of this ined by for up- twa, it from their ^r has * been wholly unfrequented by the lumber- dealer, on account of the great rapids and falls near its mouth, at one spot said to be 100 feet j)erpendicular. It is supposed that the Gatineau will present one of the finest pieces of river navigation in Canada after passing the heights near its mouth. The variety of minerals known to lie on tlie banks of this river renders it an object of still higher interest *.* As for the upper northern banks of the Ottawa, belonging to this province, but not yet surveyed, the goodness of the land and their prospective importance may be inferred from the fact of their being the chief resort of the winter lumberers, who cut down from thence and float down the rivers those enormous piles of fine timber which make so great a branch of Canadian commerce with the mother country. * Bouchette's British Dominions in North America — ^Topo- graphical Dictionary, article Gatineau. lip n • FA?- i, hi I, ; I ' ♦III ill; jlii 1. Hi •i : ! .i , ill GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. PAliT II. UPPER CANADA. The reasons wliy wo liavo hccn so iiiinuto in our topographical notices of Lower Canada, are, first, becaus » it bcin<^ far a ihieker peopled country than the Upper Province, and its coiisequcnt increasing importance causinf^ it to be bettiT surveyed, we are more amply furnished with the means ; second, because the closer a productive country is settled, the more valuable in general becomes its land, the more interestini^ of course is all information con- cerning it, and the more numerous its advantages to the local improver ; and third, because, by the pro- posed formation of a pul)]ic association in England, namely, the British American Land Company, the best lands of its numerous townships are likely soon to be taken up, for the purpose of their disposal under favourable terms to individuals for the encou- ragement of well-regulated emigration, and tlie facilitating of local improvement in that quarter. The Upper Province, however, though a younger colony, more remote from the coast, less settled as yet, and far less improved generally, — possessing, however, a rich soil and a fine climate, and many ■ 1^ 110 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. . 1 1 1 ;■, ■ ? *' ., i It 'i- '* ' ' ' '1 II ■■ ", ! 1. : J: Vl r •I ready advantages particularly to the poor industrious man, — besides being at present the favourite spot for common emigrants — we shall give some general sketch of its geographical position, as well as such particulars of its soil and local advantages as the docu- ments we are in possession of enable us to do, so far as these would seem to be of interest to the intelligent inquirer. In running the finger along the map, the first thing that strikes the inspector, in reference to Upper Canada, is its great extent of water frontier ; first, at its commencement along the northern side of the St. Lawrence, and betwixt it and the Ottawa; second, along the same side of lake Ontario, namely, for 230 miles ; third, along lake Erie for 350 miles more ; and, fourth, northerly along lake Huron, &c., and then easterly in the rear, for a distance that cannot be easily named. The reader knows that the grand river Ottawa, with the Nipissing lake, the French river, and a great limb of the lake Huron, bounds it to the north; and that internal to these there are various other smaller but important lakes, as lake Simcoe, Balsam lake. Trout lake. Rice lake, Rideau lake, and a number of others already known and named ; besides, no doubt, many others lying 'm that vast unexplored tract, which stretches north from lake Simcoe, and the chain of lakes east of it, to tlie banks of the Ottawa, and the Nepissing lake far to the north. Upper Canada is generally a level country, with UPPER CANADA. Ill industrious ite spot for le general ell as such s the docu- 5 to do, so 3 St to the , the first ference to r frontier; jrn side of 3 Ottawa; 3, namely, 350 miles uron, &c., ance that that the ake, the Huron, to these nt lakes, ce lake, y known lying in north of it, to lake far y, with !S a remarkably rich soil, and well watered by nu- merous rivers, yet is not entirely without occa- sional ridges or ranges of elevated or table-land, none of which, however, at all deserve the name of mountains. The first of these is a ridge of this description, which, commencing about the boundary line that separates this from the Lower Province, and running westerly between the St, Lawrence and the Ottawa, traverses the townships in the rear of Osnabruck, Williamsbury, and Matilda, in which last township the river Petite Nation takes its source, at the distance of 5 miles only from the St. Law- rence ; thence dividing the source of one of the great branches of the Rideau at about ten miles dis- tance from the former river, it becomes at length, after traversing the townships of Bustard and Crosby, lost in level at no great distance farther inland. Several other low ridges traverse the country, mostly westerly, as if they were a continuation of the above, and become the head of numerous streams, until arriving at the northern borders of the Balsam lake, where the chief of them assumes a higher elevation than usual, they again stretch towards lake Simcoe, and help to diversify the general monotony of the face of the country. There is another ridge of elevated land, which beginning at that arm of the sea called the bay of Quinte, extends westerly along the shores of lake Ontario, approaching that lake in some places, as U ■1 < .■■■ l>' ;!ll 1! If ! tf' ■; 112 topoghafhical skp:tches. i'" i '■:'. I a i 11,^ :4 in the townsliip of Hamilton, at a distance of not more than nine miles. This rifl '. ■", r 114 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. •■i' ! k I '1; - '■ li ' 1. 1 ,1 1 j; r -J y • T -' '' ; ; ^ irl -^m . r I; ance of either the streets or buildings. The opening of the Rideau Canal here, which with the intermediate lakes forms a junction between the Ontario and other lakes above, the St. Lawrence below, and the Ottawa opposite to Hull in its rear, with all the intervening districts and townships, will immensely increase the importance of this place ; and its convenient hotels already afford comfortable accommodation to the host of travellers, that are continually passing between the upper and lower provinces, as well as to and from the states on the opposite side of the river. Appended to this important place, and at successive points on the St. Lawrence, as the traveller proceeds from the Lower Province, are the several towns of Cornwall, Johnstown, Prescot, Elizabeth Town, and Brockville, besides a continuance of small villages on the same thoroughfare road along the river. Of these towns, Cornwall and Johnstown, standing close to the river, contains each nearly 100 houses, built of wood, with a church, court-house, &c. Prescot, now called Fort Wellington, is important as being the chief stage between this port and Montreal, from which it is distant 130 miles, and between which coaches run every day, except Sundays. From the position of this place, however, as at the head of the Montreal boat-navigation, and at the foot of the sloop and steam navigation from the lakes, it must soon in- crease in extent, as it will rise in importance. The next place uf expected importance in this near end of the province, is the inland town of Perth, tl I \ l< til.fJI.I.Iri, UPPER CANADA. n$ ' i pleasantly situated in the district of Bathurst, and township of Drummond, on a small branch of the Rideau, called the Tay river, and occupying a position nearly central between the St. Lawrence to the south, and the Ottawa behind. This village was founded in 1815, by British emigrants, chiefly from Scotland, many of whom are now we are told at the head of excellent farms, possess comfortable habitations, and reap the fruits of their perseverance and industry. Near the centre of the town is a hill, on which a court-house, a jail, and two churches, have been erected. The streets are sixty-six feet wide ; the town contains between one and two hundred buildings, some of them finished in an elegant and commodious manner, and the whole population may be about 400 souls. Tlie relative situation of this place with the surrounding country, and the Rideau canal in its neighbourhood, with its other advantages, as com- municating by tolerably good roads, with By-Town on the Ottawa to the north, and Kingston on the St, Lawrence to the south, besides its being placed in the midst of a fertile country, all give good promise of its future prosperity and importance. By-Town before-mentioned, situated on the south- em bank of the Ottawa, a little below the Chau- diere falls, and opposite to the flourishing village of Hull in Lower Canada, stands upon a bold eminence, surrounding a bay of the grand river, and occupies both banks of the canal, which here meets it. Laid out in the usual manner with wide streets crossing at right l2 FT'- III' '•[in''! 'I!'; Ill P" 1/ 1 ■■ i'iiri •I I 116 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. angles, the number of houses are already about 150, most of which are of wood, and many built with much taste. Three stone barracks, and a large and commo- dious hospital, built also of stone, stand conspicuous on the elevated banks of the bay ; and the elegant residence of Colonel By, the commanding royal en- gineer on that station, delightfully situated on the same elevation, commands a prospect over the river, and its falls, and rapids, that is scarcely to be equalled among the variety of the Canadas. >i ! -i > to :■. \i EASTERN SECTION. The first, or eastern section of the Upper Province, in which all these towns are situated, consists of the whole of that tract, or tongue of land lying between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, and bounded above, that is on the west, by the next higher district called Newcastle, includes five districts, — viz. the Eastern, the Ottawa, the Johnstown, the Bathurst, and the Midland. The whole of this section presents almost unexcep- tionably a table level, of moderate elevation, with a very gentle depression as it approaches the different streams •with which it is bounded and intersected. The soil is in general rich and fertile, though with a consider- able mixture of moist and marshy spots, and consists chiefly of a brown clay and yellow loam. In the upper part, along the shores of the Ontario, and about the bay of Quints, it is still more clayey, and rests I I UPPER CANADA. iir upon a substratum of bluish limestone, which some- times penetrates through the soil above the surface. The timber in the forests is large and lofty, the trees chiefly consisting of white pine, white and red oak, m.aple, beech, birch, hickory, basswood, ironwood, butternut, and poplar, with a lesser quantity of ash, elm, and cedar. Along the banks of the St. Lawrence and upwards, as well as on the Ottawa in the rear, the land is well, if not thickly settled, the most -populous being of course along the former from point Au Baudet to the head of the bay of Quinte. The particulars of the nature and quality of soil in the several townships, with the advantages or disadvan- tages of situation, we are enabled to give from esti- mates made according to directions of the provincial government, at the quarter sessions, by the magistrates assembled. Perhaps few national documents are more deserving of attention, for although it may be said that they are founded on opinion, it is the opinion of the most intelligent body of men in the country. They exhibit also an estimate of value, but circumstances liave so changed in the province since, that it would no longer be of any use to quote the prices. EASTERN DISTRICT. The first of these is the eastern district, com- mencing at the boundary line of the province at the east, and running along the north bank of the St. Lawrence, until it meets the next district of Johns- :' ^'i! '•'ii HI' 1 \ . m. I, • \ .• J! M^ 1 i:^ . 1 ill" I' 1 1, ,■ -" ;|. ft i *■ I' '! !■ :|i ■j ■J ■ ■ \* ■ IL'* 118 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. town, above the township of Matilda. It is divided into twelve townships in two ranges, whose advan- tages and disadvantages are described as follows, be- ginning with — Lancaster, being the first next the boundary line, and fronting the St. Lawrence. Soil. — Clay and loam : generally low land, but productive. Advan- tages, — Saw and grist mills. Dundas Street passes through it. LocHiEL, in the rear of the former. Soil. — Rear part of this township rich ; front part, low land and stony. Advantages. — Watered by the river de Lisle, and river de Grass. Grist and saw mills. Charlotte NBURGH, next higher up than Lancas" ter, and also fronting the St. Lawrence. Soil. — Much the same as Cornwall. Advantages. — Well watered ; several grist and saw mills. Dundas Street passes through it. Kenyon, in the rear of the former. Soil. — Loam and clay ; fine soil. Advantages. — ^Well watered, but few mill-sites, not valuable, Cornwall, next higher up the St. Lawrence than Charlottenburg. Soil. — Red loam, clay, and stony. Advantages. — Dixon's, Chisholm's, Cline's, Fraser's, and Link's mills, different branches of the river Aux Raisins. Dundas Street runs through the centre of this township. RoxBORouGH, in the rear of the above. 5oz7.— Generally black loam and clay ; some part to the west is stony. Advantages. — Watered by the north branch of the river Aux Raisins, and several creeks. I Is >' UPPER CANADA. 119 OsNABRUCK, the next higher on the St. Lawrence. Soil. — Front part sandy ; in the rear a good soil of loam and clay. Advantages. — Watered in front by the St. Lawrence, river Aux Raisins ; Hoople's creek has Crysler's mill, and Louck's mill. FiNcn, at the rear of Osnabruck. Soil. — Good; the front part black loam ; the rear sandy. Advan~ iages. — A branch of the Petite Nation river runs through it. Several mill-sites. Williamsburg H, next above Osnabruck on the St. Lawrence. Soil. — Much the same ; some parts stony. Advantages. — Watered in the interior by creeks. Grist and saw-mills. Winchester, at the rear of Williamsburgh. Soil, —Loam mixed with sand. Advantages. — Petite Nation river, and branch of the Castor river runs through it. One mill-site. Matilda, above Williamsburgh on the St. Law- rence. Soil. — Black loam, clay, and sand; gene- rally productive. Advantages. — Watered by the St. Lawrence in front ; one branch of the river Petite Nation runs through the rear of it. Two grist-mills on the St. Lawrence. Mountain, in the rear of Matilda. Soil. — Mixed loam and clay. Advantages. — Branches of the Petite Nation river runs through it. One saw-mill. To these particulars we are enabled also by the kindness of Mr. Gait, to add the following original Ul n Hi ■'ij ■m ici'' 1 1 1: i:* k' ^U ir I .u ■"^IV. •' Hi i; 'N' i i iliii 120 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. REPORT on the. Townships of the Eastern Dis- trict, by Duncan M'Dovvell, Esq., Deputy' Surveyor of the Province. Sir, Glengarry, ilth September, 1827. In the eastern Ottawa, Johnstown, and Rathurst •ilistricts, lands have frequently been sold for from 155. to 20s. per acre, ami some particular lots from 22s. to 25.9. per acre ; sales at that price were more common from the year 1814 to 1820; those were times that cash was in greater ciiculation ; the price of land greatly depended on the state of settlement, mills, roads, &c., in tlie townships in which the lands were situated. Since that period money became scarce and the sale of land not so frequent, and the average price since, is generally from 12.s'. 6d. to 15s. per acre : individuals who v/ere in distress had to sell their lands for what they could get, and the price of that class of people was from 5s. to 7s. Qd. per acre, and it is by that description of persons that the greater quantity of lands were sold, as they did not sell their lands for what they were worth, but for what they could get. I shall mention in this report the situation and state of the Canada Company's lots in the eastern districts, with such other information as I think may be inte- resting to you for the information of the Company, and shall, without delay, send you a similar one of the Ottawa, Johnstown, and Bathurst districts, in case that they may prove more satisfactory than those I formerly sent you. ft': i * s UPPER CANADA. 121 Township of Lancaster is well settled, and the lands generally good; the lots belonging to the Com- pany, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the 9th concession, arc rather of an indifferent quality ; the soil is very light and sandy ; they are in the vicinity of a settlement convenient to mills and a road leading to them. This township fronts the river St. Lawrence, the river Bo- datte, and river Delisle, and a number of other smaller streams rmi through it ; the river Delisle passes within a mile of the Company's lands. I am of opinion that from 9.?. to 10s. per acre would be a fair price for lands in that tract, and that more from its local situation than the quality of the land : those lots are occupied by squatters, with the exception of No. 5 ; Samuel M'Dowell occupies No. 6 ; Malcolm M'Niel occupied and made improvements on No. 4, but left it lately; Alexander M'Dowell occupies Nos. 2 and 3 : no timber fit for market was taken off those lots, and I believe that no timber fit for that purpose grew on tliem. Few sales, of late years, have taken place of uncleared land in Lancaster ; there are but very few lots in it without a settler on it ; but during the period above stated such lots as were sold, and were good, sold generally from L5s. to 20s. per acre. The principal road through the province, called Dundas Street, goes through the interior of this township. Township of Lochiel is well settled, the lands ge- nerally good; the lots belonging to the Company are mostly such as were rejected by the discharged soldiers 'I I'f im ' h' 122 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Jl ';» ' 1 i » If (; I .'I i ^ •I : '1 1 "' ivl' and emigrants who settled on the Crown reserves under the superintendence of the Quarter- Master- General ; but some of those lots are good land for Canadians, who, by their mode of clearing, make the 8wamj)y lands the best for tillage ; the river La Grass, and several small streams which empty into it, runs through it, and the river Delisle crosses the south-west corner. On those rivers there are grist and saw mills ; the road leading from Cornwall to the Ottowa in Hawkesbury passes through it, and several roads are cut across and lengthways through this township which are convenient to the Company's lots. A number of the lots marked as belonging to the Company have been granted to emigrants and dis- charged soldiers by the Quarter-Master-Generars de- partment ; the following are the lots granted : — 2d concession, north half, No. 6, granted to Duncan M'Tavish. whole of No. 1 1, granted to Lt. Angus M'Dowell. south half No. 13, graniul to Allan M'Dowell. 3rd ditto, north do. No. 11, granted to John M'Dowell, pri- vate, G. Rtgt. 4tli ditto, south do. No. 7, granted to John M'Caig, No. 17, S.:^. 9th ditto, do. do. No. 2, granted to Donald Lothian. do, ditto, do. do. No. 4, granted to M'Tavish. whole of No. 8, granted to Duncan M'Pherson, and widow M'Intyre. No. 10, granted to Peter M-Dougall. No. 14, granted to M'Intosh and Ca- meron. No. 16, squatted upon by James Dayly, who sold his improvements to Thomas M' Donald for 1 reserves r- Master- land for ng, make river La upty into osscs the are grist va.ll to the id several )ugh this my's lots. g to the and dis- eral's de- l:— Tavish. VI'Dowell. )owelI, owcll, pri- 'aig, No. hian. Tavish, Pherson, % ^» )ugall. and Ca- s Dayly, aid for VPPKR CANADA* 123 £\b, wlio is now in the possession of it. No. 38, granted to M*Gillivray ; this lot only contains 100 acres, although reckoned 140 acres in the Company's book ; from 1 bs. to 20.s. has often been given per acre for lands in this township. Mr. M'Dowell, of Point Fortune, sold 2000 acres at 20.». per acre, bearing interest until jiaid, besides several others who sold lands at the above stated price. I believe no timber has been taken by lumber-men from the Company's lands in Lochiel since sold to the Company. Township of Roxborough. A great portion of this township are clergy reserves, and some of it granted to New England loyalists. Part of the front conces- sions are very partially settled. In this settlement there is a grist and saw mill. The north branch of the river Aux Raisins, and a branch of the river Petite Nation, called the Pean, rises in Roxborough ; a great part of it is s^^ampy. The 9th concession, which belongs to the Canada Company, is generally good ; the road from Cornwall to the settlement on the Petite Nation in Plantagenet passes by the east side of that concession ; its local situation is favourable, as the intercourse of the settlers that may be there will je by the Petite Nation down the Ottawa to Montreal. So much of the Company's lands being in a block will be an induce- ment to people to purchase, as in such a tract a com- pact settlement may be formed. With the exception of the streams already mentioned, there are but very few streams in this township ; it is poorly watered ; and it is a matter of course, where there are so few settlers, • J ¥ K III: Hi ■bllil.f I. ■■ 4 ,;■» i! i ■! ;il 1 M *'' 124 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. that little has been clone to roads. I think that about ] Os. per acre is a fair price for lands in this concession. I have heard of no sales of any consequence in this township. Some elms were taken off the Crown reserves before they were sold to the Company. Township of Finch, generally, is excellent land, thinly settled ; a great part of it was granted to the sons and daughters of New England loyalists, which fell into the hands of speculators, a circumstance that operates much against the settlement of this township. The river Petite Nation runs through it cvossways, and a branch of it lengthways called the Pean river ; little has been done to roads, and the settlers suffer much inconveniency in that respect. Mr. Crysler built an excellent mill, with a number of saws in it, on the Nation, near the rear and centre of the township, and is also to build a grist-mill in the same place, which will be a great benefit to this part of the country, and encourage settlement in this as well as in the neighbouring townships. No lands of any consequence have been sold in Finch, except what Mr. Crysler bought from the descendants of New England loyalists, which he bought for a mere trifle ; he values those lands from 15.v. to 25*. per acre. The greater part of the oak as well as the pine, upon the Crown reserves, fit for market, has been taken ofl' the Crown reserves, before they were sold to the Company, by lumber-men : the soil on which white oak grows is generally deep black soil, with a clayey bottom, which is reckoned the best of land, and the N UPPER CANADA. 125 that about concession, ce in this he Crown pany. llent land, ted to the ists, which Jtance that township. :vossways, an river; ers suffer r. Crysler 's in it, on township, le place, of the well as of any 3t what of New •e trifle ; r acre, le, upon taken to the h white clayey nd the Ik i- latter timber grows on light sandy soil. Good lands in this township, in my opinion, even in these hard times, are worth from 10s. to 125. per acre. North half, lot 23, in the 3rd concession, which is marked as be- longing to the Company, has been granted to Hugh M'Phee by the Quarter-Master- General's department. Township of Winchester is generally good land ; some parts of it swampy, but good Canadian land, or such land as Canadians reckon good : large grants were made to individuals, and the remainder to the descendants of New England loyalists, which they generally sold for a trifle to speculators. Winchester is very thinly settled, only 11 or 12 settlers in it, who labour under great difficulties for want of roads, and are a great distance from a grist-mill. Telaboch's saw-mill is in the south-east corner of this township ; Mr. Mackel is building, or is about building, a grist- mill on lot No. 18, in the 3rd concession, on the Nation, which, when in operation, and Mr. Crysler's^ grist-mill on the Nation in Finch, will very greatly benefit the settlement of Winchester, and increase the value of property in this as well as in the adjoining townships. The Nation in winter answers the purpose of a good road, as well as a navigation in summer ; and as the time very probably is not far distant when there will be a canal between the head of the Galloup rapids in Edwardsburgh, seven miles below Prescott, and the south branch of the Petite Nation in Mountain, when that important communication takes place, it will benefit the townships along the Nation in that. t" 1 \ m i;i«r lA t \-:'-f, •i.'L lilt Hi m If A i i 126 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. direction, in many instances at present not thought of. Notwithstanding the inconveniences that the settlers have at present to encounter, still from the good quality of the land generally in Winchester, and its local situation, and the great advantages to be derived from such a river as the Petite Nation running through it, I am of opinion, even now, good lands in it are worth from 10s. to 12s. per acre. Almost all the oak and pine timber fit for market has been taken off the Crown reserves, long before they were sold to the Canada Company, by lumber-men, who destroyed all the corner posts jf lots for fear of being detected in plundering, by which means a great many of the Company's lots cannot be ascertained. Few sales of lands have taken place in this township : the heirs of the late Richard Duncan, Esq., and the heirs of the late Hon» Thomas Fraser, own a great part of it ; the heirs of the former sold several lots for 10?, per acre, and the latter value theirs at 20s. per acre. Fousaint Saint and Robert Gray, squatters, occupy lot No. 11 in the 3rd concession. Township of Mountain generally is excellent land: great tracts were granted to individuals, and the re- mainder to the descendants of the New England loyalists. In the front of this township, along the Nation river, is a fine thriving settlement ; tolerably good roads for so new a country. On lot No. 18, in the 3rd concession, there is a good saw-mill on a stream which empties into the Nation. A number of the Company's lots are in the vicinity of this mill. I ;! A ( -A UPPER CANADA. 127 thought of. he settlers the good r, and its be derived g through in it are >st all the taken off old to the troyed all itected in y of the V sales of ; heirs of 's of the fit; the per acre, Fousaint No. 11 ntland: . the re- ngland ng the lerably . 18, in II on a aber of mill. There is a grist-mill convenient to this settlement in Edwardsburgh ; the oak timber fit for market has long since been taken away by lumber-men. The heirs of the late Colonel Thomas Fraser own a great deal of lands in Mountain, who sold a few lots for 20s. per acre, and value the rest at the same price : as the lands in this township are owned by persons who are independent, and others who are needy, the former sell their lands for what they think they are worth, and the latter for what they can get. From the future benefit to be expected from such a river as the Nation running through it by the contemplated im- provement of its navigation, and by having a water communication between the St. j^awrence and the Nation in Mountain, 1 am of opinion that lands in this township are well worth from lOs. to 12s. 6d. per acre even in these hard times. David Frelie, a squatter, occupies lot No. 21 in the 1st concession. Township of Williamsburgh, fronting the river St. Lawrence, is well settled by such loyalists who served during the first American war with the United States. Along the river the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th concessions, very few settlers ; 5th concession is well settled ; the 6th, 7th, and 8th concessions, are partially settled ; the lands in this township are generally good ; the block, owned by the Company, in the latter concession, is good, and within 2^ miles of the Petite Nation in Winchester, and near Telaboch's saw-mill, in the 2nd concession, which is on a small stream which enters into the Nation, on lot No. 18 ; and when Mackel's jl'lll 4' I : mi m *" . [it 128 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. grist-mill is built on lot No. 18, in tlie 3rd conces- sion of Winchester, on the Nation, and Mr. Crysler's grist-mill is built on the Nation in Finch, whoever settles in that block will not suffer much incon- veniency in that respect. And a great inducement to purchasers to buy lands from the Company, where the Company have several lots together, is, that a compact settlement can be immediately formed, and the settlers assist each other, and will, by that means, sooner have the advantage of better roads. The local situation of this block is good, it being so very con- venient, and so near to the Petite Nation, and also within 9 miles of the St. Lawrence. I am of opinion that 125. per acre would be reasonable for lands in this block. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your obedient Servant, Duncan M'Dowell, Greenfield. OTTAWA DISTRICT. Th 3 Ottawa District is exactly in the rear of the former, and having its north front on the Ottawa, is hid out into eleven townships, which are described to the Quarter Sessions as follows, beginning with Hawkesbury East, and Gore ; the first west from the boundary line, and fronting the Ottawa. Soil — rough, stony, and gravelly. Advantages, — Fronts on the Ottawa. Hawkesbury West, next to the above, and on ■i1 •.til UPPER CANADA. 129( fd conces- Crysler's , whoever h incon- cement to ly, where is, that a rmed, and at means, The local very con- , and also >f opinion lands in ant, 'Ji/ield. ; rear of Ottawa, lescribed y with rst west Ottawa. tages, — and on tlie Ottawa. Soil, stony and gravelly. Advantages. — Well situated, and pretty well settled. Caledonia, in the rear of the above. Soil. — One quarter of this township consists of good land ; the rest is low and marshy. Disadvantageously situated. Alfred, next higher up the Ottawa. Soil — Poor ; alternate sand and clay. Advantages. — Fronts on the Ottawa. Plantagenet, still higher up, fronting the river. Soil. — Sandy, with some clayey land. Advantages. — Fronts on the Ottawa, and is well situated, having the river Petite Nation running through it. Clarence, next westward, on the Ottawa. — Soil. — Light, sandy. Advantages. — Fronts on the Ottawa river, and has 2 small mill- sites, Cambridge, a rear township behind Clarence.. Soil. — Very light, sandy. Advantages. — Very well watered, Cumberland, above Clarence, on the river. Soil. — Light or sandy. Advantages. — Well watered^ and has 2 saw-mills. RussEL, in the rear of the above. Soil. — Lights sandy. Advantages. — Well watered, and has good mill-sites. Gloucester, on the Ottawa, and next above Cumberland. Soil. — On the front of the Ottawa river, and in the rear of the township, the land is clayey ; on the front of the Hideau, the soil is gravelly. Advantages. This township has twa fronts, one on the Ottawa, and one on the Rideau, T' 130 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Hi iff •) , I,,: 'H (l SI St Vi »8 ;l I OsGOODE, in the rear of the above. Soil. — Rich, black, and gravelly. Advantages, — It fronts on the east side of the Rideau river. To the above we can append from the same source another. REPORT 0)1 the Townships in the Ottawa Dis- trict, by Duncan M'Dowell, Esq., Deputy-Sur- veyor to the Canada Company, Glengarry, 2lst September, 1827. Sir, The price of lands in the Ottawa district have been from 15s. to 20s. per acre, in townships tolerably well settled, and some lots have even been sold from 22s, Qd., to 25s. per acre, but these were choice lots, and in particular situations, possess- ing local advantages. Cash has always been in greater circulation in this district; the people, generally, are industrious and enterprising — they are a mixed population, composed of Americans, Scotch, Irish, and Canadians : the former shew the others a good example in clearing their lands ; the latter description of people, who, by their industry and perseverance, get on as well as the Americans, are much more economical in their way of living, and lay up what the others would lay out in luxuries. The farmers in this district had always the advantage of a good market at their doors for every article of produce, by the lumber-men, and those at work at the Gren*» .i" V. UPPER CANADA. 131 —Rich, on the 3 source A DlS- ly-Sur- 827. district mships n been these )ssess^ greater erally, mixed Irish, good ption ance, more what prs in good iuce. ville Canal, on the other side of the Ottawa, oppo- site to Havvkesbury ; and the farmers here, generally, showed their prudence more than in some other parts of the country, by avoiding the lumber, and only sold their produce to those who were at work at it, generally double the Montreal price, at least. Although the lumber-trade ruined other parts of the country, it benefited the farmers of the Ottawa dis- trict, as it was generally people from other parts that carried on that business there, and had to depend upon inhabitants of this district for their supplies of provision and forage. Township of Hawkesbury, eastern division front- ing the Ottawa, is thinly settled along the front ; the north-east comer of it commences at the foot of the Long Sault rapids, which are 12 miles long. All the goods and stores brought to the settlements up the Ottawa, above the Long Sault, are carted up on each side of the river to the head of the rapids ; but this will soon be at an end by the completion of the Grenville Canal. There is a tolerable good road along the river, in front of this township ; the river Lagrass runs throu(^h the interior, back from the Ottawa : there are only three settlers, two of which are in the 3rd concession, and one in the 7th concession ; in the 3rd con:ession, there is a saw-mill ; with the exception of the front road, and a road which leads from Lochiel, through the south-east corner ot East Hawkesbury, along the river Lagrass, to Lower Canada, there is no other. The lands are generally k2 & 1 hi ;j Sit ii :.n 132 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. .tl good, as well as low and level ; a great portion of East liawkesbury is owned by absentees; the late Colonel Clause's family own 5000 acres, besides large grants to others : this is a circumstance which operates much against its settlement ; hardly any lands have been sold back from the Ottawa, excepting one lot, sold by Colonel Clause at 15s. per acre, who valued all the rest at 20,9. per acre, and a lot sold by a man of the name of Falker, for 10s. per acre. The local situation of Hawkesbury is favourable, but from the great tracts of it owned by absentees, some of whom value their lands high, and will not contribute towards making of roads ; this circumstance will greatly discourage many individuals from settling in it, as they would for a long time have to labour under great difficulties, regarding roads, mills, &c. The oak and pine timber has almost entirely been taken away by lumber-men, before the Crown reserves were sold to the Company, some of the concession lines in East Hawkesbury have not been seen, and several of those now are hardly visible, and many of the corner- posts decayec, and destroyed by lumber-men, by which means a number of the Company's lots can- not be ascertained. This circumstance alone pre- vents sale of lands ; a number of people went there in order to examine some of the Company's lots, but were obliged to return without being able to effect their purpose. Under all these circumstances, I think 10s. per acre a fair price for lands in East Hawkesbury, in the concessions back from the river. r ■rner- n, by can- ! pre- Jre in , but effect js, I East ver. Township of Hawkesbury, western division : — ex- cellent land, well settled, by an industrious class of people, Americans, Scotch, Irish, and Canadians : all seem to be trying to excel in industry, and learning from each other something before to them miknown. This township fronts the Ottawa ; the road from Corn- wall to Hawkesbury runs through from north to south, while the mail from Cornwall to it is brought once a week. There are several cross roads, cut across in different directions through it. This town- ship is remarkably well with respect to mills, dis- tilleries, shops, &c. ; besides the Ottawa, however, there is no stream of any consequence in it, except- ing the one on which Mr. Mears's mill is, which enters the Ottawa on lot No. \2, The Crown re- serves have mostly been granted to emigrants from Scotland, under the superintendence of the Quartev- Master- General, and it is only the lots rejected by those people that now belong to the Company, which lots are generally swampy ; such lands, how- ever, the Canadians are fond of clearing, and make certain kinds of swamps the best for tillage. Lands have often been sold for from 15s. to 20s. per acre ; and some from 22s. 6rf., to 25s. per acre, paid by instalments. Mr. Wilkinson, of Cornwall, sold several lots of 200 acres in this township to different persons, none less than 20s. per acre, and some from 22s. 6d, to 25s. per acre, bearing interest until paid. The heirs of the late Colonel Archibald M*Dowell sold several lots for 20s. per acre. The late Mr. I •■ii 134 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHED. m IE I ,1 I Mi Chialiolm of Montreal, and several others, sold lands there, from 15s. to 20.s. per acre. I am of opinion, that good lands in West Hawkesbury are worth generally from 17,s. 6d, to 20s. per acre. Township of Caledonia, some of it good, a great portion of it swamj)y, thinly settled, badly off with respect to roads ; there is a road which crosses *t, leading from Hawkesbury to the Petite Nation in Plantagenet ; there are no mills in it, and no streams of any consequence. Mr. Tradewell's seignory is in front of it ; between it and the Ottawa, the extensive swamps in it is much against its settlement. The swamps in Caledonia are generally such lands as Canadians are partial to, and good for cultivation, when cleared in their way of clearing, and completely drained. This township has not been completed in survey, by which means a number of the Company's lots cannot be ascertained. I am of opinion, that from 9s. to 10s. per acre is a fair price for lands in it; almost all the oak and pine have been taken away by the lun^ber-men, before the Crown reserves were sold to the Company. Township of Alfred, fronting the Ottawa: the lands generally swampy, but good lands for Canadians, or such as they make good by their mode of clearing. There is a beech ridge in the centre of a light, sandy soil ; the first concession, fronting the Ottawa, has long since been granted to the New England loyalists, principally owned by absentees. A few squatters are settled along the Ottawa in front; the only road in . :■ !i.il' UPPER CANADA. 135 Id lands )pinion, i worth a great ►ff with sses *t, tion in t reams y is in tensive The ids as 'ation, pleteJy ted in )any*s , that ids in away were ands s, or , •ing. indy has ists, are Pin this township is the Chester road, which crosses it ahout the centre, and leads from Mr. TradeweU's Beignory to Plantagenet, and Chesec's mills on the Nation, which road is only passable for cattle in winter, bu a great deal is intended to be done to it this summer, as there is money and labour subscribed for its improvement. There arc no steams of any consequence in Alfred excepting Horn Creek, which empties into the Nation, and the creek called river Dezemacane, which enters the Ottawa above the north-east angle of Alfred. I believe no sales of land have taken place in Alfred ; and excepting lots along the Ottawa, I think from 9s. to IO5. per acre a reasonable price; the oak and pine fit for market were taken away, before the Crown reserves were sold to the Company, by the lumber-men. Adam Curly, a squatter, occupies lots No. 1 and 2, in the 2nd con- cession fronting the Ottawa. Township of Plantagenet, fronting the Ottawa, tolerably well settled : a good deal of this township is light, sandy soil, and part of it swampy, but some good lands in it. There are several roads leading to this settlement; the road from Cornwall to Cluny mills, and road leading from the rear of Hawkesbury, and the road leading from Mr. Tradcwell's seignory, which passes through Alfred, and called the Chesee road, and several other roads between the inhabitants ; but these roads are, without exception, bad, except in winter. On the Nation, Mr. Chesee has built excel- lent grist and saw mills, wliich benefit this greatly. ■if: l>i f-'.. 130 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHE*. ■^! \i ^i\ il^ til '.' :l h I Vi \\ The local situation of Plantagcnct is very favourable, the Ottawa in front, the Petite Nation running through it lengthways and crossways» besides J5ear brook, ilorn creek, and Scotch river. Bear brook runs through the interior of Cumberland and Clarence, aud enters the Nation at the south-west corner of Planta- gcnct. Horn creek, which runs through Alfred, and enters the Nation at the eastern boundary, and Scoteh river, which runs through Plantagcnct rear, and enters the Nation at the south-east angle of Plantagcnct. On those streams timber is rafted down to the Nation in high-water. The Nation, with little interruption, is navigable for boats during the summer, and answers the purpose of a good road in winter : the two front concessions were granted at the formation of the settle- ment of this county ; the principal part of them are owned by absentees ; there are not any settlers along the Ottawa, excepting a few squatters ; lands have been sold in this township from \0s. to 20.9. per acre ; Mr. Gesop sold a block of 400 acres, for 1 1*. 3d, per acre, cash down. Alexander Fraser, Esq., sold, two years ago, a block of lands (500 acres) for ]2.9. 6d. per acre, payable by instalments, bearing interest ; and a year ago, a block of 500 acres for 12s. 6d. cash down ; also sold another tract of 500 acres for 12s. dd. per acre, payable by instalments, bearing interest; and this year sold a block of 400 :acres for 20s. per acre ; and several others sold lands from 10s. to 15s. per acre. Lands are generally valued in Plantagenet, in convenient situations, from ff4 i\ •i I »: J UITER CANADA. 137 'ourublc, through ' brook, lok runs nco, unci PJanta- rca, and 1 Scotch (1 enters tagenet. Nation ption, is answers v'o front B scttle- leni are s along Is liave 0.9. per or 11*. , Esq., •es) for )earing ;res for )f 500 ments, jf 400 I lands lerally , from 12*. 6d. to 20*. per acre (that is to say good lands) ; almost all the oak and pine timber, fit for market, lia^ been taken away by the lumber-men, before the Crown reserves were sold to the Company. I am of ojjinion tliat good lands in it, according to its situation, arc worth from 10s. to r2.n in Plan- ■nters the lill. From ater across lantagenet e Rideau, le east of route to tuation of ises many in front, bk. The river Rideau being the western boundary, from north to south, on which there is so much money to be laid out on the improvements of its navigation ; and it being in the immediate vicinity of the very promising village of By-Town, at the head of the steam-boat navigation through which the canal will pass, and where there will be a military depot — the great circu- lation of money that will circulate by carrying on such public works in its immediate neighbourhood, will make this a very promising township. In this township, the three concessions, fronting the Ottawa and Rideau, — on the latter of which 2 saw-mills are erected — have been granted to the New England loyalists and their descendants. The Company's lots along the Rideau are good and well situated, — Nos. 7, 13, 19, and 27 : the former is at a place called the Black rapids, where there will be a dam across the Rideau, and locks for the canal, aii J the latter opposite to Long Island, where there will also be locks, and is in the immediate vicinity of a saw-mill. This is a place in my opinion calcu- lated for a village, being nearly at the head of Long Island rapids ; there is still deep water for nearly 24 miles up the Rideau from the head of the rapids. The late Honourable Colonel Thomas Fraser sold several lots in Gloucester for 20s. per acre, and his heirs sold lands there for the same price, but value the remainder higher. I am of opinion that good lands on the Rideau are worth 25s. per acre, and, back from the Rideau, are worth from 10s, to 12*. m i" , M M %, !ii I Hi ! I I i tl li i I 'lii ; i f ■y ■ '. Ht I •51? ■• 5 if '■■ ■ 11 : ii"'- ^1 ' ill 142 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 6d, per acre; that is to say, good lands. Almost all the oak and pine timber fit for market has been taken off the Crown reserves before they were sold to the Company. ^' Township of Cambridge : — generally light, sandy soil ; some large swamps, and some s^ood lands in the south-east and south-western parts w it: there is not a settler in it, and of course no roads. The local situa- tion of this township is pood : the Petite Nation runs through the ^eater part of it crossways, r id a branch of it called the Castere river ; both those rivers, at the time of the year that the navigation closes, answer the purpose of good roads. Mr. Crysler*s mills on the Nation in Finch, and Mr. Loucks's saw-mill in Russell, on the Castere, will afford great advantages to settlers that may settle in Cambridge. This township was granted to New England loyalists ; large grants were made in it to individuals. A family of the name of Ranken, who are now in the United States, own 5,000 acres, and the Kuylu family as much at least. Only every second concession line has been surveyed in Cambridge^ and even those very difficult to trace, and a number of the corner-posts destroyed by lumber-men, who almost stripped it of all oak and pine on it fit for market, before the Crown reserves were sold to the Canada Company. I know of no sale of lands having taken place in Cambridge ; and I am of opinion that from 7s. 6d. to 10s. per acre is a fair price for lands in this township. Township of Russell : the lands generally indiffer* UPPER CANADA, 143 Is. Almost cet has been ywere sold ight, sandy- lands in the there is not local situa- 'ite Nation ays, r id a lose rivers, on closes, Crysler's Loucks's ford great ambridge. loyalists ; A family le United amily as 1 line has ose very ler-posts ed it of 3 Crown I know I bridge ; Os. per ndiiFer* ent, large swamps in it witli white sandy bottom ; there is only one settler in it, a Mr. Loucks, who built a mill on the Castere river : there are no roads in it ; it is well watered by the Castere, which forms into severr.1 branches. This township has lately been located by emigrants from Scotland, and militia-men who servfcd during the last war with the United States. Russell has almost been entirely stripped of all the oak and pine fit for market, by the lumber-men. I do not know of any sale of lands in this township, and I am of opinion that from 6s. to 75. 6d. per acre is a fair price for lands in it. I Township of Osgoode, fronting the river Rideau : tlie lands are generally good ; three or four families moved into it last winter ; the three concessions next Rideau have been granted to the New England loyal- ists : the few settlers in it suffer much for want of roads, mills, &c. but Loucks' saw-mill will in winter be of some relief to them ; when the Castere which runs through Osgoode freezes, the settlers will be able to get boards from there. In this township I would recommend to the Company to lay out a sum of money to assist in cutting a road across it from south Gower to the south-west corner of Gloucester on the Rideau ; and in my opinion the sum the Company would give fihould not be less than forty pounds. If that sum was well laid out, it would open a communication by land from the settlement of Gloucester throi'gh Osgoode to the eastern and Johnstown districts, greatly faci- litate the settlement of Osgoode, and bring the \ \ ' M i\ I Ml I >,• 'I : I 144 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCrtP^. Company's lands into immediate demand. Having the Rideau and canal in front, and a road through the; interior, are circumstances which will greatly increase the value of lands in this township ; the local situation, is very favourable ; the Castere river forms several branches in Osgoode, and runs through a great part of it. A great deal of oak and pine timber has been taken off the Crown reserves, before they were sold to the Canada Company ; and I am of opinion that some oak has been taken off the Company's lands there last winter. I do not know of any sale of lands in Os- goode, excepting good lands along the Rideau. I am of opinion that from 1 3s. to 13s. per acre is a reason- able price for lands in it. I enclose you herewith an offer from Matthew Taylor for 8s. per acre for lot No, 4 in the 1st concession of March. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your obedient Servant, X)uNCAN M*DowELL, Greenfield, %\ , ^: rl 'I'll i| JOHNSTOWN DISTRICT. The Johnstown District, next above the Eastern, on the St. Lawrence, is laid out into eighteen town^ ships, and the Inspectors describe them as follows :— » L^EDs. — Soil, indifferent ; advantage of a stream of water. ' Lansdown. — Soil, indifferent; indifferently situ- ated. 1^ I I,. fi ^ i. UPPER CANADA. 145 laving the irough tho ly increase il situation ns several great part r has been ere sold to that some i there last ids in Os- au. I am a reason - irewith an 5re for lot t, ^eetifield. Eastern, 3n town^ lows :— » I stream ily situ- YoNQEs. — Soil, good; advantageously situated. Elizabeth Town. — Soil, good ; advantageously situated. Augusta. — Soil, good ; advantageously situated. Edwabdsburgh. — Soil, good ; advantageously si- tuated. North Gower. — Soil, good ; Advantages, mid- dling. South Gower. — Soil, good; Advantages, mid- dling. Oxford. — Soil, good ; advantageously situated. Marlborough. — Soil, good ; advantageously si- tuated. WoLFORD. — Soil, good ; advantageously situated. Montague. — Soil, middling; advantageously si- tuated. Elmsley. — Soil, indifferent ; advantageously si- tuated. KiTLEY. — Soil, indifferent; Advantages, indif- ferent. Bastard. — >^oil, good ; advantageously situated. Burgess. — Soil, indifferent; Advantages, indif ferent. North Crosby. — Soil, good; Advantages, indif- ferent. South Crosby. — Soil, good ; Advantages, indif- ferent. ..it: v.i:;; Xf},. <■ '1 1 I J'! I I 1 1 t. I ;iii *'i : ;l| .1 !'l iih ■'■':';. ■I ! 'Ml i;;'^ ^4B TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. MIDLAND DISTRICT. The Midland District, next higher up the north side of the Ontario, and lying between the former and Newcastle, is more or less settled to a consider- able distance back, and there are laid out in it 28 townships ; the first of which, above Johnstown dis- trict, and on the lake, is Pittsburgh, being the easternmost frontier town- ship in th's district. — Soil^ some very good land, but the greater part indifferent. Advantages, well situated on ihe waters of the St. Lawrence, with the Rideau canal passing through it. Kingston is the next higher up on the St. Law- rence. — Soil, generally good, but some parts rocky. Advantages, well situated on the waters of the St. Lawrence. Continuing to take, first, the frontier townsliips, the next higher up is Earnest Town, near the former on the frontier.— Soil, generally good. Advantages, well situated on the waters of the bay of Quinte. Fredericksburgh, also in front. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, well situated on .the waters of the bay of Quints. Adolphus Town, higher up. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, well situated on the waters of the bay of Quinte. I ' -. UPPER CJlNJLDA.. 147 the north e former jonsider- in it 28 own dis- sr town- and, but i situated ) Hideau >t. Law- i rocky, the St. nsliips, itier. — ted on nerally of the lerally of the • Richmond. — Soily front five concessions generally igood, the rear bad. Advantages, well situated on tlie Nappanee river. Marysburgh, next higher up, being peninsular Jand. — Soil, generally good, with the exception of some swamps. Advantages, well situated on the waters of the bay of Quints, and lake Ontario. Hallowell, next west of Maryburgh, on the frontier of the lake. — Soil, generally good. AdvaU" 4ages, well situated on the bay of Quints, partly. SopHiASBURGH, ncxt Westerly from Hailowell, and having the Ontario in front. — Soil, generally good, with the exception of some swamps. Advantages^ well situated on the waters of the bay of Quintd. HiLLiER, higher up the lake than the former. — Soil, generally good, with the exception of some swamps. Advantages, well situated on the waters of lake Ontario. Ameliasburgh, above Hillier, and the western- most frontier township of this district. — Soil, gene- rally good, -vith the exception of some swamps. Ad- vantages, well situated on the waters of the bay of Quinte. Loughborough, the first easterly township behind Pittsburgh. — Soil, better than Portland ; second range of townships. Portland, next higher, in the rear of Kingston. — ,iSo27, middling, containing swamps and lakes ; second range of townships. L 2 ''•f -i. ■i4'': • •'1 1 ' 1 1 :.ii f . t 'I'' 1 ' ' i i i f 1 ll i 1 1 1' 1 1 ' . t ;M 1 ■ 1 ' 1 i II 1 1 1 ' t f 1 ■ 'I" ■•!; i i ' 1 i ■ 1 V • • .'■ ;;8f 1 1 , V '■ 'if! ! i • ■! 1 1- ' f:. M 1 1 1 ' i ■ i ( W * li- 1 1 t '( 1 : 1 1 1 'i.ij ' i 1. ! i ':': 'ill ■ ■! ! ;i i .1, - ■ ■ i rp ■ % ■Uii 1' |,l 1, §0, * 148 •rOPOGRAPHI<:AL SKETCHES. Camden East, in the rear of Kingston and Rich- mond. — »Soi7, generally good. Advantages^ second range of townships, situated on the Nappanee river. Tyendinaoa, west from the above, and fronting the bay of Quint.*. — Soilj generally poor. DUad" vantageSy not vv ell situated. Thurlow, next higher, west, and also fronting the bay. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, well situated on the waters of the bay of Quintfe. Sidney, the most westerly in the district on this range. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, well si- tuated on the waters of the bay of Quinte. Bedford, the most easterly of its range, and behind Loughborough. — Soil, not very good ; third range of townships. HiNCHiNBROOK, ncxt proceeding westward, and behind Portland. — Soil, not very good ; third range of townships. Sheffield, next to the west, and behind Camden. — Soil, not very good ; third range of townships. HuNGERFORD, wcst of Sheffield, and behind Rich- mond. — Soil, generally reputed bad ; second range of townships. Rawdon, ibehind Sidney. — Soil, front six con- cessions generally good, rear part bad. Advantages, Marmora road runs through the township; second range o townships. Marmora, — Soil, not very good ; third range of townships. UPPER CANADA. 149 Lake. — Soil^ and value unknown. Madox. — Soily generall) good ; third range of townships. Elzevir. — .So//, bad; third range of townships. Kaladar. — Soilf bad ; third range of townships, Kenebec. — Soil J bad ; third range of townships. Palmerston. — Soil, and situation unknown. ■M % I, ■ ,V'<- i ::: i: t ii'. ' 150 I i:*';!' I. CENTRAL SECTION. The central part of the upper province is divided at present into two lar^e districts, and embraces that extensive tract of country lyinjr west of the Midland district, to an extent of 120 miles of frontage along the Ontario, and reaching back northwards all the way to the Ottawa, the French river, * and lake Huron on the northern boundary of this province. This section is distinguished as containing the metro- politan town of Upper Canada, namely York, which we shall have occasion to notice when we come to speak of the Home District, as also for its numerous and extensive lakes in the interior, as may be observed by inspecting the map. To speat first of 'I I ,1 !■!' THE NEWCASTLE DISTRICT. Lying west of the midland district before noticed, and well watered by the Rice, Balsam, Trout, and other lakes in the interior, as well as by the Otan- abee river, part of the Trent, &c. It was on certain townships in this district, that the celebrated coloni- zing experiments in 1823 and 1825, under the con- duct of Mr. Peter Robinson, were made, as re- ferred to in the second document here given. Twenty-eight townships have already been sur- . 1 fi y a^ UPPER CANADA. 151 veyed along the frontier for several ranges, and we give in the first place the report of thom, made to the provincial Magistrates li Quarter Sessiona : r/s.— DarliNGTow. — Soil^ genarally good ; taken up by absentees, lying on lake Ontario. Clarke. — Soil, generally good, taken up by ab- sentees, lying on lake Ontario. Hope. — .So/Z, generally good. Advajiiages, well watered, contains a village with good mills. '1 he ad- joining townships are well settled. It lies on lake Ontario; Hamilton. — Soil, nearly one half of this township is bad land, the rest good. Advanta^eSy centre of the district, a country- town, a village, good mills, well watered, and lies on lake Ontario. Haldimand. — .Soi/, more than I'.alf bad land. Ad* vantages, well watered, but no good flour-mills ; lies on lake Ontav; j. Cramahe. — So27, more than half bad land. Ad" vantages, well watered, but no good flour-mills ; lies on lake Ontario. Murray. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, lies on lake Ontario, and head of bay of Quinte. River Trent in the rear ; few mill advantages. Seymour. — Soily good. Advantages^ second range of townships from lake Ontario, the river Trent runs through it, with great mill advantages, not settled. Percy. — Soil, good ; few mill advantages ; second range of townships ; partly settled. .^t'. f. ■#'^ ■L .11 I I ii'l Ji': I'll ! ! I; i'l' '.i I 'i ' i It!' I 'I I i I i I*- !^ : il 'ill ?l''' ':!i Nil I ; I,, i'l.ii Ml i52r TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, ■ .1 Alnwick. — Soil, bad ; rear township on Rice lake ; not settled. MoNAGHAN. — Soily generally good. Advantages, thinly settled ; navigable waters on the east side. Asphodel. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, north of Rice lake and river Trent ; well watered ; tolerably well settled. Otanabee. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, north of Rice lake ; well watered ; tolerably well settled. Cavan. — Soil, good. Advantages, well settled; well v/atered, with mill advantages. Manvers. — Soil, very bad. Disadvantages, not settled ; large grants ; not well watered. Cartwright. — Soil, better ; not settled in large grants ; better watered. Maripoda. — Soil, generally good. Advantages^ not settled, but well watered. Smith. