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1 2 3

PETER. THE CHIEF.

CHARL]

THE

BACKWOODS OF CANADA:

BEING

LETTERS FROM THE WIFE OF AN
EMIGRANT OFFICER,

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE DOMESTIC ECONOMY (jF
BRITISH AMERICA.

L M ■ s

■r

-.■ fli '^13

NEW EDITION.

LONDON:
CHARLES KNIGHT & CO., 22, LUDGATE STUEEl

1846.

T73

2i^"/

CONTENTS.

p«««

ADVBKTiaiMBIfT

LETTER I.

Departure from Greenock in the Brig Laurel. — Fit-
ting-up of the Vessel. — Boy Passenger. — Sea Pros-
pect. — Want of Occupation and Amusement. — Cap-
tain's Goldfinch. .....

II.

Arrival off Newfoundland. — Singing of the Captain's
Goldfinch previous to the discovery of Land.— Gulf
of St. Lawrence. — Scenery of the River St. Lawrence.
— Difficult navi^tion of the River. — French Fisher-
man engaged as a Pilot. — Isle of Bic. — Green Island.
— Regular Pilot engaged. — Scenery of Green Island.
— Gros Isle. — Quarantine Regulations — Emigrants
on Gros Isle. — Arrival off Quebec. — Prospect of the
City and Environs. .....

in.

Departure from Quebec. — Towed by a Steam- vessel. —
Fertility of the Country. — Different Objects seen in
sailing up the River- — Arrival off Montreal. — The
Rapids. . . . . .25

IV.

Landing at Montreal. —Appearance of the Town. — Ra-
vages of the Cholera. — Charitable Institutions in
Montreal. — Catholic Cathedral. — Lower and Upper
Town. — Company and Conversation at the Hotel. —

U CONTENTS.

Writer attacked with the Cholera. — Departure from
Montreal in a Stage-coach. — Embark at Lachine on
board a Steam-vessel. — Mode of traveiliuju; alternately
in Steam- vessels and Stages. — Appearance of the
Country. — Manufactures. — Ovens at a distance from
the Cottages. — Draw-wells. — Arrival at Cornwall. —
Accommodation at the Inn. — Departure from Corn-
wall, and Arrival at Prescott. — Arrival at Brock-
ville.— Ship-launch there. — Voyage through Lake
Ontario. — Arrival at Cobourg.

Pajje

LETTER V.

Journey from Cobourg to Amherst. — DiflBculties to be
encountered on first settling in the Backwoods. — Ap-
pearance of the Country. — Kice Lake. — Indian
Habits. — Voyage up the Otanabee. — Log-house, and
its Inmates. — Passage-boat. — Journey on foot to
Peterborough. , . , . .

Peterborough. — Manners and Langoaffe of the Ameri-
cans. — Scotch Engineman. — Description of Peter-
borough and its Environs. — Canadian Flowers. —
Shanties. — Hardships suffered by First Settlers. —
Process of establishing a Farm.

6.5

VIL

Journey from Peterborough. — Canadian Woods. —
Waggon and Team. — Arrival at a Log-house on the
banks of a Lake. — Settlement and first Occupations

VIIL

Inconveniences of first Settlement. — Difficulty of obtain-
ing Provisions and other necessaries. — Snow-storm
and Hurricane. — Indian Summer, and setting in of
Winter. — Process of clearing the Laud. . , 95

CONTENTS.

Ill

LETTER IX.

l*ai;r

Loss of a Yoke of Oxen. — Construction of a Lop-ln^iisc.
— Glaziers' and Carpenters' "work. — Desoriptiou of a
new Log-house. — Wild Fruits of the Country. —
Walks on the Ice. — Situation of the House. — I'ake
and surrounding Scenery. . . . . lOo

Variations in the Temperature of the Weather. — Eleo-
trieul Phenomenon. — Canadian Winter. — Country
deticient in Poetical Associations. — Sugar-nuikinp. —
Fishing Season. — Mode of Fishing. — Duck-shooting.
— Family of Indians. — Fapuu.sts and their Cradle-
cases.— Indian Manufactures. — Frogs. . .11.")

Emigrants suitable for Canada. — Qualities requisite to
ensure success. — Investment of Capital. — Useful Ar-
ticles to be brought out. — Qualifications and Occupa-
tions of a Settler's Family. — Deficiency of Patience
and Energy in some Females. — Management of the
Dairy. — ChCv-'se. — Indian Corn, and its Cultivation.
— Potatoes. — Kates of Wages.

XII.

131

"A Logging Bee." — Burning ot the Log heaps. — Crops
for the Season. — Farming Stock. — Comparative Va-
lue of Wheat and Labour. — Choice of Land, and
relative Advantages. — Clearing Land. — Hurricane in
the Woods. — Variable Weather. — Insects.

143

XIIL

Health enjoyed in the rigour of Winter.— Inconveni-
ence suffered from the brightness of the Snow. —
Sleighing. — Indian Orthography. — Visit to an Indian
Encampment. — Story of an Indian. — An Indian
Hunchback. — Canadian Ornithology. 1* . 1.52

CONTKNTS.

LETTEH XIV.

I'aife

Utility <»f liotanieal Knowledge. — The Fire-Weed. —
Sursaparilltt Plants. — Magnificent Water-Eily. —
J{ioe-Hed8. — Indian StrawWry. — Scarlet Colum-
bine. — Ferns. — Grasses • • • .172

XV.

Recapitulation of Various Topics. — Progress of Settle-
ment. — Canada, the Land of Hope. — Visit to the
Family of a Naval Officer. — Squirrels. — Visit to and
Story of an Emigrant Clergyman. — His early Diffi-
culties. — The Temper, Disposition, and Habits of
Emigrants essential Ingredients in Failure or Success 190

XVI.

Indian Hunters. — Sail in a Canoe. — Want of Libraries
in the Hackwoods. — New Village. — Progress of Im-
provt-raent. — Fire-flies. , , . .211

XVII.

Ague.— Illness of the Family. — Probable Cause.—
lloot-house. — Setting-in of Winter. — lusect termed a
'♦Sawyer.' — Temporary Church . . . 222

XVIIL

busy Spring — Increase of Society and Comfort.— IJe-
colleciions of Home. — Aurora Horealis. . . 229

Notes ...... 23.'i

ADVERTISEMENT.

Tins volume was published in the * Library of Enter-
taining Knowledge* in 1836. Neither its usefulness
nor its interest arc diminished in 1846. Tlie authoress,
in her original introduction, says : — " The writer of th6
following pages has endeavoured to afford every possible
information to the wives and daughters of emigrants of
the higher class who contemplate seeking a home amid
our Canadian wilds. Truth has been conscientiously her
object in the work, for it were cruel to write in flatter-
ing terms calculated to deceive emigrants into the belief
that the land to which they are transferring their families,
their capital, and their hopes, is a land flowing with milk
and honey, where comforts and affluence may be ob-
tained with little exertion. She prefers honestly repre-
senting facts in their real and true light, that the female
part of the emigrant's family may be enabled to look
them firmly in the face ; to find a remedy in female in-
genuity and expediency for some difficulties ; and, by
being properly prepared, encounter the rest with that
high-spirited cheerfulness of which well-educated fe-
males often give extraordinary proofs. She likewise
wishes to teach them to discard everything exclusively
pertaining to the artificial refinement of fashionable life

ADVERTISKMENT.

in England ; and to point out that, by devoting the
inoncv consumed in these incumbrances to articles of
real use, which cannot be readily obtained in Canada,
they may enjoy the pleasure of superintending a plea-
sant, well-ordered home. She is desirous of giving
them the advantage of her three years' experience, that
they may pro|K?rly apply every part of their time, and
learn to consider that every pound or pound's worth be-
longing to any member of an out-coming emigrant's
family, ought to be sacredly considered as capital^ which
must make proper returns either as tlie means of l)rini:-
ing increase in the shape of income, or, what is still
better, in healthful domestic comfort.

" It will be seen, in the course of this work, that the
writer is as earnest in recommending ladies w ho belong
to the higher class of settlers to cultivate all tlie mental
resources of a superior education, as she is to induce
them to discard all irrational and artificial wants and
mere useless pursuits. She would willingly direct their
attention to the natural history and botany of this new
country, in which they will find a never-failing source of
anuisement and instruction, at once enlightening and
elevating the mind, and serving to fill up the void left by
the absence of those lighter feminine accomplishments,
the practice of which are necessarily superseded by im-
perative domestic duties. To the person who is capable
of looking abroad into the beauties of Nature, and
adoring the Creator through his glorious works, are
opened stores of unmixed pleasure, which will not per-
mit her to be dull or unhappy in the loneliest part of
our VVesteni Wilderness. The writer of these pages
speaks from experience, and would be pleased to find

ADVERTISr.MKNT.

that the simple sources from which she has hersolf
drawn pleasure, have cheore*! the solitude of liituro
female sojourners in the backwootls of Canada.

*' As a peneral remark to all sorts and conditions of
settlers, she would observe, that the strugrgle up the hill
of Independence is often a severe one, uiid it outrht not
to be made alone. It must be aided and encouraircd by
the example and assistance of an active and cheerful
partner. Children should be tau«rht to appreciate the
devoted love that has induced their |>arents to overcome
the natural reluctance felt by all persons to ipiit for ever
the land of their forefathers, the scenes of their earliest
and happiest days, and to become aliens and wanderers
in a distant country, to form new ties and new friends,
and begin, as it were, life's toilsome march anew, that
their children may be placed in a i-ituation in which,
by industry and activity, the substantial comforts of life
may be permanently obtained, and a landed property
handed down to them, and their children after them.

'* Young men soon become reconciled to this country,
which offers to them that chief attraction to youth, —
great personal liberty. Their employments are of a
cheerful and healthy nature ; and their amusements,
such as hunting, shooting, fishing, and boating, are pecu-
liarly fascinating. But in none of these can their sisters
share. The hardships and difficulties of the settler's
life, therefore, are felt peculiarly by the female part of
the family. It is with a view of ameliorating these pri-
vations that the following pages have been written, to
show how some difficulties may be best borne and others
avoided. For those who, without intending to share in
the privations and dangers of an emigrant's life, have a

.':i

. P
) I i.

ADVEETISEMEKT.

rational curiosity to become acquainted ^ith scenes and
manners so different from those of a long-civil ize<i
country, it is hoped that this little work will atiord somo
amusement, and inculcate some lessons not dCToid at
moral instruction/*

•:

THE

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Letter I.

Departure from Greenock in the Brig Laurel. — Fitting-iip
of the Vessel. — Boy Passenger. — Sea Prospect. — Want of
Occupation and Amusement. — Captiin's Goldfinch.

Brig Laurely July 18, 1832.

I RECEIVED your last kind letter, my dearest mother,
only a few hours before we set sail from Greenock. As
you express a wish that I should give you a minute
detail of our voyage, I shall take up my subject from
the time of our embarkation, and write as inclination
prompts me. Instead of having reason to complain of
short letters, you will, I fear, find mine only too prolix.

After many delays and disappointments, we succeeded
at last in obtaining a passage in a fast-sailing brig, the
Laurel, of Greenock ; and favourable winds are now
raj)idly carrying us across the Atlantic.

The Laurel is not a regular passenger-ship, which I
consider an advantage, for what we lose in amusement
and variety we assuredly gain in comfort. The cabin is
neatly fitted up, and I enjoy the luxury (for such it is,
compared with the narrow berths of the state cabin) of
a handsome sofa, with crimson draperies, in the great
cabin. The state cabin is also ours. We paid fifteen
pounds each for our passage to Montreal. This was
nigh, but it includes every expense ; and, in fact, we
had no choice. The only vessel in the river bound for

' b'.

)!'

;

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Canada was a passcngor-sliip, literally swarmiiij? with
emigrants, chiefly of* the lower class of llig^hJaiMJers.

The only passengers besides ourselves in the Laurel
arc the captain's nephew, a pretty yellow-haired lad,
about fifteen years of age, who works his passage out,
and a young gentleman who is going out as clerk in a
merchant's house in Quebec. He seems too much
wrapped up in his own affairs to be very communicative
to others ; he walks much, talks little, and reads less ;
but often amuses himself by singing as he paces the
deck, " Home, sweet home," and that delightful song
by Camoens, " Isle of beauty." It is a sweet song,
and I can easily imagine the charm it has for a home-
sick heart.

I was much pleased with the scenery of the Clyde ;
the day we set sail was a lovely one, and I remained on
deck till nightfall. The morning light found our vessel
dashing gallantly along, with a favourable breeze,
through the north channel ; that day we saw the last of
the Hebrides, and before night lost sight of the north
coast of Ireland. A wide expanse of water and sky is
now our only pros|)ect, unvaried by any object save the
distant and scarcely to be traced outline of some vessel
just seen at the verge of the horizon, a speck in the im-
mensity of space, or sometimes a few sea-fowl. I love
to watch these wanderers of the ocean, as thev rise and
fall with the rocking billows, or flit about our vessel ;
and often I wonder whence they came, to what distant
shore they are bound, and if they make the rude wave
their home and resting-place during the long day and
dark night ; and then I recall to mind the words of the
American poet, Bryant, —

'* He who from zone to zone
Guides through the boundless air their certain flight,

In the long way that I must tread alone
Will guide my steps aright."

Though we have been little more than a week on
board, I am getting weary of the voyage. I can only
compare the monotony of it to being weather-bound in

}

VOYAGE TO QUEBEC.

sonic country inn, I have already made myself ao-
(|Mainted with all the books worth reading in the ship's
library ; unfortunately, it is chiefly made up with old
novels and musty romances.

When the weather is fine I sit on a bench on the
deck, wra|)ped in my cloak, and sew, or jiace the deck
with my husband, and talk over plans for the future,
which in all probability will never be realized. I really
do pity men who are not actively employed : women
have always their needle as a resource against the over-
whelming weariness of an idle life ; but where a man is
confined to a small space, such as the deck and cabin of
a trading vessel, with nothing to see, nothing to hear,
nothing to do, and nothing to read, he is really a very
j)itiable creature.

There is one passenger on board that seems perfectly
hap|)y, if one may judge from the liveliness of the songs
with which he greets us whenever we approach his cage.
It is " Harry," the captain's goldfinch — **the captain's
mate^* as the sailors term him. This pretty creature
has made no fewer than twelve voyages in the Laurel.
" It is all one to him whether his cage is at sea or on
land, he is still at home," said the captain, regarding
his little favourite with an air of great affection, and
evidently gratified by the attention I bestowed on his
bird.

I have already formed a friendship with the little cap-
tive. He never fails to greet my approach with one of
his sweetest songs, and will take from my fingers a bit
of biscuit, which he holds in his claws till he has
thanked me with a few of his clearest notes. This
mark of acknowledgment is termed by the steward,
*' saying grace."

If the wind still continues to favour us, the captain
tells us we shall be on the banks of Newfoundland in
another week. Farewell for the present.

,' • h\-

, I ■

II"

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Letter II.

Arrival off Newfoundland. — Singing of the Captain's Gold-
finch previous to the discovery of Land. — Gulf of St.
Laurence. — Scenery of the lliver St. Laurence. — Difficult
navigation of the lliver. — French Fisherman engaged as
a Pilot. — Isle of 15ic. — Green Island. — Regular Pilot en-
gaged. — Scenery of Green Island. — Gros Isle. — Quaran-
tine Regulations. — Emigrants on Gros Isle. — Arrival off
Quebec. — Prospect of the City and Environs.

Brig Laurel, River St. Laurence,
August 6, 1832.

I LEFT off writinoc, my dear motlier, from this simple
cause, — I had nothing* to say. One day was but the
echo, as it were, of the one that preceded it ; so that a
page copied from the mate's log would have proved as
amusing, and to the full as instructive, as my journal,
))rovided I had kept one during the last fortnight.

So barren of events has that time been that the sight
of a party of bottle-nosed whales,* two or three seals,
and a porpoise, ])ossibly on their way to a dinner or tea
party at the North Pole, was considered an occurrence
of great importance. Every glass was in requisition as
soon as they made their a[)pearance, and the marine
monsters were well nigh stared out of countenance.

We came within sight of the shores of Newfound-
land on the 5th of August, just one month from the day
we took our last look of the British isles. Yet though
the coast was brown, and rugged, and desolate, I hailed
its appearance with rapture. Never did any thing seem
60 rei'reshing and delicious to me as the land breeze that
came to us, as I thought, bearing health and gladness on
its wings.

iJE

GULF OF ST. LAURENCE.

I had noticed with some curiosity the restless activity
of the captain's bird some hours previous to " hind "
bcinjr proclaimed from the look-out station. He sanj^
continually, and his note was Ion«rer, clearer, and more
thrillinir than heretofore ; the little creature, the captain
assured me, was conscious of the ditt'erence in the air as
we ai)proached the land. " I trust almost as much to
my bird as to my glass," he said, "and have never yet
been deceived.'*

Our proprress was somewhat tedious after we entered
the erulf. Ninety miles across is the entrance of this
majestic river ; it seems an ocean in itself. Half our
time is spent porinir over the great chart in the cabin,
which is constantly being rolled and unrolled by my
husband to gratify my desire of learning the names of
the distant shores and islands which we pass.

We are without a j)ilot as yet, and the captain being a
cautious seaman is unwilling to risk the vessel on this
dangerous navigation ; so that we proceed but slowly on

our voyage.

Awjust 7. — We were visited this morning by a beau-
tiful little bin!, not much larger than our gold-crested
wren. I hailed it as a bird of good omen — a little mes-
senger sent to bid us welcome to the New W^orld, and I
felt almost a childish joy at the sight of our little visitor,
'J'here are happy moments in our lives when we draw
the greatest pleasure from the most trifling sources, as
children are pleased with the most simple toy.

From the hour we entered the gulf a perceptible
change had taken place in all on board. The captain, a
man of grave, quiet manners, grew quite talkative. My
husband was more than usually animated, and even the
thoughtful young Scotchman became positively an enter-
taining person. The crew displayed the most lively
zeal in the performance of their duty, and the goldfinch
sang cheerily from dawn till sunset. As for me, Hope
was busy in my heart, chasing from it all feelings of
doubt or regret that might sadden the present or cloud
the future.

I am now able to trace distinctly the outline of the

'■ '!"
■|;M

■ 'i-

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

coast on the southern side of the river. Sometimes the
high lands are suddenly enveloped in dense clouds of
mist, which are in constant motion, rolling along in
shadowy billows, now tinted with rosy light, now white
and fleecy, or bright as silver, as they catch the sun-
beams. So rapid are the changes that take place in this
fog-bank, that perhaps the next time I raise my eyes I
behold the scene changed as if by magic. The misty
curtain is slowly drawn up, as if by invisible hands, and
the wild, wooded mountains partially revealed, with
their bold rocky shores and sweeping bays. At other
times the vapoury volume dividing, moves along the
valleys and deep ravines, like lofty pillars of smoke, or
hangs in snowy draperies among the dark forest pines.

I am never weary of watching these fantastic clouds ;
they recall to me the pleasant time I spent in the High-
lands, among the cloud-capped hills of the north.

As yet, the air is cold, and we experience frequent
squalls of wind and hail, with occasional peals of
thunder ; then again all is serene and bright, and the air
is filled with fragrance, and flies, and bees, and birds
come flitting past us from the shore.

Attgust 8. — Though I cannot but dwell with feelings
of wonder and admiration on the majesty and power of
this mighty river, I begin to grow weary of its immen-
sity, and long for a nearer view of the shore ; but at
present we see nothing more than long lines of pine-
clad hills, with here and there a white speck, which
they tell me are settlements and villages to the south ;
while huge mountains divested of verdure bound our
-view on the north side the river. My admiration of
mountainous scenery makes me dwell with more interest
on this side the river, and I watch the progress of culti-
vation among these rugged and inhospitable regions with
positive pleasure.

During the last two days we have been anxiously
looking out for a pilot to take us up to Quebec. Various
signals have been fired, but hitherto without success ; no
pilot has condescended to visit us, so we arc somewhat
in the condition of a stage without a coachman, with

SCKJfEBY OF THB BIVEB.

only some inexperienced hand to hold the reins. I
already perceive some manifestations of impatience ap-
pearing among us, but no one blames the captain, who is
very anxious about the matter ; as the river is full of
rocks and shoals, and presents many difficulties to a

g.'rson not intimately acquainted with the navigation,
csides, he is answerable for the safety of the ship to
the underwriters, in case he neglects to take a pilot on
board.

While writing the above I was roused by a bustle on
(leek, and going up to learn the cause was informed that
u boat with the long looked-for pilot had put otf" from
the shore ; but, after all the fuss and bustle, it proved
only a French fisherman, with a poor ragged lad, his as-
sistant. The captain with very little difficulty per-
>uaded Monsieur Paul Breton to pilot us as far as Green
Island, a distance of some hundred miles higher up the
river, whore he assured us we should meet with a regu-
lar pilot, if not before.

I have some little difficulty in understanding Monsieur
Paul, as he speaks a peculiar dialect; but he seems
good-natured and obliging enough. He tells us the corn
is yet green, hardly in ear, and the summer fruits not
yet ripe, but he says, that at Quebec we shall find
apples and fruit in plenty.

As we advance higher up the river the country on
both sides begins to assume a more genial aspect. Patches
of verdure, with white cottages, are seen on the shores
and scattered along the sides of the mountains ; while
here and there a village church rears its simple spire,
distinguished above the surrounding buildings by its
glittering vane and bright roof of tin. The southern
shores are more populous but less picturesque than those
of the north ; but there is enough on either side to de-
light the eye.

This morning we anchored off the Isle of Bio, a pretty
low island, covered with trees and looking very pleasant.
I felt a longing desire to set my foot on Canadian
ground, and must own I was a little disappointed when

!i\

■'I

; I ,^,

, I

BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

the captain advised me to remain on board, and not at-
tempt to make one of the party that were preparing? to
go on shore : my husband seconded the captain's wish,
so I contented myself with leaninj^ over the shin's side
and feasting my eyes on the rich masses of foliage as
they waved to and fro with tlie slight breeze that agi-
tated them. I had soon reason to be thankful that I had
not followed my own wayward will, for the afternoon
])rovod foggy, and on the return of the boat I learned
that the ground was swampy just where the party landed,
and they sunk over their ankles in water. They re-
ported the island to be covered knee-deep with a most
luxuriant growth of red clover, tall trees, low shrubs, and
an abundance of wild flowers.

That I might not regret not accompanying him, my
husband brought me a delightful bouquet, which he had
selected for me. Anjong the flowers were fragrant red
roses, resembling those we call Scotch burnet-leaved,
with smooth shining leaves and few if any thorns ; the
blue flower called Pulmonaria or Lungwort, which I
gathered in the Highlands ; a sweet pea, with red
blossoms and wreaths of lovely pale green foliage ; a
white orchis, the smell of which was quite delicious.
Besides these were several small white and yellow
flowers, with which I was totally unacquainted. The
steward furnished me with a china jar and fresh water,
so that I shall have the pleasure of a nosegay during the
rest of the voyage. The sailors had not forgotten a
green bough or two to adorn the ship, and the bird-cage
was soon as bowery as leaves could make it.

Though the weather is now very fine, we make but
slow progress ; the provoking wind seems determined to
blow from every quarter but the right. We float up
with the flood tide, and when the tide fails cast anchor,
and wait with the best grace we can till it is time to
weigh anchor again. I amuse myself with examining
the villages and settlements through the captain's glass,
or watching lor the appearance of the white porpoises
tumbling among the waves. These creatures are of a
milky whiteness, and have nothing of the disgusting look

GREEN ISLAND.

; a

ICIOUS.

cllow

The

I'ater,

ig the

-cage

le but
led to

ining
^lass,

)ises
lof a

look

of the black ones. Sometimes a seal pops its droll head
up close beside our vessel, looking very much like Sin-
bud's little old man of the sea.

It is fortunate for me that my love of natural history
enables me to draw amusement from objects that are
deemed by many unworthy of attention. To me they
present an inexhaustible fund of interest. The simplest
weed that grows in my path, or the flv that flutters
about me, are subjects for reflection, aJmiration, and
delight.

We are now within sight of Green Island. It is the
largest, and I believe ono of the most populous, we have
passed. Every minute now seems to increase the beauty
of the passage. Far as the eye can reach you see the
shore thronged with villages and farms in one continuous
line. On the southern side all are gay and glittering
with the tin roofs on the most imj)ortant buildings ; the
rest are shingles, whitewashed. This I do not like so
well as the plain shingled roofs ; the whiteness of the
roofs of the cottages and homesteads have a glaring
effect, and we look in vain for that relief to the eye that
is produced by the thatched or slated roofs. The shin-
gles in their natural state soon acquire the appearance of
slates, and can hardly be distinguished from them. What
would you say to a rose-coloured house, with a roof of
the same gaudy hue, the front of the gay edifice being
garnished with grass-green shutters, doors, and veran-
dah ? No doubt the interior is furnished with corre-
sponding taste. There is generally one or more of
these smart buildings in a Canadian village, standing
forth with ostentatious splendour above its more modest
brethren.

August 11. — Just below Green Island we took on
board a real pilot, whom, by the way, I do not like half
so well as Monsieur Paul. He is a little bit pragma-
tical, and seems evidently proud of his superior know-
ledge of the river. The good-natured fisherman relin-
quished his post with a very good grace, and seems
already excellent friends with his more able rival. For
my part I was very sorry when the new pilot came on

jJ::

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

board : the first thing he did was to hand us over a

Iiuniphlct, containing regulations from the Hoard of
lealth at Quebec respecting the cholera, which is raging,
he tells us, like a fearful plague both at that place and
Montreal.

These regulations positively f«)rbid the captain and the
pilot to allow any person, whether of the crew or \ms"
sengers, to quit the vessel until they shall have ])ass(!d
examination at the quarantine ground, under the risk of
incurring a severe penalty.

This was very annoymg ; as the captuin, that very
morning, had pro[>osed taking us on shore at a lovely
spot called Crane Island, to spend the afternoon, while
we waited for the return of the tide, at the house of a
Scotch gentleman, the owner of the prettiest settlement
I had yet seen, the buildings and grounds being laid out
with great taste.

The situation of this island is of itself very beautiful.
Around it are the waters of the St. Laurence, b<^aring
on its mighty current the commerce of several nations ;
in the foreground are the populous and lively settlements
of the southern shores, while behind and far far above it
rise the lofty range of mountains to the north, now
studded with rural villages, pleasant farms, and culti-
vated fields. The island itself showed us smooth lawns
and meadows of emerald verdure, with orchards and
corn-fields sloping down to the water's edge. After a
confinement of nearly five weeks on board, you may
easily suppose with what satisfaction we contemplated
the prospect of spending a few hours on this inviting
spot.

We expect to reach the quarantine ground (Gros
Isle) this evening, where the pilot says we shall be de-
tained three days. Though we are all in good health,
yet, having sailed from an infected port, we shall be
detained on the quarantine ground, but not allowed to
land.

August 12. — We reached Gros Isle yesterday even-
ing. It is a beautiful rocky island, covered with groves
uf beech, birch, ash, and fir-trees. There are several

JBJL iiu i i Jii ' i

EMIGRANT VE8SKLS.

over a
oard of
irajrinp,
uce and

and the

or jws-

))ass<?d

e risk of

lat very
a lovely
ti, while
jse of a
ttlement
laid out

oautiful.
bt^aring
nations :
;lement3
above it
h, now
d culti-
1 lawns
s and
fter a
u may
plated
viting

(Gros

)e de-

lealth,

(all be

)'ed to

leven-
roves
jveral

vessels lyinpr at anehor close to the shore ; one bears the
melancholy synil>ol of disease, the yellow flap: ; she is a

1)assenger-i«hij). and has the small -|)ox an<l measles among
ler crew. \Vhcn any infectious complaint api)ears on
board, the yellow flag is hoisted, and the invalids con-
veyed to the cholera hospital or wooden building, that
has been erected on a rising bank above the shore. It
is surrounded with i)a]isadoesand a guard of soldiers.

There is also a temj)orary fort at some distance from
the hospital, containing a garrison of soldiers, who are
there to enforce the quarantine rules. These rules are
considered as very defective, and in some respects quite
absurd, and are productive of many severe evils to the
unfortunate emigrants.*

When the passengers and crew of a vessel do not
exceed a certam number, they are not allowed to land
under a penalty, both to the cajitain and the ottender ;
but if, on the contrary, they should exceed the stated
number, ill or well, passengers and crew must all turn
out and go on shore, taking with them their bedding and
clothes, which are all spread out on the shore, to be
washed, aired, and fumigated, giving the healthy every
chance of taking the infection from the invalids. The
sheds and buildings put up for the accommodation of
those who are obliged to submit to the quarantine laws,
are in the same area as the hospital.

Nothing can exceed the longing desire I feel to Xtc

* It is to be hoped that some steps will be taken by
Government to remedy these obnoxious laws, which have
repeatedly entailed those very evils on the unhappy emi-
grants that the Board of Health wish to avert from the colony
at large.

Many valuable lives have been wantonly sacrificed by
placing the healthy in the immediate vicinity of infection,
besides subjecting them to many other sufferings, expenses,
and inconvenience, which the poor exile might well be
spared.

If there must be quarantine laws — and I suppose the evil
is a necessary one — surely every care ought to be taken to
render them as little hurtful to the emigrant as possible.

■. 1(1 '•

I'. '

BACKWOODS OF CANADA,

allowed to land and ex[ilorc this jiicturcsqiic island ; tho
weather is so fine, and the waving groves of green, the
little rocky bays and inlets of the island, appear so tempt-
ing ; but to all my entreaties the visiting surgeon who
came on board returned a decided negative.

A few hours after his visit, however, an Indian basket,
containing strawberries and raspberries, with a large
bunch of wild flowers, was sent on board for me, with tho
surgeon's compliments.

I amuse myself with making little sketches of the fort
and the surrounding scenery, or watching the groups of
emigrants on shore. We have already seen the landing
of the passengers of three emigrant ships. You may
imagine yourself looking on a fair or crowded market,
clothes waving in the wind or spread out on the earth,
chests, bundles, baskets, men, women, and children,
asleep or basking in the sun ; some in motion busied
with their goods, the women employed in washing or
cooking in the open air, beside the wood-fires on the
beach ; while parties of children are pursuing each other
in wanton glee, rejoicing in their newly-acquired liberty.
Mixed with these you see the stately form and gay
trappings of the sentinels, while the thin blue smoke of
the wood fires, rising above the trees, heightens the pic-
ture and gives it an additional effect. On my husband
remarking the picturesque appearance of the scene before
us to one of the officers from the fort who had come on
board, he smiled sadly, and replied, *' Believe me, in
this instance, as in many others, 'tis distance lends en-
chantment to the view." Could you take a nearer
survey of some of those very picturesque groups which
you admire, I think you would turn away from them
with heart-sickness; you would there behold every
variety of disease, vice, poverty, filth, and famine —
human misery in its most disgusting and saddening form.
Such pictures as Hogarth's pencil only could have pour-
tray ed, or Crabbe's pen described.

August 14. — We are once more under way, and
floating up the river with the tide. Gros Isle is just
five-and-twenty miles below Quebec: a favourable

( 21 )

nd ; tho
icn, the
jtempt-
!on who

basket,
a larpfc
Yith the

the fort

rou))s of

landing

Du may

market,

3 earth,

lildren,

busied

ling or

on the

[h other

iberty.

id gay

loke of

e pic-

lusband

before

me on

JO, in

Ids en<

Inearer

[which

them

[every

line —

form.

ipour-

and
just
Irable

111-."", -'i

l'-

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

breeze would carry us up in a lew hours ; as it is we
cat! only make a little way by tacking from side to side
when we lose the tide. I rather enjoy this way of pro-
ceeding, as it gives one a close view of both sides the
river, which narrows considerably as we approach nearer
towards Quebec. To-morrow, if no accident happens,
we shall be anchored in front of a place rendered inter-
esting,^ both by its historical associations and its own
native beauty of situation. Till to-morrow, then, adieu.

I was reckoning much on seeing the falls of Mont-
morenci, which are within sight of the river; but the
sun set, and the stars rose brilliantly before we ap-
proached within sound of the cataract ; and though I
strained my eyes till they were weary of gazing on the
dim shadowy scene around me, I could distinguish no-
thing beyond the dark masses of rock that form the
channel through which the waters of the Montmorenci
rush into the St. Laurence.

At ten last night, August the 15th, the lights of
the city of Quebec were seen gleaming through the
distance like a coronet of stars above the waters. At
half- past ten we dropped anchor opposite the fort, and I
fell asleep dreaming of the various scenes through which
I had passed. Again I was destined to be disappointed
in my expectations of going on shore. The visiting
surgeon advised my husband and me by no means to
land, as the mortality that still raged in the town made
it very hazardous. He gave a melancholy description of
the place. *' Desolation and woe and great mourning —
Rachel weeping for her children because they are not,"
are words that may well be applied to this city of the
pestilence.

Nothing can be more imposing than the situation of
Quebec, built on the sides and summit of a magnificent
rock, on the highest point of which (Cape Diamond)
stands the fortress overlooking the river, and command-
ing a most superb view of the surrounding scenes. I
did, indeed, regret the loss of this noble prospect, the
equal of which I suppose I shall never see. It would
have been something to have thought on and recalled in

laftl

iW(

JLliJiJIl'lU HH r l

Mttai

QUEBEC.

it is we
e to side
r of pro-
sides the
h nearer
happens,
ed inter-
its own
n, adieu,
f Mont-
but the
we ap-
lough I
^ on the
uish no-
orm the
tmorenci

ights of

jgh the

TS. At

t, and I

which

pointed

visiting

ans to

n made

tion of

fning —

[e not,"

of the

Ition of

lificent

Imond)

Imand-

les. I

jt, tlie

[would

ed in

after years, when buried in the solitude of the Canadian
woods.

The opposite heights, being the Point Levi side, are
highly j)icturesque, though less imposing than the rock
on which the town stands. The bank is rocky, preci-
])itous, and clothed with trees that sweep down to the
water's edge, excepting where they are cleared away to
give place to white cottages, gardens, and hanging
: orchards. But, in my opinion, much less is done with
this romantic situation than might be effected if good
taste were exercised in the buildings, and on the disposal
of the ground. How lovely would such a spot be ren-
dored in England or Scotland I Nature here has done
ali, and man but little, excepting sticking up some ugly
wooden cottages, as mean as they are tasteless. It is,
however, very possible there may be pretty villas and
houses higher up, that are concealed from the eye by the
intervening groves.

The river is considered to be just a mile across from
Point Levi to the landing-stairs below the custom-house
in Quebec ; and it was a source of amusement to me to
watch the horse ferry-boats that ply between the two
shores. The captain told me that there were not less
than twelve of these comical-looking machines. They
each have their regular hours, so that you see a constant
succession going or returning. They carry a strange
assortment of passengers : well and ill-dressed ; old and
young ; rich and poor ; cows, sheep, horses, pigs, dogs,
fowls, market-baskets, vegetables, fruit, hay, corn, any-
thing and everything you will see by turns.

The boat is flat, railed round, with a wicket at each
end to admit the live and dead stock that go or are taken
on board ; the centre of the boat (if such it can be called)
is occupied by four lean ill-favoured hacks, who walk
round and round, as if in a threshing-machine, and work
the paddles at each side. There is a sort of pen for the
cattle.

I am told there is a monument erecting in honour of
Wolfe, in the governor's garden, looking towards the St.

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

J'S

Laurence, and to be seen from Point Levi : the inscrip-
tion has not yet been decided upon.*

The ca[)tain has just returned from the town. He
very kindly brought on board a i)asket of ripe apples for
me, besides fresh meat, vegetables, bread, butter, and
milk. The deck is all bustle with custom-house officers,
and men unloading a part of the ship's freight, whicli
consists chiefly of rum, brandy, sugar, and coals, for
ballast. We are to leave Quebec by five o'clock this
evening. The British America, a superb steam-vessel of
three decks, takes us in tow as far as Montreal. I must
now say farewell.

* Since the period in which the author visited Quebec,
Wolfe's monument has been completed. Lord Dalhousic,
with equal good feeling and good taste, has united th- lan es
of the rival heroes Wolfe and Montcalm in the dedication of
the pillar — a liberality of feeling that cannot but prove grati-
fying to the Canadian French, while it robs the 13ritish war-
rior of none of his glory.

The monument was designed by Major Young of the 97th
Regiment. To the top of the surbase is fourteen feet from
the ground : on this rests a sarcophagus, seven feet three
inches high, from which rises an obelisk forty-two feet eight
inches in height, and the apex is two feet one inch. The
dimensions of the obelisk at the base are six feet by four feet
eight inches. A prize medal was adjudged to J. C. Fisher,
LL.D., for the following inscription on the sarcophagus : —

Mortem Virtus communem
Famam Historia
Monumentum Posteritas
Dedit.*

On the surbase is an inscription from the pen of Dr. Mills,
stating he fact of the erection of the monument at tlie ex-
pense of Lord Dalhousie, Governor of Lower Canada, to
commemorate the death of Wolfe and Montcalm, Sept.13 and
14, 1759. Wolfe fell on the field ; and Montcalm, who was
wounded by the single gun in the possession of the English,
died on the next day after the battle,

* His courage gave him death, history fame, and posterity
a monument.

DEPARTURE FROM QUEBKC.

Letter III.

Departure from Quebec. — Towed by a Steam-vessel. — Fer-
tility of the Countr}'. — Different Objects seen in sailing up
the River. — Arrival off Montreal. — The Rapids.

Brig Laurel, St. Laurence, below Montreal,
August 17, 1832.

It was after sunset, and a glorious evening, when we left
Quebec, which we did in company with a fine steam-
vessel, whose decks and gallery were crowded with
passengers of all descriptions. A brave sight she was to
look upon ; ploughing the bright waters which foamed
and sung beneath her paddles ; while our brig, with her
white sails, followed like a butterfly in her wake. The
heavens were glowing with the richest tints of rose and
saffron, which were reflected below on the bosom of the
river ; and then came forth the stars, in the soft blue
ether, more brilliant than ever I saw them at home, and
this, I suppose, I may attribute to the superior purity of
the atmosphere. My husband said this evening re-
sembled the sunsets of Italy.

Our voyage has proved a very pleasant one ; the
weather moderately warm, and the air quite clear. We
have within the last few days emerged from a cold,
damp atmosphere, such as we often experience in Britain
in the spring, to a delightful summer, moderated by light
breezes from the river.

The further we advance up the coimtry the more
fertile it appears. The harvest is ripening under a more
genial climate than that below Quebec. We see fields
of Indian com in full flower : it is a stately-looking crop,
with its beautiful feathery top tinted with a rich purple

' tA

ill

S 4i )

t" 'III

BACKWOOi^S OF CANADA.

■f :.tr*" *•'» •'"; Si-it;

. J was anxious to obtain « n • '

Further back a rliffi. . '" *

tion appea.^'^lht t 1'^^ f buiWm^ and oultiva
handsome places nnW • ^"^ ^ame-housp^ n^« 7?"

APPROACH TO MONTREAL.

ivaving m
I beautiful
y sheath ;
t, and has
sis, mice,

! banks of
?. I be-
both pro-
d in such

I situated
I St. liau-
Willlam
re several
er public
md, how-
Jems verv

lough

pultiva-
really

If trees

|aring.

Irently
jnery.

The country between Quebec and Montreal has all the
aj)pearance of having been under a long state of culti-
vation, especially on the right bank of the river. Still
there is a great portion of forest standing which it will
take years of labour to remove.

We |)assed some little grassy islands on which there
were many herds of cattle feeding. 1 was puzzling njy-
self to know how they got there, when the captain told
me it was usual for farmers to convey their stock to these
island pastures in flat-bottomed boats, or to swim them,
if the place was fordable, and leave them to graze as long
as the food continued good. If cows are put on an island,
within a reasonable distance of the farm, some person
goes daily in a canoe to milk them. While he was telling
me this, a log-canoe with a boy and a stout lass with tin
pails, paddled across from the bank of the river, and j)ro-
ceeded to call together their herd.

We noticed some very pleasant rural villages to the
right as we advanced, but our pilot was stupid, and could
not, or would not, tell their names. It was Sunday
morning, and we could just hear the quick tinkling of the
church bells, and distinguish long lines of caleches, light
waggons, with equestrians and pedestrians hastening
along the avenue of trees that led to the churchyard ;
besides these, were boats and canoes crossing the river,
bound to the same peaceful haven.

In a part of the St. Laurence, where the channel is
rendered difficult bv shoals a'ld sand-banks, there occur
little lighthouses, looking somewhat like miniature water-
mills, on wooden posts, raised above the flat banks on
which they are built. These droll little huts were in-
habited, and we noticed a merry party, in their holiday
clothes, enjoying a gossip with a party in a canoe below
them. They looked clean and smart, and cheerful
enough, but I did not envy them their situation, which
I should think far from healthy.

Some miles below Montreal the appearance of the
country became richer, more civilized, and populous;
while the distant line of blue mountains, at the verge of
the horizon, added an interest to the landscape. The

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

•^^

t^^

I 'A

rich tint of ripened harvegt formed a beautiful contrast
with the azure sky and waters of the St. Laurence. The
scenery of the river near Montreal is of a very different
character to that below Quebec ; the latter possesses a
wild and rugged aspect, and its productions are evidently
those of a colder and less happy climate. What the
former loses in grandeur and picturesque effect, it gains
in fertility of soil and warmth of temperature. In the
lower division of the province you feel that the industry
of the inhabitants is forcing a churlish soil for bread ;
while in the upper, the land seems willing to yield her
increase to a moderate exertion. Remember, these are
merely the cursory remarks of a passing ti*aveller, and
founded on no personal experience.

There was a feeling of anxiety and dread upon our
minds that we would hardly acknowledge to each other
as we drew near to the city of the pestilence, as if
ashamed of confessing a weakness that was felt ; but no
one spoke on the subject. With what unmixed delight
and admiration at any other time should we have gazed
on the scene that opened upon us.

The river here expands into a fine extensive basin,
diversified with islands, on the largest of which Montreal
is situated. •

The lofty hill from which the town takes its name
rises like a crown above it, and forms a singular am;
magnificent feature in the landscape, reminding me
of some of the detached hills in the vicinity of Inver-
ness.

Opposite to the Quebec suburbs, just in front of the
rapids, is situated the island of St. Helens, a spot of in-
finite loveliness. The centre of it is occupied by a grove
of lofty trees, while the banks, sloping down to the
water, seem of the most verdant turf. The scene was
heightened by the appearance of the troops which g:?./-
rison the island.

The shores of the river, studded with richly culti-
vated farms ; the village of La Prairie, with the little
island of St. Ann's in the distance ; the glittering steeples
and roofs of the city, with its gardens and villas, — looked

hi
w]

oti

vj^sm

RAPIDS BELOW MONTREAL.

lovely by the softened glow of a Canadian suninior
sunset.

The church bells ring:ing for evening ])raycr, with the
hum of voices from the shore, mingled not inharmoniously
with the rush of the rapids.

Tliese raj)ids are caused by a descent in the bed of the
river. In some ])laces this declination is gradual, in
others sudden and abrupt. Where the current is broken
})y :uasses of limestone or granite rock, as at the Cas-
cades, the Cedars, and the Long Sault, it creates whirl-
j)Ools an<l cataracts. But the rapids below Montreal are
not of this magnificent character, being niadeperce])til)le
only by the unusual swiftness of the water, and its sur-
face being disturbed by foam, and waving lines and dim-
ples. In short, I was disappointed in my expectation of
seeing something very grand ; and was half angry at
these pretty-behaved quiet rapids, to the foot of which
we were towed in good style by our faithful consort the
Brilish America.

As the captain is uncertain how long he may be de-
tained at Montreal, I shall send this letter without fur-
ther delay, and write again as soon as possible.

•It

' M

• .

■ i

ii-

' II' I

■I

1 .i' . >'

■It

H
%\

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Letter IV.

Landing at Montreal. — Appearance of the Town. — Ravages
of the Cholera. — Charitable Institutions in Montreal. —
Catholic Cathedral. — Lower and Upper Town. — Company
and Conversation at the Hotel. — Writer attacked with the
Cholera. — Departure from Montreal in a Stage-coach. —
Embark at Lachine on board a Steam-vessel. — Mode of
travelling alternately in Steam-vessels and Stages. — Ap-
pearance of the Country. — Manufactures. — Ovens at a
distance from the Cottages. — Draw-wells. — Arrival at
Cornwall. — Accommodation at the Inn. — Departure from
Cornwall, and Arrival at Prescott. — Arrival at Brock-
ville. — Ship-launch there. — Voyage through Lake Onta-
rio. — Arrival at Cobourg.

Nelson Hotel, Montreal, August 21.

Onck more on terra firma, dearest mother: what a
strange sensation it is to tread the land once again, free
from the motion of the heaving waters, to which I was
now, in truth, glad to bid farewell.

By daybreak every creature on board was up and busily
preparing for going on shore. The caj)tain himself
obligingly escorted us, and walked as far with us as the
hotel, where we are at present lodged.

We found some difficulty in getting on shore, owing
to the badness of the landing. The river was full of
lloatiiig timbers, between which it required some skill
to guide the boat. A wharf k now being built — not be-
fore it was needed.*

We were struck by the dirty, narrow, ill-paved or un-
paved streets of the suburbs, and overpov/ered by the

* Some excellent wharfs have since been completed.

III

APrEARAXCE OF MONTREAL.

—Ravages
[outreal. —
-Company
d with the
e-coach. —
—Mode of
iges. — Ap-
vens at a
\.rrival at
ture from
at Brock-
ike Orita-

iist 21.

what a
lin, free
I was

d busily
himself
as the

owing

fiiJI of

skill

lot be-

)r un-

py the

noisome vapour arising from a deep open fosse thui ran
along the street behind the wharf. This ditch seemed
the receptacle for every abomination, and sufficient in
itself to infect a whole town with malignant fevers.*

I wjis greatly disappointed in my first acquaintancre
with the interior of Montreal ; a place of which travellers
had said so much. I could compare it only to the fruits
of the Dead Sea, which are said to be fair and tempting to
look upon, but yield only ashes and bitterness when
tasted by the thirsty traveller.!

I noticed one peculiar feature in the buildings along
the sul)url) facing the river — that they were mostly fur-
iiished with broad wooden balconies from the lower to the
upper story ; in some instances they surrounded the
houses on three sides, and seemed to form a sort of outer
chamber. Some of these balconies were ascended by
flights of broad stairs from the outside.

* This has since been arched over. A market has been
erected above it.

f The following description of Montreal is given by
M'Gregorin his British America, vol. ii. p. 504: — "Jk'twixt
the royal mountain and the river, on a ridge of gentle eleva-
vation, stands the town. Including the suburbs, it is more
extensive than Quebec. Both cities differ very greatly in
appearance ; the low banks of the St. Laurence at Montreal
want the tremendous precipices frowning over them, and all
that grand sublimity which characterizes 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 of the city. The whole of the
lower town is covered with gloomy-looking houses, having
dark iron shutters ; and although it may be a little cleaner
than Quebec, it is still very dirty ; and the streets are not
only narrow and ill-paved, but the footpaths are interrupted
by slanting cellar-doors and other projections.

" It is impossible (says Mr. Talbot, in his Five Years'
Residence) to walk the streets of Montreal on a Sunday or
holiday, when the shops are closed, without receiving the
most gloomy impressions ; the whole city seems une vast
prison ;" — alluding to the window-shutters and outer doors of
iron, that have been adopted to counteract the effects of fire.

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

" t

>:>;

L:-;

ss^

lu!

:• I I

I romcniber when a child dreaminpf of houses so con-
structed, and fancying them very delightful ; and so I
tliink they might be rendered, if shaded hy climbing
shrubs, and adorned with flowers, to represent a hang-
ing-garden or sweet-scented bowery walk. JJut nothing
of this kind gladdened our eyes as we toiled along the
hot streets. Every house of public resort was crowded
from the top to the bottom with emigrants of all ages,
English, Irish, and Scotch. The sounds of riotous mer-
riment that burst from them seemed but ill-assorted with
the haggard, careworn faces of many of the thoughtless
revellers.

The contrast was only too apparent and too painful a
subject to those that looked u})on this show of outward
gaiety and inward misery.

The cholera had made awful ravages, and its devas-
tating effects were to be seen in the darkened dwellings
and the mourning habiliments of all classes. An ex-
pression of dejection and anxiety appeared in the faces of
the few persons we encountered in our walk to the hotel,
which plainly indicated the state of their minds.

In some situations whole streets had b»rn nearly depo-
pulated ; those that were able fled panic-stricken to the
country villages, while others remained to die in the
bosom of their families.

To no class, I am told, has the disease proved so fatal
as to the poorer sort of emigrants. Many»of these, de-
bilitated by the privations and fatigue of a long voyage,
on reaching Quebec or Montreal indulged in every sort
of excess, especially the dangerous one of intoxication ;
and, as if purposely paving the way to certain destruction,
they fell immediate victims to the complaint.

In one house eleven persons died, in another seven-
teen ; a little child of seven years old was the only crea-
ture left to tell the woful tale. This poor desolate orphan
was taken by the nuns to their benevolent institu-
tion, where every attention was paid that humanity could
suggest.

The number both of Catholic and Protestant benevo-
lent societies is very great, and these are maintained with

CHOLERA.

so con-
nd so I

jlimbing"
IV haiig-
riothinjj
cnig the
rowded
11 ages,
us mer-
ed witli
iglitlcss

ainful a
3Utward

dcvas-
vd lings
An ex-
faces of

hotel,

^depo-
to the
in the

;o fatal
36, de-

action,

seven-

crea-

|rphan

istitu-

Icould

Inevo-
with

a liberality of* principle that does honour to both parties,
who seem indeed actuated bv a fervent sinrit of Chris-
tian charity.

I know of no place, not even excej)ting London itself,
where the exercise of benevolent feelings is more called
for than in these two cities, Quebec and Montreal. Here
meet together the unfortunate, the imj)rovident, the
helpless orphan, the sick, the aged, the poor virtuous
man, driven by the stern hand of necessity from his
country and his home, perhaps to be overtaken by sick-
ness or want in a land of strangers.

It is melancholy to reflect that a great number of the
poorest class of emigrants that perished in the reign of
the cholera have left no trace by which their sorrowing
anxious friends in the old country may learn their fate.
The disease is so sudden and so violent that it leaves no
time for arranging worldly matters ; the sentinel comes
not as it did to llezekiah, " Set thine house in order, for
thou shalt die, and not live."

The weather is sultry hot, accompanied by frequent
thunder-showers, which have not the ettect one would
expect, that of cooling the heated atmosphere. I ex-
perience a degree of languor and oppression that is very
distressing, and worse than actual pain.

Instead of leaving this place by the first conveyance
for the upper province, as we fully purposed doing, we
find ourselves obliged to remain two days longer, owing
to the dilatoriness of the custom-house officers in over-
looking our packages. The fact is that everything and
everybody are out of sorts.

The heat has been too oppressive to allow of my walk-
ing much abroad. I have seen but little of the town be-
yond the streets adjacent to the hotel : with the excep-
tion of the Catholic Cathedral, I have seen few of the
public buildings. With the former I was much pleased :
it is a fine building, though still m an unfinished state,
the towers not having been carried to the height ori-
ginally intended. The eastern window, behind the altar,
is seventy feet in height by thirty-three in width. The
effect of this magnificent window from the entrance, the

BACKwoow or cAK^n*.

fn«n k ^^"tish traveller Ti. P "P^^^^^o" on the
lnot...j ^ '^^^^^ With erardens anW i ' ^ ^"^ houses

top to bottom ,he"^i,,ai^dcS "'^r'' " P^^tete
»' groves and Canadian scenerv fA "'' "Z'^'-^'' '''nitetion
of the cuy the river, andaPlh"""'^'" «"Pe'-b v ew

SCENERY or MONTREAL.

:55

and its rity with ifs streets and public buildiupfs, lie at
your I'l'ot : with such ohjiKts before you the eye may
well be charmed with the scenery of Aiontreal.

We receive the jrreatest attention from th(» master of
the hotel, who is an Italian. The servants of the hr)usc
are very civil, and the company that we meet at the or-
dinary very respectable, chiefly emiu:rants like our.-el\e<,
with some lively French men and women. The table is
well supj>lie<l, and the charges for board and lodging one
dollar per day each.*

1 am aunised with the variety of characters of which
our talile is composed. Some of the emigrants appear
to entertain the most sangtiine hopes of success, appear-
ing to foresee no ditiicuUies in carrying their schemes
into effect. As a contrast to these there is one of my
countrymen, just returned from the western district on
his way back to Englan<l, who entreats us by no means
to go further up this horrid coimtry, as he emphatically
styles the Upper Province, assuring us he would not li\c
in it for all the land it contained.

He had been induced, hy reading Cattermole's
jmmphlet on the subject of Emigration, to quit a good
farm, and, gathering together what property he possessed,
to embark for Canada. Encouraged by the advice of a
friend in this country, he purchased a lot of wild land in
the western district; "but, sir," said he, addressing my
husband with much vehemence, *' 1 found I had been
vilely deceived. Sucli land, such a country — I would
not live in it for all I could see. Why, there is not a
drop of wholesome water to be got, or a potato that is fit
to eat. I lived for two months in a miserable shed
they call a shanty, eaten up alive with mosquitoes. I
could get nothing to eat but salted pork, and, in short,
the discomforts are unbearable. And then all my farm-
ing knowledge was quite useless — people know nothing

about farming in this country

1^'

hv, it would have

broken my heart to work among the stumps, and never

* This hotel is not of the highest class, in which the
cliarge is a dollar and a half per day. — Ed.

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

and the little one iS'u, I "'.""g'" "f mv poor »^f„
.-condition, have LgLd tt I'v''' ^'"^'""' bettS^^^

"ought hei-outfroiithpnn,^f . At ''«'"■' to havo

I'l-'^e, not so good as «• o of n 5 " "I ^"&'''"'' ^ such a

^» I shall just go home and HtT''?"'^* "'•^tables, and

;o"'s what sortofacou'ntr. *(.••''''? * ^^^ "" my neigh-
'"•ow up their fi,.l ?"?"y tbis ,s they are all ern,;;,!"

, " ''""'just go home- in,) jct J , *"""^ stab es, and
•ours what sortofacou'ntr. *(.••''''? * ^^^ "" my neigh-
''.'■ow up their farms and eom^L'^ 'beyare allerazi„|to
"lino again." "" ""'"^ 'o, never trust a word of

it was tn n,^ ^ ,.

. "o"'"- ' — ^" "uoi a word oi

-tf hi?: orthear:/?:ir'' p^-^^- p-c„targ„ed

^"''1 ho done: heCi trT^^'l'"" '''''' ««d That
they stayed an hour inaWu^ ''^^ t'^ "'<''•'' foo's if
execrating those pereonsTh'^^i '"'.""' '' and ended bv
home bylheir false 7,^L ^° deceived the ,„.0Dle I

l-l- ai^ the adva't^g: ™S"t fi?l"'" "" '" ' ^«-
the disadvantages, as tt; might Llld"^ * ^•''""« ^''h
-rersons are ant in AiJ-^.^ "O-

;e deceived," saiTm^VuS • ''f r.^'^ • »^ '^«'" as to
their minds on any one subieet ' • ii""^ having once fixed

those things that accord v^thlhliW-'r*'?.'' «"'' Relieve
ihis vouno- mor. "^"^,'"eir wishes."

finding aJi thrngfas f^an;"'? ""^ disappointed in „ot
had never reflected on the sub^T"* T '' ^ome. U^
heen so foolish as to sunn! T^' "'' ''<> '^""'d not have
fie")ties in his fi"t ouLTfn teTtT" ^"^?"""''- "<> d^-
" e are prepared to meet w^th f """."* '" 'he woods
dure rnnsirlo™!.!- . ^ec with manv ohafani^, .„ . "

!;''d''?"^;yi:rmoti7 1 wJ t'l". ?y '-' 'e«er I
bysimnsethe '-ollowingday Lh!''.'?"''' '<'«^<' Montreal

o 7 , but m this we were doomed

ILLNESS OF THE AUTHORESS.

to be disappointed, and to experience the truth of thosci
words: "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou
knowest not what an hour may bring forth." Early that
very morning, just an hour before sunrise, I was seized
with the symptoms of the fatal malady that had made so
many homes desolate. I was too ill to commence my
journey, and, with a heavy heart, heard the lumbering
wheels rattle over the stones from the door of the
hotel.

I hourly grew worse, till the sister of the landlady, an
excellent young woman, who had previously shown mo
irreat attention, persuaded me to send for a physician ;
and my husband, distracted at seeing me in such agony,
ran off to seek for the best medical aid. After some little
delay a physician was found. I was then in extreme
torture ; but was relieved by bleeding, and by the vio-
lent fits of sickness that ensued. I will not dwell mi-
nutely on my sufferings, suffice to say, they were in-
tense ; but God, in his mercy, though he chastened and
afflicted me, yet gave me not over unto death. From
the females of the house I received the greatest kindness.
Instead of fleeing affrighted from the chamber of sick-
ness, the two Irish girls almost quarrelled which should
be my attendant ; while Jane Taylor, the good young
woman I before mentioned, never left me from the time
I grew so alarmingly ill till a change for the better had
come over me, but, at the peril of her own life, supported
me in her arms, and held me on her bosom, when I was
struggling with mortal agony, alternately speaking peace
to me, and striving to soothe the anguish of my poor
afflicted partner.

The remedies applied were bleeding, a portion of
opium, blue pill, and some sort of salts — not the common
Epsom. The remedies proved effectual, though I
suffered nmch from sickness and headache for many
hours. The debility and low fever that took place of
the cholera, obliged me to keep my bed some days.
During the two first my doctor visited me four times a
day ; he was very kind, and, on hearing that 1 was the
wife of a British oflBcer emigrating to the Upper Pro-

C 3

III . J pr.

' ill

ft III 'I
'■■ffc

i V''

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

^'ice, he seemed more th»„

co/ery, evincW a svm„«7f. Z''^'" '"'^rested in mv re

several days, I wfs atlast Jo„"'""'^. pnfine^nt of
convalescent state to beg?n* P™".°""^ed in a suiiieientJy

weak that I „.as seareely^ble t^ sCo J' """!='' ^"" «»

■I he sun had not vet ril„ t ^"I'Port myself,
tafee ns to Laehine-^l fi^,^?" ">«. «*«/c that was (o
drove up to the door and „ ?".? '""''« «'' our route
place in which our hCs ori^'^'^^u'^'"''' ft'-cwell t" «'
those of pleasure leT W.TTl '"«' ""-«" "any a„d
a reat deal of kindnei frot Vh '"''^'^'•' "^^P^^nced
though perfect strane-Pr« I. 7 ""'*'' around us anrf
puality tor which'^l^f^^ t ofTen "b '"""' ,"' "■« "-
omitted, m my former iJtJr, n " °*^" celebrated I
an acouaintance w"h a hth. '"^ ^°" '""^«e formed
th's place, who ^iffordJ^fiiTrT^'" merchaTin
ation, and introduced Ts t!T "" v' °^ "^'"■'" in'o m"
ad accomplished young wonl n"^-' * ^^^-^ elegant

tufbed state, and there was the • ^P'i*' '" "'«!'• per"

bnn^mg to our mindrM^retVl''".^- "^ «'• A»ne's,

Wells,ngatSaintAnnTsout^^'?-^''T '"'«' «ong
1 he bank of the St r „ Partwg hymn "

Jay, U higher here than at m""?' f^ "^'ch o„r road
brushwood on the summit "''''•'' ""'^ ''""led whfa
narrow gullcys. The ""la' neo"""""'-^ '"•'"«"> with
^aruly or light loam. I noHce^fu "* .^ ^o-'I^ see, was
first tune twining amon" u "^ "''; "''d vine for thp
raspberry bushes, too a„d^a Sv.f ''''''"^^- There were
flower we call A^ronVp-oldi' '"?" °' t^"" fa" yelW
white love-everlastina- fh! "''' " ««*«'3</o and thi

made of by the Freth ^H' *''"* ''>« '^hafi It:
tombs of their friends, and wlllh'lh^'''''^ *" in th^
the Americans call it ii/eXerlttg X''!! i^'^^

6 ) *«is»o a tall purple-

■'' /■ -f, .vi

» *

LAcnnnc.

in my re-
3ry grate-
ement of
ifficientJy
^h stiJl so

•

at was to
lir route,
veil to a
any, and
erienced
us, and,
the hos-
ated. I
i formed
'hant in
in form-
elegant
hort ac-
it their

ng the

|t to see
t chain

r per-

nne's,

song:

|r road

with

, was

ir the

were

jllow

the

are

the
\elle ;
rple-

sf)ikcd valerian, that I observed growing in the fields
among the corn, as plentiful as the bugloss is in our
light sandy fields in England.

At Lachine we quitted the stage and went on board
a steamer, a fine vessel elegantly fitted up with every
accommodation. I enjoyed the passage up the river ex-
ceedingly, and should have been delighted with the
journey by land had not my recent illness weakened me
so nuich that I found the rough roads very unpleasant.
As to the vehicle, a Canadian stage, it deserves a much
ligher character than travellers have had the candour to
give it, and is so well adapted for the roads over which
it passes that I doubt if it could be changed for a more
suitable one. This vehicle is calculated to hold nine
persons, three back, front, and middle ; the middle seat,
which swings on broad straps of leather, is by far the
easiest, only you are liable to be disturbed when any of
the passengers choose to get out.

Certainly the travelling is arranged with as little
trouble to the traveller as possible. Having paid your
fare to Prescott you have no thought or care. W hen
you quit the steam-boat you find a stage ready to receive
you and your luggage, which is limited to a certain pro-
I)ortion. When the portage is passed (the land carriage),
you find a steam- vessel ready, where you have every
accommodation. The charges are not immoderate, con-
sidering the comforts you enjoy.

In addition to their own freight, the steamers gene-
rally tow up several other vessels. We had three
Durham boats at one time, beside some other small craft
attached to us, which certainly afforded some variety, if
not amusement.

With the exception of Quebec and Montreal, I must
give the preference to the Upper Province. If not on
so grand a scale, the scenery is more calculated to
please, from the appearance of industry and fertility it
displays. I am delighted, in travelling along the road,
with the neatness, cleanliness, and comfort of the cot-
tages and farms. The log- house and shanty rarely
occur, having been supplanted by pretty frame-houses,

^ f if 'I

'' m. • ■

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

ami "'•^•'ards, binding down LT,h'' ""^^^ ^^tations
pPl'es, plums, and thp aT • "" " "''^ harvest of
'"tie scarlet apples so ofterrr„T''' """'^ ''-«" 'M
among our sweetmeats at home ^ ^ "' " "■«' P'-«^«"e

J^oii see none of* thn •
r"'«wies. No ragged dirtT ."'' T/"^ <"• «« attendant
"' m^d or dust; but minv'.,?!'"^ children, dabblfn^

OraiUed locks, while the vounZr' -l """^ht eyes and
the green turf or on tho fh Pf.^""'* ""ere seated on

■^ There "\ '"'*• ''"'"'"^ and sh,;,,^

spinning-wheeb'thlt are S P''='"':«sq"e in the great
"•ng the wool, and f irf '" ""* '^"""fy for InTn
our Canadian iasseVthe ' fnt^^ '° "^ ^'"d^ed aSg
or cal<:ulated to show off Z ^ ""i^ '"°''<' becomin/
fine hgure than spinniL at h! T'""?' advantages of "a
does not sit, but Ulfcs to 1h r ""^ *''«•''• The spins „r
one hand while with he oThlr^"' ^"ing the ^^-^ wth

I often noticed, as we n.I i i, T ""« "heel,
hanks of yarn of diftlLf „ 1 ^^ *''« cottage farms

^en or orchard fen4eoX?tr ''^"^'"/o" The
of colours, green, blue, pum^ ' u'"''^ ^'''"•« «" manner
jA civd landlady, at whosef, ' ^"'"'"' ''«'' and white
horses, told m ■ theL hanks 7;" '"^ ^'''PP^'' "> ehangt
then dved by the good wL IT ""r ""^t ^P"" a.fd
cLh"°r.; Sheshow^^'^ som''p''''?'"{-*V«'"?«'^nt
dirl 'h'"*"''' T^^y '"""^ed "erv well t!*"' '"'"'^-sp"n
I,r„i^"'"' *«"'<"'' bein- tjfe n '^ ^' "'^^ " dullish

^fee.'"'-'-" ^^ -de-^rdl^n^;!;:

htVe^y"a-^hi^^^^^^^^^^

weH^nd comfitabl/Iored'"^ """ "'''"''' *» -« ihom

a -^^t.^'nlllle-:^'^- y;^^^^^^^ so thriving

/ jeaisag-0, nothing but

SPl JiNl>'G-WH EELS. — OVENS,

Indian hunting-grounds. The industry cf men, and
many of them poor men, that had not a rood of land
of their own in their own country, has etlected this
change."

1 was much gratified by the reflection to which this
good woman's information gave rise. *' We also are
going to purchase wild land, and why may not we see
our farm, in process of time," thought I, " equal these
fertile spots ? Surely this is a blessed country to which
we have emigrated," said I, pursuing the pleasing idea.
*' where every cottage abounds with the comforts and
necessaries of life."

I perhaps overlooked at that time the labour, the diffi-
culties, the privations to which these settlers had been
exposed when they first came to this country. I saw it
only at a distance of many years, under a high state of
cultivation, perhaps in the hands of their children or
their children's children, while the toilworn parent's
head was low in the dust.

Among other objects my attention was attracted by
the appearance of open burying grounds by the roadside.
Pretty green mounds, surrounded by groups of walnut
and other handsome timber trees, contained the graves
of a family, or may be, some favoured friends slej)t
quietly below the turf beside them. If the ground was
not consecrated, it was hallowed by the tears and
prayers of parents and children.

These household graves became the more interesting
to me on learning that when a farm is disposed of to a
stranger, 'he right of burying their dead is generally
stij)ulated for by the former possessor.

You must bear with me if I occasionally weary you
with dwelling on trifles. To me nothing that bears the
stamp of novelty is devoid of interest. Even the clay-
built ovens stuck upon four legs at a little distance from
the houses were not unnoticed in passing. When there
is not the convenience of one of these ovens outside the
dwellings, the bread is baked in large iron pots — '* hake-
hettles^' they are termed. I have already seen a loaf as
big as a peck measure baking on the hearth m one of

•■Pi'

mi
W

Urn I

BACKWOODS OP CA2.ADA.

i'hieh differed Tn'.r^'-:^ ''°l'«« ^ad a d«w.weJI n. •.
from thosp r h J "" contrivance fop r,;!: I "<^'"" '*>

" 'ever to rt.C. J"?^ P"'"- ^"PPorted il\ ^^^ P'''" ''s

-o,?;:?''! o^«Xnr£ 9/p^on'':^
peatenrtr'-''-^'^-^-''^"^^

cades of wh eh the"!!n If "^ ""^ «'• w"e?"'f r' "P"

H^-n t fair °^"-fi"«rtT*''

- Upper Cana5a?:'Scht"no7^„ "'■""'^'^^"'' vCk
these3l*r°"*^ntou,^erves^?i;l7 "°.°"^ so we

i--*

— €vH-\„

■N.<.

■,*.. •■^V.'"""^

■v't.'.

ik the con-

the bread

ed in brick

3 out what

upon four

lives till I

loaves out

road -side,

3ll near it,
the water
he plan is
>st, acts as
be raised
method is
hain, and
person at
ntion this
3 country,
r means.*
icent ap-
the cas-
|from the
jtempt to
to yon,
[lis work
uainted
'ast our
r here
so we
iight of

Corn-
travel
^nce a
that

may
Lon-
fface.

CANADIAN STAGE,

night. Our example was followed by a widow lady and
her little family.

We had some difficulty in obtaining a lodging, the
inns being full of travellers ; here, for the first time, we
experienced something of that odious manner ascribed,
though doubtless too generally, to the American. Our
host seemed perfectly indifferent as to the comfort of his
guests, leaving them to wait on themselves or go without
what they wanted. The absence of females in these
establishments is a great drawback where ladies are tra-
velling. The women keep entirely out of sight, or treat
you with that oftensive coldness and indifference that you
derive little satisfaction from their attendance.

After some difficulty in obtaining sight of the landlady
of the inn at Cornwall, and asking her to show me a
chamber where we might pass the night, with a most
ungracious air she pointed to a door, which opened into
a mere closet, in which was a bed divested of curtains,
on ) chair, and an apology for a wash-stand. Seeing me
in some .ismay at the sight of this uninviting domicile,
she laconically observed there was that or none, unless I
chose to sleep in a four-bedded room, which had three
tenants in it, — and those gentlemen. This alternative I
somewhat indignantly declined, and in no very good
humour retired to my cabin, where vile familiars to the
dormitory kept us from closing our weary eye- lids till
the break of day.

We took an early and hasty breakfast, and again com-
menced our journey. Here our party consisted of my-
self, my husband, a lady and gentleman with three small
children, besides an infant of a month old, all of whom,
from the eldest to the youngest, were suffering from
hooping-cough ; two great Cumberland miners, and a
French pilot and his companion,— this was a huge am-
phibious-looking monster, who bounced in and squeezed
himself into a corner-seat, giving a knowing nod and
comical grin to the driver, who was in the secret, and in
utter defiance of all remonstrance at this unlooked-for
intrusion, cracked his whip with a flourish, that appeared

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

..'"n

i»'

1 1'

1:1 i

$'■

!l H'

lii

to be reckoned pretty considerably smart by two Ameri-
can travellers that stood on either side the door at the
inn, with their hats not in their hands nor yet on their
heads, but slung by a black ribbon to one of their waist-
coat buttons, so as to fall nearly under one arm. This
practice I have seen adopted since, and think if Johnny
Gilpin had but taken this wise precaution he might have
saved both hat and wig.

I was dreadfully fatigued with this day's travelling,
being literally bruised black and blue. We suffered
much inconvenience from the excessive heat of the day,
and could well have dispensed with the company of two
out of the four of our bulky companions.

We reached Prescott about five the same afternoon,
where we met with good treatment at the inn ; the
female servants were all English, and seemed to vie with
each other in attention to us.

We saw little in the town of Prescott to interest or
please. After an excellent breakfast we embarked on
board the Great Britain, the finest steamer we had yet
seen, and here we were joined by our new friends, to our
great satisfaction.

At Brockville we arrived just in time to enjoy what
was to me quite a novel sight — a ship-launch. A gay
and exciting scene it was. The sun shone brilliantly on
a concourse of people that thronged the shore in their
holiday attire ; the church bells rang merily out, ming-
ling with the music from the deck of the gaily painted
vessel that, with flags and streamers, and a well-dressed
company on board, was preparing for the launch.

To give additional effect, a salute was fired from a
temporary fort erected for the occasion on a little rocky
island in front of the town. The schooner took the
water in fine style, as if eager to embrace the element
which was henceforth to be subject to her. It was a
moment of intense interest. The newly launched was
greeted with three cheers from the company on board
the Great Britain, with a salute from the little fort,
and a merry peal from th<? bells, which were also

LAKE ONTARIO.

WO Ameri-
Gor at the
et on their
heir waist-
rra. This
if Johnny
light have

travelling,
e suffered
f the day,
ny of two

afternoon,

inn ; the

vie with

nterest or
)arked on
^e had yet
ds, to our

ijoy what
A gay

iantly on
in their

t, ming-
paintcd
dressed

from a
le rocky
)ok the
jlement
it was a
led was
board
le fort,
re also

ninjr in honour of a pretty bride that came on board
with iier bridegroom on their way to visit the falls of
Niagara.

Brockville is situated just at the entrance of the lake
of the Thousand Islands, and presents a pretty appear-
ance from the water. The town has improved rapidly,
1 am told, within the last few years, and is becoming a
place of some importance.

The shores of the St. Laurence assume a more rocky
and [)icturesque aspect as you advance among its thou-
sand islands, which present every variety of wood and
rock. The steamer put in for a supply of fire- wood
at a little village on the Americansideof the river, where
also we took on board five-and-twenty beautiful horses,
which are to be exhibited at Cobourg and York for
sale.

There was nothing at all worthy of observation in the
American village, unless I except a novelty that rather
amused me. Almost every house had a tiny wooden
model of itself, about the bigness of a doll's house (or
buby-house, 1 think they are called), stuck up in front
of the roof or at the gable end. I was informed by a
gentleman on board, these baby-houses, as I was pleased
to call them, were for the swallows to build in.

It was midnight when we passed Kingston, so of
course I saw nothing of that " key to the lakes,'* as I
have heard it styled. When I awoke in the morning
the steamer was dashing gallantly along through the
waters of the Ontario, and I experienced a slight sensa-
tion of sickness.

When the waters of the lake are at all agitated, as
they sometimes are, by high winds, you might imagine
yourself upon a tempest-tossed sea.

The shores of the Ontario are very fine, rising in
waving lines of hill and dale, clothed with magnificent
woods, or enlivened by patches of cultivated land
and pretty dwellings. At ten o'clock we reached
Cobourg.

Cobourg, at which place we are at present, s a neatly
built and flourishing village, containing many good

'Iff

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

^ 0-riiOITOW we Inatr^ /'^ /

lif'i

ber

robe

men

able,

the

after

ofter

warn

trees

count

of tl»

pleasi

]WStll]

Tk
a miJe

situate
sive vi
As yo
of the
bold SI

The
hilly

JOURNEY FROM COBOURG TO AMHERST.

Letter V.

Journey from Cobourg to Amherst. — Difficulties to be en-
countered on first settling in the Backwoods. — Appearance
of the Country. — Rice Lake.— Indian Habits. — Voyage
up the Otanabee. — Log-house, and its Inmates. — Passage-
boat. — Journey on foot to Peterborough

Peterborough, Newcastle District,
September 9, 1S32.

We left Cobourg on the afternoon of the 1st of Se )tem-
ber in a lighl waggon, comfortably lined with ouHalo
robes. Our fellow-travellers consisted of three gentle-
men and a young lady, all of whom proved very agree-
able, and willing to afford us every information respecting
the country through which we were travelling. The
afternoon was fine, one of those rich mellow days we
often experience in the early part of September. The
warm hues of autumn were already visible on the forest
trees, but rather spoke of ripeness than decay. The
country round Cobourg is well cultivated, a great portion
of the woods having been superseded by open fields,
))lcasant farms, and fine fiourishing orchards, with green
pastures, where abundance of cattle were grazing.

The county gaol and court-house at Amherst, about
a mile and a half from Cobourg, is a fine stone edifice,
situated on a rising ground, which commands an exten-
sive view over the lake Ontario and surrounding scenery.
As you advance further up the country, in the direction
of the Hamilton or Rice Lake plains, the land rises into
bold sweeping hills and dales.

The outline of the country reminded me of the
hilly part of Gloucestershire j you want, however,

I Ilk.

'ti:

i m, i'

' IP^

ii; !!i

"■^CKWocs or CANAiu.

and ti.o„ aS'v. If i T'''^'' «•"' '«i -„ , o fl "r ''"'''
"^"""l ''V an Ic 'i "'■^ l''''<NeovcrtH I M, "' """

tCU'i:'^ 7" - eoun.5^'' Evif th" ""^ ^'^" '-S'

I „„ ij ""-> at all events ,.<■. — -l' «'ar to be Jitil
I could see a smile hover 'ntT"'?'''^"""''"'-'-

necessarily b^J"/" f*^^ backwoods, vonr h

Matters are "ot^ * ^^' ' '''•'« ere^D* anrf *f ^ "''=''

home; a„7tl"e° r. th T/th?" '''""' -" -■' 7 het" as'";
ance with fK« a i ^ ^"^s a verv fcur »,« i , ^ ^^ at

. * Derived from i„f , ' " """""-^ »^*

"ave strength toTaif "''^ '=«'-'»^ on all.fo„rs before they

■*'o ominonflv
untie viJIup;;.

['nsivo<lovvn«i.
Hero tlio l)«,|,|
7<l, with ii(,u
ills, only en.
its lo^r-housc
nees are v<'rv
3 rieh hed^^J.
>ne fenees in
bare as they
Jr, invariably
and money,
lerved ; it 'is
r to be Jittk'
at ions.
' my fellow -
ans for the

house must
gentleman,
le country.
■y of a saw-
many ob-
years, that
these im-

ADVICE i'BOM A SEITLER.

fore they

done with so much expedition. I am sure I liave lieard
and read of houses being built in a day." The old jyen-
tlenian laughed.

" Yes, yes,' he replied, ** travellers find no <litiieulty
ill putting up a house in twelve or twenty-four liours,
and so the log walls can be raised in that time or even
li'ss ; but the house is not completed when the outer
walls arc up, as your husband will find to his cost."

" IJut all the works on emigration that I have read,"
replied I, '* give a fair and flattering picture of a settler's
lite ; for, according to their statements, the ditficultics
are easily removed."

" Never mind books," said my companion, '' use your
own reason. Look on those interminable forests, through
w liich the eye can only penetrate a few yards, and tell
me how those yast timbers are to 1 removed, utterly
extirpated, I may say, from the face of the earth, the
ground cleared and burnt, a crop sown and fenced, and
a house to shelter you raised, without difficulty, without
expense, and without great labour. Never tell me of
what is said in books, written very frequently by tarry-
at-home travellers. Give me facts. One honest, can-
did emigrant's experience is worth all that has been
written on the subject. Besides, that which may be a
true picture of one part of the country will hardly suit
anotlier. The advantages and disadvantages arising from
soil, situation, and progress of civilization, are very dif-
ferent in different districts : even the prices of goods and
of produce, stock and labour, vary exceedingly, accord-
inar as you are near to, or distant from, towns and mar-
ked."

I began to think my fellow-traveller spoke sensibly on
the subject, with which the experience of thirteen years
had made him perfectly conversant. I began to appre-
hend that we also had taken too flattering a view of a
setder's life as it must be in the backwoods. Time and
our own personal knowledge will be the surest test, and
to that we must bow. We are ever prone to believe
that which we wish.

About half-way between (.^obourg and the Rice Lake

I II -a

mm
mm

is IN' '1

Mil

UK'

iW^

liii

f ilciS*

BACKIVOOW OP CAXAD^.

th": ;: a^J^fij";/ between tuo steep hi,,, „

place is oaHed the « Co dT''- '""'' ""d TtL^n ^f^
some cenfiirir ^ . ^^" •^pnne-s '* Wu .^"^^ j the

nadian Bath or Ch2^r." '" "^""^ «''« vvS.'TA^ ^
■Nature revek in k^P*""" way gnrfno- .. / ^ ^'■

, Wenowt^.td'the'n'^"" o^CtrX"'"^ "-"^

^oii I intmf "f ' ''■"'• «"■« ^<4es «t' l""/ ^'^ ■•""i
with ricf htt""*^"' '"»•"'' «nd is covered i '7 *"'''' ''-">-

inferior! 3i'e^,J^\^,^^ Tfcf^ ''' '"'^^^

portion nf 7»^ ^ ^""^^ of nark-Ji£ . considerable in-
i" ."on ot the countrv LV^^^^^ ^Ppearance m *i,-
^o be, that the plains L^i ^^^.P^evaiiing. oninL ^''
"Would amw^^ il ^^^^ out m irrB7ir.S "Pmion seems

""•i thl iabo l/tet"?'' can ■be?;tX:d''^"'r

""^h '«ss than wL^r^l^ t ^°"'"' i' netr f'
Ihere are several L„ '^^'"'"^ covered wi/h i''.^
considerable fkrl i^?*'*-!' on these plai^ ' "'''°''.-
^ \cH],hy and reeabieT"*"?" ' ^ «hou,Tth?2-^«'"g
o* the land anW .k . ' "'0"' the eleva*;-. ,' """st

tl>e country'beW ,h ^''^'"'' P™'pect7hev ' '''^"'''

■the ground itself i<f ^, P."^"""<»<3«e shores ilt'-M^'
^»l'cy, sometimero.el,P'?^''r'g'r brokenTt^hm ■'''!;
an^aWst precipit^r'^ ^'^'P'"^' ''' °'i>er 'ttes" 1^

one 01 our partjr at

CIVILIZATIOX OF THE INDIANS.

hills. Ilore
tavern; the

knows, but
y become a
ers ? A Ca-
> where now

!S.

on ov Jand—
nd I ^re and
irubs. Tile
« told, con-
iarge tracks
r the finest
flowers and
garden in
hs. Man)

1 are rarelv
'00, though
ore pictur-
lerabJe in-

•e to this

ion seems
airy farms
IS there is
prn -crops,
p abund-
jdyantage

directly,
Icessariiy

wood.

•ssessing

ik, must

dryness
land of
Lake,

|visible.

ill and

abrupt

breakfast the following morning, told mo that those
plains were formerly famous hunting-grounds of the
Indians, who, to prevent the growth of the timbers,
burned them year alter year : this, in process of time,
destroyed the young trees, so as to i)revent them again
from accumulating to the extent they formerly did.
sutKcient only was left to form coverts ; for the deer
resort hither in great herds, for the sake of a peculiar
tall sort of grass with which these plains abound, called
doer-grass, on which they become exceedingly fat at cer-
tain seasons of the year.

Evening closed in before we reached the tavern on
the shores of the Rice Lake, where we were to pass the
night ; so that I lost something of the beautiful scenery
which this fine expanse of water presents as you descend
the plains towards its shores. The glimpses I caught of
it were by the faint but frequent flashes of lightning that
illumined the horizon to the north, which just revealed
enough to make me regret I could see no more that
night. The Rice Lake is prettily diversified with small
wooded islets : the north bank rises gently from the
water's edge. Within sight of Sully, the tavern from
which the steam-boat starts that goes up the Otanabee,
you see several well -cultivated settlements ; and beyond
the Lidian village, the missionaries have a school for the
education and instruction of the Indian children. Many
of them can both read and write fluently, and arc greatly
improved in their moral and religious conduct. They
are well and comfortably clothed, and have houses to
live in. But they are still too much attached to their
wandering habits to become good and industrious settlers.
During certain seasons they leave the village, and en-
camp themselves in the woods along the borders of those
lakes and rivers that present the most advantageous hunt-
ing and fishing-grounds.

The Rice Lake and Mud Lake Indians belong, I am
told, to the Chippewas ; but the traits of cunning and
v\arlike ferocity that formerly marked this singular people
seem to have disappeared beneath the milder intluencc
oi Christianity,

J #1'! ■ ■ '''
1 '■■! J:!! Ill

llll!

r-i :i:f

h ''11 fi • '

111
life-

'mm

Uilf''S

B-'CK,v.>„I.. or CAN AW.

v^ertain it is th^f fi
!v-on is the «m'';,te':f:'"^"""" "'^ "^^ Christian re

ntk nT^-'"''* o*' Pi'i dice Zm'"*'' '" '^'■'•''''' ^ov

ti»ed by some families • l,„» ? f^'t'ience is still nra/
spirits has aeain (JZ-' ' "'^ '»'« the love „f L'
"Po.. their a Ti "i^r r ,"'«">. bringinVdis'e :^;i'

-Joy thra^t tS :?ti1" r •'""- '^^ s!l

b"t lam t7d thT ht: fl^'^^-'s^n the Riee Uko
inhabitants bein^ sS . . "?' considered healihv i '
pecialiy wheieTh» •"'i '° 'ake-ibvers and n^' ""*

*ove.a^„dtgrt!;;te!,^^r''"''-^^^

Jhetat^Th? "-^* "'^"'^ Sr^^^^

Jiesiaes numerous small „* '"-'ous mfluence.

two considerable rheTlLAT'l^'''^ «"ed c,e,z,
nnd an outJpf fr.^ *k • ' "^ Otanabee anH *i r,, ^^'*'
rivers nrn '^ ^^^^^ waters in thp P- t /^^^ ^^^^nt,

'vhieh will gte' von th/^ ''•"'" P"Wiihed "t ci '""''

( 51 )

Christian re-
ilizaiion and
break cIovmi
t3, and unite
I have been
known, and
iy abstained
5 still prac-
^ of ardent
ig discredit
■ wondered
n that call
icated, and
dulging to
i suffer his
"ty, which
have been
'ed on the
in indul-
crinie of
of educa-

ice Lake,
thy, the
igue, es-
rhese
originate
nation in
surfiace
tend to
that art

cree/is,
1 rent,
These
which
I send
bourg,
of the
irpose

%S£^,^V^<'y?«'

,l.:!;^lllllli■li,^:'■l.ii':' ^^lZm:^Si i Mi:-!, lit ^

I «, >

J I

' ■■im

"•'CK^.OODS or c^.v^i,,i.

- m contemplation, ^i &/;, ;^,f--;"li7 supposeS^
In? "'^^^''"ageous to the TptHl ""''"*" the r shore"

b olT? '^"^' "•''ich ;^.evcm ITT ""'' """'^"'''no!

■ I'f

advantage through the It i-' ""'"<='' "Ppeared to MM
i'lad to shroud n^ face ;„'''""" '■"■"' '"'»• wh eh I " "

;"t«tvvo .months at Us e„t ' '^''''' ^^^^^^ divid. I

cultivation T».-^?'^' ^^ ^vvamp/to hi ^'^^ ^>^ ^^
it to ho?, • . .'' beautiful river /^x . ^'"^ "n'^er

( 65 )

of these
[)p{)sed to
eij' shores

th('v are
imestone,
s or flat-
these are
e-named
1(1 Jakes,
le whole
the Bay
cessari ly
1 of the
ted that
3ver de-

un usual
, and a
P little
1 I

was

there
than
n-boat

y-ap-

m the
lee of
sur-
ilong
with
'anoe
:)ug'li

ided

)ya

ider

tder

iks,

(the

Silver Pine.

i»2

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

: W

forth in all the brilliant beauty of a September day. So
completely were we sheltered from the wind by the
thick wall of pines on either side, that I no longer felt
the least inconvenience from the cold that had chilled
me on crossing the lake in the morning

To the mere passing traveller, who cares little for the
minute beauties of scenery, there is certainly a monotony
in the long and unbroken line of woods, which insensibly
inspires a feeling of gloom almost touching on sadness.
Still there are objects to charm and delight the close ob-
server of nature. His eye will be attracted by fantastic
bowers, which are formed by the scarlet creeper (or
Canadian ivy) and the wild vine, flinging their closely-
entwined wreaths of richly tinted foliage from bough to
bough of the forest trees, mingling their hues with tho
splendid rose-tipped branches of the soft maple, the au-
tumnal tints of which are unrivalled in beauty by any of
our forest trees at home.

The purple clusters of the grape, by no means so con-
temptible in size as I had been led to imagine, looked
temptingly to my longing eyes, as they appeared just
ripening among these forest bowers. I am told the
juice forms a delicious and highly-flavoured jelly, boiled
with a sufficient quantity of sugar ; the seeds are too
large to make any other preparation of them practicable.
I shall endeavour, at some time or other, to try the im-
provement that can be effected by cultivation. One is
apt to imagine where Nature has so abundantly bestowed
fruits, that is the most favourable climate for their attain-
ing perfection with the assistance of culture and soil.

The waters of the Otanabee are so clear and free
from impurity that you distinctly see every stone, pebble,
or shell at the bottom. Here and there an opening in
the forest reveals some tributary stream, working its
way beneath the gigantic trees that meet above it. The
silence of the scene is unbroken but by the sudden rush
of the wild duck, disturbed f: ^ its retreat among the
shrubby willows, that in some - .ts fringe the left bank,
or the shrill cry of the kingfir .ei , as it darts across the
water. The steam-boat put i i for a supply of fire-wood

— I

WATERS OF THE OTANABEE.

at a clearing about half-way from Peterborough, and I
gladly availed myself of the opportunity of indulging my
inclination for gathering some of the splendid cardinal
flowers that grew among the stones by the river's brink.
Here, too, I plucked as sweet a rose as ever graced an
English garden. I also found, among the grass of the
meadow land, spearmint, and, nearer to the bank, pep-
permint. There was a bush resembling our hawthorn,
which, on examination i d to be the cockspur haw-
thorn, with fruit as large u^ cherries, p 'y*"". and of a
pleasant tartness not much unlike to taiwurnids. The
thorns of this tree were of formidable length and strength.
I should think it might be introduced with great advan-
tage to form live fences ; the fruit, too, would prove by
no means contemptible as a preserve.

As I felt a great curiosity to see the interior of a log-
house, I entered the open door-way of the tavern, as the
people termed it, under the pretext of buying a draught
of milk. The interior of this rude dwelling presented
no very inviting aspect. The walls were of rough un-
hewn logs, filled between the chinks with moss and irre-
gular wedges of wood to keep out the wind and rain.
The unplastered roo^ displayed the rafters, covered with
moss and lichens, green, yellow, and grey ; above which
might be seen the shingles, dyed to a fine mahogany-
red by the smoke which refused to ascend the wide clay
and stone chimney, to curl gracefully about the roof,
and seek its exit in the various crannies and aper-
tures with which the roof and sides of the building
abounded.

The floor was of earth, which had become pretty hard
and smooth through use. This hut reminded me of the
one described by the four Russian sailors that were left
to winter on the island of Spitzbergen. Its furniture
was of corresponding rudeness ; a few stools, rough and
unplaned ; a deal table, which, from being manufactured
from unseasoned wood, was divided by three wide open
seams, and was only held together by its ill-shaped legs ;
two or three blocks of grey granite placed beside the
hearth served for seats for the children, with the addition

"liM

'■'(' •■■■I

' '3 d f n

Mkw

^i m ■

Jli-

i: If "

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

of two Ijcds raised n li.ii„ i , '

of split cedars On those ,„'? *'"^ *^™""'' ^^ a frame

«o poor „,on, suffU fun ^ -y""""-'. '^^'exteS

liike-levor. Their v.l fe, ?•■• '''" ""stin-r effects nf

.-ted with the^; Sz^t^ r^>^<^^^<:!^

■1 telt much conocrned (br tU . ' " "' <overed them
>5>e they had not l-een manfv,S'r';r^"''' "'"> 'oTj

able The wiv^l td"£ t^t " ^ ^«' ""-•
■lot a house or even shantv n? , • "■ *^"''' ""d had
bands having fallen ill, ^c:^ „"','"[ 7" "''• ">« l"'-'-
mueh of the little ,„o„ey tW [ i" u ° «">'"''%' ! and
thorn had been expende I ^-i, h7 i"'' i"'""^''* out with
-"-orable place, whieuley cfcif,"? '°^g'"S i" thb
tavern. I eannot say liy, ^y 'he name of a
*?your of their hostefs , W, /'""'"'^ Prepossessed i
s.des the various emiSnl "^ ' '"'"'""' """'an. '
that lodged within ZZCu' ^T"' ""^ '^^hildrc,
or another description A fil , "^'■'"'"^« had ten.', s
corner; some piL roam«l ""'■" °^"'P''^d » pen n i
with some half/do'zenTwIs ^The""" "''''« ■" ^"'M'^u"
>vere three snow-white pi±on? \T^ '''"'■''"■■™ object
"g: "P crumbs, and lookhS "s 'f H " ""'■<' '"^'=t'y pick-

"~.r^t4th11!o"'^^^^^^^^^^^^ '" '"''"''

^d to the raplU:, ttl n^^ *e';iver at this season,
. hole way to Peterborough and ! ""'^^^ '" g" «P (he
It IS sometmics termed -3°!,..' ^ ^^°"' "'' row-boat a.
rnachine-^^meets the pas'se'n = rs IZ'f^'- ^^^''^oZnoA
CI I'r'". «'&ht of i singC n np?""""" l^"''' °'' 'he
iJank; this ,s termed the - vTnf l'""'" °" the right
fancied resemblance of th„ i""" bonnet," from C
cap worn by the Vn„l "P""*' houghs to a sn« f

bonnet of .Se-'otland.'"'""^' ""' ™"^h "-"ike fhe^bJut

L'nfortunatelv fhn o*

miles below the usual plaelT.'^f "^"""d ^on,e four

•II near four o'clock «C the sen"'''",^' ""^ "« waked

appearance, we found to our d"' ^''°" " ""ade its

(e'ght m number, and a« Irisht'nT'^'"'' "'^ ™"«^»

^risfimen) were ui-der the

CO )

Spruoe.

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

< ' 1

li'S"

?>!■:•!;■

exciting influence of a cag of whisky, which they had
drunk dry on the voyage. They were moreover exas-
perated by the delay on the part of the steamer, which
gave them four miles additional heavy rowing. Beside a
number of passengers, there was an enormous load of fur-
niture, trunks, boxes, chests, sacks of wheat, barrels ol
flour, salt, and pork, with many miscellaneous packages
and articles, small and great, which were piled to a
height that I thought very unsafe both to goods and
passengers.

With a marvellous ill grace the men took up their
oars when their load was completed, but declared they
would go on shore and make a Are and cook their din-
ners, they not having eaten any food, though they had
taken large potations of the whisky. This measure
was opposed by some of the gentlemen, and a fierce and
angry scene ensued, which ended in the mutineers fling-
ing down their oars, and positively refusing to row
another stroke till they had satisfied their hunger.

Perhaps I had a fellow-feeling for them, as I began
to be exceedingly hungry, almost ravenous, myself,
having fasted since six that morning ; indeed, so faint
was I, that I was fain to get my husband to procure me
a morsel of the coarse uninviting bread that was produced
by the rowers, and which they ate with huge slices of
raw pickled pork, seasoning this unseemly meal witli
curses '* not loud, but deep," and bitter taunts against
those who prevented them from cooking their food like
Christians.

While I was eagerly eating the bit of bread, an old
farmer, who had eyed me for some time with a mixture
of curiosity and compassion, said, " Poor thing: well,
you do seem hungry indeed, and I dare say are just out
from the otUd country, and so little used to such hard
fare. Here are some cakes that my woman (i,e. wife)
put in my pocket when I left home ; I care nothing for
them, but they are better than that bad bread ; take *em,
and welcome." With these words he tossed some very
respectable home-made seed-cakes into my lap, and ti'uly

IBISU BOATMEX.

never was anything more welcome than this seasonable
refreshment.