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, great water. Fenelon. — Soil, little known. Disadvantages, very remote ; not settled. Ops. — Soil, good. Advantages, not settled, but well watered. Emily. — Soil, generally good. Advantages, well settled ; well watered. Verulam. — Soil, not very good. Advantages, well watered, but not settled ; remote. Harvey. — Soil, not good. Disadvantages, not well watered ; not settled ; remote. A ■... i .;:; UPPER CANADA. 153 ice lake ; vantages, side. antages, vatered ; antageSf \y well settled ; res, not n large niageSf ', great ntages, d, but f, well tageSf ; not Burleigh. — Soil, not good. Disadvantages ^ not \yell watered, not settled, remote. DouRo. — ^oil, good. Advantages^ well watered, but thinly settled. DuMMER. — Soil, not very good. Disadvantages, badly watered ; not settled ; remote. Methven. — Soil, bad. Disadvantages, cut up with lakes and rivers ; rocky ; remote. Belmont. — Soil, not very good. Advantages, well watered, near the iron works, not settled. To this brief report, we are enabled to add the following interesting detail, also from the original minutes taken in December I8r27. MINUTES. Inspection of the Newcastle Dis- trict made by Mr. John Smith, Junr., Depiity pro Surveyor, at the request of Mr. Galt. On entering the Newcastle district the traveller can- not but be surprised, that the only mode of crossing the river Trent is by a scow in summer, and on the ice in winter, which, at certain seasons, is not without danger. A regular ferry is kept here, which pays the nominal rent of lOl. currency to the Provincial Government ; the tolls are at the rate of threepence- halfpenny for every foot passenger, and eightpence for man and horse. Notwithstanding the great pro- portion of passage is taken by the steam -boats, the tolls at the ferry, for the season, amount to upwards 1^; A 'Il i 154 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHEJ!. IK' I' 'I.' ■:'\\\r\ I I' ■ •.'11 i;|J jV 'hi- •: 4 |i' I. of 150Z. currency. As the travelling in the four winter, at least equals that of the eight summer,, months, were a bridge erected and a moderate* toll imposed, the proceeds would not only meet the; interest, but soon repay the principal; after which they might be applied to the improvement of the Toad (Dundas Street), which for ten miles to the westward is in a bad state. The only objection; J: have heard urged against a bridge is, that the ice floating down with the spring floods would endanger' it. I am assured, however, by old residents, that the ice banks before it reaches the mouth of the river, and that it does not drift off" into the bay of Quint^, but honeycombs and sinks. A tolerable road, on the line of which the land is generally inferior, skirts the bay of Quinle from the Trent to the Carrying Place, about five miles distant ; at this point it branches to the westward until it join Dundas Street, and eastward into the county of Prince Edward. At the Carrying Place the steam-boats are met by the York stage. At the first settlement of the country, the only mode of communication to the settlements above, was by boats which crossed from the head of the bay of Quinte, by this portage (about 1 mile) to the lake Ontario, and thence coasted its shores ; hence the name of the Carrying Place. The portage is laid out on either side in building lots. On the lake side, flat rock is met with, wliile on the side next the bay of Quinte is a high sand- bank which extends * *• iii.i.i{iMlii UPPER CANADA. 155 the four summer, ierat*^ toll meet the; er which it of the !S to the jectioii J. t the ice mdanger its, that fi of the le bay of tolerable generally Frent to at this Dundas Prince )ats are He only above, of the to the hence age is le lake ixt the xtends, some distance to the westward. On either hand the land differs materially, and to the west is very low and swampy. At one point the waters of lake Ontario and the bay are separated only by two miles of low wet land. It would appear that, at some period, there has been an open communication. There is a small village at the Carrying Place, with an Episcopal church, at which, for some years, a resident missionary has officiated. In this neigh- bourhood the Canada Company holds no lands, unless at Presqu'ile bay, which have been already inspected. Proceeded direct to Cobourg, and thence to Peter- Borough, by the route of the Rice lake. The situation of Cobourg is healthy and pleasant. It stands immediately on the shore of lake Ontario, on lots 16 and 17 in concession B of Hamilton. In 1812 it had only one house ; it now contains upwards of 40 houses, an Episcopal church, a Methodist chapel, 2 good inns, 4 stores, several distilleries, an extensive grist-mill, and the population may be estimated at about 350 souls. The trade of Cobourg is increasing rapidly, more through the spirit and enterprise of its merchants, than its natural advan- tages. In alluding to its deficiency in the latter respect, the want of a harbour, and the break in its communication with the back country, caused by the Rice lake, are particularly meant. It is, however, to be observed, that the formation of a harbour is now proposed, as will be seen by the accompanying "■>'■>' II'II .!ii'' ■fe If! 156 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES./ minutes, and that the Rice lake, by means of the extensive streams which pour into it, along which settlements are forming, promises to become the channel of a great addition to its inland trade. The following has been mentioned to me as the present state of the trade of Cobourg, viz, : — EXPORTS. 5000 barrels of Flour. 500 tlo. Pork. 150 do. Potash. 200 do. Sundries, such as Lard, Beef, Butter, Whiskey, &c. IMPORTS. 200 tons of Merchandize. 600 barrels of Salt. 250 do. bulk of Foreiga Goods, &c. The adjoining townships are of a fertile soil. An excellent road leids from Cobourg through the centre of the township of Hamilton to the Rice lake. A large sum (I believe 600/. currency), borrowed from the bank of Upper Canada, on the responsibility of the magistrate of the division, has been judiciously expended on this road, in the course of the summer. It is expected that the amount of taxes in absentee lands, which is to be levied next year, will meet the expenditure. On both sides of the road the Canada Company hold lands, in general of a good soil ; those nearest to Cobourg being the most eligible for im- mediate sale. It is now proposed to open a branch road from this to meet the Cavan roaJ near the head of the Rice lake. The line selected will serve those lots belonging to the Company which lie in the 6th and 7th concessions of Hamilton, from the 20th lot westward. ■'f UPPEn CAN* DA. 157 5 of the g which )me the e. ; as the andize. f Foreiga )ih An e centre ike. A ^d from )ility of iciously mmer. }sentee eet the anada those or im- jrancli lar the serve lie in tn tlie J The soil of Hamilton is generally a sandy loam. On the western part of the township it is clayey. Very extensive ridges horder the Rice lake, which from their being bare of timber, are called the Rice Lake Plains. The soil is a mixture of sand and clay, in various proportions, according to the eleva- tion: on the high-lands sand prevails, and vice versa. The whole is, in general, capable of cultiva- tion ; but, from a want of wood and water, it is said, would answer best for sheep-walks. In most parts the plough could at once be used. The large grants, Iield by absentees in Hamilton, have prevented the settlements extending beyond the fourth concession, excepting on the western boundary, and a few on ".he Rice lake. The following sale has come to my knowledge, viz. : — Edward Ellis and Co., of London, by their Agents Forsyth and Richardson, of Montreal, to David Sidey. No. 16 in 5 con. Hamilton, 200 acres at 1 5s. per acre ; 25Z. down, and the rest in 5 annual instalments, with interest. The sale was made in the course of the summer ; the lot is good, and on the Cobourg Toad. The township of Monaghan and Otanabee, which are divided by the Otanabee river, form the northern shores of the Rice lake. Otanabee, though it has an excellent soil in general (loam upon clay), has been but very partially settled. This is mainly to be attributed to its distance from, and difficulty of 1': h 'is ■ If, t>l \ . %■ '■. ■ J': ^>- .! 1,;' l B 'I I,.;;!; 'I Ji|;ti 1'^ I'm ■hi i '■ ' ,: / : '•' 158 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ' access to market. These objections are now removed ; the roads on all sides being improved, and grist and saw mills built in the township (lot 13 on 6th con- cession), as also at Peterborough. From the Co- bourg road a ferry is established across the Rice lake, whence a road runs from Banister's Landing; northerly, until it branches on 13th lot between 10th and 11th concessions ; eastward, through a settlement to the mills, and thence to Asphodel ; and, northerly, with scattering settlements on the line to Peterboro*. There are numerous swamps in the township, and sandy plains skirt the Rice lake shore. The settlers in Otanabee are chiefly from the lowlands ; the rest are highlanders and a few English. The road through Otanabee to Peterborough is improving. The town-plot of Peterborough is in the north- east angle of the township of Monaghan. It is laid out in half acres, the streets nearly at right angles .with the river ; park lots of nine acres each are re- served near the town. The patent fee on each is 8^. provincial currency, and office fees and agency will increase it 15s. or 20s. more. The settlement commenced in 1825, at which time it formed the deput of the emigration under the Hon. IP. Robinson. The situation is most favourable, being ©n an elevated sandy plain, watered by a fine creek, vwhich discharges into the river below the town. The country round is fertile, and there is great water- power on the town-plot, on which mills are now being built by the government. These mills are on an ex- f i s "UPPER CANADA. 159 aoved ; st and ,h con- le Co- e Rice mding. !n 10th tlemeixt rtherly, jrboro*. ip, and settlers the rest e road north- is laid angles are re- is 8?. icy will ch time e Hon. being creek, town, water- V being an ex- i Itensive scale, being calculated to pack 40 barrels of iflour ; and tlie saw-mill to cut 3000 feet of boards per diem. A very substantial frame bridge has been thrown across the Otanabee river at this place. There are -now upwards of twenty buildings in Peterborough, in- 'Cluding one store, which does an extensive business, and another now being built. There is a medical practitioner, and two clergymen resident here (Epis- copalian and Roman Catholic), and a school, to which the government allows a liberal aid. The township of Smith is a peninsula formed by the Mud or shallow lakes which divide it from Ennis- more and Harvey, and the Otanabee river, which separates it from Douro. The soil is a loam ; in the north-east angle it is rocky. The settlement was commenced, about nine years ago, by a small body of Cumberland miners, who were located by govern- ment on either side of the Indian portage, from the Otanabee river to Mud lake. This is about seven miles over, and the road is tolerably good. To these emigrants, on depositing a sum of money, I believe, in the proportion of lOL to each head of a family, a free passage was affoi*ded ; the money was returned when their settlement had been completed. These settlers are now independent farmers, al- though at first several had their own exertions alone to depend upon. The principle of a deposit, in all cases where aid is given to emigrants, is well worthy consideration. It ■(•■■■ 'i > '»*• < ■' » if .'V J*! ^ 5 I !! I?'. Ill ■ I i I li:i !l f M i^HJI ' ;,■ 1 nisf 1 '. , j 1^1 :^'^, ;r t K';^ - 160 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, is a guarantee for their good intentions, a guard against a fickle disposition, and a reserved fund in the time of need for the emigrant. Since the period spoken of, many emigrants from the north of Ireland, and more lately from the south, have settled in Smith. It is in g 'neral well settled to the 7th concession, and on IV: ^ Jake to the 11th concession. Canada Company la Is, a thin this range, are the most eligi- ble for immediate a,. a. Several families, under the superintendence of Mr. Robinson, have been located as far back as the I2tli and 13th concessions. The lakes and other waters, bordering on Smith, abound with the maskinonjee and bass, and Clear lake, (between Douro and Smith,) with salmon trout to the weight of 301b. and 401b. The canal, which has been spoken of between the bay of Quint6 and lake Simcoe, it is supposed will cross the penin- sula near the base. Several of the miners informed me, that being in search of a salt-spring, they had discovered on the 27th, in 10th concession. Smith, C. C, a spring, which in smell and taste, resembled that of GoUsland. The townships of Douro, Emily, and Ennismore, or the Gore of Emily, have for the most part been settled by the emigrants of 1825. The soil of Douro is calcareous ; there are large swamps scattered through the township ; the best lands are at a distance from the waters^ and particularly on the eastern boundary ; and the most eligible lots for sale, are those approximating to Peterborough. Mr. ,i '• n UPPER CANADA. 161 a guard I fund in le period Ireland, in Smith, ncession, Canada lost eligi- mder the n located icessions. tn Smith, ind Clear 1 salmon he canal, of Quints 16 penin- nformed they had Smith, esembled smore, or ;n settled are large )est lands ularly on e lots for h. Mr. H \ Robinson's emigrants are located on the front third of the township ; the rest has been located by militia- men chiefly, scarce one of whom has performed the settlement duties required. The lands will, of course, revert to the crown, and as the localities are daily im- proving, will no doubt be speedily settled. The set- tlers are exerting themselves in opening roads. The township of Dummer, which lies to the east- ward of Douro, resembles it in soil. T? ^>ont ia generally good, the rear rocky. There is nc settle- ment in this township as yet ; the most eligible lota for immediate sale are those on the front A large creek called the Squaw-kone-gavv, take its rise in a small lake within fifty or sixty rods of a bay of the large lake on the Otanabee river. They are separated by a rocky ridge, at the highest not more than six or seven feet above the level of either lake, and as the rocks rise abruptly on either side, a ravine is formed, down which part of the waters of the Otanabee find a passage in the spring flood. Were it at any time to become an object (for the sake of mills, &c.), by throwing a dam across the Otanabee river, at 25th in 4th concession of Douro, a certain supply of water might be at all times diverted down the Squavv-kone- gaw ; and this again might be regulated by a sluica- dam on the ravine, which it is believed is on 30th lot in 6th concession, Dummer, C. C. This very extraordinary connexion of waters, is met with in other parts of the province. T would instance M h^^ ;rr ■!■■ I ■ V ,1 Ml m W '\i II V{ ''I 'I l\ ii •,.|M^ i! il:: .' ui :^l {' rs r 4 162 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES/ the Salmon rivers ami the Moira, which leave the same lake in Sheffield ; and the Gananoqui and Cata- raqui creeka, which flow from the same lakes on the line of the Rideau canal. The township of Ennismore, or Gore of Emily, is generally of an excellent soil, loam upon vlay. A large proportion is taken up by reserves and surveyor's land, the remainder by emigrants of 1825, chiefly from Kerry, and who are doing well. The nearest mills are at Peterborough. Emily is settled, through a few of the first conces- sions, by emigrants from the north of Ireland, thence to the rear by those of 1825. The roads are yet new but improving ; in the latest settlements but partially opened. The soil is generally good, sandy loams in the hills, on the flats and in the valleys clayey loam ; the township is for the most part level, and has nume- rous swamps, especially towards the rear, and on the line of Pigeon creek, which traverses the township. Beaver meadows are frequent in this, and are also met with in the other townships in this range : they are very serviceable to the new settler. There are two good saw-mill sites in this township ; one reserved by government on south half 1 8th and 19th in 8th con- cession; a second on 6th in 10th concession. A small grist-mill is being built on 19th in 4th concession. It is probable, however, that excepting for the home use of settlers, the produce will be generally taken to Peterborough, from the excellent mills there and other UPPER CANADA. 163 ;ave tlie nd Cata- s on the Smily, is Jay. A urveyor's efly from rest mills t conces- d, thence i yet new ; partially loams in ey loam ; as nume- id on the ownship. are also ye: they here are reserved 8th con- A small ssion. It lome use aken to nd other ''■ conveniences. To that place a road has been opened, and the magistrates of Hamilton having lately granted 301. to aid the inhabitants, it will soon be unproved. By the hne of Pigeon creek, the settlers in Emily may pass by water to Mud lake, within seven or eight miles (by a good road) of Peterborough, and by this route many of Mr. Robinson's emigrants, and their provisions, were conveyed. There is such an advantageous line of water com- munication in that direction, that the whole produce of the back country may be expected to pass by Pe- terborough ; hence all lands in the situation relatively favourable may be considered the most valuable. Ops is one of the finest townships in this part of the country ; the soil is loam upon clay ; it is, in general, level: the north-east angle of the township has ex- tensive swamps. The Scugog river, a very fine stream, navigable for boats, traverses the townshipt by means of which settlers may proceed to Mud lake, with only one portage of one quarter mile, at what ia called the Pau-boo-kaije-wenum rapid. At one placa in the township the river is very rapid, and having a descent of from twelve to fourteen feet, would afford an excellent mill site. In a southern direction, by the Scugog lake, from which the river issues, water communication may be had in spring and fall through the townships of Cartwright and Reach, within seven- teen or eighteen miles of the Big Bay, in Whitby^ on lake Ontario. The township was actually 8ur«» M 2 ' ) rl ■•V ■■1, If' 4^ m. ■JM: te 'U 164 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.' '>', .»'• 5'. 111. \ veyed in 1925, and thrown open for location on the princi|)lc of actual settlement. Miiny locations were made, but it is to be feared that from the want of roads and mills, the conditions of settlement will, in very few instances, be performed. There has been much said against the system of demanding fees on grants of land in this province, which would have never found utterance had a proportion been ex- pended in opening roads, building mills, &c. Such improvements would ensure a more speedy and satis- factory settlement than any penal conditions annexed to grants of land. A waggon road has been opened for about nine years from Port Hope, following the boundary line between Hope and Hamilton, Cavan and Monaghan, to Emily and Smith. The line of road is broken by ridges and swamps, at which places much labour will be required to make it good. It is at all times passable. Cavan was first settled in 1817. At this time scarce a lot remains unlocated (except reserves); the soil is generally good, sandy loam upon the west ; on the east inclined to clay ; in the front rather light. Those lots next Monaghan are the most eligible for immediate sale. The township is well watered, and possesses numerous sites for saw-mills. There is already built, and at work, 1 grist and saw- mill on E. § 12th in 4th con. ; 1 grist mill on 10th in 4th con. ; and another on 14th in 9th con. There are 5 stores and 2 distilleries in the township. The mills , . 1 'i : 1 : Iv V "I 1 on the Dns were want of t will, in las been J fees on uld have )een ex- 2. Such inrl satis- annexed out nine dary line Dnaghan, roken by bour will passable. his time jserves) ; pen the it rather le most is well w-mills. nd saw- 10th in here are he mills UPPER CANADA. ua are used for the home consumption only, the surplus wheat being sent to market at Port Hope. The majority of the inhabitants of Cavan are from the north of Ireland, the remainder Kn^^lish, and from the south of Ireland. The first, it is believed, are Presbyterians, but attend the l^^piscopal service in the absence of a clergyman of their own. The Episcopal church stands on 12th in 10th con. ; a missionary has been resident from the first settle- ment of the township. There are six schools scat- tered through the township, with from twenty-five to forty scholars eacli. The clearings are large and in good order ; frame barns are numerous, but the dwel- lings are yet of logs. Monaghan was settled at the same time as Cavan, chiefly by English. The soil is loam upon clay. The township is generally well settled, with the ex- ception of some large grants on the 13th con., and on the Rice lake. It is well watered, but without mill sites, except at Peterborough. In this, as in all tlie adjoining townships, the timber for the most part remains uninjured ; the roads are yet new, but the inhabitants are making exertions to improve them. There are two families in this township whose exer- tions and success deserve mention. Botli came out with limited means about eight years since. The Rutherfords, from Jedburgh in Scotland, had, in 1826, about fifty head of horned cattle, besides grain and meadow land. ■ I' '^1 n M ; I lA:^: m 166 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. iVSPM? 4mih:l -1 w •m \ ■■it I ! ■ :i "" 'V ^ :(■ i I ,' • .• Pj I'! i . Smithson, from Yorkshire, raises, upon the average, sixty acres of wheat every year, JOHN SMITH, JuN. Dep. Pro. Surveyor. CoBOURG, 14th Dec. 1827. THE HOME DISTRICT, Like the last, to which it lies westward, and stretches up along the soutliern banks of the eastern limb of lake Huron, is chiefly known on its frontier near the Ontario, and round lake Simcoe, which, with the streams that flow into it, well waters it in the interior. M'ich of this tract is settled by the Dutch, who are exceedingly industrious, and congregate chiefly about the township of Markham, which, says Mr. Talbot, was when he wrote the most improved part of the district. The new townships of the home district, says the same writer, are almost wholly peopled by English, Scotch and Irish ; and the old ones, which are those along the shores of the Ontario, by Ame- ricans. The rivers in this district abound with fish, more than most others, particularly salmon, which are spawned in the river Credit, and transmitted to every .part of the western country. Tlie lands on the shores of .the Ontarioj are said l)y ]\|r. Talbot to be of bad UPPER CANADA. 167 upon the , JuN. leyor. stretches limb of near the with the interior. who are fly about Talbot, t of the district, >pled by 5, which y Ame- 1, more ich are o every 3 shores of bad ,! quality, but improve inwards, particularly round the Simcoe lake, and the climate in winter was, when that author wrote, considered unusually severe near the latter kke. This district contains, however, the seat of the provincial government, which, as a town, will require, for the sake of the emigrant traveller, some general description. York is well situated on the north side of an excellent harbour on the lake, in latitude 43° 33' north, and longitude 79° 20' west. It contains the public buildings of the province, viz. : — the house of assembly where the provincial parliament generally holds its sittings, the government house, the provincial bank, a college, a court-house, a hall for the law- society, a gaol, an episcopal church, a Scots kirk, a Baptist chapel, a garrison near the town with barracks for the troops usually stationed here, and a battery which protects the entrance of the harbour. Regu- larly laid out under survey as usual, the streets of this town are spacious, the houses mostly built of wood, but many of them of brick and stone, and the population amounts now to between four and five thousand. ' Being the residence of the chief officers of government both civil and military,' says Bou- chette, * many of the conveniences and comforts of pohshed life are to be met with. Several newspapers are there printed weekly/ * The lands of the adjacent townships for several miles round,' continues the surveyor-general, ' are in hi. .:■ i . ■i'i \ 168 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1! i ')' ' i'!! '. 4 If i k a high state of cultivation, so that the market of the iown is always well supplied. Immediately in the rear of the town is a very good road, called Yonge- street, that leads to Gwilliamburg, a small village 32 miles to the northward, and thence 5 miles more to Cook's bay, from which by lake Sinicoe there is k communication to lake Huron. This being a route of much importance was greatly improved by the North-west Company, for the double purpose of short- ening the distance to the upper lakes, and avoiding any contact with the American frontiers. The land on each side of it for a considerable depth is very fertile, and many settlements are already formed, where some of the farms are in a good state of culti- vation.* There are also several other roads diverging from this metropolitan town, particularly one along the borders of the Ontario on the frontier, running through villages called Bellvilie, and Coburg to Port Hope, a small town in Newcastle district, and thence passing on to Kingston at the lower end of the lake. The front of all the townships between these towns, that is, all along the lake, are, with few exceptions, well settled; and the whole of this central section, including the neighbouring district of Newcastle, contained, of inhabitants, in 1828, 36,264 souls, being 10,363 more than it had in 1824, and making an increase in the course of four years of 40 per cent, upon its population. In the reports of townships obtained at the desire of ItM UPPER CANADA. 169 of the in the i^onge- lage 32 nore to re is h a route by the ►fshort- i^oiding le land is very ■Qrmed, )f culti- ^erging long inning o Port hence lake. owns, tions, ction, astle, souls, iking cent. re of the corporations, the home district seems to have been omitted, but we are further enabled by Mr. Gait to give the following, which apply as well to this as the more western districts, viz. — Remarks oji the quality^ probable value^ situation^ and advantages attending the lands generally to the westward of York^ by Mr. Patrick Strange. All the respective townships commencing at Detroit, from thence running in front on lake Erie through the western, London, and Niagara districts, I have visited as far as fort Erie, or at least Black Rock. I found the inhabitants in the western section to be composed of Americans generally ; there are many French Canadians settled in the vicinity of Detroit, who possess excellent farms. There are great im- provements on the front townships on the river St. Ciair, opposite the American shore ; the settlers gene- rally are composed of a mass of all sorts, and many have taken possession of lands without any authority, particularly those who cannot be countenanced bv our government as being not even aliens in this colony, ^ ut traitors to both the United States and this country. They are composed of Scotch and Irish emigrants who resided in the States during the late war, and are living from hand to mouth in small huts, enjoying merely what they can raise from their toil and labour on the land they possess. All along through Talbo€» settlement, so called. h" I 1 !;■*■',; 170 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.' i .. M'i' I • ':% I Ml 1 . i i 1 t ■ i f ■ ' \ ■ -■\ •'• tliere are settled various descriptions of persoiis., through whose active industry, and the coloners strict attention and ambition to settle the lands under his control, they have worked wonders in way of settle- ment; but still their circumstances are contracted other than that of their landc, and indeed in conse- quence of the want of markets to vend their produce, and the extraordinary charges imposed on them for such merchandise as they require in barter for their produce ; they, in consequence, are selling off their well-settled farms for a trifle, and purchasing in other parts of the colony more convenient to markets. There are no reserves, either crown or clergy, on tha concession north and south of Talbot-street, from ihe commencement to the ending thereof; there are some leases made for reserves in the front townships rl- luded to, but very few in any of the rear townships. The townships of Burford, Oxford, Dorchester, Westminster, Delewarr, Lr> ^ Caradoc, London, Nissouri, Zora, and all other nships in the second and third range in the district of London, are in- creasing in value and population. The township of Norwich is also situated in the second range, generally inhabited by Quakers and other industrious settlers, many of whom have come in from the United States since the late war, and are lessees on crown and clergy reserves. The townships of Lobo, London, Nissou>I and Zora, in my opinion, border on the un- smveyed lands whi :h I understand are purchased by H' i i: ■ TJPPr.R CANADA. 171 person 8 J lel's strict mder his of settle- ontracted n conse- produce, them for for their otF their I in other markets. y, on ths from ihe are some ships 1,1- n ship 3. rchester, London, i second are in- iship of eneraliy settlers, States wn and lOndon, the un- ased by the Canada Company ; and if the lands so purchased are of equal quality with the surveyed lands in ques- tion, they are not inferior to any description of land in Upper Canada, being well watered, well wooded, and the soil of the most luxuriant quality. In coming to a review of the district of Gore, I find that the chief of the reserved land is laid out in blocks adjoining east and west Fiamboro', Eramossa, and Nichol. I have crossed the township of Nassi- guaya and Eramossa to the crown block in question, andfound the country in rapid progression throughout, and the price of land enhancing daily, as the old settlers in the district of Niagara and other places are selling off their old improved farms, and are now purchasing in these once remote townships. The townships of Erin, Garafraxa, Mono, Adjala, Esquesing and the new survey of Trafalgar. I have visited all these to wr ships, have the reservations of crown and clergy lands regularly classed out, and will command sale in a short time, as the population therein is wonderfully augm.enting. The old survc of Nelson and Trafalgar and other old townships, such as east and west Fiamboro', Beverly Glanford, Binbrook, &c. &c. &c,, should be subject to the reservation regularly classed also ; but I ha ve reason to believe that they are chiefly disposed of by lease or promise, and consequently do not come under the disposal of the Company. The townships of Ettibocoke-Toronto — the Gore . -# t 4 . ^. i ,". .1) " ..'II "•ri * : t' -I' i;. , ^.| f i '^ I- ( ■4^ 172 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. of Toronto, Chinguicoucy, Caledon, Albion, Tecum- seth, Gwilliamburg West, King, Vaughan, and West- York — are all subject to the usual reservation of Crown-land ; but the chief of such lands therein, as are worth any considerable value, are leased, or other- wise disposed of: though, in my humble opinion, there is not one out of ten occupying these lands, or who pays either rents or taxes thereon, but have got their names merely inserted on the plans and books of office for a trifle, merely for the purpose of destroying and taking away to the Quebec market the stave-timber growing thereon, without any inter- ruption of Government whatsoever. The district of Niagara, being the first settlement in the colony allotted to military claimants, New England loyalists, and other persons, having adhered to the unity of the empire during the old revolution, and being so granted to tliat description of people, by Land Board certificates, prior to the establishment of a regular counciiiu the colony, the usual reservation of Crown and Clergy lands was, in consequence, imknown ; ana, until this day, I am solely at a loss to be acquamted with the lands, if any, set apart for sucli eserrstlons in thai district, but am confident that a nirmbcr of blocks of land have been reserved as glebe lands, all of which have been disposed of by Government, by licenses of occupation, and are valuab-e. The land in this district is in great esti- matirn by many, as being well settled and contiguous 1 ' '4 * i 'i ■' UPPER CANADA. 173 Tecum- d West- tion of jrein, as )r other- opinion, mds, or lave got 1 books pose of market y^ inter- trict of colony >yalists, T of the ing so Land it of a rvation uence, a loss apart fident served of by I are esti- guous to markets ; but should I possess all the uncultivated lands in the district of Gore, and have a means of keeping them back from being disposed of for ten years, I would be sorry to barter acre for acre with that of the Niagara land now in a state of cultivation, as, in my estimation, the land is more durable, the settlement more progressive, tlie waters for machinery more prevalent, and the natural resources likely to follow from enterprise and industry, are such as materially augments its value, very particularly die intended establishment of the Canada Land Co:n- pany. The more remote class of townships, surrounding lake St. Clair, the Bear Creek, and those generally surveyed by contractors, on certain per centage, in the western country, are lessened much in value, in consequence of the remarkably low price which land therein has been offered for sale by those concerned in such contracts. In fact, I have known lots of 200 acres, sold by such characters, in the remote townships, for a barrel of pork each, and frequently for Is. to Ls. 3rf. per acre, in way of trade. Should I be furnished with a scale, from your office, of the land returned to the Company, I could, of course, give my opinion to you of the probable value thereof, particularly if I can be made acquainted with the mode or regulation of payment which may be required, and the description of persons to whom the land in question is most likely to be sold. I do, 1^. if 174 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.^ V!: I, "I .; I I •'I t| It i •* < t - * •* " / 1 -'' '■ -.J f^-^'' tlierefore, take the liberty of leaving the subjoined blanks for an opportunity for you to insert such townships, or specific lots therein, as you may deem proper, leaving the probable value to my estimation, which you may rest assured I shall willingly and cheerfully render you my unfeigned concurrence in every respect, as far as lies in my power. I shall, if you think proper, draught a rough sketch of the eastern division of the colony, as far as I have a knowledge, as soon as possible, — it is for the home distr^'ct reserves, which are chiefly situate in the town- ships of north and east Gwilliamburg, Georgiana, Brock-Reach, Scott, Uxbridge, Pickering, Whitby, Darhngton, with a few in Scarborough, Markham, Whitchurch, and Vaughan ; the value thereof is to be proportioned to the respective places wherein the land may be situated. The townships of King, and the old survey of West Gwilliamburg, are valuable and worthy of notice. The remote townships in the county of Simcoe are still unsettled, and, conse- quently, no price can be properly apportioned to their value at present. 1 believe there are no Crown reserves in the township of York returned to the Company ; and I am at a loss to know if the Com- pany has purchased such Crown reserved lands as are laid aside in the rear of Westminster, the township of Howard, the township of Blanford, Seymore, and other school reservations throughout the province, the Gore of Toronto, and the Mohawk woods' reser* UPPER CANADA. 175 ubjoincd 2rt such ay deem imation, igly and rence in shall, if I of the '. have a be home he town- orgiana, Whitby, arkham, jof is to irein the ing, and able and in the conse- Dned to Crown to the Com- as are wnship re, and ovince, ' reser* vation in the Bay of Quintey, which has been offered for sale, some time since, for public purposes : all the reservations in these townships arc valua})le, and, in my opinion, should be returned to the Canadian Company in the general schedule, if not already done. I remain, with great respect, sir, Your obedient humble servant, Patrick Strange. m I " 1' ' 1 ' n 1 • t; ' ;1 ■1 I.: ' I' 'Mi! ! i* "'Hi i' i I i - ' 1 1 1 • * ''t I !* ■^ •*• ^^ 1 I i' 176 TOPOOWAPHICAL SKETCHES, f THE WESTERN SECTION, Or division, of the upper province, embraces, ia general, all that tract of country lying between the liead of the lake Ontario to the east, and the eastern side of lake Huron to the west, part of the Home dis- trict and the Indian territory to the north, and lake Erie to the south, situated between the parallels of 42° and 45° 30' north latitude. The extreme length of this tract, north and south, namely, along the whole eastern shores of lakes Huron and St. Clair, with the rivers that connect them with lake Erie, is 216 miles, and its breadth east and west, at its widest part, is about ]95 miles. It is chiefly settled about the liead of the Ontario, and along the north shore of lake Erie ; and its population, in 1828, is given at 64,157. The salubrity and comparative mildness of the climate, with the general fertility of the soil of this large tract, are well known. Its surface is uniformly nearly level, excepting a few solitary eminences, and a sort of ridge of land which rounds the head of the Ontario a little inland, and traverses the Niagara district, as before mentioned. This ridge, however, if it deserves the name, does not in general exceed an altitude of 100 feet, although at some points it rises to above 300 ; and the whole tract presents, ia general, to the eye vast forests of a great variety of UPPKR CANADA. 177 ices, 111 een the eastern >me (lis- nd lake illels of i length e whole vith the 6 miles, part, is out the hore of iven at of the of this iformly es, and of the lagara wever, exceed ints it nts, in iety of lofty trees, upon level, and sometimes swampy land. * In the heart of these dense woods, and on the borders of rivers,' says Bouchette, * extensive plains suddenly present themselves, that lay open to view a beautiful area of natural meadow, often expanding several thousand acres in extent, and delightfully relieved by occasional clumps of lofty pine, white oak, and poplar, agreeably clustered in the various vistas of the plain.' Before we descend to the particulars of the soils of the townships with which we are furnished, we quote a few general remarks from the same authority. * The variety of soils, and the diversity of their com- binations, observable in these four districts,' adds the surveyor-general, * are by no means so great as might be expected in so extended a region. The whole tract is alluvial in its formation, and chiefly consists of a stratum of black, and sometimes yellow loam ; above which is deposited, when in a state of nature, a deep and rich vegetable mould, the sub- stratum, beneath the bed of loam, being generally a tenacious gray or blue clay, which in some parts appears at the surface, and, intermixed with sand, constitutes the super-soil. This species, and a sandy loam, highly fertile in its properties, are of more frequent occurrence in proceeding from the western district eastward, and appear to predominate in the districts of Gore and Niagara. Tho almost total absence of stones or gravel within the greatest arable N P I- u m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) " -^ ^< ^- 1.0 I.I IM 125 ■10 ^ m 12.2 ^ 1^ 12.0 11.25 III 1.4 I: i m III 1.6 <9 ^ y] /] / % ^. '•y ^^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716) 872-4503 178 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 'Ill V •> i depth, is a peculiar feature of the generality of landft in the upper province, which has heen felt as a serious inconvenience by the inhabitants in the pro- gress of their rural improvements, whatever may be its probable advantage as facilitating some of the operations of husbandry. There are, however, nu- merous and extensive quarries of limestone to be found in most of the townships of these districts, that supply the farmers with excellent materials for build- ing ; the price of the quarried limestone fluctuating irom 5s. to 15s. the toise. Freestone is also found, but in small quantities, and generally along the shores of the lakes*.* This section of the province is divided into four districts, namely, the Gore, the Niagara, the London, and the Western. The whole is well-watered by five considerable rivers and their numerous branches, namely, the Thames, the Ouse, the Welland or Chip- pewa, the Big Bear, and the Maitland. To begin with the first of these districts, namely. It I'' THE GORE DISTRICT, Lying at the southern head of the Ontario, and between the York and Niagara districts ; the London district, and the Indian territory, lying on its rear towards the west. Much of this tract belongs to ♦ Vol i. p. 12. \- UPPER CANADA.. 17» f lands ; as a e pro- nay be of the er, nu- Xo be ;ts, that r build- tuating found, shores to four jondon, . by five anches. Chip. begin o, and Liondon s rear ngs to the Canada Company, who have built nearly in itt centre the town of Guelph, upon a small river called the Speed, a remote branch of the Ouse or Grand ithrer. This important and rapidly rising town» which is likely to become the capital of the district* was founded by Mr. Gait, for the Company, on St. George's day, 1827, and already contains between 100 and 200 houses, several shops, a handsome market-house near the centre, a school-house, a printing-office, and 700 or 800 inhabitants. There ju'e {dso several taverns and a very neat hotel with a ball-room ; a large grist-mill and saw-mill ; 2 dis- tilleries ; 3 places of worship : — the Roman Catholic church of St. Patrick has a steeple. The great curi- osity, however, of this place was, for it is now fading, the approach, an avenue of 7 miles in length, about .150 feet wide, with a wall of stupendous trees on each fiide. — An American lad on first turning into it from the dark forest, exclaimed, * What an almighty placet* In the neighbouring township of Dumfries, belong- ing to the Honourable Mr. Dixon, is the town of Gait, founded by that gentleman, some years before the Canada Company was thought of. It is about 1$ miles from Guelph ; it was named in compliment to ihe gentleman of that name; who since, by his en- larged views and enlightened plans, still followed in a degree by his successors, has bo materially contributed •to the prosperity of these new settlements, and to the Jate success of the Company. Though this town is as yet but in its infancy, and will always probably be n2 ? •• ■M k If, "■".*<.' i, .'t -•: r,.| ' ;■''?■ ■■'.».' '.\ 'jii-i, 'f US'? ■0" 180 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ^ft I i if''. secondary to Guelph, * its situation/ says Mr. Bou- chette, * is peculiarly eligible, and cannot fail to attract many settlers of respectability and capital.* Several other villages are already raised on this district, particularly along its chief road, or mail 'rout, from York near the lake, to the Niagara district; Buch as Ancaster, Grimsby, St. Catharine's and Dun- das. The last of these is well situated for a frontier town, lying at the bottom of Burlington bay, and the utmost head of the lake Ontario, but, as well as the others, is yet small. Ancaster in the township of that name, and situated also as well as numerous good settlements on this mail rout, which is well known by the name of Dundas Street, — contains nearly 400 inhabitants, a church, &c.. and its situa- tion is described as being very eligible, and the country round most picturesque and agreeable. The whole of this district is subdivided into fifteen townships, whose respective advantages, or disad<« vantages, are briefly described by the Corporation inspectors as follows : — Trafalgar. — Soil, clay and loam. Advantages^ this township fronts lake Ontario, mill-streams^ and highways, &c. Equesing. — Soih principally sand, clay in some parts. Disadvantages^ lying in rear of Trafalgar, and want of highways, mills, &c. Erin. — Soil, prncipally black sand. Disadvcn^ iages, lying in rear of Equesing; want of roads, mills, &c. K) .,( . Bou- 'ail to tal.» m this 11 'rout, istrict ; IDun- rontier y, and well as ship of nerous is well )ntains 1 situa- id the eeable. fifteen disad^ )ration ntages^ 3, and some falgar, idvcn* roads^ UPPER CANADA. 181 Garrafraxa. — Soil, black sand. Disadvantage^^ similar to Erin. Eramosa. — Soil, black sand. Disadvantages, sim- ilar to Garafraxa. Nassagiweya. — Soil, black sand. Disadvantages^ similar to Eramosa. Nelson. — Soil, clay and sand. Advantages, front- ing on the lake similar to Trafalgar. Flamboro' East. — Soil, clay and sand. Ad' vantages, fronting on lake Ontario and Burlington bay. Flamboro' West. — Soil, clay and sand. Ad- vantages, fronts on Dundas Street and Coote's Para- dise ; mills, highways, &c. Beverley. — Soil, clay and sand. Disadvantages, want of mills, roads, &c. . Ancaster. — Soil, principally sand, clay in places. Advantages, highways, mills, &c. Barton. — Soil, clay and sand. Advantages, fronting Burlington bay ; roads, mills, &c. Gl AN FORD. — Soil, principally clay, sand in places. Disadvantages, lying in rear of Barton; want of roads, &c. BiNBROoK. — Soil, clay. Disadvantages, lying in rear of Saltfleet ; want of roads, mills, &c. Saltfleet. — Soil, clay and sand. Advantages, fronting lake Ontario, highways, mills, &c. ■;» ■ .:?i,i.t' I 4 • 1. i- 1 M ii I: I', »! II li'i u m fi 182 TOPOORAPmCAI. SKETCHES. ' THE NIAGARA DISTRICT Is situated next to the above, and for an inland tract enjoys one of the most favourable geographical positions that can well be conceived. Forming in shape nearly an oblong square, it lies between the ends of the two great navigable lakes, with the Niagara junction river and its celebrated falls on its eastern frontier; the Ouse, or Grand river, tra- versing great part of it, and a splendid canal passing through it, forming a commercial junction between the lakes. Lying also on the American frontier by the Niagara, and opposite to the head of the great Erie canal, which here begins an uninterrupted water communication with New York itself, the commercial importance of this tract must in progress of time, and with the gradual settlement of the upper province, greatly and rapidly increase. Besides the towns and villages already built on tliis fertile district, it has immediately opposite to it, on the east side of the Niagara, the thriving villages of Buffalo and Black Rock, with Lewestown and Yongstown farther down near the Ontario. Fort George, or Niagara, on the shore of the lake, and at the mouth of the river of the same name, hav- ing an excellent harbour, and being the seaport, as it may be called, for this side of the country, exhibits, ii' UPPER CAP^ADA. 18a in general, the bustle and gaiety of the frequent arrivals and departures of steam-boats, sloops, and other vessels. These vessels are constantly passing from and to every part of the lake and the St. Law-> rence, as low down as Prescott. Being directly on the frontier, this tovvn is liable to depredation or hostility in the event of war, and, accordingly, in 1813, when in a flourishing condition, was by the American troops under General M'Clure, barbarously- burnt to the ground. Notwithstanding this disaster, however, it has gradually been rebuilt, and now con- tains about 1500 inhabitants. It is protected by a fort, garrisoned by a strong detachment of military, whose presence contributes greatly to the cheerful- ness of t!ie place. Neat houses, numerous shops, several respectable taverns, and two weekly news- papers, published here, with a market held once a week, for the accommodation of the neighbouring farmers, sufficiently attes*. its present importance and prosperity. Seven miles south of the above, and at the foot of the romantic heights of the same name, which have become famous in Canadian history, as the scene of a battle wherein General Brock fell, is the village of Queenstown, pleasantly situated on the Niagara, and opposite to the American village of Lewiston. The monument built to the memory of the gallant general and his companions, on the loftiest part of these heights, forms a prominent object to the numerous voyageurs, who are constantly arriving at X I: I'll j;,?i'- !>'», (•.; ' ' I 1S4 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. » this portage, in elegantly fitted up steam-boats, from York and Kingston, to view the neighbouring falls of the Niagara. The village contains a church, a court- house, large government stores, and a population of between 400 and 500 inhabitants, Four miles west of Queenstown, is the village of St. David, on a small stream called Four-mile creek, and on both sides of the Welland river at its mouth, and ten miles from Queenstown, is Chippewa, con- taining barracks, a small fort, and about 200 inhabitants. At the head of the Niagara river, on the same main road, and 16 miles distant from Chippewa, is Fort Erie, a small village with its fort situated on a rising ground, opposite the American villaores of Black Rock and Buffalo. Other villages and hamlets occupy this district with various degrees of promise, particularly the brook at the head of the Welland canal. But we pass on to the inspection descriptions of the townships, of which there are 1 5 as follows. Grimsby. — SoiU clay and yellow loam. Advan- tages, fronts on ial^e Ontario, and the front all settled ; a small ^. illage at the Forty Mile Creek, with two grist-mills, and three saw-mills. The southern part has the Twenty Mile Creek running through a small part of it, where there are mills and a small village. Disadvantages^ most of the unsettled lands wet, and a great deal of swamp. Caistor. — Soilf principally hard clay. The Chip- pewa Creek, or Welland, runs through it. Disadvan- i ■ t UPPER CANADA. 185 •ees the iagesy badly watered ; a great deal of bad land ; flat, wet, and swampy ; thinly settled, and far back. Clinton. — Soil, clay, yellow and black loam. Advantages^ fronts on lake Ontario, has several saw- mills, and one grist-mill. Disadvantages, badly watered ; deficient in mill-streams. Gainsborough. — Soil^ princij)ally clay. Advan-' tageSy fronts on Chippewa Creek; Twenty Mile Creek runs through a part of it : has two grist and five saw mills. Disadvantages ^ badly watered between the Chippewa and Twenty Mile Creeks; the land Wet and swampy, with some marsh. Louth. — Soil, clay and yellow loam. Advantages, fronts on lake Ontario, Twenty Mile Creek runs through it ; falls of the Twenty Mile Creek afford valuable situations for mills; has two gridt-milU and five saw-mills, and contains a considerable quan- tity of pine timber. Disadvantages, a deficiency of water in dry seasons. Pelham. — Soil, sand, yellow loam and clay. Ad- vantages, fronts on the Chippewa ; is well watered With springs, has one durable mill-stream, with two grist-mills, one fulling-mill, and three saw-mills. Disadvantages, a part of the land much broken with shor' hills, and some of it light and sandy. Grantham. — Soil, clay, black and yellow loam. Advantages, fronts on lake Ontario, Welland Canal and Twelve Mile Creek pass through it ; has three grist-*nills, four saw-mills, one fulling-mill, one carding-machine, salt works and a flourishing village. /'I li.-J' ■,!•*', ■v; .' 186 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHE^. hi '■ St. Catherine's. Disadvantages, a great deficiency of water in dry seasons, except what is afforded by the Twelve Mile Creek. Thorold. — Soily strong clay. Advantages, fronts on the Chippewa ; is well settled, and the Welland Canal winds through it. Disadvantages, under none in particular. Niagara, — Soil, sand, clay, and yellow and black loam. Advantages, fronts on lake Ontario and the Niagara river ; navigable for ships to the extremity of the township. The county town Queenston and St* David's, head quarters of the military, has one steam- mill, one wind-mill, four grist water-mills, and two saw-mills. Disadvantages, want of water for hy- draulic purposes. Stamford. — Soil, clay, sand, and yellow loam. Advantages, bounded by the Niagara river and Chip- pewa Creek. The falls of Niagara afford valuable sites for mills, and are a great resort for strangers during the summer months. Disadvantages, under none in particular. WiLLOUGHBY. — Soil, hard clay in general. Ad- vantages, none but being situated on the Niagara river and Chippewa Creek, and contiguous to a good market. Disadvantages, low, flat, and cold soil; in general badly watered ; the water of a bad quality, and pure water cannot be got by digging. Crowland. — Soil, hard clay generally. Being situated on the Chippewa, and Lyon's Creek running through it ; the latter affording one mill-site, on which 1 TIPPER CANADA. ISf i iciency led by , fronts ^elland !r none I black nd tho tremity and St* steam- nd two for hy- loam. 1 Chip- aluable ■angers under lagara good [)il; in uality, Being mning which J a grist-mill is erected. 'Disadvantages^^ a great defi- ciency of water except what the Chippewa affords, pure water not to be got by digging, except in the upper part of the township. Bertie. — Soil^ clay, black loam and limestone. Advantages^ fronts on the Niagara river and lake Erie. The roads generally good throughout the townships ; is well settled and advantageously situated for market. Disadvantages, want of water for hy- draulic purposes. HuMBERSTONE. — 8oi/, clay and black mould. Ad-^ vantages^ bounde ' on lake Erie, and the dry parts of the township well settled. Disadvantages, a great part of the township is Tamerack and Cranberry marsh; the land generally I >\v and flat, the front of the township thinly settled, unc^ no mill-streams. Wainfleet. — .Soi7, clay, yellow loam. Ad^ vantages, bounded by lake Erie .tiid Chippewa Creek ; the Welland Canal laid out to pass through it. Dis' advantages, a great part Cranberry marsh, and a want of mill-streams. LONDON DISTRICT. That large tract of country westward of the districts of which we have just spoken, and stretching north and south from the north shore of lake Erie, inland until it meets the Huron lake at its southern end, and merging in that extensive tract along its shores. '\ ' •J. » T 'i m\ U''i i M' I ^ ;:1V 188 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. marked in tlie map as the Indian territory, joins the Home district at its western side, and is known by tlie name of tlic London district. It takes this name from a town liaving been founded at an eligible point within its southern quarter, called London, upon the meeting branches of a considerable river called also the Thames ; which, taking its rise pretty far inland and running through a part of the district, falls ultimately into the small lake St. Clair, in the Western district. Besides pos- sessing so much water frontier, this district has the advantage of several other important rivers passing through it, as part of the Ouse or grand river on lake Erie, the rivers Aux Sables and Maitland on the Huron. It is in this district, namely, on the shore of lake Erie, that the celebrated settlement of Colonel Talbot is situated, and exactly about the centre of the lake east and west. Since 1802, when the eccentric Colonel commenced his operations, the progress that he has made in settling the frontier near him, and in making roads and clearing land, is truly astonishing, when it is considered that he and those he brought with him found this interesting portion of the upper province a perfect wilderness. Roads are now made from Port Talbot on every side, not only joining the great road called Dundas Street to the east, and run- ning westward along the shore of the lake to the Detroit river, but penetrating northward considerably through the internal forest. UPPER CANADA. 189 ins the own by ^ been outhern iches of which, hrough i small BS pOS- lias the passing on lake on the the krably On or near the Erie frontier, are first the small village of Dover in front of the township of Wood- house ; ten miles farther westward, on the lake, is ano- ther village, called Charlotteville, in which ironworks arc established, which are plentifully supplied with ore from the neighbourhood, and five miles north, on the common post road, is another village culled Vittori«i, Besides these and the large towns about to be noticed, there is an Indian village called the Delaware, si- tuated on the Thames, about 35 miles from its mouth, with a settlement of Moravians near or beside it, whose known industry and good conduct is evinced here, as well by the thriving corn-fields in the vicinity of the settlement, as by the number and proper de- meanour of the Indian converts they have made, in the village over which they exercise a missionary superintendence. The two projected towns of most consideration in this district, however, are London, on the Thames, farther inland, and Goderich, recently founded by the Canada Company on lake Huron. London is yet but inconsiderable, but from its position in the heart of a fertile country, is likely to become of some im- portance hereafter when these extensive wilds become more settled. But Goderich, situated at the mouth of a considerable river, the Maitland, and on the borders of a vast inland sea, which has a remote commu- nication with the Atlantic itself, and having a deep and well protected harbour, is quite likely, from the rapidity with which settlements are making around it. ■» . I I ir wi> m r- 5 . ■ '; fvi ,'l| V l, 4 M 1 V i f ' ^^' Fe ' |1)| if: 1 ,1 190 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. to become shortly a place of no small commfjicial importance. The town is most judiciously planned upon the elevated shores of the lake, with whicli and the trans- parent waters of the Maitland it is surrounded on three sides. Its streets near the centre diverge like radii from an octagon-shaped market-place ; and above the lake is a lighthouse, and from each end of the planned town, already containing upwards of 300 inhabitants, roads are in progress to the inner towns and settlements of this rising colony. But the most recent description of the whole neighbourhood, and the advantages it seems to possess for settlement, is given by the Canada Company, as follows : — ' A considerable number of enterprising colonists, and among them many possessed of capital, have sold their old cultivated farms and settled near Goderich, where there is a grist-mill, saw-mill, brick-kiln, tavern, &c.; a considerable quantity of land has re- cently been taken up by them, at from 7s. 6d. to 10s. per acre : with this party are several old American settlers, who have been fifteen and twenty years in the province, and well qualified to judge of the advan- tages of the situation. The harbour, the only one on the Canadian side of the lake, is capable of containing vessels of the burthen of 200 tons ; and it has been established as a port of entry, which will insure to tlie inhabitants a great share of the trade with the upper countries, and their opposite neighbours in the new settlements in the United States. ; UPPER CANADA. 