A sullen and ploomy spirit seemed to prevail among
our boatmen, which by no means diminished as the even-
ing drew on, and *' the rapids were near." The sun had
set, and the moon and stars rose brilliantly over the still
waters, which gave back the reflection of this glorious
multitude of heavenly bodies. A sight so passing fair
might have stilled the most turbulent s))irits into peace ;
at least, so I thought, as, wrapped in my cloak, I leant
back against the supporting arm of my husband, and
looked Irom the waters to the sky, and from the sky to
the waters, with delight and admiration. My ])leasant
reverie was, however, soon ended, when I suuuenly felt
the boat touch the rocky bank, and heard the boatmen
protesting they would go no farther that night. We
were nearly three miles below Peterborough, and how I
was to walk this distance, weakened as I was by recent
illness and fatigue of our long travelling, I knew not.
To spend the night in an open boat, exposed to the heavy

dews arising from the river, would be

almost death.

While we were deliberating on what to do, the rest of
the passengers had made uj) their minds, and taken the
way through the woods by a road they were well ac-
quainted with. They were soon out of sight, all but one
gentleman, who was bargaining with one of the rowers
to take him and his dog across the river at the head of
the rapids in a skiff.

Imagine our situation, at ten o'clock at night, without
knowing a single step of our road, put on shore to find
the way to the distant town as we best could, or pass
the night in the dark forest.

Almost in despair, we entreated the gentleman to be
our guide as far as he went. But so many obstacles
beset our path in the form of newly-chopped trees and
blocks of stone, scattered along the shore, that it was
with the utmost difficulty we could keep him in sight.
At last we came up with him at the place appointed to
meet the skiff, and, w ith a pertinacity that at another

j)3

()2

DACKWOODS or CANADA.

.'5;

11 •;!!'

■i ■

iS; 11 li.:

^;>ii

.iltt,.I

!■ '

' ,

If 1

Hill

^ Jif'.

■■ It.

I !•!

i Kiii' '1..

time and in other circumstances \vc never should haw
u(l()|)ti<(l, wo all but insisted on bcin^^ admitted into thi
boat. An an<iry gi-ovviiufjr consent was extorted (rom the
surly Charon, and we hastily entered the frail bark,
whieli seemed hardly calculated to convey us in safety to
the opposite shores. I could not help in(lulp:ing m a
feeling of in<lescribable fear, as I listened to the torrent
of profane invective that burst forth continually from the
lips of the boatman. Once or twice we were in danger
of being ovei-set by the boughs of the pines and cellars
which had fallen into the water near the banks. Right
glad was I when we reached the op[)osite shores ; but
here a new trouble arose ; then; was yet more untracked
wood to cross before we again met the skiff which had to
pass up a small rapid, ar.d meet us at the head of the small
lake, an expansion of the Otanabee, a little below Peter-
borough. At the distance of every few yards our path
was obstructed by fallen trees, mostly hendock, spruce,
or cedar, the branches of which are so thickly interwoven
that it is scarcely possible to separate them, or force a
passage through the tangled thicket which they form.

Had it not been for the humane assistance of our con-
ductor, I know not how I should have surmounted these
difficulties. Sometimes I was ready to sink down from
very weariness. At length I hailed, with a joy I could
hardly have supposed possible, the gruff voice. of the Irish
rower, and, alter considerable grumbling on his part, we
were again seated.

Glad enough we were to see, by the blazing light of
an enormous log-heap, the house of our friend. Here
we received the oiier of a guide to show us the way to
the town by a road cut through the wood. We partook
of the welcome refreshment of tea, and, having gained a
little strength by a short rest, we once more commenced
our journey, guided by a ragged, but polite, Irish boy,
whose frankness and good humour quite won our regards.
He informed us he was one of seven orphans, who had
lost father and mother in the cholera. It was a sad
thing} he said, to be left ii^therless and motherless, in a

itiHi

should haw
:t'<I into the
c'd from (ho

<VuiI bark,
in siii'cty to
i'p:ing m a
tlio torrent
y from the

in danger
md cedars
s. Ili«ilit
ores; but
untraeked
th [)ad to

the sniali
)vv Peter-

our path
:, spruce,
ter woven
r force a
i'orm.
our con-
ed these
^n from

I could
10 Irish
•art, we

light of

Here
way to
>artook
ined a
lenced

boy,
?ards.
had
a sad

in a

DirricuLTiEs or the wat.

gtran^'C hind ; and he swept away the tears that patliered
in Ids eyes as he tohl the simple, Initsatl tale of'liis early
bereavcuienl ; but added, cheerfully, ho had met with a
kind mujiter, who had taken some of hi j l)r()thers and
sisters into Irs service as well as himself.

Just as we were emerging lron> the gloom of the wood
we found our j)ro;rress impeded hy i\ crcfik, as the boy
called it, over which he told us we must pass by a log-
bridge before we could get to the town. Now, the log-
bridire was composed of one log, or ratlicr a fallen tree,
thrown across the stream, rendered very slippery by the
heavy dew that Iiad risen from the swamp. As the 1 )g
admitted of only one person at a time, 1 could receive no
assistance from my companions ; and, though our I'ttic
guide, witli a natural politeness arising Irom the benevo-
lence of his disposition, did me all the service in big
power l»y holding tiie lantern close to the surli ^^ to
tiirow all the liglit he could on the subject, I had he 'II
luck to fall in up to my knees in the water, my head
turning ijuitj giddy just as I caine to the last stej) or
two ; thus was I wet as well as weary. To add to our
misfortune we saw the lights (lisaj)pear, one by one, in
the village, till a solitary candle, glimmering from the
upper chambers of one or two houses, were our only
beacons. We had yd a lodging to seek, and it was near
midnight before we reached the door of the principal
inn ; there, at least, thought 1, our troubles for to-night
will end ; but great was our niortificatio'* »•:! being told
there was not a spare bed to bo had in the house, every
one being occupied by emigrants going up to one of the
back townships.

I^ould go no farther, and wc petitioned for a p.lace
by tne kitchen fire, where wc might rest, at least, if not
sleep, and I nnght dry vcy wet garments. On seeing
my condition the landlady took compassion on me, led
rae to a blazing fire, wliich her damsels quickly roused
up ; one brought a warm bath for my feet, w hile another
provided a v.arm potation, which, I really believe,
strange and unusual to my lips as it was, did me good :
in short, we received every kindness and attention that

ii$lm

ff:y!lll

BACKWOODS or CAXADA.

Fare«el],ffly dearest Mother.

i J

'•elinquished
"ting them-

TOWA* OF PETERBOROUGH.

Letter VI.

Peterborough. — Manners and Language of the Americans. —
Scotch Engineman. — Description of Peterborough and its
Environs. — Canadian Flowers. — Shanties. — Hardships
suffered by first Settlers. — Process of establishing a
Farm.

Peterborough, Sept. 11, 1832.

It is now settled that we abide here till after the govern-
ment sale has taken place. We are then to remain with
S and his family till we have got a few acres chop-
ped, and a log-house put up on our own land. Having
determined to go at once into the bush, on account of
our military grant, which we have been so fortunate as

to draw in the neighbourhood of S , we have fully

made up our minds to enter at once, and cheerfully, on
the privations and inconveniences attending such a situ-
ation ; as there is no choice betw*^en relinquishing that
great advantage and doing our settlement duties. We
shall not be worse off than others who have gone before
us to the unsettled townships, many of whom, naval and
military officers, with their femilies, have had to struggle
with considerable difficulties, but who are now beginning
to feel the advantages arising from their exertions.

In addition to the land he is entitled to as an officer
in the British service, my husband is in treaty for the
purchase of an eligible lot by small lakes. This will
give us a water frontage, and a further inducement to

bring us within a little distance of S ; so that we

shall not be quite so lonely as if we had gone on to our
government lot at once.

We have experienced some attention and hospitality

Ill'

■««

. ^'#

6(5

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

fjo^rroSi:'; ts?-^- ^-wou^h. .v. .

fe™.!^ and goo/ oduc i r^'^^roLT"^ °*' re^peS L"
nothing better than whaf »„ i, ^f"" ^ ^"""e 'X 'n fact
?o«^ns at home ^"g^.t"^^ """ '" 'ho'eountry
'"Canada holds a veryS ' ' '^' T' ""« storekeeper
of the English village The J'l '™'" ">« ^''^Pl^eeper
chants and bankers of the „lL •"''^l'^'^ "'•« the mer-
Almost alJ money matti,^ ^ T '" '"'^'''^ «hey reside

'hat must distingu Lh ^h^ Jtf''"'""°" ""d ~rs
?eemg that the labour n^ Zf "^Pl '" "''^ country
mdustrious, may soon "4oZ ' hfs t ^ ^"'^^"'"nd
worldly possess bns Tho ;„ * ^"Jual in point nf

It IS the mind that fonnsThe a3^ T" "'' "dueation'
classes m this country "V„^ d'stmction between the
^ We had heard s7much ff 2 H?" '' ^°^'' •'"
Yankees in this cou,Z that r "''?''""<''•« "f the

surprised by the few sZ'i^en^ of nf • '^^^''' ^^''^^ably
I have seen. They wire for ^L ^'"''^ -Americans that
behaved people, ^he onlv n .""'? '^''t. Po'ito, well-
then, wer^ a 'certain nasa^tlLT-"""""^^' ^ obser;ed „
Y odd phrases ; but fl eie we^-! '", '^^^''S, and some
dass who "guess • and ' "JX^";^'^- "\?^ ^y the lower
we do. One of their most rema&e''J'"'"."'<'^« '^an
^"atever work requires to Ttt If^t fj^^;'

MANNEBS OF THE AMERICANS.

There is
>fficers and
and store-
espectable
is, in fact,
10 country
;orekeeper
liopkeeper
} the mer-
3y reside,
hem, and
sequence,
igistrates,
ncial par-
ties them
itry, you
is no un-
I military
inter, or
rs' chop-
by such
manners
country,
ent and
oint of
be ever
cation,
en the

of the

[eeably

IS that

well-
^ed in

some
llower

than

'.red.

" Fix tiic room,** is, set it in order. ** Fix the table," —
" Fix the fire," says *5 -"^ mistress to her servants, and the
things are fixed accor-'^ingly.

I Mas amused one day by hearing a woman tell her
husband the chimney wanted fixing. I thought it
soemod secure enough, and was a little surprised when
the man got a rope and a few cedar boughs, with which
he dislodged an accumulation of soot that caused the fire
to smoke. The chimney being Ji.red, all went right
again. This odd term is not confined to the lower orders
alone, and, from hearing it so often, it becomes a stand-
ard word even among the later emigrants from our own
country.

With the exception of some few remarkable expres-
sions, and an attempt at introducing line words in their
e very-day conversation, the lower order of Yankees have a
decided advantage over our English peasantry in the use
of grammatical language ; they speak better English than
you will hear from persons of the same class in any part
of England, Ireland, or Scotland ; a fact that we should
be unwilling, I suppose, to allow at home.

If I were asked what appeared to me the most striking
feature in the manners of the Americans that I had
met with, I should say it was coldness approaching to
apathy. I do not at all imagine them to be deficient in
feeling or real sensibility, but they do not suffer their
emotion to be seen. They are less profuse in their
expressions of welcome and kindness than we are,
though probably quite as sincere. No one doubts their
hospitality ; but, after all, one likes to see the hearty
shako of the hand, and hear the cordial word that makes
one feel oneself welcome.

Persons who come to this country are very apt to con-
found the old settlers from Britain with the native Ame-
ricans ; and when they meet with people of rude,
offensive manners, using certain Yankee words in their
conversation, and making a display of independence not
exactly suitable to their own aristocratical notions, they
immediately suppose they must be genuine Yankees,
while they are, in fact, only imitators ; and you weU

' ' - Ml " iifn

:l»(''

^■tl'

';' fili^i (li: 'ill' ;

Pfllfi

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

fetir'*''^*"''*'' -'-ion, «Wa,swo.e than

of equality, especialinie Tnfi • ""^"r"" «"'' ^ffeetatioa
S?oteh ; the ELglish Jess so 'w"" ^^' "^ ^"^^ ^
tamed by the be&viour of a v I "'^'"^ "^ther enter-
neer of the steamer on rnvVr^.^'^'^^hman, the en!
«fcrence to the Z:n:^eZ^"^^^t"'''''^'''^^ l"™ «S
";„7,T« '"--'y. and fl "^t' i° „ he engme. His man.
avoided the least approach tT„ I' ^® scrupulously
^I'ect ; nay. he even «^Tso t f "'^ '^ ""tv^ard re^
bench close beside ,„e "Id nh, '". ''.^* ''^^''^ O" the
many advantages this country ff"!'' "''" " among the
'■0 dW not reckon it he it^of 11;'' '» T'^^'"^ ^'"oW™
obliged to take off his Ct „h !" ""^ *■« "as no
(meaning persons of our del^^" he spoke to people
other title than theirnamf t ?^ ''''•^fcss them by ^y
take his seat beside any gentlema.^n' ^'^ '=""''' ^oS

laughing at this^L.llJ ; "but' I do'^hf '''" '" "•««■"!" from
rate the advantage of snrh „ • m""" ^°" ^^atly ove"
oblige the iadyof ge,t£nP, ''''^''' ^"^ you cannot
•"on of your qualiSon^r r"''"'^''' "'^^"c opt
yoa unless it pllases them i do t ^.""^1^!"^ be/de
I rose up and left the indeLnden; ^'"^ ^'''^ "-ords
a little confounded at the^n^ g«n«leman evidently
recovered his self-possessin^^"'"'^ •. however, he soon
axe he held in hisTnd ^r^id^'^./r'' '-''"^"^ti^
guess bemg born a poor' man " ' ^' '^ "o ''"'^e, I

iXone in the worM " «« T- i
birth is not of Co';, jffl "^ ^^and ; « a man's

atttrjinrb^^or^^^^^^^^^^

affi?:tif;rtrirr 'S.\ r'" f -'-*-»

aga-n .peatin, ,,3 satisCrat ^l^X^f;^

A SCOTCH ENGINEER.

this country to take off his hat, or speak with respect to
gentlemen, as they styled themselves.

" No one, my friend, could have obliged you to be
well mannered at home any more than in Canada.
Surely you could have kept your hat on your head if you
had been so disposed ; no gentleman would have knocked
it off, I am sure. As to the boasted advantage of rude
manners in Canada, I should think something of it if
it benefited you the least, or put one extra dollar in
vour pocket ; but I have my doubts if it has that profit-
able efiect."

*' There is a comfort, I guess, in considering oneself
equal to a gentleman.'*

" Particularly if you could induce the gentleman to
think the same." This was a point that seemed rather
to disconcert our candidate for equality, who com-
menced whistling and kicking his heels with redoubled
energy.

" Now," said his tormentor, " you have explained
your notions of Canadian independence ; be so good as
to explain the machinery of your engine, with which
you seem very well acquainted."

The man eyed my husband for a minute, half sulking,
half pleased at the implied compliment on his skill, and,
walking oft' to the engine, discussed the management of
it with considerable fluency, and from that time treated
us with perfect respect. He was evidently struck with
my husband's reply to his question, put in a most dis-
courteous tone, " Pray, what makes a gentleman ? I '11
thank you to answer me that." " Good manners and
good education," was the reply. "A rich man or a
high-born man, if he is rude, ill-mannered, and ignorant,
is no more a gentleman than yourself."

This put the matter on a different footing, and the
engineer had the good sense to perceive that rude fami-
liarity did not constitute a gentleman.

But it is now time I shou'd give you some account of
Peterborough, which, in point of situation, is superior to
any place I have yet seen in the Upper Province. It
occupies a central point between the townships of Mo-

mi
lllllii

iff'

I'. ' ■ E, -'I'L' I

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

castle district. ^^ ^^ ^"^ capital of the N.m *

fmall lak;,Xrtlfo riv e/.^f ^^ '''?'"' J"^' a'-vo ,1,,
« CIS. The orifr:maKlZl '^"'^ ''^'«»'' 'ow uooi 1
."■'l out ir. half-aCo Tot^ X"'^,™' f"""' "^ ""^ '"-n
<as filJ.ns: up, are noa-ir^fu '"■"'"' ""hich are no,

and o.,o„d towards" he {latr? !.""'''"'"' ""h 'he rivo
plains form a Imo. *•? 1 ' """ "'e north-<wt 'P '

"-" hi„;nd rfeXr^^'tr^' ?-'"dive'S
onamelle,! with a varietv-of ,ho " ^"'"^y ^'<'^" ^vvard
and ,,Ian.ed, as if by Nat^re'c "'"f '^'•l"'^'**' Aoh*.
'eathery pines, oak( ba ^ 2" '"""^' "''"' g'-0"I« of
1 he views from these , .lair'/ 't,: ""^ «"vcr b rel"
way you turn your e^ei the! ■,reV'''''f "!!''"' ' "hichev
?i Ml and dale, wood \nTi T ?™",'":'' '>y a divcrsitv

>"? over a eo„sider:b?e';™et o l^.o;:l' ""> '<"vn sjS
. i he plains descenH nil [ " °"""-

nvcr, whieh rushes thf con f,l'' If"^''^ *°»'«'-* 'i.o
tween ,ts banks. Fancy a C^'"'^'™'^'^ impetuosity be
ra"P? fho east and we'^ ' H?' ""T."^ ""'%, and^sem
<f>';fmct v;;ia^es. ■' ^'"''""^ 0* the town into .14

tho'Mo:;;;^J-\„r^^^^^^^^ loftier elevation t„a.

pt;z^:!^^y^^j^ trn;t:^t

borough East, and is ..Ltn" '^ >■'"' '' ««"^d Pete
viduals of lar™ eai. tl f. "1' °' '"o or three in,Vi
purehasod. ^ '"''""'' '™"' »hom the town lots are
I'eterl.orough thus divider) ^„

ground jnore than suffic enffbr IhT/n' ^T' ''««'" "^
<^'t.v. 1 he number of inhnl,;* . 'orniation of a lar-e
^even hundred and upwa rd^'^J iT l""^ ■'•'^koned "at
grease as rapidly in t ,e nev't ?„, " ^ntinues to in-
'"te'y, .t will so6n be a ver^popXjr'^ 'I '* '"^ '''"'<=
ll'cre IS great water-power K '""'"•
. «. . ^ ' ''°"' «s "-egards the river

^ince this accoimf- /^p t>

(

CANADIAN BOTANY.

11 J the fine broad creek which winds its way through

[le town, and falls into the small lake below. There

re several saw and grist mills, a distillery, fulling-mill,

kvo principal inns, besides smaller ones, a number of

tool stores, a government school-house, which also

((Tvcs for a church, till one more suitable should be built.

Vhe plains are sold off in park lots, and some pretty

pttle dwellings are being built, but I much fear the

latural beauties of this lovely spot will be soon spoiled.

I am never weary with strolling about, climbing the
lills in every direction, to catch some new prospect, or
rather some new flowers, which, though getting late in
the summer, are still abundant.

Among the i)lants with whose names I am acquainted

ire a variety of shrubby asters, of every tint of blue,

|)iirp!e, and pearly white ; a lilac monardn^ most delight-

I'lilly aromatic, even to the dry stalks and seed-vessels ;

the white gnaphalium^ or everlasting flower ; roses of

several kinds, a few late buds of which I found in a

ralK'y near the church. I also noticed among the

?hnibs a very pretty little plant, resembling our box ; it

trails along the ground, sending up branches and shoots ;

the leaves turn of a deep copper red ;* yet, in spite of

[tills contradiction, it is an evergreen. I also noticed

some beautiful lichens, with coral caps surmounting the

Igrey hollow footstalks, whicji grow in irregular tufts

[among the dry mosses, or more frequently I found them

joovering the roots of the trees or half-decayed timbers.

(Among a variety of fungi I gathered a hollow cup of

the most splendid scarlet within, and a pale fawn colour

without ; another very beautiful fungi consisted of small

branches like clusters of white coral, but of so delicate a

(texture that the slightest touch caused them to break.

The ground in many places was covered with a thick

Icarpet of strawberries of many varieties, which aflbrd a

'constant dessert during the season to those who choose

to pick them, a privilege of which I am sure I should

gladly avail myself were I near them in the summer,

* Probably a Gaultheria. — Ed.

B m:

■' '!i|'';ir

1 ;|l.' I''

ill'ir:
■■' !|l

Oil

fi!;i

" I 11'

.!!!;►*

"^i: 'ill

''Jl::;'!

•h'-i

■tl»

,J:,,

ill ;^!!y'l

ii . ■ i' : r.

M Hi

>;; I !H

ifji

HiMii

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Beside the plants I have myself observed in blossom, I
am told the spring and summer produce many others ;-
the orange lily ; the phlox, or purple lichnidea ; the nio.
cassin flower, or ladies' slipper ; lilies of the valley in
abundance ; and, towards the banks of the creek and the
Otanabee, the splendid cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis)
waves its scarlet spikes of blossoms.

I am half inclined to be angry when I admire the
beauty of the Canadian flowers, to be constantly reminded
that they are scentless, and therefore scarcely worthy of
attention ; as if the eye could not be charmed by beauty
of form and harniony of colours, independent of the
sense of smelling being gratifled.

To redeem this country from the censure cast on it by
a very clever gentleman I once met in London, who said,
** the flowers were without perfume, and the birds with-
out song," I have already discovered several highly arc
matic plants and flowers. The milk-weed must not be
omitted among these ; a beautiful shrubby plant with
purple flowers, which are alike remarkable for beauty of ;
colour and richness of scent.

I shall very soon begin to collect a hortus siccus for
Eliza, with a description of the plants, growth, and qua-j^
lities. Any striking particulars respecting them I shall
make notes of; and tell her she may depend on my
sending my specimens, with seeds of such as I can col-
lect, at some fltting opportunity.

I consider this country opens a wide and fruitful fielJ
to the inquiries of the botanist. I now deeply regret I
did not benefit by the frequent offers Eliza made me of
prosecuting a study which I once thought dry, but now
regard as highly interesting, and the fertile source of
mental enjoyment, especially to those who, living in the
bush, must necessarily be shut out from the pleasures of a
large circle of friends, and the varieties that a town or
village offer.

On Sunday I went to church ; the first opportunity I
had had of attending public worship since I was in the
Highlands of Scotland ; and surely I had reason to bow
my knees in thankfulness to that merciful God who had

SQUATTER8 GROUND.

roujrht us through the perils of the great deep and the

orrors of the pestilence.

Never did our beautiful Liturgy seem so touching and
impressive as it did that day, — offered up in our lowly
log-built church in the wilderness.

This simple edifice is situated at the foot of a gentle
slope on the plains, surrounded by groups of oak and
feathery pines, which, though inferior in point of size to
the huice jnnes and oaks of the forest, are far more agree-
able to the eye, branching out in a variety of fantastic
forms. The turf here is of an emerald greenness : in
short, it is a sweet spot, retired from the noise and bustle
^)[' the town, a fitting place in which to worship God in
spirit and in truth.

There are many beautiful walks towards the Smith-
town hills, and along the banks that overlook the river.
The summit of this ridge is sterile, and is thickly set
with loose bl -cks of red and grey granite, interspersed
with large masses of limestone scattered in every direc-
tion ; they are mostly smooth and rounded, as it by the
action of water. As they are detached, and merely oc-
cupy the surface of the ground, it seemed strange to me
how ey came at that elevation. A geologist would
doubtless be able to solve the mystery in a few minutes.
The oaks that grow on this high bank are rather larger
and more flourishing than those in the valleys and more
fertile portions of the soil.

Behind the town, in the direction of the Cavan and
Emily roads, is a wide space which I call the " squatters*
ground," it being entirely covered with shanties, in
which the poor emigrants, commuted pensioners, and the
like, have located themselves and families. Some
remain here under the ostensible reason of providing a
shelter for their wives and children till they have pre-
pared a home for their reception on their respective
grants ; but not unfrequently it happens that they are
too indolent, or really unable to work on their lots, often
situated many miles in the backwoods, and in distant
and unsettled townships, presenting great obstacles to
the poor emigrant, which it requires more energy and

!• "1:

1:71'

fi 3'

i<f ' III

III,:.!';.

'■it'

" I'

IB!-:

■»tts"i
I'll' (a"''

I'"'

,u...,;'l

!'f:l

l^t:^

, . . ill'''' ,

'{■.'

1 * 'iili r ?

, .ii': 'Hi

!i>i'. ,
I 111'-:

■'!»;.;:
■I'''-

Mm.

'■ ■ ri

<4 DAfKWOOIiS OP CANADA.

coiirairo to (MifouutLT tiian is jiossrssod \)y a va^^t nunilir-
of tlii'in. OtliiTs, of idle and ])roHijrat(^ lial)its, spcti!
the inoiiey tlicy ivceivcd, aiui sell the land, tor \vlii(ii
they gave away their pensions, after which they reiiuun
miserable S(juaiieis on the siuinty-irround.

The shanty is a sort oi' j)riinitive hut in Canadian ar-
chitecture, and is nothinj^* more than a shed huilt oI'Iol's,
the chinks between the round edges of the timbers
being tilled with nnid, moss, and bits of wood ; the rool
is frequently composed of lo^s split and hollowed witn
the axe, and placed sid<? !)y side, so t!iat the cdires re?!
on each other ; the concave and convex surfaces bcin^'
alternately uppermost, every other log forms a channel
to carry oii' the rain and melting snow. The eaves of
ihis building resemble the scolloped edges of a clamp-
shell ; but rude as this covering is, it ett'ectually answers
the purpose of keeping the interior dry ; far more iu
than the roofs I'ormed of bark or boards, throuuh which
the rain will find enti'ance. Sometimes the shmrvhasa
window, sonielimes only an open doorway, which admits
th3 light and lets out the smoke.* A rude chimney,
which is often nothinLr better than an opcniuir cut in oik;
of the top lojrs above the hearth, a few boards fastened
in a square form, serves as the vent lor the sniol^e ; iho
only precaution against the fire catching the log wall-
behind the hearth boing a few large stones phiced in a
half circular form, or more commonly a bank of dry
earth raised against tiie wall.

* I was greatly amused by the remark made by a littl '
Irish hoy, that wc liired to be our hewer of wood and drawvr
of water, who had been an inhabitant of one of these shantic?.
'• xMa'ara," said he, "when the weather was stinging cold, avj
did not know how to keep ourselves warm; for while ^VJ
roasted our eyes out before the fire, our backs were jii^.
freezing ; so first we turned one side and then the other, jib' i
as you would roast a (/use on a spit. Mother spent half the |
money fatiier earned at his straw-work (he was a straw |
chair-maker,) in whisky to keep us warm ; but I do think a j
larger mess of good hot praters (potatoes,) would have kept
us warmer than the whislcv did.'^

fi^

a \a^t nunilif
lial)ifs, spoii'
ti(J, for \vlii(f;
1 they reiiiiiin

Canadian ar-

i)uilt ot'loi:^,

th(» tinil)(

)0(l ; tlie rooi

lol lowed witii

le rd tjfos r('>!

ir faces beinL'

lis a ehannol

The caves of

of a chimp-

lally answers

i'ar more su

roimh which

shii'tyhasa

vhich admits

\o chin

ir cut 1

rds i;

5nii);;e

|e ]o<x
phieed
ink of

bv a

land dr

Ise slianti
|ng cold

Wiiil

were
other,
It Jialf
Its a sti
Ido thi
have

u
3

i ; P':i 'W-

K V Ki

W'S

'J ;l'| 'iili
' 'if.')) 11 ,

flit ii^eii: i

^il

til J 'Ir ■ 'f'l g'. »* li

■n f'lr .■■)''

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

sl.il[.Tc!:;"?,S1„';f '"T -"'"'■or.Ioss than .„„,e of „„

S-'v«n ^ou the dark side T.'l. '^"''- ""'Iliav,

f.a.v all tl.c shanties on ,h " ''"■•"''<' '' ^ »"' 'mn, ■ I
"ke these: onthe ertrarv f:'""""?' '■"•'"'"■' w..c!-„;
wore inhabited by tX S ^ '^^ "l" '"'■?■"•'• Pro|.o,t"„
^mall windows, LH IvVh"'' '""' "'"'• ""• e'"^" ^!
through the ro<^f • some ul.^""""^ "'-'"''"•'y '""It u
I'o'sossed similar comforts «hT '""t'/ ""^'•-'' «»
. You will, perhaps, think ,.. """' '"?-l"'uses.

hat „,any rLpect'able "« ler 'Tjth "t^" ' ''^""^ •™"

'amdies, persons delicatelv r,..«;. '^""' "'^s un,l

overy eomfort beforeThey^ZS ""^u "«"^'o,„ed t

tented to inhabit a hut o'f M^l^ndJ' .'"'^«,''<'™ con-

second year of their settlemei^t in 7h ^"""^ "'« h>st or

I have istencd with «• T " ""' "oo*-
hi^'ipry of the hard Wns'^enT "[ P"' '"^'^^^^^ to th.
settlers in the nei Jhb„ fl„ "■''"''''/^ ''y some „f the C

teined but tw;"ft,!^a„:e'r ^r''"'^'' -"

neither roads cut nor boate St L ^'"'" .there wcro
the distant and settled mrt. {?''^^'""">"okiiting with

hotter supply oTLltha^'wtt^M^^'"^^ had no
by a small hand-mill, and for *epl?V ■'"' '^""^ S™"-'!
every necessary, not even pv^ .• t"'"^ "^^stitute of

friend <' are confined princinalU?'"!^'^ ."^ '"««"'>■«
the so,l in the unsettled"^ mrTof^.u'" ">« fi"-'! breakeS of
case If you diligently Cstion il ^°T7' "' ""^ our
the lower class that are iSh ?„ T^ °' "«' '"milies of
who had little or no rJeat * , ""^ .""« '""ns, and
first twelve months, ~ ev eolT^i *""■ '•«""& the
'and, vou will hear many IVes'o'ft;:,:^"'' '''' "'

i I

)mo of thoso
<'oniniori re-
Hut. I have
!»n ^'appy to
|<1 vvcrtrnor
f proportion
^r evon two
rly Iniilt u[,
loorcMJ, and
houses.
[ assure you
wives an(
I'ustorned to
l>ocn con-
tlie first or

)

rest to tho
)i' the first
'ough con-
ihere were
ating with
; conso-
of provi-
that has

had no
y ground
stitute of
could not
net with

emigra-

itelligent
iakers of

was our
milies of

ns, and
ring the

ofi* the

w ^

h '* ill ■/

111' ",j

'I! ,:i

T II

It'' r

flit'

'-1

ft.''
" "J ■

l';!ii

111,!' ■

Ill :!;,!K

'iC jilit

i ,,('»• ' lit"

■ tji'j

)M' ' ''■'■

Ml!

•!|;,,

',11 li'iil ' '

'1%

:i'i'!

•j'i'i.

/ f

■'i

'!(i,;lj
111 i!

., ,{d

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

Writers on emigration do not take the trouble of
searching out these things, nor does it answer their pur-
pose to state disagreeable facts. Few have written ex-
clusively on the " Bush." Travellers generally make a
hasty journey through the long settled and prosperous
portions of the country ; they see a tract of fertile,
M'ell-cultivated land, the result of many years of labour ;
they see comfortable dwellings abounding with all the
substantial necessaries of life ; the farmer's wife makes
her own soap, candles, and sugar ; the family are
clothed in cloth of their own spinning, and hose of their
own knitting. The bread, beer, butter, cheese, meat,
poultry, &c., are all the produce of the farm. He con-
cludes, therefore, that Canada is a land of Canaan, and
writes a book setting forth these advantages, with the
addition of obtaining land for a mere song ; and advises
ail perTons who would be independent and secure from
want to emigrate.

He forgets that these advantages are the result of
long years of unremittixig and patient labour ; that these
things are the crowriy not the Jirst-^rvits of the settler's
toil ; and that during the interval many and great
privations must be submitted to by almost every class of
emigrants.

Many persons, on first coming out, especially if they
go back into any of the unsettled townships, are
dispirited by the unpromising appearance of things
about them. They find none of the advantages and
comforts of which they had heard and read, and they
are unprepared for the present difficulties ; some give
way to despondency, and others quit the place in
disgust.

A little reflection would have shown them that every
rood of land must be cleared of the thick forest of
timber that encumbers it before an ear of wheat can be
grown ; that, after the trees have been chopped, cut
into lengths, drawn together, or logged^ as we call it, and
burned, the field must be fenced, the seed sown, har-
vested, and thrashed before any returns can be obtained ;
that this requires time and much labour, and, if hired

SUPPLIES IN THE FOREST.

labour, considerable outlay of ready money ; and in the
meantime a family must eat. If at a distance from a
store, every article must be brought through bad roads
cither by hand or with a team, the hire of which is gene-
rally costly in proportion to the distance and difficulty
to be encountered in the conveyance. Now, these things
ure better known beforehand, and then people are aware
what they have to encounter.

Even a labouring man, though he have land of his
own, is often, I may say generally, obliged to hire out to
work for the first year or two, to earn sufficient for the
maintenance of his family ; and even many of them
suffer much privation before they reap the benefit of
their independence. Were it not for the hope and the
certain prospect of bettering their condition ultimately,
they would sink under what they have to endure ; but
this thought buoys them up. They do not fear an old
age of want and pauperism ; the present evils must yield
to industry and perseverance ; they think also for their
children ; and the trials of the present time are lost in
pleasing anticipations for the future.

*' Surely," said I, " cows and pigs and poultry might
be kept ; and you know, where there is plenty of milk,
butter, cheese, and eggs, with pork and fowls, persons
cannot be very badly off for food."

*' Very true," replied my friend ; " but I must tell you
it is easier to talk of these things at first than to keep
them, unless on cleared or partially cleared farms ; but
we are speaking of a first settlement in the backwoods.
Cows, pigs, and fowls must eat, and if you have nothing
to give them unless you purchase it, and perhaps have to
bring it from some distance, you had better not be
troubled with them, as the trouble is certain and the
profit doubtful. A cow, it is true, will get her living
during the open months of the year in the bu^h, but
sometimes siie will ramble away for days together, and
then you lose the use of her, and possibly much time in
seeking her ; then in the winter she requires some ad-
ditional food to the browse * that she gets during the

* The cattle are supported ic a great measure during the

K 2

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I ■ 1 ^'i 41 rrt! ',1'

»•. Oil , ,|ii ,1! 'i!l;^

% ',

m
\ii'-i

III 1'! '

■N.;;i;.iiif:i

::i « 1

'mm

.•ll!!'

* 'lilili

'lilMl

'i ,..;iif Ml!!!

■m! ■ ■

■^ , ■::.•'! it
'■'III

'^l!i

lii

h
i,

'f. .Jr:; I

till

-Vi^ ■■ 15';''!!!

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

chopping season, or ten to one but she dies before
spring- ; and as cows generally lose their milk during
the cold weather, if not very well kept, it is best to part
with them in the fall and buy again in the spring, unless
you have plenty of food for them, which is not often
the case the first winter. As to pigs, they are great
plagues on a newly cleared farm if you cannot fat them
off-hand ; and that you cannot do without you buy food
for them, which does not answer to do at first. If they
run loose they are a terrible annoyance both to your own
crops and your neighbours, if you happen to be within
half a mile of one ; for though you may fence out cattle
you cannot pigs : even poultry require something more
than they pick up about the dwelling to be of any ser-
vice to you, and are often taken off by hawks, eagles,
foxes, and pole-cats, till you have proper securities for
them."

*' Then, how are we to spin our own wool and make
our own soap and candles ? "* said I. " When you are
able to kill your own sheep, and hogs, and oxen, unless
you buy wool and tallow" — then, seeing me begin to
look somewhat disappointed, he said, " Be not cast
down, you will have all these things in time, and more
than these, never fear, if you have patience, and use the
means of obtaining them. In the meanwhile prepare
your mind for many privations to which at present you
are a stranger ; and if you would desire to see your hus-
band happy and prosjierous, be content to use economy,
and, above all, be cheerful. In a few years the farm will
supply you with all the necessaries of life, and by and by
you may even enjoy many of the luxuries. Then it is
that the settler begins to taste the real and solid advan-
tages of his emigration ; then he feels the blessings of a
country where there are no taxes, tithes, nor poor-rates ;
then he truly feels the benefit of independence. It is

fall and winter by eating the tender shoots of the maple,
beech, and bass, which they seek in the newly chopped fal-
low ; but they should likewise be allowed straw or other
food, or they will die in the very hard weather.
* See notes A and 13 at the end of the volume.

til

EEFLECTIOJS'S.

ics before
ilk during
est to part
ng-, unless
not often
are great
fiat them
I buy food
If they
your own
je within
out cattle
ing more
' any ser-
5, eagles,
u'ities for

md make

I you are

In, unless

begin to

not cast

nd more

use the

prepare

ent you

our hus-

onomy,

irni will

and bv

en it is

ad van -

?s of a

•-rates ;

It is

inaple,
»ed M-
otlier

looking" forward to this happy fulfihnent of liis desires
tiiat makes the rough paths smooth, and lightens the
bu.cien of present ills, lie looks round upon a numerous
family without those anxious fears that beset a lather in
moderate circumstances at home ; for he knows that he
does not leave them destitute of an honest means of
supix>rt.**

in spite of all the trials he had encountered, I found
this gentleman was so much attached to a settler's life,
tliat he declared he would not go back to his own country
to resiile for a permanence on any account ; nor is he
the only one that I have heard express the same opinion,
and it likewise seems a univer^-al one among the lower
class of emigrants. They are encouraged by the ex-
ample of others whom they see enjoying comforts that
they could never have obtained had they laboured ever
so liard at home : and they wisely reflect they nmst have
had hardships to endure had they remained in their
native land (many indeed had been driven out by want),
without the most remote chance or" bettering themselves
or becoming the jjossessors of land free from all restric-
tions. '' What to us are the sufferings of one, two,
three, or even four years, compared with u whole life of
labour and poverty," was the remark of a po"] labourer,
who was recounting to us the other day some (^i ihe hard-
ships he had met with in this country, lie said he
" knew they were only for a short time, u\a that I y in-
dustry he should soon get over them."

I have already seen two of our poor neighbours that
left the parish a twelvemonth ago : they are settled in
Canada Company lots, and are getting on well. They
have some few acres cleared and cropped, but are obliged
to ^^ hire out,'' to enable their families to live, wor^aig
on their own land when they can. The men ire in good
spirits, and say, '' they shall in a few years have many
comforts about them that they never could have got -li
home, had they worked late and early : but they com-
plain that their wives are always pining for hon.c, and
lamenting that ever they crossed the seas." This seems
to be the general complaint with all classes : the w omen

mJB

^^h'

BACKWOODS OF CAKADA.

": :|

are discontented ar^fi .. u

whole heart into Ti^X ^^IT '"''' "'"> th.ir
domestic comforts they had h« " ''7 ""'*' '^e little
regret the Wends anH . i ,• °^^" "^^'^ '« eniov th,.v
country, and they c^nlt '?"' ""^^ '«'' m the 2
backwoods. '^ '^""°' ""'"■•e the loneliness of tt

finJ^^nroTotZTon''"""!;^'' -= ' ''-•I sha-l
sources of injoy^e^C^ Iw ^1'""?^""'^ ^ ''
J from being dull. Bes"de, h ?^ ">« »'" k'^P

cheerful and contented for th:^!'^? "°'.' ■"^''' '° '^^
ner ? The change is not a^rZ!^ t "^ ^elovetl part-
^for his sake I %yl TolfSyZ T ''"»" ''''" -"'i

-iment of my f^^^ ^o^^rcll^;;^^-'^'- '^a^

£n i^i:z rren^cTook '" vr ■ ^ r '-- «"■■«

anrf I " ='"'<=Ju'led. There arp,h ''"''*^''"'<= "'' the
and a shanty up ; but thT u """'"^ '""'"cs chonned

dwelling, befngL;reIyano„;n''^'^.''l "<" « habi't^bt:
the choppers as a fempomrvT.lf "* """ "'» P"t "P by
budd a house. Late 'enZh w^' '" ^'^ ''"'" ''»ve to
in a full crop, as the land Um„ T T' '"» '«'« to eet
fnd U is no V too late to lot anTh^""'!'P«^' "ot cleared
the seed.wheat in • but ■ f -n u ^"™ ""-^ 'allow, and ^et
We paid five dolL an/a hi f """^^ ^"^ ^P"ng "rops
was rather high for w J land L'tT' *'"' »'"' '"^ •• t£

.-In all probability it »!)) k
leisure aa^i„ to X ud nv """^ *™« before I find
guests with till Z h^ •""•'• . ^« *hall remSn

''-n, Which 1 4SoZiizcrci^^^^^^

JOURNEY FROM PBTERBOROUGH.

Letter VII.

Journey from Peterborough. — Canadian Woods. — Waggon
and Team.— Arrival at a Log-house on the Banks of a
Lake. — Settlement and first Occupatioas.

October 25, 1832.

I SHALL begin my letter with a description of our
journey through the bush, and so go on, giving an account
of our proceedings both within-doors and without. I
know my little domestic details will not prove wholly
uninteresting to you : for well I am assured that a
mother's eye is never weary with reading lines traced by
the hand of an absent and beloved child.

After some difficulty we succeeded in hiring a waggon
and span (i. e. pair abreast) of stout iiorses to convey us
and our luggage through the woods to the banks of one

of the lakes where S ■ — had appuinied to ferry us

across. Therp was no palpable roau, only a blaze on the
other side, encumbered by fallen trees, and interrupted
by a great cedar swamp, into which one might sink up
to one's knees, unless we took the precaution to step
along the trunks of the mossy decaying timbers, or make
our footing sure on some friendly block of granite or
limestone. What is termed in bush-language a blaze is
nothing more than notches or slices cut off the bark of
trees, to mark out the line of road. The boundaries of
the different lots are often marked by a blazed tree, also
the concession-lines.* These bla^^s ^\e pf as much use
as finger-posts of a dark night.

* These concession-lines are certain divisions of the town-
ships ; these are again divided into so many lots of 200 acres.
The concession-liues used to bu umv|ied by a wide avenue

¥ ',

• 1

[ i

■ ' 5

■ t '

■ > >

■ l}\ .

' '"8

-yM

V y

! 'J

i it .'

j,,j ^M

I ' '

i ': M

1 «

, ■ mi

^'!iV

■•:S4 ■

1*1 >l

If;' :''».,
h'!. ill*

tip

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1^ ' 1 ^ ii

.'.| .ii :! i;

;!•(,

r.v:;'ti;

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

The road wc were compelled to take lay ever the
Peterborough plains, in the direction of the river, the
scenery of which })leased me much, though it j)resents
little appearance of fertility, with the exception of two
or three extensive clearings.

About tliree miles above Peterborough the road winds
along the brow of a steep ridge, the bottom of which has
every appearance of having been formerly the bed of a
lateral branch of the present river, or perhaps some small
lake, which has been diverted from its channel, and
mei'ued in the Otanabee.

On either side this ridge tliere is a steep descent : on
the right, the Otanabee breaks upon you, rushing with
i..ieat velocity over its rocky bed, ibrming rajjids in
iruniature, resembling those of the St. Lawi-ence : its
dark frowning woods of sombre pine give a grandeur to
tivj scenery that is very impressive. On the left lies
below you a sweet secluded dell of evergreens, cedar,
hemlock, and ])ine, enlivened by a few deciduous trees.
Through this dell there is a road track leading to a fine
cleared farm, the green pastures of which were rendered
more pleasing by the absence of the odious stumps tlnit
disfigure the clearings in this part of the country. A
pretty bright stream flows through the low meadow that
lies at the loot of the hill, which you descend suddenly
close by a smal , st-mill that is worked by the waters,
just w here they njcet the rapids of the river.

I called this place " Glen Morrison," partly from the
remembrance of the lovely Ghn Morrison of the High-
lands, and i>artly bec.uisc It was the name of the settler
that owned the spot.

Our progress was but slow on account of the rough-
ness of the road, which is beset with innumerable ob-
stacles in the shape of loose blocks of granite and lime-

^■

.'11^' 'III'"

being chopped, so as to form a road of communication be-
tween them ; but this plan was found too trouhU^^^ome ; and
in a few years the young growth of timber so choked the
opening, that it was of little use. The lately surveyed town*
ships, 1 believe, are only divided by blazed lines.

on be-

i] and

lhI t]ie

town-

I ,

,':':*. ''I'M I!,,;

■ 1;.,.';;. i5i.M ■ ' M,.":,

I'll!,.,

i; •-•

'Wl^

^uT-'^^

iio

.-^

i , '^i 1

C3
O

'^i,t

■'■■*,

"1-

^ <

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

1.' 1 r ' ■

«'

*-di

■^^lii

nil'!!':

•,' :«)

•■ft

' "■■■■ 1 ijiitji
, ' ,■■"!!

t '

"^'!'ii

' .Mm

•'■liil;

Btonc, with which the lands on the banks of the river and
lakes abound ; to say nothing of fallen trees, big roots,
mud-holes, and corduroy bridges, over which you go jolt,
jolt, jolt, till every bone in your body feels as if it were
going to be dislocated. An experienced bush- traveller
avoids many hard thumps by rising up or clinging to the
sides of his rough vehicle.

As the day was particularly fine, I often quitted the
waggon and walked on with my husband for a mile or
so.

We soon lost sight entirely of the river, and struck
into the deep solitude of the forest, where not a sound
disturbed the almost awful stillness that reigned around
Scarcely a leaf or bough was in motion, except at

us.

intervals we caught the sound of the breeze stirring the
lofty heads of the pine-trees, and wakening a hoarse and
mournful cadence. This, with the tapping of the red-
headed and grey woodpeckers on the trunks of the de-
caying trees, or the shrill whistling cry of the little
striped squirrel, called by the natives ** chitmunk," was
every sound that broke the stillness of the wild. Nor
was 1 less surprised at the absence of animal life. With
the exception of the aforesaid chitmunk, no living thing
crossed our path during our long day's journey in the
woods.

In these vast solitudes one would naturally be led to
imagine that the absence of man would have allowed
Nature's wild denizens to have abounded free and un-
molested ; but the contrary seems to be the case. Al-
most all wild animals are more abundant in the cleared
districts than in the bush. Man's industry supplies their
wants at an easier rate than seeking a scanty subsistence
in the forest.

You hear continually of depredations committed by
wolves, bears, racoons, lynxes, and foxes, in the long-
settled parts of the province. In the backwoods the
appearance of wild beasts is a matter of much rarer oc-
currence.

I was disappointed in the forest-trees, having pictured
to niyseii hoary giants almost primeval with the country

TRAVELLING IN THE WOODS.

> river and
big roots,
ou pro jolt,
if it were
i-traveller
ing to the

iiitted the
a mile or

ind struck
t a sound
ed around
except at
rring the
aarse and
' the red-
f the de-
the little
ink," was
Id. Nor
With
ng thing
y in the

)e led to
allowed
land un-
Al-
cl eared
ies their
iistence

Ited by

long-

the

rer oc-

Ictured
)untry

i
I

itself, as greatly exceeding in majesty of form the trees
of my native isles, as the vast lakes and mighty rivers of
Canada exceed the locks and streams of Britain.

There is a want of picturesque beauty in the woods.
The young growth of timber alone has any pretension to
elegance of form, unless 1 except the hemlocks, which
are extremely light and graceful, and of a lovely re-
freshing tint of green. Even when winter has stripped
the forest it is still beautiful and verdant. The young
beeches too are pretty enough, but you miss that fantastic
bowery shade that is so delightful in our parks and wood-
lands at home.

There is no appearance of venerable antiquity in the
Canadian woods. There are no ancient spreading oaks
that might be called the patriarchs of the forest. A pre-
mature decay seems to be their doom. They are up-
rooted by the storm, and sink in their first maturity, to
give place to a new generation that is ready to fill their
places.

The pines are certainly the finest trees. In point of
size there are none to surpass them. They tower above
all the others, forming a dark line that may be dis-
tinguished for many miles. The pines being so much
loftier than the other trees, are sooner uprooted, as they
receive the full and unbroken force of the wind in their
tops ; thus it is that the ground is continually strewn
with the decaying trunks of huge pines. They also
seem more liable to inward decay, and blasting from
lightning and fire. Dead pines are more frequently met
with than any other tree.

Much as I had seen and heard of the badness of the
roads in Canada, I was not prepared for such a one as
we travelled along this day : indeed, it hardly deserved
the name of a road, being little more than an opening
hewed out through the woods, the trees being felled
and drawn aside, so as to admit a wheeled carriage pass-
ing along.

The swamps, and little forest streams that occasionally
gush across the path, are rendered passable by logs
placed side by side. From the ridgy and striped ap-

•I' ,

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

'jliti.

! s^.»/9f;;

pcarancc of these bridges they arc aptly enough tcrmod
corduroy.

Over those abominiihle corduroys the vehicle jolts,
jumping from log to log, with u shock that must be en-
dured with as good a grace as possible. If you could boar
these knocks, and j)itiloss thumpings and bumpings,
without wry faces, your patience and ])hiloso{)hy wonld
far exceed mine ; — sometimes I laughed because I would
not cry.

Imagine you see me perched up on a seat composed of
carpet-bcit^s, trunks, and sundry j)ackages, in a vehicle
little better than a great rough deal box set on wheels,
the sides being merely j)egged in so that more than once
I found myself in rather an awkward itredicament, owing
to the said sides jumping out. In the vvvy midst of a
deep mud-hole out went the front board, and with the
shock went the teamster (driver), who looked rather
confounded at finding himself lodged just in the middle
of a slough as bad as the "Slough of Des])ond." For
my part, as I could do no good, I kept my seat, and
piitient.ly awaited the restoration to order. This was
soon elieeted,and all went on well again till a jolt against
a huge pine-tree gave su^h a jar to the ill-set vehicle,
that one of the boards danced out that composed the
bottom, and a sack of flour and bag of salted pork, which
was on its way to a settler's, whose clearing we had to
pass in the way, were ejected. A good teamster is sel-
dom taken aback by such trifles as these.

He is, or should be, provided with an axe. No wag-
gon, team, or any other travelling equipage should be
unprovided with an instrument of this kind ; as no one
can answer for the obstacles that may impede his pro-
gress in the bush. The disasters we met fortunately
required but little skill in remedying. The sides need
only a stout peg, and the loosened planks that form the
l)ottom being quickly replaced, away you go again over
root, stump, and stone, mud-hole, and corduroy ; now
against the trunk of some standing tree, now mounting
over some fallen one, with an impulse that would annihi-
Jate any lighter equipage than a Canadian waggon, which

SAGACITY OF CANADIAN HORSES.

^iigh tormod

'olilclc jolts,
must be en.
'U could bear
I bnin])ln<:s,
?oj)hy would
ausc I would

conii)oso(l of
In a v(dji('le
t on wheels,
■e than once
incnt, owing
r midst of a
tid with the
jked rather

the midille
ond." For
17 seat, and

This was
jolt against
set vehicle,
nposed the
K)rk, which
we had to
ister is sel-

No wag-
should be
as no one
lo his pro-
tbrtunately
sides need
form the
again over
roy ; now
mounting
Id annihi-
:on, which

is admiiably fiftccl by its very roughness for such roads
as we have in the b-jish.

The sagacity of the horses of this country is truly ad«
niirabl«\ Their patience in surmounting the difhcidties
they 'lavc to encounter, their skill in avoiding the holes
and stones, and in making their footing sure over vhc
round and slippery timbers of the log-bri<lges, renders
them ^ery valuable. If they want the spirit and fleet-
ncss of some of our high-bred blood-h( '^ses, they make
up in gentleness, strength, and ])atience 'I'his renders
them most truly valuable, as they wil ravel in such
]»la(!es that no British horse would, with equal safety to
their drivers. Nor arc the Canadian horses, when well
fed and groomed, at all deficient in beauty of colour, size,
or form. They are not very often used in logging ;
the ox is preferred in all rough and heavy labour of this
kind.

Just as the increasing gloom of the forest Ix^gan to
warn us of the approach of evening, and I was getting
weary and hungry, our driver, in some confusion, avowed
his belief that, son)chow or other, he had missed the
track, though how, he could not tell, seeing there was but
one road. We were nearlv two miles from the last set-
tlement, and he said we ought to be within sight of the
lake if we were on the right road. The only plan, we
agreed, was for him to go forward and leave the team,
and endeavour to ascertain if he were near the water,
and if otherv ' <e, to return to the house we had passed,
and inquire the way.

After running full half a mile ahead he returned with
a dejected countenance, saying we must be wrong, for he
saw no appearance of water, and the road we were on
appeared to end in a cedar swamp, as the farther he
went the thicker the hemlocks and cedars became ; so, as
we had no desire to commence our settlement by a night's
lodging in a swamp — where, to use the expression of our
driver, the cedars grew as thick as hairs on a cat's back,
— we agreed to retrace our steps.

After some difficulty the lumbering machine was
turned, and slowly we began our backward march. Wo

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

had not gone more than a mile when a boy came along,
who told us we might just go back again, as there was
no other road to the lake ; and added, with a knowing
nod of his head, ** Master, I guess if you had known the
bush as well as I, you would never have been ^t/ie enough
to turn when you were going just right. Why, any
body knows that them cedars and himlocks grow thickest
near the water ; so you may just go back for your
pains,"

It was dark, save that the stars came forth with more
than usual brilliancy, v hen we suddenly emerged from
the depth of the gloomy forest to the shores of a beau-
tiful little lake, that gleamed the more brightly from the
contrast of the dark masses of foliage that hung over it,
and the towering pine-woods that girt its banks.

Here, seated on a huge block of limestone, which was
covered with a soft cushion of moss, beneath the shade
of the cedars that skirt the lake, surrounded with trunks,
boxes, and packages of various descriptions, which the
driver had hastily thrown from the waggon, sat your
child, in anxious expectation of some answering voice to
my husband's long and repeated halloo.

But when the echo of his voice had died away we
heard only the gurgling of the waters at the head of the
rapids, and the distant and hoarse murmur of a waterfall
some half-mile below them.

We could see no sign of any habitation, no gleam of
light from the shore to cheer us. In vain we strained
our ears for the plash of the oar, or welcome sound of
the human voice, or bark of some household dog, that
might assure us were not doomed to pass the night in the
lone wood.

We began now to apprehend we had really lost the
way. To attempt returning through the deepening dark-
ness of the forest in search of any one to guide us was
quite out of the question, the road being so ill de lined that
we should soon have been lost in the mazes of the woods.
The last sound of the waggon-wheels had died away in
the distance ; to have overtaken it would have been im-
|)08sible. Bidding me remain quietly where I was, my

WELCOME BECEPTION.

husband forced his way through the tangled underwood
along the bank, in hope of discovering some sign of the
house we sought, which we had every reason to suppose
must be near, though probably hidden by the dense mass
of trees from our sight.

As I sat in the wood in silence and in darkness, my
thoughts gradually wandered back across the Atlantic to
mv dear mother and to my old home ; and I thought
what would have been your feelings could you at that
moment have beheld me as I sat on the cold mossy stone
in the profound stillness of that vast leafy wilderness,
thousands of miles from all those holy ties of kindred and
early associations that make home in all countries a hal-
lowed spot. It was a moment to press u|)on my mind
the importance of the step I had taken, in voluntarily
sharing the lot of the emigrant — in leaving the land of
my birth, to which, in all probability, 1 might never
again return. Great as was the sacrifice, even at that
moment, strange as was my situation, I felt no ])ainful
regret or fearful misgiving depress my mind. A holy
and tranquil peace came down upon me, soothing and
softening my spirits into a calmness that seemed as un-
ruffled as was the Ijosom of the water that lay stretched
out before my feet.

My reverie was broken by the light plash of a paddle,
and a bright line of light showed a canoe dancing over
the lake : in a few minutes a well-known and friendly
voice greeted me as the little bark was moored among
the cedars at my feet. My husband having gained a
projecting angle of the shore, had discovered the wel-
come blaze of the wood fire in the log-house, and, after
some difficulty, had succeeded in rousing the attention of
its inhabitants. Our coming that day had long been given
up, and our first call had been mistaken for the sound of
the ox-bells in the wood : this had caused the delay that
had so embarrassed us.

Wo soon forgot our weary wanderings beside the bright
fire that blazed on the hearth of the log-house, in which

we found S comfortably domiciled with his wife.

To the lady I was duly introduced ; and, in spite of

IIACKWOODS or CANADA.

i',

i> .

t '

i '(

I "i".

f r ■■i^^

all remonstrances I'roni the aff'ectionaie and carerul mo-
ther, three fair slee|)in^^ rhihh'en wi-re suceessivcly lianded
out of tlieir cribs to be shown nie l)y 'lieir j*routi an.i de-
lighted father.

Our welconje was triven with that unaffected cordiality
that is so prateful to the heart: it was as sincere as it was
kind. All means were adopted to soften the rouirhne.-=>
of our acconnnodation, which, if they lacked that I'lr.
gance and convenience to which we had been accu>-
tomed in Enjrland, were not devoid of rustic comfort ;
at all events they were such as many settlers of the tiiM
respectability have been p^lad to content themselves witli,
and many have not been half so well lodged as we nov.
are.

We may indeed consider ourselves fortunate in not be-
ing obliged to go at once into the rude shanty that I <lr-
scribed to you as the only habitation on our land. This

test of our I'ortitude was kindly spared us by S ,

who insisted on our remaining beneath his hospitable root
till such time as we should liave put up a house on our
own lot. Here then we are for the \)rvsvnij^.iefl, as the
Canadians say ; and if I miss many of the little comforts
and luxuries of life, I enjoy excellent health and spirits.
and am very happy in the society of those arounrl me.

The children are already very fond of me. They have
discovered my passion for flowers, w Inch they diligently
search for among the stumps and along the lake shore.
I have begun collecting, and though the season is far ad-
vanced, my hortus siccus boasts of several elegant sjjcoi-
mens of fern; the yellow Canadian violet, which blooms
twice in the year, in the spring and fall, as the autumnal
season is expressively termed ; two sorts of Michaelmas
daisies, as we call the shrubby asters, of which the
varieties here are truly elegant ; and a wreath of the fcp-
toon pine, a pretty evergreen with creeping stalks, thai
run along the ground three or four yards in length.
sending up, at the distance of five or six inches, erect.
stifJ", green stems, resembling some of our heaths in tin
dark, shining, green, chaffy leaves. The Americans or-
nament their chimney -glasses with garlands of this plant,

A ''IIEE."

caroful mo.
vi'iy liandtMl
oud aii.l do-

;d cordiality
•ore as it \va V
o rouirhiioss
<l that (']«•.
been accu.s-
['w comfort ;
of the Hrsi
selves with,
as we now

in not bo-
s' that I (\v-
and. This

yS ,

pitable root
>use on our
'.red, as the
e comforts
nd spirits,
unri me.
They have
diligently
ake shore,
is far ad-
rant spc'ci-
|eh blooms
autumnai
lichaeliiia^
'hich tin
)f the fcp-
[alks, thai
n length .
les, erect,
Ihs in thf
ricans or-
ms plant,

;ii:.\i(l wiib the dried blossoms of thclife-cverlastiiig (the
nrotty w bite and yellow flowers wi'call love-ev(>rl;isting) :
ibis plant is also called festoon-pine. In my rambbvs in
;hc uood near the house I have discovere<l a trailing
jilaiit bearing a near resiMublance to the cedar, \\hicb I
consider has, with ecpiai j»ropriety, a claim to the name
(.f ground or creeping cedar.

As much of tluj botany of these unsettled portions of
♦he country is unknown to the naturalist, and th(» j)lants
aPLMjuite nameless, I takethi liberty of bestowifig names
ijion thcjn according to inclination or fancy, l^ut while
I am writing about flowers I am forgetting that you will
!ii> more interested in hearing what stej)s we are taking
on our land.

My husband has hired i)eople to log up (that is, to
draw the chopped timbers into hcaj)s for burning) and
clear a sjiace for building our house* upon. He has also
entered into an agreement with a young settler in our
vicinity to complete it for a certain smn within and with-*
out, according to a given plan. We are, however, to
eall the " bee," and j)rovide every thing necessary ibr
the entertainment of our worthy hive. Now, you know
that a "bee," in Aaierican language, or rather phrase-
ology, signifies those friendly meetings of neighbours
who assemble at your summons to raise the walls of your
house, shanty, barn, or any other building : this is termed
a " raising-bee." Then there are logging-bees, husking-
hees, chopping-bees, and quilting-bees. The nature of the
work to be done gives the name to the bee. In the
mure populous and long-settled dij.tricts this ])ractice is
much discontinued, but it is highly nselul, and almost
indispensable to new settlers in the remote townships,
where the price of labour is proportionably high, and
workmen dilHcult to be j)rocurcd.

Imagine the situation of an emigrant with a wife and
young family, the latter possibly too young and helpless
to render him the least assistance in the important busi-
ness of chopping, logging, and building, on their first
eoming out to take possession of a lot of wild land ;
liow deplorable would their situation be, unless they

1 1

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

J 1

• 1

1^::

• t

l.Tr

:il

J' ■■

mm'

r 1

could receive quick and ready help from those around
them.

This laudable practice has grown out of necessity, and
if it has its disadvantages, such for instance as bein":
called upon at an inconvenient season for a retuni of
help, by those who have formerly assisted you, yet it is
80 indispensable to you that the debt of gratitude ought
to be cheerfully repaid. It is, in fact, regarded in the
light of a debt of honour : you cannot be forced to attend
a bee in return, but no one that can attend does refuse,
unless from urgent reasons ; and if you do not find it pos-
sible to attena in person you may send a substitute m a
servant, or in cattle if you have a yoke.

In no situation, and under no other circumstance, docs
the equalizing system of America appear to such advan-
tage as in meetings of this sort. All distinctions of rank,
education, and wealth are for the time voluntarily laid
aside. You will see the son of the educated gentleman
and that of the poor artizan, the officer and the private
soldier, the independent settler and the labourer who
works out for hire, cheerfully uniting in one common
cause. Each individual is actuated by the benevolent
desire of affording help to the helpless, and exerting
himself to raise a home for the homeless.

At present so small a portion of the forest is cleared
on our lot, that I can give you little or no description of
the s|)ot on which we are located, otherwise than that it
borders on a fine expanse of water, which forms one of
the Otanabee chain of Small Lake. I hope, however,
to give you a more minute description of our situation in
my next letter.

For the present, then, I bid you adieu.

i •

i r ■•

*i^'

iirfi

^5ij'

INCOXVEXIEXCES OF FIRST SETTLEMrST.

lose around

Letter VIII,

I iDConveniences of first Settlement. — DiflBculty of obtaining
Provisions and other necessaries. — Snow-storm and Hurri-
cane. — Indian Summer, and setting in of Winter. — Process
of clearing the Land.

November 20, 1832.

Olr log-house is not yet finished, though it is in a state
of forwardness. We are still indebted to the hos))itable

kindness of S and his wife for a home. This

being their first settlement on their land, they have as
vet many difficulties, in common with all residents in the
backwoods, to put up with this year. They have a fine
block of land, well situated ; and S laughs at

the present privations, to which he opposes a spirit of
icheertulness and energy that is admirably calculated to
lertect their conquest. They are now about to remove
to a larger and more commodious house that has been
])ut up this fall, leaving us the use of the old one till our
I own is ready.

We begin to get reconciled to our Robinson Crusoe
isort of life, and the consideration that the present evils
arc but temporary, goes a great way towards reconciling
|U8 to them.

One of our greatest inconveniences arises from the
I badness of our roads, and the distance at which we are
placed from any village or town where provisions are to
I be procured.

Till we raise our own grain, and fatten our own hogs,

I sheep, and poultry, we must be dependent upon the

stores for food of every kind. These supplies have to be

brought up at considerable expense and loss of time,

BACKWOCliS OF CANADA.

''. f V

*x.:

;l. '., :.'*i

\\.H

f'l

throup:h our btautifnl bush roads; wliicli, to iiq» iL;
words of a poor liisli woman, " ran't l)o no wor-rr,"
*' Ocli, darlint," she said, '* hut thoy arc just ha<l ( iKiii.h,
and ("un't ho no worscr. Och, but they arn't like U) our
iligant roads in Irohmd."

You may send down a list of grocerirs to bo forwarded
when (I team comes up, and wlien we examine our stores,
bchohJ rice, sugar, currants, pepper, and nir.-tard all
junilded into one mess. Wliat think you of a ricp.
pudding seasoned ph'ntifully with j)epper, nnistard, and,
may be, a little rappee or prince's mixture added h\
way of sauce. I think the recij)c would cut (|uitr a
figure in the Cook's Oracle, or Mrs. Dalgairn's Pra( tic
of Cookery, under the original title of a "bush jtud-
ding."

And then woe and destruction to the brittle ware tlia:
may chance to travel through our roads. Lu(;ky, indcid.
are wo if, through the superior carefulness of the perse
who packs them, more than one-half happens to arrive ir
safety. For such mishaps we have no redress. Th'
storekeeper lays the accident upon the teamster, and the
teamster upon the bad roads, wondering that he him-
self escapes with whole bones after a journey through
the bush.

This is now the worst season of the year — this, an!
just after the breaking up of the snow. Nothing hardh
but an ox-cart can travel along the roads, and even tliat
with difficulty, occupying two days to perfonn the jour-
ney ; and the worst of the matter is, that there are timt^
when the most necessary articles of provisions are not to
be procured at any price. You see, then, that a settlor
in the bush requires to hold himself pretty independent,
not onl}' of the luxuries and delicacies of the table, but
not unfrequtnitly even of the very necessaries.

One time no pork is to be procured ; another time
there is a scarcity of flour, owing to some accident that
has happened to the mill, or for the want of proper sup-
])lies of wheat for grinding ; or perhaps the weather and
bad roads at the same time prevent a team coming up, or
ijeoj)le from going down. Then you must have recourse

'f»

SUDhTlTLTE ioR TEA.

to a nci^^liI)onr, if yon havr the {rood fortune to bo noar
one, or tart' tho Ik'sI you can on potatoes. 'J'hc potato
U imli'i'il a {rrt.'at Messinij: liore ; new si'ttk-rs nnoiiM otlM-r-
wiso l)t' often greatly distrL'js.sL'tl, and tlu' poor man an<i
iiis family who art; without resoureus, without tlu; potato
uiu.st starve.

Once our stock of tea was exhausted, and we were un-
able to procure more. In tliis. diU-niuia niiik wouhl have
boon an exceUent substitute, or coffee, if we had possessed
it; but we had neitiier the one nor the other, so we
uirroed to try tlie Vunkee tea — hendock spri«:s boiled.
This proved, to my taste, a vile decoction ; though 1
recojrnised some herb in the tea that was sold in Loiidon
attive shillings a pound, whicii 1 am certain was nothing
bettor than dried hendock leaves reduced to a course?
jjowder.

S laughed at our wry faces, declarinp^ the

jX)tation was excellent ; and he set us all an example by
drinking' six cups of this tridy sylvan beverage. IJis
eloquence failed in gaining a single convert : we could
not believe it was only second to young hyson. To his
assurance that to its other good qualities it united medi-
cinal viitues, we replied that, like all other physic, it was
very unpalatable.

''After all," said S , with a thoughtful air,

•the blessings and tlie evils of this life owe th«'ir chief
I'tfoct to the force of contrast, and are to be esti Mited by
that principally. We should not aj)preciatc th^ conj-
torts we enjoy half so much did we not occasionally iecl
the want of them. How we shall value the conveniences
of a cleared farm alter a few years, when we can realize
all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life."

" And how we shall enjoy green tea after this odious
decoction of hemlock," said 1.

"■ Very true ; and a comfortable frame-house, and nice
garden, and j)leasant ])astures, after these dark ibrests,
log-houses, and no garden at all."

" And the absence of horrid black stumj)s," rejoined
I. " Yes, and the absence of horrid stumps. Depend
upon it, my dear, your Canadian farm will seem to you a

nACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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perfect paradise by the time it is all under cultivation
und you will look u]>on it with the more pleasure an!
pride from the consciousness that it was once a forts:
wild, which, by the cti'ects of industry and well-appluHl
means, has changed to fruitful fiehls. Every fresh com-
fort you realize around you will add to your happiness:
every improvement within-doors or without will raise a
sensation of gratitude and delight in your mind, to which
those that revel in the habitual enjoyment of luxury, and
even of the commonest advantages of civilization, must in
a ^eat degree be strangers. My pass-words are, * IIojm:
Resolution ! and Perseverance !'

"This," said my husband, "is true philosophy; and
the more forcible, because you not only recommend thi
maxim, but {rracticc it also."

I had reckoned nmch on the Indian summer, of which
I had read such delightful descriptions, but I must say
it has fallen far below my expectations. Just at the
commencement of this month (November) we experi-
enced three or four warm hazy days, that proved rather
close and oppressive. The sun looked red through the
misty atmospnerc, tinging the fantastic clouds that hunc:
in smoky volumes, with saffron and pale crimson light,
much as I have seen the clouds above London look on a
warm, sultry spring morning.

Not a breeze ruffled the waters, not a leaf (for the
leaves had not entirely fallen) moved. This perfect
stagnation of the air was suddenly changed by a hurricane
of wind and snow that came on without any previous
warning. I was standing near a group of tall pines that
had been left in the middle of the clearing, collecting

some beautiful crimson lichens, S not being

many paces distant, with his oxen drawing fire-wood.
Suddenly we heaid a distant hollow rushing sound that
momentarily increased, the air around us bemg yet per-
fectly calm. I looked up, and beheld the clouds, hi-
therto so motionless, movmg with amazing rapidity in
several different directions. A dense gloom overspread

the heavens. S , who had been busily engaged

with the cattle, had not noticed my being so near, and

IIUBRICiNE.

iconimt'ncl tbt

now called to me to use ull the sikhhI I could to pain the
house, or an open part of the clearing, distant from the
j.int'-trccs. Instinctively I turned towards the house,
while the thundering shock of trees falling in all ilirec-
tions at the edge of the forest, the rending of the
liranches from the pines I had just Quitted, and the rush
(4' the whirlwind sweeping down the lake, made me
sensible of the danger with which I had been threat-
ened.

The scattered boughs of the pines darkened the air as
they whirled above me ; then came the blinding snow-
storm : but I could behold the progress of the tempest in
sut'ety, having gained the threshold of our house. The
driver of the oxen had thrown himself on the ground,
while the poor beasts held down their meek heads, pa-
tiently abiding " the pelting of the pitiless storm.'*

S , my husband, and the rest of the household,

tollected in a group, watched with anxiety the wild
havoc of the warring elements. Not a leaf remained on
the trees when the hurricane was over ; they were bare
and desolate. Thus ended the short reign of the Indian
summer.

1 think the notion entertained by some travellers, that
the Indian summer is caused by the annual conflagration
of forests by those Indians inhabiting the unexplored
regions beyond the larger lakes is absurd. Imagine for
an instant w hat immense tracts of woods must be yearly
consumed to affect nearly the whole of the continent of
North America : besides, it takes place at that season of
the year when the fire is least likely to run freely, owmg
to the humidity of the ground from the autumnal rains.
I should rather attribute the peculiar warmth and hazy
appearance of the air that marks this season, to the fer-
mentation going on of so great a mass of vegetable matter
that is undergoing a state of decomposition during the
latter part of October and beginning of November. It
hiis been supposed by some persons that a great altera-
tion will be effected in this season, as the process of
clearing the land continues to decrease the quantity of
decaying vegetation. Nay, I have heard the difference

(■

loo

IIA« KWooIjS or CANADA,

•I

^^1

is ulrciidy <)l)S('r\.il)l(' I»v tlni>r loii^^ iU'(|Uiiiiit«'<l witli '!.
Aiiicricaii (-oiitiiiriit.

1 lilli Ttd my cxpfni'iico <»t" tlic cliiiiato i'^ fiivoiiraMi
'I'lic iiiitiiiiin lias luTii MTV fine, tlioiijjli tlic tVo't^ ir
felt railv ill tlu' iii()ii?li ol' SriitcinlhT ; at fir>t sI'iuIjiIn . (.•
a iiioniiii;;, Imt towaitls ()<'l(»lM'r more srvort'ly. »Stil..
th()ii;:!i tlir first j»an of tlit- day is cold, the miiiillc o\ if
is warm and cluMTriil.

We aln-.idy sr<? tin' stri-ii a<!va!i('PS of Nvintcr. It ((.i.-i-
iiK'iKM'd \«'rv ilcc'idi'dlv Irom t'ln' l»r( alviiiu: ni> of il-
Indian Hmimcr. \i»\iml»»'r is not at ;ill like \\iv siniio
niontli .it liomc. 'i'lir cai'ly part wa.-; soft and waiin, lii"
latter cuUl, with k«<ii frosts and occasional };.!Is (»t'Mi(».\ ;
but it docs not socm to possess tlif dark, irlooniy, diimij I K

(•iiaractcr (;f our l>riti>!i N»»\(inl)cr:

owv'vcr, It )s not

o;ie .seuson's U('(|iiuintan<'(' witii tin* climate tii.it ( nai !•'
a pci'soii to form any correct jud<rinent of its ^'■encn'
character, hut a close observance of its peculiariti*
anil vicis.>itudes during m.my years* residence in tli

country

1 nnist now tell von vAi,A mv husband is doinu' on our

land. Ilu has Kt out ten acres to some

IrisI

I chojtpcrs

who have established themselves in the shantv lor the
winter. Th(?y are to receive Ibiu'teen dollars jK'r ucri'
ibr choppiiiir, bin-nin<:-, and leMcin<j- in that (|nantitv.
'i'he uroimd is to be i)erfect!v cleared of evervthiiiir ijiit
the stinnps: these will take from seven to nine oi- tci;
ears to decay ; the pine, hendock, an<l fir remain much

h)ni:

le )»rocess o[ clearniLf away the stumps js too

expensive for new bcL^inners to venture upon, lahciii
lu'in^ Fo hi<:h that it eannct be appropriated to any hut
indispcnsabli? work. The workiii;:" s.ason is very short
on acc'«>nnt of the leii.'vth of time the frost remains on tiic
ground. With the exception of choppinn' trees, vcrv
littlt; can l)e <lone. 'J'hose that nmh-rstand the prt);)'."
niana}.a*ment of uncleare»l land, usually nntlerbrnsh (tna:
is, cut down all the small timbers and brushwood), wliiic
the leaf is yet on them : this is piled in heaj)s, and the
vvindfallen trees are chopped through in lengths, to bt
logged u]) in the spring with the winter's chopping.

jtivl with •!.

s iiivoitr;i!i
St sliulitlv .

LMH'ly. >>!i

iiiitMlr (M

tcr.

(M:i.

r ui> of ti

kv i!

U' SiilllO

1(1 Wiirm, fii.'

.!ls of

ClUll It'

!(»(»IIIV, <ii'.lli)»

■\<r, it is not

tiiat
f its <j"('ii(n

pccnliiirt;.
rii<«; ill ill'

iloiuLT on (Hir
isli ('lioj)|i('r>;

mty lor tlio
irs per acre

It (inaiititv.

•rvtliiiii:' l)iir

iiiin' oi' !(■:;

'iiiaiii iiiiK'ii
T^miijKS is t(M»

Ion,

lai

)i II!

to anv hut

very s

mis on iiM

h(i:t
ti:

tree

'S. vcrv

Itl

le proiH-

hrns

na.

)0(

h(t
I), wiiiK'
Is, and the
:tlis, to be
I chopping.

( lui )

M .;,.-^'

i; i

102

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

The latter end of the summer and the autumn arc the
best seasons for this work. The leaves then becoino
quite dry and sear, and greatly assist in the important
business of burning off the heavy timbers. Another
reason is, that when the snow has fallen to some depth,
the li^^ht timbers cannot be cut close to the ground, or
tne dead branches and other incumbrances collected and
thrown in heaps.

We shall have about three acres ready for spring-crops,
provided we get a good burning of that which is already
chopped near the site of tbe bouse — this will be sown
with oats, pumpkins, Indian corn, and potatoes : the
other ten acres will be ready for putting in a crop ot
wheat. So you see it will be a long time before we reap
a harvest. We could not even get in spring-wheat
early enough to come to perfection this year.

We shall try to sret two cows in the spring, as they
are little expense dunng the spring, summer, and autumn ;
and by the winter we shall have pumpkins and oat-
straw ibr them.

t ti'

'■,.|!

■ i'

■..:.r

LOSS OF A YOKE OF OXEN.

;03

Letter IX.

Loss of a Yoke of Oxen. — Construction of a Log-house. —
Glaziers' and Carpenters' work. — Description of new Log-
house. — Wild Fruits of the Country. — Walks on the Ice. —
Situation of the House. — Lake, and surrounding Scenery.

Lake House,

April 18, 1833.

But it is time that I should give you some account of
our log-house, into which we moved a few days before
Christmas. Many unlooked-for delays having hindered
its completion before that time, I began to think it would
never be habitable.

The first misfortune that happened was the loss of a
fine yoke of oxen that were purchased to draw in the
house-logs, that is, the logs for raising the walls of the
house. Not regarding the bush as pleasant as their
former master's cleared ])astures, or perhaps foreseeing
some hard work to come, early one morning they took
into their heads to ford the lake at the head of the rapids,
and march off, leaving no trace of their route excepting
their footing at the water's edge. After many days
spent in vain search for them, the work was at a stand,
and for one month they were gone, and we began to give
up all expectation of hearing any news of them. At last
we learned they were some twenty miles off, in a distant
township, having made their way through bush and
twamp, creek and lake, back to their former owner, with
an instinct that supplied to them the want of roads and
compass.

Oxen have been known to traverse a tract of wild
country to a distance of thirty or forty miles, going in a

104^

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

4 , ''r

• i^ : ■-■

' ' '!•

J, :

, h^ '

'■J f :\

ifP -^

^'.-'

direct line for tlioir former haunts by unknown patiis,
wlicro mcnjory could not avail thorn. In the do^'- wc
consider it is tjcent as well as njcniorv that truides him to
his far-oti home ; but how is this conduct of the oxen to
be accounted for ? They returned home through tl.r
mazes of interminable forests, where man, with all his
reason and knowledge, would have been bewildered a:u!
lost.

It was the latter end of Octo])cr before even the wall>
of our house were up. To effect this we called " a bee."
Sixteen of our neighbours cheerfully obeyed our sum-
mons ; and though the day was far from favourable, so
faitliiully did our hive perform their tasks, that by night
the outer walls were raised.

The work went merrily on with the help of j)l('nty of
Canadian nectar (whiskey), the honey that our hers arc
solaced with. Some huge joints of salt pork, a peck of
potatoes, with a rice-pudding, and a loaf as big as an
enormous Cheshire cheese, formed the feast that was to
regale them during the raising. This was spread out in
the shanty in a vert/ niral style. In short, we laugiKHJ.
and called it apic-nic in the backwoods ; and rude as Wiis
the fare, I can assure you, great was the satisfaction ex-
pressed by all the guests of every degree, our "bee''
being considered as very well conducted. In spite
of the difference of rank among those that assisted at the
bee, the greatest possible harmony prevailed, and the
party separated well pleased with the day's work and en-
tertainment.

The following day I went to sur"ey the newly-raised
edifice, but was sorely puzzled^ as it presented very little
appearance of a house. It was merely an oblong square
of logs raised one above the other, with open spaces be-
tween e\ ery row of log§. The spaces for the doors and
windows were not then chopped out, and the afters
were not up. In short, it looked a very queer sort of
a ])lace, ana I returned home a little disappointed, and
wondering that my husband should be so well pleased
with the progress that had been made. A day or two
alter this I again visited it. The sleepers were laid to

ANNOYING CIRCUMSTANCES.

105

cuppoit the floors, and the places for the doors and win-
dows cut out Oi' the solid timbers, so that it had nut quite
so much the look of a bird-cage as before.

After the roof was shingled, we were again at a stand,
as no boards could be procured nearer than Peterborough,
a long day's journey through horrible roads. At that
time no saw-mill was in progress ; now there is a fine
one building within a little distance of us. Our flooring-
boards were all to be sawn by hand, and it was some
time before any one could be found to perform this ne-
cessary work, and that at high wages— six-and-six pence
[cr day. Well, the boards were at length down, but of
course of unseasoned timber : this was unavoidable ; so,
as they could not be planed, we were obliged to ])ut up
with their rough unsightly appearance, for no better
were to be had. I began to reca! to mind the observa-
tion of the old gentleman with whom we travelled from
Cobourg to nice Lake. We console ourselves with
the prospect that by next summer the boards will
all be seasoned, and then the house is to be turned
topsy-turvy, by having the floors all relaid, jointed, and
smoothed.

The next misfortune that happened was thut the
mixture of clay and lime that was to plaster the inside
and outside of the house between the chinks of the logs
was one night frozen to stone. Just as the work was
about half completed, the frost suddenly setting in put
a stop to our proceeding for some time, as the frozen
plaster yielded neither to fire nor to hot water, the latter
freezing before it had any etiect on the mass, and rather
making bad worse. Then, the workman that was hcw-
intr the inside walls to make them smooth wounded him-
self with the broad axe, and was unable to resume his
work lor some time.

I state these things merely to show the difficulties that
attend us in the fulfilment of our ])lans ; and this accounts
in a irreat measure for the humble dwellinc:^ that settlers
of the most respectable description are obliged to con-
tent themselves with at first coming to this country,
liot, you may be assured, from inclination, but necessity :

•4.

\\ ■■ :' ji'

fM^' •"

lOG

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

I could pivc you such narratives of this kind as would
astonish you. After all, it serves to make us more satis-
fied than we should be on casting our eyes around to soe
few better off than wo are, and many not half so com-
fortable, yet of equal, and, in some instances superior,
pretensions as to station and fortune.

Every man in this country is his own glazier ; this
you will laugh at, but if he docs not wish to see and feel
the discomfort of broken panes, he must learn to put
them in his windows with his own hands. Workmen
are not easily to be had in the backwoods when you
want them, and it would be preposterous to hire a man
at high wages to make two days' journey to and from
the nearest town to mend your windows. Boxes of glass
of several different sizes are to be bought at a very cheap
rate in the stores. My husband amused himself by
glazing the windows of the house preparatory to their
being fixed in.

To understand the use of carpenters' tools, I assure
you, is no despicable or useless kind of knowledge here.
I would strongly recommend all young men coming to
Canada to acquire a little acquaintance with this valuable
art, as they will often be put to great inconvenience ibr
the want of it.

I was once much amused with hearing the re-
marks made by a very fine lady, the reluctant sharer of
her husband's emigration, on seeing the son of a naval
officer of some rank in the service busily employed in
making an axe-handle out of a piece of rock-elm.

** I wonder that you allow George to degrade himself
80," she said, addressing his father.

The captain looked up with surprise. " Degrade
himself ! In what manner, madam ? My boy neither
swears, drinks whiskey, steals, nor tells lies.'*

*' But you allow him to perform tasks of the most
menial kind. What is he now better than a hedge-car-
penter ; and'I suppose you allow him to chop too ? "

*' Most assuredly I do. That pile of logs in the cart
there was all cut by him after he had left study yes-
terday," was the reply.

CHARACFEBISTIC DIALOGUE.

107

" i would sec my boys dead belbre they sliould use
an axo like common labourers."

*' Idleness is the root of all evil," said tlio cajitain.
" How much worse might my s m be employed it' he
were runnin^r wild about streets with bad companions !"

" You will allow this is not a country lor gentlemen
or ladies to live in,'' said the lady.

*' It is the country lor gentlemen that will not work
and cannot live without, to starve in," replied the captain,
bluntly; "and for that reason I make my boys early ac-
custom themselves to be usefully and actively employed."

*' My boys shall never work like common mechanics,"
said the lady, indignantly.

'* Then, madam, they will be good for nothing as
settlers ; and it is a pity you dragged them across the
Atlantic."

" We are forced to come. We could not live as we
had been used to do at home, or I never would have
come to this horrid country."

" Ilavino: come hither vou would be wise to conform
to circumstances. Canada is not a place for idle folks to
retrench a lost fortune in. In some parts of the country
you will find most articles of provisions as dear as in
London, clothing much dearer, and not so good, and a
bad market to choose in."

" I should like to know, then, who Canada is good
for ? " said she, angrily.

"It is a good country for the honest, industrious ar-
tisan. It is a fine country for the poor labourer, who,
after a few years of hard toil, can sit down in his own
log-house, and look abroad on his own land, and see his
children well settled in life as independent freeholders.
It is a grand country for the rich speculator, who can
afford to lay out a large sum in purchasing land in eli-
gible situations; for if he have any judgment, he will
make a hundred per cent, as interest for his money after
waiting a few years. But it is a hard country for the
poor gentleman, whose habits have rendered him unfit
ibr manual labour. He brings with him a mind untitted

I'i

■i '
1/ "^ .1

, "

'i '

.s ';:

■ 'I.

I- ■ .

, •- *
• ''

, * P' ■

t • :• ji* •. •

., • ;:•

(

1 '*' ^ "

1 , /■ ■ ■' .
.i 'P

I't

^ 1

108

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

to his situation ; and even if necessity compels him to
exertion his hihour is of little value. lie has a hard
struprglc to live. The certain expenses of waires and
living' are great, and he is obliged to en<lurc nianj' pri-
vations if he would keep within compass and be free of
debt. If he have a large family, and brings them up
wisely, so as to adapt themselves early to a settler's life,
why he does well for them, and soon feels the benefit on
his own land : but if he is idle himself, his wife extrava-
gant and discontented, and his children taught to despise
labour, why, madam, they will soon be brought down to
ruin. In short, the country is a good country for those
TO whom it is adapted ; but if people will not conform to
the doctrine of necessity and expediency, they have no
business in it. It is plain Canada is not adapted to
every class of people."

" It was never adapted for mc or my family," said the
lady, disdainfully.

" Very true," was the laconic reply; and so ended
the dialogue.

But while I have been recounting these remarks, I
have wandered far from my original subject, and left my
poor log-house quite in an unfinished state. At last I
was told it was in a habitable condition, and I was soon
engnged in all the bustle and fatigue attendant on re-
moving our household goods. We received all the

assistance we required from , who is ever ready and

willing k) help us. He laughed, and called it a
*' momng bee ;" I said it was a *' fixing bee ;" and my
husband said it was a ** settling bee ;" I know we were
unsettled enough till it was over. What a din of desola-
tion is a small house, or any house under such circum-
stances ! The idea of chaos must have been taken from
u removal or a setting to rights, for I suppose the
ancients had ihaxr Jlitting , as the Scotch call it, as well
as the moderns.

Various were the valuable articles of crockery-ware
that perished in their short but rough journey through
the woods. Peace to their manes. I had a good helper

liKSCRIPTIOX or LOG -HOUSE.

109

ill my Iii.-sh maid, wlio soon roused up famous fires, and
set tlu' liousc in onlcr.

Wo liav(» now p)t quite comfortably settled, and I
shall uivc yo'.i a description of our little dwelling. What
is iiiiisiied is only a part of the orijrinal plan; the rest
must bo added next spring, or fall, as circunistiinces may
suit.

A nice small sitting-room with a store-closet, a
kitdien, pantry, and bed-ciianil)er, I'orm the ground
floor ; there is a good upper floor that will make three
siceping-rooins.

" What a nut-shell !" I think I hear you exclaim.
So it is present ; but we pur])ose adding a handsome
frame IVont as soon as wc can get boards from the mill,
^vhich will give us another parlour, long hall, and good
span bed-room. The windows and glass doors of our
present sitting-room command pleasant lake-views to the
west and south. When the house is completed, wc
shall have a verandah in front ; and at the south side,
which ibrms an agreeable addition in the summer, being
used as a sort of outer room, in which wc can dine, and
have the advantage of cool air, protected from the glare
of the sunbeams. The Canadians call these verandahs
"stonps.'' Few houses, either log or frame, are with-
out them. The pillars look extremely pretty, wreathed
with the luxuriant hop-vine, mixed with the scarlet
creeper and " morning glory,' the American name for
the most splendid of major convolvuluses. These stoups
are really a considerable ornament, as they conceal in a
great measure the rough logs, and break the barn-like
form of the building.

Our parlour is warmed by a handsome Franklin stove
with brass gallery and fender. Our furniture consists of
a brass-railed sofa, which serves upon occasion for a bed,
Canadian painted chairs, a stained pine table, green and
white curtains, and a handsome Indian mat that coveri
the floor. One side of the room is filled up with our
books. Some large maps and a few good prints nearly
conceal the rough walls, and form the decoration of our

Our bed-chamber is furnished with

little dwelling

h •

_.. ,,^

• ■ 1

' f ..■

» 1 , ^

i'i

1 *

• .

. ■) ■

« •

) A'

110

BACKWOODS or CANADA,

♦ -^

equal simnlirity. Wc do not, however, lack comfort in
our humble home ; and though it is not exactly such as
we coul<l wish, it is as good as, under existing circum-
stances, we could have.

I am anxiously looking forward to the spring, that I
may get a garden laid out in front of the liouse ; as I
mean to cultivate some of the native fruits and flowers,
which, I am sure, will improve greatly by culture. The
strawberries that grow wild in our pastures, woods, and
clearings, are several varieties, and bear al)undantly.
They make excellent preserves, and I mean to intro-
duce beds of them into my garden. There is a pretty
little wooded islet on our lake, that is called Strawberry
island, another Raspberry island ; they abound in a
variety of fruits — wild grapes, raspberries, strawberries,
black and red currants, a wild gooseberry, and a beauti-
ful little trailing plant that bears white flowers like the
raspberry, and a darkish purple fruit consisting of a few
grains of a pleasant brisk acid, somewhat like in flavour
to our dewberry, only not quite so sv/eet. The leaves
of this plant are of a bright light green, in shape like
the raspberry, to which it bears in some respects so
great a resemblance (though it is not shrubby or thorny)
that I have called it the *' trailing raspberry."

I suppose our scientific botanists in Britain would con-
sider me very imj)ertinent in bestowing names on the
flowers and plants I meet with in these wild woods : I
can only say, I am glad to discover the Canadian or even
the Indian names if 1 can, and where they fail I consi-
der myself free to become their floral godmother, and
give them names of my own choosing.

Among our wild fruits we have j)lums, which, in some
townships, are very fine and abundant ; these make ad-
mirable preserves, especially when boiled in maple mo-
lasses, as is done by the American housewives. Wild
cherries, also a sort called choke cherries, from their
peculiar astringent qualities, high and low bush cran-
berries, blackberries, which are brought by the Squaws
in birch baskets — all these are found on the plains and
beaver meadows. The low-bush cranberries are brought

WALKS ON THE ICE.

Ill

)u crroat (pianlitios by tho Indians to the towns anil vi!-
latr<s. 'riify t'orm a standing prescrvo on the tca-tahh's
in most of the settlers' houses : but for richness of
flavour, and for beauty of appearance, I achnire the high-
bush crard)erries; these are little sought after, on ac-
count of the large flat seeds, which prevent them from
being used as a jam ; the jelly, however, is delightful,
both in colour and flavour.

The bush on which this cranberry grows resembles
the guelder rose. The blossoms are pure white, and
grow in loose umbels; thev are very ornamental, when
in bloom, to the woods and swamps skirting the hikes.
The berries are rather of a long oval, and of a brilliant
scarlet, and when just touched by the frosts, arc semi-
transparent, and look like pendent bunches of scarlet
grapes.

1 was tempted one fine frosty afternoon to take a walk
with my husband on the ice, which I was assured was
perfectly safe. I must confess for the first half-mile I
felt very timid, especially when the ice is so transparent
that you may see every little ])ebble or weed at the
bottom of the water. Sometimes the ice was thick and
white, and quite opaque. As we kept within a little
distance of the shore, I was struck by the appearance of
some splendid red berries on the leafless bushes that
hung over the margin of the lake, and soon recognized
them to be the aforesaid high-bush cranberries. My
husband soon stripped the boughs of their tempting
treasure, and I, delighted with my prize, hastened home,
and boiled the fruit with some sugar, to eat at tea with
our cakes. I never ate anything more delicious than
they proved ; the more so perhaps from having been so
long without tasting fruit of any kind, with the exception
of preserves, during our journey, and at Peterborough.

Soon after this 1 made another excursion on the ice,
but it was not in quite so sound a state. We neverthe-
less walked on for about three-quarters of a mile. We
were overtaken on our return by S with a hand-
sleigh, which is a sort of wheelbarrow, such as porters
use, without sides, and instead of a wheel, is fixed on

112

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

,».''

' M

IM i .■•■ ' r

- f

I 1' r

woodon runners, which you can drap: over tlie snow and
ice with the greatest ease, it' ever so lieavily hidcn.

S insisted that \w wouhi draw me liouie over the ico

like a Lapland lady on a sledge. I was soon scat* d in

ed lor-

state, and in another minute felt myself inijieli
ward with a velocity that nearly took away my hrealh.
By the time we reached the shore I was in a glow iioin
head to foot.

You would be pleased with the situation of our house.
The sj)ot chosen is the summit of a fine sloping bank
above the lake, distant from the water's edge some hun-
dred or two yards : the lake is not quite a mile from
shore to shore. To the south again we connnand a dif-
ferent view, which will be extremely pretty when fully
opened, a fine smooth basin of water, diversified with
beautiful islands, that rise like verdant groves from its
bosom. Below these there is a fall of some feet, where
the waters of the lakes, confined within a narrow channel
between beds of limestone, rush along with great impe-
tuosity, foaming and dashing up the spray in mimic clouds.

During the summer the waters are much lower, and
we can walk for some way along the flat shores, which
are composed of different strata of limestone, full of
fossil remains, evidently of very recent formation.
Those shells and river-insects that are scattered loose
over the surface of the limestone, left by the recession
of the waters, are similar to the shells and insects in-
crusted in the body of the limestone. I am told that
the bed of one of the lakes above us (I forget which) is
of limestone ; that it abounds in a variety of beautiful
river-shells, which are deposited in vast quantities in
the difierent strata, and also in the blocks of lime-
stone scattered along the shores. These shells are also
found in great profusion in the soil of the Beaver meadows.