191 ^1^ ■> .•I The scenery on the river Maitland has been de- scribed as mor( like English tlian any other in America. There is abundance of brick-earth and potters' clay in every direction round the town. The establishments at Goderich have been formed by the Company, principally to afford facilities, en- couragement, and protection to settlers, who may be disposed to purchase and improve the adjoining lands. Roads are now completed, as marked out in the map, one from Goderich to the town of London, where it joins the Talbot road, and connects the Huron tract with Port Talbot, and another from Goderich to Wilmot, connecting these settlements with York and the various towns on lake Erie. Cattle and provisions can be obtained in abundance by these routes, or the still more easy water communication ^between Goderich and the old well-cultivated settle- ments of Sandwich, Amherstburgh, and Detroit. For the making of roads and towards the improve- ment of water-communications, the building of churches, school-houses, bridges, wharfs, and other works, for the benefit and accommodation of the public, the Company have engaged to expend a sum ,of d^48,000 in the Huron tract ; all such w^orks and improvements to be approved of and sanctioned by the local authorities. With respect to the soil in the Huron tract, it is jonly necessary to quote the words of the Surveyor : — * the quality of the soil through the whole, is such, » m *il! H: !-lf''-*' li ? ■ M \ 192 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHED that I have not seen its equal in the province ; the soil is generally composed of a deep, rich, black loam, and thinly timbered.' In addition to the above general notice of this tract, the following is the description given of its sur- veyed townships by the Corporation Inspectors. Eainham. — Soil, generally clay, rich and fertile ; well timbered. Advantages, bounding on the front lake Erie, and affords advantages of navigation. S*:oney Creek runs tbrough it, with some mill sites. Walpole. — Soil, the rear part generally clay, the front rich and fertile. Advantage.fi, bounding on the front lake Erie, and aftbrds advantages of naviga- tion. St. Gus and Nautikoke Creeks run through it, with some mill sites ; well timbered — some pine. Wood HOUSE. — Soil, the west part sandy loam ; the east rich loam, inclining to clay. Advantages^ bounded on the front by lake Erie, and affords ad- vantages of navigation ; well watered and good tim- ber, with several mill sites ; Patterson and Black Creeks running through it. Good roads in the set- tlement. Charlotteville. — Soilyihe front generally sandy loam, and some light clay ; the rear light sandy soil. Advantages, bounding on the front, lake Erie af- fords advantages of navigation; well watered with creeks and springs, abounding with bog ore of the best quality ; much plains, and not well timbered ; big creek running through part of it. : r\ if' e; the black of this its sur- :s. fertile ; e front i nation, sites, lay, the r on the naviga- througU pine. loam; mtageSf >rds ad- od tim- Black the set- y sandy dy soiK irie af- ;d with of the ibered ; UPPER CANADA. 193 Walsingham. — Soil, the front rich loam, the rear hungry sand. Advantages, bounding on the front Lake Erie, affords advantages of navigation, and well timbered, with mill-sites ; the rear, most generally, poor pine. Big Creek runs through the west part of it. TowNSEND. — Soil, sandy loam. Advantages, well watered, and well timbered ; the west part generally oak, and the east mostly good pine ; some mill-sites. Nautikoke runs through part of it. Windham. — Soil, sandy ; some parts loamy. Dis- advantages, several swamps ; not well timbered in some part ; principally pine, not good for building ; but better timbered in the west part of it. MiDDLETON. — Soil, Sandy. Advantages, several swamps, but affords good pine, and good iron ore. Big Creek runs through it. Oakland. — Soil, sandy loam. Disadvantages, not well watered, or well timbered ; principally white oak, of small growth. Advantage, good roads. BuRFORD. — Soil, the east part sandy loam; the west rich loam. Advantages, the west part well watered, with good timber; the east well watered, not well timbered. Some poor pine. Blenheim. — Soil, loamy. Advantages, well watered, and generally well timbered with oak and pine. Blandford. — Soil, loam and clay. Advantages^ well timbered. Inland, ZoRRA. — Soil^ loamy. Advantages, well watered : < 4>Jl ?,.'.'. ''1K' iKi^. ■!.iVr« iff . '( 9r ')1! I I 194 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. and well timbered ; good maple, beech, and oak. Inland. NissouRi. — Soil^ rich loam. Advantages^ well watered, and well timbered. Inland. London. — Soil^ rich loam. AdvantageSy well watered and well timbered ; bounding on front the Thames. Inland. Westminster. — Soil^ rich and loamy ; well tim- bered ; much good maple, beech, and oak. Some part bounded on the river Thames. Inland. Dorchester, North. — Soil, loam. AdvantageSy well watered, ard well timbered with pine. Inland. Dorchester, South. — Soil, sandy. Advantages, swampy, and timbered in the front with scrubby pine. Inland, Dereham. — Soil, loam and clay. Advantages, well timbered ; Otter Creek running through it, with mill- sites. Inland. Norwich. — Soil, rich loam. Advantages, well timbered ; Big Creek running through it ; some mill- sites. Inland. Oxford, East. — Soil, loam and clay. Advantages, well timbered. Inland. Oxford, West. — Soil, loam and clay. Advan- tages, well watered and timbered. Inland. Oxford, North. — Soil, loam and clay. Advau' tages, well timbered. Inland. Houghton. — Soil, sandy loam. Advantages, bounding on the front Lake Erie, affords advantages of navigation ; well timbered and well watered. . 1 oak. 5, well s, well >nt the ell lira- Some mtagesy nland. mtageSf by pine. mtages^ it, with s, well ne mill- mtages, Advan- idvari' intages, mtages UPPER CANADA. 195 Bayham. — Soily loam, and some clay in part of it. Advantages^ bounded on the front by Lake Erie, affords advantages of navigation ; the Otter Creeks run through it ; well timbered with good pine. Malahide. — So//, loam and clay. Advantages^ bounded on the front by Lake Erie ; affords advan- tages of navigation ; well watered and well timbered. Yarmouth. — Soil^ sandy loam, rich and fertile. Advantages^ bounded on the front by Lake Erie, affords advantages of navigation ; is well watered and well timbered ; good oak. SouTHWCLD. — Soil^ loamy. Advantages^ bounded on the front by Lake Erie, affords advantages of na- vigation ; virell timbered ; Kettle Creek running through part of it. Delaware. — Soil^ loam and clay ; rich flats. Advantages^ the River Thames bordering on the west side ; some part well timbered with pak. LoBo. — So27, loam and clay in the front. Advan* tageSj the River Thames borders the east side ; well timbered in the front concessions, oak and maple ; well watered with small streams. Caradoc. — Soil, loamy. Advantages, the River Thames on the east side ; well timbered with oak. Ekfrid. — Soil, loamy. Advantages, the River Thames borders on the east side ; is well timbered with maple and oak. MosA. — Soil, loam and clay. Advantages, the River Thames borders on the east side ; is well tim- bered with maple and oak. o2 ■a .• .■■,\ %fi^ 'Hi ^i:'-,. m IV* ;'^t ,-. • :l ,. 'I ■ . I 196 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Aldborough. — 5*027, loam and clay. Jdvan- iagesy bounded en the south by Lake Erie, and north by the River Thames ; affords many advantages of navigation, and is well timbered. DuNWicH. — Soil, loam and clay. Advantages, bounded on the front by Lake Erie ; affords advan- tages of navigation, and is well timbered. I h ' H THE WESTERN DISTRICT Is that peninsular tongue of land, that commencing on an imaginary line stretching from the lower limb of the Huron inland, to Lake Eri<5, a little eastward of Point aux Pins, includes all the land westward along the remaining coast of the latter lake — along the eastern shores of the Detroit, the small lake St Clair, the river St. Clair, and a part of the southern shore of Lake Huron. Besides these frontier waters, the principal rivers in this tract are the lower part of the Thames, and the Big Bear rivers ; both of which rise in the neigh- bouring district of London, and winding through several townships, fall into the Lake St. Clair, at no great distance from each other. The former of these, and the larger of the two, is navigable for vessels of some size, as far up as the small town of Chatham, fifteen miles from its mouth, and for common boats inwards to London, in the next district. A bar of UPPER CANADA. 197 dvaw north jes of itages, idvan- sncing ;r limb .stward stward -along ike St uthern rivers nd the leigh- irough at no these, >els of itham, boats Ibar of sand crossing the entrance to this river from the lake, will be some obstacle to its navigation, at least until means shall be found to evade or surmount it. The chief town in this dictrict is Amherstburgh, on the east bank of the Detroit, about three miles above its confluence with Lake Erie. This beautifully si- tuated and somewhat wealthy town, having been founded a considerable time back, when the French had possession of this part of America, and being a frontier post and a military depot during the war, its inhabitants discover more of the refinements of good society than is in general to be found in any other place west of the Lower Province. The town has a safe and convenient harbour ; its situation is de- scribed as being highly picturesque, amidst a fine fruit-bearing country ; it contains nearly 200 houses, a church, court-house, and gaol, many good shops, and a population exceeding 1200 souls. Fourteen miles higher up the Detroit, and facing the American village of the same name, is another ' town called Sandwich, containing about 150 houses; also a church, court-house, and gaol. Besides, also, the village of Chatham on the Thames before men- tioned, there are some others partly formed in dif- ferent parts of the district ; and the early settlements having been made by the French, the lands along the Detroit, &c., are generally laid out in narrow elon- gated slips, very much in the manner of the seig- norial concessions of Lower Canada, while the man- ners of the people partake much of the character •■:/i »'■ ; W 'I M. • 'i ; 198 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, t I] A ' of the better sort of Canadians of the Lower Pro- vhice. Of the particular townships laid out in this district we have no report of the Corporation Inspectors, as of most others ; but this is, in a great measure, sup- plied by the following Agricultural Report of the Western District, procured by Mr. Gait fro, n Mr. IVilliam Ellhity and addressed by the latter to Bishop McDonald, of Upper Canada. ' My Lord, * Sandwich, 17 July, 1827. Your Lordship having expressed a wis to obtain information as to the soil, climatCj and advan- tages that emigrants would meet with in this district, I have, from a desire to interest your lordship in the welfare of this part of the Province, one half at least of whose population are of your Lordship's Church, taken the liberty of troubling you with some obser- vations on the subject. As hemp and tobacco must, at some future day, be the staple commodities raised here, they are first for consideration : the soil is ge- nerally a rich black loam on a clay bottom, well adapted for the cultivation of either. • I cannot at present, with correctness, state the quantity of hemp that an acre will produce, although, until 1812, it was raised in large quantities on the river Thames, and in the Lake settlement, and sold for £62. 10s. per ton. Since the war, the want of a home market and the expense of preparing it for a foreign one, I" f\ UPPER CANADA. 19d ge- well lot at Ihemp It was and 10s. larket one, have since prevented its being cultivated : had we machinery to save this expense, the cultivation of it would well repay the farmer. Flax grows equally well, but has never been raised to an extent beyond the family demand. Six years past tobacco was first sent in bulk to the Montreal market, — the quantity about 700lb'». ; since that time it has greatly increased in quantity, and this season BOOhhds. have been shipped weighing from 1000 to 1100 each : the average sale last year was 4jd. per pound currency, and in quality equal to the second quality of James River tobacco. One hand is adequate to attend four acres, and eight or ten of Indian com : these do not interfere with the full crops. The process of cultivation and curing is simple and soon learned. Wheat does well: the average crop per acre, on the Thames and in the new settlement, is from 20 to 25 bushels per acre ; Indian com from 25 to 50 bushels, according to the labour bestowed in the cultivation of it. Oats, barley, and peas do. well. The natural meadows on the Thames, and at this place, afford great facilities in raising stock of all kinds : sheep thrive well, and are not subject to the diseases that injure them in England ; the rot is unknown. Fruit of all kinds thrives well, particularly apples, the varieties of which are endless. ' The Crown reserves, now the property of the Land Company, are generally of as good a quality as the other lands in the district. In the township of Sandwich they are in a block, five miles from the river Detroit, and are generally of the first f'i -i ■',',* i', 1 ■,\:^ tM. lit K ! 200 TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCHEjI. quality, well adapted to the cultivation of hemp or tobacco. A road has lately been laid out to the Talbot road, adjo • to them ; and, had the Company an agent in this district, the whole of these lands would in a short period be purchased. Would they take flour, hemp, tobacco, and work on the highways, in payment, I think 6s. 3d. per acre would, on these terms, be obtained for them. No deed need be given until the conditions of purchase were per- formed. ' From the nearness of these lands to the Catholic Church, they would all be taken either by Canadian or Irish emigrants of the same persuasion. That the not being able to procure lands in the vicinity of the Church has driven thirty or forty young Canadians from the country, within the three last years, is within my own knowledge : they have gone to the Michegan territory, on the river Haison. * Your Lordship will, in casting your eye to the map of the Province, see the advantage that would be derived to this district in particular, could a canal be made from the first fork of the river Thames to Lake Erie, near to the Romney township-line. From the in- formation I have obtained, and my own observations,. I am. of opinion that this is practicable, at an expense trifling in comparison with the quantity of fine land that would be reclaimed by it, being at least a miUion of acres. This fork runs to within two miles of the Lake, and in the spring of the year, when the waters- are high, has no current. The banks of the Lake I»1 UPPER CANADA. 201 f Erie are at tliis place at least seventy feet high : being composed of gravel and quick-sand in layers to a level with the water, present great facilities in the execution. Could the water be once made to take this course, it would of itself soon wear it to a level with Lake Erie, and thereby lower the waters in Lake St. Clair, if not reduce it to a river. One hundred dollars would be sufficient to level and ascertain at what expense the canal could be made : to know this must be advan- tageous both to the Government and the Company, much of whose lands in Harwick, Raleigh, Tilbury, Rochester and Maidstone would be drained by it, and much land that, without something of this sort being done, must remain a marsh, particularly the fine plains at the mouths of the rivers St. Clair and Thames. The lower township on the Thames is nearly all Catholic, more than the half of whose farms are now under water, and would be much benefited could this canal be made. * Should it be agreeable to your Lordship, I shall at some future day send you what further information I may be able to collect. With the highest sentiments of regard, * I have the honour to be * Your Lordship's • Most obedient Servant, * William Elliott.* Such further notices of particular localities in either province, as we think may be useful for the in- formation of intended colonists, shall be introduced as occasion ofi'ers in the subsequent chapters. r , .1 I \ M ili ,■1' 1 ^^1 1 |, ' if iff Huh ^i' jyi ; M!! 203 t: TRAVELLING. Part I.— BY THE ST. LAWRENCE, &c. When the emigrant lias crossed the AtLintic, the first sight he obtains of the American continent on drawing near to the rugged shores that surround the gulf of St. Lawrence, will not fail to strike him, from its bold outline and dark masses of forest, realizing, with a somewhat repulsive effect at first, all that he has ever heard or read of a savage yet romantic wilderness. Broken, however, into rocky ravines, and diversified by receding vallies, which are occa- sionally seen between the lofty mountains, its wildness sometimes assumes a chastened if not picturesque appearance, which is heightened by the streams that gush into the sea from tlie gorges of the hills, and by not a few considerable cataracts, that, at different points inland, are seen tumbling and foaming from amidst the pine-covered rocks. As he proceeds up the St. Lawrence, which varies in breadth from twenty to two miles, and is so deep, that for a considerable distance towards the interior no soundings are to be had in its centre, the voyager will pass several islands of various size and appear- ance, as well as, perhaps, some large and dangerous ice-floats, or islands, near its mouth, or found fre- '» •'.%'■ . vM .«pi f . t 204 TRAVELLING. M quently drifting down it even till towards the end of May. The scenery now, on both sides of the river, is described as not only lofty and impressive, particularly along its northern shore, but as, in many places, un- folding beauties not often to be met with on this western continent. The whole, however, in this outer verge of the Canadian country, presents, by its com- paratively mountainous and picturesque character, a perfect contrast not only to the level fields and blooming orchards of the rich seigniory of Montreal, higher up the river, but to the still more luxuriant and well laid-out flats which border JLake Erie, &c., in the Upper Province. Every aspect of nature, indeed, in this exterior quarter, from the mountain wilds and sweeping vallies, — only cultivated in scanty patches on the frontier, and stretching inwards for many miles of diversified wilderness,— to the broad St. Lawrence itself and its noble tributants — the Saguenay, in particular, which appears bursting from an enormous chasm in the northern shore — seems to be upon that great scale so well known as a characteristic of American scenery. Still proceeding up the St. Lawrence, the voyager will find the rugged features of the country soften, paiticularly towards the south, and its cultivation rapidly increase, with many pretty and picturesque settlements along its margin, until passing the island of Orleans, which divides the river into two narrow channels, he comes suddenly upon a lofty rock on its northern banks, upon the summit of which he will perceive the flag and fortifications of the high- ^♦*^ end of iver, is cularly es, un- )n this is outer s com- cter, a Is and Dntreal, ant and , in the eed, in Ids and ches on iles of ce itself ticular, asm in tat scale |cenery. oyager soften, ivation iresque |g the to two |a lofty which high- QUEBEC. 205 seated citadel of Quebec. Below this noble head- land, well known by the name of Cape Diamond, he enters that fine expanse called the Quebec Basin,-— in sailing up which, through crowds of shipping, the stranger is treated with one of the finest and most striking scenes on the whole western continent, — his ship soon casts anchor in the river St. Charles, and he is at length landed at the foot of the promontory we have mentioned, in the lower town of Quebec. This part of the Canadian capital he will find mean-looking, and excessively crowded with build- ings, for the convenience of the shipping : the ware- houses, &c., are built on the wharfs. The streets here are narrow, and the ascent to the upper town as irregular and as dirty, as any in the old town of Edinburgh. The city improves however in all re- spects, as the stranger ascends to the upper town ; the houses are mostly built of grey stone, with tall, sloping roofs of tin or sheet iron ; and the view from the ramparts of the citadel, or from the celebrated heights of Abram beyond, and other parts in the neighbourhood, is described as hardly to be equalled. Upon the riverward edge of the rock, on which the citadel is constructed, at the height of 350 feet above the St. Lawrence, stands the Governor-General's resi- dence, and other public buildings, as also a monu- ment lately erected to the memory of Wolf* and his rival Montcalm ; all of which have an imposing effect from point Levi, and a populous country opposite, as well as from the river below. ^ \-\ V >1 I; ,:.iUi 206 TRAVELLING. ' '■* J I On entering the town the stranc^er will be struck with the mixture of dress, manners, and language, which distinguish the motley groups of tlie people in the streets, from those of the ordinary cities of Eu- rope, and exhibit in the eyes of an Englishman a most outlandish variety. The population of the city, estimated at from 30,000 to 35,000 persons, being composed of a mixture of French-Canadians, English, Irish, Scots, and Americans ; besides Indians, and strangers from different quarters, discover all the variety of costume and language which from such circumstances may be expected. The French-Cana- dians predominate to the amount, perhaps, of two- thirds of the whole ; and this being the metropolitan city, such of the French gentry as inhabit the town assume a high bearing, and contribute, with the Oiiicers of the government and the gentlemen of the learned profession, with the addition of a few of the higher class of merchants, to form the aristocracy of the place. Besides the Chateau de St. Louis, where the Gover- nor-General resides, and the old Bishop's Palace, — in the diiferent buildings of which the Provincial Parliament now hold their sittings and transact the legislative business, — there is in this city an extensive collegiate building, called the Seminary of Quebec ; a large modern structure as a Court House ; a gaol of corresponding size ; the Metropo- litan Catholic Cathedral, which is a huge edifice, with a heavy dome and spire, exhibiting considerable in- QUEBEC. 207 struck iguage, jple in of Bu- rn an a be city, , being iinglish, ns, and all the m such h-Cana- of two- opolitan le town nth the of the of the racy of Gover- ilace, — ovincial transact city an iminary L Court etropo- e, with able in- ternal magnificence ; the Protestant Cathedral, like a respectable church in a populous manufacturing town ; the Scots Church, also, a decent affair ; the Ursuline Convent, containing the Church of St. Ursula, and a Convent, wherein forty-five nuns live very recluse and austere, and yet are constantly em- ployed in the instruction of female pupils in the most useful branches of knowledge, besides embroidery, &c.; the spacious Monastery of the Jesuits, now converted into a barrack ; an Armoury, which has arms for the complete equipment of 20,000 men ; the Quebec Bank, in the lower town ; the Quebec Library, con- taining a valuable collection of literature of all sorts ; the Custom House ; the Exchange ; and, in short, all the public erections usual in a metropolitan city. The chief mart of pleasure and business for the ordinary classes of the people is the market-place, and its neighbourhood, which is an elongated area in front of the Jesuits College, now a Barracks, and the Catholic Cathedral ; in the centre of which is the Market-house. From this area several of the principal thoroughfare streets of the city diverge. Here all the varied characteristics of the mixed population of Lower Canada are to be witnessed every morning, for the market is held daily; and here, particularly in summer and autumn, carts loaded with poultry, fish, butchers' meat, vegetables, herbs, flowers, heaps of wild pigeons; throngs of country vehicles, with hay, wood, &c., and multitudes of horses for sale ; the habitants^ or peasantry, of the > »i I • i .' ' 'I s V'.'. "■ -11 '4 m. ^l! I 208 TRAVELLING. province, with their wives and daughters, mingled with Indian Squaws in small carts from Lorette ; the canaille from the suburbs of St. Roch, with the rude carters of the city, all vociferating a Babel of bad French and broken English; in the midst of which the officers of the civil government and the garrison, and gentlemen of the learned profes- sions, the proud French seigneures as well as the no less proud English merchants, and new-made squires of this new country, may be seen in contrast, the whole presenting a scene, which, to the British stranger, is not a little grotesque and interesting*. The upper town is more quiet and pretending than the lower ; and though the streets are narrow, — the roofs and window-shutters of the houses being of tin, and the tout ensemble of their forms presenting several peculiarities truly Canadian, — the whole has the air of a European city. Between St. Louis and St. John's Gate is a fine esplanade, which is the usual place of parade and review for the troops of the garrison ; and in front of the old baronial building called the Chateau of St. Louis, and surrounded by the most distinguished edifices of the capital, is another area called the Place d'Armes, or Grand Parade, which affords an agreeable promenade for the gentry, and is considered the fashionable quarter of the town. Quebec is well called the Gibraltar of British Ame- * Bouchette, vol. i., p. 253. McGregor's British America, vol. ii., p. 480. Talbot, &c. I QUEBEC. 209 ingled e; the th the ibel of idst of LTid the profes- as the w-made ontrast, British ing . ng than w, — the y of tin, several the air and St. le usual of the )uilding dedby ital, is Grand ade for quarter |h Ame- Lnierica, rica ; the strength of its citadel, and its remarkable position for a full command of the St. Lawrence below, and the country around it, fully entitling it to this appellation. A particular description of its walls, glacis and outworks, defending its approach by the main roads, as well as towards the plains of Abram, belongs not properly to our subject. We therefore proceed, for the information of the emigrant stranger, to give a similar brief sketch of the other towns in Lower Canada, particularly Montreal, lying 180 miles higher up the river than Quebec. The traveller between these two cities may pro- ceed either by coach along either shore, or by one of the numerous elegantly-fitted-up steam-boats, which, during the whole open season have constantly plyed up and down on the river ever since 1812, when the first was launched. Passing several villages and hamlets that skirt the margin of the river, — the chief of which, twenty-one miles from Quebec, is called by the French Point aux Trembles, and contains a collegiate church, a convent of nuns, and above 500 inhabitants, all of whom are French- Canadians, — the traveller arrives at the important town of Three Rivers, ninety miles from Quebec. Situated on a point of land on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, where the St. Maurice, on which the celebrated forges are erected, meets the former river, the town of Trois Rivieres occupies a position rather important to the navigation between Quebec and Montreal. It contains a Catholic and a Protes- p '%-, I'- ■ I' ••.I' ••Ci'.<\ ' '»l .i.i.; 210 TRAVELLING. ' .1 ' ■' i ' t 1 tant church, a convent of Ursulins, which may more properly he called an hospital and seminary for female education ; the court-house of the district, a gaol, a small harrack, and ahout 3000 inhabitants. This town is one of the oldest in Canada, and is next in importance to Montreal; its houses are chiefly built of wood; it is very agreeably situated; and though its trade, which consists chiefly of the import and distribution of British-manufactured goods, has been much transferred to the larger cities, it is most conveniently established for the extensive forges of St. Maurice, which lie about seven miles up on the right bank of that important and almost unknown river. Of the villages on the banks of the St. Lawrence, next higher up, the chief is Berthier, midway between Tliree Rivers and Montreal, and lying a little off on the north side of the Chanail-du-Nord, beyond some small islands, situated also in the direct route of the stage-coaches plying constantly between Montreal aud Quebec, and being a principal intermediate post- office station. This town is a place of some im- portance, containing many stores for general mer- chandise, and British-manufactured goods, as well as granaries for produce, a handsome church, inns, shops, &c., and nearly 900 inhabitants. Passing Berthier, and other small villages, the next town at which the steam-boats stop on their voyage to take in fuel, &c., is situated at the confluence of that southern feeder of the St. Lawrence, which we have generally denominated the River Richiieu, — although MONTREAL. 211 more •y for rict, a itants. s next chiefly ; and import Is, has s most i of St. le right ver. vrence, letween off on d some of the intreal » post- le im- II mer- is well „ inns, \e next rage to lof that have [hough; it is also called the Sorell — witli the latter river, namely, 45 miles above Three Rivers, and 135 above Quebec. This little town, called formerly Sorell, but now Fort William Henry, is charm- ingly situated on the east bank of the Richlieu, and at the head of Lake St. Peter, on the St. Lawrence. Its appearance, however, from the latter, is but mean ; still it is regularly laid out, with a square in the centre ; and has within it a small garrison, a block-house, and hospital, with well-built Protestant and Catholic churches, both constructed of stone. From its salu- brious and pleasant situation, this town is generally the summer residence of his excellency the Governor of the province. Its population is variously stated. Mr. Talbot describes it, above ei^ht years ago, as then containing 1500 inhabitants, mostly ronsisting of English and Scots, and gradually increasing ; while Surveyor-General Bouchette, in his recently- published work, gives it at no more than the same number. Passing on, numerous luxuriant and well-cultivated small islands appearing on every side, the traveller soon arrives at the beautiful is'and and seigniory of Montreal, on which the magnificent wooded moun- tain from which it takes its name appears, over- looking the steeples of tlie city. The second city of the province in point of importance, Montreal is undoubtedly the first, says Bouchette, with respect to local advantages and superiority of climate. Betwixt the royal mountain just mentioned, and the river, — on p2 :■(•, '« .' 'if '•i ' J. , 4 li'i ' ; •I ! It I •Wlif 212 TRAVELLING. a ridge of gentle elevation stands the town. * In- cluding the suburbs, it is much more extensive and somewhat more populous than Quebec. Both cities differ very greatly in appearance; the low banks of the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, want the tremendous precipices frowning over them, and all the grand sublimity which characterize Quebec. There are no wharfs at Montreal, and the ships and steamers lie quietly in pretty deep water close to the clayey and, generally, filthy bank in front of the city. The whole of the lower town is covered with gloomy-look- ing houses, having dark iron window-shutters, and although, perhaps, rather cleaner than Quebec, yet it is still very dirty. Tiie streets are not only narrow, but the foot-paths are interrupted by slantmg cellar- doors and other projections*.* This peculiarity of the lower town of Montreal was also strongly noticed by Mr. Talbot in 1824. To add to the inconvenience of the narrowness of the streets, he says, ' the side-paths or causeways are rendered almost impassable, by a barbarous practice which prevails in every part of the city, of erecting outside the doors wooden steps which project from three to four feet into tlie streets. If only two per- sons meet opposite one of those cumbersome piles, they will inevitably be obliged either to retrace their steps, or, out of hasty complaisance, to descend into the channel, a sad accident in winter. It is almost impossible,* adds this Hibernian exaggerator, ' even • McGregor's British America, vol. ii., p. 504. f ! n>^iii mni. V I I ■i 214 TRAVKLLINO. faced to the west by a row of handsome buildings, is spacious, and a place of some resort. The back of the court-house and gaol line the eastern side of this area ; upon which the troops of the garrison are reviewed, and here the military bands usually play to the company who resort thither during ihe evenings of summer and autumn. This city is remarkable for its splendid conventual buildings, partaking the character as well of hospitals, and seminaries of education, as of refuges for religious females. The most extensive of these are the build- ings of La Congregation of Notre Dame, occupying a front of 234 feet, by a depth of 433, in the street of the same name. This splendid establishment is usually called by the French the Convent of the Soeurs NoireSj or black nuns, it being conducted by a Mere Suptrietirr^ and sixty nuns, who dress only in black stuff, and devote themselves to the instruction of young females, sending out occasionally female missionaries, or teachers, to other parts of the district. Another, a general hospital for invalid poor, situate in one of the other principal streets, which is styled the Convent des Soeurs Grises, or grey nuns, is conducted by twenty- four sisters wearing dresses corresponding to their general appellation, and is described as a most useful and truly benevolent charity, — embracing the cases not only of the aged destitute, but that of the helpless orphan, the maimed and distressed of both sexes ; and even the insane and the demented are ministered unto, and their afflictions alleviated, by these sympathetic nuns. :'■ Vl l^- t MONTREAL. 215 [IgS, IB of the area ; ;(!, and upany immer entual ipitals, ligious build- ipying reet of ent is of the ;d by a mly in uction female i strict. situate styled ms, is Iresses and is jvoient ; aged aimed insane their nuns. Besides these, there is the Hotel Dieu, in St. Paul Street, which occupies a front of 324 feet by 468 in depth, and is also devoted to the al)evi.ition of human misery, under the conduct of a superior and thirty-six nuns. These charitable establishments are not only assisted by occasional grants from the provincial parliament, but are partly endowed with landed pro- perty in the neighbourhood, the smallness of which, compared to the calls upon it, has hitherto preserved it from mal-appropriation. In giving a sketch of the city of Montreal, the public buildings of which are in several instances more imposing than those of Quebec, no aim at condensation would excuse us for passing hastily over the new Catholic cathedral, unquestionably one of the most splendid temples in Am.erica. Fronting the Place d'Armes, a central square area of the city, this noble edifice, which was opened as late as the autumn of 1829, is 255 feet in length by 234 in breadth, and exclusive of the lofty tin roof, its walls are 112 feet in height. It has six massive quadrangular towers, with octangular buttresses placed at the angles of each, and terminating at the top in conical pinnacles^ Between these towers, along the roof, there is a pro- menade 25 feet wide ; and surrounding the building below, is a spacious terrace, occupying a space in the principal front of 41 feet. The eastern window behind the altar is in height 70 feet, by 33 feet in width ; is separated by shafts into five compartments, and is intended hereafter to be chiefly occupied with religious paintings on stained glass. (I,. < M • iiii. •0^^* ! ' ?r H jilil 216 TRAVBLLINO. The effect of this magnificent window in the in- terior, from the great western entrance, — of the high altar beneath it, — of the double range of grouped columns that support the vaults of the ceiling, and the double tier of galleries on each side of the great nave,— of the screen of the choir, — of the seven chapels with as many altars, into which the interior is divided, and which can all be seen from the same point, — isdescribed as exceedingly magnificent and imposing. Seven spacious aisles leading in the same direction, and two crossing these at right angles, are occupied by above 500 pews on the ground floor, besides 740 in the galleries above ; and the whole is calculated to seat 10,000 persons, who, by means of five principal entrances, with geometrical stairs leading from the galleries through the towers, may all assemble or disperse with ease in a few minutes. The floor from the front entrance to the chancel is an inclined plane of 3 feet, rising towards the high altar ; and between the lower row of windows on each side, which are 36 feet high by 10 feet ir width, are recesses in the piers, in which are placed the confessionals. This noble cathedral and its towers has an exceed- ingly fine eff'ect when seen overlooking the other buildings, from a distance. Several other Catholic churches adorn this city, and there are besides some English churches and chapels, tiie principal of which, in Notre Dame Street, is a handsome edifice with a beautiful spire. There is also a Scot's kirk, plain as usual, but most respectably attended. Montreal, with its holidays, and its priests ^ MONTREAL. 217 'I city, IS and Ureet, here is jtably jriests and nuns, has very mucli the air of a Catholic city : * the bells of the Catholic churches,' we are told, * are eternally rinj^ing, and outraging all pretence to liarmony ; and are, consequently, a most disagreeable annoyance, particularly to strangers*.' Montreal is also remarkable in a new country for its seminaries of education, particularly those for the French youth. The oldest of these, founded as far back as 1657, is called the Seminary of St. Sulpice, occupying three sides of a square, adjoining the cathedral, and wherein is taught all the branches of learning, up to the higher departments of philosophy and mathematics. The next is the French College, founded in 1719, at which arc usually taught between 200 and 300 students ; and which is well appointed with professors of all the branches of learning, and endowed with some of the best lands in the island. Of late years, however, several English seminaries have sprung up, in addition to these, to meet the \/ants of Canada as a British colony ; and the reproach is now completely done away, which used to maintain that this country was without the means of education. The desideratum then felt was well sup- plied, in the first instance, by the munificent benevo- lence of an opulent Enghsh merchant, who, in 1814, bequeathed in trust, to an institution formed several years previous for the promotion of this object, 10,000/., for the endowment of a college which should bear his name. M'Gill College was accord- ingly founded and established by royal charter, in * McGregor, vol. ii. p. 507. •i 'I ■A 111 1 1 1 If r.i i! ; !' Ill I ■ I ■i I ii ;.* l! II'" 218 •r'RAVELLING. 1821. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and other public functionaries of the provinces, take the cliief charge of this important establishment; and the course of education taught in it is under the direction of a principal, and professors of divinity, moral philosophy, the learned languages, mathematics, natural philosophy, history, and civil law. Several other minor English schools are super- added to this valuable seminary : there is the Mon- treal Medical Institution, vi^hich is proposed to be incorporated into M'Gill College, the latter establish- irient having already acquired, considerable repute from its respectability and learning. Besides this, there is the Natural History Society of Montreal, a most interesting institution, considering the country where it has been formed ; and a Mechanics' Institution, which was established under the patronage of the late Governor, Sir James Kempt, and is under the direction of several of its own officers, including a secretary, a corresponding secretary, a librarian and keeper of the museum. Of the minor seminaries for the English population, the chief is the Classical Academical Institution, and the Royal Grammar School; which, with the Montreal Library, amply furnished with ancient and British literature, and excellent maps hung round the reading-room attached ; a Garrison Library ; an Advocates* Library ; various societies for promoting religious knowledge ; five news- papers, published in this city, with several monthly publications, besides a Canadian Quarterly Review ; — all attest that this new country, and Montreal in rnor, and ices, take jlishment ; t is under fessors of languages, , and civil are super- s the Mon- )Osed to be jr establisli- ible repute ►esides this, Montreal, a the country- Institution, lage of the s under the including a ibrarian and iinhiaries for he Classical il Grammar )rary, amply erature, and om attached ; ary ; various re ; five news- eral monthly erly Review ; Montreal in MONTREAL. 219 particular, is in an exceedingly forward state, both with respect to useful education, and to the provision for mental entertainment and improvement. Before passing from the subject of the public buildings and seminaries of education of Montreal, there is one not yet mentioned, which must be an interesting establishment to poor emigrants, — as it is most creditable to the city where it exists : — this is the Montreal General Hospital, the institution of which first originated with the ladies of the city, who formed themselves into an association, under the name of the Ladies' Benevolent Society , ' expressly for the relief of indigent emigrants, who, invalided by a long sea voyage, and often in a state of absolute destitution, landed in a strange country, the most miserable objects of public charity. In 1818, a fund of 1200/. was raised to relieve the wants of this class of sufferers, and the poor of the city ; and a soup- kitchen was opened, where those philanthropic ladies personally superintended the distribution of alms. This plan was followed up by the estabhshment of a house of recovery for the reception of the indigent sick, and ultimately ended in the foundation of the Montreal General Hospital, the members and sub- scribers to which were incorporated by charter on the 30th of January, 1823*.' The useful building, thus originating, is 76 feet in front ; and, surmounted by a cupola, forms one of the ornaments of this rising city. The position of Montreal, to quote McGregor's * Bouchette, vol. i., p. 225. It , m V,i « 1 /5I li li i i i ! i ■i, H, 220 TRAVELLING. words, *at the head of the ship navigation, and near the confluence of the St. Lawrence with the Ottawa, and its subsequent communication with Upper Canada, tlie Genessee country, and other parts of the United States, will always constitute it one of the greatest commercial emporiums in America, which must increase in magnitude and importance along with the rapid improvement and increasing popula- tion of the upper and surrounding countries.' * In winter,' adds the same graphic writer, * the inland trade of Montreal is much like that of Quebec. Thousands of sleighs may be seen coming in from all directions with agricultural produce and frozen carcasses of beef and pork, firewood and other articles. Keen, calculating Jonathan, who finds out whatever will enable him to obtain a dollar, also directs his way with a horse and sleigh, carrying the fish he caught in Massachusetts Bay, over snow and ice, to supply the tables of the fresh-fish epi- cureans of Montreal.' Again : * In summer, vast rafts of timber come down and pass the town for Quebec, and scows, batteaux, or Durham boats, bring down the produce of the upper country. The batteaux will carry about six tons ; they are forty feet long, six feet broad, flat-bottomed, and draw about twenty inches water, and constructed to shoot or pass through the rapids. The dangers to which the voyageurs^ or boatmen, are exposed are almost incredible. AVhen rowing, they keep time by sing- ing their celebrated airs, the eflfect of which, in fine weather, on the rivers and lakes, is truly delightful. MONTREAL. 221 Moore's charming " Canadian boat-song" is in beauti- ful accordance with local truth. The scows are rude, oblong, rectangular, flat-bottomed vessels, that will sometimes carry down 4 to 500 barrels floating with the stream. They are built in the upper countries merely for carrying down one cargo, and then sold, to be broken up, for a few dollars, at Montreal or Quebec*.' All the usual public buildings of a large city, besides those we have noticed, are to be found at Montreal. Of the hotels there is one near the river, whose appearance is described as more resembling a large public edifice than a mere house of entertain- ment. Here the traveller, or tourist, may enjoy every luxury known in Europe : the ices in summer are described as choice ; and, in addition to abundance of the usual fruits, the Montreal apples, two species of them in particular called the pomme grise, and the pomme niege, are considered delicious, and superior to any apples on this side the Atlantic. The population of this city is variously stated ; but it perhaps amounts to but little more than that of Quebec. More than three-fourths of it is French ; the remainder consists of English, Scots, Irish and Americans. With these there are mixed occasionally not a few Iroquois Indians, who, in tawdry costume, and as degraded as the Hurons of Lorette near Quebec, may be seen lounging in groups about the streets ; not unfrequently relieved by the national- looking Highlanders, from the Canadian Glen- * Vol. ii.jpp. 513, 514,&c. 11 I! ; II .til ^'f il' 222 TRATXLLINO. gary. Besides the numerous Catholic churches and the constant ringing of bells in this city, as before noticed, which give it a more ecclesiastical cha- racter than that of Quebec, the greater number of priests in their sable costume, and of students in their academicals, with the nuns, black and grey, • with their trumpery,' belonging to the convents, constantly walking the streets, add greatly to this effect, and cannot fail to strike a stranger. Of the peculiar amusements here, as connected with the manners of the Canadians, we may hereafter have occasion to give a few particulars. In Montreal, near the Mansion-house inn, there is a theatre, neatly fitted up to hold about 700 persons, for which, however, there is no regular company of performers*. A circus has also been annually opened by a company of A!>^. i^rican equestrians, and concerts of music are sometimes given in the ball-rooms. For the environs of Montreal, the view of them from the Royal Mountain above it already mentioned, —whose altitude is 800 feet above the level of the river, — though less grand than that from Cape Dia- mond at Quebec, is considered, for soft luxuriant beauty, not to be surpassed anywhere in America. The ride round this picturesque mountain is the * *I believe,' says a tourist, after seeing our Miss Kelly- perform at this theatre, ' no speculation turns out more profita- ble to English actors in general, than to cross the Atlantic; and, after making a tour of the principal towns of the United States and Canada, to return to England from Quebec' — Personal Narrative of Travels^ 8fc.^ by the Hon* F. F. De Roos, R, N, p. 144. ■'MH| ill li MONTREAL. 223 urches and , as before istical cha- number of students in and grey, 3 convents, .tly to this • nected with reafter have I Montreal, atre, neatly for which, erformers*. ' a company • music are ;w of them mentioned, level of the t Cape Dia- ft luxuriant n America, tain is the r Miss Kelly t more profita- ALtlantic; and, United States »c.' — Personal c Roos, R' N, favourite for the citizens of Montreal, and that recommended to strangers ; but that from the city to Lachine above, along the upland banks of the St. Lawrence, where a full view is obtained of that most striking and interesting portion of the river, the boiling rapids, or as they may be called the Cascade of the Sault St. Louis, with a romantic Indian village on the opposite shore, and the beautiful and busy bosom of the river expanded into a lake above, form altogether an assemblage of objects, which cannot fail to charm the contemplative traveller. Indeed, to notice with any measure of particularity the various objects of this interesting route, with which ample descriptions have been furnished us, in any other way than to point them out to the attention of the traveller, would far exceed the limits to which by making room for matter merely useful we are necessarily confined. From the Falls of the Mont- morency opposite where the traveller first lands at Quebec, to the great Falls of Niagara in the upper province, — including the Falls of the Chaudiere not far from Quebec, which the stranger should by all means visit ; the beautiful rapids of the cedars near the Isle des Cascades on the St. Lawrence, with the not less interesting scenery around; to the moresplended rapids of the Ottawa at the Chats, and the remarkable lake of the thousand islands — there seems no scarcity of objects to interest the senses or the intellect of the observing traveller, whethe^ his intentions be to make this new colony his home, or to return to Europe with the result of his observations. 224 TRAVELLING. .1 ill III n.li f,^ ■■ •■ wi ! il 'II :|1! • ill! 4 , 'III '1 1 ' 11 T t 1 1 11 i I! fjH i P ! ! 'I •; . t! I- i In speaking, however, of what is useful as well as ornamental in this quarter, and retrospectively of Quebec; in enumerating the public institutions of that city, where, in addition to the old French College, there has of late been set up several English Semi- naries, particularly a Royal Grammar School and a Classical Academy, we ought not to omit making mention of the Royal Institution established some time ago for the advancement of learning, under the patro- nage of the chief authorities of the colony. Still less would it be excusable should we omit to make honour- able mention of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, alsc patronized by the chiefs of the civil government, which has already collected an excellent library, and whose printed Transactions now before us, give good promise of what it may yet do for science, by the observations of its members on the natural productions of this colony. Of these valuable papers, we may hereafter have occasion to make such use, as the popular nature of our subject will admit of. Meantime, as the other route from Europe to the Canadas, namely, by New York and the Erie Canal, &c., will become more frequented as the provinces rise in population and con- sequence, besides being one of particular interest to tourist travellers, as well as to emigrants who may wish to obtain some passing acquaintance with the United States ; we shall follow the traveller also by this route, condensing our original documents on that part of the subject, in a new chapter. TRAVELLING. Part II.— BY NEW YORK AND ALBANY, &c. Tourists, whose object in visiting the States and the British colonies is chiefly the gratification of their curiosity and for amusement, generally find it the best mode to take their passage from London or Liverpool in one of the packet-ships to New York or Philadelphia. Having seen what they think worthy of observation in the States, the usual mode of reaching the Canadas is by taking the steam-boat at the former city and proceeding up the Hudson river to Albany, thence to * get along' by the Erie canal westward, up the country to the river Niagara, which brings them into the British territory in the district of the same name. Upper Canada. Having visited the Falls, and anything else esteemed interesting in the Upper Province, they again take a steam-boat, either at Niagara or York, to Kingston, lo that Montreal and Quebec are the last places they visit. To this class of persons, the expenses of travelling are not an object of much importance, compared to what they are to the or linary emigrant. To all, how- ever, who can afford it, the passage to New York by one of the elegantly fitted up packet sh'ps, is both short and agreeable ; the accommodations are excel- Q n K"i!i!M i : tite ;! 226 TRAVELLING. lent, and the cost, including the best of ordinary wines, is 30/. to each adult. These fine ships some- times make the passage out in little more than three weeks, and four is in general now the maximum period. For genteel families, also, meaning to settle in the more western parts of Upper Canada, the pas- sage, by New York, though more expensive, is in general most pleasant, combining also the advantage and enjoyment of a previous visit to the United States. The sail from New York to Albany on the Hudson, on the way to the British provinces, is described as exceedingly pleasant, the stream itself being noble, and the scenery highly interesting, and differing from anything that the traveller may have seen in England. Lofty and romantic hills surround the traveller on his progress upwards, among which the celebrated Katskill mountains are the most conspicuous, and often present, with the clouds sailing under their tops, appearances at once beautiful and striking. The banks of the river are famous for being the Bcene of several of the American battles with the Engi .h, particularly along its upper shore ; and all along the line of lake Champlain, from which it takes its course, and into Canada, abounding in warlike re- collections, is, for this reason, exceedingly interesting to the Americans. On these banks, also, are here an^ there to be seen the remains of small forts ; and the traveller will pass West Point, or Tarry Town, fifty miles from New York, where the unfortunate Major Andre was executed during the revolutionary war. • ' ' W'M THE HUDSON. 227 Here is now a military college, the best in the United States, costing annually about 2500^. The situation of this place is described as most interesting as well as healthful, and the scenery around it as romantic and even magnificent. As indeed the scenery, on the whole of this river, is of no common character, it may be necessary for the sake of tourists to be a little more particular. On leaving New York, the traveller observes a per- pendicular ridge, called the Pallisades, which, rising to the height of 150 to 500 feet above the river, forms its left bank for about thirty miles, along the foot of whiJi the Hudson runs in a deep straight channel, the right banks of which are more low and picturesque. These Pallisades exhibit a beautiful faint purple surface, their summits are covered with forests, in which are occasional openings, showing streams down which timber is floated from the interior woods. Farther up, the scenery and the windings of the stream are described by all tourists as extremely beautiful, the mountains bold and diversified, ?,nd rising in some places to the height of 1500 feet from the water. * The American mountains,' says the Honourable Fitzgerald De Roos, * differ widely in character from the Earopean. They have no bare and craggy tops, presenting images of sterility and desolation. Gracefully rounded, the summit vies in fertility with the base, and is equally clothed with foliage exhibiting every shade of green. In the highlands of the Hudson, however, a rude rock will Q 2 I'm 'I i ii W ,! !i ;: I 228 TRAVELLING. occasionally burst its way through entangled branches of the creepers and the vines, and bare its bosom to the noble river *.' Along the edges of the stream, and at the very foot of those hills, are numerous houses, and after proceed- ing about forty miles, the traveller emerges from tlie highlands to a more tame country, while the river widens into an expansive bay, called the lartan sea. Near this the traveller will see one of the American places of punishment, namely, a prison for solitary confinement. Passing the beautiful neighbourhood of West Point, formerly mentioned, as also New- burgh, Kingston, Katskill, Hudson, and other vil- lages, the scenery, through the remainder of the journey up to Albany, is more varied, with flat, forest and mountain ; yet still is of a character exceedingly likely to interest the traveller from Europe. The steam-boats plying on this river are much larger than any usually seen in England, being six and seven hundred tons burden, and so splendidly fitted up, that like those on the St. Lawrence, sailing above Quebec, they are often named by travellers floating palaces, and are spoken of as more fitted for voluptuaries, than for cool, calculating republicans. The captains have regular counting-houses in these splendid hotels ; there are dressing-rooms, where a barber is kept in attendance for the comfort of the passengers; liquors are kept of all sorts, and in * Personal Narrative, p, 93. m !■ ALBANY. 229 id branches , bosom to le very foot er proceed- es from the e the river lartan sea. e American for solitary yhbourhood also New- l other vil- ider of the I fl at, forest exceedingly I '• ' are much 1, being six splendidly nee, sailing y travellers re fitted for 'epublicans. 3S in these ims, where [ifort of the :ts, and in general, an abinidanco of pure ice ; and the cooking is reported by Englishmen to be excellent. These vessels carry from 100 to 300 j)iissengcrs daily throughout the season, and some sail at the rate of more than twelve miles an hour. Tlie fare by these fine vessels is remarkably moderate, and still more so bv 'he others that are more fitted for poorer travellers, as we shall have occasion hereafter particularly to state. These last conveyances are commercial vessels, called tow-boats, which are dragged by relays of horses, and travel night and day ; and the company to be met with in their cabins, consists of farmers and their wives, store -keepers, and other traders, with a slight mix- ture, occasionally, of American captains and colonels, besides numerous * squires,* the usual name given in America to men who have been constituted local justices of the peace. As the Hudson is the great outlet for American citizens, travelling in summer to rusticate at the Katskill mountains, or to be fashionable at the Saratoga springs, beyond Albany — as it is also the proper route from the States, for tourists, and emigrants travelling to the British Colonies, this river is not only one of the most fre- quented in the States, but by the company to be found on it, affords to the observing and the inquisitive excellent opportunities for obtaining information, and studying character. ' Albany,* says an intelligent Englishman, lately in this quarter, whose original descriptions we are per- r ■ t I I i\ ■I kM\'\ 1 ;! . 