When I see these things, and hear of them, I regret
I know nothing of geology or conchology ; as I might
then be able to account for manv circumstances that at
present only excite my curiosity.

Just below the waterfall I was mentioning there is a
curious natural arch in the limestone rock, which at this

111 '';■;-■'■ ,!

T.AKi:, .V>D SLRROUNDINO SCENERY.

lis

recession

|)bco rises to a lioitrht of ton or fif'toen feet like a wall ;
it is composed of iarfre plates of prev limestone, lying*
one \\\mn the other ; the arch seems like a rent in tho
wall, l)iit worn away, and hollowed, possihly, hy the
action of wat<T rushing: thronprh it at some hiirl: flood.
Tree^ prow on tho to|) of this rock. Ilendock Hrs and
tcdars arc wavinjr on tliis eh^vated spot, above the tur-
biiiiMit waters, and elothinir the stone barrier with a sad
but never-fadinpr verdure. Here, too, the wild vine, red
creeper, and i)oison-el(ler, luxuriate, and wreathe fan-
tastic bowers above the moss-covered masses of the
stone. A sudden turn in this bank brought us to a
broad, perfectly flat and smooth bed of the same stone,
occupying a space of full fifty feet alonpr the shore. Be-
tween the fissures of this bed I found some rose-bushes,
and a variety of flowers that had sprunp: up during the
sjirinq: and summer, when it was left dry, and free iVom
the action of the water.

This place will shortly bo appropriated for the ])uild-
inir of a saw and grist-mill, which, I fear, will interfere
witii its natural beauty. I dare say, I shall be the only
person in the neighbourhood who will regret the erec-
tion of so useful and valuable an acciuisition to this
portion of the township.

The first time you send a parcel or box, do not forget
to enclose flower-seeds, and the stones of plums, dam-
sons, bullacc, pips of the best kinds of apples, in the
orchard and garden, as apples may be raised here from
seed, which will bear very good fruit without being
grafted ; the latter, however, arc finer in size and flavour,
i sliould be grateful for a few nuts from our beautiful
old stock-nut trees. Dear old trees ! how many gambols
have ne had in their branches when I was as light of
spirit and as free from care as the squirrels that perched
among the topmost boughs above us. " Well," you will
say, '' the less that sage matrons talk of such wild tricks
as climbing nut-trees, the better." Fortunately, young
ladies are in no temptation here, seeing that nothing but
a squirrel or a bear could climb our lofty forest-trees.
Even a sailor must give it up in despair.

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114

BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

I am vcTV (icsirons of havinc: the seeds of our wild
primrose and sweet violet preserved lor me ; I Ion),' to
introduce tlurii in our nieudows and gardens. IVay, let
the cotta^'e-cliiidren collect some.

Mv husband requests a small (juantity of lucerne-seed,
which he seems inclined to think may be cultivated to
advantage.

.. I

Ai*

VABIATIONS IN THE TEMPERATURE.

115

of our wild
e ; I long to
i- Tray, \vt

uforne-soed,
::ultivateU tri

Lktter X.

Variations in the Temperature of the Weather.— Electrical
Phenomenon.— Canadian Winter.— Country deficient in
Poetical Associations. — Sugar-making.— Fishing Season.
—Mode of Fishing. — Duck-shooting. — Family of Indians.
^Papouaei and their Cradle-cases. — Indian Manufactures.
—Frogs.

Lake House, May 9, 1833.

What a different winter this has been to what I had an-
ticipated ! The snows of December were continually
thawing ; on the 1st of January not a flake was to bie
seen on our clearing, though it lingered in the bush.
The warmth of the sun was so great on the first and
second days of the new year that it was hardly possible
to endure a cloak, or even shawl, out of dooi*s; and
within, the fire was quite too much for us. The weather
remained pretty open till the latter part of the month,
when the cold set in severely enough, and continued so
during February. The 1st of March was the coldest
day and night I ever experienced in my life ; the mer-
cury was down to twenty-five degrees in the house ;
abroad it was much lower. The sensation of cold early
in the morning was very painful, producing an involun-
tary shuddering, and an almost convulsive feeling in the
chest and stomach. Our breaths were congealed in
hoar-frost on the sheets and blankets. Everything we
touched of metal seemed to freeze our fingers. This ex-
cessive degree of cold only lasted three days, and then a
gradual amelioration of temperature was felt.

During this very cold weather I was surprised by the
frequent recurrence of a phenomenon that I suppose was

116

IIACKWOODS OF CANADA.

mm^

, f y- »■■■

of an doctrinal nature, WlH>n tlie frosts wcro most
intense I notieed tliat when I undressed, \ny clothes
wiiieh are at this cohi season eliiefly of woollen cloth, or
lined with flannel, ^ave out when moved a succession of
sounds, like the crackling and snapping of fire, and in
the absence of a candle emitted sparks of a jjale whitish
blue liirht, similar to the flashes produced by cutting
loaf-sugar in the dark, or stroking the back of a black
cat : the same efi'ect was also produced when I combed
and brushed my hair.*

The snow lay very deep on the ground during Feb-
ruary, and until the lOtli of March, when a rapid thaw
commenced, which continued without intermission till
the ground was thoroughly freed from its hoary livery,
which was ellected in less than a fortnight's time. The
air during the progress of the thaw was much warmer
and more balmy than it usually is in England, when a
disagreeable damp cold is felt during that i)rocess.

Thoucrh the Canadian winter has its disadvantacres, it
also has its charms. After a day or two of heavy snow
the sky brightens, and the air becomes exquisitely clear
and free from vapour ; the smoke ascends in tall spiral
columns till it is lost : seen against the saffron-tinted sky
of an evening, or early of a clear morning, when the
hoar-frost sparkles on the trees, the effect is singularly
beautiful.

I enjoy a walk in the woods of a bright winter-day,
when not a cloud, or the faint shadow of a cloud, obscures
the soft azure of the heavens above ; when but for the
silver covering of the earth I might look upwards to the
cloudless sky and say, " It is June, sweet June." The
evergreens, as the pines, cedars, hemlock, and balsam
firs, are bending their pendant branches, loaded with
snow, which the least motion scatters in a mimic shower
around, but so light and dry is it that it is shaken otf
without the slightest inconvenience.

The tops of the stumps look quite pretty with their

* This phenomenon is common enough everywhere when
the air is vei^ dry. — Ed.

CANADIAN WINTER.

117

turbans of snow; a blackened pine-stump, with its white
cap and mantle, will often startle you into the belief that
some one is approaching you thus fancifully attired. As
to ghosts or spirits, they appear totally banished from
Canada. This is too matter-of-fact country for such
suj)ornaturals to visit. Here there are no historical asso-
ciations, no legendary tales of those that came before us.
Fancy would starve for lack of marvellous food to keep
her alive in the backwoods. We have neither fay nor
fairy, ghost nor bogle, satyr nor wood-nymph ; our very-
forests disdain to shelter dryad or hamadryad. No naiad
haunts the rushy margin of our lakes, or hallows with
her presence our forest-rills. No Druid claims our oaks ;
and instead of poring with mysterious awe among our
curious limestone rocks, that are often singularly grouped
toprether, we refer them to the geologist to exercise his
skill in accounting for their apjjearancc : instead of in-
vesting them with the solemn characters of ancient
temples or heathen altars, we look upon them with the
curious eye of natural philosophy alone.

Even the Irish and Highlanders of the humblest class
seem to lay aside their ancient superstitions on becoming
denizens of the woods of Canada. I heard a friend ex-
claim, when speaking of the want of interest this country
possessed, " It is the most unpoetical of all lands ; there
is no scope for imagination ; here all is new — the very
soil seems new ly formed ; there is no hoary ancient
grandeur in these woods ; no recollections of former
deeds connected with the country. The only beings in
which I take any interest are the Indians, and they want
the warlike character and intelligence that I had pic-
tured to myself they would possess'*

This was the lamentation of a poet. Now, the class
of people to whom this country is so admirably adapted
is formed of the unlettered and industrious labourers
and artisans. They feel no regret that the land they
labour on has not been celebrated by the pen of the his-
torian or the lay of the poet. The earth yields her
increase to them as freely as if it had been enriched by
the blood of heroes. They would not spare the ancient

U'''

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118

BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

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oal: from feelinjrs of veneration, nor look upon it with
regard i'or anythinf^ but its use as timber. They hax
no time, even if they possessed the taste, to gaze abroad
on the beauties of Nature, but their ignorance is bliss.

After all, these are imaginary evils, and can hardly be
considered just causes for dislike to the country. Thev
would excite little sympathy among every-day men and
women, though doubtless they would have their weight
with the more refined and intellectual members of
society, who naturally would regret that taste, learn-
ing, and genius should be thrown out of its proper
sphere.

For myself, though I can easily enter into the feelings
of the poet and the enthusiastic lover of the wild and the
M'onderful of historic lore, I can yet make myself very
happy and contented in this country. If its volume of
history is yet a blank, that of Nature is open, and elo-
quently marked by the finger of God ; and from its
pages I can extract a thousand sources of amusement and
interest whenever I take my walks in the forest or by
the borders of the lakes.

But I must now tell you. of our sugar-making, in
which I take rather an active part. Our experiment was
on a very limited scale, having but one kettle, besides
two iron tripods ; but it was sufficient to initiate us in
the art and mystery of boiling the sap into molasses,
and finally the molasses down to sugar.

The first thing to be done in tapping the maples, is to
provide little rough troughs to catch the sap as it flows :
these are merely pieces of pine-tree, hollowed with the
axe. The tapping the tree is done by cutting a gash in
the bark, or boring a hole with an auger. The former
plan, as being most readily performed, is that most
usually practised. A slightly-hollowed piece of cedar or
elder is then inserted, so as to slant downwards and
direct the sap into the trough ; I have even seen a flat
chip made the conductor. Ours were managed according
to rule, you may be sure. The sap runs most freely
after a frosty night, followed by a bright warm day ; it
should be collected during the day in a barrel or large

SUGAR-MAiLING.

119

trough, capable of holdinjr all that can be boiled down
the same evening ; it should not stand more than twenty-
four hours, as it is apt to ferment, and will not grain well
unlt'^^s fresh.

My husband, with an Irish lad, began collecting the
sap the last week in March. A pole was fixed across
two forked stakes, strong enough to bear the weight of
the big kettle. Their employment during the day was
emptying the troughs and chopping wood to supply the
fires. In the evening they lit the fires and began boil-
insr down the sap.

It was a pretty and picturesque sight to see the sugar-
boilers, with their bright log-tire among the trees, now
stirring up the blazing pile, now throwing in the liquid
and stirring it down with a big ladle. When the fire
jrew fierce, it boiled and foamed up in the kettle, and
they had to throw in fresh sap to keep it from running
over.

When the sap begins to thicken into molasses, it is
then brought to the sugar-boiler to be finished. The
process is simple ; it only requires attention in skimming
and keeping the mass from boiling over, till it has arrived
at the sugaring point, which is ascertained by dropping
a litde into cold water. When it is near the proper
consistency, the kettle or pot becomes full of yellow
froth, that dimples and rises in large bubbles from be-
neath. These throw out puti's of steam, and when the
molasses is in this stage, it is nearly converted into
sugar. Those who pay great attention to keeping the
liquid free from scum, and understand the precise sugar-
ing point, will produce an article little, if at all, inferior
to muscovado.*

In general you see the maple-sugar in large cakes,
like bees' wax, close and compact, without showing the
crystallization; but it looks more beautiful when the

* Good well-made maple-sugar bears a strong resemblance
to that called powdered sugar-candy, sold by all grocers as
a delicate article to sweeten coffee ; it is more like maple-
bugar in its regular crystallizations.

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120

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

grain is coarse and sparkling, and the sugar is broken in
roiJiili masses like sugar-candy.

The sugar is rolled or scraped down with a knife H r
use, as it takes long to dissolve in the tea without this
preparation. I superintended the last part of the pre
cess, that of boiling the molasses down to sugar ; and,
considering it was a first attempt, and without any ex-
perienced person to direct me, otherwise than tlie in^

formation 1 obtained from , I succeeded tolerably

well, and produced some sugar of a fine sparkling grain
and good colour. Besides the sugar, I made about throe-
gallons of molasses, which proved a great comfort to us,
forming a nice ingredient in cakes and an excellent sauce
for puddings.*

The Yankees, I am told, make excellent preserves witn
molasses instead of sugar. The molasses boiled from
maple-sap is very different from the molasses of the West
Indies, both in flavour, colour, and consistency.

Beside the sugar and molasses, we manufactured a
small cask of vinegar, which j)romises to be good. This
was done by boiling five ])ails-full of sap down to two,
and fermenting it after it was in the vessel with barm ; it
was then placed near the fire, and suiiered to continue
there in preference to being exposed to the sun's hcat.f
With regard to the expediency of making maple-sugar,
it depends on circumstances whether it be profitable or
not to the farmer. If he have to hire hands for the
work, and pay high wages, it certainly does not answer
to make it, unless on a large scale. One thing in its
favour is, that the sugar season commences at a time
when little else can be done on the farm, with the ex-
ception of chopping, the frost not being sufficiently out
of the ground to admit of crops being sown ; time is,
therefore, less valuable than it is later in the spring.

When there is a large family of children and a conve-
nient sugar-bush on the lot, the making of sugar and mo-
lasses is decidedly a saving ; as young children can be
employed in emptying the troughs and collecting fire

* See note C.

f See note D.

FISHING SEASON.

121

r is broken in

itli a knife j'( r
I without this
vt of the j)r(:.
3 sugar ; and,
bout any tx-
than the in.
(led tolerably
arkling p-m
c about three
comfort to u<,
Lceilent sauce

reserves witn
boiled from
5 of the Wost
[icy.

nufactured a
good. This
clown to two,
vith barm ; it
I to continue
sun's heat.f
maple- sugar,
profitable or
ands for the
5 not answer
thing in its
}s at a time
with the ex-
fficiently out
vn ; time is,
spring,
md a convey
igar and aio-
dreii can be
lecting fire-

wood, the bigger ones can tend the kettles and keep up
the fire while the sap is boiling, and the w ife and daugh-
ters can finish oft' the sugar within-doors.

Maple-sugar sells for fourpence and sixpence per
pound, and soyietimes for more. At first I did not par-
ticularly relish the flavour it gave to tea, but after awhile
I liked it far better than muscovado, and as a sweetmeat
it is to my taste delicious. I shall send you a specimen
by the first opportunity, that you may judge for yourself
of its excellence.

The weather is now very vvarm — oppressively so. We
can scarcely endure the heat of the cooking-stove in the
kitchen. As to a fire in the parlour there is not much
need of it, as I am glad to sit at the open door and enjoy
tlic Likc-breeze. The insects are already beginning to
be troublesome, particularly the black flies'— u wicked-
looking fly, with black body and white legs and wings ;
you do not feel their bite for a few minutes, but are made
aware of it by a stream of blood flowing from the wound ;
after a few hours the part swells and becomes extremely
painful.

These " 6g«s^/c5 " chiefly delight in biting the sides
of the throat, ears, and sides of the cheek, and with me
the swelling continues for many days. The mosquitoes
are also very annoying. I care more for the noise they
make even than their sting. To keep them out of the
house we light little heaps of damp chips, the smoke of
which drives them away ; but this remedy is not entirely
effectual, and is of itself rather an annoyance.

This is the fishing season. Our lakes are famous for
maoquinonge, salmon-trout, white fish, black bass, and
many others. We often see the lii^hted canoes of the
fishermen pass and repass of a dark night before our
door. S is considered very skilful as a spears-
man, and enjoys the sport so much that he seldom misses
a night favourable for it. The darker the night and the
calmer the water the better it is for the fishing.

It is a very pretty sight to see these little barks slowly
stealing from some cove of the dark pine-clad shores, and

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122

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

manoeuvring among the islands on the lakes, rendered
visible in the darkness by the blaze of lijrht cast on tiic
water iVoni the jack — a sort of open grated iron basket,
fixed to a long pole at the bows of the skirt' or canoe.
This is filled with a very combustible substance called
fat-pine, which burns with a fierce and rapid flame, or else
with rolls of birch-bark, which is also very easily ignited.

The light from above renders objects distinctly visible
below the surface of the water. One person stands up in
the middle of the boat with his fish-s))ear — a sort of iron
trident, ready to strike at the fish that he may chance to sec
gliding in the still-waters, while another with his paddle
steers the canoe cautiously along. This sport requires a
quick eye, a steady hand, and great caution in those that
pursue it.

I delight in watching these torch-lighted canoes so
quietly gliding over the calm waters, which are illu-
minated for yards w'th a bright track of light, by which
we may distinctly perceive the figure of the ppearsman
standing in the centre of the boat, first glancing to one
side, then the other, or poising his weapon ready for a
blow. When four or five of these lighted vessels are
seen at once on the fishing-ground, the eft'ect is striking
and splendid.

The Indians are very expert in this kind of fishing ;
the squaws paddling the canoes with admirable skill and
dexterity. There is another mode of fishing in which
these people also excel : this is fishing on the 'ce when
the lakes are frozen over — a sport that requires the exer-
cise of great patience. The Indian, provided with his
tomahawk, with which he makes an opening in the ice,
a spear, his blanket, and a decoy fish of wood, proccedi
to the place he has fixed upon. Having cut a hole in
the ice he places himself on hands and knees, and casts
his blanket over him, so as to darken the water and con-
ceal himself from observation ; in this position he will
remain for hours, patiently watching the ap|.:'oach of his
prey, which he strikes with fldmirable precision as soon
las it appears within the reach of his spear.

^^1LD i>ucKS*

123

The masquinonpe thus caught are superior in flavour
to those taken later in the season, and may be bought
very reasonably lioni the Indians. I gave a small loaf
of bread for a fish weighing from eighteen to twenty
j)Ounds. The masquinongc is to all appearance a large
gpecies of the pike, and possesses the ravenous propen-
sities of that fish.

One of the small lakes of the Otanabec is called Trout
Lake, from the abundance of salmon-trout that occupy
it> waters. The white fish is also found in these lakes,
and is very delicious. The large sorts of fish are mostly
taken with the spear, few persons having time for angling
in this busy country.

As soon as the ice breaks up, our lakes are visited by
innumerable flights of wild fowl ; some of the ducks are
extremely beautiful in their plumage, and are very fine-
flavoured. I love to watch these pretty creatures, float-
ing so tranquilly on the water, or suddenly rising and
skiniming along the edge of the pine-fringed shores,
to drop again on the surface, and then remain stationary,
like a little fleet at anchor. Sometimes we see an old
duck lead out a brood of little ones from among tho
rushes ; the innocent, soft things look very pretty, sailing
round their mother, but at the least appearance of danger
they disappear instantly by diving. The frogs are great
enemies to the young broods ; they are also the prey of
the masquinonge, and I believe, of other large fish that
abound in these waters.

The ducks are in the finest order during the early
part of the summer, when they resort to the rice-becis
in vast numbers, getting very fat on the green rice,
which they eagerly devour.

The Indians are very successful in their duck-shooting :
they fill a canoe with green boughs, so that it resembles
a sort of floating island ; beneath the cover of these
boughs they remain concealed, and are enabled by this
device to approach much nearer than they otherwise
could do to the wary birds. The same plan is often
i.iio)>ted by our own sportsmen with great success.

A family of Indians have pitched their tents very near

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124

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

US. On one of the islands in our lake we can distingui.<ih
the thin blue smoke of their wood fires, rising anion^'
the trees, from our front window, or curlint? over the
bosom of the waters.

The scjuaws have been several times to see me ; some-
times from curiosity, sometimes with the view of bartering
their baskets, mats, ducks, or venison, for j)ork, flour,
potatoes, or articles of wearing- apparel. Sometimes
their object is to borrow "kettle to cook," which they
are very punctual in returning.

Once a squaw came to borrow a washing-tub, but not
understanding her language, I could not for some time
discover the object of her solicitude ; at last she took up
a corner of her blanket, and pointing to some soap, began
rubbing it between her hands, imitated the action oi
washing, then laughed, and pointed to a tub ; she then
held up two fingers, to intimate it was for two days she
needed the loan.

These people appear of gentle and amiable dispo-
sitions ; and, as far as our experience goes, they are very
honest. Once, indeed, the old hunter, Peter, obtained
from me some bread, for which he promised to give a
pair of ducks, but when the time came for payment, and
1 demanded my ducks, he looked gloomy, and replied
with characteristic brevity, '' No duck. Chippewa (mean-
ing S , this being the name they have afli'ectionately

given him) gone up lake with canoe — no canoe — duck
by-and-by." By-and-by is a favourite expression of the
Indians, signifying an indefinite point of time ; may be
it means to-morrow, or a week, or a month, or it may be
a year, or even more. They rarely give you a direct
promise.

As it is not wise to let any one cheat you if you can
prevent it, I coldly declined any further overtures to
bartering with the Indians until my ducks made their
appearance.

Some time afterwards I received one duck by the
hands of Maquin, a sort of Indian Flibberty-gibbet:
this lad is a hunchbacked dwarf, very shrewd, but a per-
fect imp ; his delight seems to be tormenting the brown

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126

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

babios in the viprwam, or tcasine: the mock dccr-honnds.
He speaks English very fluently, and writes tolerably for
an Indian boy ; he usually aceom|)anies the women in
their visits, and acts as their interpreter, grinning wiiii
mischievous glee at his mother's bad English and mv

Ferplexity at not being able to understand her signs.
n spite of his extreme deformity, he seemed to possess
no inconsiderable share of vanity, gazing with great
satisfaction at his face in the looking-glass. When 1
asked his name, he replied, " Indian name Maquin, but
English name * Mister Walker,' very good man ;" this
was the person he was called after.

These Indians are scrupulous in their observance of
the Sabbath, and show great reluctance to having any
dealings in the way of trading or pursuing their usual
avocations of hunting or fishing on that Ouy.

The young Indians are very expert in the use of a
long bow, with wooden arrows, rather heavy and blunt
at the end. Maquin said he could shoot ducks and small
birds with his arrows ; but I should think they were not
calculated to reach objects at any great distance, as they
appeared very heavy.

*Tis sweet to hear the Indi ins singing their hymns of
a Sunday night ; their rich and soft voices rising in the
still evening air. I have often listened to this little
choir praising the Lord's name in the simplicity and
fervour of their hearts, and have felt it was a reproach
that these poor half-civilised wanderers should alone be
found to gather together to give glory to God in the
wilderness.

I was much pleased with the simple piety of our friend
the hunter, Peter's squaw, a stout swarthy matron, of
most amiable expression. We were taking our tea when
she softly opened the door and looked in ; an encouraging
smile induced her to enter, and depositing a brown pa-
pouse (Indian for baby or little child) on the ground, she
gazed round with curiosity and delight in her eyes.
We offered her some tea and bread, motionins: to her to
take a vanmt seat beside the table. She seemed pleased
by the invitation, and drawing her little one to her knee,

ItARTER WITH THE iNDIANS.

Vi*

poured some tea into the saucer and gave it to tlio child
to drink. She ate very moderately, and when slie had
finished, rose, and, wrapping her face in tiie folds of her
blanket, bent down her head on her breast in the attitude
of prayer. This little act of devotion was iKM-formed
without the slightest appearance of pharisaical display,
but in singleness and simplicity of heart. She then
thanked us with a face beaming with smiles and good
humour ; and, taking little llachel by the hands, threw
her over her shoulder with a peculiar sleight that I
feared would dislocate the tender thing's arms, but the
j)apouse seemed well satisfied with this mode of treatment.

In long journeys the children are placed in upright
baskets of a peculiar form, which are fastened rotnid the
necks of the mothers by straps of deer-skin ; but the
young infant is swathed to a sort of flat cradle, secured
with flexible hoops, to prevent it from falling out. To
these machines they are strapped, so as to be unable to
move a limb. Much finery is often displayed in the
outer covering and the bandages that confine the paj)ouse.

There is a sling attached to this cradle that passes over
the squaw's neck, the back of the babe being placed to
the back of the mother, and its face outward. The first
thnig a squaw does on entering a house is to release
herself from her burden, and stick it up against the wall
or chair, chest, or any thing that will support it, where
the passive prisoner stands, looking not unlike a mummy
in its case. I have seen the picture of the Virgin and
Child in some of the old illuminated missals, not milike
tlie figure of a papouse in swaddling clothes.

The squaws are most affectionate to their little ones.
Gentleness and good humour appear distinguishing traits
in the tempers of the female Indians ; whether this be
natural to their characters, the savage state, or the soften-
ing efiects of Christianity, I cannot determine. Certainly
in no instance does the Christian religion appear more
lovely than when, untainted by the doubts and infidelity
of modern sceptics, it is displayed in the conduct of the
reclaimed Indian breaking down the strongholds of
idolatry and natural evil, and bringing forth the frui^5 of

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BACKWOODS OF CANAUA.

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holiness ami nioralitv. Tliey may be said to receive the
truths of tho (lospt'l as little children, with simplicity of
heart and unclouded faith.

The squaws are very ingenious in many of their hand!-
works. We find their birch-bark baskets very conve-
nient for a number of purjx)8es. My bread-basket, knife-
tray, su^ar-basket, arc all of this humble material. When
ornamented and wrought in patterns with dyed quills, I
can assure you, they are by no means inelegant. They
manufacture vessels of birch bark so well, that they will
serve for many useful household purposes, such as holdinc:
water, nuik, broth, or any other liquid ; they are sewn
or rather stitched together with the tough roots of the
tamarack or larch, or else with strips of cedar-bark.
They also weave very useful sorts of baskets from the
inner rind of the bass-wood and white ash. Some of
these baskets, of a coarse kind, are made use of for
gathering up potatoes, Indian corn, or turnips ; the
settlers finding them very good substitutes for the osier
baskets used for such purposes in the old country.

The Indians are acquainted with a variety of dyes,
with which they stain the more elegant fancy baskets
and porcupine quills. Our parlour is ornamented with
several very pretty specimens of their ingenuity in this
way, which answer the purpose of note and letter cases,
flower-stands, and work-baskets.

They appear to value the useful rather more highly
than the merely ornamental articles that you may exhibit
to them. They are very shrewd and close in all their
bargains, and exhibit a surprising degree of caution in
their dealings. The men are much less difficult to trade
with than the women : they display a singular pertina-
city in some instances. If they fix their mind on any
one article, they will come to you day after day, refusing
any other you may offer to their notice. One of the
squaws fell in love with a gay chintz dressing-gown be-
longing to my husband, and though I resolutely refused
to part with it, all the squaws in the wigwam by turns
came to look at " gown," which they pronounced
with their peculiarly plaintive tone of voice : and when

receive the
iimplicity of

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INDIAN MANrFACTUBM.

129

1 gaid ** No prown to sell," they uttered a melancholy cx-
claination of rrprct, and went away.

Tiiey will seldom make any article you want on pur-
pose for you. If you express a desire to have baskets of
;i particular pattern that they do not happen to have
ready-made by them, they ^ivc you the usual vague
reply of " by-and-by." If the goods you otter them in
oxchanpe tor theirs do not answer their expt^etations,
they give a sullen and donfircd look, or reply " Car-car "
(no, no), or '' Carwinm,'* which is a still more forcible
negative. But when the bargain pleases them, they
signify their approbation by several alhrmative nods of
the head, and a note not much unlike a grunt : the ducks,
fish, venison, or baskets, are placed beside you, and the
articles of exchange transferred to the folds of their ca-
pacious blankets, or dej)osited in a sort of rushen wallets,
not unlike those straw baskets in which English carpen-
ters carry their tools.

The women imitate the dresses of the whites, and are
rather skilful in converting their purchases. Many of
the young girls can sew very neatly. I often give them
bits of silk and velvet, and braid, for which they aj)pcar
very thankful.

I am just now very busy with my garden. Some of
our vegetable seeds are in the ground, though I am told
we have been premature ; there being ten chances to one
but the young plants will be cut otf by the late frosts,
which are often felt through May, and even the begin-
ning of June.

Our garden at present has nothing to boast of, being
merely a spot of ground enclosed with a rough unsightly
fence of split rails to keep the cattle from destroying the
vegetables. Another spring, I hope to have a nice
fence, and a portion of the ground devoted to flowers.
This spring there is so much pressing work to be done
on the land in clearing for the crops, that I do not like
to urge my claims on behiUof a pretty garden.

The forest-trees are nearly all in leaf. Never did
spring burst forth with greater rapidity than it has done
this vear. The verdure of the leaves is most vivid. A

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130

BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

A thousand lovely flowers are expanded in the woods and
clcarinjrs. Nor are our Canadian songsters mute : the
cheerful melody of the robin, the bugle-song of the
blackbird and thrush, with the weak but not unpleasing
call of the little bird called Thitabebec^ and a wren, whose
note is sweec and thrilling, fill our woods.

For my part, I see no reason or wisdom in carping at
the good we do possess, because it lacks something of that
which we formerly enjoyed. I am aware it is the fashion
for travellers to assert that our feathered tribes are either
mute or give utterance to discordant cries that pierce the
ear, and disgust rather than please. It would be untrue
were I to assert that our singing birds were as numerous
or as melodious on the whole as those of Europe ; but I
must not suffer prejudice to rob my adopted country of her
rights without one word being spoken in behalf of her
feathered vocalists. Nay, I consider her very frogs have
been belied ; if it were not for the monotony of their
notes, I really consider they are not quite unmusical.
The green frogs are very handsome, being marked over
with brown oval shields on the most vivid green coat :
they are larger in size than the biggest of our English
frogs, and certainly much handsomer in every respect.
Their note resembles that of a bird, and has nothing of
the creek in it.

The bull-frogs are very different from the green frogs.
Instead of being angry with their comical notes, I can
hardly refrain from laughing when a great fellow pops up
his broad brown head I'rom the margin of the water, and
says, " WilliroOf williroo, williroo" to which another
bull-frog, from a distant part of the swamp, replies, in
hoarser accents, " Get outy get out, get out;" and pre-
sently a sudden chorus is heard of old and young, as it'
each party was desirous of out-croaking the other.

In my next I shall give you an account of my logging-
bee, which will take place the latter end of this month.
I feel some anxiety respecting the burning of the log-
heaps on the fallow round the house, as it appears to nic
rather a hazardous matter.

1 shall write again very shortly. Farewell, dearest of
friends.

INFOHAIATIOX fob £MIGBA>TS.

131

L£TT£B XI.

Emigrants suitable for Canada.— Qualities requisite to en-
sure success. — Investment of Capital. — Useful Articles to
be brought out. — Qualities and Occupations of a Settler's
Family. — Deficiency of Patience and Energy in some
Females. — Management of the Dairy. — Cheese. — Indian
Com and its Cultivation. — Potatoes.— Rates of Wages.

August 2, 1833.

With respect to the various questions, my dear friend, to
which you request my particular attention, I can only
promise that I will do my best to answer them as explicitly
as possible, though at the same time I must remind you,
that brevity in epistolary correspondence is not one of my
excellences. If 1 become too diffiise in describing mere
matters of fact, you must bear with mine infirmity, and
attribute it to my womanly propensity of over-nmch
talking ; so, for your comfort, if your eyes be wearied,
your ears will at least escape.

I shall take your queries in due rotation ; first, then,
you ask, *' Who are the persons beist adapted for bush-
settlers ?"

To which I reply without hesitation — the poor hard-
working sober labourers, who have industrious habits, a
large family to provide for, and a laudable horror of the
workhouse and parish-overseers : this will bear them
through the hardships and privations of a first settlement
in the backwoods ; and in due time they will realize an
honest independence, and be above want, though not
work. Artisans of all crafts arc better paid in village
towns, or long-cleared districts, than as mere bush-
settlers.

PIP?

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

*' Who are the next best suited for emigration ?'*

Men of moderate income or good capital may make
money in Canada. If they have judgment, and can
afi'ord to purchase on a large scale, they will double or
treble their capital by judicious purchases and sale. But
it would be easier for me to point out who are not fit for
emigration than who are.

The poor gentleman of delicate and refined habits,
who cannot afford to employ all the labour requisite to
carry on the business of clearing on a tolerably largo
scale, and is unwilling or incapable of working himself,
is not fitted for Canada, especially if his habits are ex-
pensive. Even the man of small income, unless he can
condescend to take in hand the axe or the chopper, will
find, even with prudent and economical habits, much
difficulty in keeping free from debt for the lirst two or
even three years. Many such have succeedtiU, but tiie
struggle has been severe.

But there is another class of persons most unsuited to
the woods : these are the wives and families of those who
have once been opulent tradesmen, accustomed to the
daily enjoyment of every luxury that money could pro-
cure or fashion invent : whose ideas of happiness are
connected with a round of amusements, company, and all
the novelties of dress and pleasure that the gay world
can offer. Young ladies who have been brought up at
fashionable boarding-schools, with a contempt of every
thing useful or economical, make very indifterent settlers'
wives. Nothing can be more unfortunate than the
situations in the woods of Canada of persons so educated :
disgusted with the unpleasant change in their mode of
life, wearied and discontented with all the objects around
them, they find every exertion a trouble, and every oc-
cupation a degradation.

For persons of this description (and there are such to
be met with in the colonies), Canada is the worst country
in the world. And I would urge any one, so unfitted by
habit and inclination, under no consideration to cross the
Atlantic ; for miserable, and poor, and wretched they
will become.

INFORMA-^ION FOR EMIGRANTS.

133

The emigrant, if he would succeed in this country,
must possess the following qualities : perseverance, pa-
tience, industry, ingenuity, moderation, self-denial ; and
if he be a gentleman, a small income is almost indis-
pensable ; a good one is still more desirable.

The outlay for buying and clearing land, building,
buying stock, and maintaining a family, paying servants*
wages, with many other unavoidable expenses, cannot be
done without some pecuniary means ; and as the return
from the land is but little for the first two or three years,
it would be advisable for a settler to bring out some hun-
dreds to enable him to carry on the farm and clear the
above-mentioned expenses, or he will soon find himself
involved in great di3iculties.

Now, to you third query, " What will be the most
profitable way of employing money, if a settler brought
out capital more than was required for his own expen-
diture ?"

On this head, I am not of course competent to give
advice. My husband and friends, conversant with the
affairs of the colonies, say, lend it on mortgage, on good
landed securities, and at a high rate of interest. The
purchase of land is often a good speculation, but not
always so certain as mortgage, as it pays no interest ; and
though it may at some future time make great returns, it
is not always so easy to dispose of it to an advantage
when you happen to need it. A man possessing many
thousand acres in different townships, may be distressed
for twenty pounds if suddenly called upon for it when he
is unprepared, if he invests all his capital in property of
this kind.

It would be difficult for me to enumerate the many
opportunities of turning ready money to account. There
is so little money in circulation, that those persons who are
fortunate enough to have it at command can do almost
any thing with it they please.

*' What are the most useful articles for a settler to
bring out?"

Tools ; a good stock of wearing apparel and shoes ; good
bedding, especially warm blankets ; as you pay high for

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134

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

them here, and they are not so good as you would supply
yourself with at a much lower rate at home. A selec-
tion of good garden-seeds, as those you buy at the stores
are sad trash ; moreover, they are pasted up in
packets not to be opened till paid for, and you may, as
we have done, pay for little better than chaff and empty
husks, or old and worm-eaten seeds. This, 1 am sorry
to say, is a Yankee trick ; though I doubt not but John
Bull would do the same if he had the opportunity, as
tliere are rogues in all countries under the sun.

With respect to furniture and heavy goods of any kind,
I would recommend little to be brought. Articles of
hardware are not much more expensive here than at home,
if at all, and often of a kind more suitable to the country
than those you are at the trouble of bringing ; besides,
all land-carriage is dear.

We lost a large package of tools that have never been
recovered from the forwarders, though their carriage
was paid beforehand to Prescott. It is safest and best to
enaure your goods, when the forwarders are accountable
for them.

You ask, ** If groceries and articles of household con-
sumption are dear or cheap ?"

They vary according to circumstances and situation.
In towns situated in old cleared parts of the country,
and near the rivers and navigable waters, they are cheaper
than at home ; but in newly settled townships, where
the water-communication is distant, and where the roads
are bad, and the transport of goods difficult, they are
nearly double the price. Where the sup[)ly of produce
is inadequate to the demand, owing to the influx of emi-
grants in thinly settled places, or other causes, then all
articles of provisions are sold at a high price, and not to
be procured without difficulty ; but these are merely
temporary evils, which soon cease.

Competition is lowering prices in Canadian towns, as
it does in British ones, and you may now buy goods of
all kinds nearly as cheap as in England. Where prices
depend on local circumstances, it is impossible to give
any just standard ; as what may do for one town would not

QUALIFICATIONS OF A SETTLER S WIFE.

1S5

for another, and a continual change is going on in all the
unsettled or half-settled townships. In like manner the
prices of cattle vary : they are cheaper in old settled
townships, and still more so on the American side the
river or lakes, than in the Canadas.*

*' What are necessary qualifications of a settler's wife ;
and the usual occupations of the female part of a settler's
family ?" are your next questions.

To the first clause, I reply, a settler's wife should be
active, industrious, ingenious, cheerful, not above putting
her hand to whatever is necessary to be done in her
household, nor too proud to profit by the advice and
experience of older portions of the community, from
whom she may learn many excellent lessons of prac-
tical wisdom.

Like that pattern of all good housewives described by
the prudent mother of King Lemuel, it should be said
of the emigrant's wife, "She layeth her hands to the
spindle, and her hands hold the distaff." *' She seeketh
wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."
*' She looketh well to the ways of her household, and
eateth not the bread of idleness."

Nothing argues a greater degree of good sense and
good feeling than a cheerful conformity to circumstances,
adverse though they be compared with a former lot;
surely none that felt as they ought to feel, would ever
despise a woman, however delicately brought up, for
doing her duty in the state of life unto which it rnay
have pleased God to call her. Since I came to this

♦ The duties on goods imported to the Canadas are ex-
ceedingly small, which will explain the circumstance of
many articles of consumption being cheaper in places where
there are facilities of transit than at home ; while in the
Backwoods, where roads are scarcely yet formed, there must
be taken into the account the cost of carriage, and increased
number of agents ; the greater value of capital, and conse-
quent increased rate of local profit, &c. — items which will
diminish in amount as the country becomes settled and
cleared. — Ed.

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136

BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

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country, I have seen the accomplished daughters and
wives of men holding no inconsiderable rank as officers,
both naval and military, milking their own cows, making
their own butter, and performing tasks of household
work that few of our farmers' wives would now con-
descend to take part in. Instead of despising these
useful arts, an emigrant's family rather pride themselves
on their skill in these matters. The less silly i^nde and
the more practical knowledge the female emigrant
brings out with her, so much greater is the chance for
domestic happiness and prosperity.

I am sorry to observe, that in many cases the women
that come hither give way to melancholy regrets, and
destroy the harmony of their fire-side, and deaden the
energies of their husbands and brothers by constant and
useless repining. Having once made up their minds to
follow their husbands or friends to this country, it would
be wiser and better to conform with a good grace, and
do their part to make the burden of emigration more
bearable.

One poor woman that was lamenting the miseries of
this country was obliged to acknowledge that her pros-
pects were far better than they ever had or could have
been at home. What, then, was the cause of her con-
tinual regrets and discontent ? I could hardly forbear
smiling, when she replied, *' She could not go to shop of
a Saturday night to lay out her husband's earnings, and
have a little chat with her naibors, while the shopman
was serving the customers,— ^r why? there were no
shops in the bush, and she was just dead-alive. If Mrs.
Such-a-one (with whom, by the way, she was always
quarrelling when they lived under the same roof) was
near her she might not feel quite so lonesome." And
so for the sake of a dish of gossip, while lolling her
elbows on the counter of a village-shop, this foolish
woman would have foregone the advantages, real solid
advantages, of having land and cattle, and poultry and
food, and firing and clothing, and all for a few years
hard work, which, her husband wisely observed, must
have been exerted at home, with no other end in view

DEnCIENCT OP PATIENCE IN SOME TEMALES. 137

than an old age of poverty or a refuge from starvation in
a parish workhouse.

The female of the middling or better class, in her
turn, pines for the society of the circle of friends she
has quitted, probably for ever. She sighs for those little
domestic comforts, that display of the refinements and
elegancies of life, that she had been accustomed to see
around her. She has little time now for thoso pursuits
that were even her business as well as amusement. The
accomplishments she has now to acquire are of a different
order : she must become skilled in the arts of sugar-boil-
ing, candle and soap-making, the making and baking of
huge loaves, cooked in the bake-kettle, unless she be
the fortunate mistress of a stone or clay oven. She must
know how to manufacture hop-rising or salt-rising for
leavening her bread ; salting meat and fish, knitting
stockings and mittens and comforters, sjnnning yarn in
the big wheel (the French Canadian spinning-wheel),
and dyeing the yarn when spun to have manufactured
into cloth and coloured flannels, to clothe her husband
and children, making clothes for herself, her husband,
and children; — for there are no tailors nor mantua-
mcl.ers in the bush.

The management of poultry and the dairy must not
be omitted ; for in this country most persons adopt the
Irish and Scotch method, that of churning the milky a
practice that in our part of England was not known. For
my own part I am inclined to prefer the butter churned
from cream, as being most economical, unless you chance
to have Irish or Scotch servants who prefer buttermilk to
new or sweet skimmed milk.

There is something to be s?id in favour of both plans,
no doubt. The management of the calves differs here
very much. Some persons wean the calf from the
mother from its birth, never allowing it to suck at all :
the little creature is kept fasting the first twenty-four
hours; it is then fed with the finger with new milk,
which it soon learns to take readily. I have seen fine
cattle thus reared, and am disposed to adopt the plan as
the least troublesome one.

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

The old settlers pursue an opposite mode of treatment,
allowinsj: the calf to suck till it is nearly half a year old,
under the idea that it ensures the daily return of the
cow ; as, under ordinary circumstances, she is apt to
ramble sometimes for days together, when the herbage
grows scarce in the woods near the homesteads, and you
not only lose the use of the milk, but often, from distcn-
tion of the udder, the cow is materially injured, at least
for the remainder of the milking season. I am disposed
to think that were care taken to give the cattle regular
supplies of salt, and a small portion of food, if ever so
little, near the milking- place, they would seldom stay
long away. A few refuse potatoes, the leaves of the
garden vegetables daily in use, set aside for them, with
the green shoots of the Indian corn that are stripped off
to strengthen the plant, will ensure their attendance. In
the fall and winter, pumpkins, corn, straw, and any other
fodder you may have, with the browse they get during
the chopping and underbrushing season, will keep them
well.

The weanling calves should be given skimmed milk or
buttermilk, with the leafy boughs of bass-wood and
maple, of which they are extremely fond. A warm shed
or fenced yard is very necessary for the cattle during the
intense winter frosts : this is too often disregarded, espe-
cially in new settlements, which is the cause that many
persons have the mortification of losing their stock, either
from disease or cold. Naturally the Canadian cattle are
very hardy, and when taken moderate care of, endure
the severest winters well ; but owing to the difficulties
that attend a first settlement in the bush, they suffer
every privation of cold and hunger, which brings on a
complaint generally fatal, called the ^^ hollow hornf
this originates in the spine, or extends to it, and is cured
or palliated by boring the horn and inserting turpentine,
pepper, or other heating substances.

When a new comer has not winter food for his cattle,
it is wise to sell them in the fall and buy others in the
spring : though at a seeming loss, it is perhaps less loss
in reality than losing the cattle altogether. This was

CULTIVATION OF INDIAN CORN.

139

the plan my husband adopted, and wc found it decidedly
the better one, besides saving much care, trouble, and
vexation.

I have seen some good s})ecimens of native cheese,
that I thoiight very respectable, considering that the
(pass is by no means equal to our British pastures. I
purpose trying my skill next summer : who knows but
that I may inspire some Canadian bard to celebrate the
produce of my dairy as Bloomfield did the Suffolk
cheese, yclept ** Bang." You remember the passage, —
for Bloomfield is your countryman as well as mine, — it
begins ; —

" Unrivalled stands thy county cheese, Giles,** &c.

I have dwelt on the dairy information ; as I know you
were desirous of imparting all you could collect to your
friends.

You wish to know something of the culture of Indian
corn, and if it is a useful and profitable crop.

The cultivation of Indian corn on newly cleared lands
is very easy, and attended with but little labour ; on old
farms it requires more. The earth is just raised with a
broad hoe, and three or four corns dropped in with a
pumpkin-seed, in about every third or fourth hole, and
in every alternate row; the seed are set several feet
apart. The pumpkins and the corn grow very amicably
together, the broad leaves of the former shading the
young plants and preventing the too great evaporation of
the moisture from the ground ; the roots strike little way,
so that they rob the corn of a very small portion of nour-
ishment. The one crop trails to an amazing length
along the ground, while the other shoots up to the height
of several feet above it. When the corn is beginning to
branch, the ground should be hoed once over, to draw
the earth a little to the roots, and cut down any weeds
that might injure it. This is all that is done till the cob
is beginning to form, when the blind and weak shoots
are broken off, leaving four or five of the finest bearing
shoots. The feather, when it begins to turn brown and

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140

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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dead, should also be taken off, that the plant may have
all the nourishment to the corn.

We had a remarkable instance of smut in our corn last
summer. The diseased cobs had larp:e white bladders
as big as a small puff-ball, or very larpre nuts, and these
on being broken were full of an mky black liquid. On
the same plants might be observed a sort of false fructifi-
cation, the cob being deficient in kernels, which by
some strange accident were transposed to the top feather
or male blossoms. I leave botanists to explain the cause
of this singular anomaly ; I only state facts. I could
not learn that the smut was a disease common to Indian
corn, but last year smut, or dust bran, as it is called by
some, was very prevalent in the oat, barley, and wheat
crops. In this country especially, new lands are very
subject to the disease.

The ripe com is either shocked as beans are at home,
or the cobs pulled and braided on ropes after the man-

ner of onions, and

hung over

oolos or beams in the

granaries or barns. The stripping of the corn gives rise
among some people to what they call a husking-bee,
which, like all the other bees, is one of Yankee origin,
and is not now so frequently adopted among the more
independent or better class of settlers.

The Indian corn is a tender and somewhat precarious
crop : it is liable to injury from the late frosts while
young, for which reason it is never put in before the
20th of May, or beginning of June, and even then it
will suffer ; it has also many enemies —bears, racoons,
squirrels, mice, and birds ; and is a great temptation to
breachy cattle, who, to come at it, will even toss down a
fence with stakes and riders for protection, i. e. a pole or
<;ross~bar, supported between crossed stakes, that sur-
mounts the zig-zag rail fences, for better securing them
from the incursions of cattle.

Even in Canada this crop requires a hot summer to
ripen it perfectly ; which makes me think Mr. Cobbett
was deceiving the English farmer when he recommended
it as a profitable croj) in England. Profitable and highly
useful it is under every disadvantage, as it makes the

BATES OF WAGES.

141

rs, racoons.

•ichest and sweetest food for all kinds of granivorous
animals, even in its green state, and atlbrds sound «>ood
food when rijie, or even partially ripe, lor i'attening
beasts and working oxen.