1 1 'It: 230 TRAVKLLINO. milted the use of, * is tlie scat of government of the State of New York, and is a well-situate and \. ell-built town, and one of the oldest in the coir.itry. In the neighbourhood are many Dutch families, descendants of very old settlers ; even in the town are some re- mains of Dutch buildings — the gable biiilt to the street. The principal street is very wide, a id too steep to be comfortable, but its elevation makes the upper part very pleasant ; at the top of it, in the centre, is the Capitol, where meet the Assembly, the Senate, the Supreme Council, and the County Court. From the rotunda at the top, is a fine view of a beautiful country on the other side of the river. The building itself has not much to boast of ; the State Library in it almost provokes a laugh, but perhaps what I saw was only a small portion of it. There are about 20,000 inhabitants. We are now losing sight of the black population ; they form a very insignificant portion of the inhabitants here. * There was rather a want of labourers. Wages at this time (the middle of summer), a dollar per day. The population is active and stirring, and the place is the focus of a great trade ; it is the grand resting- place, in transitu, between New York and the Western States, by reason of the two canals, the Champlain and the Erie. The trade of this city has varied much ; it is the place of an immense tran- sit, but some of the merchcints say, that the western traders find it so easy to proceed to New York by the steam-vessels, when they have reached Albany, KATSKILL. 231 nent of the d N. ell-built 'y. In the lescendants J some re- the street, )o steep to the upper le centre, is he Senate, irt. From a beautiful 'he building 1 Library in what I saw are about ightof the isignificant Wages at \r per day. the place is id resting- and the canals, the f this city lense tran- he western York by d Albany, that their business is much interfered with. For my own part I should doubt this. Between the 20th of April and 1st of September COOO canal-boats entered inwards, and as many proceeded outwards. * No building here struck me as worthy of remark ; the museum was trumj)ery in the extreme. A great many coaches start from hence. By one line, Buf- falo, 29G miles distant, may be reached in less than three days.' The hotels in this city are of the first description, and are in summer crowded with company going down to Saratoga springs, or on their wav to either of the Canadas. Besides these celebrated springs, and the to n of Balston near, there are several other places in the vicinity of Albany which tlie curious tourist is recommended to visit. As he sails up the river from New York, tliere is, first, the romantic object of Pine Orchard House, which stands like an eagle's nest perched on the summit of a rock in the Katskill Mountains near the village of Katskill, at an elevation of about 2600 feet above the level of the river below. In particular, however, there is Moun- tain House, a fine hotel, built on a lofty spot on the same mountains, about thirteen miles from Katskill town, and thirty from Albany, for the accommodation of those who wish to visit the scene of Washington Irving's celebrated story of " Rip Van Winkle." From the Notes of a gentleman who lately travelled to Upper Canada by ih\ route — namely, Nathaniel Gould, Esq., of London, — with which we have been i a I* ,1 I i ■■ ■' : t| .13 i 1 ! •i! ' M'i ;|1 1:1 ,i :m »: ^1 Is l\^ irn h 11! ;ii 232 TRAVELLING. kindly favoured on the present occasion, and which we shall have occasion to quote more than once, from the fresh and important information that they afFord^ we extract the following interesting description of his visit to these mountains, as giving a graphic idea of American roads and scenery : — * I got a carriage and excellent pair of horses to proceed to the Mountain House, called thirteen miles, for one dollar and a quarter, being the regular stage fare ; I was the only passenger in the boat that stopped here, and the preceding boat had filled two coaches with parties proceeding to the hotel. For four or six miles the country undulates — much as in Sussex, which it partly resembles, from the young growth of timber, where left uncleared, being like hop -pole plantations. At seven miles we come to the haif"WP j house, and here begins a most severe ascent. We ha*^^, overtaken the other coaches, and most of us got out to walk. For myself, I walked all the remaining distance. The road, though ex- tremely bad, must have been an expensive under- taking to the owner of the house. It is through a pine forest, the land not worth a gift. Here, for the first time, I saw what has since been common enough with me — a sample of corduroy road. It i» made of trunks of trees laid closely together across- the road : it is the common mode of making roads through swamps or wet forests in America, Canada, and Russia, in fact, in all new and wooded countries. The darkness had gathered upon us, and I was so •I I MOUNTAIN HOUSE. 233 1, and which m 1 once, from y they affordy ■ iption of his ■ iphic idea of i )f horses to ^B^ irteen miles. egular stage H e boat that H d filled two B hotel. For W -much as in f the young , being like •i ive come to fu most severe 'V coaches, and jb f, I walked ^ though ex- |1 nsive under- l# is through a K I ere, for the \ en common H road. It i» i jether across ^i laking roads 1 ica, Canada, i ed countries. 1 d I was so exhausted with fatigue that I found myself alone. The wood-robin, with a tone like a blackbird, and the " ff^ip poor fVill " were very numerous : the latter appears to me be a species of goat-sucker, night- hawk, or fern-owl. We passed two small lakes, where the bull-frogs broke the stillness of night. We arrived long before tlie carriages, and made our- selves comfortable for tea. * As a view of the sun rising from this eminence is among the principal objects of curiosity here, we got to bed as soon as possible. The whole household was stirring before three o'clock; but a dense fog obscured everything. We looked down upon a sea of clouds, having precisely the appearance described by balloon travellers, and although it was perfectly fine and dry during the day with us, we did not see the valley or the river till six in the evening, when a small patch was visible ; we afterwards found that the day had been clear below us, although the clouds had looked lowering. I was surprised here at seeing lightning proceeding out of a light fleecy cloud. This house has been built by a Company to attract visitors ; it is very large, and built with great show ; it had last season between 400 and 500 visitors at one time ; the expense of building, (although it is all of wood, and cut on the spot), and the road to it, must have been great ; the landlord tells me not more than 30,000 dollars, or under 7,000/. Both house and country are well worth visiting — the situation romantic — placed on the edge of a table H ■■Mi ' \\. ^ ij!i*i 234 TRAVELLING. rock, 2580 feet above the river, surrounded with mountains covered with pine forests, and intersected by tremendous ravines ; it is kept by Mr. Webb, an Englishman, of pleasing manners, and attentive to his guests. It is said that Round-top, the most elevated situation in the neighbourhood, is 3700 feet above the level of the sea, but I should much doubt the correctness of this. Waggons were hired for the ladies, and the gentlemen walked through the wood to the Falls or Cascades ; the scenery is very pic- turesque, in style more like the Falls of Fyers in Scotland than any others I have seen ; the first fall is 176 feet, the second 80, after which is a con- tinuation of falls and rapids for a considerable dis- tance. Immense masses of shelving rock overhang the abyss ; I threw myself on one of them, as Col- lins's description of danger occurred to me — *' Or throws him on the shelving steep Of some huge hanging rock to sleep." * The superstratum is of a much harder nature than the under, which is continually mouldering away, leaving the surface rock overhanging to a great dis- tance ; this is the case at most of the great falls in America and Canada, so that the shute of water may be passed behind. The quantity of water here would be insignificant, were it not that a man who has erected a small house, with refreshments for visitors, confines it by a dam, which he opens, and lets down water in sufficient quantity when he is paid. We f MOUNTAIN HOUSE. 235 ounded with id intersected Ir. Webb, an i attentive to >p, the most is 3700 feet I much doubt hired for the ^h the wood is very pic- of Fyers in the first fall h is a con- iderable dis- >ck overhang lem, as Col- ne — r nature than ering away, a great dis- reat falls in >f water may r here would an who has for visitors, id lets down paid. We 1 went to the bottom, and stood on what is called " Rip Van Winkle's Stone," whilst the dam was opened; we afterwards went behind the water. — The effect of the cold air rushing against the face and breast is curious, and is the same, in a less degree, as that pro-, duced at the Falls of Niagara. ' The guide fired a gun repeatedly ; the reverbera- tion was grand. Cooper, in his novels, has occa- sionally described it ; the sound was sent back from the highest part of the mountains, about 16 miles off. The gun was four feet three in the barrel, smooth, but with a rifle sight ; the bore 36 balls to th^ pound ; cost 16 dollars. He says he is sure of a buck at a. hundred yards : it put me at once in mind of " Long Carabine," in Cooper's novel. * The whole of this district is original forest, not worth clearing ; indeed it is a wonder how the trees find root in it ; many of the largest are seen in all the forests, either lying down in various states of de- composition, or standing dead ; scorched with fire at the foot, or blasted with lightning at the top. There is a great variety of trees here, and some magnificent flowering shrubs. Eagles are seen floating above, and wolves, bears, and deer, are in the neighbouring forest ; the latter frequented the two lakes, but are getting shy as visitors become more abundant. An old fox-hound, kept at the hotel, got on the trail of one, and was absent above two hours. In the lakes are cat-fish, but no eels above the falls. I copied the li^TPlI ! "'|s!;| ^m i !'■ •'I? r ii-; ^:! ts i| ri:i 236 TRAVELLING. English names from the guide's book, and to my surprise there were only nine in the twelvemonth. * On the sides of the two small lakes the trees are dead or dying ; some had fallen, and others had been cut down, leaving the ground in a state very similar to our timber mosses in Scotland and Ireland, when the bog is removed ; and as moi 3 trees fall, the water seems to encroach, and the bog earth to cover the decayed trees, till in process of time it becomes peat moss. That Scotland, Ireland, and the north of Eng- land, now so destitute of trees, were once covered like this courtky, cannot be doubted ; but there is in this country in some degree the appearance of newness — I mean that the country does not appear old enough in its formation of superstratum, to exhibit such con- firmed mosses as the Old World. The strong: anti- septic quality of moss-water does not exist, though the colour is nearly the same. I well remember, a few miles from Killin, in Perthshire in Scotland, the commencement of a moss in a similar manner. When at Dunkeld, the head forester of the Duke of Athol mentioned to me a tradition that the Romans had burned the forests when they could advance no farther ; the appearance of fire is certainly not un- frequent in the trees dug out of the bogs.' As the springs of Saratoga, about sixteen miles above Albany, are not exactly in the route of the traveller to Upper Canada, and are pretty well known by report to tourists, we shall only mention, that IEO: "« i ill!! '11- SARATOGA. 237 and to my /emonth. the trees are ers had been very similar eland, when all, the water to cover the ecomes peat orth of Eng- covered like !re is in this )f newness — r old enough bit such con- strong anti- ;xist, though •emember, a Scotland, the lar manner. he Duke of he Romans advance no nly not un- xteen miles oute of the well known mtion, that they were originally discovered by the Indians, or rather by the animals who resorted to them, as one of the salt fountains, or 'licks,' as they are called, which are found in several parts of the Ame- rican continent, and are particularly abundant in Upper Canada. These springs are strongly impreg- nated with salts and iron in different proportions, and with other combinations : and of the waters of one of them, called ' the Congress,' and at present the most fashionable, an astonishing quantity is bottled, and sold all over the states. The original natural spring, called the Round Rock Spring, rises from an orifice in the top of a conical rock, five feet high, and is the greatest curiosity of the whole ; though now fashion, even of Yankee formation, has thought proper to desert it. The English tourist, who has time for observation, will probably find the fashion^ such as it is that reigns here, a greater curiosity still, though as much to be respected in its way, perhaps, as the same equivocal power is in our own aristocratic country*. * The following amusing particulars of this American Chel- tenham, we cannot avoid giving also from Mr. Gould's clever Notes formerly quoted. ' The town,' he says, ' is of recent erection, and is a collec- tion of immensely large wooden hotels and boarding-houses, three stories high ; the Congress Hall is a largo good-looking house, with a row of seventeen columns rising from a tsrrace cc gallery 21 feet wide to the eaves, aad forming an excellent pro- menade sheltered from the rain or sun; the length of its front is about 200 feet, with wings of 70 feet ; the columns twined round with some large-leaved creepers give an excellent effect. M *i! Ijlli ill' ■J m * I i^i! in s:| it- I ii till 11 s !■» ^ 238 TRAVELLING. Balston, eiglit miles from the above, has also a number of springs, rather more chalybeate than saline in quality, and has of late years set up as the rival of Saratoga. Next this town is Shenectady, sixteen miles from Albany* ; a respectable town on the Mohawk river, with a seminarv of education called Union College, and containing not less than 70(;0 inhabitants. At the confluence of the Mohawk This description will do for many others of the hotels. This house sometimes " manages" to accommodate from 400 to 500 visitors. I afterwards found that a large hotel, with a large room, is one of the first requisites in the "location" of a town that is intended to be large. The charges of living at these hotels are from eight to ten dollars per week. It is true that the bed-chambers are, compared to the size of a man, about as large as a lion's cage in a menagerie. Those who resort to the *' springs" appear to make the most of their time ; the early hours at Cheltenham are remarkable, bu* here they " out- Herod Herod." From three o'clock in the morning, pad, pad, pad, go the heels cf the water-drinkers, along the gallery, much to the annoyance of more quietly-disposed patients j the water is drunk in larger quantities than at any of our Spas. I heard of one bulky old gentleman who was recommended to " drink plentifully ;" accordingly, on the morning of his arrival, he was up with the earliest and drarak with the thirstiest ; but in the evening, finding himself " much out of sorts," he went to a physician, the "smart" man of the place to whom he com- plained of " bei7ig heavt/." " Perhaps," said the medical gen- tleman, "you have not taken sufficiently of the Congress?" " Oh, yes, pretty considerable," was the reply. *' How many glasses ?" — " I kept no particular account ; but about 35 I guess." — " No wonder then, my good sir, that you feel a little heavy," said the physician.' * See note F . Appendix. ji U MOHAWK FALLS. 239 e, has also a alybeate than set up as the 3 Shenectady, table town on of education not less than >f the Mohawk [he hotels. This I from 400 to 5Ga tel, with a large ation" of a town r living at these It is true that a man, about as who resort to the time; the early lere they *' out- )rning, pad, pad, he gallery, much ients ; the water L- Spas. I heard ■nded to " drink ' his arrival, he hirstiest j but in )rts," he went to ) whom he com- he medical gen- the Congress?'* . *' How many but about 35 I ; you feel a little river with the Hudson, there is also a pretty village, or rather town, called Waterford, contain in^^ about 1400 inhabitants. Near this place, besides the town of Troy on the Hudson, is a sight well worthy the notice of the tourist, particularly if he be an amateur in cataracts and cascades ; namely, the cahoes, or great falls of the Mohawk. At these falls the river is about a fourth of a mile wide, and runs like an immense canal in a deep channel, with perpendicular sides of rock from 50 to 120 feet high. The fall is entirely across the breadth of this channel, and in one leap over a rounded declivity of 60 feet or more. Not far from hence, the great Erie canal is carried over this river in an aqueduct of 748 feet in length*. As Albany is the head-quarters for all travellers and tourists proceeding from the States, either to Upper or Lower Canada, or to the Eastern British Colonies, we shall add a few particulars regarding both of the principal routes to these provinces. To travellers from Britain, proceeding only to the Lower Province, this route has several recommendations, and the remainder of the journey, until the St. Lawrence is reached, comprehends many points of interest, and includes much agreeable scenery. Following the traveller by the latter route, at Albany he will proceed in a stage to Sandy-hill, a small town where the Hudson takes a turn west- ward, and where it is joined by a canal which unites * See note G. Appendix. «? V 'V 1^. i» ? ! I ! ! Mil I MIS i':! ;i , I iii. 240 TRAVELLING. that river with the southern end of Lake Champlain, at another town called White-hall. From hence, that is from Sanay-hill, he may proceed by one of two routes, either by White-hall to Ticonderogo, farther on ; or, taking the stage to the left, to the town of Caldwell, situated at the extremity of Lake George, he may there take a steam-boat, which will carry him straight on to Ticonderogo, before mentioned, and thence down the whole length of Lake Champlain. This route is recommended to those who have a taste for natural beauty, as the scenery on the small lake George is described as exceedingly interesting. The historical interest connected with Ticonderogo, Crown Point, and other spots on the borders of Lake Champlain, is well known, and the English traveller will have little chance of remaining ignorant of the particulars of it, if there be any Americans in his company on the route. At Burlington Bay, where he will stop, on the right side of this delightful lake, stages are to be found, which will convey travellers across the country to the southern borders of the British provinces, or to Boston on the American coast. Proceeding on down the lake, the traveller enters Lower Canada, at the Isle-au-NoiXy at the head of the Richlieu, or Sorell river ; from thence he is conveyed to St. John's, down the river, and now crosses by the stage to the St. Lawrence, which he meets at the Canadian town of La Prairie, oppo- site to the island of Montreal. Returning to Albany, the conveyance from it to DIFFERENT ROUTES. 241 ike Champlain, om hence, that by one of two derogo, farther ^o the town of Lake George, hich will carry ore mentioned, ake Champlain. ho have a taste the small lake cresting. ,h Ticonderogo, borders of Lake Inglish traveller ignorant of the nericans in his on Bay, where delightful lake, onvey travellers borders of the the American :e, the traveller u-Noix, at the from thence the river, and awrence, which Prairie, oppo- ance from it to M. Upper Cai ada, is either by coaches which run from it to Buffalo, at the head of the Niagara river — which, at greater expense, make the distance in about three days — or by the great Erie Canal, which is much more tedious, but a much cheaper mode of convey- ance, and better suited for emigrant families of the poorer class, particularly if they have families and some luggage. Besides this, there are coaches called extras, exceedingly convenient for tourists, which may be had for any distance ; and travelling by which is the nearest to posting in England, of any mode to be had in America. The comparative cost of these different modes of conveyance, we shall give as we are enabled, further on. Tlie tow-boats, for poorer travellers, go up to Troy, above Albany, where they meet the Erie Canal, but the usual mode for travellers is to take at Albany one of the stages to the town of Shenectady, on the canal, by which some distance is saved, and they can then proceed by any of the com- mon routes. To the traveller who can afford the difference of ex- pensfc it is recommended to proceed no farther on the canal than to Utica, eighty miles from Albany ; and if he wishes to see a new country in every stage of progress from wild forest to those staring examples of upstart and rude improvement, which make so common a feature of American scenery, he will strike of at Utica by coach, and proceeding through Anan- dago, Auburn, and Geneva, return to the canal at the populous town of Rochester. Thence leaving the R m k mr^ I • 1 li I iliiil ' ; II! ,1 it. , 242 TRAVELLING. canal again, he will pass through Batavia, another rising town, and reach Buffalo, in a comparatively short time, and by a route of some mterest. To return to the bustling town of Shenectady, con- taining Union College, and constantly busy with boats and coaches, the traveller is towed along the canal at the rate of about three miles and a half an hour, on the average. * The canal for the distance of twenty-six miles,' says Captain Basil Hall, * winds along the base of a low and prettily-wooded bank on the south side of the Mohawk river. Our perpendi- cular height above the stream may have been thirty to forty feet, by which elevation we commanded a range of prospect both up and down, of great extent and variety. The Mohawk is studded with many islands, and long projecting, flat, wooded points, lying in the tortuous reaches or bendings of the stream. The vigour of the spring tints had not yet yielded *:o the withering effects of the fierce summer. Be the case as it may, I cannot conceive a more beautiful combinatio»i of verdure ; and as the wind- ings of the canal brought Ub in sight of fresh vistas, new cultivation, new villages, new bridges, new aqueducts, rose at every moment, mingled up with scattered dwellings, mills, churches, all span new. The scene looked really one of enchantment *.' The cabins in the canal barges are described as comfortable ; but the low bridoes under which they have constantly to pass incommode the passengers * Hall's North America, vol. i. p. 119. fl ii* -» UTICA. 243 via, another miparatively St. Bctady, con- r busy with ed along the nd a half an e distance of [all, * winds ded bank on ir perpendi- 3 been thirty )mmanded a great extent with many )ded points, ings of the had not yet rce summer, leive a more as the wind- fresh vistas, ridges, new ^led up with span new. ent*.' described as which they passengers 9. i ri M on deck, by obliging tlicm frequently to move. Pass- ing an Indian village, called Coughnawaga, and also the little Falls of the Mohawk, the traveller comes to Utica, which, for the sake of the tourist, may require a word of description. * Utica,* further says the Notes with which we liave been furnished, * not very long since a wilderness, is now a " smart," bustling, large town, with a '* con- siderable" of business and population, the latter being above 6,000. It is a genuine Yankee town, the lads all spry, with a bit of the steam-engine in their com- position, and an eeliness of look in their exterior ; they are, in fact, the very people that travellers spnak of, and very different from the steady in- inhabitants of the German Flats : they are an active, shrewd, guessing people, calculating how far a thing is likely to pay quickly, and then increasing outlay as the speculation succeeds. This is the sort of peo- ple that continue spreading themselves over the new western countries ; nowise nice about a particularity of location, if there is a prospect of getting on ; even the fever and ague, a sore drawback in this district, and indeed in nearly all the new settled countries, does not deter them.* Near this place is also to be seen the Trenton Falls, which are worthy the atten- tion of tourists, furnished, as usual in America, with a Bar, or drinking-place, in one of the most romantic situations on the cataract, ' to the utter ruin,* savs Captain Hall, ' of the unhappy sublime and beautiful.' As the route along the canal from this place to the R 2 h 244 TRAVELLING. H U. tfe l!V next town on it, named Syracuse, is described aa * flat and unprofitable/ we follow the tourist, who diverges tlirougli Anandago and Brutus to Auburn, remarkable as containing the famous state prison for solitary confinement, in which our last informant found about 600 prisoners. Travellers will visit this prison, if possible. It 's an imposing building, standing on five acres of ground. The punishment, as is generally known, is a kind of solitary, dumb working employ- ment, — for although the prisoners work within sight, not a word is allowed to be spoken ; and after their labours they are led back to their separate cells of seven feet long by seven feet high, and only three feet and a lialf wide, and a space of ten feet to the air. To this horrid place none are sent for a shorter period than three years and a day, while some are doomed to its cells for life. The village is described as pretty, and the road near it is Macadamised, — a very unusual gratification to a traveller in America. This interesting route leads, afterwards, over the end of a beautiful sheet of water, forty miles long, named the Cayugua lake, by a wooden bridge of a mile and a quarter in length ; after which the traveller reaches the Seneca Falls, or, more properly. Rapids, on another lake named after the sage ; and thence, passing through the newly set-up town of AVaterloo, makes a lialt at the beautiful town of Geneva. Not less delightfully situated, than pretty in itself, this town seems to differ from most American villages by the neat cottage-style of its houses, and the numerous \ GEXEVA. 245 [escribed a» ourist, who to Auburn, e prison for rmant found , this prison, standing on is generally ing employ- rvithin sight, I after their rate cells of d only three et to the air. lorter period are doomed led as pretty, very unusual ds, over the miles long> Ige of a mile the traveller :)rly. Rapids, and thence, of Waterloo, eneva. Not itself, this 1 villages by he numerous gardens, and tlio profusion of flowers and shrubs with which tiiey are ornamented. Here broad streets, and the evidences of w<\ihh, cause this place and its vicinity to be viewed with pleasure by the j)assing traveller. This, for many miles, the reader will observe, is the Genessee country ; and in all the inns along the road, says Mr. Gould's Notes, are advertisements of lands for sale, many stated as being good, to the west of Genessee river, at three dollars per acre ; one-third to be paid for in grain, stock, horses, &c. ; of the re- mainder, five per cent, to be paid in advance, and the balance in ten years, three years of it without interest. Large tracts of land are purchased by companies of speculators, and thus sold out. Canandaguia, a little beyond Geneva, and 29 miles from Rochester, is situated upon a cultivated slope, at the foot of which is a lake, several miles in circum- ference, and encircled with pretty cottages and rich forests. This town is about a mile long, consisting of one broad and picturesque street, with two rows of poplars on each side ; and having a beautiful church at one end, with other public buildings. The popula- tion of this place is 2,000, and of its general appear- ance Dr. Howison says, ' It is difficult for description to do justice to its surpassing beauty and fascinating elegance.' The country here is very fertile, and well cleared. Passing Fort Hill, on the crown of which is the re- mains of one of those ancient circular fortifications, which are to be found both in Upper Canada, near the mrTw i hi I m\ i 1 > It I ! 1 ' Jl 3 , ■: -P tl ■I l! ll !> i It i| ,%.:; f ff -J' i '^ ■ iiir:. 246 TROWELLING. Rice Lake, and various other parts of Northern Ame- rica, and the origin of which is still a subject of much controversy, the traveller arrives at Pittsford, and next gets back to the Erie canal, at the remarkable town of Rochester. Rochester, which has recently risen out of the wil- derness, is 85 miles from Lewistovvn, on the Niagara ; and, from various causes, is the theme of most tourists travelling this way. ' As this place,' says our Notes formerly quoted, ' in its rise, progress, and pre- sent extent, is one of the wonders of the world, it will require a more minute description than I have thought necessary in my notice of niost other places I have visited. Although now called the fifth town in the state of New York, containing above 11,000 inha- bitants, not one adult, is a native of the place the first child born in it was in the year ^.810 ; of its present population, about 5,000 are under fourteen years of age. ' This town owes its greatness and its celebrity to superb waterfalls on the Genessee river, to the grand Erie canal passing through it, and its proximity to lake Ontario, to which sloops can approach within two miles and a half; by these water- conveyances it has cheap transport to the great western lakes, to Canada, and to Albany, and New York. The Erie canal crosses the river on a well-built aqueduct of stone, 800 feet long on ten arches. It is 218 miles from Albany and 8 from lake Ontario. The canal, which is fed from the river, is 501 feet above the ROCHESTER. 247 »rthern Ame- iject of much )rd, and next irkable town it of the wil- the Niagara ; me of most ice,' says our :ess, and pre- vvorld, it will have thought )laces I have I town in the 11,000 inha- lace the first )f its present urteen years 5 celebrity to to the grand proximity to roach within mveyances it rn lakes, to . The Erie aqueduct of is 218 miles The canal, Jt above the i f i i ■-■■ level of the Hudson near Albany, where the tide reaches ; it is 270 feet above lake Ontario and 64 feet below lake Erie. There are two falls of the river, one of 12 feet, the other of 97 feet, which must, before they were obscured by building, have been a most magnificent sight. The river is about 400 feet wide, and now supplies, through canals from the high level, 20,000 cubic feet of water per minute, equal to 38,400 horses' power. The fall on the river, within two and a half, is 226 feet. There are three bridges across the river, the longest of which I found to be about 480 feet ; it is carried on a level over the river about 480 feet, and then rises at a considerable angle to cross a canal and towing-path. In American lan- guage, this is called " water privilege," and a noble privilege it is to the proprietors. I was informed at one of the factories that a fifty feet frontage of the river pays 3000 dollars, or 67 5Z. for the location, for which a supply of water from the canal or race is granted ; and, from the nature of the situation, it is possible to use the same three times over.' The principal object, however, that travellers admire here is Clyde bridge in the neighbour- hood, which. Dr. Howison visited when passing this way, and speaks of with his usual enthusiasm. He says, ' I next strolled about tv/o miles out of town, that 1 might survey Clyde bridge, or rather the ruins of it; for half of this magnificent structure fell several weeks before I arrived at Rochester. The bridge which was built of wood, and consisted of a single arch, was =C3SI H. !J ,.7f. :i 1; ''!•! !i 1*11 lii I ■ 'M ■ 1: •f' ^1, ■■% 248 TRAVELLING. thrown across the Genessee river, for the purpose of opening a nearer route between Canandaguia and Lewiston. • Clyde bridge, when entire, formed a piece of archi- tecture which was altogether unrivalled by any thing of a similar kind in Europe or America. The span of the arch was 352 feet, and the height of its summit above the surface of the river 196 feet. The bridge itself was 718 long, and 30 wide; and though the whole structure contained more than 130,000 feet of timber, it was completed by twenty workmen in the space of nine months. * The road I took led me to the edge of the cliffs that confine the Genessee river. This stream roared ninety feet beneath me ; and a half arch stretched far above my head, as it were '* suspended in mid air ;" while on the opposite cliffs, heaps of planks, shattered beams, and massy supporters, lay in horrible confu- sion, being the remains of that part of the structure which had fallen. Nothing can exceed the exquisite, the elegant, proportions, and the aerial magnificence, of that half of the bridge which is still entire. Its complicated architecture, the colossal span of its arch, its appalling height above the surface of the water, and the noble scenery around, fill the mind with astonishment. A little way up the river, the lesser Genessee falls rush over broken rocks; while the woods which bound the prospect on all sides, and darkly overshadow the hoary cliffs, communicate a wildness to the scene, that makes the imaginative i! % i i GENESSEE COUNTRY. 249 purpose of laguia and ice of arclii- jr any thing The span ■ its summit The bridge though the ,000 feet of men in the of the cliffs ream roared tretched far n mid air ;" s, shattered ible confu- te structure le exquisite, agnificence, entire. Its of its arch, the water, mind with the lesser while the sides, and imunicate a imaginative spectator almost believe that the bridge above him has been raised by the spells of a magician, rather than by the hands of man *.' During all this long route, the scenery presents the same characteristics as that of the partly cleared and settled tracts of Upper Canada, — namely, long portions of monotonous, if not gloomy forest, partial patches of cleared land, and lonesome log-houses ; staring newly- raised villages and towns, with all their half completed improvements, lively bustle, trade and warehouses ; magnificent lakes and beauti- ful peeps of wild scenery ; and more variety of aspect and effect, than any description could convey an idea of. From Rochester to Lewiston on the Ame- rican frontier, the road is dull, but on crossing the Niagara, the view of the stupendous falls makes up for everything, and, to some minds, the leisurely contemplation of this awful scene seems to make them acquainted with new secrets in, and to give them new sympathies with, nature. • Upper Canada, p. 286, ^ TRAVELLING. Part III.— EXPENSES, DISTANCE^, &c. As the cost of travelling and of living, at the several ports of the Canadas, or the route towards them, is a matter of importance, particularly to emigrants of the poorer class, as well as, perhaps, to tourists and tra- vellers for pleasure, we have collected together, and put in a tabular form, as much information upon this subject, as well as that of the relative distances of places, as seems necessary to satisfy inquirers. In the first place, though the passage from England is, to poor persons, generally stated now at 3Z., or under, that of a better class of persons, who take the cabin of ships, is by no means so liable to a general rule ; but is in every case determined entirely by the nature of the accommodation that the ship-master can offer, and other circumstances. Passages, therefore, including the general run of the cabin provisions, are, excepting as relates to the regular packet-ships, ob- tained at all prices, from 10/. to 201. a head ; and the terms and accommodations for individuals and families are entirely regulated by the pains-taking inquiries and good sense ^ " the several parties. In all cases, however, where provisions are stipulated for by pas- Passage out. 251 CEg, &c. at the several ds them, is a [grants of the rists and tra- osrether, and ion upon this distances of uirers. rom England QW at 3/., or who take the I to a general itirely by the ip-niaster can es, therefore, ovisions, are, ^et-ships, ob- ead ; and the s and families ing inquiries In all cases, d for by pas- sengers, the run of the ship should by no means be trusted to, particularly when sea-sickness, &c. may be naturally expected; for however well-intending the captain may be, the habits and wants of sea-faring men are not of a nature to qualify them to judge of what is necessary or proper for land-reared people*. When the emigrant arrives at Quebec or Montreal, he will be enabled to board and lodge in the best hotels or boarding houses for a dollar a day, or about 30s. a week. All shaues of prices under this will be taken at lower houses, as persons can afford it ; but all classes of intended colonists, who require to economise, cannot be too frequently warned against suffering themselves to be persuaded by the cupidity of those with whom they lodge, as is often done, to linger any time in the frontier towns ; and thus waste their time * Though, upon the subject of preparation for emigration, we have already, in the Appendix, given, from several authorities, the most ample directions, the following suggestions of Mr. MGregor, the latest writer on this point, seem so rational and valuable, that we still add them in this place. ' Farmers or labourers going to America,' he says, ' should carry out with them, if their means will admit, as much clothing, bedding, and linen as may be necessary for four or five years ; some leather, one or two sets of light cart harness, two or three spades or shovels, scythes, sickles, hoes, ploughs, traces, the iron-work of a plough and harrow, of the common kind used in Scotland ; the cast machinery for a corn fan, cooking utensils, a few door hinges, and a small assoiiment of nails. Furniture, or any other kind of wooden work, will only incommode them, as what IT ay be necessary can easily be procured, at moderate rates, ia America.' — British America, vol i. p. 45G, .••if '\i !♦ 252 TRAVELLING. and spend their money to no purpose. Here it is certain they will obtain no information of any value about land, &c., compared to what they will meet with up the country, or back into the interior, or what they may previously know themselves, by studying the to- pographical reports in this book. With respect to emigrants in general, they will be surrounded on the wharfs, &c. by land agents and other scheming persons, who, by false representations, will endeavour to persuade the stranger from his in- tended route, into the United States behind. Such persons should, on no account, be listened to; and indeed all representations made by native Americans should be received by British emigrants with great suspicion ; for it is the trade, as it is the boast, of those who are prowling about, under various cha- racters, to cheat, for their own profit, a British subject. As for the advantages held out by the United States, not at present to go into the particulars of the sub- ject, to the ordinary emigrant they hear no propor- tion, in real value, to those before him in either of the Canadas. This point, however, and all other matters of inquiry, will be settled at once, by reference to Mr. Buchanan, the Government agent, at Quebec ; Mr. Davidson, the Canada Company's agent, at the same place ; Messrs. Hart, Logan and Co., Montreal; or any other intelligent gentleman con- nected with the colonial interests, who will always be willing to give advice and information to the well- meaning emigrant. W- ft ;.i' GENERAL CAUTIONS. 253 Here it is Df any value i^ill meet with or what they lying the to- , they will be agents and )resentations, • from his in- ehind. Such med to; and ve Americans its with great the boast, of various cha- ritish subject. Jnited States, s of the sub- ir no propor- either of the other matters reference to at Quebec; ^'s agent, at m and Co., itleman con- vill always be to the well- With respect to travelling to the Upper Province, to those persons who are not under the care of the Canada Company, and may wish to join their friends, the only general direction necessary is, that they take care to make them.selves well acquainted with the situation of the spot they mean to go to, to avoid unnecessary trouble and expense, and particularly to save land -carriage, where water-carriage can be had. Pickering relates that he met poor emigrants meaning to go to Talbot Street, on the borders of Lake Erie, who instead of going by Queenston, Chippawa, and that lake, by water, where themselves and their lug- gage would have been set down within eight miles of their destination, they had, for want of that geogra- phical knowledge which we have so much insisted on, suffered themselves to be persuaded to go to Burling- ton, at the head of the Ontario, where they would have to drag their luggage a good hundred miles across the ill-made roads of a new country. Upon the general subject of the expense of pro- ceeding to the more western districts of the Upper Province, we have the following information, pub- lished by authority of the Canada Company, as suited to the circumstances of emigrants with small means, who will, in general, find it their interest to put them- selves under the protection of a public association; and the judicious arrangements of the Canada Com- pany, and the inducements they hold out to in- dustrious colonists are well known. *From Quebec to Montreal, steam-boats ply daily. !• ]n i '1 •'i .ij5 ill \ ill 41 ^< I*-- i ^;|: i ^1 254 TRAVELLING. i\i during the summer ; and the pasasge on deck is one to one dollar and a half, or 4s. 6d. to 6s. 9d. sterling. From Montreal to York, in Upper Canada, or to any place on the shore of lake Ontario, through means of the arrangements already mentioned to have been made by the company, emigrants recommended to the aj :nt in Montreal will be conveyed for five dollars, 01 2s. IB V *Jl I •{' ; » -1 1 ^•p ■'n '*' ¥ 256 TRAVELLING. pany's lands, the money paid by them will be returned, deducting the actual expense of conveyance.' To emigrants, however, with other views, either with reference to the Lower or Upper Province ; to proposed iravellors, tourists, or others ; as the question of expense in general, and of, ir particular, the com- parative expense of proceeding to either j)rovince by the wav of St. Lawrence, or New York, the Erie canal, &c., may be of importance, we subjoin as gene- ral a view of the subject as we have been enabled to condense into the annexed form. TRAVELLING FARES. In the Canadas, above Quebec. By Steam-boals. Cabin with yoard. r>o('k or N'lTiVier Steerage. of Miles. 5 7 6 From Quebec to IMontreal, time 30 hours, average £1 10 ]0 ISO From Montreal to Quebec, 24 hours, average . . 1 Freight* of goods per ton upwards, to Montreal, lOs. Freight of goods per ton downwards to Quebec, 7s. 6d, r * Between Montreal and Quebec, there are two Companies in the carrying trade, who oppose each other so strongly, that they have been known to carry passengers in the cabin, and board them elegantly for 7s. 6(/., while deck passengers were conveyed the whole ISO miles, for 6(/. — Vide Fkkering, p. 117. will be returned, lyance.' LT views, either dT Province ; to ; as the question icular, tlie coni- her province by i'ork, tlie Erie ubjoin as gene- been enabled to Si-* S. Steam-boats. r>eck or NmnVicr Stecnige. of Miles. 10 ISO 7 6 wo Companies in trongly, that they cabin, and board rs were conveyed 1. 117. TRAVELLING FARES. Cabin. Deck or S(eer»K"< 257 Numtwr or MitM. 18 0. .0 0..180 These rates, however, vary occasionally*. Pickering states that he came down from Montreal to Quebec, in tlie John Molson steamer, leaving at eight o'clock, and arriving at three the second morning, and boarded for . . ^0 Also higher up, r/z., from Montreal to Prescolt, through La Chine, Lake St. Louis, Coteau du Lac, Lake St. Francis, and Cornwall, by steam and stages, in nearly two days, without board . . . 1 16 0..0 0. . 127 From Prescott to Mon- treal, downwards, by do. 1 11 6. .0 0.. From and to the above places, if the traveller chooses to risk himself on the cele- brated rapids, in a batteau, or Canadian boat, which shoots at great speed down the St. Lawrence, and is an interesting sail to all whose nerves are good, the passage may be had for a dollar .... By the Durham boats, or batteaux, common emi- grants may get from Mon- * From competition; and therefore nojixed rates can be glv .a. 8 0. . 4 6. •f^^rr^rr I ' it Hi 4 ' '..-ill 'I 't''i I 'i 1: !:;.,!' I I .-1* ;f ' 11 f II 268 TRAVELLING FAREJ. Cnbin with J'; I i i i>f^' i f 8! t'. 1 , 1 I: 262 THE ERIE CANALr menced 4th July, 1817, and completed in the year 1825, at at expense of about 7,000,000 dollars, which was contributed exclusively by the state of New York/ Transcribing this for the sake of clearness, viz., Length of the Erie Canal, from Albany to Buffaloe .... Number of locks, each 90 feet long, by 15 wide ..... Kise and fall of the canal, by means of these locks ..... Real fall from Lake Erie, to the tide of the Hudson River Width of the canal at the surface » Width of the canal at the bottom Number of aqueducts The longest at Rochester, across the Genessee River, is . . , The next across the Mohawk River, is . And the third longest, at the Little Falls on ditto, is . 363 miles, 83 688 feet. 504 40 28 18 »» j» »» 804 feet. 748 ,. 170 ,. FALLS OF NIAGARA. Extent of the Horse-shoe Fall, on the Bri- ^«e^- tish side . . • . . 2,100 Breadth of Goat Island, between it and the American Fall .... 980 American Falls in breadth . . . 1140 The whole extent .... or full three-quarters of a mile. 4,220. . t ^a 9- ;;: 1 f- FALLS OF NIAGARA. 263 d in the year dollars, which state of New irness, viz.. J )f ►f 363 miles 83 688 feet. 504 40 28 18 >> j> I* 804 feet. 748 170 )• »» ri- Feet. * 2,100 le • 980 • 1140 4,220. i Hoight of the Horse-shoe Fall Height of the American Falls Extent of the cave beneath the Horse-shoe Fall, from the outside, to tlie Termination Rock ...... Height of the cave is estimated by Cap- tain Hall at . The estimated quantity of water discharged over the falls, is calculated at 18,524,000 cubic feet, or 115,510,000 gallons per minute. Depth of the river above the Falls, as near as they can be approached, about Breadth of the river at the ferry Feet. 150 168 153 100 200 1170 THE GREAT LAKES. VIZ. THE Ontario . Erie Huron . Superior Greatest Length. Miles. . 180 . . 270 . . 250 . . 360 . Greatest Breadth. Miles. . 40 . . 80 . . 100 . . 140 . Average Depth Feef . . 500 . . 200 , . 900 . . 900 Of these, the surface of the Lake Superior has been calculated to be 1048 feet above the level of the high tide of the sea, Lake Huron 570 feet above ditto. Lake Erie is 330 feet above Lake Ontario, and 566 feet above the Hudson at Albany. The Ontario is 218 feet above the St. Lawrence, at Three Rivers. THE ST. LAWRENCE. Lake Superior, being the real head of this great river, the distanc j from Cape Chat — which i % 1 ■1 -1 ■f" I'; i I ^ r 1 I ' X ■' . r ^ 'i i ' 'h' ,1: ». ^1 S64 THE CANALS. is 100 miles above Cape Kosiei, where its mouth may, in reality, be deemed to com- mence — to the head of that lake, is calculated to be not less than Breadth of the mouth of the river at Cape Hosier ..... Breadth at Cape Chat Breadth at Kamarouska, where its waters are perfectly fresh, and its average depth twelve fathoms .... Miles. THE WELLAND CANAL, Uniting Lakes Erie and Ontario to avoid the falls of the Niat^ara, in Upper Ca- nada, is in length, about Level cf Lake Erie above Lake Ontario, which is descended here by 37 locks . Length of the locks, their breadth being 22 feet .... Width of the canal at the surface of the wate- .... AVidth at the botto.ii Depth of water Anticipated cost of the whole when finished, 270,000/. sterling. THE RIDEAU CANAL, Between Kingston on the St. Lawrence, and By-Town on the Ottawa, is in length, inclusive of the numerous lakes and dims of which a great part of it is made up, Rideau Lake, about its centre, being 24 miles in length, and at a 2120 80 40 20 Miles. Feet. 42 — 330 — 100 56 26 84 ''9 I I ■ % I Miles. where its to com- alculated . 2120 it Cape 80 . 40 iters are I twelve 20 >, Miles. Feet. 42 • — 330 o _^ 100 e , • — 56 ■ — 26 • — H •I 'C THB CANALS. summit level above the surface of tlie waters of the Ottawa on one side 283 feet, and those of Lake Ontario on the other side 154 feet Number of locks, 142 feet long by 33 wide, 47. Depth of water Number of dams, 20. Calculated expense of this enormous work, payable out of the British re- venue^ above 500,000/. T>^E GRENVILLE CANAL, Runninp^ along the southern border of the Ottawa, for the avoiding of its rapids, and carried on in three sections, namely, opposite the Long Sault Ra- pids, the Chute a Biondeau, and the Carrillon Rapids ; particulars of length not given, but the width at the surface of the water Depth of water Width at bottom LA CHINK CANAL, From Montreal City to the village of Upper La Chine, along the side of tlie St. Lawrence, to avoid a most picturesque rapid, or rather cascade, called the Sault St, Louis : length about Width at the surface of the water Depth of water Width at bottom Cost nearly amounting to 130,000/. 265 Miles. Feet. 135 — 5 — 4* — 2S I-. ■ 48 ■'•1 \ 5 'a\ i'l 28 ■A V > Is 'I J '^1 I 'I ^■■,1 \<\\ SI! . . f if' ■it' ,'' .» ' I". ft- • ^€ if II If: 1 ^ IV f ■• ^^ ' 266 DISTANCES. The following is a table, giving a comprehensive view of the distances of the difl'erent principal towns, from Quebec upwards through the lakes, and from each other, namely, — Miles. Miles. 90 180 258 307 319 369 425 475 535 580 634 667 *QuEBEC to the Town of Three Bivers direct, . and from Three Rivers to Montreal 90 Montreal Cornwall Prescott Brockville Kingston Bellville Port Hope YgA Dundas Niagara Cornwall 78 Prescott 49 Brockville12 Kingston Bellville Port Hope York . Dundas Niagara Fort Erie 50 56 50 60 45 54 33 Thus, from Quebec to York, with these stoppages, is 535 miles, and going round by these towns at the head of Burlington Bay, would make the distance sailed 634 miles, before the vessel reached Niagara; whereas, to proceed direct from Quebec to Niagara, the distance would be no more than 565 miles ; and even to cross the Lake, a distance of 36 miles, after rpaci hig York, this number being added to the 535 iniieb, would only make this distance, taking this round about 571 miles. * These distances are taken part from the Canada Com- pany's tables, on then Map, as considered the most authentic. UPPER CANADA. 267 a comprehensive principal towns, lakes, and from Miles. Miles. i direct, . 90 REAL 90 .. 180 ^ALL 78 .. 258 OTT 49 .. 307 :ville12 .. 319 TON 50 .. 369 iLLE 56 .. 425 loPE 50 .. 475 . 60 .. 535 s 45 .. 580 RA 54 .. 634 ^RiE 33 .. 667 lese stoppages, ie towns at the 5 the distance 'hed Niagara; ec to Niagara, >5 miles; and J6 miJes, after ed to the 535 , taking this Canada Com- nost authentic. Again, taking the land route from York, along the road called Dundas Street, to Amherstburg, on the banks of the Detroit River, the most considerable, as it is the most westerly town in the upper part of the province, the intermediate distances will stand thus : — Miles. York to Dundas and through Mill Creek direct and from Dundas . to Grand River 21 . . Grand River. . Oxford . 40 .. Oxford ..Chatham . 69 . . Chatham . . Sandw^ich 60 .. Sandwich .. Amherstburg 1^ Miles. 42 63 103 172 232 250 Considering these statements of distances as useful, we shall add another on the Ottawa, begining at Montreal where it joins the St. Lawrence, up to Hull and By-Town. Montreal to Miie». Miies. St. Eustache , . 21 .. and from St.Eustache to Chatham 27.. 48 Chatham . . Petite Nation 42 .. 90 Petite Nation. Hull . 34 .. 124 Thus Hull, by adding 180 miles to 124, is distant 304 miles from Quebec. With respect to the quality of the roads for land travelling, considering the way they are made, par- ticularly when the ground is soft and swampy, as much of it is, they must be, to an Englishman, very bad ; and thus are universally described as exceedingly 1 •' 1 1. m ' I ?r I '\ *: M it) % i, ! l!^ 111! I 268 travell.no. uneven, disagreeable, and shaking to tlie bones of those who proceed over them in the ordinary ve- hicles that are used in the inner parts of the country : though some say they can find them tolerable by use, and get accustomed to be occasionally capsized into a slough. Mactaggart describes them as * infernal ;* and Captain Hall, who travelled in summer along the side of the Ontario, in the interior, is scarcely less severe upon these * horrible corduroy roads,' though the gratification he felt at the occasional sight of new and comfortable settlements in the forests, where he even met with houses surrounded by verandahs and flower-shrubs, and furnished inside with comfortable furniture, carpets, and piano-fortes* ; together with occasional peeps of nature's beauty, which relieved the gloomy monotony of the woods, compensated, in some degree, for the tedious trouble and dislocating jolting of the journey f. * North America, vol. i. p. 274, &c. f As the clearing and forming of roads makes no small part of the labour of the poorer colonist, we add, from Pickering, a practical man, the plan he took for this kind of work, in the neighbourhood of Port Talbot, where he was settled :— * On first making roads through flat swampy places, logs are cut about ten or twelve feet long, laying them crosswise, side by side, through the above places, which as they are left round, and little or no dirt upon them, are abominably rough; but along the '' street" they are getting them up, and ploughing the sides, and with a kind of large shovel, having a handle, (called a scraper,) and a yoke of oxen, the dirt is drawn into the centre and rounded, which is called '• turnpiking." Four men and two yoke of oxen — onj yoke and two men to plough, and the other to scrape, will do as much work in this way, where there are ,,■9' ft 1 1 it ;o tlie bones of be ordinary ve- of the country : olerable by use, ly capsized into n as * infernal;* tnmer along the is scarcely less r roads/ though lal sight of new •rests, where he verandahs and th comfortable together with which relieved ompensated, in md dislocating tes no small part rom Pickering, a 1 of work, in the Bttled :— ^ places, logs are crosswise, side by- re left round, and ugh; but along ighing the sides, landle, (called a into the centre our men and two ;h, and the other where there are ROADS. 269 It is for this reason that water-carriage, convenient to his settlement, is in all cases an advantage of such importance to the colonist, as well as that the hard weather of winter is universally chosen for the pur- poses of travelling. Besides the softness and badness of the roads, through great part of the warm season, the spring and summer being the seasons of busy oc- cupation. Winter, when the snow is on the ground, is the great^period for Canadian locomotion ; then the sleighs, the traineaux, or the carioles, — all different modifications of the simple sledge, — are * rigged,' the cattle are put to them, and the Canadian colonist, well invested with furs, buffalo robes, or bear-skins, re- joices in his snows like a Laplander, and setting forth in defiance of the frost, glides pleasantly over roads that in summer are impassable, visits all his friends, and transacts all his exterior business, and duly laments when the ice breaks up, and his beloved snow is gone. no obstructions, as fifteen or twenty men in the same time, by the ordinary way of digging. The bottoms of the canals are often done the same way, and always ploughed, I believe ; and in that case shovelled into carts, or wheelbarrows, seldom or ever dug.' — Pickering, p. 68. it *m iii' CLIMATE OF BOTH PROVINCES. '^] ' 'f (• I :■% 2 . a■^; f 14: I .1' It In all the inquiries that have been made regarding North America, and particularly the Canadas, in the view of Colonization, few points have been esteemed of more importance than the one of climate. This was naturally to be expected, as well from the observed peculiarities presented by the climate of the transat- lantic countries, as from the known influence of the atmosphere, not only in favouring or retarding the productiveness of any soil, but in materially affecting tlie disposition to industry and enterprise in individuals, and in general the happiness as well as the duration of human life. The general salubrity of the climate of Upper and Lower Canada is already sufficiently v/ell known in this country, as well as the ordinary qualities that distinguish these regions, in respect of heat and cold, from England and other European countries at the same distance north of the equator. A clear and light atmosphere, which has an exhilarating effect upon the spirits, — cloudless skies and a dry air, fogs being in Canada almost entirely unknown, — hard and steady frosts in winter, strong heat in summer, and a delicious mildness in the pleasing period of autumn— "m CMMATE OF BOTH PROVINCES. 271 INCES. de regarding nadas, in the een esteemed Urn ate. This I tlie observed the transat- uencc of the •etarding the ally affecting 1 individuals, le duration Upper and known in lalities that it and cold, ries at the clear and ating effect y air, fogs — hard and mer, and a autumn— all make uj) a climate universally praised by those who have had long experience of it. What the cause is of that vivid lightness of the air, and that beautiful clearness of sky both by day and by night, which is so agreeable a peculiarity in the climate of this country which yet presents so vast a surface of inland water, swamp, and forest, is not at all well known, no more than is the cause of its other distinguishing feature, namely, that the maxi- mums of heat and of cold respectively are much greater here than in any of the European countries in the same latitude. Extremes of temperature are justly, perhaps, considered as in general unfavourable to health and the feeling of enjoyment, yet from the influence probably of the other peculiarity just ad- verted to, these extremes experienced in the Canadas, have not there, as appears from general testimony, the same effects upon the mind and body, as they would have in countries possessing a climate or atmosphere of the European character. Though the inhabitants of this country are all, of course, originally from the old continents, the habits which circumstances have caused them to form, are remarkably well adapted to the differences of the cli- mate, or at least to make them feel less the severity of the Canadian winter, which indeed, as they in general employ themselves, is hailed rather as the season of increased enjoyment, than dreaded as the same degree of cold would be in Europe. Agricul- tural labours being at this season suspended, the I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) LO I.I iiitilA |Z5 |io "^" m^M *^ ^ |2.2 I" ^ 1^ 2.0 us u 11-25 i 1.4 I Photographic Sciences Corporation r<\^ \ <>^ \^ ^v 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MS80 (716) S72-4503 - ^ o^ Si %0 ^ i4 IV;, i ,' i .1' I .. [, i' \ * t i 1 ■ ', i J,; I j ( ' ■il I'- f '■!' ^ '; 272 CLIMATE roads being hardened by the frost, and the rivers and lakes in general covered with ice, the sUigh or the cariole is got ready all over the country, and now riding abroad upon business or pleasure commences ; visits are paid by friends or neighbours, opening both provinces to each other by a simultaneous movement ; so that the season is, by this agreeable custom, often made to resemble rather a sort of busy jubilee than the period of dreary seclusion that we should otherwise suppose it. Wrapped in furs and warm clothing, and seated in their sleighs drawn by a single pair of horses, the farmer and his wife will travel over the snow sixty or seventy miles a day with but little fatigue ; and what with the bracing clearness of the winter air, the cloudlessness of the skies, the pictu- resque appearance often exhibited by the ice-crys- tallized forests, the rapidity of the movement, and the great numbers of equipages and vehicles of all sorts to be met with on the ordinary roa^^s, conveying persons similarly employed at this time of the year, this kind of pastime is universally represented as most agreeable. Thus in estimating the quality of a winter season, or the comparative merits pre- sented by the Upper and Lower Provinces, the hardness of the winter weather and its duration, for the convenience of travelling, are, by many, esteemed rather as advantages to be desired, than evils to be dreaded. ' It is generally conceived in England,* says Mr. Mactaggart, ' that the long snowy winter acts OF BOTH PROVINCES. 