Last summer was very favourable, and the crops were
abundant, but owing to the failure of the two preceding
ones, fewer settlers grew it. Our small patcli turned out
very good. The flour makes a substantial sort of por-
ridge, called by the Americans ^^ Supporne ;'' this is
made with water, and eaten with milk, or else mixed
with milk ; it requires long boiling. Bread is seldom if
over made without a large portion of wheaten flour
mixed with the corn meal.*

With respect to the culture of other grain, I can tell
you nothing but what every booli that treats on emi-
gration will give you. The potato, instead of being
sown in drills, is planted in hills, which are raised over
the sets : this crop requires hoeing.

With respect to the usual rate of wages, this also
differs a/^cording to the populousness of the place : but
the common wages now given to an active able man ar?
from eight to eleven dollars per month ; ten is perhaps
the general average ; from four to six for lads, and three
and four for female servants. You may get a little girl,
say from nine to twelve years, for her board and cloth-
ing ; but this is iiar from a saving plan, as they soon
wear out clothes and shoes thus bestowed. I have once
tried this way, but found myself badly served, and a
greater loser than if I had given wages. A big girl
will go out to service for two or two and a half dollars
per month, and will work in the fields also if required,
binding after the reapers, planting and hoeing corn and
potatoes. I have a very good girl, the daughter of a
Wiltshire emigrant, who is neat and clever, and respect-
ful and industrious, to whom I give three dollars only :
she is a happy specimen of the lower order of English
emigrants, and her family are quite acquisitions to the
township in which they live.

* See note E.

"i
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■ 1
■1

142

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

I think I have now answered all your queries to the
best of my ability ; but I would have you bear in mind
that my knowledge is confined to a small portion of the
townships along the Otanabeo lakes, therefore my in-
formation after all may be but local ; things may diHi'r
and do differ in other parts of the province, thougli
possibly liot very materially.

I must now say farewell. Should you ever feel
tempted to try your fortune on this side the Atlantic, let
me assure you of a warm welcome to our Canadian
home, from your sincerely attached friend.

l!i

LOGGING-UEE.

143

Lettkr XII.

"A Logging Bee."" — Burning of the Log-heaps. — Crops for
the Season. — Farming Stock. — Comparative Value of
Wheat and Labour. — Choice of Laud and rehitive Advan-
tages. — Clearing Land. — Hurricane in the Woods. —
Variable Weather. — Insects.

November the 2nd, 1833.

Many thanks, dearest mother, for the contents of the
box which arrived in August. I was charmed with the
pretty caps and worked frocks <=!ent for my baby ; tlie
little fellow looks delightfull} lu his new robes, and I
can almost fancy is conscious of the accession to his
wardrobe, so proud he seems of his dress. He grows
fat and lively, and, as you may easily suppose, is at once
the y)ride and delight of his foolish mother's heart.

His father, who loves him as much as I do myself,
ot'ren laughs at my fondness, and asks me if I do not
think him the ninth wonder of the world. He has
titted up a sort of rude carriage on the hand-sleigh for
the little fellow — nothing better than a tea-chest, lined
with a black bear-skin, and in this humble equipage he
enjoys many a pleasant ride over the frozen ground.

Nothing could have happened more opportunely for
us than the acquisition of my uncle's legacy, as it has
enabled us to make some useful additions to our farm,
for which we must have waited a few years. We have
laid out a part of the property in purchasing a fine lot of
land adjoining our home lot. The quality of our new
purchase is excellent, and, from its situation, greatly en-
hances the value of the whole property.

We had a glorious burning this summer after the
ground was logged up; that is, all the large timbers

lit;

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

chopped into lengths, and drawn together in heaps with
oxen. To effect this the more readily we called a
logging-bee. We had a number of settlers attend, with
yokes of oxen and men to assist us. After that was
over, my husband, with the men-servants, set the
heaps on fire ; and a magnificent sight it was to see
such a conflagration all around us. I was a little
nervous at first on account of the nearness of some of
the log-heaps to the house, but care is always taken to
fire them with the wind blowing in a direction away
from the building. Accidents have somet'ines happened,
but they are of rarer occurrence than mig the expected,
when we consider the subtlety and destructiveness of
the element employed on the occasion.

If the weather be very dry, and a brisk wind blowing,
the work of destruction proceeds with astonishing ra-
pidity ; sometimes the fire will communicate with the
forest and run over many hundreds of acres. This is
not considered favourable for clearing, as it destroys the
underbush and light timbers, which are almost indispen-
sable for ensuring a good burning. It is, however, a
magnificent sight to see the blazing trees and watch the
awful progress of the conflagration, as it hurries onward,
consuming all before it, or leaving such scorching
mementoes as have blasted the forest growth for years.

When the ground is very dry the fire will run all over
the fallow, consuming the aried leaves, sticks, and roots.
Of a night the efiect is more evident ; sometimes the
wind blows particles of the burning fuel into the hollow
pines and tall decaying stumps ; these readily ignite,
and after a time present an appearance that is exceed-
ingly fine and fanciful. Fiery columns, the bases of
which are hidden by the dense smoke wreaths, are to
be seen in every direction, sending up showers of sparks
that are whirled about like rockets and fire-wheels in
the wind, uome of these tail stumps, when the fire has
reached the summit, look like gas lamp-posts newly lit.
The fire will sometimes continue unextinguished for
flays.

After the burning is over the brands are collected and
drawn together again to be reburnt ; and, strange as it

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• in heaps with
we called a
^s attend, with
After that was
mts, set the
it was to see
was a little
ess of some of
ways taken to
li^cction away
nos happened,
t be expected,
ructiveness of

vind blowing,
stonishing ra-
jate with the
res. This is
t destroys the
lost indispen-
, however, a
nd watch the
rries onward,
h scorching

for years.

run all over

, and roots,
metimes the
o the hollow
adily ignite,
t is exceed-
he bases of
aths, are to
crs of sparks
re-wheels in

the fire has
ts newly lit.
iguished for

ollected and
strange as it

COMPAEATIVE VALUE OP WHEAT.

145

may api)oar to you, there is no work that is more inter-
esting and exciting than that of tending the log-heaps,
rousing up the dying flames and closing them in, and
supplying the fires with fresh fuel.

There are always two burnings : first, the brush heaps,
which have lain during the w inter till the drying winds
and hot suns of April and May have rendered them sear,
are set fire to ; this is previous to forming the log-heaps.
If the season be dry, and a brisk wind abroad, much
of the lighter timber is consumed, and the larger trees
reduced during this first burning. After this is over,
the rest is chopped and logged up for the second burn-
ing : and lastly, the remnant« are collected and con-
sumed till the ground is perfectly free from all encum-
brances, excepting the standing stumps, which rarely
burnt out, and remain eye-sores for several years. The
ashes are then scattered abroad, and the field fenced
in with split timber : the great work of clearing is over.
Our crops this year are oats, corn and pumpkins, and
potatoes, with some turnips.* We shall have wheat,
nc, oats, potatoes, and com next harvest, which will
enable us to increase our stock. At present we have
only a yoke of oxen (Buck and Bright, the names of
three-fourths of all the working oxen in Canada), two
cows, two calves, three small pigs, ten hens, and three
ducks, and a pretty brown pony ; but she is such a skilful
clearer of seven-railed fences, that we shall be obliged to
part with her. Breach]/ cattle of any kind are great
disturbers of public tranquillity and private friendship ;
for which reason any settler who values the good will of
his neighbours would rather part with the best working
yoke of oxen in the township, than keep them if they
prove breach^.

A small farmer at home would think very poorly of
our Canadian possessions, especially when I add that our
whole stock of farming implements consists of two
reaping-hooks, several axes, a spade, and a couple of
hoes. Add to these a queer sort of harrow that is made

♦ See note F.

f. i

146

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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in the shape of a triangle for the better passing between
the stumps : this is a rude machine compared with the
nicely painted instruments of the sort I have been accus-
tomed to see used in Britain. It is roughly hewn, and
put together without regard to neatness ; strength for
use is all that is looked to here. The plough is seldom
put into the land before the third or fourth year, nor is
it required ; the general plan of cropping the first
fallow with wheat or oats, and sowing grass-seeds with
the grain to make pastures, renders the plough unrie-
cessary till such time as the grass-lands require to be
broken up. This method is pursued by most settlers
while they are clearing bush-land ; always chopping
and burning enough to keep a regular succession of
wheat and spring crops, while the former clearings are
allowed to remain in grass.

The low price that is now given for grain of every
kind, wheat having fetched only from two shillings and
nine-pence to four shillings the bushel, makes the grow-
ing of it a matter of less importance than rearing and
fatting of stock. Wages bear no proportion to the price
of produce ; a labourer receives ten or eleven dollars
and board a month, while wheat is selling at only three
shillings, three shillings and six-pence, or four shillings,
and sometimes even still less. The returns are little
compared with the outlay on the land ; nor does the land
produce that great abundance that men are apt to look
for on newly cleared ground. The returns of produce,
however, must vary with the situation and fertility of
the soil, which is generally less productive in the imme-
diate vicinity of the lakes and rivers than a little farther
back from them, the land being either swampy or ridgy,
covered with pines and beset with blocks of limestone
and granite, the subsoil poor and sandy.

This is the case on the small lakes and on the banks
of the Otanabee ; the back lots are generally much finer
in quality, producing hard wood, such as bass-wood,
maple, hickory, butter-nut, oak, beach and iron-wood;
which trees always indicate a more productive soil than
the pine-tribe.

CHOICE OF LAKD.

147

In spite of the indifference of the soil, the advantage
of a water frontage is considered a matter of great import-
ance in the purchasing of land ; and lots with water
privileges usually fetch a much higher price than those
farther removed from it. These lands are in general in
the possession of the higher class of settlers, who can
afford to pay something extra for a pretty situation, and
the prospect of future improvements when the country
shall be under a higher state of cultivation and more
thickly settled.

We cannot help regarding with infinite satisfaction
the few acres that are cleared round the house and
covered with crops. A space of this kind in the midst
of the dense forest imparts a cheerfulness to the mind,
of which those that live in an open country, or even a
partially wooded one, can form no idea. The bright
sunbeams and the blue and cloudless sky breaking in
upon you, rejoices the eye and cheers the heart as much
as th cool shade of a palm-grove would the weary
travt * V. ( ft the sandy wastes of Africa.

If «e feel this so sensibly who enjoy the opening of
a lake of full three-quarters of a mile in breadth directly
in front of our windows, what must those do whose
clearing is opened in the depths of the forest, hemmed
in on every side by a thick wall of trees, through
the interminable shades of which the eye vainly endea-
vours to penetrate in search of other objects and other
scenes ; but so dense is the growth of timber, that all
beyond the immediate clearing is wrapped in profound
obscurity. A settler on first locating on his lot knows
no more of its boundaries and its natural features than he
does of the North-west Passage.

Under such disadvantages it is ten chances to one if he
chooses the best situation on the land for the site of his
house. This is a very sufficient reason for not putting
up an expensive building till the land is sufficiently
cleared to allow its advantages and disadvantages to
}x?come evident. Many eligible spots often present
themselves to the eye of the settler, in clearing his land,
that cause him to regret having built before he could

148

BACKWOODS 07 CANADA.

lilill

obtain a better choice of ground. But circumstances
will seldom admit of delay in building in the bush ; ^
dwelling must be raised speedily, and that generally on
the first cleared acre. The emigrant, however, looks for-
ward to some no very distant period when he shall be able
to gratify both his taste and love of comfort in the erectioa
of a handsomer and better habitation than his log-house
or his shanty, which he regards only in the light of a
temporary accommodation.

On first coming to this country nothing surprised me
more than the total absence of trees about the dwelling-
houses and cleared lands ; the axe of the chopper relent-
lessly levels all before him. Man appears to contend
with the trees of the forest as though they were his most
obnoxious enemies ; for iie spares neither the young*
sapling in its greenness nor the ancient trunk in its lofty
pride ; he wages war against the forest with fire and
steel.

There are several sufficient reasons to be given for
this seeming want of taste. The forest-trees grow so
thickly together that they have no room for expanding
and putting forth lateral branches ; on the contrary, they
run up to an amazing height of stem, resembling seed-
lings on a hotbed that have not been duly thinned out.
Trees of this growth when unsupported by others are
tall, weak, and entirely divested of those graces and
charms of outline and foliage that would make them
desirable as ornaments to our grounds ; but this is not
the most cogent reason for not leaving them, supposing
some more sightly than others were to be found.

Instead of striking deep roots in the earth, the forest-
trees, with the exception of the pines, have very super-
ficial hold in the earth ; the roots, running along the
surface, have no power to resist the wind when it bends
the tops, which thus acts as a powerful lever in tearing
them from their places.

The taller the tree the more liable it is to be up-
rooted by storms ; and if those that are hemmed in, as
in the thickly planted forests, fall, you may suppose the
certain fate of any isolated tree, deprived of its former

CLEABING JjAXTD,

149

protectors, when left to brave and battle with the storm*
It is sure to fall, and may chance to injure any cattle
that are within its reach. This is the great reason why
trees are not left in the clearing. Indeed, it is a less
easy matter to spare them when chopping than I at first
imagined, but the fall of one tree frequently brings down
two, three, or even more smaller ones that stand near it.
A good chopper will endeavour to promote this as much
as possible by partly chopping through smaller ones in
the direction they purpose the larger one to fall.

I was so desirous of preserving a few pretty sapling
beech-trees that pleased me, that I desired the choppers
to spare them ; but the only one that was saved from
destruction m the chopping had to pass through a fiery
ordeal, which quickly scorched and withered up its gay
green leaves : it now stands a melancholy monument of
♦he impossibility of preserving trees thus left. The
only thing to be done if you desire trees, is to plant
them while young in favourable situations, when they
take deep root and spread forth branches the same as the
trees in our parks and hedge rows.

Another plan which we mean to adopt on our land is,
to leave several acres of forest in a convenient situation,
and chop and draw out the old timbers for fire-wood,
leaving the younger growth for ornament. This method
of preserving a grove of trees is not liable to the objec-
tions formerly stated, and combines the useful with the
ornamental.

There is a strange excitement created in the mind
whilst watching the felling of one of the gigantic pines
or oaks of the forest. Proudly and immoveably it seems
at first to resist the storm of blows that assail its massy
trunk, from the united axes of three or even four chop-
pers. As the work of destruction continues, a slight
motion is perceived — an almost imperceptible quivering
of the boughs. Slowly and slowly it inclines, while the
loud rending of the trunk at length warns you that its
last hold on earth is gone. The axe of the chopper has
performed its duty ; the motion of the falling tree be-
comes accelerated every instant, till it comes down ia

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150

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

thunder on the plain, with a crash that makes the earth j
tremble, and the neighbouring trees reel and bow before it.

Though decidedly less windy than our British isles,
Canada is subject at times to sudden storms, nearly ap. I
proaching to what might be termed whirlwinds and
nurricanes. A description of one of these tempests I
gave you in an early letter. During the present sum-
mer I witnessed another hurricane, somewhat more|
violent and destructive in its effects.

The sky became suddenly overcast with clouds of a I
highly electric nature. The storm came from the north-
west, and its fury appeared to be confined within the
breadth of a few hundred yards. I was watching with
some degree of interest the rapid movements in the!
lurid, black, and copper-coloured clouds that were ca-
reering above the lake, when I was surprised by the I
report of trees falling on the opposite shore, and yet
more so by seeing the air filled with scattered remnants
of the pines within less than a hundred yards of the
house, while the wind was scarcely felt on the level |
ground on which I was standing.

In a few seconds the hurricane had swept over tliel
water, and with irresistible power laid low not less than
thirty or forty trees, bending others to the ground like|
reeds. It was an awful sight to see the tall forest rock-
ing and bowing before the fury of the storm, and withl
the great trunks falling one after the other, as if they had
been a pack of cards thrown down by a breath. Fortu-
nately for us the current of the wind merely passed over
our open clearing, doing us no further damage than
uprooting three big pine-trees on the ridge above the

lake. But in the direction of our neighbour it I

did great mischief, destroying many rods of fencing, and
crushing his crops with the prostrate trunks and scattered
boughs, occasioning great loss and much labour to repair
the mischief.

The upturned roots of trees thrown down by the wind
are great nuisance <^nd disfigurements in clearings, and
cause much more . ouble to remove than those that have
beea felled h:^ ^ne axe. Some of the stumps of these

VABIAOLE WEATHES.

151

wind-fallen trees will right again if chopped from the
trunk soon after they have been blown down, the weight
of the roots and upturned soil being sufficient to bring
them back, into their former places j we have pursued
this plan very frequently.

We have experienced one of the most changeable
seasons this summer that was possible. The spring was
warm and pleasant, but f»'om the latter part ot May till
the middle of harve ^. lad heavy rains, cloudy skies,
with moist hot days, ant. requent teror^pcts of thunder
and lightning, most awfully grand, bu. oeemingly less
destructive than such storms are at home. Possibly the
tall forest-trees divert the danger from the low dwellings,
which are sufficiently sheltered from the etiect of the
lightning. The autumn has also proved wet and cold.
I must say at present I do not think very favourably of
the climate ; however, it is not right to judge by so short
an acquaintance with it, as every one says this summer
has been unlike any of its predecessors.

The insects have been a sad annoyance to us, and I
hailed the approach of the autumn as a respite from their
attacks ; for these pests are numerous and various, and
no respecters of nersons, as I have learned from sad
experience.

1 am longing for home-letters ; let me hear from you
soon.

Farewell, friends.

fl2

VJV

152

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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Letteb XIII.

Health enjoyed in the rigour of Winter. — Inconvenience
suffered from the brightness of the Snow. — Sleighing.—
Indian Orthography. — Visit to an Indian Encampment.—
Story of an Indian. — An Indian Himchback. — Canadian
Ornithology*

Lake Cottage, March 14, 1834.

I RECEIVED your affectionate and interesting letter
only last night. Owing to an error in t! direction, it
had made the round of two townships before it reached
Peterborough ; and though it bore as many new direc-
tions as the sailor's knife did new blades and handles, it
did at last reach me, and was not less prized for its tra-
velling dress being somewhat the worse for wear.

I rejoiced to hear of your returning health and in-
creased happiness; — may they long continue. Your
expressions of regret for my exile, as you term my resi-
dence in this country, affected me greatly. Let the
assurance that I am not less happy than when I left my
native land console you for my absence. If my situa-
tion be changed, my heart is not. My spirits are as
light as ever, and at times I feel a gaiety that bids de-
fiance to all care.

You say you fear the rigours of the Canadian winter
will kill me. I never enjoyed better health, nor so
good, as since it commenced. There is a degree of
spirit and vigour infused into one's blood by the purity
of the air that is quite exhilarating. The very snow
seems whiter and more beautiful than it does in our
damp vapoury climate. During a keen bright winter's
day you will often perceive the air filled with minute

1I£\LTU ENJOYKD IS \ViM£R.

153

frozen particles, which are quite dry, and slightly prick
vour face like needle-points, while the sky is blue and
bright above you. There is a decided difference be-
tween the first snow-falls and those of mid-winter ; tho
iirst are in large soft flakes, and seldom remain long
without thawing, but those that fall after the cold has
regularly set in are smaller, drier, and of the most beau-
tiful forms, sometimes pointed like a cluster of rays, or
else feathered in the most exquisite manner.

I find my eyes much inconvenienced by the dazzling
glitter of tlie snow on bright sunny days, so as to render
my sight extremely dull and indistinct for hours after
exposure to its power. I would strongly advise anyone
coming out to this country to provide themselves with
blue or green glasses ; and by no means to omit green
crape or green tissue veils. Poor Moses' gross of
green spectacles would not have proved so bad a spec, in
Canada.*

Some few nights ago, as I was returning from visiting a
sick friend, I was delighted by the eftect produced by
the frost. The earth, the trees, every stick, dried leaf,
and stone in my path was glittering with mimic
diamonds, as if touched by some magical power ; objects
the most rude and devoid of beauty had suddenly as-
sumed a brilliancy that was dazzling beyond the most
vivid fancy to conceive ; every frozen particle sent forth
rays of bright light. You might have imagined your-
self in Sinbad's valley of gems ; nor was the temperature
of the air at all unpleasantly cold.

I have often felt the sensation of cold on a windy day
in Britain far more severe than I have done in Canada,
when the mercury indicated a much lower degree ot
temperature. There is almost a trance-like stillness in
the air during our frosty nights, that lessens the un-
pleasantness of the sensation.

There are certainly some days of intense cold during

;

* Oculists condemn coloured spectacles, as injuring weak
eyes by the heat which they occasion. Coloured gauze or
coloured shades are preferable. — £d.

It ml J"!^'v'

154

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

our winter, but this low temperature seldom continues
more than three days together. The coldest part of
the day is from an hour or two before sunrise to about
nine o'clock in the morning ; by that time our blazing
log-fires or metal stoves have warmed the house, so that
you really do not care for the cold without. When out
of doors you suffer less inconvenience than you would
imagine whilst you keep in motion, and are tolerably
well clothed : the cars and nose are the most exposed to
injury.

Gentlemen sometimes make a singular appearance
coming in from a long journey, that if it were not for
pity's sake would draw from you a smile ; — hair, whis-
kers, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, all incrusted with
hoar-frost. I have seen young ladies going to evening
parties with clustering ringlets, as jetty as your own,
changed by the breath of Father Frost to silvery white-
ness ; so that you could almost fancy the fair damsels
had been suddenly metamorphosed to their ancient
grannies ; fortunately for youth and beauty such change
is but transitory.

In the towns and populous parts of the province the
approach of whiter is hailed with delight instead of
dread ; it is to all a season of leisure and enjoyment.
Travelling is then expeditiously and pleasantly per-
formed ; even our vile bush-roads become positively very
respectable ; and if you should happen to be overturned
once or twice during a journey of pleasure, very little
danger attends such an event, and very little compassion
is bestowed on you for your tumble in the snow ; so it is
wisest to shake off your light burden and enjoy the fun
with a good grace if you can.

Sleighing is certainly a very agreeable mode of tra-
velling ; the more snow the better the sleighing season is
considered ; and the harder it becomes, the easier the
motion of the vehicle. The horses are all adorned with
strings of little brass bells about their necks or middles.
The merry jingle of these bells is far from disagreeable,
producing a light lively sound.

The following lines I copied from the New York

8LKIGHINQ.

155

Albion for you; I think you will be pleased with
them: —

SLEIGH-BELLS.

'Tis merry to hear at evening time

By the blazing hearth the sleigh-hells chime ; •

To know each bound of the steed brings near

The form of him to our bosoms dear ;

Lightly we spring the fire to raise,

Till the rafters glow with the ruddy blaze* ,

'Tis he— and blithely the gay bells sound,

As his steed skims over the frozen ground.

Hark ! he has passed the gloomy wood ;

He crosses now the ice-bound flood,

And sees the light from the open door, ,

To hail his toilsome journey o'er.

Our hut is small, and rude our cheer.
But love has spread the banquet here ;
And childhood springs to be caress'd
By our beloved and welcome guest ;
"With smiling brow his tale he tells.
They laughing ring the merry bells.

From the cedar swamp the wolf may howl.
From the blasted pine loud whoop the owl ;
The sudden crash of the falling tree
Are sounds of terror no more to me ;
No longer I list with boding fear,
The sleigh-bells' merry peal to hear.*

As soon as a sufficient quantity of snow has fallen, all
vehicles of every description, from the stage-coach to
the wheelbarrow, are supplied with wooden runners,
shod with iron, after the manner of skates. The usual
equipages for travelling are the double sleigh, light
waggon, and cutter; the two former are drawn by two
horses abreast, but the latter, which is by far the most

* This little poem by Mrs. Moodie has since been printed
a volume of " Friendship's Offering," with some altera-

tions by the editor that deprive it a good deal of the simpli*
city of the original.

, *

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DACKWOODS OF CANADA.

elegant-looking, has but one, and answens more to our
gig or chaise.

Wrapjied up in buffalo robes you feel no incon.
venience from the cold, excepting to your face, which
requires to be defended by a warm beaver or i'ur bonnet ;
the latter, I am surprised to find, is seldom if ever
worn, from the nonsensical reason that it is not tin-
fashion. The red, grey, and black S(juirrels arc
abundant in our woods ; the musk-rat inhabits little
houses that he builds in the rushy parts of the lakes:
these dwellings are formed of the roots of sedges, sticks,
and other materials of a similar nature, and i>iustcrcd
with mud, over which a thick close thatch is raised to
the height of a foot or njore above the water ; they are
of a round or dome-shaj)e, and are distinctly visible
from the shore at some distance. The Indians set traps
to ensnare these creatures in their houses, and sell
their skins, which are very thick and glossy towards
winter. The beaver, the bear, the black lynx, and
foxes, are also killed, and brought to the stores by the
hunters, where the skins are exchanged lor goods or
money.

The Indians dress the deer-skins for making mocas-
sins, which are greatly sought after by the settlers in
these parts; they are very comfortable in snowv
weather, and keep the feet very warm, but you require
several wrappings of cloth round the feet before you put
them on. I wore a beautiful pair all last winter, worked
with porcupine-quills and bound with scarlet ribbon;
these elegant mocassins were the handicraft of an old
squaw, the wife of Peter the hunter ; you have already
heard of him in my former letters. I was delighted
M'itli a curious specimen of Indian orthography that ac-
companied the mocassins, in the form of a note, which I
shall transcribe for your edification : —

Sir,

Pleas if you would give something ; you must git
in ordir in store is woyth (worth) them mocsin, porcu-
pine quill on et. One dollers fbure yard.

s more to our

eel no incon.

ir fiKC, which

or I'ur boniHt ;

»clilum if ever

it is not till"

S(iuirrcls arc

inhabits little

of the lakes:

sedges, slicks,

and j>histcrccl

oh is raised to

iter ; thev are

tinctly visihle

Jians set traps

isos, and sell

f lossy towards

ick lynx, and

stores by the

lor goods or

lakinir mocas-
le settlers in
in snowv
you require
itbre you jmt
inter, worked
arlet ribbon;
lit of an old
lave already
as delighted
pliy that ac-
ote, which I

oil must jrit
csin, porcu-

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158

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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This curious billet was the production of the hunter's
eldest son, and is meant to intimate that if I would buy
the mocassins the price was one dollar, or an order on
one of the stores for four yards of calico ; for so the
squaw interpreted its meaning. The order for four
yards of pnnted cotton was delivered over to Mrs.
Peter, who carefully pinned it within the folds of her
blanket, and uoparted well satisfied with the payment.
And this reminds me of our visit to the Indians' camp
last week. Feeling some desire to see these singular
people in their winter encampment, I expressed my

wish to S , who happens to be a grand favourite

with the old hunter and his family ; as a mark of a
distinction they have bestowed on him the title of Chip-
pewa, the name of their tribe. He was delighted with the
opportunity of doing the honours of the Indian wigwam,
and it was agreed that he, with some of his brothers
and sisters-in-law, who happened to be on a visit at his
house, should come and drink tea with us and accom-
pany us to the camp in the woods.

A merry party we were that sallied forth that even-
ing into the glorious starlight ; the snow sparkled with
a thousand diamonds on its frozen surface, over which
we bounded with hearts as light as hearts could be in
this careful world. And truly never did I look upon a
lovelier sight than the woods presented ; there had been
a heavy fall of snow the preceding day ; owing to the
extreme stillness of the air not a particle of it had been
shaken from the trees. The evergreens were bending
beneath their brilliant burden ; every twig, every leaf
and spray was covered, and some of the weak saplings
actually bowed down to the earth with the weight of
snow, forming the most lovely and fanciful bowers and
arcades across our path. As you looked up towards
the tops of the trees the snowy branches seen against
the deep blue sky formed a silvery veil, through which
the bright stars were gleaming with a chastened bril-
liancy,

I was always an admirer of a snowy landscape, but
neither in this country nor at home did I ever see any

INTEBIOB OP A WIGWAM.

159

the hunter's
L would buy
an order on

for so the
r for four
er to Mrs.
folds of her
e payment,
lians' camp
SB singular
pressed my
id favourite

mark of a
le of Chip-
ed with the
Ln wigwam,
is brothers
visit at his
md accom-

that even-
•kled with
ver which
;ould be in
)ok upon a
J had been
ng to the

had been
i bending
ivery leaf

saplings
weight of
)wers and
towards

I against

h which
ned bril-

'ape, but
see any

thing so surpassingly lovely as the forest appeared that
night.

Leaving the broad road we struck into a bye-path,
deep tracked by the Indians, and soon perceived the
wigwam by the red smoke that issued from the open
basket-work top of the little hut. This is first formed
with light poles, planted round so as to enclose a circle
of ten or twelve feet in diameter ; between these poles
are drawn large sheets of birch-bark both within and
without, leaving an opening of the bare poles at the top
so as to form an outlet for the smoke ; the outer walls
Mere also banked up with snow, so as to exclude the air
entirely from beneath.

Some of our party, who were younger and lighter of
foot than we sober married folks, ran on before ; so that
when the blanket, that served the purpose of a door,
was unfastened, we found a motley group of the dark
skins and the pale faces reposing on the blankets and
skins that were spread round the walls of the wigwam.

The swarthy complexions, shaggy black hair, and
singular costume of the Indians formed a striking con-
trast with the fair-faced Europeans that were mingled
with them, seen as they were by the red and fitful glare
of the wood-fire that qpcupied the centre of the circle.
The deer-hounds lay stretched in indolent enjoyment,
close to the embers, while three or four dark-skinned
little urchins were playing with each other, or angrily
screaming out their indignation against the apish tricks
of the hunchback, my old acquaintance Maquin, that
Indian Flibbertygibbet, whose delight appeared to be
in teazing and tormenting the little papouses, casting as
he did so sidelong glances of impish glee at the guests,
while as quick as thought his features assumed an im-
penetrable gravity when the eyes of his father or the
squaws seemed directed towards his tricks.

There was a slight bustle among the party when we
entered one by one through the low blanket doorway.
The merry laugh rang round among our friends, which
was echoed by more than one of the Indian men, and
joined by the peculiar half-laugh or chuckle of the

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

squaws. *' Chippewa^ was directed to a post of honour
beside the hunter Peter ; and squaw Peter, with an air
of great good humour, made room for me on a comer of
her own blanket ; to effect which, two papouses and a
liound were sent lamenting to the neighbourhood of the
hunchback Maquin.

The most attractive persons in the wigwam were two
Indian girls, one about eighteen, — Jane, the hunter's
eldest daughter, and her cousin Margaret. I was greatly
struck with the beauty of Jane ; her features were posi-
tively fine, and though of gipsy darkness, the tint of ver-
milion on her cheek and lip rendered it, if not beautiful,
very attractive. Her hair, which was of jetty blackness,
was soft and shining, and was neatly folded over her fore-
head, not hanging loose and disorderly in shaggy masses,as
is generally the case with the squaws. Jane was evidently
aware of her superior charms, and may be considered as
an Indian belle, by the peculiar care she displayed in the
arrangement of the black cloth mantle, bound with
scarlet, that was gracefully wrapped over one shoulder,
and fastened at her left side with a gilt brooch. Mar-
garet was younger, of lower stature, and though lively
and rather pretty, yet wanted the quiet dignity of her
cousin ; she had more of the squaw in face and figure.
The two girls occupied a blanket by themselves, and
were busily engaged in working some most elegant
sheaths of deer-skin, richly wrought over with coloured
quills and beads ; they kept the beads and quills in a
small tin baking-pan on their knees; but my old squaw
(as I always call Mrs. Peter) held her porcupine-quills in
her mouth, and the fine dried sinews of the deer, which
they make use of instead of thread in work of this sort,
in her bosom.

On my expressing a desire to have some of the por-
cupine-quilis, she gave me a few of dififerent colour that
she was working a pair of mocassins with, but signified
that she wanted ** * bead* to work mocsin,'* by which I
understood I was to give some in exchange for the
quills. Indians never give, since they have learned to
trade with white men.

INDIANS SINGING A HYMN.

161

She was greatly delighted with the praises I bestowed
on Jane. She told me Jane was soon to marry the
young Indian who sat on one aide of her in all the pride
of a new blan'rj f; coat, red sash, embroidered powder-
pouch, and grtiit gilt clasps to the collar of his coat,
which looked as warm and as white as a newly-washed
fleece. The old squaw evidently felt proud of the young
couple as she gazed on them, and often repeated, with a
good-tempered laugh, " Jane's husband — marry by and
by."

We had so often listened with pleasure to the Indians
singing their hymns of a Sunday night, that I requested
some of them to sing to us ; the old hunter nodded
assent ; and, without removing his pipe, with the gravity
and phlegm of a Dutchman, issued his commands, whicli
were as instantly obeyed by the younger part of the com-
munity, and a chorus of rich voices filled the little hut
with a melody that thrilled to our very hearts.

The hymn was sung in the Indian tongue, a language
that is peculiarly sweet and soft in its cadences, and
seems to be composed with many vowels. I could not
but notice the modest air of the girls ; as if anxious to
avoid observation that they felt was attracted by their
sweet voices, they turned away from the gaze of the
strangers, facing each other and bending their heads
down over the work they still held in their hands. The
attitude, which is that of the Eastern nations ; the dress,
dark hair and eyes, the olive complexion, heightened
colour, and meek expression of face, would have formed
a study for a painter. I wish you could have witnessed
the scene ; I think you would not easily have forgotten
it. I was pleased with the air of deep reverence that sat
on the faces of the elders of the Indian family, as they
listened to the voices of their children singing praise
and glory to the God and Saviour they had learned to
fear and love.

The Indians seem most tender parents ; it is pleasing
to see the affiectionate manner in which they treat their
young children, fondly and gently caressing them with
eyes overflowing and looks of love. During the singing

■li

I (11*: ■

k 1

162

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

each papouse crept to the feet of its respective father and
mother, and those that were too young to join their
voices to their little choir, remained quite silent till the
hymn was at an end. One little girl, a fat brown roly-
poly, of three years old, beat time on her father's knee,
and from time to time chimed in her infant voice ; she
evidently possessed a fine ear and natural taste for music.
I was at a loss to conceive where the Indians kept
their stores, clothes, and other moveables, the wigwam
being so small that there seemed no room for any thing
besides themselves and their hounds. Their ingenuity,
however, supplied the want of room, and I soon dis-
covered a plan that answered all the purposes of closets,
bags, boxes, &c., the inner lining of birch-bark being
drawn between the poles so as to form hollow pouches
all round ; in these pouches were stowed their goods ;
one set held their stock of dried deer's flesh, another
dried fish, a third contained some flat cakes, which I
have been told they bake in a way peculiar to themselves,
with hot ashes over and under ; for my part I think they
must be far from palatable so seasoned. Their dressed
skins, clothes, materials for their various toys, such as
beads, quills, bits of cloth, silk, with a thousand other
miscellaneous articles, occupied the rest of these reser-

voirs.

Though open for a considerable space at the top, the
interior of the wigwam was so hot, I could scarcely
breathe, and was constrained to throw oft' all my wrap-
pings during the time we stayed. Before we went away
the hunter insisted on showing us a game. Which was
something after the manner of our cup-and-ball, only
more complicated, and requires more sleight of hand :
the Indians seemed evidently well pleased at our want
of adroitness. They also showed us another game,
which was a little like nine-pins, only the number of
sticks stuck in the ground was greater. 1 was unable to
stay to see the little rows of sticks knocked out, as the
heat of the wigwam oppressed me almost to suff'ocation,
and I was glad to feel myself once more breathing the
4)ure air.

8TOBT OF AN INDIAN.

163

In any other climate one would scarcely have under-
gone such sudden extremes of temperature without catch-
ing a severe cold ; but fortunately that distressing com-
plaint catche le cold^ as the Frenchman termed it, is not
so prevalent in Canada as at home.

Some twenty years ago, while a feeling of dread still
existed in the minds of the British settlers towards the
Indians, from the remembrance of atrocities committed
during the war of independence, a poor woman, the
widow of a settler whc occupied a farm in one of the
then but thinly-settled townships back of the Ontario,
was alarmed by the sudden appearance of an Indian
within the walls of her log-hut. He had entered so
Silently that it was not till he planted himself before the
blazing fire that he was perceived by the frightened
widow and her little ones, who retreated, trembling with
ill-concealed terror, to the farthest corner of the room.

Without seeming to notice the dismay which his ap-
pearance had excited, the Indian proceeded to disen-
cumber himself from his hunting accoutrements ; he then
unfastened his wet mocassins, which he hung up to dry,
plainly intimating his design was to pass the nig^ht
beneath their roof, it being nearly dark and snowing
heavily.

Scarcely daring to draw an audible breath, the little
group watched the movements of their unwelcome guest.
Imagine their horror when they beheld him take from
his girdle a hunting-knife, and deliberately proceed to
try its edge. After this his tomahawk and rifle under-
went a similar examination.

The despair of the horror-stricken mother was now
approaching a climax. She already beheld in idea the
frightful -mangled corpses of her murdered children
upon that hearth which had so often been the scene oi'
their innocent gambols. Instinctively she clasped the
two youngest to her breast at a forward movement of the
Indian. With streaming eyes she was about to throw
herself at his feet, as he advanced towards her with the
dreaded weapons in his hands, and implore his mercy
for herself and her babes. What then wcrs her surprise

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164

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

and joy when he gently laid the rifle, knife, and toma-
hawk beside her, signif'yingr by this action that she had
nothing to fear at his hands I'*'

A reprieve to a condemned criminal at the moment
previous to his execution was not more welcome than this
action of the Indian to the poor widow. Eager to prove
her confidence and her gratitude at the same time, she
hastened to prepare food for the refreshment of the now
no longer dreaded guest ; and assisted by the eldest of
her children, put clean sheets and the best blankets on
her own bed, which she joyfully devoted to the accommo-
dation of the stranger. An expressive " Hugh ! hugh !"
was the only reply to this act of hospitality ; but when
he went to take possession of his luxurious couch he
seemed sorely puzzled. It was evident the Indian had
never seen, and certainly never reposed on, a European
bed. After a mute examination of the bed-clothes for
some minutes, with a satisfied laugh, he sprang upon the
bed, and curling himself up like a dog, in a few minutes
was sound asleep.

By dawn of ciay the Indian had departed ; but when-
ever he came on the hunting-grounds in the neighbour-
hood of the widow, she was sure to see him. The
children, no longer terrified at his swarthy countenance
and warlike weapons, would gather round his knees,
admire the feathered pouch that contained his shot, finger
the beautiful embroidered sheath that held the hunting-
knife, or the finely-worked mocassins and leggings ; whilst
he would pat their heads, and bestow upon them an
equal share of caresses with his deer-hounds.

Such was the story related to me by a young mis-
sionary. I thought it might prove not uninteresting, as
a trait of character of one of these singular; people.
Chiboya (for that was the name of the Indian) was one

* It is almost an invariable custom now for the Indians
on entering a dwelling-house to leave all their weapons, as
rifle, tomahawk, &c., outside the door, even if the weather be
ever so wet ; as they consider it unpolite to enter a friendly
dwelling armed.

CANADIAN OBNITHOLOOT.

165

of the Chippewas of Rice Lake, most of whom are now
converts to Christianity, and making considerable ad-
vancement in civilization and knowledge of agriculture.
Hunting and fishing, however, appear to be their favourite
pursuits : for these they leave the comfortable houses at
the Indian villages, and return at stated times to their
forest haunts. I believe it is generally considered that
their numbers are diminishing, and some tribes have be-
come nearly if not totally extinct in the Canadas * The
race is slowly passing away from the face of the earth, or
mingling by degrees with the colonists, till, a few cen-
turies hence, even the names of their tribes will scarcely
remain to tell that they once existed.

When next you send a box or parcel, let me have a
few good tracts and hymn-books ; as they prize a gift of
this sort extremely. I send you a hymn, the one they
sang to us in the wigwam ; it ^s the Indian translation,
and written by the hunter, Peter's eldest son : he was
delighted when I told him I wanted him to copy it for
me, that I might send it across the seas to my own
country, that English people might see how well Indians
could write.

The hunchback Maquin has made me a miniature
canoe of birch-bark, which I send ; you will prize it as
a curiosity, and token of remembrance. The red and
black squirrel-skins are for Jane ; the feather fans and
papers of feathers for Sarah. Tell the latter the next
time I send a packet home, she shall have specimens fit
for stuffing of our splendid red-bird, which, I am sure,
is the Virginian nightingale ; it comes in May or April,
and leaves us late in the summer : it exactly corresponds
to a stuffed Virginian nightingale that I saw in a fine

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* It is stated that the North-West Company had a census
of all the tribes, and that the whole Indian population of that
immense continent did not exceed 100,000 souls. lu a Par-
liamentary document of 1834, the Indians of Lower Canada
are estimated at 3437, and those of Upper Canada at 13,700,
which latter number is stated to include those on the shores
of Lake Huron and to the westward. — £d»

166

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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collection of American birds. The blue-bird is equallv
lovely, and migrates much about the same time ; the
plumafje is of a celestial blue : but I have never seen
one otherwise than upon the wing, so cannot describe it
minutely. The cross-bills are very pretty ; the male
and female quite opposite in colour, one having a lovely
mixture of scarlet and orange on the breast and back,
shading into greenish olive and brown ; the other more
like our ycUowhammcr, only it is not quite so bright in
colour, though much softer, and more innocent-looking :
they come to our windows and doors in the winter as
familiarly as your robins. During the winter most of cur
birds depart ; even the hollow tapping of the red-headed
and the small speckled grey and white woodpecker
ceases to be heard ; the sharp chittcring of the squirrel,
too, is seldomer distinguished ; and silence, awful and
unbroken silence, reigns in the forest during the season
of midwinter.

I had well nigh forgotten my little favourites, a species
of the titmouse, that docs not entirely forsake us. Of a
bright warm, sunny day we see flocks of these tiny birds
swinging among the feathery sprigs of the hemlocks or
shrubby pines on the plains or in the forest ; and many a
time have I stayed my steps to watch their playful
frolics, and listen to their gay warbling. I am no*
quite certain, but I think this is the same little bird that
is known among the natives by the name of Thit-a-be-
bee ; its note, though weak, and with few changes, is
not unpleasing ; and we prize it fi'om its being almost
the only bird that sings during the winter.

I had heard much of the snow-bunting, but never had
seen it till the other day, and then not near enough to
mark its form or colours. The day was one of uncommon
brilliancy ; the sky cloudless, and the air almost warm ;
when, looking towards the lake, I was surprised by
the appearance of one of the pine-trees near the shore :
it seemed as if covered with stars of silver that twinkled
and sparkled against the blue sky. I was so charmed by
the novelty, that I ran out to observe them nearer;
when, to my surprise, my stars all took flight to another

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Snow Buntin'

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168

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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tree, where, by the constant waving and fluttering o|
their small white wings against the sunlight, tl jy pro.
duced the beautiful eftect that had at first attracted my
observation: soon all the pines within sight of the win-
dow were illuminated by these lovely creatures. About.
mid-day they went away, and I nave seen them but
once since. They never lit on the ground, or any low|
tree or bough, for me to examine them nearer.

Of our singing-birds, the robin, the blackbird, and a I
tiny bird like our common wren, are those I am most
intimate with. The Canadian robin is much larger than
our dear robin at home ; he is too coarse and large a
bird to realize the idea of our little favourite, " the
household-bird with the red stomacher," as he is called
by Bishop Carey, in a sonnet addressed to Elizabeth, the|
daughter of James I., on her marriage wifh the unfortu-
nate Frederic, Prince Palatine.

The song of the Canadian robin is by no means despi-
cable ; its notes are clear, sweet, and various ; it possesses!
the same cheerful lively character that distinguishes the
carol of its namesake; but the general habits of the
bird are very dissimilar. The Canadian robin is less
sociable with man, but more so with his own species:
they assemble in flocks soon after the breeding season is
over, and appear very amicable one to another ; but|
seldom, if ever, approach very near to our dwelling.
The breast is of a pinkish salmon colour : the head I
black ; the back of a sort of bluish steel, or slate colour ;|
in size they are as big as a thrush.

The blackbird is perhaps our best songster, according I
to my taste ; full as fine as our English blackbird, and|
much handsomer in its plumage, which is a glossy,
changeable, greenish black. The upper part of the I
wing of the male bird of full growth is of a lively
orange ; this is not apparent in the younger birds, nor in|
the female, which is slightly speckled.

Towards the middle of the summer, when the grain I
begin to ripen, these birds assemble in large flocks : the|
management of their marauding parties appears to be su-
perintended by the elders of the family. When they I

BLACKBIAO.

169

are about to descend upon a field oF oats or wheat, two
or three mount guard as sentinels, and on the approach
of danger cry Geck-geck-geck ; this precaution seems a
worlc of supererogation, as they are so saucy that they
will hardly be frightened awav ; and if they rise it is
only to alight on the same field at a little distance, or fly
up to the trees, where their look-out posts are.

They have a peculiarly melancholy call-note at times,
which sounds exactly like the sudden twang of a harp-
string, vibrating for a second or two on the oar. This,
I am inclined to think, they use to c llect their distant
comrades, as I have never observed it when they were
all in full assembly, but when a few were sitting in some
tree near the lake's edge. I have called them the
'^harpers,*' from this jxjculiar note. I shall tire you
with my ornithological sketches, but must enumerate two
or three more birds.

The bald eagle frequently flies over our clearing ; it
has a dark body and snow-white head. It is sometimes
troublesome to the {wultry -yards : those we have seen
have disdained such low game, and soared majestically
away across the lake.

The fish-hawk we occasionally see skimming the sur-
face of the water, and it is regarded as an enemy by
those who take delight in spearing fish upon the
lakes.

Then we have the night or mosquito hawk, which
may be seen in the air pursuing the insect tribe in the
higher regions, whilst hundreds of great dragon-flies
pursue them below : notwithstanding their assistance, we
are bitten mercilessly by those summer pests the mosqui-
toes and black flies.

The red-headed woodpecker is very splendid ; the
head and neck being of a rich crimson ; the back, wings,
and breast are divided between the most snowy white
and jetty black. The incessant tapping of the wood-
peckers, and the discordant shriek of the blue jay, are
neard from sunrise to sunset, as soon as the spring is
fairly set in.

I found a little family of woodpeckers last spring com-

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170

BACKWOODS or CAVirA.

fortably nested in an oh! pine, b^ \'0i? th'^ bark and the
trunk of the tree, where the former had started away,
and left a hollow space, in which the old birds had built
a soft but careless sort of nest; the little creatures
seemed very happy, poking their funny bare heads out
to greet the old ones, who were knocking away at the
old stumps in their neighbourhood to supply their era-
vings, as busy as so many carpenters at work.

A very curious bird*s-ncst was given me by one of our
choppers ; it was woven over a forked spray, so that it
had all the appearance of having been sewn to the bough
with grey thread. The nest was only secured at the two
sides that formed the angle, but so strong was it fastened
that it seemed to resist any weight or pressure of a mo-
derate kind ; it was composed of the fibres of the bass-
wood bark, which are very thready, and may be drawn
to great fineness : on the whole it was a curious specimen
of the ingenuity of these admirable little architects. I
could not discover the builder ; but rather suspect the
nest to have belonged to my protege, the little winter
titmouse that I told you of.