273 rivers and gh or the , and now mmences ; 2ning both lovement ; torn, often jilee than 1 otherwise thing, and ;le pair of I over tlie but little ess of the the pictu- ice-crys- it, and the f all sorts conveying the year, sented as le quality lerits pre- nces, the ration, for , esteemed 3vils to be says Mr. nter acts against Canada : nothing can be farther wrong than this idea. The farmer requires it all ; and the lover thinks it much too short, for it is only in the sleighing season that he has a chance of seeing his mistress.* * Along the margin of the lakes,' he adds,, in another place, * the snow does not lie above three months in the year. The snow is of considerable use to the farmer ; it forms a covering for his crops, and a road to market. A farm in a tract of country that has Jive months, sleighing snow in the year, is considered to be in a more favourable climate than that which has but three : it is generally more healthy, and has less mud and rain*.* Within doors, also, the metal stoves of Canadian manufacture, universally used in both provinces, which are placed in the centre of each apartment, and even in the passages ; and for the feeding of which, the woods contain an inexhaustible supply of fuel, keep the houses at an ordinary temperature of 80° throughout the cold season, and by custom are found to answer well with the habits of the people. The weather is very changeable, particularly in the warm season, the changes coming on suddenly, and giving no indication of the alteration a short time before they take place. Considering the electric activity of the atmosphere, however, the winds in either province are seldom severe, * though at times/ they are said, by Mactaggart, to ' lay * Three Years in Canada, vol. ii. p. 5. ■'i:.- 'j "■ : •': r. ,'■ f * i ► • » ■jii I r ■Mt^ vm? .» • 't u u . 'is tU' 274 CLIMATE waste extensive belts of forest, perhaps twenty to thirty miles at a stretch, and from one-fourth to » whole mile in breadth.' 'Sach an occurrence as this, if fairly represented, must have a remarkable effect in the woods : to see the lofty timber of the forest laid down in a stripe, like corn in harvest. But though blown down trees are often met with by travellers, we have not found the above statement confirmed by any other authority. The periodical winds both in Upper and Lower Canada, we are informed, are the north-east, north- west, and south-west, which all have a considerable influence on the temperature of the atmosphere and tlie state of the weather. The south-w«^st wind is the most prevalent, but it is generally modtrate, and accompanied by clear skies; and the north-east and easterly winds usually bring with them continued rain in summer and snow in winter. The north-west is remarkable for its dryness and elasticity ; and, by gathering an intense degree of frigor as it sweeps across the frozen plains and ice-bound hills in that quarter of the continent, invariably brings with it a perceptible degree of cold*. The meteoric and electric phenomena, frequently witnessed in both pro- vinces, but particularly in Upper Canada, are often so remarkable, as to afford much room for scientific observation on the atmosphere of these countries. The admiration of the new settlers is at times greatly * Bouchette; vol, i. p, 343. OF BOTH PKOVINCES. 27S ity to i to » 8 this. Feet in it l^d ;hough sellers, led by- Lower north" derable ere and ;vind is ate, and lust and ntinued :th-we8t and, sweeps in that with it ic and »th pro- iften so cientific luntries. greatly excited by the grandeur of these electric appearances ; yet, in the shape of vivid and continuous lightnings ac- companied by loud bursts of thunder, rolling sublimely over the forests, they are not unfrequently terrific appalling, and are occasionally followed by serious consequences. It is on the open expanse of the great lakes, however, that such phenomena are seen with most effect ; and, were this a proper place for it, we are furnished with materials upon this subject for much interesting narrative of what has been witnessed, and more of curious scientific speculation^. * Not to advert to the observations '^f the wdl-kiiown tra- vellers, we cannot resist adding a few facts, from documents kindly furnished us by Mr. Goul:^, whose own notes upon what he observed in the United States and the Canadas, formerly quoted, are full of pertinent and valuable remark. What hn himself witnessed, on lake Ontario, he thus describes :— * During one of my trips the weather was very stormy, with much thunder and rain. After an almost deluge of the latter, the chimney of the steam-vessel to windward was thickly covered with a white substance, which the Captain said he had never before observed. The storm continued, and towards night a ball of electric light appeared at each mast head, rocking with the vessel ; they remained for many hours. In times of old it would have been considered a friendly visit from Castor and Pollux. For my own part, though frequently going on deck to look at the phenomenon, I did not think so well of the augury. The Captain, however, quieted us by declaring that, notwith- standing the large quantity of iron on board steam- vessels, they were never known to be struck by lightning ; there seemed to be a repelling cause in the rarification of the air about it. Since my return, 1 find that the security of the Captain is not so certain, as one of the Ramsgate boats has been struck during t2 ' f .:^i /■I '~t\ .'■''' ^: Mi ;'( ■ i ■ <»' i ■fii . rw f, I'l i) . 27G CLIMATB tM., if .III tfl ■1' ( I :| IS- j:'i H' Of late years, a comparison has popularly been made between the climate of the Upper and Lower Provinces, generally considerably to the disadvantage the summer. The night being very dark and ' ugly, 'we came to anchor in :i sheltered bay, and in about an hour afterwards, our friends disappeared from the mast heads. In the morning we «"iled into Kingston harbour. We had been thirty-one hours ..^ the passage, 180 miles, which I had previously done in less than twenty.' The phenomena here described, however, is nothing com- pared to what was observed, in 1827, by Captain Bonnycastle, K. £., an account of which was given to the Literary and His- torical Society of Quebec, and recorded in the first volume of the printed Transactions of the Society, with which we. have been also favoured from the same quarter. The Captain states, that, at Kingston in Upper Canada, in the August of that year, after an unusually brilliant exhibition of the Aurora Borealis, one night about eight o'clock, an arch of increasing brightness began to form, under Arcturus, extending to the Pleiades, — its altitude rising to the highest part of the body -of Ursa Major, — untU nearly by nine it had * formed a broad and highly magnificent arch of pale white light, which spanned a third part of the horizon. It was now like a heavenly bow of luminous white vapour, through which the larger stars of the constellations were very visible ; nor did its grandeur or its light diminish when the moon, slowly emerging from the extremity of its south-eastern limb, showed a deep yellow disk through its splendid veil. At half-past eight, the true Aurora became suddenly apparent — then, on the south-east, arose, from the lower boundary of the sky, a rod of the same white light which, enlarging its dimensions very slowly, pointed to, and at length reached, the Milky Way at the northern cross, and after shooting through the galaxy with a stately and somewhat stealing pace slowly vanished.' At this time the vast expanse of the tranquil waters of lake Ontario, with the distant dock-yards of the iovo J r been Lower antage came to irds, our ning we le hours ! in less ig com- nycastle, ind His- \. volume hich we. Captain lugust of e Aurora icreasing ig to the e body -of troad and panned a ly bow of irsof the r its light extremity c through a became from the ht which, at length r shooting ling pace e tranquil r the ioiro OF BOTH PROVINCES. 277 of the latter, which has served greatly to affect the tide of emigration, by neutralising the temptation of the advantages, which might otherwise have served to claim a preference for the more frontier part of the of Kingston, were seen like day, which, contrasting with the deep gloom of the forest and the brilliancy of the heavens, presented a scene the most awfully striking. ' On another occasion, when sailing up from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Captain was called up in the night by the alarmed men, upon their witnessing a brilliant light on the surface of the sea, which hovered on the lee-bow of the ship. Suddenly, the stream of light s^iread over the sea, between the two shores, and the waves, which before had rolled in tardy tranquillity, now became much agitated. While the sky above became intensely obscure, the waters around appeared one blazing sea of fire, by the light of which the dark frowning brows of the land abreast could not only be clearly seen beyond the flame, .but the minutest object on deck, or figure on the Captain's watch, could be seen by it, and even the large fish in the sea, were ceen by the tortuous lines of darting light, to swim rapidly about in large numbers, as if in the most dreadful consterna- tion and alarm. The sailors stood aghast with terror; the very booms and yards of the ship, seemed lighted up with the reflection, as if gas-lights burned immediately under them, and on the Captain drawing up a bucket of the sea water, the same light adhered to it even when stirred by the hand. These phenomena gradually disappeared with the break of day, but returned more or less for several succeeding nights. The Cap- tain tries to account for these remarkable appearances, not by any reference to the atmosphere, but, by attributing them tu a < phosphoric origin, formed from some concentrated exuviae of ,. fish, or other secretion of the finny tribes, sue denly spreading ■X over the surface of the sea. ) A strange and alarming phenomenon has been seen in these i' legions, well known to many by the name of the dark datjs of ■T 'i 1. 1 ■ "^ '■' y. :•! 'Mi\ Il li 1 i j t L": 1 1 1 ' ■ 1 ■ '( 1 u . ' { '. t ■ i ' ■ ! • 1 y: M ' '! ■' ■' • f '.\ ''■ ■;•' ill il . 1 i': ; • ; : 1 1' V ' Sji, ,^ i ' :' ♦ ■1 ■'-■■H i' :.;':;' !■ 27S CLIMATK iii'S^^^'h' colony. As this comparison has in general been niad2 with a very imperfect knowledge of the real state of the case, no further summary of the lateat statements and opinions upon this subject seems here to be required. In the Lower Province, or rather in the countries in the vicinity of Quebec, the actual winter usually commences about the 2£th of November, and the land continues under the dominion of ice and snow Canada^ which occurred in October of 1785, and in July of 3814. On these strange appearances, there are several in^ teresting notes communicated to i'ne aforesaid Society, by the Honourable Chief Justice Sewell, the president, and printed also in its Transactions, vol. ii. p. 230. These appearances consisted chiefly of a dismal darkness at noon-day, so that as an eye-witness expressed himself, Jatnait nuit nefut piui obscur. These periods of total darkness, occurring in the middle of the day, continued about ten minutes each time, and were frequently repeated, at twelve, two, three, four, and five o'clock ; the in- tervals being partially relieved by vast masses of clouds, streaked vith yellow, driving athwajft the darkened sky, accompanied by sudden gusts of winds, w.itli much lightning, thunder, and rain. Meantime, the water that fell from the clouds was extremely black, and in the case of the one in 1814, ashes and black Tiowder fell from the atmosphere, in partial showers, on the shores of Kamouraska. In this lattr^ case, though the time of the year was July, when the sun could be seen, it appeared of a bright blood colour. These appearances, have also been supposed not to be chargeable tjpon the atmosphere, but to arise either from the conflagration of a forest, at the eruption of some unknown volcano. The latter of these suppositions seems the most tenable, it being the report of the wandering Indians, that a volcano exists somewhere in the unexplored wildl cf the Labrador territory. OF BOTH PROVINCES. 279 I been e real lateat seems untries usually nd the 1 snow Ju}y of eral in^ , by the printed earancet > that as r obscvr, le of the equently the in- streaked inied by md raia. ctremely d black on the ! time of eared of 80 been , but to eruption )ositioDS mdering redwildi J Tor five months, that is, till about the 25th of the following April. Now the ice begins to break up, the snows are dissipated, and agricultural opera- tions begin to be resumed. At Montreal, 180 miles ligher up, nearly a month may be substracted from iais period, that is, a fortnight at the beginning, and a fortnight or more, at the end of the season. The deration of winter in the Upper Province is not so liible to a general rule, and the season is more or less ehortened as the traveller proceeds west and south. Upon the whole, however, the best opinion 8(em8 io conclude*, that if the duration of the sltighing season, or of the hard frost, be taken as a criterion, its average time, in the Lower Province, is nearly five months, while in Upper Canada it scarcely lasts two. Considering the pleasure with which the Canadians look forward to this season, and that the extremes of it are frequently, in the Upper Province, wet and stormy, it will not appear surprising, that many should prefer the long winter to the shorter, both for the greater opportunities it gives the farmer for pleasant travelling, but for the length of time afforded him for threshing his com, cutting and drawing his fuel, gathering his materials For repairing his fences, and manufacturing his domestic woollens and linens. I To the subjects of climate, and meteorological ob- servation, for which the phenomena occurring in these pr^/vinces, afford most interesting matter, the 1 * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 343, &c. *■ *.. .-.• .!i V M: :rl 280 CLIUATB t n 1 I I Scientific Societies established in Quebec and Montreal have lately given considerable attention, and various tables have been made out, besides a particular one which will be found copied into Mr. Talbot*s book. The one most to our purpose, however, as giving comprehensive view of the comparative temperatuie of the two provinces, we give from Bouchette, ai* thougli taken as far back as 1820. Table showing the Highest^ Lowest, and Mean Ten- perature of each Month, in Upper and Lowtr Canada, during the Year 1820. Latitude ahott 42° North, in Upper Canada, and Latituie 45° North, or thereabouts, in Lower Canada, ,, r 1 if; :i%i. ; mi iffi.ii;; Thermometer — Fahrenheit. U PPER Canada. Lower Canada. Maxi- iiium. Mini- mum. Mean. Maxi- mum. Mini, mum. Mean. January . February , March . , April . . . May . . . 48 50 52 83 92 97 103 99 92 74 54 41 -20 8 40 40 57 60 55 33 28 10 2 18.17 23.87 26.94 59.70 67.32 77.51 81.37 73.24 64.45 48. 34.53 25.43 33 40 ^17 81 92 95 103 100 90 55 40 43 -23 -29 -26 9 30 55 62 58 30 9 -13 -21 11. h 10.6) 12. i: 48.9 67. ft 76. 3i 82.2; 74.7 59.11 32.2^ 17.4' 11.9^ June . . . July. . . August . September October . , November December For the year . . For the summer \ months, June, > July, August. Winter months • 73. 8 99.66 46.33 25.72 57.33 -4.67 48.37 77.37 22.49 68.25 99.33 38. 6C 11.75 58.33 -24.33 42. 1 77.54 11.25 1 ■> 1 I !i , Mean. OF BOTH PROVINCES. 1^81 Tlie chief fact, however, upon the subject of health and climate, that will commend itself to the interest of the colonizer, in either province, is, that there is an epidemic disease known in these countries, which frequently alarms the emigrant from Europe by its debilitating or fatal effects. This disease, in general, consists of those various modifications of bilious dis- order, and aguish intermittant, which, carried by the air, perhaps, from the extensive swamps of the Genessee country, and other parts of the states, and fixing upon the secluded inhabitants of the low grounds, border- ing the great lakes, corrmits considerable ravages, at certain seasons, under the common name of the lake fever. By no means well known to professors of medicine, this disorder seems to assume every shade of mildness or malignity ; in ome cases attack- ing individuals in a form little tr dreaded, and returning several times upon the same ^ jrson, accom- panied with no great suffering ; in other cases be- coming fatal in a few hours, and assuming the worst appearances of the tropical epidemics. This last effect, however, but seldom takes place ; and of the diseases considered peculiar to this region, which seem to be caused much by the marshy effluvia, im- prudent exposure, and the drinking of bad water *, the * Upon thig subject, we are favoured by Mr. Gould, be- fore quoted, with the following original notice: ' In the Autumn of this year (1828),* says he, * the whole of the western parts of the State of New York, and the Genessee countiy, suffered dreadfully from fever, as well as many parts I' >i, ■ 4. 1 282 CLIMATE li i [1. ^ I" y ' '!':■ i ' 'Ml ' > ' • ]} i If 1 ' . 'idity with which a district is afiected is astonishing ; it generally comes on at the period when the waters are lowest ; and its greater prevalence this summer, was attributable to the unusual height of all the lakes and rivers throughout this northern continent, thereby on its retiring, leaving an immense surface of decayed vegetable matter exposed to the influence of the sun. There is no recollection of the waters l)eing so high* Some of the American wise men of the west, calculated upon ihe waters of the great lakes forcing to themselves a passage down the Mississippi, instead of the St. Lawrence ; it was said that a farther rise of nine feet woidd have effected it, and when once commenced, the soft soil of that district would soon have worked low enough to have ]ierpetuated the new channels. It has often struck me, that when the obstructions in the Thames at London Bridge shall be removed, and the water suffered to flow down with the tide, so much of the muddy bottom of the river will be exposed to the summer sun, that fevers may be engendered in London : I am aware that engineers say that the river will then scour itself; this remains to be proved. We do know, that since the fire of London, and the keeping back the water by sluices, and waterworks at London Bridge, that London has been free from the plague and other epidemics, and is perhaps at this time, as free from fever and ague, as any town in Great Britain.' .t! v..r- ¥' 4>v ■■>■ ; ! »# ■ ■ ' 1 'i ■ ' t !5 "^1 ■: Hi, ' \ls I'l^ '•V Soil .4 HT«fl •if ' mi 284 CLIMATE rison of climate between the two provinces, however, whatever may be the malignancy or amount of the lake fever, it is agreed, on all hands, that it is entirely con- fined to Upper Canada ; and if the winter is longer and fully more rigorous in the Lower Province, the latter is entirely exempted from this scourging epidemic. There is another fact deserving of attention, in re- ference to the climate of the Upper Province, which seems remarkably to illustrate the usual compensa- tions of nature ; — to wit, that on the borders of the great lakes, where the inhabitants are liable to the visitations of the ague, the weather is, in general, mild, and the snow lies but short on the ground in winter; while, inland, where the people are more exempt from any epidemic, it is nearly as cold in winter as in Lower Canada. It is a common opinion, arguing a priori^ that the gradual clearing of the land and opening of the forests, will, in the same propor- tion, tend to the amelioration of the climate of both provinces, in the cold season of the year. This opinion is confirmed, as we are told by Bouchette, by the re- ports of the oldest inhabitants of the Lower Province, of what they themselves have observed. From obser- vations, however, made by the thermometer for a series of years, which may be seen at large in that author's work, this opinion does not seem to be sanctioned by the test of science ; and engineer Mactaggart, who has written very fully on the subject, asserts that the extremes of heat and cold arc felt to be more severe in the cleared than in the uncleared districts ; and that, ;.| :i. OF BOTH PROVINCES. 285 however, )f the lake ;irely con- ongerand the latter lidemic. on, in re- ce, which ompensa- ers of the •le to the I general, ground in are more is cold in 1 opinion, the land ; propor- e of both s opinion y the re- Province, m obser- )r a series ; author's ;ioned by fart, who that the re severe and that, at Quebec and Montreal the mercury frequently freezes in winter, * while ' le summers are so hot, for some days, that it is a wonder how animals contrive to live.' Mr. Talbot, however, who had great oppor- tunities of observing, and travelled much in the Ca- nadas, is of quite a different opinion, arguing first hypothetically from the known influence of the sun's rays, not ^nly in heating the atmosphere and drying the marshes, as the lands get cleared, but enabling the earth, which imbibes caloric through the summer months, and, of course, gives it out gradually in winter, to aid in equalizing the temperature ; and then adducing many instances of the effects of the clearing of land upon temperature and health in his father's settlement, and many other parts of the Upper Pro- vince*. Whether, from all the facts adduced, it may be found that the human system itself undergoes a change, when transplanted to these regions, so as to make the extremes of climate less felt or regarded, as is often asserted, it seems to us quite likely that the ten- dency of the removal of the forests, and the draining of the marshes is, in every , point of view^ to the ad- vantage of future settlers. We have been led into these extended statements, by a wish to enable the emigrant to decide, as to the field of his proposed future exertions, between the merits of the Upper and Lower Provinces of Canada, upon the important point of comparative climate. ITiat in respect of climate, the Upper Province is, perhaps, the more agreeable to Europeans in general, * Vol. i. p. 341. ' .fi I- -■;:H:-' m^ )i .mi f ■ ■1 rf' 'k' 1 286 CLIMATE OF BOTH PROVINCES. ^.4 ' '4 J ' *■ '■ < « ^i I?'-, ' 'I i '.' \ < ■ '\'' ;. • ' * ,■ k , i » ( ^ ■ ' ..'j M * ; m I may fairly be concluded ; but that the Lower Province is the more healthful of the two, seems without a ques- tion*. It now only remains to inform the e nigrant what parts of the Upper Province are allowed to be most liable to aguish disorders. These are said chiefly to prevail in the low- lying lands about the Bay of Quints, as also in and near that * infernal place,' as Mactaggart calls it, known by the name of the Cranberry Marshes, which lies between the Rideau Lake and Lake Ontario, through which the southern end of the Rideau Canal now directly passes. The fronter townships between the Bay of Quinte and the great inland sea, are said to be particularly unwhole- some, as also the swampy lands to the east of Kingston, bordering the St. Lawrence. The neighbourhood of York, higher up the province, is said also to be by no means exempt from these complaints ; but for more particular information upon local healthiness, the emigrant must obtain it, to use the American phrase, as he * gets along.* * ' Fullj' aware of the superior healthiness of the Lower Pro- vince over the generality of the cultivable land in Upper Ca- nada, the legislature determined upon ascertaining whether a sufficient quantity of laud, fit for forming settlements, and of a quality equal to that in the Upper Province, did not exist^ in the rear of the old French seignioral grants, extending from their line to the foot of the mountains, &c., and several sums of money were placed at the disposal of his Excellency the Governor-in-chief, who nominated commissioners, fitted out ex;- ploring expeditions,* &c. &c. f^ide Lieutenant Ingaii's report of the Country between the rivers St. Mattrice and Sauguenay : published in the Trumactioiis of the Literary and Hiitorical Society of Quebec, vol. ii. p. 217. Province it a ques- enigrant ved to be are said ; the Bay al place/ le of the s Rideau southern es. The ; and the unwhole- Gngston, irhood of to be by but for Ithiness, merican lower Pro- pper Ca- liether a and of a ist in the trom their sums of incy the out ex- report of tgnenay: historical GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROPOSED COLONISTS. The pursuits of the proposed colonizer in the Canadas, and that of the mere traveller or tourist, being essen- tially different, there is nothing in which the former requires to be more specially cautioned against, in tlie first instance, than suffering himselfto be seduced, by any pretence, into lingering on the frontier cities, instead of proceeding at once into the interior, or to the Upper Province. It is for this reason, that the emigrant having some capital, will find it so impor- tant, for his main pursuit, to study previously the topograpliical sketches in the earlier part of this book ; that he may have a clear idea of the specific advan- tages held out for settlers in the different districts of this extensive colony ; and thus be enabled to form some previous judgment of the part of the country to which he should first betake himself, with a view to the judicious outlay of his money, and an advan- tageous field for his future exertions. From the time of the year, at which the emigrant arrives in Canada, — namely, if he is fortunate, early in summer — every hour is precious, in the view of his commencing operations on his own account the !i M '».i1 ' ^1 f I . .,iV v ;''.v\'!. ',■!■■■> nl,. ".> I ■III ■* i ; 288 GENERAL CONSIDEftATION!< same year ; for, he has his land to choose, a part of it to clear, his house to build, and his family to get set- tled in it, with various other preparatory business to transact, all before the winter commences. If his first object be merely employment, the sooner he gets up into the interior country, the better. The sources from which lands are to be had or pur- chased, in either of the Canadas, may be in general comprehended under three heads, which, though simple in themselves, are each worthy of the attention of the enterprizing colonist. The first mode of purchase is direct from the Government; the second is from public land companies ; and the third is from private individuals. As to the first mode. Government, after first taking possession of these colonies, gradually gave away large * grants ' of the land to individuals, either as rewards for public services, or upon no other condi- tion but their personal settlement or the clearing of a small portion of them, and the making of defined portions of roads, for the progressive improvement of the colony. As the lands, however, began to rise in value, they were next given away in lots of various sizes, upon the payment only of certain fees to the officers of Government. These fees becoming, by the progress of colonization, an object of importance to the local government, were, in the year 1819, for va- rious assigned reasons, nearly doubled ; but this be- coming ultimately a subjeci of great complaint, the Government has since abandoned the system of fees, )art of it get set- iness to If his ' he gets i or pur- general h simple ition of lurchase is from I private t taking e away Ither as condi- ring of defined nent of rise in various to the by the mce to 'or va- lis be- lt, the f fees, GEIfERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 289 and now dispose of the remaining lands in much the same manner as is done by companies or individuals. The second mode of purchasing lands in Canada is from public bodies, such as the Canada Company., which holds large tracts of it in the Upper Province, and the British American Land Association, about to be established, which means to confine itself more to the frontier territory. These bodies having them- selves purchased lands from Government, as it were by wholesale, and in the raw state, and making it their business, if we may so say, to manufacture the article, by opening up roads through it, and making general improvements, for the enhancing of its value and the convenience of colonization, afterwards act as retail dealers in it, and afford to emigrants all the informa- tion and encouragement which their own interests, in these circumstances, may be supposed to dictate. From these facts it would appear to be the interest of individuals, whose means and knowledge are both limited, to put themselves under the protection of public bodies, whose prosperity is clearly identified with their own ; as, besides the indulgences, in respect of time of payment, which large retail dealers alone can give, emigrants, especially if they go out in asso- ciation, by this mode of settling, purchase all the advantages of co-operation, so valuable in any im- portant undertaking.^ The Canada Company, now some years in opera- tion, sell their lands to colonists, in detached lots or separate farms, of all sizes from 50 acres upwards, u 1 1 t- I .•• • l '■0 4 :<5!l .i «■ ! .t ; !! ■' "i ,V ■■>Ms • A II i Si '1.1 S9a GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. and take the payment In the course of five years, by annual instalments of one-fifth part of the purchase money each year, with the colonial interest of six per cent, the first fifth being payable down, on getting what is called a location ticket for taking immediate possession. If this first instalment upon 100 acres or upwards is paid to the Company in Bishopsgate Street, London, or in Quebec or Montreal upon arri- val there, the Company engage, for the present sea- son, to convey the emigrant from either of those places, to York in the upper province, free of ex* pense, as already stated. The British American Land Company, now in process of formation, is to be conduci'jd in the same manner as the existing Canada Company. Lower Canada, and particularly that part of it which lies on the south side of the St. Lawrence, is intended to be the scene of its earliest operations. But the views and principles upon which it has been formed are on a more extensive scale, inasmuch as the Company intends, according to the direction which the stream of emigration may take, to carry its operations into all the British American provinces and colonies. As soon as it shall have been formed, and legalized l)y Act of Parliament and Charter, the Company intend to publish an account of their arrangements for persons intending to emigrate ; both as to the remittance of their funds, and the public works which they intend to undertake. By the agreement of the Company with government, the one half of the pur- GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 291 RW, by irchase six per getting nediate ) acres »psgate m arri- int sea- r those of ex' low in e same Lower lies on d to be e views are on mpany stream ns into s. ^alized mpany ements to the which of the le pur- chase money which they are to pay for the lands is to be laid out on public works, in those parts of the provinces where the lands so purchased may be situated. It is important to notice this particularly, as it is among the earliest applications by govern- ment of a wise principle in colonization ; public works being, in fact, the only true mode of promoting the settlement and prosperity of colonies. Of course in the prosecution of their objects the Company will, both at home and abroad, appoint the necessary agents to whom emigrants can applies for information. As to the third mode of purchasing land, namely, from private individuals, this may perhaps be the most advisable for persons with some amount of capital, who may wiph to buy it in quantity, and in more or less of a cleared state ; as there are always portions for sale in all sorts of situations and in every stage of improvement. As this is a matter of bargain between individuals, no other general direc- tions can be given than as applies to the validity of the title to be given — which the purchaser should look well into. This will be a simple matter if the lands are situated in the Upper Province, as there a public registry is kept ; but if in Lower Canada, where the title cannot be so easily ascertained, some diffi- culty and risk may in this case be incurred. Here a matter requires to be stated, which is of much importance to all classes of emigrants, namely, that the office of the surveyor of the. Upper Pro- u2 m\ ii m .:< ■1: 292 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. •ii^ k ..%; -'4 A vince bein j situated in York, 540 miles from Quebec, the emigrant, or; landing at the latter place, has no opportunity of making a choice between the lands of the two provinces without travelling all that distance into the interior, nor can he, unless an alteration lias very lately taken place, obtain his title in ordinary cases even to lands in the near districts of Johnston or Batkurst, without undertaking this tedious and ex- pensive journey. In seeking to purchase land from individuals, the qualities, prices, and other advantages of particular portions of it, are continually made public by ad- vertisement. But all proposed purchasers ough^ particularly to observe the notices of lands for Hale, which he will find posted up in every inn and tavern as he travels along the roads in the interior ; as there are few better modes of meeting with advantageous lots, and purchasing under satisfactory circumstances, than by due attention to the offers thus m de to the passing traveller. As to rhese three modes of purchasing, it is to be observed generally, that those applying for lands at public offices must expect to be subjected to those delays in completing their purchases, which, without any blame to those concerned, are inseparable perhaps from the manasrement of extensive details and the necessary routine of office. There is this difference, however, in dealing direct with government, and with other public bodies, that, from the nature of the case, the atter can and do grant indulgences in regard to Jl'. luebec, has no mds of istance eration rdinary linstcn ind ex- ila, the rticular by atl- OUfiflii jr »ale, tavern s there ageous tances, to the s to be inds at those vithout erhaps id the rence, d with 3 case, ard to GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 203 tiiT' and mode of payment, which cannot be expected from the former; thus yielding occasionally to tlie necessities or circumstances of the colonist, though adhering also to a general principle. Emigrants, having a capital of a few hundred pounds, intending to become colonists in any of the Canadas,* are in general a^Wised rather to purchase lands partly cleared, and having upon them a house ready built for their families, than to go at once uninitiated and unpractised into the wilderness forest. As to the terms upon which lands are to be had with such advantages, these can only be learned with any authenticity on the spot, as prices of course vary with every enhancing or depreciating circumstance. Those who want good land, society, and a convenient market, must pay for them. Those who cannot afford to pay for these advantages, must, of course, go into the bush, — perhaps into a rather remote neighbour- hood at tirst, — until the progress of settlement gather around him neighbours, and gradually enhance the value of his own property. As to the mode of judging of land, of clearing it when purchased, and the numerous details of farming management, as these and all other practical matters can only be properly learned on the spot, and can never be taught by books, we abstain from offering any of the matter before us which individuals have written upon such subjects. With regard also to the capabilities of the soil of both Canadas, to state generally that it will, by cultivation, produce all the ♦ See paper, I, Appendix. ■ ^- 1 . : ■■ •f/' '•^' 1 ■l. w i # i ' » 1 ii ill ill i i ^li' :; ■_ * . . .*U[i' E1I£^ 1 1 ii - .'. T^'i hH ftSA?; .' ■| i ?Sha ^ I „ 1 ill 294 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. profitable vegetables known in England, and that in abundance, by projier muna"^o'^«nt, will perhaps be sufficient for practical men. _ .j settler knows that after he has cleared his land of the mere * bush/ that had hitherto kept from it the rays of the sun, the first effect of the upper richness of the soil, is dhni- nished in surface produce by the stumps of the trees remaining in the ground ; and that afterwards, by the time these stumps have rotted out, what is gained by this extension of surface, is in general lost by a pro- portionate exhaustion of that vegetable richness. He also knows that horned cattle are easily fed in the woods, and that hogs, in particular, are a most profit- able stock for the poor man ; but that, in a forest, country sheep, or even horses, cannot be introduced with advantage but by slow degrees, as the land is cleared. The English farmer also, when he goes to Canada, at once observes, that agriculture there is as yet practised in the rudest manner; while, on the other hand, experienced colonists universally say, that it would be better for the emigrant to go out totally ignorant of farming, than to bring with him English ideas upon the subject, and attempt to apply them to the soil and circumstances of this new country. Before however entirely dismissing this branch of the- emigrant's enquiries, there are two vegetable pro- ductions partly cultivated in the Canadas, which have been much spoken of in England, as hereafter to become important as export commodities, namely hemp and tobacco, and regarding which it may be therefore necessary to say a few words. Of the GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 295 that in laps be VB that [1/ that m, the s dhni- Le trees by the ned by a pro- chness. 1 in the ; profit- forest, oduced land is joes to e is as m the y say, go out ;h him > apply )untry. ich of ie pro- \i have 'ter to amely lay be )f the former there is certainly a wide field open for speca- lation ; yet as an article for general commerce, hemp has never yet been raised, though the capabihty of the soil to produce it, of the best quality, has been ascertained. The chief impediment to the production of this article is the price of labour, or the want of mills by which it may be prepared for market. But, by the introduction of capital, these obstacles may be overcome. Of the latter article, in the western parts of Upper Canada, it has already been cultivated to such an extent, as to be now of some importance in the exports of the province. Still, however, it should be always borne in mind, that the agricultural capabilities of the province have only yet been ascertained, and when hemp and tobacco are spoken of, it must not be supposed that they are raised in such quantities as to be an important object with merchants* Upon various other points relating to the state and capabilities of the Canadas, we had collected from various sources such further information as we deemed interesting to the intending colonist. As we were going to press with them, however, the follow- ing document was issued from the Colonial Oflice, being the Report of Mr. Richards, who had in April 1830 been appointed, under the secretaryship of Sir George Murray, a Commissioner of Inquiry into the state of the North American Provinces; and who, having, in consequence, visited these provinces in the fHl' Kk ; 1 iV' 296 commissioner's report. rt^ ' i'\ ii / • • • ■V ]■:■:} ' ' .■' >.l I • ,'■•'■•■'1*1 'f ' 304 COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. vHi i ■ '■ / \ '<<" m i k m Peterborough is the settlement begun in 1825 by Mr. Robinson, who then superintended the emigra- tion of some of the poorest classes from Cork, whom he located here, and lived with them above 12 months. The place is well selected at the head of navigation, and vdth mill-power to any extent ; the soil is dry and gravelly, upon a terrace of about 20 feet above the river. The townships of Ops, Emily, Smith, Otonabee, &c. corner here ; and nothing impedes its complete and brilliant success but the pressure of absentee ownership, as the number of vacant lots do not exceed 300. They have already a saw, flour and carding mills, distillery and tannery, in regular work ; about 60 houses: 22 framed buildings of sundry kinds were erected within the last 1 1 months. They have a plan for a steam -boat on the lake, to cost about 2,000Z., of which three-fourths is already sub- scribed. The agent here thinks nearly 1,000 labourers (pre- ferring young men) might find employment in this and the eastern part of the province. He visited a gentleman near Cobourg, who attends particularly to the cultivation of hemp ; he had sowed about 35 acres in different soils, sowing from 80 or 90 lbs. or about two bushels per acre ; some, in a rich part of his garden, we saw eight and ten feet high ; one field of about one and a half acres, about seven feet high, and in other places, generally from four and a half to seven feet. He was building a mill for bruising it. TIPPER CANADA. 305 1825 by i emigra- fk, whom I months, ivigation, oil is dry eet above jr, Smith, npedes its ressure of nt lots do flour and liar work ; of sundry IS. They to cost ready sub- irers (pre- it in this lo attends lad sowed lom 80 or )me, in a ten feet |e8, about illy from Ing a mill From Cobourg to the Bay of Quinte, the roads were good, the crops fair, the country well watered, but the land evidently weaker and apparently giving out. The last ten miles was through a wilderness, all taken up by military grants ; but a reservation is properly made for the Crown, where the canal must pass from the Bay of Quinte to Presq' Isle. The distance is trifling and the land low. The Bay of Quinte settlement is the oldest in Up- per Canada, and was begun at the close of the revo- lutionary war. We crossed over to the mouth of the River Trent, which flows from the Rice Lake, and it is said can be made practicable for steam- boats, though at much expense ; thence to Belleville, a neat village of recent date, but evidently addicted too much to lumbering. The whole distance to Kingston is about 75 miles and three-fourths along this beautiful bay, the shores of which are all settled, and exhibit large fields of wheat : the farm-houses frequently with good orchards ; and the points of land on either side run in long tongues into the bay, so as to vary its width from one to ten miles. I was informed that owing to the ignorance or un- jQiithfulnessof the first surveyors, the inhabitants were involved in continual law- suits, and that the Legis- lature, in despair, had passed an Act to confirm all the original surveys ; or, in other words, to perpe- tuate errors. Next day we descended the St. Lawrence, stopped at Gananocqui, where are the best flour-mills in the X '**' 1' ■ 'I ♦f:' .■■;■„. i ' ' K Y^:'' !.;> ^ '1- 306 commissioner's report. province ; then at Brockville, a neat, thriving, new town, with several handsome stone houses, churches, court-house, &c., and about 1,500 souls. It is sup- ported by a rich back country, of the Perth and other settlements. Thence to Prescott, &c. While on the lakes, I understood there were, upon Lake Erie, about 100 sail of American small vessels, seven steam-boats, and eight sail of English small vessels ; and upon Lake Ontario about 100 sail of English small vessels, seven steam-boats, 30 or 40 American small vessels, and two American steam- boats. The Welland Canal is now open, and in operation for vessels drawing seven and a half feet water, with its minimum width of 56 feet. It is 27 miles from lake to lake, but advantage being taken of the Rivers Chippewa and Niagara, the canal is only cut for six- teen miles and a half. There are 36 locks, which are 22 feet wide and 100 feet long. The deepest cutting is 56 feet, and the average of the deep cut for two miles is 40 feet. The difference of level between the two lakes is 330 feet. In conjunction with the Welland, some observa- tions on the Rideau Canal appear necessary ; its primary object was as a war communication, but in a secondary point of view, as a peace one, its advantage will be found not only in floating produce and mer- chandize between the two provinces, free of connec- tion or interruption on the American boundary, but as it opens a line of settlement tc the north of it, by p I i UPPER CANADA. 307 • ' 1 ig, new lurches, i is sup- id other re, upon vessels, jh small ) sail of JO or 40 I steam- •peration ter, with iles from le Rivers for six- ;, which deepest cut for I between )bserva- iry ; its but in a Ivantage id mer~ Iconnec- ary, but lof it, by which a number of townships, lately opened, may be filled up, and the population pushed along the centre of the province ; and from its mouth another branch up the Ottawa, in a north-westerly direction, will shoot out, and ultimately extend itself to Lake Huron. At By-Town, upon the Ottawa, the settlement is rapidly increasing. The steam-boat from Montreal goes twice a week. Townships north of this river are in request. Lumberers go 1 50 miles above By- Town. It has fewer rapids than the St. Lawrence, and might be made navigable some hundred miles from it. This will be the shortest route to the Huron, and 300 or 400 miles less to Penetanguishene than by Detroit, and all through our own territory. Very near to By-Town there have been such ex- traordinary exertions in settling a new country by one individual, that I cannot pass them by unnoticed* Mr. P. Wright came from Wooburn, in Massa* chusetts, in 1800, and took up lands upon the Ot- tawa ; he brought capital, and 25 labourers with him ; since which he has cleared 3,000 acres, owns four farms, employs 63 labourers and 33 mechanics and assistants, and makes 1,100 tons of hay annually ; he has 756 acres in grain and roots, with stock and pasturage in proportion ; his buildings are valued at 18,227/., and the sum total of his farms, stock, build- ings, &c., at 57,068/. 155. (See a Report of the Committee to the Legislature of Lower Canada^ 1824.) And such has been the result of a conver* x2 i- '%- •• 1 '•■, I .f' ''' ■ :'i :i III V 308 COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. sion from the wilderness in 24 years, when the land might he considered as without value ; but this situ- ation has possessed advantages of a very peculiar kind. On examining the sales of the clergy reserves, I found that 13,000/. was the gross amount of one year's sales, averaging about 15*. the acre; and the reflection which naturally arises is, to what value this beautiful province might have been raised, under a more economical management of its land resources ; and it would be unjust, both to the late and present governors, not to mention this in its proper light, and attribute the errors to the old administrations. In all recent military grants, conditions of actual settlement are exacted, or lands proposed in rear of t^e surveyed lownships ; but I do not see how justice can be done to the province, without the establishment of a court of escheat, to recover lands where condi- tions of settlement have not been fulfilled ; or by some legislative enactment to draw from the landowner such a proportion of local improvements in roads, &c., as the public good requires. I found at the Surveyor- general's Office, that 81,200 acres were assigned in loyalist and military grants, in 1828 and 1829, while at the same time only 17,650 acres were taken up by settlers ; and if we suppose the settlement of a new country to proceed in this proportion, and reflect that two-sevenths are reserved for the Crown and clergy, and besides a certain portion that is always unimprov- able, the burden of labour for unavoidable objects J •. i LOWER CANADA. 309 • '.I' lie land liis situ- peculiar erves, I of one and the due this under a sources ; present ler light, dons. )f actual rear of V justice lishment ; condi- by some idowner ids, &c., irveyor- ^ned in ), while up by a new ect that clergy, mprov- bjecta Buch as roads, bridges, &c., which is borne by the re- sidents, will fall too heavily upon such a scanty po- pulation. At Prescott we saw an uncommon large steam-boat upon the stocks, for Lake Ontario ; she was to carry 4,000 barrels of flour, with two engines of 140 horse power each, and she was to be launched soon. The whole population of Upper Canada may be taken at above 200,000 ; but I could not obtain in- formation of the number of emigrants arriving an- nually. LOWER CANADA. In descending the St. Lawrence and entering Lower Canada, the difference in the crops, climate, and agriculture is striking, and all against the lower province ; but the inhabitants consider themselves as compensated for their longer winter, in the health they enjoy and the purity of their atmosphere. It ought to be remarked, therefore, that in Upper Canada as in the Genessee country, and especially near bodies of fresh water, the fever and the ague is complained of; and, in unhealthy seasons, the autumnal bilious fever, so frequent in the middle parts of the United States. The agriculture upon the St. Lawrence is for the most part upon the old French system, repeated upon the same fields without intermission, until they are quite exhausted ; and if the valley through which it flows had not been very fertile, the inhabitants would have been long since driven back to the cultivation of new ■-'r' ^4:4 [•• •.*'.-' ■/■■:^n • f ' •'.■ 310 commissioner's report. >i lands. Tlie mode of settlement upon seigneuries, the desire to be near their church, the plain, sociable, kind-hearted character of the Canadians, all conspire to make them cling together, as long as subsistence can be got : not only the external customs, but the politeness of old France, is distinguishable at once among these simple peasants. Upon the island of Montreal a superior degree of agriculture is evident, and I was informed it arose from some English and Scotch farmers having bought out the leases of the Canadians, and determined to live upon the seigneuries. The seigneurs to whom lands were originally al- lotted by the Crown, were regarded, under the old French regime, more as agents for the settlement of the province, than barons for its defence or war- service ; and the Canadian seigneur re-granted his leases, in perpetuity, at a rent certain, not to be raised ; and whenever the Icf. ""«? sold his lease to another, the seigneur was entitled to one-twelfth of the sale price, as an alienation fine, but to no fine by inhentance ; so that the present holders pay no more as rent, than the sums originally agreed for, which are mostly light, from lOs. to II. for the lot. On the other hand, the seigneur has his duties to perform for the benefit of the settlement He must build a grist-mill, and have it going, or able to grind every week-day in ihe year, and he must make the roads required by law. His tenant is also obliged to grind his corn at the seigneur's mill. These are the LOWER CANADA. 311 ries, the sociable, conspire )sisteTice but the at once egree of it arose g bought nined to nally al- • the old ement of or war- inted his ot to be lease to elfth of no fine pay no eed for, e lot. uties to e must to grind ake the •liged to are the principal obligations between them ; and the size of the farm granted is usually of three arpents in front, by 30 deep, or rather under 70 acres. The shape of these farms explains the street-like appearance of all their settlements. It is curious that in Upper Canada the English should have adopted the term concession, and laid out roads by the diagram, from tlie Frencli practice. Whenever a seigneury is disposed of, an alienation fine of one-fifth sale's price is paid to tlie Crown ; thus the one -fifth to the Crown is called the King's quints, and the one-twelfth to the seigneur his loda et ventes. I arrived at Quebec on the 6th of August, and pre- sented my letter to Sir James Kempt, who immedi- ately sent circulars of introduction to the heads of the several Crown-land departments; and with an un« abated strain of kindness and attention, in addition to his practical experience, contributed his utmost to my assistance while in Lower Canada. The Crown's rights and interests in lands in Lower Canada, are, — 1st. Paramount rights over seigneuries granted to private individuals, upon wldch the Crown receives its quints on sales. 2d. Lands en roture, which the Crown as seigneur has ceded to occupying individuals, and retains its one-twelfths or lods et ventes. 3d. Townships granted in free and common soo cage. .■ ^ ■ \ :■*.■; I lllil II', n ■ t Utt^^W':'i i i^ i:f; t ; 'III J'' II! 312 commissioner's report. 4th. Ungranted lands, grantable in any manner it may please the Crown. By the Inspector of the King*s revenue and estates, who had only been in office about two years, I was informed that a large amount might be consi- dered due to the Crown, for unclaimed mutation fines for the last 29 years; that in 1801 an Act of the Provincial Legislature was passed, annulling all fines then due to the Crown upon former alienations, but confirming those unpaid upon the last sale, and that the sum then accumulated upon many years of negli- gence, must have been large. That of the other sum above stated as having accrued since 1801, about half may be considered recoverable, &c. But having received a particular statement from him of the con- cerns under his care, I have presented a copy of it, lest I should have done him an injustice by using ex- planations of my own. From the Commissioner of the Jesuits* estates, I learned that they are seven in number, containing originally 793,342 arpents, from which deducting the amount conceded of 221,934 arpents, leaves 571,408, equal to 485,700 acres, remaining grantable. These estates were in the hands of the Jesuits before the conquest, when they devolved to the Crown ; but were permitted to remain in the order till the death of the last of the brethren in 1800. They were mostly bequeathed by several testators, in consideration of services performed by the Jesuits, by converting In- dians to Christianity, and in compensation for their lanner it me and vo years, >e consi- ion fines t of the ; all fines ions, but and that of negli- )ther sum 1, about lit having the con- py of it, using ex- estates, I ntaining Icting the I57 1,408, These ifore the n ; but [le death mostly •ation of fting In- fer their LOWER CANADA. 313 losses, expenses, [&c. But it is needless to dwell further upon what has already been the subject of correspondence. The circumstance of the English and French laws being both in force in the same province, must create confusion, and impede its advancement in prosperity. It is equally unpleasant for the Canadian to settle upon the townships, as for the English to go upon the seigneuries. From the Surveyor-general's Office I learned that the number of townships organized and surveyed, in whole or in part, in all Lower Canada, was 134; and that the whole disposable amount of acres belonging to the Crown will be about five millions and three- quarters, viz. : Remaining un granted in the surveyed townships .... 1,450,000 Crown reserves, when appropriated . 1,040,000 Acres In the projected townships Acres . 2,490,000 . 3,233,000 , 5>723,00a But as projected townships are of too vague a nature to form a reliance upon, it would not leave more than two millions and a half available in the lower province, which, from an inspection of the map, one would suppose must be erroneous, and projected townships mean no more than ideal lines in an unexplored country. v ■*,'. I a /• I*- |.j: 1 ^ p r,' ' f i314 COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. The number of acres in the townships laid down on a map annexed to a Report of the House of As- sembly, 1829, and south of the St. Lawrence, are stated by estimate at 5,500,000. The number in the seigneuries, including Anticosti, is 11,000,000 ar- pents, or 8,400,000 acres, to which may be added the lands north of the St. Lawrence, on the Saguenay, and in the Gaspe district, the whole of which may be 1 8 or 20 millions, and it would seem almost im- possible but that there must be more land available for settlement. The Sixth Report of a Committee on Lands, made to the House of Assembly in 1821, returns 150 townships granted in free and common soccage^ which have been surveyed since 1795, con- taining acres * accordes* 2,203,709, and the reserves for the Crown and clergy, 885,365, which is equal to one-fifth of the * accordes,* or 40 per cent, upon the whole. Take the whole number on the map . 5,500,000 Deduct two- sevenths of 5,500,000, the number which is to be reserved for the Crown and the clergy . . 1,571,430 Would leave grantable There have been * accordes* . 3,928,570 . 2,203,709 Remain . 1,724,861 Add thereto, the amount of Crown re- serves which may be considered avail- able, say one-seventh of 5,500,000 . 785,715 Total available 2,510,576 iii.i; LOWER CANADA. 31S lid down e of As- ence, are >er in the ),000 ar- idded the aguenay, lich may nost im- available ommittee in 1821, common ^95, con- I reserves I equal to ipon the 500,000 571,430 928,570 203,709 724,861 r85,7l5 il0,576 Which gives an amount nearly the same as the Sur- veyor-Generars Statement, exclusive of the projected townships, at which, therefore, it may be safe to take it. The Surveyor-General also, in evidence before a Committee of the House of Assembly, 1823, esti- mates the whole extent of Lower Canada at 1 50,000 superficial miles, of which not more than 30,000 have been explored, and are tolerably known, which would be equal to about 19 millions of acres. The size of a township in Lower Canada is 64,000 acres gross, deducting 5 per cent, for highways, leaves 61,000 net. Again, the early surveys were frequently made by order of the grantees, without an after-examination to prove their correctness ; and it is notorious that, in early times, so little attention was paid to exactness, and in the few instances where I could learn that at- tempts at verification had been made, such errors had been discovered, I could not recommend the adop- tion of any system of settlement without previous in- vestigation to ascertain their authenticity. Without this a lawsuit would be the consequence of every grant, and the seeds of endless litigation and hostility planted in every settlement. With the progress of things the duties of the Sur- veyor-General's department have varied exceedingly. When the province was new and unexplored, topogra- phical knowledge was of the first importance, and it was expected from this department only. But when V'l M ■ 1 m. i'fi 'a 'f.' '. ', 1 ' 5 J" f ! '« 316 commissioner's report. w m ^ 1:V ^ h;!^i the province has advanced, the principal duties of the Surveyor-general consist in performing practical ad- measurements, in having faithful and correct plans and maps preserved for inspection, with the means of illustration by the surveyor's field notes ; but the duty of an ofl5ce of record, as it appears to me, ought to be kept separate, not to be mixed up with the surveyor's plans, nor the settlers* names inscribed upon them. All records of landed transactions, I should think, are more attached to the office of Commissioner of Crown lands, which has sprung up of late years. With the Commissioner of Crown lands I had the pleasure of frequent intercourse, and found his books and accounts clear and regular. A statement of his sales and receipts of land, which I believe are of Crown reserves, from the 1st January 1828 to the 1st June 1830, *iave been presented ; by which it will ap- pear that in that time he had sold 58,798 acres. In the last six months he had not sold above 5,000 acres, but in the six months preceding 10»000, because his public sales by auction take place in October ; and it will be found that his sales run from 25. Qd, to 10s. the acre. By orders from home he advertises land for sale at public auction, and at an upset price, ana as it rarely happens that two people are compe- titors for tlie same lot in a wild state, they combine against him, and the result operates against an ad- vance in price. He is also instructed to offer more favourable con- ditions to the purchaser of a 50-acre lot than to one !« -. ilii li! LOW£R CANADA. 317 ies of the jtical ad- :ect plans means of t the duty ight to be iurveyor's I them, uld think, isioner of iars. I had the his books ent of his e are of to the 1st t will ap- res. ve 5,000 , because ctober ; s. 6d, to vertises et price, compe- ombine t an ad- Ible con- n to one of a common size ; the result of which is to take the labourer out of the labour-market, and to make him a poor settler. He thinks that sales to the extent of 5,000/. per annum may be effected from the leased Crown reserves, and a further amount from those un- tenanted, which will go on increasing. He showed me a memorandum of sale of 20,350 acres, reserves, of which say one-fourth were leased, one-third partly leased, and the remainder, or nearly one-half, in a wilderness state; the leased sold at 7s. 6d.y some in the Montreal district at 6s. Sd.y and in the Quebec ditto at 3s, 6d, the acre. The purchasers were Bri- tish emigrants, some Canadians, but no Americans. He showed me another memorandum of 276 lots originally leased in the province, 30 had been granted, 134 held by persons who could show, titles, the re- maining 112 had either been abandoned or were in possession of squatters; and of these 134, 31 had been sold to tenants, and upon the remaining 103 the annual rent is 386/. 5s. and there was due upon these leases 2,231/. Ss. lOd. In some of his statements the term quit-rent is im- properly used, for he does not grant upon quit-renti but allows poor settlers to take up small lots, and pay interest at 5 % upon the purchase, with the right of paying up the principal when convenient to them, and a promise on his part to give them deeds, which is, in fact, more advantageous than scUling upon a seig- neury. This is perfectly right, and the only improve- ment to be hinted should be for a time to be fixed for <• 'r- t:-; l ?<. 5 ■'■ '. -,* . :^% II!. %i:-, I f*- .f.^. 1^ it , ) 318 COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. t'l 11! iiti >pi payment of the principal, to prevent an unnecessary accumulation of small debtors. So many sales have been made of lands heretofore under lease, that those in future may, for a time, not average so high. He has also the sale of the clergy reserves, and had received offers for parcels in different parts, in the whole to the amount of 12,000/. The average value per acre I did not understand, but I thought it as high as his other sales. The clergy, however, did not think the offers sufficient, and they consider that only one- fourth their int^ est in each township ought to be brought to market, and the other three-fourths reserved for future disposal. The words of the Act of Parlia- ment, 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 52, are to authorize * a sale of said clergy reserves, &c., not exceeding in either pro- vince one-fourth of the reserves within such pro- vince, &c.* About 500,000 acres are appropiiated as clergy reserves, and perhaps 100,000 disposed of by lease, the net proceeds of which do not exceed 250Z. per annum, and four years ago did not pay the charge of collection. The township of Shefford being on a road which ought to be kept open, was lately offered for settlement. The Crown and clergy reserves in it amount to 17,838 acres, in distinct lots of 200 acres each ; but upon verification of the survey, they were found to run from 105 to 296 acres, a sad proof of the inaccuracy of old surveys. This discovery has obliged him to advertise in his LOWER CANADA; 3l» n accessary leretofore time, not I, and had iS, in the age value it as high , did not that only Light to be ig reserved of Parlia- * a sale of jither pro- such pro- as clergy by lease, 250Z. per charge of ise in his auction sales * that lots are sold by the contents in acres marked in the public documents, without guarantee of the actual quantity/ He has, in fact, no other course. The rents or dues for timber cut in the lower pro- vince are at present less than those in the upper, owing to the greater accessibility, by means of small streams flowing into the Ottawa, from the upper than from the lower province ; but the quantity of timber is supposed as great in one as in the other. By the natural course of things, that which is most accessible will come first to market. It ought to be borne in mind that there is a peculiar danger in this species of property, to which it must be ever liable, that of fire in a dry season, and of which the sufferings of New Brunswick afford a memorable and terrible ex- ample. On every account, therefore, it would be well to have it realized, while it contributes so much to the benefit of the province as it now does, by giving employment to the lumber man, and to British vessels trading to Quebec. Above 2,000 lumbermen and rafters were employed upon the 0-tawa alone, and 600 vessels, with 7,743 men, were reported at Quebec in 1829, His Majesty's government had formerly been in the practice of giving lands gratuitously to encourage the settlement of the province. By the Report of 1821, already quoted, 2,203,709 acres were appro- priated, of which 1,472,394 were conceded by one governor between 1799 and 1805 ; and failing in this ■' .1* '^'■.fi .' >■'■' lit .! it t ' I ¥ \i* '/IS ^: ■^. "nMPMnpaNMPP ',■* '■- 1 ■■♦I i ill 1 : 1 1 320 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. object, the new system of sale has been resorted to, and as far as it has been tried it answers well. The public sales have been already noticed ; but it may be well to add, that from the application of some Cana- dian youths, a tract was laid out near the Chaudiere and River Famine, which was sold last October, and went off well. Under a prudent management this mode will insure the accumulation of a fund sufficient to meet all charges incidental to the settlement of the Crown lands, and might leave a surplus. It appears by one of the Reports of the Legislature that about 250,000 acres had been appropriated to the militia, for services in the late war, and that 64,000 were held under certificates of location ; but it was generally said that many small grants had been bought up, and that some individuals held large quantities. The new system was begun in 1826, and had just begun to take root, when, in 1S28, new orders came out, interfering with its operation, but not entirely superseding it ; by these gratuitous grants were rest'^-red in favour of half-pay officers, and (for a limited period) officers and soldiers of the late militia. The effect of these orders was certainly to check the disposition to purchase lands, and to depre- ciate their value. The soil of the townships south of the St. Law- rence is different from that of the valley through which ic runs, and more adapted to grazing farms and pasturage. The country is irregular, of frequent polling swells, as in Vermont, to which state it joins. LOWER CANADA. sorted to, ell. The it may be ne Cana- Chaudiere ober, and merit this i sufficient lent of the legislature priated to and that ition ; but rants had held large in 1826, 828, new •ation, but )us grants and (for the late [rtainly to to depre- Ist. Law- through farms and frequent it joins. 321 and is paid to be of tlie same sort of land. I under- stood that the Vermontcrs had crossed the line, and partially occupied several townships, bringing with them their own municipal customs ; and that when the impropriety of electing their own officers was pointed out to them, they had quietly given them up, and promised to conform to those of Canada. Good stage roads are open, and in daily use, and travellers pass from the Canada line to any part of the United 8tates ; this fact, however, seems to call attention to the settlement of the townships, and the Americans would readily sell their Betterments to European emigrants, and move back, or take up new lands. This state of things has been well observed and met by the vigilance of Sir James Kempt, w!io for two years past has directed the location of emigrants U])on the townships of Leeds and Inverness, under the management of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the Government agent for emigrants, now residing at Quebec ; by whose permission to occupy, an emigrant may now go on, immediately after his arrival, to either of these townships, and take up his lot upon paying one -fourth of his purchase -money ; and a poor man may take up half a lot, upon paying live per cent, upon the valuation in advance, and the same rate of interest upon it until he is able to pay for the whole : and as soon as he has paid his consi- deration money he is entitled to his deed. These settlements are conducted with much skill, economy, and practical knowledge, and will be frequently re- 1' > )M .1 'I li' -!'■> ?.:*, ^:; ^' ■ ii lUi 322 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. ferred to in case of the adoption of any system of emigration : first, tlie idea of continuing tliem along the road called Craig's Road to Vermont, through townships run out and partially settled, is a happy one, as, instead of settling the wilderness without an object in view, it is the mean of filling up an inter- mediate blank, and of connecting separate districts already in high improvement. In 1829, upon the reserves in Inverness, 39 fa- milies were placed, to whom 3,890 acres were sold, at 4s. the acre, from whom 57 Z. 18.s;. as first payments, and some quit-rents, were received, and 98/. 155. 9d, was expended upon their roads. In 1S30, on the same township, to the 1st August, 35 families were placed, to whom 3,700 acres were sold, 61/. was received from them, and 50/. expended on roads. The reserves remaining disposable are, in the Crown 81 J lots, and in the clergy 31 ; total 112 J- lots, con- taining 22,500 acres. Giatuitous grants were made in 1829 to 21 per- sons, containing 2,300 acres; and in 1830 to three persons, containing 600 acres ; and, in addition to the open Crown lands, there is a quantity, supposed liable to escheat, of perhaps 10,000 acres. The above return of 31 open clergy reserves, with 6,200 acres, would leave only one lot of 200 acres for a resident clergyman ; but the clergy claim three- fourths, as before mentioned, in which case their disposable lots would be only eight, or 1,600 acres, instead of 6,200 acres. ystem of jm along through a happy ithout an an inter- 1 districts ifa, 39 fa- ^ere sold, jayments, I. 15s. M. 3, on the lilies were 61/. was n roads, le Crown lots, con- |o 21 per- to three ddition to supposed kes, with |00 acres lim three- tase their loo acres. LOWER CANADA. 323 In June 1S29 the numher of emigrants in Inverness was 86, and they had 220 acres under crop. In 1830, August 26, there were 750 inhahitants, who had 1,0?5 acres under crop; ahd 79 families were in the progress of settlement in that town, between the 1st June and that day ; and 25 or 30 more were expected, who had mostly engaged their lots, which makes an addition of nearly 500 souls within ihe last two years. A Court of Escheat is instituted in Lower Canada, and a judge appointed ; but no causes have yet been tried ; much benefit would no doubt accrue from its ope'ations, especially if commenced after a Gover- nor's proclamat'^n (according to the idea of Sir James Kempt), declaring the object of Government, and commencing with an attempt to liberate such lands as stand in the way of settlement. The number of emigrants arrived this year was much greater than in any previous. In 1829 the whole number was 15,945, and when I left Quebec, at the end of August 1830, the number was 25,000, and the Autumn fleet not having arrived, it may not be over sanguine to ( xpect a probable number for this year of 28,000 or more. The duties of the Government agent are, to give every assistance to the emigrant upon his arrival, to protect him from imposition, to place him upon a lot, or find labour for him, of which hand-bills or notices being posted up, his business is universally known, and his office is generally thronged. His advertisements in the y2 t ■y] iJ'i »»■■ '.l•^ i ■, i' f f. I. *i ■4 n I , ^;. .1^ ■If. i " 1 t !iS ii\r- 324 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. •newspapers invite those in want of labourers to apply to liim ; and his object is to distribute those who have families in Quebec or near it, .and the single men at greater distance. Many labour on board of vessels, on rafts, wharfs, or in the timber yards, or are engaged as servants; the Government works take off many: and they are encouraged to deposit their earnings in tbe savings-bank. Lists of townshii)s open for settlement arc in his office, to the location agent in either of which, whether in Upper or Lower Canada, he gives the emigrant a ticket of recom- mendation. By the Governor's orders public notices are print- ed, not only explaining the roads to be travelled, but the charges also to which tbe poor person is liable. In fact, the object is to shield the emigrant from im- position, and put him in profitable employment as soon as possible, with the utmost saving of his slender means. To the success attending these plans already detailed it may be added, that it was a current remark at Quebec, that however large the arrival of emigrants, the town had never been so clear of beggars. It is the agent's duty also to visit the settlements occa- sionally, the nearest of which is 36 miles from Quebec. The plans are now generally understood, and show the good feelings and good sense with which they have been got up. To the eye of a rapid traveller no people can ap- pear more contented and comfortable, or more abun- dant in kind feelings than the Canadians ; and I can- ' i {!'• LOWER CANADA. 325 to apply vho have 5 men at ' vessels, . or are I take off sit their 3wnships location )r Lower f recom- ire print- glled, but is liable, from im- tas soon slender s already t remark nigrants, s. It is its occa- es from ler stood, use with can ap- re abun- id I can- not but believe that however certain proceedings in their Parliament may show dissatisfaction, it is not the feeling of the province generally. It is notorious in all new countries, that the bulk of information is among professional men, and that the agriculturist is comparatively unenlightened, for he lives secluded from the world, and performs the work of a day labourer upon his own farm. In Canada, however, the seigneurs, as a landed interest, must have a con- trolling influence, and I confess that I should not object to it, as an open uristocratical balance, in their own right. Perhaps I (>ught to be altogether silent upon pro- vincial politics ; but the fact is so api)arent to me, that all the wealth and importance of the Canadas have grown out of British protection, and the circu- lation of British capital, and that a continuation of their prosperity is so inseparably connected with these, that I cannot refrain from explaining myself, that a state of independence would, as I apprehend, reduce them to perfect want, if not to misery. Con- nected with the mother country, I see no reason why they might not go on prosperously for ages. The desired object should be to give to both as much happiness and prosperity as the connexion can com- mand. It is therefore devoutly to be wished that the fmancial question, which hp so long agitated their Parliament, may be settled upon a basis of mutual satisfaction. m ! I I *'M it! ; M 326 commissioner's report. ,i 4 i ill ,y m\ It is necessary to refer to the question of fees in the land-granting departments; for the settlers press for their deeds, which are not yet given, because the fees are not determined upon, and are regarded as vested rights by those to whom they are due. A tariff was established in 1797, when large grants were made, and it apportioned them by the 1,000 acres, but took no notice of smaller grants ; and when they are reduce 1 in that ratio to the lOO-acre lot, they will not pay the clerk hire of the officers, one of whom assured me that he only wished them to be placed upon the fair principle of ' quantum meruit.* The Council did indeed recommend another tariff of fees in 1828, which amounts to 21. lbs. per deed ; and this is -^^aii^ objected to by the settler, who is usually six or or eight years in collecting his 201. to pay for his land ; and payment for the purchase being itself a novelty, lie considers all other charges as grievances. It is the usual practice of proprietors in the United States, to authorise agents to convey lots by power of attorney, and I would take leave to suggest something of this nature as the most simple, and, under all circumstances of the case, the most equitable mode of proceeding. It is to be remarked also, that by Act of Parlia- ment, 31 Geo. 3; c. 36, one-seventh of all lands granted in the province, is reserved for the clergy, and one-seventh for the Crown, and the expression is positive, to reserve one'Seventh of every grant for 'fir' i( J f. ' fees in 2rs press aiise the irded as due. A nts were 10 acres, len they ot, they , one of ;m to be meruit.' ' tariff of it deed ; , who is his 201. purchase charges e United power of mething- nder all )le mode ' Parlia- II lands clergy, ession is rant for LOWER CANADA. 327 the benefit and use of the clergy ; so that although a seventh part of a township be originally reserved as directed, it becomes necessary, in making out deeds of reserves, to reserve again another seventh of the seventh part. This surely could never have been the intention of Government ; and if the evil cannot be remedied by instructions, it may be well to have the Act examined, and if tliought proper, corrected. The population of Lower Canada is stated to have been 65,338 in 1784, and 428,000 in 1823, by the Surveyor-general's evidence before a Committee, in January 1824 ; and taking their ratio of increase at 3J per cent, compound interest, it would now give an aggregate of 544,000 souls. Having accomplished most of my duties at Que- bec, I proceeded, on the 30th August, for New Brunswick bv the Grand Portac^e. The road through Beaumont, St. Valieres, L* Islette, &c., to Kaniou- raska is excellent ; much upon a natural terrace above the noble St. Lawrence, and through a dense but narrow settlement, is beautiful. The land, in gene- ral, is worked to exhaustion, crops poor, and appa- rently yielding a scanty subsistence for the population. On the north side of the river, the hills or mountains are mostly cultivated; not so on the south side, where the country is mostly low, and the hills to- wards the end of our journey, sterile. A change of climate for the worse is evident in this short distance. At St. Andre the river is 17 miles across. We left it (Sept. 1) and passed through some new settle- ments, all from reclaimed sv^amps, for five or six 1, ■• ■ , ^ '.''■ I 4 m PSf: ■ si . '■'■'. ' ' 328 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. m miles, to the river de Loup : this was a frosty morn- ing, the potatoe fields were all black, and their tops killed J much of the wheat was green. The River de Loup, when its waters are swollen by the melting of the snows, may be considerable, but when we passed over the bridge, it appeared reduced to 40 yards wide, and not knee-deep. The next river was a much smaller one, the Green River, about eight or ten miles from the St. Lawrence, into which both these streams run ; and the next we arrived at was a trifling stream also, the St. Francis, about 15 miles from the St. Lawrence, running towards the south. I have been particular in these remarks, because we were then upon the disputed territory. The portage is about 36 miles across ; we passed it easily before sunset ; the roads, though bad, better than I expected. There were two or three high mountains ; much swamp ; a great part of it a com- plete bed of rocks ; and on the whole way through the woods it offers very little encouragement for set- tlement. The Temiscouata Lake is about 30 miles long, but we only passed along about half of it. The land was genera) ]y inferior, but on the western side were several swells of good land. There are not above three or four settlements visible. The Madawaska River is the outlet of the lake, and we descended the whole of it, about 30 miles. It is of a quick current, about 30 or 40 yards wide, ind its banks are in general capable of cultivation. There were six or eight settlers upon them ; some were doing well ; one showed me a body morn- ir tops River nelting en we to 40 er was iglit or h both at was 3 miles utli. )ecause passed better e high I, com- irough or set- O". id was everal ree or ver is lole of 3ut 3Q apable upon I body ON BOTH PROVIISCES. 329 of above 30 acres under cultivation ; but they were in fear of frost, as their wheat was in the milk. The autumn-sowed wheat is always winter-killed, and they therefore sow their grain as early as possible in the spring ; which is frequently done upon a winter fallow, without a second ploughing, and only har- rowed in, while a thin surface is thawed ; thus their wheat ripens earlier. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PROVINCES. The first remark which presents itself is upon their inconvenient shape ; a long narrow belt of settlement, upon the northern boundary of a powerful neighbour, capable of being pierced through or overrun at will. But as that neighbour has immense forests of his own to subdue and settle ; as his migrating population prefer a milder climate;, and the annexation of the British provinces to him would make but a small ad- dition to his exports, and produce nothing which he does not produce ; it is fair to presume he would not be misled by ambitious feeelinj^s of doubtful advan- tage. The first and leading object to us should be, at all events, to give them compactness and solidity ; to condense the population and give it breadth, at the same time to connect the different provinces together, by any and every means of commercial intercourse and internal communication. Their increase of population has been, and conti- nues to be, so astonishingly rapid, that it is well i 1 «• ,'■' 1 1..^ ! I; ^ ,.| • /.. , '' -'iiif i:» 330 commissioner's report. to note it particularly. By minutes of Evidence before a Committee of the House of Assembly, Quebec, 1824, it appears that the whole population of Lower Canada, in 1784, was . . 65,338 Nova Scotia, by Haliburton, then was . 32,000 New Brunswick and Newfoundlar ', say 12,000 Total 109,338 Upper Canada then was nothing, making a Total of, say . . . . 110,000 The present population may be taken at For Upper Canada . . . 200,000 For Lower Canada , , . 544,000 For New Brunswick . . . 80,000 For Nova Scotia . . . 130,000 For Cape Breton, Newfoundland and Prince Edward's Island, say . . . 100,000 Total . 1,054,000 Here then is almost a tenfold increase in 46 years, which shows a duphcating ratio every 14, and is rather better than an increase at 5 per cent, com- pound interest. This however is, in a great degree, an emigrating increase, and not a natural one. The United States are found to double every 24 years, which is equal to 3 per cent, at compound interest ; and if a partial view of one of their new western i :!!£ ■X \ GENERAL REMARKS. 331 Evidence ssembly, jpulation 65,338 32,000 12,000 109,338 110,000 t 200,000 544,000 80,000 130,000 100,000 1,054,000 [6 years, and is it. corn- degree, ie. Tiie 54 years, interest ; western states only were to be taken, it would probably give a result equally extraordinary as that we are now ex- amining. But the increase of their commerce, navigation, con- STnnption of British manufactures and provincial re- venues, are all equally striking, and worthy of close in- vestigation, as it only is of late years that their powers have been developed in so extraordinary a degree. About thirty years ago the whole export of Lower Canada consisted in peltry, and was taken off in three ships annually ; that of Nova Scotia was con- fined to vessels carrying fish and grindstones ; and of New Brunswick, to gypsum and lumber. In fact^ but a very few years ago, they were so insignificant as scarcely to attract attention. But in the last year, 1829, at the four ports of Quebec, St. John's, St. Andrew's, and Halifax, there were cleared outwards 5,140 vessels, with 644,959 tons, and 31,048 seamen. This is by the Custom- house Returns, and if we add the actual clearances of the other Nova Scotia ports, for the year 1828, (sup- posing that those of 1829 might be as much,) it will exhibit an aggregate of 797,502 tons, and that with- out including Miramichi, Liverpool, Bathurst, New- foundland, &c. There were built in Lower Canada, in 1829, 5,465 tons of vessels ; in Nova Scotia, in 1828, 99 vessels, containing 7,138 tors ; and in New Bruns- wick a larger amount than either of the two ; and as this statement does not comprise the ports of New- ^ >' 'm 332 COMMISSIOxVER S REPORT. foundland, it may not be too much to suppose that an entire aggregate of 850,000 tons, with 44,000 sea- men, were cleared from all the ports of the British North American provinces in the year 1829. I am aware that most of these vessels must have performed two voyages, and therefore that it may not be safe to estimate above half to the tonnage and seamen cleared, which would give a total employed by the colonial trade of 425,000 tons, and 22,000 seamen, and about nine-tenths in British vessels. Compare this to the American tonnage, by Water- stoii's Tables, and it will be seen that the whole amount of tonnage belonging to the state of Massa- chusetts, (their greatest shipowner,) for foreign trade, coasting and fisheries, in 1826, was only 385,785 tons ; and that of the State of New York, for the same year, 330,709 ; and that I have not taken into view the fishing business and boats of Newfoundland and Cape Breton, where every male between 1 8 and 50 is a fisherman. The cause of this rapid expansion is to be attri- buted entirely to the Canada timber trade^ and the monopoly of the West India trade. To those who measure the first by the quality of timber compared with the Baltic, or the policy of the second by the pressure of an extra price upon the planter's supplies, it is fair to explain the astonishing progress of British navigation which has sprung into existence under the late protecting policy : this in- valuable and indispensable nursery for tjeamen, which f -i e that an ,000 sea- B British • lust liave , may not nage and employed I 22,000 isels. y Water- iie whole f Massa- gn trade, 385,785 , for the iken into bundland n 18 and be attri- , and the [uality of ;y of the ipon the lonishing nig into this in- In, which GENERAL REMARKS. 333 is the basis of all our naval power, the very life-blood of the empire, and the more important character of the provinces themselves, in conjunction with that power, as a bulwark to our other transatlantic pos- sessions. Nor as consumers of British manufactures are they to be unnoticed, for lumberers and fishermen are of all labourers the most extravagant ; and I believe it will be found that they import manufactures in full proportion to the augmentation of their commerce. Their consumption of West India produce is parti- cularly deserving notice, as being exclusively Brilish ; so that in their intercourse with the mother-country and the island, all exchange of production is that of British industry ; all employment created, all profits accruing, are national, and contributing to the pros- perity of the empire. They have no feelings of com- petition or exclusiveness ; their interests are identified with ours. Many products can be supplied by them cheaper than elsewhere, but the length of the voyage requires a protecting duty ; and it is presumed that a reduc- tion of one farthing duty per pound upon the West India sugar consumed in England would be a com- pensation for all extra charge borne by the West India planter. The peculiar advantages in supplying new countries with manufactures is too sensibly felt at present to be dwelt upon ; but it is presumed that the circum- stances of the late war developed it completely, and ■ * I I . i il > 'H if r %:■■': • --.'•■., - ,• >■■■ ■ ',1 I 334 cqmmissoner's report. ^' that the commerce of Great Britain was never more flourishing than while she had that monopoly trade with her colonies and the new countries. If her .other colonies could increase in the same ratio as those of North America, and the establishment of more could give like results, the beneficial conse- y. I ,■/'. '' I ''I 340 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. 'fr •-^c life m hospital at Quebec , supported by provincial grants, into which 91 patients were received during the month when I was there. But some charity for the widows and orphans of emigrants ought to be ex- tended from hence. In case any regulated plan should be seriously got up, tiiat part of it relating to embarkation and passage; will be easily arranged : some person should be appointed at every port of embarkation, to give the necessary facilities to their departure, and guard as much as possible against their suffering, for these poor people now undergo much misery unknown to others, and which might be prevented. The cost of passage is pretty well regulated by the force of competition ; adults are taken from Liver- pool at 3/. per head, from Dublin and Co":k at 21. lOs., and from a western port in Ireland at 21. ; their pro- visions will cost about 35.9. or 40s. from Liverpool, and 2bs. or 30s. from Ireland and Scotland ; so that the total of passage and provisions for an adult, may range from Al. 15s. to 3/. 5s. ; children under 14 years at half, and under seven years at one-third, price. These prices may not be precisely exact, but they are very nearly so ; they are however regulated upon the idea of a full complement of passengers, who are always to be ready at the ship's time ; and the ship finds berthing, water, fuel, and cooking utensils. There is so much spare tonnage outwards to the provinces, by the manner in which the timber trade ' 1 EMIGRATION. 341 prants, g the ■or the be ex- riously 3n and should o give [ guard r these own to by the Liver- \l. 10s., ir pro- erpool, so that adult, under ■third, it they 1 upon o are e ship • to the trade is carried on, that its 'peculiar facilities ought not to be overlooked. During the year 1829, the ships cleared from the ports of Queue«j and St. John's, to Great Britain and Ireland, consisted of above 340,000 tons ; and as three passengers are allowed to five tons, and in some roomy vessels three to four tons, the mutual and reciprocal advantages of the passenger and timber trades are plainly seen, and the benefit accruing is altogether national. Thus far we have advanced without difficulty, the whole case being one of simple calculation. But when we come to place the emigrant in the wilderness of a new countrv, unless he is to move under some regulated system, got up under foresight, reflection, and previous arrangement, it will be Hke giving him a stone when he asks for bread. At present many go on without knowing the boundaries of their lots, or whether they have any, or indeed whether they will ever obtain a title. In all such instances are sown the seeds of disorder and disaffec- tion to Government. It may be well first to consider the expense actually incurred in locating individuals upon the late experi- mental settlements. The emigration of 1823, after deducting cost of passage, gave 15/. 8s. Od per head. That of 1825 gave 13/. lis. 8cZ. ; and a more recent experiment in the town of Ops, in Upper Canada, gave 3/. 2s. Qd. ; but it would be unsafe to assume either of these as data for further proceedings ; for in the two first cases many abandoned their lots and •■ ij .' -* f .^^1 '. • r ;.-■ '^il 342 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. increased the average cost, although their places have been supplied since ; and the situation of Ops was too near to other settlements to call it a be- ginning in the wilderness ; on this account the sum of 400^. was limited to it ; but I understood from a gentleman who had access to the disbursement accounts, that 1000/. would probably be sufficient to set a new settlement fairly off with, but without the expense of mills. I believe the township of Cavan, in Upper Canada, was settled also without advance. In Lower Canada the unoccupied Crown reserves in the townships of Invernes'^ and Leeds, have been sold to settlers who are doing very well, and free of cost to Government ; so much so, that the county in which they are, contained, the 1st of May 1829, only 523 souls, and in September 1830, it exceeded 2000, which was almost entirely owing to the in- crease of those townships. More settlers might also have been added last autumn, but they were deterred by an insufficiency of provisions on the spot, and the expense of drawing them from a distance. But again, this settlement of reserves, as the name implies, was a secondary one. Among the Reports of Committees of the House of Assembly in Lower Canada, 1829, I find an in- teresting communication upon the settlement of new lands, with an estimate of the cost of locating 150 poor families, stated at 900/., or 6/, each, with the idea not only that it is to be repaid in six years, but places of Ops it a be- he sum from a rsement cient to out tlie Z!anada, reserv2s ,ve been . free of county y 1829, xceeded the in- ht also eterred nd the agam, les, was House an in- lof new ig 150 lith the Irs, but EMIGRATION. 343 of the probability of as much more being gained by the advance, exclusive of the value of the lands settled ; and this effect is proposed to be produced by supplying the settler with labour upon the spot, in the shape of a public farm, from which he is to receive payments in provisions, and no other public work to be effected. Many respectable people are of opinion of the safety of advances to settlers, and even regard it as a profitable operation. But I can only say that my experience obliges me to take the other side decidedly ; and without even considering the risk^ it is to be remarked that the advances alone would gather rapidly to a very heavy amount, in case an extensive system of emigration should be acted upon, which might gradually and insensibly swell so much as to create dissatisfaction and disgust, and finally either break up the whole system, or cause its falling by its own weight. But if it be ultimately determined upon aiding the settler in the first occupancy of the wilderness or to bring the waste lands of the Crown into action, my advice would be, first, to determine, with considera- tion, where the settlements are to be, and then to survey the lands into townships and lots of 100 acres each, and this will take up six months previous arrangement at least. Afterwards I should be decidedly of opinion to prefer giving assistance by finding labour for him to earn the supplies he wants, to any advance of :!i.;. "^^ ■\- ; V ■ w« s 344 COMMISSIONERS REPORT. I V ■ ■ ■■*<■ ■II money or funds to be used at his own discretion. Emigrants arriving with a few pounds in their pockets, are said to hang about the town and spend all before they move, and especially such as have been assisted by the parish ; and the change of circum- stances, from parochial relief to competent rations, regularly distributed, and the independent feelings attached to the ownership of lands, all conspire to work a change in the moral feelings of the man, and the provincial rate of daily wages lifts him above absolute dependence. Upon his gratitude I should place no reliance, nor much securi*^y upon the in- creased value of his lot, which, if unoccupied for a few years, returns to its former valueless condition. The fact is, he requires to be kept in a constant state of excitement and exertion against his first difficul- ties ; some stimulant is necessary, and money is a sedative. If labour is found for him to resort to, whenever his own farm does not require it, during his first year's occupation, it would remain for us to discover some profitable investment for it. I should therefore adopt the public farm, as recommended in the Report, which would soon produce a proportion of all the provisions required for the young settlers, and thus far have in itself the means of paying them for their labour : but I would also find labour upon the public roads, leading to the settlement, and through it to others. The greatest desiderata in new settlements are ' I :' \ ^Migration, 345 JK^ retion. I their spend re been ircum- ations , eelings pire to ^n, and above should the in- d for a ndition. nt state iifRcul- ley is a lenever is first liscover lerefore eport, ,11 the d thus their public it to Its are mills and roads ; mills should be supplied by private enterprise, but roads come under the regulation of the law, hence the inability of young settlements to accomplish them till they rise into opulence, and the consequent retardation of their advance. The House of Assembly, in Lower Canada, has voted 58,000/. for internal communications, and about 16,000/. for roads, in 1829, a great proportion of which is for the new settlements with scanty popula- tions, and lying at distances ; the opening of roads would therefore be a work of public utility, and stamp a permanent value upon every lot in the settlement. In suggesting the above ideas, I have endeavoured, as much as possible, to incorporate the leading objects of all the different parties who have thought seriously upon the subject, advancing assistance to the emi- grant, according to the Emigration Report, offering labour on a public farm, according to the Canadian Report, with my own addition of the labour on roads. I would beg, however, to be particularly understood that the public farm is only recommended where settlements are in a manner to be forced^ and that the land, so improved, might afterwards be resold at advance. This also appears to me the most economical mode of procedure ; it would not require more expenses than seem now almost indispensable ; the surveying is absolutely so ; that of agents is equally wanted to forward the emigrant to his destination, and place him upon his lot ; the extra charge would be only :-^;.,, '':% w 846 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. that of finding provisions, wliicli, if supplied in pay- ment of labour, can be more easily regulated, modified, or dispensed with, than a cash advance, which always carries with it something in the way of bounty. This mode would enable the agent to proportion his assistance to the meritorious settler, and the indolent would not resort to the settlement ; the price of land would rise with the success of the operation. Moral discipline and order would grow out of it spontane- uusly, the best foundation of all institutions ; and it might not be too much to ascribe all future success to this original preparation of the soil. In all systems of settling new lands the strictest economy is to be observed, and the rule to be applied is for the lands to supply their own means of im- provement as far as they possibly can. This may be accomplished in the fertile lands and moderate climate of the upper province ; but in Lower Canada, and also in New Brunswick, some assistance is absolutely requisite, and it is only the poorest classes who will lead the way into the woods. It does not appear necessary at present to go further into details, which, if wanted, may afterwards be explained. It would, however, be well to appoint different agents to reside in the country, either from provincial-born subjects or those who have been some years in the colony. If people of some capital or better education could be induced to embark in the undertakings, it would be very desirable ; nor would it be of trifling import if some encouragement could be extended to the EMIGRATION. 347 1 in pay- nodified, li always ty. This rtion his indolent B of land Moral pontane- ; ; and it success strictest 3 applied s of im- 5 may be 3 climate ida, and )solutely who will appear which, would, o reside subjects colony. could t would import to the n Canadian seigneur, or some modification of the old French mode of settlement be adopted, not at variance with our laws and customs ; for it is to be observed by their mode of settlement that they establish a denser population, a people more attached to tlieir soil, more exclusively so to their own habits, and those habits the natural supporters of the monarchical S}stem ; and that it is the only part of the continent of North America where this is the natural tendency of social institutions. But when we view a country to be redeemed from the wilderness to a state of agricul- ture by the gradual advance of lot by lot, without an original investment of capital or improved education, or in fact controlling minds or superior classes to direct, lead, or concentrate pubhc feeling, it is to be feared that such a mode of procedure would be in liostility to the best interests of oiir institutions. But with the Americans such a retail occupation of the wilderness is by no means objectionable, as it harmonizes with their habits of progressive advance ; — First, settlement of any kind attracts attention to the district, then speculation creeps in, and various interests get engaged in it ; enterprising young men of the professional classes soon follow ; villages grow up ; and if anything like commercial enterprise can take root, the bank completes the machinery of social life. An impulse so sudden h not to be expected in the Provinces : the better classes who go on, mostly come from different parts of the mother-country, and 1 "': ii ' \i> '■ a: iK '^V m mi. ' 348 COMMISSIONER S REPORT. It 'I I- require some time to understand themselves. They take up lots for individual occupation, have no idea of speculating beyond their own farms, so that there are no means of concentrating energy for public pur- poses ; and the district, however numerous its inha- bitar .', ^«eias to be without any common principle of actio. , L 'he absence of such exciting causes, Go- vernmfci.'b see r. ' more called upon to set the machine in motion : but the call is still louder, from the number of emigrants now annually going to North America. In the year 1830 there can scarcely be less than 50,000 gone to the Provinces and the United States ; and from appearances at home and the general satisfaction of those who have departed, it is morally certain to be capable of great increase. In the two years of 1827 and 1828 about 29,000 emigrants arrived in Canada, and scarcely any settled there. In 1830 about 25,000 arrived, and nearly 10,000 are supposed to have settled. The course now found to be in progress is, that those who settle write to encourage others to come out, and frequently remit funds to aid them. Such has doubtless for i^jany years been the practice of those settling in the United States ; and if the current could be turned into the Provinces, it would be attended with results of great national advantage. 1 hope to be excused for the length of this Report, and especially for dwelling upon subjects apparently of small importance, or upon such as Government may already be possessed of. EMIGRATION". 349 s. They no idea hat there iblic pur- i its inha- inciple of uses, Go- ; machine from the to North :arcely be , and the home and departed, increase, ut 29,000 ny settled id nearly )urse now ttle write requently jtless for ig in the )Q turned th results The instructions upon which I embarked upon my mission from the late Right Honourable Secretary were in a great measure verbal, who enjoined upon me to communicate freely and fully with the Governors uf the different provinces, and to obtain from them, and all other sources, whatever information I could, for the use of His Majesty's Ministers, as to the agriculture, soil, commerce, resources and capa- bilities of the Provhices, especially ith a view to their means of receiving emigrants, ami t.." best mode of locatinG: them. And if my attempts at the perform.- ice of this duty should meet the approbation of the Right Honourable Viscount Goderich, I shall esteem myself particularly fortunate, and subscribe myself with great respect, His Lordship's very obedient and very humble servant, John Richards, Commissioiier, .■«;■ s Report, pparently vernment n . ' ^^^.fv^ M. ^■i m I APPENDIX, 1 . , .in '4' * « ;■»?• . ■ 1 'M APPENDIX. > i I ( PAPER A, Pace 5, INTRODUCTION. The subject of the rendering English or Irish able- bodied paupers, who are useless and burdensome at home, useful members of the British community by co- lonization, has, of late years, appeared of such importance on all hands, that many plans have been formed for its promotion, and many calculations made of the probable expense. We give a series of these calculations, and the results of some experiments already made, bsginnin^ with the calculation of Mr. Talbot, made as far back as 1823, adding his sentiments thereon, by which will be seen the improvements which have progressively l)een made even in the saving of expense, both in favour of the individual emigrant, and of local authorities, who may wish in this manner to dispose of their industrious un- employed poor, as an act both of philanthropy to the in- dividuals, and a future benefit to the mother country. When the subject of colonizing families in the Canadas was first mooted, it was supposed full of difficulty, and connected with a heavy expense; and no other plan appearing at first feasible, but the plan of farming loca- tion, and preliminary support, two hundred puutids w > « talked of as the minimum at which such pn object cokH be accomplished. * I am decidedly of opinion,' says Mr. Talbot, * that b .» ■ i 11 APPENDIX. r. 11! ■ft' ' '''i il I ■.1| much less than two hundred pounds, given to each fa- mily consisting of five members, without requiring it to be repaid, would be fully adequate to their removal and settlement, and to place them in circumstances out of which, with frugality and industry, a decent competency for themselves and their posterity would in due time arise. If government would employ some of those ships which are now laid up and rotting in various parts of the world, or other more convenient vessels, in the transportation of emigrants to Upper Canada, a family of five persons, three of whom are supposed to be chil- dren, might be conveyed to the seat of government of Upper Canada for less than twenty pounds, including provisions of every description. It is equally clear that forty pounds would support them for one year after their arrival, besides procuring them the necessary imple- ments of husbandry, and such stock as would enable them to dispense with any further assistance during the rest of their lives. Admitting that Government would send such a family out in their own vessels, the wages of seamen, the wear and tear of the ship, and suitable provisions for five persons, might be paid for from any part of Great Britain or Ireland to Montreal, for . .£12 Passage from Montreal to York, if in Go- vernment boats, allowing the Government the hire of the hands, and the price which the provisions might cost . . , 8 From York to land set apart for their ad- mission, the distance not exceeding 100 miles, conveyed by the oxen which should be purchased for them , , , .10 £21 APPENDIX. m ach fa- ig it to val and s out of petency ue time f those us parts 5, in the a family be chil- ment of icluding lear that fter their f imple- d enable ring the 2 8 1 ;i Brought forward . . . . £21 A yoke of oxen, sled and chain, if the latter be purchased in England . . . . 13 Two cows 6 Two axes, two hoes, irons for plough, and nine harrow teeth 2 Some indispensable articles of household fur- niture, such as pots, kettle, &c. . . 2 Building a common log-house, such as set- tlers of the lower class generally build . 7 10 Provisions * for twelve months, — say twelve barrels of flour, at two dollars and a half per barrel, and one barrel of pork, at eight dollars per barrel . . ,, . 8 11 £60 1 *This sum appears to me to be fully sufficient to do all that is really necessary to be done for settlers of this class ; and if it be possible to lend such persons two hundred pounds for ten years, it is certainly possible to give them sixty pounds without requiring it to be repaid; for, if two hundred pounds were put out to interest, instead of being lent to the settlers, that sum would, in less than ten years, produce considerably more than the amount proposed to be gratuitously given. How different would the feelings of persons in this situation be, from those of persons subject to have their minds continually haunted with the dread of an enormous debt, which they "would be utterly unable to discharge !' — Talbot's Five Years" Residence, vol. ii. p. 203. With a view, however, to the providing for poor emi- * On these provisions, and the milk of their cows, settlers of this class will subsist mucli more comfortably than they did before they came to the country. bZ -fl^'; ./-?: vr APPENDIX. , r grants, by sendinji: them to the Canadas, there are two modes of their settlement there. The first is, by merely assisting them to cross the ocean, and perhaps to ^et to the upper province, and then leaving them to seek for employment as servants, and to work their own way as labourers for others, at least in the first instance. By this mode their passage money to the field of employ- ment is all that is required, and is easily calculated. Mr. A. C. Buchanan, in the sketch of a plan laid before the Committee of the House of Commons, when sitting on the subject of Emigration (vide Third Report, Mi^ nutes of Evidence, p. 437), calculates that, conducting emigration upon an extensive scale, families, after a pound has been advanced by their friends to carry them to their interior settlement, may be sent to Canada by a scale of cost such as the following: — Adults, for 4/. ; persons under fourteen years of age, 3/. 105. ; children under ten years, 21. \Qs.; under six, 1/. 10*. By a second calculation {vide Minutes of Evidence^ p. 455) for the freight of a family, consisting of a man, wife, and three children, requiring five tons register of ship's burden, including expense of water, fuel, &c. 6/. 1 0*. Provisions for fifty days for such a family, if Irish or Scotch, he calculates at the rate of IZ^d. per day, is only 2/. 16*. 3rf. ; but, if English, he allows 16|fl?. per day, or 2d. per day more — namely, .£389 Add passage money as above . . 6 10 m Will estimate the family to be carried out for £9 18 9 or averaging \L 18*. 6fi?. a head, young and old. When sixty-five able-bodied laboui'mg men emigrated from Corsley, in Wiltshire, in 1830 (see Paper D in this Appendix), their expenses of voyage and outfit, in- cluding 20*. or 30*. given them upon landing, to find their way farther up into the country, where work is I J two lerely ret to ik for ay as . By iploy- ilated. before sitting t. Mi- acting ,fter a r them adaby or 4Z. ; bildren idence, a man, ister of 1, &c. ily, if id. per 8 10 9 18 9 ligrated jr D in Itfit, in- to find ^ork is APPENDIX. V plentiful, amounted, says Mr. Poulett Scrope, * on an average, to about 6/. a head/ — Vide Mr. P. Scrope' s Ex- tracts, Introd., p. 10. The next mode is that spoken of by Mr. Talbot, and is the one on which Government bestowed so much attention in 1827 — namely, not only carrying the emi- grant to Canada, but supporting him there in the shape of a regular farming colonist, until the land he may have cleared makes a return for his labour, with a view to the ultimate repayment of the sum advanced. This was the mode upon which the great colonizing experi- ments of 1823 and 1825, under Mr. Peter Robinson, were conducted, in which families were transported, located, and supported for fifteen months on their settlement, at an average expense of about 22^. Is. 6d. per head. It appears, by the Third Report of the Emigration Com- mittee, that for the emigrants sent out at these periods the estimated expense applying to a family, consisting of a married couple and three children, was calculated at ] 00/., to cover their location, and enable the family to support itself, and at the end of seven years to be in pos- session of a surplus income of 15/. per annum. But it was given in evidence by Mr. Robinson, who had conducted these early experiments, that 60/. would fully cover this expense ; and thence the Committee justly founded an argument, a fortiori, for the success of the emigrant, and for its own confidence in his being able ultimately to repay the sum advanced for so re- moving him from pauperism and misery, and making him 8, comfortable proprietor in a British colony. Con- sidering the particulavs of this last estimate, received and approved of by the Committee, as furnishing information useful to the colonizer at his own expense, we give it from the Third Reporc, p. 23. ' 1 * . 'I \ : m fW* t A: ri APPENDIX. Average Estimate of the Expense of settling a Family, consisting of one Man, one Woman, and three Chil- dren, in the British North American Provinces, dis- tinguishing the various items of Expenditure. Expenses of conveyance from the port of disembarkation to plate of location . £lO Provisions, viz. — rations for fifteen months for one man, one woman, and three chil- dren, at one pound of flour, and one pound of pork for each adult, and half that quan- tity for each child, making three and a half rations per diem ; pork being at M. per barrel, and flour at \l. 5s. per barrel . 40 6 10 Freight of provisions to place of settlement 1 !I0 10 House for each family. IMPLEMENTS, ETC. Four blankets . . . >€o 14 One kettle . . . .05 One frying-pan Three hoes . One spade One wedge One auger One pick-axe Two axes Proportion of grindstones, whip-saw and cross-cut saw . . . . Freight and charges on ditto, 15 per cent. 1 1 4 2 1 2 2 10 3 6 9 4 2 14 10 2 if) sterling 3 18 equal to currency 4 6 8 £56 4 4 ^I^r: ,;r !i >M ''amily, e Cha- es, dis- ) ) 6 10 L HO 10 6 8 4 4 APPENDIX. Brought forward [ . . . . Cow Medicines and medical attendance Seed corn . , . . Is. 6d. Potatoes, five bushels at 2*. 6d. 12*. 6c?, vu £56 4 4 10 . 1 4 14 1 . 1 5 Proportion of the expense of building for the depot ........ Ditto for clerks, issuers, and surveyors, to show the lots i.'60 sierling is equal to currency i'66 13 4 But Mr. A. C. Buchanan, calculating afterwards that 6^. would be sufficient for transporting each family, when the emigration was on an extended scale, to the place of its location ; and seeing that a cow could, in the first instance, be dispensed with, as well as that some of the articles of diet could be economised, gave in two suc- cessive estimates, the first of which amounted onl • to 48/. 10*. (see Appendix to the Third Report, p. 5o.^", and by the latter he undertook to settle the famil hr 40/. We give the last laid before the Committee, ver- batim. * A third Estimate for Locating a Fa>.iily in the Coloi.;es of North America — a Pauper Emigrant from Ire- land ; each family to consist of man, wife, and three children — say three and a half full rations per day, for 450 days. * Four pounds of flour, India meal, and oatmeal, with d. potatoes in lieu occasionally . . . . 6i One-eighth pound of molasses or maple sugar, ]d, one pound of pork, 4d 5 Two herrings or other fish 2 is 13^ n ■ AT m ,>' % '*<■■ .. i >" 'i. p. L*' ' '^ Vl'^-*' t '|v i « 'i 'I' ; i r.f ... «Tr' :i il "• f \m APPENDIX. Say 13^(1. per day fur 450 days, is . £25 6 3 One pair of blankets 6 Two hoes, 2*. lOd. ; two axes, 16*. 18 10 One auger and one iron wedge . . 3 Proportion of grindstone . 5 Medical attendance . 10 Seed grain and potatoes . 1 liOg-house , . . . . . 2 10 Transport tc location 6 A young pig ... . . 6 6 Proportion expense of building store- house, clerks, &c. &c. . 