The nest of the Canadian robin, which I discovered
while seeking for a hen's nest in a bush-heap, just at the
farther edge of the clearing, is very much like our home
robin's, allowing something for difference of size in the
bird and in the material j the eggs, five in number, were
deep blue.

Before I quit the subject of birds, I must recall to your
remembrance the little houses that the Americans build
for the swallow ; I have since found out one of their
great reasons for cherishing this useful bird. It appears
that a most rooted antipathy exists between this species
and the hawk tribe, and no hawk will abide their neigh-
bourhood ; as they pursue them for miles, annoying them
in every possible way, haunting the hawk like its evil
genius : it is most singular that so small a creature should
thus overcome one that is the formidable enemy of so
many of the feathered race. I should have been some-
what sceptical on the subject, had I not myself been
an eye-witness to the fact. I was looking out of my

SWALLOWS.

171

window one bright summer-day, when I noticed a hawk
of a large description flying heavily along the lake, utter-
ing cries of distress ; within a yard or two of it was a
small — in the distance it appeared to me a very small —
bird pursuing it closely, and also screaming. I watched
this strange pair till the pine-wood hid them from my
sight ; and I often marvelled at the circumstance, till a
very intelligent French Canadian traveller happened to
name the fact, and said so great was the value placed on
these birds, that they had been sold at high prices to
be sent to different parts of the province. They never
forsake their old haunts when once naturalized, the same
pairs constantly returning, year after year, to their old
nouse.

The singular fact of these swallows driving the hawk
from his haunts is worthy of attention ; as it is well au-
thenticated, and adds one more to the many interesting
and surprising anecdotes recorded by naturalists of the
sagacity and instinct of these birds.

I have, however, scribbled so many sheets, that I fear
my long letter must weary you.

Adieu.

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BACKWOODS OF CAKADiU

Letter XIV

Utility of Botanical Knowledge.— The Fire-Weed.— Sar-
saparilla Plants. — Magnificent Water-Lily. — Eice-beds
— Indian Strawberry. — Scarlet Columbine. — Ferns.—-
Grasses.

July 13, 1834.

OuB winter broke up unusually early this year : by the
end of February the ground was quite free from snow,
and the weather continued all through March mild and
pleasant, though not so warm as the preceding year,
and certainly more variable. By the last week in April
and the beginning of May, ihe forest-trees had all burst
into leaf, with a brilliancy of green that was exquisitely
lovely.

On the 14th, IStJ, and 16th of May, the air became
suddenly cold, with sharp winds from the north-west,
and heavy storms of snow that nipped the young buds,
and destroyed many of the early-sown vegetable seeds ;
fortunately for us we were behindhand with ours, which
was very well, as it happened.

Our woods and clearings are now full of beautiful
flowers. You will be able to form some idea of them
from the dried specimens that I send you. You will re-
cognise among them many of the cherished pets of
our gardens and greenhouses, which are here flung
carelessly from Nature's lavish hand among our woods
and wilds.

How often do I wish you were beside me in my
rambles among the woods and clearings! you would
be so delighted in searching out the floral treasures of
the place.

UTILITY OP BOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE.

173

Deeply do I now regret having so idly neglected
your kind offers while at home of instructing me in
iiower-painting ; you often told me the time would come
when I should have cause to regret neglecting the
golden opportunity before me.

You proved a true prophetess ; for I daily lament that
I cannot mUke faithfal representations of the flowers of
my adopted country, or understand, as you would do,
their botanical arrangement. With some few I have
made myself acquainted, but have hardly confidence in my
scanty stock of knowledge to venture on scientific descrip-
tions, when I feel conscious that a blunder would be
easily detected, and expose me to ridicule and contempt
lor an assumption of knowledge that I did not possess.
The only botanical work I have at my command is
Piirsh's North American Flora, from which I have ob-
tained some information ; but must confess it is tiresome
blundering out Latin descriptions to one who knows
nothing of Latin beyond what she derives through a
knowledge of Italian.

I have made out a list of the plants most worthy of
attention near us ; there are many others in the town-
ship that I am a stranger to ; some there are with whose
names I am unacquainted. I subjoin a slight sketch,
not with my pencil, but my pen, of those flowers that
pleased me particularly, or that possessed any remark-
able qualities.

The same plants do not grow on cleared land that
formerly occupied the same spot when it was covered
with forest-trees. A distinct class of vegetation makes
its appearance as soon as the fire has passed over the
ground.

The same thing may be remarked with regard to the
change that takes place among our forests. As one
generation falls and decays, new ones of a different cha-
racter spring up in their places. This is illustrated in
the circumstance of the resinous substance called fat-
pine being usually found in places where the living pine
is Icc-st abundant, and where the ground is occupied by
oak, ash) buck, maple, and bass-wood.

M'Wlt

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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The firc-wecd, a species of tall thistle of rank and
unpleasant scent, is the first plant that appears when the
ground has been freed from timber by fire ; if a piece
of land lies untilled the first summer after its being
chopped, the following spring shows you a smotherine>
crop of this vile weed. The next plant you notice is
the sumach, with its downy stalks, and head of deep
crimson velvety flowers, forming an upright obtuse
bunch at the extremity of the branches : tne leaves turn
scarlet towards the latter end of the summer. This
shrub, though really very ornamental, is regarded as a great
pest in old clearings, where the roots run and send up
suckers in abundance. The raspberry and wild goose-
berry are next seen, and thousands of strav>berry plants
of different varieties carpet the ground, and mingle with
the grasses of the pastures. I have been obliged this
spring to root out with remorseless hand hurlreds of
sarsaparilla plants, and also the celebrated gingseng,
which grows abundantly in our woods: it used for-
merly to be an article of export to China from the
States, the root being held in high estimation by the
Chinese.

Last week I noticed a succulent plant that made its
appearance on a dry sandy path in my garden ; it seems
to me a variety of the hour-blowing mesembryanthemum.
It has increased so rapidly that it already covers a large
space ; the branches converging from the centre of the
plant, and sending forth shoots from every joint. The
leaves are rather small, three-sided and pointed, thick
and juicy, yielding a green liquor when bruised like the
common sedums. The stalks are thick and round, of a
bright red, and trail along the ground ; the leaves spring
from each joint, and with them a constant succession of
yellow starry flowers, that close in an hour or so from
the time they first unfold. 1 shall send you some of
the seed of this plant, as I perceived a number of
little green pods that looked like the buds, but which,
on opening, proved to be the seed-vessels. This plant
covers the earth like a thick mat, and, I am told, is
rather troublesome where it likes the soil.

MAGNinCENT WATER-LILY.

175

I regret that among- my dried plants I could not pre-
serve some specimens of our superb water-lilies and
irises ; but they were too large and too juicy to dry well.
As I cannot send you my favourites, I must describe
them to you.

The first, then, is a magnificent water-lily, that I have
called by way of distinction the *' queen of tho lakes,"
for she sits a crown upon the waters. This magnificent
flower is about the size of a moderately large dahlia; it
is double to the heart ; every row of petals diminishing
by degrees in size, and gradually deepening in tint from
the purest white to the brightest lemon colour. The
buds are very lovely, and may be seen below the sur-
face of the v/atcr, in different stages of forwardness from
the closely-folded bud, wrapped in its olive-green calix,
to the half-blown flower, ready to emerge from its
wp.tery prison, and in all its virgin beauty expand its
sno\7y bosom to the sun and genial air. Nor is the
beauty of the flower its sole attraction : when unfolded
it gives out a rich perfume not unlike the smell of fresh
lemons. Tlie leaves are also worthy of attention : at
first they are of a fine dark green, but as the flower
decays, the leaf changes its hue to a vivid crimson.
Where a large bed of these lilies p'ow closely together,
they give quite a sanguine appeararc.? to the waters, tnat
is distinguishable at some distance.

The yellow species of this plant L- aioO very hand-
some, though it wants the silken texture and delicate
colour of the former ; I call this *he " wate. Ving." The
flower presents a deep golden-cjioared cv.p, tho concave
petals of which are clouded in the centre wi'!> a dark
reddish-brown, that forms a striking contrjist to the gay
anthers, which are very numerous, and turn back from
the centre of the flower, falling like fringes of yold one
over the other, in successive rows, till they fill up the
hollow flower-cup.

The shallows of our lakes abound with a vp.riety of
elegant aquatic plants : I know not a more lovely sight
than one of these floating gardens. Here you shall
behold near the shore a bed of azure fleur-de-lis from

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176

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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the palest pearl colour varying to the darkest purple.
Nearer in shore, in the shallowest water, the rose*
coloured persecaria sends up its beautiful spikes trailing
below the surface ; you see the red stalks and smooth
dark green leaves veined underneath with rosy red : it is
a very charming variety of this beautiful species of
plants. Then a bed of my i'avourite white lilies, all in
full bloom, floating on the water, with their double
flowers expanding to the sun : near these, and rising in
stately pride, a tall plant, with dark green s]>ear-shaped
leaves, and thick spike of bright blue flowers, is seen. I
cannot discover the name of this very grand-looking
flower, and I neglected to examine its botanical construc-
tion ; so can give you no clue by which to discover its
name or species.

Our rice-beds are far from being unworthy of admira-
tion ; seen from a distance they look like low green
islands on the lakes : on passing through one of these
rice-beds when the rice is in flower, it has a beautiful ap-
pearance with its broad grassy leaves and light waving
spikes, garnished with pale yellow green blossoms, deli-
cately shaded with reddish purple, from beneath which
fall three elegant straw-coloured anthers, which move
with every breath of air or slightest motion of the waters.
I gathered several spikes when only just opened, but the
tiresome things fed to pieces directly they became dry.
Next summer I will make another attempt at preserving
them, and it may be with better success.

The low shore of the lake is a complete shrubbery.
We have a ycvy pretty St. John's-wort, with handsome
yellow flowers. The white and pink spiral Irutex also
abounds with some exquisite upright honeysuckles,
shrubby plants about three feet in height ; the blossoms
grow in pairs or by fours, and hang beneath the light
green leaves ; elegant trumpet-shaped flowers of a deli-
cate greenish white, which are succeeded by ruby-
coloured berries. On gathering a branch of this plant,
you cannot but be struck with the elegant arrangement
of the flowers along the under }>art of the stalks. The
two blossoms are connected at the nectary of each in a

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A CUEIOUS PLANT.

177

singular manner. The Americans call this honeysuckle
*' twinfiower." I have seen some of the flowers of this
plant pale pink : on the whole it is one of the most
ornamental shrubs we have. I transplanted some young
trees into my garden last spring ; they promise to live
and do well. 1 do not find any description of this shrub
in Pursh's Flora, but know it to be a species of honey-
suckle, from the class and order, the shape and colour of
the leaves, the stalks, the trumpet-sliaj)cd blossom and
the fruit ; all bearing a resemblance to our honeysuckles
in some degree. There is a. tall upright bush, bearing
large yellow trumpet-shaped flowers, springing from the
extremities of the branches ; the involucrum forms a
boat-shaped cup that encircles the flowers from which
tht^y seem to spring, something after the manner of the
scarlet trumpet-honeysuckle. The leaves and blossoms
of this plant are coarse, and by no means to compare
to the former.

VVe have a great variety of curious orchises, some
brown and yellow, others pale flesh-coloured, striped
with crimson. There is one species grows to the height
of two feet, bearing long spikes of pale purple flowers ;
a white one with most fragrant smell, and a delicate pink
one with round head of blossoms, finely fringed like the
water-pinks that grow in our marshes : this is a very
pretty flowtT, and grows in the beaver-meadows.

Last autunm I olDserved in the pine-wood near us a
vcv curious plant ; it c; me up with naked brown stems,
bidnching off like some miniature tree ; the stalks of
this plant were brown, slightly freckled and beset with
little knobs. I watched the progress of maturity in this
strange plant with some degree of interest, towards the
latter end of October ; the little knobs, which consisted
of two angular hard cases, not unlike, vvhen fully opened,
to a boat in shape, burst asunder and displayed a pale
straw-coloured chafty substance that resembled fine saw-
dust : these must have been the anthers, but they bore
more resemblance to seeds ; this singular flower would
have borne examination wiih a microscope. One pecu-
liarity that I observed was, that on pulling up a plant

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178

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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with its roots, I found the blossoms open underground,
springing up from the lowest part of the flower-stems,
and just as far advanced to maturity as those that grew
on the upper stalks, excepting that they were somewhat
blanched, from being covered up from the air. I can
find no description of this plant, nor any person but
myself seems to have taken notice of it. The specimen
I had, on being dried, became so brittle that it fell to
pieces.

I have promised to collect some of the most singular of
our native flowers for one of the Professors of Botany in
the Edinburgh University.

We have a very handsome plant that bears the
closest affinity to our potato in its floral construction ; it
grows to the height of two or three feet in favourable
situations, and sends up many branches ^ the blossoms
are large, purely white, freckled near the bottom of the
corolla with brownish yellow spots ; the corolla is un-
divided : this is evidently the same })lant as the culti-
vated potato, though it does not appear to form apples at
the root. The fruit is very handsome, egg-shaped, of a
beautiful apricot colour when ripe, and of a shining
tempting appearance ; the smell, however, betrays its
poisonous nature : on opening one of the fruits you find
it consists of a soft pulp filled with shining black seeds.
The plant continues in blossom from June till the first
frost wither the leaves ; it is far le"~ '^oarse than the
potato ; the flower, when full blown, ^ ^bout the size of
a half-crown, and quite flat ; I think it is what you call
salver-shaped : it delights in light loamy soil, growing
on the upturned roots of fal en trees, where the ground
is inclined to br sandy. I have never seen this plant
elsewhere than on our own fallow.

The hepatica is the first flower of the Canadian
spring : it gladdens us with its tints of azure, pink, and
white, early in April, soon after the snows have niclt(d
from the earth. The Canadians call it snow-flower,
from its coming so soon after the snow disappears. Wo
see its gay tufts of flowers in the open clearings and the
deep recesses of the forests ; its leaves are also an en-

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WOOD-CRESS.

179

(luring ornament through the open months of the year ;
you see them on every grassy mound and mossy root :
the shades of blue are very various and delicate, the
white anthers forming a lovely contrast with the blue
petals.

The wood-cress, or, as it is called by some, ginger-
cress, is a pretty white cruciform flower : it is highly
aromatic in flavour ; the root is white and fleshy, having
the pungency of horse-radish. The leaves are of a sad
green, sharply notched, and divided in three lobes ; the
leaves of some of them are slightly variegated ; the plant
delights in rich moist vegetable mould, especially on low
and slightly swampy ground ; the flower-stalk is some-
times naked, sometimes leafed, and is crowned with a
loose spike of whitish cruciform flowers.

There is a cress that grows in pretty green tufts at the
bottom of the waters in the creeks and small rivulets : it
is more delicate and agreeable in flavour than any of the
land-cresses ; the leaves are of a pale tender green,
winged, and sjender ; the plant looks like a green
cushion at the oottom of the water. The flowers are
yellow, cruciform, and insignificant ; it makes a yt^ry
acceptable salad in the early spring, and at the fall t;f
the year. There are also several species of land-cret^J,
and plaits resembling some of the cabbage tribes, that
might be used as spring vegetables. There are several
species of spinach, one known here by the name of
lamb's quarter, that grows in great profusion about our
garden, and in rich soil rises to two feet, and is very
luxuriant in its foliao^e ; the leaves are covered with a
white rough powder. The top shoots and tender parts
of this vegetable are boiled with pork, and, in place of a
more delicate pot-herb, is very useful.

Then we have the Indian turnip : this is a very hand-
some arum, the root of which resembles the capava, 1
am told, when boiled : the leaves of this arum are hand-
some, slightly tinged with purple. The spathe is of a
Hvely green, striped witii purple : the Indians use the
root as a medicine, and also as an esculent; it is often
eaten by the settlers as a vegetable, but I never tasted

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

it myself. Pursh calls this species Aiiim atropw
pureum.

1 must not pass over one of our greatest ornaments,
the strawberry blite, strawberry-bearing spinach, or
Indian strawberry, as it is variously named. This sin-
gular plant throws out many branches from one stern ;
these are garnished with handsome leaves, resembling in
ai)pearance our long-leaved garden spinach : the finest of
this plant is of a bright crimson, pulpy like the straw-
berry, and containing a number of purple seeds partially
embedded in the surface, after the same manner as the
strawberry. The fruit grows close to the stalk, com-
pletely surrounding it, and forming a long sj)ike of the
richest crimson berries. I have gathered branches a
foot in length, closely covered with the beautiful-look-
ing fruit, and have regretted that it was so insipid in
its flavour as to make it uneatable. On the banks of
creeks and in rich ground it grows most luxuriantly, one
root sending up twenty or thirty branches, drooping with
the weight of their magnificent burden. As the middle
and superior stems ripen and decay, the lateral ones come
on, presenting a constant succession of fruit from July
till the frosts nip them off in September.

The Indians use the juice of this plant as a dye, and
are said to eat the berries : it is often made use of as a
substitute for red ink, but it is liable to fade unless
mingled with alum. A friend of mine told me she had
been induced to cross a letter slie was sending to a rela-
tive in England with this strawberry ink, but not having
taken the precaution to fix the colour, when the anxiously
expected epistle arrWed, one-half of it proved quite un-
intelligible, the colours having faded nearly to white ; so
that instead of afibrding satisfaction, it proved only a
source of vexation and embarrassment to the reader, and
of mortification to the writer.

The blood-root, sanguinaria, .>r puccoon, as it is termed
by some of the native tribes, h worthy of attention from
the root to the flower. As soon as the sun of April has
warmed the earth and loosened it from its frozen bonds,
you may distinguish a number of purely white buds ele-

ViOLKTS,

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vated on a naked footstalk, and partially enfolded in a
handsome vine-shupcd leaf, of a pale bluisii urocn, curi-
ously veined on the nnder side with pale orange. The
leaf sj)rinirs singly from u thick juicy tibrous root, which,
on boinu: broken, emits a quantity of liquor from its
])ores of a bright orange-scarlet colour : this juice is used
by the Indians as a dye, and also in the cure of rheu-
matic and cutaneous complaints. The flowers of the
sanguinaria resemble the white crocus very closely :
when it first comes up the bud is supported by the leaf,
and is folded together with it ; the flower, however, soon
elevates itself above its protector, while the leaf, having
performed its duty of guardian to the tender bud, expands
tu its full size. A rich black vegetable mould at the
cflges of the clearings seems the favourite soil for this
plant.

The scarlet columbine is another of my favourite
flowers ; it is bright red, with yellow linings to tiie
tubes. The nectaries are more elongated than the
garden columbines, and form a sort of mural crown, sur-
mounted with little balls at the tips. A tall graceful
plant, with its brilliant waving blossoms, is this colum-
bine ; it grows both in the sunshine and the shade, not
perhaps in deep shady woods, but where the under-
brush has been removed by the running of the fire or
the axe of the chopper : it seems even to flourish in y)oor
stony soils, and may be found near every dwelling.
The feathered cohmibine delights in moist open swamps
and the banks of rivulets ; it grows to the height of
three, and even four and five feet, and is very orna-
mental.

Of violets, we have every variety of colour, size, and
shape, looking only the delightful viola odorata of our
home woodlands : yet I know not why we should quarrel
with these meek daughters of the spring because they
want the fragrance of their more favoured sisters. Many
of your wood-violets, though very beautiful, are also
devoid of scent ; here variety of colour ought to make
some amends for want of perfume. We have violets of
every shade of blue, some veined with purple, others

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BACKWOODS OP CANADA.

shaded with darker blue. We have the delicate white,
j)f»rK'illcd with purple ; the bright brimstone coloured
with black veinings ; the pale primrose with dark blue
veins — the two latter arc remarkable for the luxuriance
and size of the leaves : the flowers spring: in bunches,
several from each joint, and are siiccrede<l by large
capsules covered with tliick white cottony down. There
is a species of violet thut g-rows in the woods, the leaves
of which are exceedingly large ; so arc the seed-vessels,
but the flower is so small and insignificant, that it is only
to be observed by a close examination of the ])lant ; this
has given rise to the vulgar belief that it blooms under
iTound. The flowers are a pale greenish yellow.
Bryant's beautiful poem of the Yellow Violet is uescrip-
tive of the first-mentioned violet.

There is an elegant viola tricolor that blooms in the
autumn : it is the size of a small heart's-ease, and is pure
white, pale purple, and lilac; the upper petals are white,
the lower lip purple, and the side wings a reddish lilac.
I was struck with the elegance of this rare flower on a
journey to Peterborough, on my way to Cobourg ; I was
unable to preserve the specimens, and have not travelled
that road since. The flower grew among w ild clover on
the or en side of the road ; the leaves were small, roundish,
and of i\ dark sad green.

Of the tall shrubby asters, we have several beautiful
varieties, with large pale blue, lilac, or white flowers;
others with very small white flowers and crimson anthers,
which look like tufts of red down spangled with gold-
dust ; these anthers have a pretty eflect contrasted with
the white starry petals. There is one variety of the tall
asters that I have seen on the plains, it has flowers about
the size of a sixpence, of a soft pearly tint of blue, with
brown anthers ; this plant grows very tall, and branches
from the parent stem in many graceful flowery boughs ;
the leaves of this species are of a purple red on the under
side, and inclining to heart-shape ; the leaves and stalks
are hairy,

I am not afraid of wearying you with my floral sketches,
I have yet many to describe ; among these are those

le delicate white,
imstone coloured
e with dark blue
['or the luxuriance
irinpr in bunches,
'C'cede<i by large
iiy down. There
woods, the leaves
I the soed-vessels,
mt, tiiat it is only
)t' the plant ; this
it blooms under
[rrcenish vellow.
Violet is uescrip-

at blooms in the
-ease, and is pure
r petals are white,
IS a reddish lilac,
rare flower on a
Cobourg ; I was
lave not travelled
\g wild clover on
small, roundish,

several beautiful
white flowers;
crimson anthers,
gled with gold-
contrasted with
ariety of the tall
las flowers about
nt of blue, with
11, and branches
flowery boughs ;
red on the under
eaves and stalks

y floral sketches,
these are those

WINTER-G KEEN'S.

183

elegant little evergreens that abound in this ronntr}',
under the name of winter-greens, of which there are throe
or four rc!iiarkable for beauty of foliage, flower, and fruit.
One of these winter-greens that al)()unds in our pine-
woods is extremely beautiful ; it seldom exceed?? six
inches in height; the leaves are a bright shining
green, of a long narrow oval, delicately notched like
the edges of a rose-leaf; and the plant emerges ihmi
beneath the snow in the early ])art of the year, as soon
as the flrst thaw takes place, as fresh and verdant as be-
fore they were covered up : it seems to be a shy
blossomer. I have never seen ^specimens of the flowers
in bloom but twice ; these I ca? "illy preserved for you,
but the dried plant will aflbrd an imperfect idea of

the original. You always called, you know, your dried
specimens corpses of plants, and said, that when well
painted, their representations were far more like them-
selves. The flower-stalk rises two or three inches from
the centre of the plant, and is crowned with round
crimson buds and blossoms, consisting of five petals,
deepening from the palest pink to the brightest l)hish
colour ; the stigma is of an emerald greenness, forming a
slightly ribbed turban in the centre, around which are
disposed ten stamens of an amethyst colour : in short, this
is one of the gems of the floral world, and might aj)tly
be compared to an emerald ring, set round with ameti)ysts.
The contrast of colours in this flower is exceedin"lv
pleasing, and the crimson buds and shining ever-green
leaves are scarcely less to be admired than the flower
itself: it would be considered a great acquisition to your
collection of American shrubs, but I doubt if it would
flourish when removed from the shade of the pine-woods.
This plant appears to be the Chlmnphila corymbosa, or
winter-green, described by Pursh, with some trifling
variation in the colour of the petals.

Another of our winter-greens grows in abundance on
the Rice-Lake plains : the plant does not exceed four
inches; the flowers are in little loose bunches, ])alo
greenish white, in shape like the blossom of the arbutus ;
the berries are bright scarlet, and are known by the name

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

of wintcr-bcrry and partridge-berry ; this niust be Guul-
titer id procvmhens. Hut a more beautiful little cvcTprrcon
of the same species is to be found in our cedar swamps,
under the name of pigeon-berry ; it resembles the arbutus
in leaf and flower more closely than the former j>lant ;
tiie scarlet berry is inserted in w scarlet cup or receptacle,
divided at the edge in five points ; it is fleshy, seemiii|r
to piirtake of the same nature as the fruit. Tiie blosso!ji.>
ol' tiiis elegant little shrub, like the arbutus, of which it
looks like the miniature, appear in drooping bunches at
the same time the rij)ened berry of the former year is in
perfection ; this circumstance adds not a little to the
charm of the plant. If 1 mistake not, this is the Guul-
tlicria Shallon^ which Pursh likens to the arbutus : this is
also one of our winter-greens.

There is another j)retty trailing plant, with delicate
little funnel-shaped flowers, and a profusion of small dark
green round buds, slightly variegated, and bright red
berries, which are produced at the extremities of the
branches. The blossoms of this plant grow in pair>,
closely connected at the germen ; so much so, that the
scarlet fruit that supersedes the flowers appears like a
double berry, each berry containing the seeds of both
flowers and a double eye. The plant is also called winter-
green or twin-berry ; it resembles none of the other
winter-greens ; it grows in mossy woods, trailing along
the ground, appearing to delight in covering little hil-
locks and inequalities of the ground. In elegance of
growth, delicacy of flower, and brightness of berry, thi?
winter-green is little inferior to any of the former.

There is a plant in our woods, known by the names of
man-drake, may -apple, and duck's-foot: the botanical
name of the plant is Podophyllum ; it belongs to the class
and order Polyandria monoyynia. The blossom is yel-
lowish white, the corolla consisting of six petals; the
fruit is oblong ; when ripe, of a greenish yellow ; in size
that of an olive or large damson ; when fully ripe it has
the flavour of preserved tamarind, a pleasant brisk acid ;
it appears to be a shy bearer, though it increases rapidly
in rich moist woodlands. The leaves come up singly,

5t be Guai-

V cvLTffrcen
ir swamps,
the arl)utus
mcr ])lant ;
recoptacle,
ly, st'einin*^
le blossoms
of w liic-h it
bunches at
• year is in
Itle to the

the Gfiul-
itus : this is

ih delicate

small dark

bright red

tics of the

V in pairs,
3, that the
ears like a
Is of both
ed winter-

the other
ling^ along

little hii-
iegance of
bcrr), thir
ner.
e names of

botanical
to the cla.<:s
;oin is yel-
3tals ; the
AV ; in size
ripe it has
)risk acid ;
5es rai)idly
up singly,

LILIES.

1S5

are palmatcd, and shade the ground very much when a
number of them grow near each other; the stalk sup-
ports the leaf from the centre ; when they first appear
above the ground, they resemble a folded und)rella or
iarasol, all the edges of the leaves bending downward,
)y degrees expanding into a slightly convex canopy. The
fruit would make a delicate preserve with sugar.

The lily tribe oliers an extensive vari(My I'rom the most
minute to the very largest tlowers. The red nuirtagou
grows abundantly on our plains ; the dog's-tooth viitlet,
ErythnmUnn, with its spottcl leaves and bending yellow
blossom, delicately dashed with crimson spots within,
and marked with line purple lines on the outer part of
the petal, |)roves a great attra(!tion in our woods, where
these plants increase: they form u biaulilid bed; the
leaves come up singly, one from each separate tuber.
There are two varieties of this llower, the jjah? yellow,
with neither spots nor lines, and the deep yellow with
bi)th ; the anthers of this last are reddish-orange, and
thieklv covered with a fine i)Owderv sid)staiice. 'J'hc
datlbdil of our woods is a delicate bending flower, of u
pale yellow ; the leaves grow up the Howcr-stalk at in-
tervals ; three or more flowers usually succeed each other
at the extremity of the stalk : its height is from six to
eight inches ; it delights in the deep shade of moist
woods. This seems to unite the description of the jonquil
and datlbdil.

A very beautiful plant of the lily tribe abounds both in
our woods and clearings ; for want of a better name, I
call it the douri-lily, though it is w idely spread over a great
portion of the continent. The Americans term the white
and red varieties of this species the " white*' aiul '* red
death." The flower is either deep red or of a dazzling
white, though the latter is often found staiiu,Ml with a
delicate blush-pink or a deep green ; the latter aj)pears
to be caused by the ealix running into the petal. VV iiere-
fore it bears so formidable a name has not yet transpired.
The flower consists of three j)etals, the calix three ; it
belongs to the class and order Hexandria mono<iyma ;
style, three-cleft; seed-vessel of three valves; soil, dry

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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woods and cleared lands ; leaves grrowing in three, sprinnr-
ing from the joints, large round, but a li'tle pointed at
the extremities.

We have lilies of the valley, and their cousins the So-
lomon's seals, a small flowered turk's-cap, of pale prim-
rose colour, with an endless variety of small flowers of
the lily tribe, remarkable lor beauty of foliage or delicacy
of form.

Our ferns are very elegant and numerous ; I have no
less than eight diflierent specimens, gathered from our
immediate neighbourhood, some of which are extremely
elegant, especially one that I call the *' fairy fern," from
its lightness. One elastic stem, of a purplish red co-
lour, supports several light branches, which are subdivided
and furnished with innumerable leaflets ; each leaflet has a
footstalk, that attaches it to l.ie branch, of so slight and
hair-like a substance that the least breath of air sets the
whole plant in motion.

Could we but imagine Canada to have been the scone
of fairy revels, we should declare that these graceful
fei-ns wore well suited to shade the elfin court of Oberon
and Titania.

When this fern first appears above the ground, it is
scarcely to be distinguished from the decaying wood of
the fallen pines ; it is then of a light reddish brown,
curiously curled up. In May and June the leaves un-
fold, and soon assume the most delicate tint of erreen ;
they are almost transparent : the cattle are very fond of
this fern.

The mocassin flower or lady's-slipper (mark the odd
coincidence between the common name of the American
and English species) is one of our most remarkable
flowers, both on account of its beauty and its singularity ot
structure. Our plains and dry sunny pastures jn-oduce
several varieties; among these, the Ci/pripediwn ptihe-
scens, or yellow mocassin, and the C. Arietinum, are the
most beautiful of the species. The colour of the lip of
the former is a lively canary yellow, dashed with deep
crimson spots. The upper petals consist of two short
and two long, in texture and colour resembling the sheath

( /I

MOCASSIN FLOWERS.

187

tiree, sprinir-
e pointed at

usins the So-
f pale piim-
11 flowers of
;e or delicacy

; I have no
ed from our
re extremely
y fern," from
ilisli red co-
•e subdivided
1 leaflet has a
!o sli^rht and
■ air sets the

E?n the scene
ese graceful
rt of Oberon

nrround, it is
dng wood of
dish brown,
ic leaves un-
it of erreen ;
very fond of

irk the odd

le American

remarkable

ingularity ot

res ])roduce

^diwn puhe-

um, are the

)f the lip of

with deep

two short

the sheath

of some of the narcissus tribe ; the short ones stand erect,
like a pair of cars ; the long or lateral pair are three times
the length of the former, very narrow, and elegantly
twisted, like the spiral horns of the Walachian ram : on
raising a thick yellow fleshy sort of lid, in the middle of
the flower, you i)erceive the exact face of an Indian
hound, perfect in all jwrts— the eyes, nose, and mouth ;
bolow this depends an o])en sac, slightly gathered round
at the opening, which gives it a hollow and prominent
a|)pearance ; the inside of this bag is delicately dashed
vith deep crimson or black sjxits : the stem of the flower
is thick towards the upper part, and takes a direct bend ;
the leaves are large oval, a little pointed and ribbed ; the
plant scarcely exceeds six inches : the elegant colour and
silken texture of the lower lip or bag renders this flower
very much more beautiful to my taste than the purple and
white variety, though the latter is much more striking
on account of the size of the flower and leaves, besides
the contrast between the white and red or white and
purple colours.

The formation of this species resembles the other, only
with this dirterence, the horns are not twisted, and the
face is that of a monkey ; even the comical expression of
tiie animal is preserved with such admirable fidelity, as
to draw a smile from every one that sees the odd restless-
looking visage, with its j)rominent round black eyes peer-
ing forth from under its covering.

These plants belong to class and order Gynandria
diandria ; are described with some little variation by
Pursh, who, however, likens the face of the latter to
that of a sheep : if a sheep sat for the picture, me-
thinks it must have been the most mischievous of the
flock.

There is a curious aquatic plant that grows in shallow,
stagnant, or slow-flowing waters ; it will contain a full
wine-glass of water. A poor soldier brought it to me,
and told me it resembled a plant he used to see in Egypt,
that the soldiers called the '' Soldier's drinking-cup ;"
and many a good draught of pure water, he said, I have
drunk from them.

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188

HACK WOODS OF CANADA.

Another specimen was j)resentcd nie by a gentleman,
wlio knew my ])reililection for strange plants ; he very
a])tly gave it the name of" Pitcher-jjiant ;'* it very pro-
bably Ix'Iongs to the tribe that bears that name.

The flowers that atibrii the most decided perfumes are
our wild roses, which possess a delicious sc(Mit ; the niilk-
weed, which gives out a smell not unlike the night-blow-
ing stock ; the purple monarda, which is fragrance itself
from the root to the flower, and even after months' ex-
posure to the wintry atmos])h<TC its dried leaves and
seed-vessels arc so sweet as to impart perfume to your
hands or clothes. All our Mints are strong-scented : thr?
lily of the valley is remarkable for its tine smell ; then
there is my queen of the lakes, and her consort, the
water-king, witli many other flowers I cannot now
enumerate. Certain it is that among such a vast assem-
blage of flowers, there are, comparatively, \cry few that
are gifted with fragrant scents. Sotneofour forest-trees
give out a line ])erl"nme. I have often paused in niv
walks to inhale the fragrance from a cedar-swamp on souic
sunny day while the boughs were still wet with the dew-
drops or recently fallen shower.

Nor is the balsam- poplar, or tacamahac, less delight-
fully fragrant, especially while the gummy buds are just
beginning to unfold : this is an elegant-growing tree,
where it has room to expand into boughs. It grows
chiefly on the shores of the lakes and in open swamps,
but it also forms one of the attractions of our plains,
with its silver bark and waving foliage ; it emits a
resinous clear gum in transj)arent globules on the bark,
and the buds are covered with a highly aromatic gummy
fluid.

Our Grasses arc highly interesting ; there are varieties
that are wholly new to me, and, when dried, form the most
elegant ornaments to our chimney-pieces, and would look
very graceful on a lady's head ; only fashionists always
prefer the artificial to the natural.

One or two sj)ecies of grass that I have gathered bear
a close but of course minute resemblance to the Indian
corn, having a top feather and eight-sided spike of little

GRASSES.

189

grains disposed at^hc side-joints. The sisi/rhirhtum, or
blue-eyed grass, is a pretty little flower of an azure blue,
with golden spots at the base of each ])etul ; the leaves
are flat, stitf, and flag-like ; this pretty flower grows in
tufts on light sandy soils.

I have given you a description of the flowers most
worthy of attention ; and, though it is very probable some
of my descriptions may not be exactly in the technical
language of the correct botanist, I have at least described
thcni as they appear.

My dear boy seems already to have a taste for flowers,
which I shall encourage as much possible. It is a study
that tends to refine and purify the mind, and can be made,
by simple steps, a ladder to heaven, as it were, by teach-
ing a child to look with love and admiration to that
bountiful (lod who created and made flowers so fair to
adorn and fructify this earth.

Farewell, my dear sister.

"•t I

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190

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

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Letter XV.

Recapitulation of various Topics. — Progress of Settlement.—
Canada, the Land of Hope. — V'isit to the Family of a
Naval Officer. — Squirrels. — Visit to, and Story of, an
Emigrant Clergyman. — His early Difficulties. — The Tem-
per, Disposition, and Habits of Emigrants essential Ingre-
dients in Failure or Success.

September 20, 1834.

I PBOMiSKD when I parted from you before I left Eng-
land to write as soon as I could ^^ive you any satisfactory
account of our settlement in this country. 1 shall do my
best to redeem tliat promise, and ibrward you a slight
sketch of our proceedings, with such remarks on the
natural features of the place in which we have fixed our
abode, as 1 think likely to afibrd you interest or amuse-
ment. Prepare your patience, then, my dear friend, for
a long and rambling epistle, in wiiich I may possibly
prove somewhat of a VVill-o'-the-wisj), and having made
you follow me in my desultory wanderings —

Over hill, over dale.

Through bush, tlirough briar,

Over park, over pale.
Through flood, through fire, —

possibly leave you in the midst of a big cedar-swamp, or
among the pathless mazes of our wild woods, without a
clue to guide you, or even a blaze to light you on your
way.

You will have heard, through my letters to my dear
mother, of our safe arrival at Quebec, of my illness at
Montreal, of all our adventures and misadventures during

RECAPITULATION OP VARIOUS TOl'ICS.

191

our jotirnoy up the country, till after much weary wan-
•lorin^' wc Hnally found a lioino and restinc^-place with a
kind relative, whom it was our haj)pines:? to meet after a

Reparation of many years.

As my husband was anxious to settle in the ncijrhbour-

|hood of one so nearly connected with mc, thinkinj^ it
vould rob the woods of some of the loneliness that most

I women complain so bitterly of, he purchased a lot of land
m the shores of a beautiful lake, one of a chain of small

I lakes beloniring to the Otanabec river.
Here, then, we are established, havinc: now some five-

land-twenry acres cleared, and a nice house built. Oar

|«it'uition is very aq-reeable, and each day increases its
alue. When we first came up to live in tlie bush, with

I the exception of S , here were but tMo or three

|>ettlers near us, and no roails cut out. The only road
that was available for brincinjr U[) g-oods from the nearest

I town was on the opposite side of the water, whicii was
bligred to be crossed on a lop: or a birch-bark canoe ; the

liormer is nothing better than a lar^e j)ine-log hollowed
litii the axe, so as to contain three or four persons ; it

lis tlat-bottomed, and very narrow, on which account it is
auch used on these shallow waters. The birch canoe
i made of sheets of birch bark, injreniously fashioned
and sewn tonjether bv the Indians with the touirh roots
of the cedar, younjj^ pine, or larch ( .iiaarack, as it is
termed by the Indians) ; it is exceeding'y light, so that
it can be carried by two persons easily, or even by one.
These, then, were our ferry-boats, and very frail they
ire, and require great nicety in their management ; they

pre worked in the water with paddles, either kneeling
or standing. The squaws are very expert in the manage-
nient of the canoes, and preserve their balance with

liJniirable skill, standing up while they impel the little

|t)ark with great velocity through the water.
Very great is the change that a few years have effected

la our situation. A number of highly respectable settlers
nave purchased land along the shores of these lakes, so

Ithat we no longer want society. The roads are now cut

fceveral miles above us, and though far from 'rood, cnn be

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192

UACKWOOl^S OF CANADA.

travelled by wagrgons and sleighs, and arc, at all events,
better than none.

A village has started np wlierc formerly a thick |>ino-
wood covert (1 the ground; we have now within a shortl
distance of ns an excellent saw-mill, a grist-mill, aiidl
store, with a large tavern and many good dwellings. aI
fine timber bridge, on stoiu; |)iers, was erecte<l lust yoarl
to connect the opposite tovvn.shii)s and lessen the distaiicof
to and from Peterborough ; and though it was unroriu-l
nately svve|»t away early last spring by the unusual risinirf
of the Otanabee lakes, a new and more substantial one
lias risen upon the ruins of the former, through thol
activity of an enterprising young Scotchman, the founder!
of the village.

But the grand work that is, sooner or later, to raijc]
this ])ortion of the district from its present obscurity, U
the opening a line of navigation from Lake Huron throufihl
Lake Simcoe, and so through our chain of small lakes to|
Rice Lake, and finally through the Trent to the IJuy of
Quinte. This nol)le work would jMove of incalculal)le|
advantage, by opening a direct connnunication betwcfiJ
Lake Huron and the inland townshi})S at the back of thel
Ontario with the St. Lawrence. This project liasl
already been under the consideration of the Governor,!
and is at ])resent exciting great interest in the country;!
sooner or later there is little doubt but that it will h
carried into effect. It presents some difficulties an*
expense, but it would be greatly to the advantage ani
prosperity of the country, and be the means of settlin:
many of the back townships bordering upon these lakes

I mnst leave it to abler i)ersons than myself to discii-s|
at large tlie policy and expediency of the measure ; but
as I suppose you have no intention of emigrating to our
backwoods, you will be contented with ray cursory viowl
of the matter, and believe, as in friendship you arc
bound to do, that it is a desirable thing to open a marke^
for inland produce,

Canada is the land of hope : here everything is new;
everything going forward ; it is scarcely possible ioB
arts, sciences, agriculture, manufactures, to retrograde]

lop,

J>nnGR£S.S Ol' SLri'LKMl.NT.

1C3

to retro crane

thoy must krop udvancinpr ; thouL^h in somo shiiation.^
Ill*' prof-Tprs may ^uem slow, in others tiny are |)n»i»ur-
uuiiatcly rapid.

I'Ikmv is a constant cxeitoinrnt on the iniiulsofnni-

Icr.ints, particularly in the ])artially scttlitl to\vnshij).s,

ihat jrreatly assists in keepiiijr thrni from «li-;po!i<lin:r.

Tiie arrival of some enterprisincr person jrivcs a stimulus

to those about him : a proHta!)le sj)ecul;iti()n is started,

liiKl.lo I the value of the land in the vicinity rises to double

Liiid trel)le what it was thouLflit worth before; so that,

•viihout any dcsij^n of In'fritndinir his iiriLrhiKJiirs, the

I « 'hemes of one settler beinir carried into cifect shall

ioncHt a «rrcat numi)er. We have alre.idy felt the

Itit'ijeHcial etlcct of the accH'ss of respcctal)lc emiu rants

locating' themselves in this township, as it has already

I increased the value of our own land in a three-fold

li'irree.

All this, my dear friend, you will say, is very well,

L:i(l might aH'ord subject for a wise discussion between

krave men, but will hardly anuise us women ; so, pray

;iirn to some other theme, and just tell me how you con-

hrive to pass your time amont^ the bears and wolves of

Canada.

I One lovely day last June I went by water to visit the

bride of a younjr naval otHcer, who had purchased a very

I pretty lot of land some two miles hiirher up the lake;

our party consisted of my husband, liaby, and myself;

we met a few pleasant friends, and enjoyed our excursion

aiuch. Dinner was laid out in the stoujt, which, as you

|::uiy not know what is meant by the word, I nuist tell

you that it means a sort of wide veranda, suj)})orte(l on

pillars, often of unbarked lo^s ; the floor is either of

I'iirth beaten hard or of plank ; the roof covered with

sheets of bark or else shingled. These stoups are of

Dutch origin, and were introduced, I have been told, by

the first Dutch settlers in the States, since which they

[iiave found their way all over the colonies.

Wreathed with the scarlet creeper, a native plant of
our woods and wilds, the wild vine, and also with the
hop, which here grows luxuriantly, with no labour or

H ;

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194

BACKWOODS OF CANADA

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attention to its rultiirc, tliosc stoups have a very rui-al
aj)praranrc ; in sunimor servin;; tlie jHirposo of un o|K>n
anto-room, in winch you can take your meals and cujovj;
the fanning breeze without beinjf inconvenienced by the
extreme lieat of the noon-day sun.

The situation of* the house was remarkably well chosen,
just on the summit of a little elevated plain, th(^ ffrouml
sloping with a steep descent to a little valley, at tin-
bottom of which a bri^dit rill ol' water dividt^d the garden
from the oj)posite corn-fieh!s, which clothed a corrc-
spending bank. 1 ntVont of the stoup, where w(; dined,
the garden was laid out with a smootli j)lot of grass, sur-
rounded with borders of flow(»rs, and separated Iruin a
ripening field of wheat by a light railed fence, over which
the luxuriant hop-vine flimg its tendrils and graceful
blossoms. Now 1 must tell you the hop is cultivated for
the j)urpose of making a barm for raising bre;id. Asyou
take great interest in housewifery concerns, 1 shall send
you areci[)e for what we call hop-rising.*

The Yankees use a fermentation of suit, flour, and
warm water or milk ; but though the salt-risliKj makes
beautiful bread to look at, being i'ar whiter and tinner
than the ho[)-yeast bread, there is a peculiar flavour im-
j)arted to the flour that does not j)lease every one's taste.
and it is very diflicult to get your salt-rising to work in
very cold weather.

And now, having digressed while I gave you my
recipes, I shall step back to my })arty within the stoup,
which, I can assure you, was very pleasant, and most
cordially disposed to enjoy the meeting. We had books
and drawings, and good store of pretty Indian toys, the
collection of many long voyages to distant shores, to look
at and admire. Soon after sun-set we walked down
through the woods to the landing at the lake shore,
where we I'ound our bark canoe ready to convey us home.

During our voyage, just at the head of the rapids, our
attention was drawn to some small object in the water,
moving very swiftly along ; there were various opinions

* See Appendix.

RKD SQUIRREL

105

as to the swimmer, some thinking it to ho a wator-fjnnkc,
((thors a scjuirrcl or a miisk-rut; u few swift strokes ot*
the paddles hroupht us up so as to intorcopt the passairc
of the little voyairer ; it proved to he a fine red scpiirrel,
bound on a voyage ot* diseovery from a neiglilMMiring
island. The little animal, with a eourago and address
that astonished his [uirsuers, instead of src^king safety in
adifteront direction, sprang lightly on the point of the
uplifted pa<idle, an<i from thence with a bomnl to the
head of my astonished hahy, and having gained my
shoulder, leaped again into the water, and made direct
for the shore, never having d<'viated a single point from
the line he was swimming in when he first came in
sight of our canoe. I was surprise<l and amused by the
agility and courage displayed by this innocent creature ;
I could hardly have given credence; to the <'rcutnstanec,
had 1 not been an eye-witness of its condiict, and more-
over been wetted |)lentifully on my shoulder by the
sprinkling of w ater from his coat.

Perhaps you may think my squirrel anecdote incre-
dible : but I can vouch for the truth of it on mv own
personal experience, as I not only saw but also I'elt it:
the black scpiirrels are most lovely and elegant animals,
considerably larger than the red, the grey, and the
striped : the latter arc called by the Indians ** chit-
munks.'*

We were robbed greatly by these little depredators
last sunmier ; the red squirrels used to carry off great
quantities of our Indian com not only from the stalks,
while the cn)p was ripening, but they even came into
the house through some chinks in the log-walls, and
carried off vast quantities of the grain, stripping it very
adroitly from the cob, and conveying the grain away to
their storehouses in some hollow log or subterranean
granary.