2 Incidents 14 5 £40 * In the foregoing estimate I presume that the emi- grant provides himself with a spade, a kettle, and at least one pair of blankets — in fact, he will have to pro- vide himself with necessaries of this sort for the voyage out. * I maintain, taking in the average of New Brunswick, Lower Canada, &c., that 6/. is fully adequate to cover nny expense of transport to location, unless you select situations of the most difficult access and distance ; and with previous arrangements, and ample time given for cortracts, I have not the shadow of doubt but provisions iu:\y be Uirnished at prices stated, taking present price a^. a di>.U ; and I presume the emigrant will feel himself more at liomc with his herring and potatoe, oatmeal, &c. and a little bit of pork, than if altogether fed on salt pork and flour, the latter of which the Irish peasantry are totally ii^norant of using loith management. * No cow is introduced, as I have before stated, as it is considered, for the first twelve months, the emigrant will not possess means of feeding one ; and if he is in • ! il; APPENDIX. ix le erai- and at to pro- voyage iswick, 3 cover 1 select e; and ven for visions it price limself al, &c. It pork ry are 5, as it lii^rant i is in- dustrious, he will easily earn by his labour the price of a young two year old heifer in calf, as soon as he cavi obtain fodder for her keeping. (Signed) A. C. Buchaxan.' Minutes of Evidence, Third Report, p. 463. "We cannot but think the above estimate very import- ant, as affording valuable information to local authorities, as applying to poor Irish families ; and the remarks an- nexed to it, as tending to correct a material error usual to educated men, in their arrangements for the support of the poor, as well as affording a stimulus to the industry of the emigrant himself by the mode proposed. These rations, as allowed by Mr. Buchanan, are a most liberal support compared with the starvation to which the Irish peasant is frequently subject; and there is an illustrative fact on record, as applying to modes of feeding certain classes, which is both curious and applicable. It is men- tioned by Col. Stewart, in his sketches of the Hii^hland regiments, that when first put under the usual English rations of beef and bread, after being brought fresh from the hills, many of the men took sick, and the skin of most broke out into boils and blotches from the unusual rich- ness of their food. PAPER B, Page 6, INTRODUCTION. * If thousands and tens of thousands of our unfortunate countrymen,' says Mr. Talbot, speaking, with much warm-hearted feeling, on this subject, — " Whom fortune dooms to scythes and spades, And all such hard, laborious trades," • whose seemingly-inalienable inheritance is poverty, and whose every nerve is continually on the stretch to pro- mote the comfort and independence of others, could only »■;;. '.V* >. •5''lJ :'^i1 *■»' APPENDIX. '.fe It .111 ■'I • >'. « r find their way to this invitini^ province, how differently would they feel themselves circumstanced, in the course of a few years ! In their native country, they are com- pelled to labour almost unceasingly for masters, whose principal source of wealth is in the toil of the poor and degraded peasant ; and, no matter how frugal and in- dustrious he may be, he can never indulge the solitary hope of essentially improving his condition. A scanty subsistence, perpetual toil, and never-ceasing care, are the rewards, and the only rewards, of their most inde- fatigable exertions. No cheering idea of one day sur- mounting their difficulties ever darts a transient ray of pleasure into their care-worn hearts. No exhilarating presentiment of future independence ever visits them, to dispel the gloom of despair from their benighted minds, or to lighten the burden of sorrow from their unaspiring souls. Born without a worldly inheritance, they live without a worldly hope, and die without a worldly conso- lation. How different would be their lot, if once safely landed on the western shores of the Atlantic ! Here after labouring a short time for others, they would be enabled to labour for themselves ; by which they might rot only procure a comfortable livelihood, but also an absolute and permanent independency for themselves and their families, however numerous. The question is, — " How are such persons to find their way across the ocoan ?" For my part, I am not able to say. It is well known that men of this description seldom realize a sum of money sufficient to equip them for a voyage across the channel ; and yet we find many persons of this class in Canada, and in almost every part of Ame- rica.' — Five Years' Residence in the Canadas^ by E. A. TALpoT, Esq., vol. ii. p. 191. * It is not, however, my intention,' he adds, in another place, * to encourage any man to emigrate, whose cir- ferently i course re com- whose loor and and in- solitary . scanty are, are st inde- 3 ay sur- it ray of Jarating them, to I minds, aspiring ley live V conso- le safely Here ould be might also an mselves stion is, ross the It is ealize a voyage sons of f Ame- •y E. A. another )se cir- APPENDIX. XI cumstances allow him to continue in his native country. Nor is it my object to dissuade the unfortunate from an undertaking, which must eventually be attended with great benefits both to him and to his posterity. I wish to state facts, and allow others to reason on them. Were I a poor Irish peasant, compelled to toil year after year, without a hope of bettering my circumstances, I would endeavour to find my way to this country, if such an object could be achieved by any human exertions. Nay, if I could not otherwise obtain money sufficient to defray my expenses, I would attire myself in the habit of a common beggar, and for seven years, if necessary, would contentedly solicit alms, in order thereby to amass the necessary sum to effect my object. Were I even in a situation similar to that of many of your depressed ** middle-men," the parent of a large family, and the pos- sessor of but a small pittance for their support ; unable, from the remembrance of better days, " to dig," to ** beg ashamed," I would, for the sake of my family, but not for my own, remove at once to the western world, where, by industry, my children might attain that independence which they could never attain in their native country.' —Ibid. p. 221. PAPER C, Page 17, INTRODUCTION. An Account of the First Settlement of the Town- ship of Hull, on the Ottawa River, Lower Canada, by P. Wright, Esq. Delivered to the Committee of the House of Assembly, appointed to take into consi- deration that part of his Excellency the Governor-in- Chief's Speech, of the 16th December, 1820, relative to the Settlement of Crown Lands in Lower Canada. My parents were of the county of Kent, England, and were brought up to the farming and grazing business. V k. r ft , f " y '■ /!•)'• ■.1- > § .t ■1:1 •r J, *? ■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 7 A /^A^^ ^ ^ A K W <" 1.0 1= 11.25 IHKt 125 1.4 2.0 1.6 ^ VI / '^ > '/ ■^. # ic ?^ r Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST Mkm STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (7U) 872-4503 ^ s^ \ :\ \ ^ o^- ■^^ i' mm ^'J ;■ , ^^ J ■ '!•■ XIV APPENDIX. after much fatigue, at Montreal, where we gave a general description of our discoveries, and returned home to Massachusetts, where, after a report was made public about the situation of this part of the country, I was enabled to obtain and hire as many men as I wanted to commence a new settlement. I immediately hired about twenty-five men, and brought them, with my mill irons, axes, scythes, hoes, and all other kinds of tools T thought most useful and necessary, including fourteen horses and eight oxen, seven sleighs and five families, together with a number of barrels of clear pork, destitute of bone, of my own raising, all of which left Woburn on the 2nd of February, 1800, and arrived in Montreal on the 10th. After a short stay in Montreal, we proceeded on our route for the township of Hull, making generally amongst the old settlements about fifteen miles per day, for the first three days, owing to our horses and oxen travelling abreast, and our sleighs being wider than what is usual in this coun- try ; under these difficulties we travelled the three first days, stopping with the habitants those three nights, until we got to the foot of the Long Sault, which was the end of any travelled road in that direction in Lower Canada. Being eighty miles from our destination, and no road, we found that it was impossible to proceed, in consequence of the depth of snow, and were therefore obliged to make a stand, and set one part of our men to alter our teams so as to go sing:]y, and the other part of the men to proceed forward to cut the road. After mak- ing the necessary preparations, we proceeded on to the head of the Long Sault, observing, before night came on, to fix upon some spot near water to encamp for the night, particularly observing that there we^c no dry trees to fall upon us or our cattle, and if there was, to cut them down. Then we cleared away the snow, and cut ^'M APPENDIX. XV o;eneral ime to public , I was nted to )rought and all pessary, . sleighs rrels of ^ all of 100, and stay in nship of jements »e days, ast, and s coun- ree first nights, ich was I Lower on, and jceed, in lerefore men to part of r mak- tothe ime on, for the Iry trees ], to cut ind cut down trees for fire for the whole night, the women and children sleeping in covered sleighs, and the men with blankets round the fire, and the cattle made fast to the standing trees. In this situation about thirty of us spent the night ; and I must say that I never saw men r*iore cheerful and happy in my life than they seemed to be,— having no landlord to call upon us for our expenses, nor to complain of our extravagance, nor no dirty floors to sleep upon, but the sweet ground which belonged to our ancient Sovereign, — observing to take our refreshment and prepare sufficient for the day, so as to lose no time on our journey when daylight appeared, always observing to keep our axemen forward cutting the road, and our foraging team next the axemen, and the families in the rear, and in this way we proceeded on for three or four days, observing to look out for a good place for our camp, until we arrived at the head of the Long Sault. From that place we travelled the whole of the distance upon the ice until we came to the intended spot, which is about sixty-five miles. My guide that I had taken up with me the fall before, was quite unacquainted with the ice, and likewise the whole of our party, as not one of us had ever travelled up this ice before, — our three former journies had been by water. We travelled up the ice very slow, as we were very much intimidated for fear of losing any of our cattle, keeping our axemen forward trying every rod of ice, the ice being covered with snow about one foot thick, so that it was impossible to know "whether the ice was good without sounding it with the axe. I cannot pass over this account without giving the particulars of a savage, so called, from whom I received the greatest humanity it is possible to express. On our journey up the river on the first day, we met a savage and his wife drawing a child upon a little bark sleigh : ,'-(.* «•'•.. i^l '■}:■ •i •!• 1 XVI APPENDIX. they looked at us in astonishment, at seeing our hahit, manner, and custom, and more especially at our cattle, — they viewed us as if we had come from some distant part, or from the clouds, — they were so astonished walking round our teams, as we were then halted, and trying to make discourse with us concerning the ice, but not a word could we understand from him. We observed him point to the wood as if giving directions to his squaw to go into the woods and make herself comfortable; she immediately left him and went off into the woods, and he immediately went to the head of our company without the promise of fee or reward, with his small axe, trying the ice at every step he went, as if he had been the pro- per guide or owner of the property. We passed on until we found night coming on, and the banks of the river being so high, say about twenty feet, and that it was im- possible to ascend them with our sleighs, we +hen left our sleighs upon the ice, and ascended the banks of the river, cleared away the snow, cut down large trees as usual to make a fre, carefully observing that no stooping or dead trees could fall upon us. After cooking our supper and getting our regular refreshments, we then brought up our bedding and spread round the fire, and made ourselves as comfortable as possible, having nothing over us but large trees and the canopy of the heavens. Before daylight in the morning, we cooked our breakfast and provisions for the day, and, as soon as daylight ap- peared, we were ready to proceed on our march. I must observe that our Indian behaved v;ith uncommon civility during the night, taking his regular refreshments with us, and proceeded to the head of the company, as he had done the preceding day, wiln uncommon agility. All being under way as soon as daylight appeared, we proceeded on ihis day as usual, without meeting with any ficcident. When night was approaching, we did the ill. t A^, APPENDIX. XVll habit, ttle,— t part, falking ^ing to not a ed him [uaw to le; she and he without !, trying the pro- on until he river was im- +hen left f s of the trees as stooping ing our Iwe then fire, and nothing heavens. ireakfast [hght ap- Imust |n civility ints with s he had jared, we I with any did the same as the night before, and likewise began our march early in the morning in much the same way, our Indian taking the lead as before. Owing to the deepness of the snow, it took us about six days in passing up this river, about sixty-four miles, and we arrived safe at the town- ship of Hull. After some little trouble in cutting the brush and banks, we ascended the height, which is about twenty feet from the water. Our savage, after he had seen us safe up the bank, and spent the night with us, gave us to understand that he must return back to his squaw and child, and after receiving some presents for his great services, he took his departure for his squaw, having to go at least sixty miles when he left us. Our men thanked him in the best manner they could make him understand, and three times huzzaed him, and he left us in great spirits, being well pleased. We arrived at this place on the 7th of March, and imme- diately, with the assistance of all hands, we felled the first tree, for every person that was able to use the axe endeavoured and assisted in cutting: after having so done, we commenced cutting down and clearing a spot for the erection of a house, and we continued cutting, and clearing, and erecting other buildings for the accommo- dation of the families and men. And as we commenced cutting and clearing, the chiefs of two tribes of Indians that live at the Lake of the Two Mountains, came to us, and viewed all our tools and materials with astonish- ment, and would often whoop and laugh, as they were quite unacquainted with tools, or things of that nature* They also viewed with astonishment the manner in which we harnessed our horses, and oxen, &c., all being harnessed in pairs. They seemed to view all our things, cattle, &c., with great pleasure : some of them fetched their children to see the oxen and horses, they having never seen a tame animal before, being brought up near c m • fl -' ■ , % H f, •'. ■ 1^ H ^.■ '^3 XlUl APTfllCDIX. r. ■ 'WB'^^'i' H the great lakes upon the westward ; they would also ask the lH}erty of using one or two of our axes, to see how they could cut down a tree with them, as their axes are Yery small, weighing only half a pound, our axes weigh- ing from four to five pounds. When they had cut down a b'ee, they would jump, whoop, and huzza, being quite {deased with having cut down a tree so quick. They received a glass of rum each, and returned to their sugar- making in the greatest harmony. They continued very .idly to pass backward and forward for about ten days, often receiving small presents, for which they made me returns in sugar, venison, &e. Their chiefs assem- bled together, and procured an £nglish interpreter of the name of George Brown,, formerly a clerk in the Indian trade, who also had an Indian wife and family, and spoke both languages. They requested him to demand of me by what authority I was cutting down their wood, and taking possession of their land. To which I anpr|pied — by virtue of authority received at Quebec froigHElieir Great Father who lived oa the other side of tjifiil water, and Sir John Johnson, who I knew was agent in the Indian department, for through him they received their yearly dues from Government. They could hardly suppose their Great Father, or other persons at Quebec, v;ould allow me to cut down their timber, and clear their land, and destroy their sugaries and hunting ground without consulting them, as they had been in the peaceable and quiet possession of these lands for generations past. I must consider that these falls and rivers were convenient for them to carry on their business, and that their families wanted support as well as mine. I told them that I had got regular documents from their Great Father, which I had received at Quebec, and also orders from Sir John Johnson so to do ; and I had ^ .i< APPENDIX. xk ilsoask see how 3kxes are i, weigh- ut down ng quite [. They ir sugar- ucd very bout ten ley made s assem- ter of the le Indian ^nd spoke id of me ood, and ansirfBed ro^r^eir he water, nt in the ived their % or other )wn their sugaries as they 1 of these hat these carry on upport as gnts from ebec, and and I had been to my country, being five hundred miles distmit &nd brought all these men and materials to carry the business into effect, and the documents I was ready to produce when regularly called for ; and I had further to state to them, from the mouth of Sir John Johnson, that if they injured me, or any of my property, to go and make complaint to him, and I should have remunera- tion out of their yearly dues. They believed that if I had stayed at home it would have been to their interest, as they had great dependence upon that situation, it being the chief hunting-ground, fiugaries, and fisheries, &c., which was the chief support of their families, and they were afraid of fiirther difficul- ties that would arise between us, such as faking their beaver, destroying their deer, breaking up their sugaries, and causing a deal of trouble ; that I must know that clearing off the forest was driving back their game, vhich would totally dislodge them of their former ex- pectations. I told them that they must be sensible that the tools and materials which I had brought were not for hunting or fishing, but for the dearmg of land, and I should endeavour to protect their beavers and fishing-ground, but as to the sugaries, them I must make use of, as the land was already given me. I would observe further to them, that this establishment would be a great conveni- ence to them, and was intended so by their Great Father, to have a settlement and mills in order to supply them ^ith all their provisions instead of going to Montreal, which they knew was a dangerous and difficult passage. They answered, we know the passage is v^ ry difficult, and are surprised how you found the way here with all these men, baggage, and cattle. The white people always tell us fair stories to drive us back ; you tell us (hat you come here for farming, r dthat you will protect c2 '&fi m •".■ .1 V: 'I u ,■ ' m IX APPENDIX. I { s iv; 4 - i •I I ■ji '•n . n our beaver hunts, fisheries, &c. ; but we know that you have got guns, powder, and shot — what are you going to do with them ? We observed that all our farmers where we come from keep guns, powder, and shot to protect our farms, such as killing hawks when they come upon our poultry, the squirrels that eat our grain in the fields, bears when they kill our hogs and calves, and wolves when they kill our sheep. ' They then said, that is all very good, if used for that purpose ; but if you do as other white people have done, you will make use of the guns for killing our beaver, deer, otter, musk-rats, and bears; we are afraid you will not be contented upon your own lands, but will go out at a distance to our ponds and take our beaver, and then, for retaliation, if we shoiild come and take your sheep and cattle, that will bring on difficulties and dis- putes, and that will not answer. You say thaf our Great father is making this settlement for our good, but we are afraid it will be to our disadvantage, instead of doing us good. I told them I had received strict directions to use them well, and I intended so to do; and if they would go to their angaries, and collect all their materials that they wished to part with, as they had finished making sugar, that I would pay cash for them at a fair prite. They agreed that this vvas very fair, and accordingly it was done, and the amount was paid, which was under iive pounds ; and they assured me, that as I appeared to be very honest and fair with them,«they would always be so with me, and that they had one more offer to make me,— that if I would give them thirty dollars the> would give up their claim to the lands. I told them that I had offered to show them all my titles frcim their Great Father, and would wish to have them produce their titles, as that was the way we white people made our arrange- f.'*;; '-iv ■^■'^^ .: APPENDIX. XXI hat yon joing to s where protect 16 upon 16 fields, i wolves for that ,ve done, beaver, raid you it will go iver, and ake your and dis- Dur Great , but we of doing ictions to if they jmaterials finished lat a fair [rdingly it IS under Ipeared to ilwavs be to make [e> would lat I had jir Great leir titles, arrange- ments respecting lands, and I could not give them any roonej on account of the land business until they produced me papers that they had a right to them. They observed to me that they did not make the ar- rangement themselves with the Great Father, but it was made by their ancestors prior to their doing busi- ness, and they had no papers to show at this time, but that they always supposed that they had an un- doubted right to the lands from what Uieir fathers had told them, together with the islands in the river; as they had in Montreal given leases of some of those islands before Peter Lukin, notary public, particularly an island called Studdier's Island, in the rapids of the Long Sault, about seventy miles below, and that they were willing that we should make further inquiry respecting the same. I said that, according to the information I had collected from their Father at Quebec, they had no positive right to any lands, nor could they hold any title in their own capacity, and if they had leased any lands, they had done wrong, for they knew that they received annual presents from the Government, which were on account of their relinquishing all claims to the lands. They observed, that if that was ihe case it was hard on them, as their annual presents were but trifling, and that they would revert to their superiors, to decide that I should go to Montreal to Sir John Johnson, Mr. Lee, the Commissary of the Indiun department, and to Mr. Lukin ; I agreed to go the next moon, and their answer was to be deceive. I accordingly went the next moon, and Sir John Johnson told me, the Indians had no right to the lands, for they had their presents in lieu of land, and that they could not hinder me from the lawful pos- session of it ; I also went to Mr. Lee, and he told me the same. I then went to Mr. Lukin, and asked him if he had ever made out the said le}\se to Mr. Studders, and ■i 1.41 «>v i ■ f p^ iM: '-Mb Sxu APPENDIX. he told me he had done so. I asked him if he suppoied he had any right, or authority so to do ; he observ€d, that that was more than he could answer, — he made it his rule, as a notary public, when two persons came to him, and asked him to do a piece of writing between them, that he did it according to their directions, and it vras their business to understand the propriety or impro- priety of the same. I then returned home to Hull, and made my report, in the following manner, to the Indians: — That Sir John Johnson, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Lukin, had observed to me, that they had no right to the lands, as they received presents as a compensation ; and requested me to observe to them, that their Great Father expected them to treat me as the owner of the soil, and not injure any of my property in any way or manner, and to treat me as their brother, and for me to use them in as friendly a manner as circumstances would allow, and to tell them that they must not lease any lands or islands ; if they did, it would have a tendency to destroy their yearly presents. They answered, that they had never understood it in that nature, but they did not know that they had any reason to dispute the report made by me» although it appeared hard to them, and they found that they had not the advaritages they tho ight they had be- fore, and, for the future, I should always find them friendly. They then agreed that I should be a brother chief, and if any diiBculties occurred, it sho^old be settled by mutual agreement amongst the chiefs. Then they proceeded to' crown me in their usual manner, as a brother chief ; then we dined together, and kissed each other's cheeks, and a number of other ceremonies passed, too numerous to mention,— such as burying the hatchet, and a number of other usual Indian formalities. Since which, we have often assembled together in the greatest h^rmoiiy in both villages^ upon various occasions, all of APPENDIX. xxm luppoied bserv€d, i made it came to between IS, and it ►r impro- lull, and Indians: ikin, had lands, as requested expected lot injure d to treat !m in as V, and to r islands ; roy their ad never now that [e by me, )und that had be- nd them brother )e settled hen they er, as a ised each !s passed* I hatchet, , Since greatest as, all of ivhich has been with the greatest friendship and gt)od understanding, without having to revert to one question for the law to decide. I must acknowledge, that I never was acquainted with any people that more strictly re- garded justice and equity, than those people have for these twenty years past. After having arranged with the Indians, we con- tinued cutting down and clearing a spot for the erection of a house, and we continued cutting and clearing, and erecting other buildings, for the accommodation of the families and men. As I had laid in a good stock of hay and grain, which I gave freely unto my cattle, I was surprised to find that they took to the woods, living upon browse, such as the buds of fallen timber, and the joint rush that stood through the snow, which was about seven inches deep. In this way, the horses and oxen finished out the spring, and I never saw working cattle in s< good condition in the month of June as they were, bel e: '"^ full flesh and good spirits. Our grain was used b' men, thereby making to me an additional saving in ^^n sions. I was also much surprised to find the snow disappear- ing so very soon by thawing underneath, and, on exami- nation, I found no frost in the ground ; being quite the reverse of Massachusetts, where there is from three to four feet frost in the ground in the spring, which prevents vegetation from coming forward so soon as if it were otherwise. The spring opened much earlier than I ever knew it in Massachusetts, which gave us all great encou- ragement, all the men being much pleased with the country in finding vegetation come forward so much easier than they were accustomed to see it : which gives life to the farmer, and is the support of agriculture. "We continued cutting down during the whole of March, April, and May, building, and putting in our it. m% }.:; w n- '^^ K XX17 APPENDIX. i ^ ..1 " ill I ■i fc.r •'I r ''I vegetables and garden-stuffs, &c., and continued to do 80, until we began to burn our fallows (which is the tim- ber felled in riws) for winter wheat, which ought to be put into the ground in the month of August, to expect a good crop. Our provisions now befi:an to run short, and we were obliged to go to Montreal, a distance of 120 miles, to obtain means of subsistence until our crops could be harvested. This circumstance retarded, in some measure, the advancement of the settlement. Our only communication was by water, and the navigation of the river, particularly the Long Sault, was entirely unknown to our men, and those who understood the manner of going up and down the river, could not be hired short of three dollars per day. The swiftness of the water, and crooked channel, being interrupted with large rocks and reefs of stone projecting into the river and the waters, rising and falling about fourteen feet on those rapids, owing to the north waters or spring freshets, being com- pelled to pass as near the shore as possible, to have the benefit of tow ropes, renders the navigation very difficult. The year 1800 was spent in clearing land, building, and raising vegetables and roots. Among the latter was about lOUO bushels of potatoes, which I put into the ground (to keep them through the winter) so deep that I lost the whole of them by the rot, occasioned by the heat of the ground. We prepared some land for the fall wheat, and sowed about seventy bushels upon seventy statute acres, and prepared about thirty acres for spring wheat and peas : also a great deal of time spent in going to Montreal for provisions. Seeing my people were going on well, and comfortable as to provisions, houses, &c.» I gave directions how to proceed until my return. 1801. — I returned back to Woburn in Massachusetts and at the same time carried my men home, according to our agreement, and .paid them off ; but the greater APPENDIX. XXV id to do the tim- ht to be expect a lort, and J of 120 ir crops in some )ur only m of the inknown anner of short of iter, and 3cks and 5 waters, i rapids, ing com- lave the difficult. )uilding» latter )ut into so deep oned by for the seventy r spring n going e were houses, eturn. lusetts icording greater part of them came back ajjain the same winter, and by an agreement took lands, — they finding the lands much better in the township of Hull, than in the state of Mas- sachusetts. This spring finished our spring wheat: sowing in the month of March about thirty acres, I had, the second year of my clearing, 100 acres of the best wheat I ever saw. I immediately built a large barn, thirty-six by seventy-five, and eighteen feet posts, and this barn was not large enough to hold the whole of my wheat by seven stacks : I should suppose there were 3000 bushels at least. I measured one acre, and then threshed it out upon the spot ; there were forty bushels upon that acre. I also surveyed the township of Hull this year, commencing upon the 2nd day of July, with ten men, and continued until the 9th day of October, and placed 377 square posts, being a township of 82,429 acres ; it being a bad township to survey, owing to the Gatineau river running at an angular direction through the whole township, and not fordable at any place that we knew of for the space of fifty miles up. This survey^ I should suppose, cost me about 900/. In the autumn I secured all my crops. The crops ex- ceeded every person's expectations that was with me, or anything that we had ever seen or known in the latitude of 42 degrees, and all without the help of manure ; which was the more surprising to those who had been accustomed to go to Boston and obtain it at the price of three dollars per load. After closing our fall work, I then issued a notification, that any person who under- stood farming, an(l wished to obtain lands, might be sup- plied on application to me, on the most advantageous terms ; and I would lend them a certain quantity of wheat, and other seed, until they could raise a sufficient quantity upon their own farms ^o repay me. Then the settlement commenced by several persons in that part of •.fll ih 'ii Kj i XXVI APPENDIX. ':Vl m IM the township which I was entitled to : and I commenced building mills, there being no mills nearer than eighty miles of the township, Ik'fore I built my mills, it cost me twice as much to get my grain ground as it did to raise it. I then built a saw-mill, which cost me 800/., and about 500/. in other buildings. I also cleared aboat 100 acres of land this year, and laid down in grass about the same quantity. I also received a quantity of hemp- seed from Commissary J. W. Clarke : I sowed it, and it did exceedingly well. I then sent a bundle and gave it to the Hemp Committee, and it was deposited in the Committee Room ; it measured fourteen feet long, and very line. I raised that year eleven parts out of thirteen that was raised in the whole province of Lowek* Canada ; and according to a certificate that I received from the Hemp Committee of Montreal, and another from the Commander-in-Chief, I sent two samples of seed with two bundles of the hemp, and the certificate, to the Society of Arts, and received in return a silver m€dal. This is a fine country for the growth of hemp ; but the reason I did not continue to grow it upon a large scale, was the expense of preparing it for market. My hemp-peelers charged me one dollar per day, or one bushel of wheat, labourers being very scarce in the township of Hull. I sowed nearly 100 bushels of hemp-seed, which I sold in Montreal, at a fair price. I was obliged to send the hemp to Halifax, to find a sale for it. I still continue to grow small quantities for my own use. I also built a hemp-mill, which cost me 300/., which mill was by acci- dent burnt, with two other mills. 1 lost by this accident about 1000/. 1803. — 1 extended my improvements in clearing of lands to about 330 acres, generally sowing down grass on the land that had borne two crops of corn, in order to obtain a quantity of good timothy and clover hay, for J^-'r M!^ 1* .*-" •, ' APPENDIX, xxvii inmenced an eighty Us, it cost I it did to me 600/., ired about *ass about of hemp- I it, and it nd gave it ed in the lon^, and )f thirteen Canada ; from the from the 1 with two le Society . This is e reason I was the ip-peelcrs of wheat, Hull. I I sold in send the continue so built a s by acci- i accident earing of wn grass in order • hay, for wintering my cattle : this is one of the first points in grazing farms. I am mucl arprised the inhabitants do not sow more grass seed ; it must be a great disadvan* tage to them in summering their cattle. If they were to clear some new lands, — high swells of land, — and sow it with grass-seed, there the grass is sweet, and the cattle would go into their barns fat, and would not take half the quantity of fodder to winter them, as they do by the mode they i.ow follow. 1804. — This year I commenced building a blacksmith's cshop, which is large enough for four workmen to work in (it contains four pairs of bellows, which are worked by water, also four forges) ; likewise a shoemaker's shop, and a tailor's shop ; with a large bakehouse : all those establishments give employment to a great number of Tvorkmen. Before I established these different branches, I was obliged to go to Montreal for every little article in iron work, or other things which I stood in need of. Until I commenced these different branches in the town- ship of Hull, the number of men under my employ wag about seventy-iive : those were employed in different mechanical businesses, trades, and agriculture. And I also commenced a tannery for tanning of leather upon a large scale ; and I obtained from New York a cylinder for grinding of bark, also by water : also cleared a quan- tity of land, commenced making roads, and built several bridges. 1805. — This year we continued also, much in the same course, to clear off lands, and arranging the new roads, making provisions for new settlers, sowing wheat: I employed about the same number of men as the year before, and laid down more land for grazing, pastures, &c. I also made a trip to Massachusetts, and procured some valuable stock and grass-seed, and collected arrears of debts due to me. ' «'"*! fV' ^1 XXVIU APPENDIX. f'l If' 1806. — I now thought proper to post and make up my accounts, and see what I had expended, how much the inhabitants owed me, as I had then expended 20,000 dollars. 1 had just returned from Montreal, having been down with flour: the expenses of this journey had con- sumed the whole value of it, as it was conveyed upon sleighs drawn by oxen, and the roads bad. As I had now been six years in the township of Hull, and expended my capital, it was time for me to look out for an export market to cover my imports ; no export market had been found, as not a stick of timber had been sent from that place down those dangerous Rapids. I then agreed to try to get some timber ready and try it, and accordingly I then set out to examine the Rapids quite down to the Isle of Montreal. The inhabitants who had been settled there nearly two hundred years, told me it was not pos- sible for me to get timber to Quebec by the route on the north side of the Isle of Montreal, as such a thing never had been done, and never could be done. I said I would not believe it until I had tried it. I prepared my rafts for the spring, and came from Hull down my new-dis- covered channel for the Quebec market. From Hull we came down all the Rapids of the Long Sault, to the island of Montreal and the river Saint Lawrence : it was a new thing, but a costly one to me. Being a total stranger to navigating the Rapids, we were thirty-five days getting down, as our rafts would oftentimes run aground, and cause us a deal of labour to get them off again, and I had no person that was acquainted with the channel ; but having, from experience, learnt the manner of coming down, we can now oftentimes come down them in twenty-four hours : however, after much fatigue, and expense, we arrived at Quebec with the first timber from that township that ever came to Quebec, it can be brought a halfpenny cheaper to Quebec than it can to * :" • \ t T APPENDIX. XXIX e up my uch the d 20,000 ing been had con- ed upon .8 I had ixpended .n export had been rem that greed to lordingly m to the jn settled ; not pos- te on the fng never 1 would my rafts new-dis- HuU we , to the : it was a total lirty-five Imes run Ithera off Iwith the manner nthem ;ue, and ler from can be It can to Montreal. This was in the year 1807. Now, in the year 1823, upwards of three hundred common cargoes were brought to Quebec, and not one to Montreal through the same channel ; only seventeen years back not one cargo of timber came from the Grand River, and whoever lives to see seventeen or eighteen years hence, will no doubt see four times that quantity, not only of timber, but potashes, and Hour, beef, pork, and many other articles too numerous to mention, brought from the same quarter to Quebec, 1808. This winter I endeavoured to obtain employ- ment for my surplus men. In the summer we are obliged to employ a number of men, and in the winter one-quarter of that number is sufficient to carry on the business of the farm ; and, in order to find employment for those additional or surplus men, I commenced the lumber business, drawing, and procuring timber for my mills, and sawing them into planks, boards, &c. If I had not given these men employment during the winter, it would have been impossible for me to have obtained men in the spring, when I most wanted them, as the dis- tance from any settlement was so great ; but, unfortu- nately for me, on the 8th of May, 1808, my mills were burnt, and not my mills only, but a large quantity of boards, planks, &c. which were preparing for the Quebec market ; I had not a piece of board left for my use, with- out either chopping it with an axe or obtaining it from a distance of eighty miles, except what was on my build- ings. This loss was most severely felt, as it was very near destroying the settlement : there was no insurance effected upon my mills. This loss made me almost de- spair of ever recovering it, or doing any good upon the settlement, and I was about to quit it, but my sons wished me not to despair. It was also a great loss to the settle- ment, as the greater part of our corn was in the mill and <^li M kV.' :,■ ^5!^ I % • APPENDIX. XXXI r, which > see the as nio§t I saved, soon as set all mill in rist-mill, ring 11^ [ontreal. routine fty acres ity men, »rs upon )ec mar- such as of wood fit for I also 25/. for oss-har- Inished round; mber to ounting mill ia (Tie-and- jeventy) jceiving about larvcst, and in rm, by clearing about ninety acres for the next year's crop of wheat, with my own men labourers; and during the winter we threshed out our wheat, and paid the labourers 6«. for every ten bushels for threshing, which they cleaned ajnd brought to the grist-mill. At the finishing of thresh- ing this wheat, we measured 3000 bushels; these 3000 bushels cost me 2000 dollars, for which I was offered 9000 dollars, three dollars per bushel being at that time the common price, on account of the war. I must say it was the most advantageous undertaking I ever engaged in since I commenced the settlement. Having a clear profit of 7000 dollars, I continued to expend upon the farm. I then commenced building sheds adjoining the same bam, upon the same farm, 100 feet west, 200 feet south, 20S feet east, and 100 feet to the barn, making in the whole 800 feet of shed. The sheds are 18 feet in width on the west, and on the south 36 feet, and upon the north and east they are 1 8 feet wide, 1 8 feet high on the east side in front of the square by 12 in the rear, with racks and mangers, the whole of the distance round bound with iron ; the yard also is fenced across for different kinds of cattle, well dap-boarded, painted, &c. Upon the outside, in this way, I keep my cattle, giving every kind a fair chance to the air. I likewise built a large distillery (40 by 80), with every article necessary for the establishment, with a shed of 500 feet, and troughs to receive the wash, for the benefit of the cattle, hogs, &c. 1814. In the year 1804 I sold 100 acres of wood land, adjoining this said farm, at the price of 10^. per acre; and, in the year 1814, having occasion to enlarge my form, I bought this same land of 100 acres, after the person had held it ten years, and cleared sixty acres and put some buildings thereon, and paid him 5l. per acre. I cleared, in addition to this purchase, 1 20 acres, seeded down about the same quantity with red clover, white 'tl !'i i XXXll APPENDIX. clover, cid timothy ; and to sow this land with the above kinds of grass seeds, I tai;e about a quart of each kind per acre : this is my general rule. I this year employed about twenty men upon this farm ; they were employed mostly in clearing of land, and building of fences, &r., and also sowing the fallows with fall wheat. I also made a new road through the centre of this farm, and we ar- ranged the farm into different sections, or pastures, for the accommodation of mowing, tillage, and pasturage, and also put upon this farm an additional number of cows, so as to make the number up to forty ; besides thirty yoke of oxen, old and young, twenty working horses, besides breeding mares, sheep, goats, swine, &c. This farm, up to the present day, contains about 800 acres of cleared land, divided into different divisions, for the accommodation of the different kinds of cattle. I also built, in addition to the former buildings, six barns upon this farm, to stow the hay and corn, besides having a number of large hay ricks. For some years past I had made it a rule to raise from thirty to forty calves upon this farm, besides colts, lambs, pigs, &c. I have in general about thirty old pigs, and double that number of young ones, besides fifty breeding sheep. 1815. During the year 1815 we continued to clear and improve this farm, and employed about twenty men dur- ing the summer, and about seven during the winter; the others, which were not wanted, were employed in pre- paring timber for the Quebec market ; some employed in taking out the small stumps and roots, and levelling the roughest of the places, as the roots began to decay, according to the size of the stumps. Beech and rock maple stumps are with much more ease taken out after the seventh year; pine, elm, basswood, and hemlock, are less liable to rot, and therefore require about fifteen years before they can be taken out, especially those of the APPENDIX. XXXIll the above each kind ' employed ! employed nces, &c., also made and we ar- stures, for pasturage, lumber of y; besides ly working swine, &c. about 800 visions, for ; cattle. I six barns des having irs past I )rty calves I have at number clear and men dur- inter; the in pre- employed levelling to decay, and rock it after the alock, are teen years se of the id largest size. Every season I set apart a certain number of days, and take from two to six pair of oxen, harnessed with strong chains, which are fastened round the stumps and drawn up, collected together into piles, and burnt upon the ground, and level the places from which they are drawn. This work is done mostly in our mowing and tillage ground ; but those of the largest kind we omit until a future time, as every year we are obliged to spend some time opening of ditches for draining the land, and also being very particular, upon the first fall of snow, to sow my grass seed upon the lands intended for mowing or pasturag?, and also to have a quantity of wood land under-brushed, and the under-brush piled for the better accommodation of cutting our fire-wood, so as to have easy access for the wood, if the snow should happen to be deep. This land in the spring is then burnt, and sown with spring wheat or other seeds, which is a great saving to the farmer. 1816 to 1823. — These years were managed in much the same routine as the former years. This farm, called the Columbia farm, has, in the whole, about 800 acres of land cleared off from its natural forest since the year 1811, into tillage, mowing, and pasturage, &c. — say 300 acres in tillage. And I have within these five years past raised 143 head of cattle upon this same farm. PAPER D, Page 28, INTRODUCTION. In the bv^ginning of 1830, it being a time of much dis- tress in several parts of England, a voluntary emigra- tion to Canada was resolved upon by a number of the labouring population of the parish of Corsley, near d >'^ii If ^^..i' ■ais .,,,11. ■ i . { cA *■ K y ! il I r. "'^ xxxiv APPENDIX. ^...A.^■ Warminster, in Wilts. For the accomplishment of their purpose, some sold what little property they had, others, after much importuning, g;ot the parish officers to raise them some assistance, and they finally, to the number of sixty-five persons, embarked for Quebec, in a vessel which sailed from Newport, in Glamorganshire, on the 7th of April, 1830. In the course of the end cf the same year, and the beginning of the last, (1831,) most of them had written home to theii friends; and the fol- lowing extracts from the communications of these un- lettered individuals give an account of the country, and of their own success, extremely interesting to the poor man, as well as to ever* ■ohilantliropic mind. They were originally collected Ltid published by G. Poulett ScROPE, Esq. ; and we give them here verbatim, (the spelling only having been corrected), and without note or comment : — From W. Clements, (day-labourer, of Corsley, Wilts,) dated Port Talbot, Upper Canada, October 10, 1830. • My dear Father, — I thank God I am got to the land of liberty and plenty. I arrived here on ^he 9th. July. I had not a single shilling left when I got here.. But I met w th good friends that took me in ; and I went to work at 65. per day and my board, on to this day. And now I am going to work on my own Farm of 50 acres, which I bought at 55/., and I have 5 years to pay it in. I have bought me a Cow and 5 pigs. And I have sowed 4^ acres of wheat, and I have 2 more to sow. I am going to build me a house this fall, if I live. And if I had staid al Corsley, I never should have had nothing. I like the country very much. I am at liberty to shoot turkeys, quail, pigeon, and all kinds of game which I have in my back wood. I have also a sugar APPENDIX. XXXT t of their i, others, to raise number a vessel B, on the id of the II,) most , the fol- these un- ntry, find the poor rhey were POULETT itim, (the lout note y. Wilts.) ober 10, ot to the ^he 9th. got here. nd I went this day. rm of 50 irs to pay And I more to , if I live. have had at liberty ; of game a sugar bush, t^, \t will make me a ton of sugar yearly. The timber is very fine. "We sow but one bushel of wheat to an acre, and the increase is about 50. One single grain will bring from 30 to 60 ears. The land in gene- ral is black peat and sandy loam. My wife and two sons are all well and happy, and thankful that they have arrived over safe; and wish lather and mother and all the family were as rell provided for as we be. If the labouring men did but know the value of their strength, they would never abide contented in the old country. Cows are worth from 50s. to 3^. 1 0*. Sheep, large and fat, are worth 1 0*. 6d. Oxen from 5/. to 6/. No poor- rate, no taxes, no overseer, no beggars. The wheat that is left in the fields would keep a whole parish. Several of them that came out with us are near, Joseph Silcor within 2 miles,' &c. 4 From James Treasure, (shoemaker,) Yarmouth, U.C. August 9, 1830. * I see plainly there will be work enough if I had two or three hands. 1 have a great deal more than I can do now, and they tell me it will come in faster after harvest ; but there is no possibility of getting hands. I have I3s. 6d. for making a pair of Wellington boots, the leather being found me. This will go nearly as far again in provisions here as at home. The price for making men and women's shoes is both alike, 4s. 6d. for light and 3*. Gd. for strong. They find their own thread too. I can now save money very fast, and shall soon be able to buy my own leather, which will be more profitable. The neighbours are very kind. They all want us to visit them. We have as much as we like fetching of potatos, French beans, green peas, onions, cucumbers, &c. from tts^ of the neighbours with a hearty welcome. The best d 2 I k ill iKm li:i h 'i- xxxvi APPENDIX. mutton is 2irf. per pound. Veal 2d. Butter 6d. We have all, through mercy, enjoyed excellent health. The Climate is perhaps a little warm<^ than at home, but I don't find any great differencCc Flour, I should have said, is three farthings per pound. Land is from 9*. to 18*. per acre. All who came over with us like the country very well There is not a doubt but all who are willing to work would get a plenty, and good pay. Mechanics, they say, are wanted very bad. I have no doubt, after we are a little more settled, we shall be able to save 305. a week. The people here wonder that more do not come. We were told at New York that 7,000 had landed there in about four or five weeks, and 200 families were landed at this creek this summer; but they are all lost like a drop in a bucket. We are a great deal better and comfortabler than we expected to be in so short a time. I want to advise you ail to come, for here we are all free from anxiety as to getting on. I should be happy to hear that two or three thousand was coming from Frome. It would be the best thing in the world for them. Here would be plenty for them to do and plenty to eat and drink. In this there is no mis- lake. I seem now to want to tell this, that, and the other story, about men who came here without a single shil- ling, but have now good farms of their own, but they would be too numerous. I can only say that all the good accounts I have heard of America, I now believe to be correct,' &c. From Philip A.vnett, (day-labourer, of Corsley,) Port Talbot, U.C. May 24, 1830. * I think you had better sell your house and get a little]off the parish, and come to Canada whilst you have a chance. If you don't come soon it is likely you will APPENDIX. XXXVil rf. We h. The ,t home, should is from like the all who )od pay. have no I be able lat more at 7,000 and 200 but they a great to be in !ome, for g on. I and was g in the m to do no mis- Ithe other gle shil- [but they t all the believe ^y.) Port id get a ^ou have [you will starve, and if you don't your children will ; whilst if you was to come hither with your family, any one would be glad to take 1 or 2 of them and keep them as their own children, until of age, and then give them 100 acres of land and some stock besides. I was agreeably surprised when I came here to see what a fine country it was. It being excellent land, bearing crops of wheat and other corn for 20 or 30 years without any dung. Here you have no rent to pay, no poor-rates, and scarcely any taxes. No game- keepers, or Lords over you. Here you can go and shoot wild deer, turkeys, pheasants, quails, pigeons, and other sort of game, and catch plenty of fish without molestation whatever ; here you can raise every thing of your own that you want to make use of in your family. You can make your own soap, candles, sugar, treacle, and vinegar, without pay- ing any duty. Clothing is as cheap as in England. — Wages is high. A man can get two bushels of wheat for a day's work in harvest time. We have plenty of fruit here, such as plums and grapes, and peaches. Cyder is sold at 55. per barrel ; it is a land of liberty and plenty. I think no Englishman can do better than come as soon as possible, if it costs them every farthing they have, for I would be rather so here than in Eng- land with 100/. in my pocket. Robert can come and get a good farm here in the course of 3 or 4 years at shoe- making. I think he could earn and save besides keep- ing himself 50/. a year. I am sure he could. It grieves me concerning you in England and poverty and hard labour. A man can earn enough in 3 days to last him all the week. I am satisfied with the country, and so is Louisa, for we are as much respected here as any of our neighbours, and so would you if you come/ &c. •■f i 1 XXXVUl APPENDIX !il 'I It I,, I mil i! & "'ill* «-^^j t'''v'.,- 1*> V,' From Joseph Silcox, (glazier, of Corsley, and dis- senting preacher, — paid his own passac^e.) South- wold, near Port Talbot, Upper Canada, May 26, 1831. * We are enjoyinp; a very good state of health and spirits, and are doing extremely well. We have planted and sowed to oats, potatoes, and corn, about 18 acres. I have eight acres of Indian corn and three of wheat, which looks well. My prospect is very good. The boys chopped oft' 9 acres last winter, which we are now just going to clear off. We shall sow this fall as much as 19 acres of wheat, if we have our health during the summer to clear off the land and get our fallow in order. I have purchased 50 acres of land for the sum of 43/. 15*. with 14 acres of improvement on it, where I have sowed my peas and oats, and where I shall mow hay enough to winter my cattle. My stock consists at present of one yoke of oxen, two cows, one yearling heifer, one mare and colt, four spring calves, two breeding sows, 1 1 pigs, 32 geese, and a few sheep, &c. The boys are all ex- tremely well satisfied with the country, do get on well with their work (with looking after). They say, if Lord Bath was to give us Corsley farm rent free, they would rather stay here on our own land than live in England. John he says he would not regard the journey back, provided his father and mother would return with him. My wife desires me to persuade any or all of her friends to come, being confident in her own mind they would be satisfied here, as she likes the country better than she does England, provided her friends were here. For my part 1 am of the same opinion, altho' I do not pe suade any one to leave England because I have left it. But a well-stocked farm of 200 acres rent free in England would be no temptation to me to leave America. If any APPENDIX. XXXIX and dis- South- May 26, alth and ; planted 18 acres. )f wheats rhe boys now just ich as 19 J summer . I have 15*. with owed my [lough to it of one }ne mare , 11 pigs, e all ex- t on well ', if Lord ley would England, ley back, vith him. er friends would be than she For my pe suade t. But a England t. If any of my relations or friends think proper to come, I will make them as comfortable as possible, and if they come out next Bpring, I shall, if Providence bless me with an increase, have plenty for 5 or G families. The best way is to ship at Bristol for New York, and there take a passasi^e in the Channel boats for Buffalow, and then cross the lake to Kettle Creek, which is in the Township we live in.' ii James Watts, (day-labourer, of Corsley,) Lancaster, U. C. Oct. 28, 1830. * We had a middling good passage, and got to Que- bec the 6th day of June, then I set out for Upper Ca- nada to the above place, where I have been ever since, working at making roads at 8 dollars a month, or 1/. 16*. of your money (besides board.) Will Singer and Thomas Singer are along with me upon the same wages, but "William Aylsbury left this place on purpose to go home to his wife and family. Whether he will get home I don't know, but if he should, you will get all the news better than I can write. As far as I can learn and as far as I have seen, it is a good country for any industrious man coming to this country ; and if he can bring some money he will get land upon very reasonable terms, and in the course of a few years may make a very comfortable living.' , N. B. The William Aylsbury mentioned in this let- ter, returned to his parish, Corsley, last winter. The overseers had refused to assist him to emigrate, and he had in consequence raised some money by sale of a few goods, and started by himself, leaving his wife and fa- mily chargeable to the parish. He arrived at Quebec on the 6th of June, he had then twenty shillings in his I xl APPENDIX. ' I pocket ; he took the steamer to Montreal, and proceeded thence on foot to Cornwall, in Upper Canada, where he arrived with only a shilling. He found immediate employment, to2:ether with the writer of the last letter and others whom he had accompanied from England, on the Government Roads. His wages were nine dol- lars per month besides his bed and board. He lived on pork, beef, mutton, potatoes, green peas, bread, cheese, and butter. Hands were in great request, winter as well as summer ; the winter wages being 5 dollars with bed and board. Wheat was 4*. 6d. a bushel. Tea 3s. 6d. per pound. A church in the town where service was performed regularly. He came away on the 1 st of November with nearly 71. in his pocket, with which he paid his passage home, where he arrived without having entirely emptied his purse. This account is taken from Aylsbury's own lips, and is worthy of attention, as shew- ing that the savings that can be made from a labourer's wages for about four months' work in Canada, will amply pay the expenses of his passage out from his parish from England. Aylsbury is anxious to take his family back with him, having returned only to fetch them, but cannot persuade his wife to overcome her fears of the voyage. From Thomas Hunt, (day-labourer of Chapmanslade, in the parish of Corsley,) dated Nelson, U. C. Nov. 14, 1830. • We are in a good country for poor folks ; we have plenty of good fire and grog. Wheat 4^. per bushel, good boiling peas 3*. 6d. Rye 3*. Buck wheat 2^. 6d. Indian Corn 2^. 6c?. Oats 2s. , Potatoes 1^. 3d, Rum lOrf. per quart. Good Whiskey 7hd. Brandy 9d. per ^i. ! I APPENDIX. xU Toceeded I, where nmediate ist letter England, line dol- : lived on I, cheese, inter as ars with lel. Tea i service le 1st of A'hich he it having ven from as shew- bourer's id a, will rom his take his to fetch )me her anslade, C.Nov. ve have bushel. Rum 9d. per quart. Port Wine 1*. 3(1. Tea 3*. 6c?. per pound. We make our own sugar, our own soap, candles, and bake good light bread. Beef and mutton 2d. per pound, &c. Fat geese 1.9. Gd. Best fowls 1*. 3d. per couple. Wages 3/. per month, and our keep. We dine with our masters. Women 2*. 6d, a day, and good keep. Good apples Is. per bushel, &c. The price of land is about 1/. per acre near the roads, some way back it is cheaper. No poor- rates, nor taxes of any consequence. I see in the paper great lamentations for our departure from Chapmans- lade. More need to rejoice. We three brothers have bought 200 acres of land at 12*. 6d. rjer acre. We have paid 251. and have 100/. to pay in five years, that is 20/. a year, between three, that is 6/. 13*. 4d. each. It is in Nelson, district of Gore, about 5 miles from Street, with a pretty good road to our lot. Only nine miles to Lake Ontario, a good sale for all grain. A grist-mill and a saw-mill within 25 chains, which is a great advantage. A good river runs right through our lot of land, and good springs rise on it. We shall never want for water, nor timber. We have several adjoining houses, chiefly Eng- lish people. We can raise up a good house in a little while at little expense. We have thousands of tons of timber, and good stone for building. It is called the healthiest place in Upper Canada. We have no sick- ness since we have been here. Stouter than we was in in England. Sarah wishes to see all her friends here. We expect to clear 20 acres by next harvest. We cut the trees about 3 feet above ground, and put fire to it, and burn it root and branch. We are about 700 miles from Quebec. That is but little here. Sarah Hunt and her five children is all well ; she was confined on tliu river St. Lawrence. She had a very good time. She and all is very stout, never wishing to return to England, but rather all friends was here, for here is plenty of work. % s J R_^ m ml 1 , |-' v!..i M ' 1, ': '1 1 ■ i 1 n 1 ■ -1 if ;ll ' I •■(^ sdii APPENDIX. and plenty to eat and drink. Thank God we are here, JVe all vnsh that our Fathers, and mothers, and brothers^ and sisters, was here, for here is plenty of room for all there is in England. They that think to work may do well. But if our fathers and mothers was here, they should never be obliged to do a hard day's work, for we would keep them without work if they were not able. But if any of you should come, they must make up their minds not to be faint-hearted. You may expect rocking, but I don't fear the raging seas. For more may come as safe as we, for the God that rules the land rules the sea. There is some come this year turned back before they knew whether 'tis good or bad. But I thank my God that we are here. Thomas Hunt, Jimes Hunt, Jeremiah Hunt.' Esau Pr angle y, (butcher, of Corsley,) Port Talbot, U. C. Oct. 10th, 1830. * We arrived last July, and like the country well. Clements and I have bought 1 00 acres of land between us. I have about 25 acres cleared on my 50, for 70/. I have paid down 12/. 10*., and have five years to pay the remainder in. I have a house and barn on the place ready to go into. I have sov/ed 4^ acres of wheat, &c.* * Charles is doing well, he is hired by the year for 12/. 10^., with board and lodging. Men's wages is from 3*. to bs. per day, take the year round, with board. Cle- ments and I cut and thrashed and winnowed in 4 days, 84 bushels of Peas, and for our wages got 21 bushels, being one quarter, and boarded into it. Wheat here sells for 3*. the bushel. We have a very healthy coun- try,' &c. KA APPENDIX. xliii f are here, d brothers^ mm for all irk may do here, they >rk, for we 3 not able, ie up their jt rocking, may come i rules the ack before thank my nes Hunt, rt Talbot, ntry well, d between for 70/. I to pay the the place heat, &c.' ir for 12/. from 3*. ird. Cle- in 4 days, 1 bushels, heat here thy coun- From George Lewis, (day-labourer, of Corsley,) Dun- das, U. C. July 11, 1830. * We are very well provided for, with regard to a situa- tion. We have a very good house and our fire found us, and Georgo has wages 100 dollars a-year, and all his keep ; which is much better than ever I should have found in England. My master is an Englishman, and a very good master, for he makes everything to my satis- faction, and I am very happy to think the Lord has pro- vided me so well, and I have to inform you I never de- sire to come to England any more, for we found it a troublesome journey to that happy spot where we are now situated. I have to inform you that we need not go to bed a- cold nights for want of something to keep us warm, for we can get good liquors very cheap, good rum at 5d per pint, whiskey 7\d. per quart,' &c. From William Snelgrove, (day-labourer, of Corsley,) Dundas, U. C. Sept. 3, 1830. * Dear friends, — This comes with my kind love to you, hoping it will find you in good health, as it leaves us at present. Thanks be to God for it. Health is ^. beauti- ful thing ; and it depends upon God alone to give it. Was it in the hands of man, health would decline, as many other things have in England, as labour and vic- tuaUing, which, if the good God give us our health, is as plentiful with us as the scarcity is with you. We have plenty of good beef, and mutton, and pork, and flour, fish, fowl, and butter ; and I'm happy to state that by one day's work a man can supply himself with suffi- cient of all these necessaries for 3 days. You have a good many cold bellies to go to bed with, I know, or things is greatly altered from the state that it was when ii Hi 1^ xliv APPENDIX. I ii I' i;t' I was with you. But if you were with us, if you liked, for three half-pence your belly would be so warm that you would not know the way to bed. With regard to work, harvest-work is one dollar a day and board, other work is three-fourths of a dollar and a pint of whiskey. "Wheat is from 3*. ^d. to 5*. per bushel. Butcher's meat 2i\ to 3d. per lb. Cousin Henry, you may depend that all here said is true, so that you see here is all the chance in the world for the poor man to live,' &c. From William Singer, (bricklayer, of Corsley,) Bark Street, Southwold, U. C. 15th March, 1831. * I have worked some at my trade. A person that can work well can get a dollar and a half a day, and in the harvest-fields a dollar. I like this part of the coun- try very well, and intend staying here this summer. I have been working on a farm chopping, and other work, but have been very unfortunate, I have cut myself four or five times. You must not think that I dislike the country on account of my misfortunes, for if I was to cut my leg right off, I should never think of returning to Corsley again, for I could do much better here with one leg than in Corsley with two. We can always have plenty of work here. We board and lodge with the person we work for. If any of my old acquaintance is got tired of being slaves and drudges, tell them to come to Upper Canada to Wm. Singer, and he will take them by the hand and lead them to hard work and good wages, and the best of living. Any of them could do well here. Old George Silcox likes the country well ; but if any of you was coming out, he wishes you to bring him a quart of James Knight's strong beer, as we cannot get any so good here. We can get whiskey at half a dollar per gallon, as strong as the Gin you get in England. We m '* you liked, warm that I regard to oard, other 3f whiskey. Butcher's nay depend -e is all the &c. sley,) Bark 1831. lerson that [lay, and in f the coun- ummer. I ither work, lyself four dislike the f I was to returning here with ways have with the lintance is n to come take them )od wages, well here. t if any of m a quart t get any dollar per md. We -4 APPENDIX. xlr have eight English families within about 2 miles, all from Westbury or Corsley. They are all well, and doing well, busy making sugar this last week. This part of the country is very fine. Thvi winter has been more than commonly severe, but I have not found it colder than in England,' &c. From Thomas Hunt, (labourer, of Chapmanslade, pa- rish of Corsley,) Nelson,U. C. May 18, 1831. * Have built us a House on our land, and are all in a good growing state. We do think to get us a plough of oxen this summer, and a cow or two. We have got our wheat sowed. We do think to sow about 12 or 14 acres of wheat next fall. In about two years we shall be able to work all of our time on our farm, but now buying our seed and stock, we have to work out some- times. We have neither wanted for food nor fire, for we have wood a plenty, and to spare. We have had cold, but not suffered with it so much as we should in England. This is a country for labouring men to get their bread ; but some as will not work is poor here, and give the country a bad name. But I never wish to come to England any more. W^e have meeting-houses not far off. A plenty of neighbours round,' &c. From James Watts, (day-labourer,) Lancaster, U. C. * As for the country, I think it a very good place for any one that wishes to have land of his own, for you can get land in different places from 55. to 20*. per acre, and time to pay for it by paying one-fifth of the purchase- money, and the remainder in five years, by paying 6 per cent, interest,' &c. '1. ff t' il r II f xlvi APPENDIX. '> ii H PAPER E, Page 38, INTRODUCTION. The following further Directions will be found useful and important, which we give from several respectable authorities, including the statements and suggestions of two intelligent emigrants. * The pnssage is usually from three to six or eight weeks. It is best for emigrants to take but little bag- gage with them beyond their wearing apparel, bedding, and utensils for cooking on the passage. They should also lay in their own provisions. If they contract for their food with the captain of the vessel they embark in, it is not likely to be of so good a quality. The kind of stock recommended by those who have made the pas- sage, is flour, potatoes, bacon, t.nd, perhaps, a little salt- beef, rice or oatmeal, tea, sugar, coffee, apples, or other fruit ; some or all of these things, according to the taste of the parties. The flour can be baked into fresh cakes when wanted, which are much more agreeable and wholesome than sea biscuits.' — G, P. Scrape's Extracts of Letters, Preface, p, 10. Mr. Pickering, the farmer, took out for himself for an eiu^ht weeks' passage, viz. — [a little modified by his advice] — 25 lbs. biscuit-bread, the best, packed close in a barrel. 10 lbs. flour, — 6 lbs. rice. 2 bushels potatoes. 10 lbs. beef, — 10 lbs. pork — (if no fowls are taken). 1 lb. tea, — ^Ib. coffee. 7 lbs. sugar,— 5 lbs. butler. 3 lbs. cheese, — 2 gallons bottled porter, — with onions, apples, oranges, mustard, &c. Value of the whole, 3/. Os, 9d. This cost included a few pounds of portable soup, half ,.| )N. useful and respectable suggestions ix or eiglit little bag- el, bedding, rhey should contract for embark in. The kind of ie the pas- a little salt- les, or other ; to the taste fresh cakes eeable and s Extracts mself for an itied by his i in a barrel. ;e taken), with onions, e soup, half APPENDIX. xlvii a bushel of apples, a bottle of port wine, stimulating con- diments, such as mustard, pepper, ginger, nutmegs, a little vinegar, some peppermint drops, &c., all most useful and necessary for the expected sea- sickness. As a stimulant for the stomach, when recovering, a few good red herrings are exceedingly agreeable provisions to poor passengers. Cream or milk ought also to be taken if possible, and may be preserved by boiling, adding two pounds of loaf sugar to a quart, and then bottled close. When emigrants go in parties, they may arrange to take a pig or two with them, which stock are easily supported on board ship ; and, when killed on the passage, at pro- per intervals, form most agreeable fresh food. Ducks also do well at sea, and a little salt fish, with eggs, &c. is also an agreeable variety. The following excellent further suggestions we extract from a little book written by William Catttrmole, an intelligent emigrant and land agent, dated May, 1831. ' Parties going together in the steerage, or half deck, "would do right in closely examining into the exact ac- commodations they are to receive — such as water-clo- sets ; if they are allowed the use of the quarter-deck ; at what time the lights are expected to be put out : these cau- tions may prevent bad foelings, on the passage ; and cabin passengers, particularly tho'^e with families, should do the same, ascertaining what wine, spirits, and porter is allowed, to prevent misunderstandinir when out. Many vessels offered to take steerage passengers at 71. 10*., and find them with respectable accommodations — this, for single persons, with a few extras they might provide themselves, would answer their purpose better than having the trouble of laying in and cooking their own provisions.' Further on, he adds, parties going by way either of Quebec or New York, frequently arrange with the cap- • ' ii t" ' m if tjv W H !'* k'Sl'cl !! ■ I I* . xlviii APPENDIX. tain to have a portion of their steerage partitioned off, eis:ht or ten feet square, which is both economical and I)leasant, particularly with families, as they are inde- pendent of the many. Three or four going thus, will possess all the comforts of the cabin, and at one-fourth the expense. When you get to sea, much of the dis- tinction of cabin and steerage, if respectable, ceases ; and once landed, no inquiries are made in what part of the ship you came in. The cabin is all very well for single ladies and gentlemen, but with families, it is an expensive place, and the money so spent would be useful on getting into a new country. In the steerage, the lights are put out at nine o'clock, and no smoking is allowed between decks in any part of the vessel. * Those who have more cash than they have occasion for, and wish to pay brokers and all the tribe that will beset them, will have plenty of opportunity to keep their hands going ; but if industrious, and choose to go to the Searcher' s-office, they may save 1*., 1*. 6d., and 2*. on all their packages. Ask for a printed form, which they must sign, and deliver to the custom-house oiEcer, with a tender to allow him to examine the packets, luggage, or baggage, if he wishes it. He signs it, and this is all that is required from emigrants, who may then ship it without any expense, except wharfage charges.' — Pages 85, 87, &c. The following general directions to emigrants are given by Mr. J. C. Buchanan, whose experience in this department is well known. * I would particularly recommend,' he says, * the months of April and May for going out, as you may then expect a favourable passage : on no account go in .July or August, as, from the prevalence of south-west winds, you will have a tedious passage. Make your bargain for your passage with the owner of the ship, or some well- itioned off, Dmical and are inde- f thus, will one-fouith of the dis- le, ceases ; hat part of !ry well for les, it is an d be useful , the lights is allowed ^e occasion )e that will » keep their go to the and 2s. on which they fficer, with , lugs;age, this is all tien ship it s.'— Pages grants are ce in this lys, * the may then go in July est winds, argain for ome well- APPENDIX. xlix known, respectable broker, or shipmaster. Avoid, by all means, those crimps that are generally found about the docks and quays near where ships are taking in passengers. Be sure that the ship is going to the port you contract for, as much deception has been practised in this respect. It is important to select a well-known captain and a fast- sailing ship, even at a higher rate. * When you arrive at the port you sail for, proceed immediately in the prosecution of your objects, and do not loiter about, or suffer yourself to be advised by de- signing people, who too often give their opinion unso- licited. If you want advice, and there is no official person present at the port you may land at, go to some respectable person or chief magistrate, and be guided by his advice. * Let your baggage be put up in as small a compass as possible ; get a strong deal chest, of convenient size ; let it be the shape of a sailor's box, broader at bottom than top, so that it will be more steady on board ship : good strong linen or sacking bags will be found very useful. Pack year oatmeal or flour in a strong barrel, or flax-seed cask (which you can purchase cheap in the spring of the year). I would advise, in addition to the usual wood-hoops, two iron ones in each cask, with strong lid and good hinge, a padlock, &c. Baskets or sacks are better adapted for potatoes than casks. * The following supply will be sufficient for a family of five persons for a voyage to North America, viz. — -*d stone of potatoes (if in season, say not after the 1st of June) ; 2i cwt. of oatmeal or flour ; i cwt. of biscuits ; 20 lbs. of butter in a keg ; 1 gallon of molasses ; 20 lbs, of bacon ; 50 lbs. of fish (herrings) in a small keg ; 1 gallon of spirits, and a little vinegar. When you con- tract with the captain for your passage, do not forget to e % I t " II H ](. I'l ■I I 1 APPENDIX. insure a sufficient supply of pood water. An adult will require five pints per day, children in proportion. ' The foregoing will be found a sufficient supply for an emigrant's family of five persons for sixty or seventy days, and will cost about 51. in Ireland or Scotland ; in England, 6/. or 71. If the emigrant has the means, let him purchase besides, 1 lb. of tea and 14 lbs. of sugar for his wife. * The preceding statement contains the principal ar- ticles of food required, which may be varied as the taste and circumstances of the emigrant may best suit. In parting with your household furniture, &c. reserve a pot, a tea-kettle, frying-pan, feather-bed (the Irish pea- santry generally possess a feather-bed), as much coarse linen as you can, and strong woollen stockings ; all these will be found very useful on board ship, and at your set- tlement, and are not very difficult to carry. Take your spade and reaping-hook with you, and as many mechanical tool.'- as you can — such as augers, planes, hammers, chisels, &c. ; thread, pins, needles, and a strong pair of shoes for winter. In summer, in Canada, veiy little clothing is required for six months — only a course shirt and linen trowsers, and you will get cheap mocassins (Indian shoes) ; you will also get cheap straw hats in the Canadas, which are better foi summer than wool hats, and in winter you will require a fur or Scotch woollen cap.' Further on this zealous promoter of colonization adds, ' The risk of a bad harvest or hay -time is rarely felt in Canada, and consequently, farming is not attended with so much anxiety or labour as in the United King- dom. The winters are cold, but dry and bracing. I have seen men in the woods in winter felling trees with their coats off, and otherwise lightly clothed. The '» adult will m. lupply for ir seventy )tland; in means, let of sugar incipal ar- ls the taste t suit. In reserve a Irish pea- uch coarse 3 ; all these ,t your set- Take your qaechanical hammers, ong pair of veiy little Cv.rse shirt mocassins aw hats in than wool or Scotch ©Ionization le is rarely ot attended lited King- )racing. I trees with Ihed. The APPENDIX. li summers are extremely hot, particularly in July and August. • The new settler must consult the seasons in all his undertakings, and leave nothins; to chance or to be done another day. The farmers of Lower Canada are worthy of remark in those respects. * In conclusion, I beseech you, if you have any party feeling at home — if you wish to promote your own pros- perity, and that of your family — wash your hands clean of it ere you embark. Such characters are looked upon with suspicion in the colonies, and you could not possibly take with you a worse recommendation.'— Buchanan's Emigration practically Considered. PAPER F, Page 238. Among other sights that interest travellers when in this neighbourhood, is Balston, or the battle-ground of Saratoga, near a pretty lake, eight miles in length. This battle-ground is the scene of the famous surrender of General Burgoyne in 1777; when about 6000 British troops, having been shut up in a corner, were compelled to lay down their arms to the Americans. Near this, an encampment of Indians which happened to be on the spot, is thus described in Mr. Gould's notes : — * In the skirts of the tov/n, or village, was an encamp- ment of Indians, a set of dirty, large-headed, Calmuck- shaped fellows, with their lank, black, horse hair hanging over their shoulders, and an excessive coarseness about the mouth. They are not many shades lighter than ne- groes; the old men remarkably stupid-looking, with a few long straggling hairs on their faces ; the young men stouter, their faces, being plucked, quite smooth; the women, or * squaws,' a broad-built, pigeon-toed, dirty race ; a short petticoat, woollen leggings without feet, and e2 fllll m iii lii APPKNDIX. a blanket tied round their loins, made up Iheir wardrobe. The blanket is held over the shoulders, and in general a child's head is seen peeping out l)ehind ; their strong, black hair is neatly parted along their head : the men were dressed in slouching hats and smock-frocks. They were the dirtiest, ugliest Indians I had yet seen ; indeed it was only an occasional straggler that had passed me. These people were shooting with a bow and arrow at a cent, or half- penny, on a stick, at about twenty yards dis- tance. They are expert enough at hitting it. It appears to be their common employment in the towns in the neighbourhood of their settlements. These are the re- mains of the Oneidas. Can this be so? Alas ! so it is. These are the descendants of those same Oneidas whom Campbell, in his Gertrude of Wyoming^ has endowed with the greatest and sternest virtues of humanity : — The Stoics of the woods, the men without a tear. I am sorry to confess, that the little I have hitherto seen of these children of the forest has caused me to write off a heavy discount from my anticipations, and, I may say, my hopes. This nation, like most others, living within what the United States call their tennory, is in their pay. I think they are allowed six dollars, or twenty-six shil- lings each per annum, and are * located ' near Utica. Of the Aborigines of North America, or the * Indians/ as they have been called since the time of Columbus, who so called the first inhabitants of the * New World* which he saw, thinking that he had reached the * East Indies,' I shall have much more to say, should I con- tinue my notes into Canada, and I trust much more to their advantage. Their connexion with the lowest orders in the United States has induced a shocking demoraliza- tion ; the greater number of them in the United States are now entirely dependent on them ; they are rapidly APPENDIX. 111 wardrobe. 1 general a eir strong, '. the men :ks. They jn ; indeed passed me. Arrow at a ' yards dis- It appears wns in the are the re- s ! so it is, Idas whom s endowed nity : — a tear. therto seen to write off I may say, ving within 1 their pay. ty-six shil- lear Utica. ) • Indians,* Columbus, ew World* the • East )uld I con- jh more to west orders lemoraliza- lited States ire rapidly decreasing, or in some instances retiring: farther west. The manner in which they live among the Americans, without actually amalgamating, is curious ; they have no vote, no privilege as citizens ; but this indifference to- wards them is got over by saying, * that they are con- sidered as, and treated with as independent nations.' I should, however, suppose, if they became farmers, out of the lands appropriated to them, and gained property, that they would be entitled to the rights of citizens. Except in one part of this Continent, they have never yet shewed themselves patient of regular labour ; this exception is at Nantucket, where they have long assisted in navigating the whale-ships, and prove active, good seamen. They are now becoming extinct most rapidly ; the habits of a seaman in such long voyages, and the irregularities attached to it, are sufficient causes. The few who remain at home marry into the lowest orders of whites or of negroes : the latter is the most common.' PAPER G, Page 239. Near the town of Troy, in this neighbourhood, is also the celebrated Shakers' Village, of which we are enabled to give, from the same original Notes, taken on the spot, the following lively description : — * Fine names are *• the go" here ; our landlord is Titus ; indeed, being on the ** Troad," we are of course on classic ground, and almost every celebrated name in the history of Rome stares you in the face. Being here on Saturday, we determined to visit Niskuyana, or the Shakers' Vil- lage, the following morning, on our road to Saratoga Springs. We crossed the Hudson in a horse-ferry boat; the roads were sandy but not bad, and we reached Nis- y J-. >J^^ liv APPCNDIX. ! ^-mi^^ liuyana in time for service : we were surprised at the number of carriages, gigs, carts, and horses, which were waiting under the trees. The village is a picture of paste- board neatness ; every description of work is done by the members, who are also great gardeners, and their seeds are reckoned the best in the United States; it is usual every- where to see in shop-windows, * Shakers' seeds sold here ;' every article of dress worn by them, as well as the houses and furniture, is of their own manufacture. Their rules are severe ; they work exceedingly hard, and are said to be very wealthy. There are several establish- ments ; the largest is at Lebanon, and is said to be very rich. This society is one of the smallest, and may con- sist of from 400 to 500 members ; it has been in exist- ence about forty years : they hold their goods in com- mon ; any one on joining them gives up all his property to the common stock, and if he leave them he takes nothing away. I was informed that not long since the Treasurer walked off with 25,000 dollars ; but that, as he originally took to them 20,000, he only abstracted his own with usury. * There are some curious anomalies among these sin- gular people ; whilst they prohibit matrimony and sexual acquaintance, they will take charge of and educate chil- dren. However, to their service : on entering the Chapel we found the brothers and sisters in silent meeting, which is usually the commencement of their devotions ; there were about seventy of each sitting on stools facing each other, as still and motionless as statues. The men had no coats, but were dressed in old-fashioned jackets with- out collars, having flap pockets and three plaits behind ; trowsers, worsted stockings, and good shoes. Their linen was beautifully white, and their faces a wholesome healthy brown. The women wore very fine, plain- bor- dered caps, and long white dresses from the throat to the sed at the vhich were e of paste- ione by the their seeds isual e very- seeds sold as well as mufacture. ' hard, and 1 establish- to be very d may con- 1 in exist- [s in com- is property a he takes since the that, as he racted his these sin- and sexual ucate chil- the Chapel ing, which )ns ; there acing each e men had ;kets witli- ts behind ; s. Their vholesome plain-bor- roat to the APPENDIX. Iv wrists and ankles, as white and as pure as we were told their minds were within. The old women were plump and good-looking — the young ones almost as white in their faces as their garments ; their eyes were all soul, and their eyebrows and lashes seemed as if pencilled. The men had many of them ribbons round their arms, worn as marks of office. There were nearly double the number of visitors on benches along the walls. After sitting in this manner for some time, a leader thanked God for all the blessings they enjoyed, but in an especial manner for having had their souls opened to the know- ledge of the last revelation, and to an understanding thereof, leading them to salvation, into which happy state they had now entered, having a fulness of joy. Then they all rose, removed their seats, piling them at the end of the room, and stood hke ballet-dancers. A person now commenced a psalm or spiritual song, in which all joined, marking time with their bodies in a short shake — the men with their feet also. Their style of singing resembled that of a London street-singing sailor ; their tunes were of the same kind — one of their chorusses was ** Toora loora loo." * When the psalm was ended, a sober, serious, respect- able-looking old man came forward and addressed the visitors. He welcomed us to see the simplicity of their worship, and requested those who came from curiosity to see something new, to look and observe, as they might carry away something to think upon which might do them good. He observed, they did not set their light under a bushel, but they let all the world see it ; and hoped none came to interrupt them or to amuse them- selves improperly. Another psalm was now sung, and another short address to God followed, in which re- ference was made to the old custom of praising God by dancing. After a pause the dance began, the whole ■ ^ r «ii ' ' It ffflj,. tf' Ivi APPENDIX. •V .. i number singing at the same time as loudly as possible. In dancing they held up their hands, as dancing dogs hold up their paws, waving them up and down to the tune. The dance required but little space. It cannot be so easily described as imitated. " We hear also," said the leader, '* of clapping of hands ;" after which they oc- casionally clapped their hands violently whilst dancing. This was repeated several times with considerable exer- tion, so that the perspiration flowed over their faces, and the room began to smell unpleasantly. * Another preacher now came forward, and preached to the visitors. He gave us his reasons for the hope that is in them, by giving a short, and in general a clever and fair history of revektion, divided into three heads. His text was, " Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new." This exposition, in all save their peculiar tenets, was very sensible, and was given much after the manner of our Wesleyan Methodists. However, of Wesley he said, that he ** had not knowledge without measure," as he had missed the knowledge of the last revelation. He gave a singular turn to the temptation of Eve, and made a curious allusion to cir- cumcision ; he gave also a strange exposition of being *' neither married, nor given in marriage," which, he main- tained, had reference to this life. He asserted that they ought to abstain from it, and that it was priestcraft of the most abominable kind to pretend, for a dollar, to give people the right to live in ungodly and destructive lusts. He said that, in them, the " New Jerusalem" was present upon earth, and that it was necessary to live here now as we would live in Heaven hereafter, seeing how we prayed for that Heaven. He exhorted us to observe how happy they were — that they were all, as angels, purified from sin, &c. " Have you," said he, " any cheaper way of salvation than ours ? Have you any other way ? No!" APPENDIX. Ivii possible. iing dogs vn. to the It cannot .Iso/' said 1 they oc- : dancing, ble exer- 'aces, and preached the hope 1 a clever ee heads. )ehold all i all save ^as given ethodists. lowledge vledge of 1 to the 1 to cir- of being he main- hat they craft of ", to give ve lusts, present ere now how we 've how purified )er way No!" said he, "without bodily purity there is no mental holiness, and without holiness no one shall see God !'* More singing and dancing followed, and '}n the last psalm they all fell down on their knees, exerting their voices to the utmost. After another short exhortation to us, the leader said, '• The meeting is finished." Original sin was, throughout the discourse, strongly and convincingly argued. From what has been said it is clear that knaves, fools, and enthusiasts make up the majority of the mem- bers ; they seem to have embodied all the extravagancies of the most extravagant sects that have preceded them, and in fact to be made up of caricature. However, after the exhibitions of our Johanna SouthcoteanSy our Jum- pers, our Camp Methodists, our Swedenborgians, our Arminian Bible Christians, and the self-styled " Free- thinking" Unitarians, as well as the extravaganzas, and (allowed) blasphemies of the Rev. Robert Taylor and Carliley it is difficult to take to ourselves the right of *• casting the first stone." It is said that sometimes a couple who are anxious to change the spiritual titles of brother and sister into more worldly ones, will leave the Society, and pay the dollar alluded to by the preacher. * I have given as nearly as I can what I saw and heard at Niskuyana ; but I have been told very different things of the " Shaking Quakers" and their doctrines, viz., that they are Atheists — that they disavow, or at least make no account of ihe Mosaic Revelation — that they deny the resurrection of the body, claiming a preference for the last or present revelation, as given by their founder, Ann Lee, who with them is said to be superior to Jesus Christ, as in her the last revelation is fulSlled. I had been told that they claim a degree of perfection superior to that of Moses, David, or Christ. In respect of these things, the preacher whom I heard, spoke in general, as I conceive, in an orthodox way of God the Father, the Son, and the *';i Iviii APPENDIX. Holy Ghost ; hs spoke of the resurrection and the final judgment, claiming however to themselves perfectibility ; and in reference to their own tenets, seemed to have a " by play" to the general Bible History. Of Owen and his religious establishment at Harmony I heard but little. Of Miss Wrights strange conceit of ** raising" a popula- tion in her newly-organized society, uniting the intelli- gence of the white with the capabilities of tropical labour of the black, 1 heard nothing but disgust expressed ; she boldly renounces all marriage rites for her converts.' PAPER H, Pagb 258. Charges of removing Emigrants from New York to Upper Canada, and as far up the River Saint Clair or Detroit. Being the basis of a contract afterwards completed with Mr. Gait for the Canada Company ; showing li'^ expense of travelling from New York to Upper Canada by the Erie Canal. Mr. Charles Smith of New York states, that he would undertake to transport emigrants from that city on the terms subsequently stated. He remarks, however, that in addition to these prices the contractor would be en- titled to some compensation by way of commission, unless it were agreed to accept the overhead offer which is al'.o subjoined, of £, specific sum per individual, includ- ing all expenses. In the following estimates no allowance is made for compensation to the receiving agents at Albany, or at the Lake Ports. In some cases the employment of their own vessels would be deemed sufficient, but in others, especially for the sake of expedition, when the first vessel at hand is required to be chartered, they would m %^'U :v', ii; APPENDIX. lix nd the final irfectibility ; d to have a f Owen and ird but little, z" a popula- the intelli- pical labour ressed ; she )nvertB.' ew York to Saint Clair afterwards Company ; ew York to it he would city on the wever, that >uld be en- omraission, Dffer which ual, includ- made for 3 any, or at nt of their in others, the first hey would naturally expect some reward for their services. — 124 cents per individual, and 4 cents per cwt. for storage of the effects, would be satisfactory. So far as respects the arrangements of the conveyance of the settlers and their baggage upon this route, an early opinion of the coast would be very desirable, because the winter is the best season in which to make contracts with the carriers, who are then disengaged, and to secure efficient agents at the several places of transfer. This last is a matter of the first importance, for upon their fidelity and activity will depend in a great degree the prompt and safe removal of the emigrants, from their landing at New York till their arrival in Upper Canada. The following prices are given, under the impression that emigrants in considerable numbers will be forwarded at each time, otherwise they will be detained at the American port on lake Ontario, till an opportunity offers for the Canadian coast, which sometimes does not occur for several days. Such detention would very seriously increase the expense, but if the emigrants be forwarded in considerable numbers, the contractor or agent would engage vessels for crossing lake Ontario, to sail at stated periods from the Genessee river, and so arrange the departure from New York, that the arrival on lake Ontario should correspond with the sailing days of the passage schooners. On lake Erie the same precision of arrangement is not so indispensable, for on that lake steam-boats, which during the season afford abundant means of conveyance as far as Detroit, can at all times be provided. In the ensuing summer, it is intended to navigate lake Huron by a steam-boat from Detroit, so that, as the river Sable, which is navigable by boats for about thirty miles, will probably be found to penetrate into the heart of the Company's territory, there will be I '•. IS part of srest until may settle necessary equired. Dollars. en 45 « SO ol- • 20 /C»> • 50 )ne Dth 10 • 75 L's; • 32 ei- • 120 ol- • 3S • 25 • 5 »g» 10 ik. |h; Ih, 1 . 117 1 . 100 l05., or 660 APPENDIX. One yeafs outgoings and expenses. Girdling ten acres of woods, clearing out the underbrush and fern, 5 dollars per acre Seed wheat for the same (1^ bujshel per acre), at I dollar per bushel Sowing and harrowing of ditto .... Ten acres wheat sown after peas, ploughing 2 dollars per acre Seed as above, 9 dollars ; sowing and harrowing, 5 dollars Cradling and binding the 20 acres, at ^ dollar per acre Carting and stacking, 23 dollars Thieshing 360 bushels, at one-tenth of a dollar . Suppose ten acres of clover, sown the year before with oats, at 7 lbs. per acre, (often only three or four lbs. sown) Mowing first crop early clover for hay, f dollar per acre ; getting together, 1 dollar (it wanting no making), and hauling together. If dollar Mewing the second crop for seed, &c. Thieshing the seed, two bushels produce per acre, at one dollar per bushel . Ten acres ploughed for peas, 2 dollars per acre (often done for bj dollar) ; seed for ditto, three bushels (generally only two), at ^ dollar per bushel Sowing and harrowing, 5 dollars ; thrsehing 50 bushels, 3 dollars [The remainder, 150, give to hogs in the straw unthreshed, if the straw be not good for sheep and cattle (i. e. not got well); but if good, I would recommend it being given to the sheep, Ixix oO 9 5 20 14 30 23 27 8 35 35 20 35 319 :^l n •li u m Ixx APPENDIX. Brought forward , . . . lightly threshed, as the very best food to be had here for them, and which they are very fond of]. Four acres of oats for calves, sheep, milch cows, and horse, the seed three bushels per acre, at ^ dollar per bushel, 3 dollars ; ploughing, &c. 10 dollars Six acres corn, ploughing twice, 18 dollars ; planting and harrowing, 4 dollars ; two hoeings, 9 dollars ; ploughing between the rows, 2 dol- lars; husking, &c. 12 dollars; hauling, and threshing, and seed, 10 dollars Eight acres in timothy, or other grass, for hay, mowing, and stacking, as for clover Twelve acres in sheep pasture, two acres for po- tatoes, cabbages, turnips, and other vegetables for house (chiefly), sheep, calves, &c. ; hiring a stout boy at 5 dollars per month, and board for a year, to attend cattle, milk, &c. To the above expenses may be added one year's interest of the purchase money, yet unpaid ; being 6 per cent, on 700 dollars Dollars. 319 Produce of the 70 aci^es. Twenty acres of wheat, at eighteen bushels per acre (sometimes thirty), at f dollar per bushel Ten acres of clover seed, at two bushels per acre, f and seven dollars per bushel Six acres of Indian cor i, at 25 bushels per acre, 150 bushels, at ^dollar . . . . 13 65 24 100 42 Total 563 270 140 75 485 u Dollars. 319 s 13 65 24 100 42 'otal 563 270 140 75 485 APPENDIX. Ixxi Dollars. Brought forward .... 485 Thirty store pigs (for fattening next season) . 30 Thirty fat hogs, weighing, at least, 200 lbs. each (or one barrel), thirty barrels, at twelve dollars per barrel 360 Six cows, butter and cheese for summer . . 60 A yoke of fat oxen, 60 dollars (besides a cow or two killed for the house) . . . . 60 Twenty lambs, 20 dollars; and twenty fleeces of wool, 20 dollars 40 Geese, feathers, eggs, fowls, &c. . , . 10 One year's farm produce . . 1045 Ditto expenses . • , 563 Surplus 482 * With the beef and vegetables allowed above, 282 dol- lars will keep a family of four or five persons well during the year, leaving a clear profit of 200 dollars, or 45/., be- sides the improvement of the farm; and if hemp or tobacco were made part of the productions, the profits, piobably, would be larger. No one that is well ac- quainted with Canada will, I think, say that I have made a partial statement. Some may think I have stated the number of fat hogs on so small a farm in one season, too high, as there are but a very few farmers that fatten so many. I allow there are not many ; yet, as there are some that do and as I have allowed sufficient grain for the purpose, if there be any nuts at all in the woods, that objection, of course, falls to the ground. It would be to the interest of the Canadian farmers, particularly those in back settlements, to pay more attention than they now do, both to the breeding and feeding of hogs. There is too little spirit and taste for improvements, for want of a proper stimulus. As there is comparatively 1 ^'^ll Ix>:ii APPENDIX. l:ut little capital vested in farming pursuits, there are no 1( ading characters to introduce, or excite, a spirit of improvement.' — Pickering, p. 112. ii •il',: ^' PAPER K, Page 338. Summary relative to the Land Speculatio i by which the Genessee country and the westerntcrritory of New York were settled. — An original paper, communicated by Mr. Gait. The contrast between the prosperity with which the western territory of the State of New York is animated, ar.d the lethargy that retards the progress of Upper Canada^ i? very great. But this very contrast, v^hen contemplated with reference to the causes that have produced it, affords the strongest assurances of success to the Canada Company. Never yet has one single ca- pitalist entered Upper Canada, or prepared, as the Ame- ricans say, any part of the country for settlement. Whatever wealth is in the province has been derived from the ground by the efforts of individual toil ; where- as, in the State of New York, the case has been altoge- ther different. Capitahsts of the greatest means and resources, aided by a boldness unexampled in the history of colonization, have, with unparalleled rapidity, there given life and energy to the whole country, opened roads, excavated canals, and planted towns. By them alone the true character and value of wild land have been cor- rectly understood. There only has it been considered properly, as it truly is, a mere raw material ; and by them only has capital been employed on it as such, so as to render it lit for the immediate wants of man. In all re- spects, the fate of Upper Canada has been the reverse, from the poverty of ruined refugees first settled on it ; lere are no a spirit of ? by which >ry of New municated which the animated, of Upper •ast, vrhen that have of success I single ca- the Ame- ettlement. n derived 1 ; where- in altoge- eans and le history ity, there |ed roads, m alone 3een cor- k-sidered 1 by them so as to In all re- I reverse, rl on it ; APPKNDIX. Ixxiii and, in later times, it has been converted into an asylum for pauper emigrants. In consequence of this injudicious treatment, its advantages of equal soil and chmate have hitherto been thrown away ; and its present state affords a memorable and instructive lesson, how little unassisted manual industry can effect in a new country. There is thersfore room, and opportunity, and motive, for the Canada Company to acc^.iiplish much, and much is required from them ; for they may be sure that all their measures and doings will be carefully watched. No omission or fault will be overlooked ; they have before them the result of good management and bad, and the power to profit by the one and to avoid the other ; and if they do not accomplish what, under these circum- stances, even their sanguine friends expect, they may rest assured the entire blame will be fixed on the ma- nagement. The time and circumstances in which the Company was formed, have led many to regard it as the first of its kind, and consequently experimental ; but it is not so, for the record of royal charters affords numerous precedents of similar undertakings ; none of the old as- sociations, indeed, proposed so strict an adherence to commercial principles, but they gave rise to the latter speculations to which I particularly allude. Their origin and history I shall now proceed to state somewhat fully, referring the Court to the appendix for a chronological account of those chartered associations by which the foundations of the United States were oriofinally laid. Early in the seventeenth century, the spirit of coloniza- tion by public companies was in considerable activity. In the town of Plymouth, an association was formed, which took its origin from some suggestion I believe of the cele- brated Sir Francis Drake, called the Plymouth Company. To this association King James I,, by letters-patent under ^11 Ixxiv APPENDIX. * •1 '■M '■1 is :h the great seal, on the 3d of November, 1620, granted a tract of country in North America, on the shore of the Atlantic ocean, from the 40th to the 48th degree of northerly latitude, and extending of that breadth through the continent to the Pacific ocean. This tract of coun- try was called New England. That company, by deed of indenture under their common seal, on the 1 9th of March, 162S, conveyed to a company formed by Sir Henry Boswell and his associates, a part of the country which they had so received, consisting of more than Iwo degrees of latitude, extending through the whole conti- nent from the bottom of Massachusets Bay. This new company '^ was called the Massachusets Bay Company ; and under tliis grant the colony, now the State of Mas- sachusetts, was established. I find also that King Charles II., on the 30th of Oc- tober, 1659, by letters patent similar to those above-men- tioned, granted to his brother, James, Duke of York and Albany, all the country in North America from Nova Scotia on the north-east, the rivers of Canada on the north-west, to the east side of Delaware Bay on the south west, and the Atlantic ocear; on the south-east, with the exception of the tract which bad been granted by his grandfather to the Plymouth Company. Out of this grant the Duke of York and Albany assigned to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret that tract of land which is now the flourishing state of New Jersey. The re- mainder of the lands granted to the Duke constitutes the State of New York. Thus while those countries remained attached to the British crown, the jurisdiction of New York extended over them all, with the exception of that part which con- stituted the province of Massachusets. After the inde- pendence of the United States was acknowledged, how- ever, some differences arose between the states of New APPENDIX. Ixxv }, granted a ihore of the h decree of idth through ict of coun- iny, by deed the 19th of med by Sir the country ore than Iwo /vhole conti- . This new 1 Company ; ate of Mas- 30th of Oc- ! above-men- of York and from Nova ada on the m the south st, with the nted by his Out of this led to Lord land which The re- stitutes the hed to the V extended which con- r the inde- dged, how- t!S of New York and Massachusets respecting their boundaries. This led to a relinquishment on the part of the legislature of Massachusets, in favour of the general government of the United States, of lands belonging to their com- monwealth, which lay between the Hudson and the Mis- sissippi ; and Mr. Samuel Holton, and Mr. Rufus King, in pursuance of an arrangement formed, accordingly executed a deed of cession, which gave to the general government of the United States the soil and jurisdiction of the territory within the Massachusets charter, lying westward of certain points and places described in the deed of cession. By this arrangement the right of pre- emption to the fee-simple and inheritance from the na- tive Indians was vested in the State of Massachusets over all the tract of country which the States still re- tained, bounded on the north by lake Ontario, and com- prehending that tract to which I have so often referred, the Genessee country. The State of Massachusets, being thus entitled to dis- pose of that country, sold certain lands which had been purchased from the Indians, and also the right of pre- emption to purchase other Indian lands, to Messrs. Gorham and Phelps, for the price of 300,000/., payable in three yearly portions of 100,000/. each. Messrs, Gorham and Phelps having thus obtained a full and per- fect title to that tract of country, proceeded to make an actual survey thereof, and found that they had acquired by purchase about two millions of acres, for which they were to pay in three years 300,000/. This price for lands then totally uninhabited by a Christian population, very nearly equals that which the Canada Company has in fifteen years to pay for a greater quantity of land, which has all been surveyed, through which highways have been opened, a rapidly increasing population planted, and the various ramifications of law and magistrates established. i ^ Ixxvi APPEXDIX. The plan which Messrs. Gorham and Phelps adopted in the location of their gigantic speculation, — for such, under the circumstances of its formation, it must be de- scribed, — was exactly similar to that by which the lands of Canada have since been surveyed and located. They caused the whole to be intersected by anumber of marked lines and trees, at right angles, in such a manner as to divide the whole country into 102 townships, whereof 79 are of squares of six miles on each side, and 23 are irre- gular figures, owing to the obliquity of the boundaries. The tract being thus divided, Gorham and Phelps pro- ceeded to sell by townships, and actually did sell, or covenanted to convey, 52 townships to different persons in less than two years ; and on the 18th of November, 1790, they formed a contract with Mr. Robert Morris for all the remainder of their purchase. But it would appear by the manner in which they thus, in the course of two years from the date of their contract with the State of Massachusets, so hastily disposed of their lands, that they were not sufficiently prepared to sustain the burden of their great undertaking, nor were possessed of the means of waiting to see the result of the general progress of the country ; for it is on record, tl. t owing, as they themselves stated, to the heavy ex- penses of making their survey, expenses to which the Canada Company is not subjected, and to the credit they had given, they were unable to meet their first instal- ment of 100,000/., and an action was accordingly com- menced against them for the amount of their first bond. Out of that proceeding a new arrangement took place, by which ultimately, it would seem that, instead of taking the remainder of Gorham and Phelps' purchase, as Mr. Morris had consented to do, he engaged, by his agents, to take a tract of the same country from Jie government of Massachusets, containing about 500,000 acres; for Ips adopted , — for such, must be de- ;h the lands ited. They r of marked lanner as to whereof 79 23 are irre- boundaries. Phelps pro- did sell, or •ent persons November, bert Morris h they thus, eir contract disposed of )repared to nor were le result of on record, heavy ex- which the credit they irst instal- mgly com- irst bond. ook place, 1 of taking se, as Mr. lis agents, Dvernment cres : for APPENDIX. Ixxvii this he paid 50,000/., and by four other deeds, he also obtained a right of pre-emption to four several quanti- ties of 800,000 acres each; for the right of pre-emption alone, as the privilege to purchase lands from the Indians is called, he paid 55,000/. Mr. Morris thus by his proprietorial right to 500,000 acres, and by the right of pre-emption, in addition to that purchase, acquired over 2,400,000 acres, became, as soon as he obtained the concession of the Indians under his grant of pre-emption, territorial possessor of nearly 3,000,000 of acres ; and it is from that vast spe- culation that subsequently Sir William Pulteney, the Holland Company, Mr. Parish, and many others, ac- quired those lands under which the Genessee settlements have been made. With respect to the fate of those inferior purchases, the result has been various. It is admitted on all hands, that in the commencement great errors in the management were committed. This, the Canada Com- pany, profiting by their experience, may avoid. One of the earliest agents of the Holland Company was a Co- lonel Boone, who was so ignorant of the true principles of colonization, by which alone the value of his trust could be improved, that he began, it is said, by erecting large establishments for manufacturing sugar from the maple tree all the year round, and by embarking in other undertakings which are far more profitably left in the hands of private persons. Mr. WilUamson, to whose care the Pulteney purchase was consigned, acted some- what better, but still with such an injudicious prodigality of expenditure, that, I have been told, it was at one time a question with the heirs of Sir William Pulteney whe- ther the whole speculation should not be abandoned. Subsequently, however, on examining further into what Mr. AVilliamson had done, and what was then the state Ixxviii APPENDIX. of the country, they changed their mind*;, and even made a provision of 20,000/. for his family, in consideration of the services he had rendered to the estate ; and the Piil- teney purchase now remits about 100,000 dollars per annum to this country. The Holland Company having mixed itself v\'ith loans 'md other financial undertakings, it is now difficult to«?r^y what are its profits ; but in so far as the lands are concerned, they have of late years be- come greatly productive. The success of the land speculation of Mr. Parish, by being mixed up, like that of the Holland Company, with other undertakings, is liable to question. The fact, how- ever, is, that the greater part of the capital invested by him at Ogdenburgh has been expended in manufacturing estai^lishments which have not succeeded; and such has been the general management of his lands, that I was informed, from various authentic sources, that the people were retirim: from them, and settling themselves in the better-administered country to thewestward. But whatever may have been the consequences of the specu- lation to Messrs. Gorham and Phelps, to Mr. Morris, and to their immediate successors, the entire attainment of the object which they had in view cannot be ques- tioned. In a period not much exceeding thirty years, a wilderness has been cleared and settled, with an increase of population of more than 500,000 persons ; many large and flourishing towns have arisen — no less, it has been computed, including the villages, than 212. Manufac- tures, on an extensive scale, have been established ; a canal has been excavated, intersecting the country for 385 miles, and opening the navigation from New York to the Lakes of Canada. In a word, these lands, which were purchased little more thati thirty years ago for less than 2.S. an acre, are now daily selling for four, live, aaid seven dollars an acre, and in many places for more than double that price. APPENDIX. Ixxix even made ieration of id the Piil- ioUars per any having lertakings, it in so far ! years be- Parish, by pany, with fact, how- iivested by lufacturing and such nds, that I IS, that the themselves vard. But the specu- r. Morris, ttainment be ques- ;y years, a n increase any large has been iManufac- ilished; a untry for ew York ids, which for less five, a>nd ore than Chronological View of the Settlements made by Asso- ciations under Royal Charter. 1606. In this year the London Company, by virtue of letters patent from James I., sent out a colony, and bei^an a settlement at James's River. 1607. The London Company sent out a second colony, and founded James's Town. This was the first town planted on colonial principles in America. In the same year the Plymouth Company sent out and settled a small colony at the mouth of the Sargadoc River, under Captain Popham, their president. 1620. A colony of Puritans settled at New Plymo.ith, under the Plymouth Company. 1622. The Scots began a settlement in Nova Scotia under the auspices of Sir William Alexander, the poet, afterwards the Earl of Stirling. 1628. Massachusets colonized. 1633. Maryland colonized by an association formed under a patent granted by Lord Baltimore. 1635. Rhode Island settled by an association or company under Roger Williams. 1682. Pennsylvania, settled under Charles, by William Penn. 1732. Georgia, by the Enghsh, under a patent for a com- pany formed under General Oglethorpe. 1820. Up to this period the United States had purchased and acquired from the Indians 191,778,530 acres, and paid, or rather appropriated in payment for the same, 2,542,916 dollars; these lands are now in the practice of being sold at a dollar and a half per acre, and the proceeds applied in aid of the public revenue, and in the construction of public works. Of these lands, 18,601,930 acres m .Hi ■i I Ixxx APPENDIX. have been sold, and the sum of 22,229,180 dol- lars have already been paid into the treasury of the United States, leaving still due, upon which the title-deeds are withheld as security, 22,000,65 7 dollars. The purchase of land from the Indians by the British Government, is estimated at 10,000,000 of acres, for 7,491,190 dollars, for which the Indinus receive ' the St. Lawrence, &c. 2ud, by New York and Albany 3rd, expenses, distances, &c. Fares, &c. Tables of 51, 305 . 203 . 225 . 250 34 & 256 Upper Canada, Geographical Sketch of • . 109 ■ , Eastern Section of • • IIG , Central Section of . • • 150 . ^ Western Section of . .176 , Commissioner Richards's Report on . 206 Utica Town, notice of . . • • 243 Waterford Town, notice of • Weather in the Canadas Welland Canal, measurement of, &c. . Western Section of the Upper Province . District • • West Point Town, notice of . 230 . 273 264, 306 . 176 106, 108 . 226 Page . 1G9 . 34G das . 280 . 256 188, :iOO ise of Ap. n. Ill 1 . Ixii poor Ap. ix 100, :501 s . C3 . 210 . 45 »8, 205, 301 51, 305 . 203 . 225 . 250 34 & 256 iNDF.v. Ixxxvii l*a^^e Winds, periodical in Canada . . . 274 Winter, the Canadian . . . 272, 278 Women wanted in Canada . . . 36 Wright, IMr. Pliilemon, particular account of iiis first settlement of the Township of Hull, &c. 307, & Ar. xi York Town, notice of 107 THE E\D. 1. 1 )n 109 116 150 176 206 243 . 239 . 273 264, 306 . 176 106, 108 . 226 >^ 'fv.„, LONDON Printed by Wir.LiAM Clowes, Stamford Street. I- r r " f - - I 7.« /•< Lt'rttfon . Pti^'t^ft^ ijv h'yfl/t*jAii/ti JI7/ri . fio^ft/ Kn-/lti»,^sw^^r #"''-' n MAP r • ■ OF FEl^ AND LOWEB. J N.Lher. lilt" I.itiioii. uBinjs— .3Har tifu