These little animals are very fond of the seeds of the
pumpkins, and you will sec the soft creatures whisking
about among the cattle, carrying away the seeds as they
are scattered by the beasts in breaking the pumpkins :
they also delight in the seeds of the sunflowers, which

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196

DACKWOODS OF CANADA.

grow to a gigantic height in our gardens and clearinsrs.
The fowls are remarkably fond of the sunflower-seeds,
and I saved the plants with the intention of laying up a
good store of winter food for my poor chicks. One day
I went to cut t'l? ripe heads, the largest of which was
the size of a large dessert-plate, but found two wicked
red squirrels busily employed gathering in the seeds,
not for me, be sure, but themsolves. Not contented
with picking out the seeds, these little thieves dexterously
sawed through the stiilks, and conveyed away whole
heads at once ; so bold were they that they would not
desist when I approached till they had secured their
object, and, encumbered with a load twice the weight of
their own agile bodies, ran with a swiftness along the
rails, and over root, stump, and log, till they eluded my
pursuit.

Great was the indignation expressed by this thrifty
little i)air, on returning again for another load, to find the
plant divested of the heads. I had cut what remained
and put thorn in a basket in the sun, on a small block in
the garden, close to the open glass-door, on the steps of
which I was sitting shelling some seed-beans, when the
squirrels drew my attention to them by their sharp scold-
ing notes, elevating their fine feathery tails and express-
ing the most lively indignation at the invasion : they
were not long before they discovered the Indian basket
with the ravished treasure ; a lew rapid movements
brought the little pair to the rails within a few paces of
me and the sunflower-heads ; here, then, they paused,
and sitting up looked in my face with the most imploring
gestures. I was too much amused by their perplexity to
lielp them, but turning away my head to speak to the
child, they darted forward, and in another minute had
taken possession of one of the largest of the heads, which
they conveyed away, first one carrying it a few yards,
then the other, it being too bulky for one alone to carry
far at a time. In short, I was so well amused by watching
their mana»uvres, that I suffered them to rob me of all my
store. I saw a little family of tiny squirrels at play in
the spring on the top of a hollow log, and really I think

FLYING-SQUIRRELS.

197

nd clearings,
flower-seeds,
* laying up a
s. One day
af which was
I two wicked
n the seeds,
ot contented
s dexterously
away whole
ey would not
ecured tiieir
he weight of
ss along the
;y eluded my

this thrifty
d, to find the
liat remained
nail block in

the steps of
IS, when the

sharp scold-
and express-
^asion : they
ndian basket

naovements
few paces of
they paused,
»st imploring
}erplexity to
speak to the

minute had
leads, which
a few yards,
one to carry

by watching
ne of all my
at play in
lally I thiuk

they were, without exce])tion, the liveliest, most gracetul
creatures I ever looked upon.

The flying-sipiirrel is a native of our woods, and
exceeds in beauty, to my mind, any of the tribe. Its
colour is the softest, most delicate tint of grey ; the fur
thick and short, and as silken as velvet ; the eyes, like
all the squirrel kind, are large, full, and soft; the
whiskers and long hair about the nose black ; the meui-
branc that assists this little animal in its flight is wliite
and delicately soft in texture, like the fur of the chin-
chilla ; it forms a ridge of fur between the fore and
hind legs ; the tail is like an elegant broad grey feather.
I was agreeably surprised by the ajipearance of this
exquisite little creature ; the pictures 1 had seen giving
it a most inelegant and bat-like look, almost dipgusting.
The young ones are easily tamed, and are very playful
and affectionate when under confinement.

Uow my little friend Emily would delight m such a
pel ! Tell her if ever I should return to dear old Eng-
land, I will try to procure one for her ; but at present
she must be contented with the stuffed specimens of the
black, red, and striped squirrels wliich I enclose in my
])arcel. 1 wish 1 could ofler you any present more valu-
able, but our arts and manufactures being entirely Bri-
tish, with the exception of tlie Indians' toys, I should
find it a difficult matter to send you anything worth
your attention ; therefore I am obliired to have recourse
to the natural productions of our woods as tokens of re-
membrance to our friends at home., lor it is ever thus v.e
speak of the land of our birth.

You wish to know if 1 am happy and contented in
my situation, or if my heart j)ines after my native land.
I will answer you candidly, and say that, as far as re-
L^ards matters of taste, early association, and all those
holy ties of kindred, and old affections that make
" home " in all countries, and among all nations in the
world, a hallowed spot, I must ever give the preference
to Britain.

On the other hand, a sense of the duties I have
chosen, and a feeling of conformity to one's situation,

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198

DACKWOODS OF CANADA.

lessen the regret I might be inclined to indulge in. Bo-
sides, there are new and delightful ties that bind me to
Canada : I have enjoyed much domestic happiness since
I came hither ; — and is it not the birthplace of my dear
child ? Have I not here first tasted the rapturous de-
light arising from maternal feelings ? When my eye
rests on my smiling darling, or 1 feel his warm breath
upon my cheek, I would not exchange the joy that fills
my breast for any pleasure the world could otter nio.
*' But this feeling is not confined to the solitude of your
Canadian forests, my dear friend," you will say. I
know it ; but here there is nothing to interfere with
your little nursling. You are not tempted by the plea-
sures of a gay world to forget your duties as a mother ;
there is nothing to supplant him in your heart ; his
presence endears every place ; and you learn to love the
spot that gave him birth, and to think with complacency
upon the country, because it is his country ; and in look-
ing forward to his future welfare you naturally become
doubly interested in the place that is one day to be his.

Perhaps I rather estimate the country by my own
feelings ; and when I find, by impartial survey of my
present life, that I am to the full as happy, if not really
happier, than I was in the old country, 1 cannot but value it.

Possibly, if I were to enter into a detail of the advan-
tages 1 possess, they would appear of a very negative
character in the eyes of persons revelling in all the
splendour and luxury that wealth could procure, in a
country in which nature and art are so eminently favour-
able towards what is usually termed the pleasures of life;
but I never was a votary at the shrine of luxury or
fashion. A round of company, a routine of pleasure,
were to me sources of veariness, if not of disgust.
" There 's nothing in all this to satisfy ihe heart," says
Schiller; and I admit the force of the sentiment.

1 was too much inclined to spurn with impatience the
fetters that etiquette and fashion are wont to impose on
society, till they rob its followers of all freedom and in-
dependence of will ; and they soon are obliged to live
i!or a world that in secret they despise and loathe — for a

titxiL^

ADVANTAGES IN CANADA.

199

Ige in. Be-
bind me to
pincss since
of my dear
pturous de-
en my eye
arm breath
oy that fills
d otter mo.
ude of your
ill say. I
srfere with
r the plea-
5 a mother ;
heart ; his
to love the
)mplacency
nd in look-
illy become
to be his.
»y my own
•vey of my
f not really
jut value it.
the advan-
•y negative
in ail the
)cure, in a
itly favour-
ires of life ;
luxury or
f pleasure,
of disgust,
eart," says
mt.

itience the
impose on
)m and in-
ged to live
ithe — for a

world, too, that usually regards them with contempt, be-
cause they dare not act with an inde|)endence, which
would be crushed directly it was displayed.

And I must freely confess to you that I do prize and
enjoy my present liberty in this country exceedingly : in
this we possess an advantage over you, and over those
that inhabit the towns and villages in this country, where
I see a ridiculous attempt to keep up an ap|)€arance that
is quite foreign to the situation of those that practise it.
Few, very few, arc the emigrants that come to the colo-
nies, unless it is with the view of realizing an indepen-
dence for themselves or their children. Those that
could attbrd to live in ease at home, believe me, would
never expose themselves to the privations and disagree-
able consequences of a settler's life in Canada : there-
fore, this IS the natural inference we draw, that the
emigrant has come hither under the desire and natural
hope of bettering his condition, and benefiting a family
that he had not the means of settling in life in the home
country. It is foolish, then, to launch out in a style of
life that every one knows cannot be maintained ; rather
ought such persons to rejoice in the consciousness that
they can, if they please, live according to their circum-
stances, without being the less regarded for the practice
of prudence, economy, and industry.

Now, we bush-settlers are more independent : wc do
what we like ; we dress as we find most suitable and
most convenient ; we are totally without the fear of any
Mr. or Mrs. Grundy ; and having shaken off the tram-
mels of Grundyism, we laugh at the absurdity of
those who voluntarily forge afresh and hug their
chains.

If our friends come to visit us unexpectedly we make
them welcome to our humble homes, and give them the
best we have ; but if our fare be inditterent, we otler it
with good will, and no apologies are made or expected ;
they would be out of place ; as every one is aware of the
disadvantages of a new settlement ; and any excuses for
want of variety, or the delicacies of the table, would be
considered rather in the light of a tacit reproof to your

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200

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

jriicst for having unseasonably put your hospitality to the
test.

Our society is mostly military or naval ; so that Me
meet on equal grounds, and are, of course, well acquainted
with the rules of good breeding and polite life ; too
much so to allow any deviation from those laws that
good taste, good sense, and good feeling have established
among persons of our class.

Yet here it is considered by no means derogatory to
the wife of an officer or gentleman to assist in the work
of the house, or to perform its entire duties, if occasion
requires it ^ to understand the mystery of soap, candle,
and sugar-making ; to make bread, butter, and cheese,
or even to milk her own cows ; to knit and spin, and
prepare the wool for the loom. In these matters we
hush-ladies have a wholesome disregard of what Mr. or
Mrs. So-and-so thinks or says. We pride ourselves on
conforming to circumstances ; and as a British officer
must needs be a gentleman and his wife a lady, ])er-
haps we repose quietly on that incontestable proof of our
gentility, and can afford to be useful without injuring it.

Our husbands adopt a similar line of conduct : the
officer turns his sword into a ploughshare, and his lance
into a sickle ; and if he be seen ploughing among the
stumps in his own field, or chopping trees on his own
land, no one thinks less of his dignity, or considers him
less of a gentleman, than when he appeared ujM)n parade
in all the pride of military etiquette, with sash, sword,
and epaulette. Surely this is as it should be in a country
where independence is inseparable i'rom industry ; and
for this I prize it.

Among many advantages we in this township possess,
it is certainly no inconsiderable one that the lower or
working class of settlers are well disposed, and quite
free from the annoying Yankee manners that distinguish
many of the earlier-settled townships. Our servants are
as respectful, or nearly so, as those at home ; nor are
they admitted to our tables, or placed on an equality
with us, excepting at ** bees," and such kinds of public
meetings ; w hen they usually conduct themselves with a

11'

VISIT TO AN EMIGRANT CLERGYMAN.

201

|)roj)riety that would afTord an example to some that call
themselves gentlemen, viz., young men who voluntarily
throw aside those restraints that society expects tVom
persons filling a respectable situation.

Intemperance is too prevailing a vice among all ranks
of people in this country ; but 1 blush to say it belongs
most decidedly to those that consider themselves among
the better class of emigrants. Let none such complain
of the airs of equality displayed towards them by the
labouring class, seeing that they degrade themselves be-
low the honest, sober settler, however poor. If the sons
of gentlemen lower themselves, no wonder if the sons of
poor men endeavour to exalt themselves above them in a
country where they all meet on equal ground ; and
good conduct is the distinguishing mark between the
classes.

Some months ago, when visiting a friend in a distant
part of the country, I accompanied her to stay a few
days in the house of a resident clergyman, curate of a

flourishing village in the township of . I wa-s

struck by the primitive simplicity of the mansion and its
inhabitants. vVe were introduced into the little family
sitting-room, the floor of which was painted after tlie
Yankee fashion, instead of being carpeted ; the walls
were of unornamented deal, and the furniture of the
room of corresponding plainness. A large spinning-
wheel, as big as a cart-wheel, nearly occupied the centre
di' the room, at which a neatly dressed matron, of mild
and lady-like appearance, was engaged spinning yarn ;
her little daughters were knitting beside the fire, while
their father was engaged in the instruction of two of his
sons ; a third was seated affectionately in a little straw
chair between his feet, while a fourth was plying his axe
with nervous strokes in the court-yard, casting from time
to time wistful glances through the parlour-window at
the party within.

The dresses of the children were of a coarse sort of
stuff, a mixture of woollen and thread, the produce of the
farm and their mother's praiseworthy industry. The
stockings, socks, muifatees and warm comforters were all

'I
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202

BACKWOODS OJi' CANADA.

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oi' home inanufacture. Hoth girls and boys wore mo-
cassins, of Uieir own making : good sonse, industry, and
order presided among the members of this little houseliold.

Both girls and boys seemed to act upon the principle
that nothing is disgraceful but that which is immoral and
improper.

Hospitality without extravagance, kindness without
insincerity of speech, marked the manners of our worttiy
friends. Everything in the house was conducted with
attention to prudence and comfort. The living was but
small (the income arising from it, I should have said) ;
but there was glebe land, and a small dwelling attached
to it, and, by dint of active exertion without-doors, and
economy and good management within, the family were
maintained with respectability : in short, we enjoyed
tluring our sojourn many of the comforts of a cleared
farm; poultry of every kind, beef of their own killing,
excellent nmtton and pork : we had a variety of pre-
serves at our tea-table, with honey in the comb, deli-
cious butter, and good cheese, with divers sorts of cakes ;
a kind of little pancake, made from the Hour of buck-
wheat, which are made in a batter, and raised with barm,
afterwards dropped into boiling lard, and fried ; also a
preparation made of Indian corn-Hour, called supporne-
cake, which is fried in slices, and eaten with maple-
syrup, were among the novelties of our breakfast-fare.

1 was admiring a breed of very line Ibwls in the poultry
yard one morning, when my friend smiled and said, " I
do not know if you will think I came honestly by them.'*

'* I am sure you did not acquire them by dishonest
means," I replied, laughing ; " 1 will vouch for your
principles in that respect.'*

" Well," replied my hostess, *' they were neither
given me, nor sold to me, and I did not steal them. I
found the original stock in the ibllowing manner. An
old black hen most unexpectedly made her apjjearance
one spring morning at our door ; we hailed the stranger
with surprise and delight; for we could not muster a
single domestic fowl among our little colony at that time.
We never rightly knew by what means the hen came

KARLY DIFFICULTIES.

203

into our possession, but suppose some eniiprrant's family
LoiriiT up tiic country must have lost or left her ; she laved
ten e'T'TS, and hatched chickens fmni them : from this
little brood v.e raised a stock, and soon supplied all our
nei<rhbours with fowls. We ])rize the bree<l, not only
on account of its fine size, but from the sinjrular, and, as
wc thought, providential, manner in which wc obtained it.**

I was much interested in the slight sketch given by
the pastor one evening, as we all assembled round the
blazing log-fire, that was ])iled half-way up the chimney,
which reared its stone fabric so as to form deep recesses
at either side of its abutments. Alluding to his first
settlement, he observed, " It was a desolate wilderness
of gloomy and unbroken forest-trees when W(; first
pitched our tent here : at that time an axe had not been
laid to the root of a tree, nor a fire, save by the wander-
ing Indians, kindled in these woods.

** I can now point out the identical spot where my
wife and little ones ate their first meal, and raised
their feeble voices in thankfulness to that Almighty and
merciful Being who had preserved them through the
perils of the deep, and brought them in safety to this
vast solitude.

** We were a little flock wandering in a great wilder-
ness, under the special protection of our mighty Shepherd.

" I have heard you, my dear young lady," he said,
addressing the companion of my visit, " talk of the hard-
ships of the bush ; but let me tell you, you know but
little of its privations compared with those that came
hither some years ago.

" Ask these, my elder children and my wife, w hat
were the hardships of a bush-settler's life ten years ago,
and they will tell you it was to endure cold, hunger, and
all its accompanying evils ; to know at times the want of
every necessary article of food. As to the luxuries and
delicacies of life, we saw them not ; — how could we ?
we were far removed from the op])ortunity of obtaining
these things : potatoes, pork, and flour were our only
stores, and often we failed of the two latter before a
fresh supply could be procured. We had not mills

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BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

nearer than thirteen miles, through roads marked only
bv l)!azeti lines ; nor were there at that time anv settlers
near us. Now you sec us in a cleared country, surrountieii
with flourishing farms and rising villages ; but at the
time 1 sj)eak of it was not so : there were no stores < f
groceries or goods, no butchers' shops, no ch'ared farms,
dairies, nor orchards ; for these things we had to wait
with patience till industry sliould raise them.

" Our fare knew no other variety than salt pork,
potatoes, and sometimes bread, for break fiast ; |)ork aiMl
potatoes ibr dinner ; pork and potatoes for supper; with
a porridge of Indian corn-flour for the children. Some-
times we had the change of ])ork without potatoes, and
potatoes without pork ; this was the first year's fare ; hj
degrees we got a supply of flour of our own growin^j.
but bruised into a coarse meal with a hand-mill ; for wo
had no water or windmills within many miles of our
colony, and good bread was indeed a luxury we did nut
often have.

*' We brought a cow with us, who gave us milk dnrinir
the spring and summer; but owing to the wild garlic (a
wild herb, common to our woods) on which she fed, her
milk was scarcely palatable, and for want of shelter ant!
food, she died the following winter, greatly to our sorrow :
we learned exj)erience in this and in many other matters
at a hard cost ; but now we can profit by it."

" Did not the difficulties of your first settlement incline
yon to despond, and regret that you had evei embarko'!
on a life so difibrent to that you had been used to V " I
asked.

*' They might have had that effect had not a higher
motive than mere worldly advancement actuated me in
leaving my native country to come hither. Look you, it
was thus : I had for many years been the pastor of a
small village in the mining districts of Cumberland. I
was dear to the hearts of my people, and they were my
joy and crown in the Lord. A number of my pari.<hioncrs,
pressed by poverty and the ludness of the times, resolved
on emigrating to Canada.

*' Urged by a natural and not unlawful desire of

larked only
aiiv settlors
surrounileii
but at tlt(>
no stores cf
•ared farms,
had to wait

salt pork.
: ; j>ork aii<l
ipper; with
en. Soinc-
otatoes, and
•*s fare ; 1)t
n prowinjr,
lill ; for wo
iles of our
we did not

milk dnrin;:
Id erarlic (a
she fed, her
shelter and
our sorrow :
her matter?

nent incline
I embarko'!
ed to V " 1

it a higher
ated me in
lOok vou, it
pastor of Ji
>erland. I
y were my
irishioncrs,
?s, resolved

desire of

PHopusrnoN TO kmicirate.

205

bettering' their condition, they determined on erossinsf
the Atlantic, encouraged by the oHer of c()n>i(ierable
grants of wild land, which at that period were freely
awarded by Cioverninent to persons desirous of becoming
colonists.

** liut previous to this undertaking, several of the most
respectable came to me, and stated their view s and reasons
ibr the momentous step they w ere about to take ; and at
the same time besought me in the most moving terms,
in the name of the rest of their emigrant friends, to
accompany them into the Wilderness of the West, lest
they should forget their Lord and Saviour when aban-
doned to their own spiritual guidance.

" At first I was startled at the proposition ; it seemed
a wild and visionary scheme ; but by degrees I began to
dwell with pleasure on the subject. 1 had few ties
beyond my native village ; the income arising from my
curacy was too small to make it any great obstacle ; like
Goldsmith's curate, I was

* Passing rich with forty pounds a year.

My heart yearned after my people ; ten years I had
been their guide and adviser. I was the friend of the
old, and the teacher of the young. j\Iy Mary was
chosen from among them ; she had no foreign ties to
make her look back with regret upon the dwellers of the
land in distant places ; her youth and maturity had been
sj)ent among these very people ; so that w hen I named
to her the desire of my parishioners, and she also
])erceived that my own wishes went with them, she stifled
any regretful feeling that might have arisen in her breast,
and replied to me in the words of Ruth : —

*' ' Thy country shall be my country ; thy people
shall be my people ; where thou diest will I die, and
there will 1 be buried : the Lord do so to me, and more
also, if ought but death part thee and me.*

*' A tender and affectionate partner hast thou been
to me, Mary," he added, turning his eyes affectionately
on the mild and dignified matron, whose expressive

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206

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

nionrc

countenance bespoke w'

fcelinsrs passinj; in her mind. She replied not by words,
but I saw the bier bright tears full on the woric she held
in her hand. They sprung from emotions too sacred to
be profaned by intrusive eyes, and 1 hastily averted my
glance Irom her face ; while the pastor proceeded to
narrate the |)articulars of their leaving Entriand, their
voyage, and, finally, their arrival in the land that had
been granted to the little colony in the then unbroken
part of the township of .

*' We had obtained a great deal of useful advice and
assistance from the Government agents previous to our
criming up hither, and also hired some choppers at high
wages to initiate us in the art of felling, logging, burning,
and clearing the ground ; as it was our main object to get
in cro))S of some kind, we turned to without any delay
further than what was necessary for providing a temporary
shelter tor our wives and children, and prepared the
ground for spring crops, helping each other as we could
with the loan of oxen and labour. And here I must
observe, that 1 experienced every attention and con-
sideration from ujy friends. My means were small, and
my family ail too young to render me any service ; how-
ever, I lacked not help, and had the satisfaction of seeing
a little spot cleared for the growth of potatoes and corn,
which 1 could not have effected by my single exertions.

*' My biggest boy, John, was but nine years old, Willie
seven, and the others still more helpless ; the two little
ones you see there," pointing to two young children,
*' have been born since we came hither. That yellow-
haired lassie knitting beside you was a babe at the breast;
— a helpless, wailing infant, so weak and sickly before
we came here that she was scarcely ever out of her
mother's arms ; but she grew and throve rapidly under
the rough treatment of a bush-settler's family.

" We had no house built, or dwelling of any kind to
receive us when we arrived at our destination ; and the
first two nights were pissed on the banks of the creek
that flows at the foot of the hill, in a hut of cedar and
hemlock boughs that I cut with my axe, and, with the

TIIK FlH»r 5ADDATU.

20;

1 words the
by words,
Ic she held
> sacred to
verted my
ceeded to
land, their
I that had
unbroken

advice and
ious to our
rs at high
r, burninfr,
)jeet to eret
any delay
temporary
pared the
) we could
re I must
and con-
mall, and
ice ; how-
of seeing
and corn,
jxertions.
Id, Willie
two little
children,
it yellow-
le breast;
ly before
It of her
dly under

y kind to
and the
he creek
edar and
with the

help of some of my coni|)union8, raised to shelter my
wife and the little ones.

** Thoiitrh it was the middle of May the nights were
chilly, and we were glad to burn a pile of wood in front
of our hut to secure us from the etfects of the cold and
the stings of the mosquitoes, that came up in myriads
from the stream, and which finally drove us higher up
the bank.

*' As soon as possible we raised a shanty, which now
serves as a shed for my young cattle ; 1 would not pull it
down, though often urged to do so, as it stands in the way
of a pleasant prospect from the window : but 1 like to
look on it, and recall to mind the first years I pa.ssed
beneath its lowly roof. We need such mementos to remind
us of our former state ; but we grow proud and cease to
appreciate our j)resent comforts.

** Our first Sabbath was celebrated in the oj)en air ;
my pulpit was a pile of rude logs; my church the deep
shade of the forest, beneath which we assembled our-
selves ; but sincerer or more fervent devotion 1 never
witnessed than that day. I well remeniber the text I
chose, for my address to them was from the viiith chapter
of Deuteronomy, the 6th, 7th, and 9th verses, which
appeared to me applicable to our circumstances.

** The following year we raised a small blockhouse,
which served as a school -house and church. At first our
progress in clearing the land was slow, for we iiad to buy
experience, and many and great were the disappointments
and privations that befel us during the first few years.
One time we were all ill with ague, and not one able to
help the other: this was a sad time; but better things
were in store for us. The tide of emigration increased,
and the little settlement we had formed began to be well
spoken of. One man came and built a saw-mill ; a grist-
mill followed soon after ; and then one store and then
another, till we beheld a flourishing village spring up
around us. Then the land began to increase in value, and
many of the first settlers sold their lots to advantage, and
retreated further up the woods. As the village increased,
so, of course, did my professional duties, whi(h had for

. • t

A'*

4 >

* ^

} ,-\

'* ■''•'

208

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

the firft fow yoars boon paid for in aots of kindnosi^
and voluntary labour by my littlo flock ; now I havo the
satisfaction of roapinp a reward without proving bunicu-
sonjo to my parishioiiors. My farm is incrcasinir, and
bt^sidcs tho salary arisini; from my curacy 1 havo some-
thing additional for tlio school, whi(;h is paid by (lovorn-
mont. We may now say it is p^ood for us to be hero,
seeing that God has been pleased to send down a blossin;.'
upon us."

1 have forgotten many very interesting particulars
relating to the trials and shifts this family were put to in
the first few years : but the pastor told us enough to
make me quite contented with my lot, and I returned
home, after some days* pleasant sojourn with this delight-
ful family, with an additional stock of contentment, and
some useful and practical knowledge, that I trust I shall
be the better for all my life.

1 am rather interest(»d in a young lad that has come out
from Englatid to learn Canadian farming. The poor boy
had conceived the most romantic notions of a settler's
life, partly from the favourable accounts he had read, and
partly through the medium of a lively imagination, which
had aided in the deception, and led him to suppose that
his time would be chiefly spent in the fascinating amuse-
ments and adventures arising from hunting the forest in
search of deer and other game, pigeon and duck-shooting,
spearing Hsh by torchlight, and voyaging on the lakes in
a birch-bark canoe in summer ; skating in winter, or
gliding over the frozen snow like a Laplander in his
sledge, wrapi)ed up to the eyes in furr, and travelling at
the rate of twelve miles an hour to the sound of an
harmonious peal of bells. What a I'elicitous life to cap-
tivate the mind of a boy of fourteen, just let loose from
the irksome restraint of boarding-school !

How little did he dream of the drudgery inseparalile
from the duties of a lad of his age, in a country where
the old and young, the master and the servant, are alike
obliged to labour for a livelihood, without respect to for-
mer situation or rank !

Here the son of the gentleman becomes a hewer of

kindnosjt
I have (ho
PT burdrii-
^'iixiS, and
avo soiiio-
•y (lovcrri-
) 1)0 here,
a hlcssiii'jr

particulars
; put tu id
enough to
returned
isdclight-
ment, and
ust I shall

5 come out
3 poor boy
a settler's

read, and
on, which
ipose that
ng amuse-

forcst in
-shooting,
c lakes in
vintcr, or
er in his
ivelling at
nd of an
fe to cap-
30se I'rom

iseparahle
try where
, arc alike
?ct to for-

hewer of

YOUTH THE UE8T SEASON FOR EMICJKATISO. 209

wood anrl <lmwor of water ; he learns to chop down trees,
to pile l)iush-h' ,i|>s, split rails for fences, attend the fires
during the l>urnin<jc season, dressed in a coarse over-
garment of heiiijKMi rldth, called a logirioL'-shirt, with
trousers to correspfjnd, and a Yankee straw hat Happrd
over his cyi's, and a handspike to assist him in rollin

over tlie ounnng firanus. 1 o tend una drive oxen, plouLrh,
sow, plant Indian corn and pumpkins, and raise potato-
hills, are among some of the young emiu'rant's accom-
j)lishments. His relaxations are hut com|)aratively few,
l)ut they are seized with a relish and avidity that give
them the greater charm.

You may imagine the disappointment felt by the poor
lad on seeing his fair visions of anmsement fade before
the dull realities and distasteful details of a young settler's
occupation in the backwoods.

Youth, however, is the best season for coming to this
country ; the mind soon bends itself to its situation, and
becomes not only reconciled, but in time please*! with
the change of life. There is a consolation, too, in seeinjz
that he does no more than others of equal ]>retensions as
to rank and education are obliged to submit to, if they
would prosi)er ; and perhaps he lives to bless the country
which has robbed him of a portion of that absurd j)ride
that made him look with contempt on those whose occu-
])ations were of a humble nature. It were a thousand
pities wilfully to deceive persons desirous of emigrating
with false and flattering pictures of the advantages to be
met with in this country. Lot the pro and con be fairly
stated, and let the reader use his best judgment, unbiassed
by prejudice or interest in a matter of such vital import-
ance not only as regards himself, but the haj)piness an<l
welfare of those over whose destinies Nature has made
him the guardian. It is, however, far more diflicult to
write on the subject of emigration than most persons think :
it embraces so wide a field that what would be perfectly
correct as regards one part of the province would by no
means prove so as regarded another. One district dirt'ers
from another, and one township from anotlier, according
to its natural advantages ; whether it be long settled or

I* .

•I

". I'

<«

K ♦;

^ >.:iM

* ; ; V „(

; ■

210

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

unsettled, possessing water privileges or not, the soil and
even the climate will be ditferent, according to situiition
and circumstances.

Much depends on the tempers, habits, and dispositions
of the emigrants themselves. What suits one will not
another; one family will flourish, and accumulate every
comfort about their homesteads, while others languish in
])overty and discontent. It would take volumes to discuss
every argument for and against, and to point out exactly
who are and who are not fit subjects for emigration.

Have you read Dr. Dunlop's spirited and witty ' Back-
woodsman ? ' If you have not, get it as soon as you
can ; it will amuse you. I think a Backwoodswoman
might be written in the same spirit, setting forth a few
pages, in the history of bush-ladies, as examples for our
sex. Indeed, we need some wholesome admonitions on
our duties and the folly of repining at following and
sharing the fortunes of our spouses, whom we have vowed
in happier hours to love "in riches and in poverty, in
sickness and in health." Too many pronounce these
words without heeding their importance, and without
calculating the chances that may put their faithfulness to
the severe test of quitting home, kindred, and country,
to share the hard lot of a settler's life ; for even this
sacrifice renders it hard to be borne ; but the truly
attached wife will do this, and more also, if required by
liie husband of her choice.

But now it is time I say farewell : my dull letter,
grown to a formidable packet, will tire you, and make
you wish it at the bottom of the Atlantic.

\ ■

'.f:.

*,.?'•.';■

'■ii

>km'^

the soil and
to situiitiun

dispositions
one will not
lulate every
languish in
es to discuss
out exactly
ration.
itty 'Back-
oon as you
('oodswonian
forth a few
iples for our
tionitions on
lowing- and
have vowed
poverty, in
>unce these
,nd without
th fulness to
nd country,
even this
the truly
equired by

dull letter,
and make

INDIAN HUNTERS.

211

Letter XVI,

Indian Hunters. — Sail in a Canoe. — Want of Libraries Ie
the Backwoods. — New Village. — Progress of Improve-
ment. — Fire-flies.

Having in a former letter giving you some account of a
winter visit to the Indians, I shall now give a short sketch
of their summer encampment, which I went to see one
beautiful afternoon in June, accompanied by my husband
and some friends that had come in to spend the day
with us.

The Indians were encamped on a little peninsula jut-
ting out between two small lakes ; our nearest path would
have been through the bush, but the ground was so en-
cumbered by fallen trees that we agreed to go in a canoe.
The day was warm, without being oppressively hot, as it
too often is during the summer months : and for a w onder
the mosquitoes and black-flies were so civil as not to
molest us. Our light bark skimmed gaily over the calm
waters, beneath the overhanging shade of cedars, hem-
lock, and balsams, that emitted a delicious fragrance as
the passing breeze swept through the boughs. I was in
raptures with a bed of blue irises mixed with snow-white
water-lilies that our canoe passed over. Turning the
stony bank that formed the point, we saw the thin blue
smoke of the camp curling above the trees, and soon our
canoe was safely moored alongside of those belonging to
the Indians, and by help of the straggling branches and
underwood I contrived to scramble up a steep path, and
soon found myself in front of the tent. It was a Sunday
afternoon ; all the men were at home ; some of the
younger branches of the families (for there were three
that inhabited the wigwam) were amusing themselves

T 1

it!'

4 1'f

I'll

'11

fl
^^1

Rvr,*

^ '.■*

It',-. ^ - *

H ■>--'■•-

212

BACKWOODS OF CANADA

with throwing the tomahawk at a notch cut in the bark
of a distant tree, or shooting at a mark with their bows
and arrows, while the elders reposed on their blankets
within the shade, some reading, others smoking, and
gravely eyeing the young rival marksmen at their feats of
skill.

Only one of the squaws was at home ; this was my old
acquaintance the hunter's wife, who was sitting on a
blanket; her youngest, little David, a papouse of three
years, who wa« not yet weaned, was reposing between
her feet ; she often eyed him with looks of great affec-
tion, and patted his shaggy head from time to time.
Peter, who is a sort of great man, though not a chief, sat
beside his spouse, dressed in a handsome blue surtout-
coat, with a red worsted sash about his waist. He was
smoking a short pi|)e, and viewing the assembled party
at the door of the tent with an expression of quiet inter-
est ; sometimes he lifted his pipe for an instant to give a
sort of inward exclamation at the success or failure of his
sons' attempts to hit the mark on the tree. The old
squaw, as soon as she saw me, motioned me forward, and
pointing to a vacant portion of her blanket, with a good-
natured smile, signed for me to sit beside her, which I
did, and amused myself with taking note of the interior
of the wigwam and its inhabitants. The building was
of an oblong form, open at both ends, but at night I was
told the openings were closed by blankets ; the upper
part of the roof was also open ; the sides were rudely
fenced with large sheets of birch bark, drawn in and out
between the sticks that made the frame-work of the tent ;
a long slender pole of iron-wood formed a low beam,
from which depended sundry iron and brass pots and ket-
tles, also some joints of fresh-killed venison and dried
fish ; the fires occupied the centre of the hut, around the
embers of which reposed several meek deer-hounds ; they
evinced something of the quiet apathy of their masters,
merely opening their eyes to look upon the intruders, and
seeing all was well returned to their former slumbers,
perfectly unconcerned by our entrance.

The hunter's family occupied one entire side of the

11 the bark
their bows
ir blankets
oking, and
leir leats of

was my old
itting on a
se oT three
ig between
great afFec-
le to time,
a chief, sat
lue surtout-
t. He was
nbled party
quiet inter-
nt to give a
ailure of his
. The old
jrward, and
nth a good-
er, which I
the interior
uilding was
night I was

the upper
vere rudely
i in and out
of the tent ;

low beam,
ots and ket-

and dried

around the
)unds ; they
eir masters,

ruders, and
slumbers,

side of the

HuXTERS FA MILT.

213

building, while Joseph Muskrat with his family, and
Joseph J^olans and his squaw shared the op[)osile one,
their several apartments being distinguished by thoir
blankets, fishing-spears, rifles, tomahawks, and other
property : as to the cooking utensils they seemed from
their scarcity to be held in common among them ; perfect
amity appeared among the three families; and, if one
might judge from outward appearance, they seemoil
happy and contented. On examining the books that
were in the hands of the young men, they proved to be
hymns and tracts, one side printed in English, the other
the Indian translation. In compliance with our wishes
the men saiig one of the hymns, which sounded very
well, but we missed the sweet voices of the Indian girls,
whom I had left in front of the house, sitting on a pine-
log and amusing themselves with my baby, and seeming
highly delighted with him and his nurse.

Outside the tent the squaw showed me a birch-bark
canoe that was building ; the shape of the canoe is
marked out by sticks stuck in the ground at regular dis-
■ tances ; the sheets of bark being wetted, and secured in
their proper places by cedar laths, which are bent so as to
serve the purpose of ribs or timbers ; the sheets of bark
are stitched together with the tough roots of the tama-
rack, and the edges of the canoe also sewed or laced over
with the same material ; the whole is then varnished over
w ith a thick •gum.

I had the honour of being paddled home by Mrs. Peter
in a new canoe, just launched, and really the motion was
delightful ; seated at the bottom of the little bark, on a
few light hemlock boughs, I enjoyed my voyage home
exceedingly. The canoe, propelled by the Amazonian
arm of the swarthy matron, flew swiftly over the waters,
and I was soon landed in a little cove within a short dis-
tance 'from my own door. In return for the squaw's
civility I delighted her by a present of a few beads for
working mocassins and knife-sheaths, with which she
seemed very well pleased, carefully securing her treasure
bv tvinff thom in a corner of her blanket with a bit of
tln-ead.

mil

liii:

111'"

;|«

'i J'M-

:<*>',

Ik',***"'-*'* ^'

It.

214

BACKWOODS OF CA> ADA.

With a ])ecur!ar reserve and gravity of temper, thera
is at the same time a degree of childishness about the
Indians in some things. I gave the hunter and his son
one day some coloured prints, which they seemed migh-
tily taken with, laughing immoderately at some of the
fashionably dressed figures. When they left the house
they seated themselves on a fallen tree, and called their
hounds round them, dbplaying to each severally the
pictures.

The poor animals, instead of taking a survey of the
gaily dressed ladies and gentlemen, held up their meek
heads and licked their masters' hands and faces ; but old
Peter was resolved the dogs should share the amusement
of looking at the pictures, and turned their faces to thorn,
holding them fast by their long ears when they endea-
voured to escape. I could hardly have supposed the
grave Indian capable of such childish behaviour.

These Indians appear less addicted to gay and tinselly
adornments than formerly, and rather attect a European
style in their dress ; it is no unusual sight to see an In-
dian habited in a fine cloth coat and trousei*s, though I
must say the blanket-coats provided for them by Govern-
ment, and which form part of their annual presents, are
far more suitable and becoming. The squaws, too,
prefer cotton or stuft' gowns, aprons, and handkerchiefs,
and such useful articles, to any sort of finery, though
they like well enough to look at and admire»them ; they
delight nevertheless in decking out the little ones, em-
broidering their cradle wrappings with silks and beads,
and tacking the wings of birds to their shoulders. I was
a little amused by the appearance of one of these Indian
Cupids, adorned with the wings of the American war-
bird ; a very beautiful creature, something like our Bri-
tish bullfinch, only far more lively in plumage : the breast
and under-feathers of the wings being a tint of the most
brilliant carmine, shaded with black and white. This
bird has been called the '* war-bird,*' from its having first
made its appearance in this province during the late
American war ; a fact that I believe is well autnenticated,
or at any rate has obtained general credence.

niper, thers
ss about the
and liis son
3me(l migh-
ome of the
ft the house
called their
iverallv the

rvey of the
their meek
es ; but old
amusement
es to thorn,
they endca-
pposed the
ur.

ind tinselly

1 European

i see an In-

?, though I

t)y Govern-

•esents, are

uaws, too,

d kerchiefs,

ry, though

Hem ; they

ones, em-

and beads,

rs. I was

ese Indian

Tican war-

} our Bri-

the breast

f the most

ite. This

laving first

; the late

lenticated,

BOADS

215

I could hardly help smiling at your notion that we
in the backwoods can liave easy access to a circulating
library. In one sense, indeed, you are not so I'ar from
truth, for every settler's library may be caded a circu-
lating one, as their books are sure to pass from friend
to friend in due rotation ; and, fortunately for us, we
happen to have several excellently furnished ones in
our neighbourhood, which are always open to us.
There is a public library at York, and a small circu-
lating library at Cobourg ; but they might just as well be
on the other side of the Atlantic for any access we can
have to them.

I know how it is ; at home you have the same idea
of the facility of travelling in this country as I once
had : now I know what bush-roads are, a few miles'
journey seems an awful undertaking. Do you re-
member my account of a day's travelling through the
woods ? I am sorry to say they are but little amended
since that letter was written. I have only once ven-
tured to perform a similar journey, which took several
hours' hard travelling, and, more by good luck than
any other thing, arrived with whole bones at my de-
stination. I could not help laughing at the frequent
exclamations of the teamster, a shrewd Yorkshire lad,
" Oh, if I had but the driving of his excellency the
governor along this road, how I would make the old
horses trot over the stumps and stones, till he should
crv out ao^ain ! I warrant he 'd do summut to mend them
before he came along them again."

Unfortunately it is not a statute-road on this side
the river, and has been cut by the settlers for their
own convenience ; so that I fear nothing will be done
to improve it, unless it is by the inhabitants them-
selves.

We hope soon to have a market for our grain nearer
at hand than Peterborough ; a grist-mill has just been
raised at the new village that is springing up. This
will prove a great comfort to us ; we have at present
to fetch flour up at a great expense, through bad roads,
and the loss of time to those that are obliged to send

216

BACKWOODS or CANADA.

^ m:^'':

t ' '

wheat to the town to be ground is a serious evil : this
will soon be remedied, to the joy of the whole neigh-
bourhood.

You do not know how important these improvements
are, and what effect they have in raising the spirits of
the emigrant, besides enhancing the value of his j)ro-
perty in no trifling degree. We have already ex-
perienced the benefit of being near the saw-mill, as it
not only enables us to build at a smaller expense, but
enables us to exchange logs for sawn lumber. Tiie
great pine-trees which, under other circumstances, would
be an encumbrance and drawback to clearing the land,
prove a most profitable crop when cleared off in the
form of saw-logs, which is easily done where they are
near the water: the logs are sawn to a certain length,
and dragged by oxen during the winter, when the
ground is bard, to the lake's edge ; when the ice breaks
up, the logs float down with the current and enter the
mill-race ; I have seen the lake opposite to our windows
covered with these floating timbers, voyaging down to
the saw-mill.

How valuable would the great oaks and gigantic
pines be on an estate in England ; while here they
are as little thought of as saplings would be at home.
Some years hence the timbers that are now burned
up will be regretted. Yet it is impossible to preserve
them ; they would prove a great encumbrance to the
farmer. The oaks are desirable for .plitting, as they
make the most durable fences ; pine, cedar, and white
ash are also used for rail-cuts ; maple and dry beech
are the best sorts of wood for fires; white ash bums
well. In making ley for soap, care is taken to use
none but the ashes of hard wood, as oak, ash, maple,
beech ; any of the resinous trees are bad for the pur-
pose, and the ley will not mingle with the fat in boil-
ing, to the great mortification of the uninitiated soap-
boiler, who, by being made acq jaiiitcd with this simple
fact, might have been spared much useless trouble and
waste of material, after months of careful saving.

An American settlers wife told mc this, and bade

,.^; V*;.

mi":}

us evil : this
vhole neigh-

nprovoments
he spirits of
of his ])ro-
already ex-
LW-mill, as it
expense, but
mber. Tiie
ances, would
ing the land,
i off in the
3re they are
rtain length,
, when the
le ice breaks
nd enter the
our windows
ing down to

ind gigantic
here they
i)e at home,
now burned
to preserve
ance to the
ng, as they
r, and white
I dry beech
e ash burns
ken to use
ash, maple,
or the pur-
fat in boil-
tiated soap
I this simple
trouble and
ing.
and bade

TH£ CANADAS PRKP&RRED TO OHIO.

217

me be careful not to make use of any of the pinc-wooJ
ashes in running the ley. And here I must otscrvc,
that of all pco[)le the Yankees, as they are termed, are
the most industrious and ingenious ; they are never at a
loss for an expedient : if one thing fails them they adopt
another, with a quickness of thought that surprises me,
while to them it seems only a matter of course. They
seem to possess a sort of innate j)rcsence of mind, and
instead of wasting their energies in words, they act.
The old settlers that have been long among them seem
to acquire the same sort of habits, insomuch that it is
difficult to distinguish them. I have heard the Ame-
ricans called a loquacious boasting people ; now, as far
as my limited acquaintance with them goes, I consider
they are almost laconic, and if I dislike them it is for a
certain cold brevity of manner that seems to place a bar-
rier between you and them.

I was somewhat struck with a remark made by a
travelling clock-maker, a native of the state of Ohio.
After speaking of the superior climate of Ohio, in
answer to some questions of my husband, he said« he
was surprised that gentlemen should prefer the Canadas,
especially the bush, where for many years they must
want all the comforts and luxuries of life, to the rich,
highly cultivated, and fruitful state of Ohio, where land
was much cheaper both cleared and wild.

To this we replied that, in the first place, British
subjects preferred the British government ; and, be-
sides, they were averse to the manners of his country-
men. He candidly admitted the first objection ; and
in reply to the last observed, that the Americans at
large ought not to be judged by the specimens to be
found in the British colonics, as they were, for the most
part, persons of no reputation, many of whom had fled
10 the Canadas to escape from debt, or other disgrace-
ful conduct; and added, "It would be hard if the
English were to be judged as a nation by the convicts of
Botany Bay."

Now, there was nothing unfair or rude in the manners

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218

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

If 'Hi''.

*• . ■ . ?,' ■■' ' '.
^l ■-!> ' ?■■■ I.

"iCV;.

of this stranjrer, and his defence of his nation was mild
and reasonable, and such as any un])rejudiced person
must have respected him for.

I have just been interrupted by a friend who has
called to tell me he has an opportunity of sending safe
and free of expense to London or Liverpool, and that he
will enclose a packet for me in the box he is packing for
England.

1 am delighted by the intelligence, but regret that
I have nothing but a few flower-seeds, a specimen of
Indian workmanship, and a few butterflies to send you
— the latter are for Jane. I hope all will not share the
fate of the last I sent. Sarah wrote me word, when
they came to look for the green moth I had enclosed
in a little box, nothing of his earthly remains was visi-
ble beyond a little dust and some pink feet. I have,
with some difficulty, been able to procure another and
finer specimen ; and, for fear it should meet with a simi-
lar annihilation, I will at least preserve the memory or
its beauties, and give you a description of it.

It is just five inches from wing to wing ; the body
the thickness of my little finger, snow-white, covered
with long silken hair ; the legs bright red, so are the
antennae, which are toothed like a comb on either side,
shorter than those of butterflies and elegantly curled ;
the wings, both upper and under, are of the most
exquisite pale tint of green, fringed at the edges with
golden colour ; each wing has a small shaded crescent
of pale blue, deep red, and orange ; the blue forming
the centre, like a half-closed eye ; the lower wings
elongated in deep scollop, so as to form two long tails,
like those of the swallow-tail butterfly, only a full inch
in length and deeply fringed ; on the whole this moth is
the must exquisite creature I have ever seen.

We have a variety of the peacock butterfly that is
very rich, with innumemble eyes on the wings. The
yellow swallow-tail is also v^ry common, and the black
and blue admiral, and the red, white, and black admiral,
with many other beautiiUl varieties that I cannot de-

DRAOOX-FLIE3. — FIRE-FLIES.

219

m was mild
ced person

id who has
ending sale
md that he
packing for

regret that
lecimen of
9 send you
t share the
rord, when
d enclosed
IS was visi-
. I have,
mother and
^ith a sinii-
niemory or

the body
;, covered
so are the
ither side,

y curled ;

the most
dges with
crescent
forming
er wings
long tails,

full inch
[is moth is

ly that is
gs. The
the black
V admiral,
Emnot de-

scribe. The largest butterfly I have yet seen is a gay
vermilion, marked with jet black lines that form an
elegant black lace pattern over its wide \ gs.

Then tor dragon-flies, we have them of every size,
shape, and colour. 1 was particularly charmed by u
pair of superb blue ones that 1 used to see this summer
in my walk to visit my sister. They were as large as
butterflies, with black gauze wings ; on each j>air was
marked a crescent of the brightest azure blue, shaded
with scarlet ; the bodies of these beautiful creatures were
also blue. I have seen them scarlet and black, yellow
and black, copper-coloured, green, and brown ; the latter
are great enemies to the mosquitoes and other small
insects, and may be seen in vast numbers flitting around
in all directions of an evening in search of prey.

The fire-flies must not bo forgotten, for of all others
they are the most remarkable ; their appearance generally
j)recedes rain ; they are often seen alter dark, on mild
damp evenings, sporting among the cedars at the edge
of the wood, and especially near swamps, when the air
is illuminated with their brilliant dancing light. Some-
times they may be seen in groups, glancing like falling
stars in mid-air, or descending so low as to enter your
dwelling and flit about among the draperies of your bed
or window-curtains ; the light they emit is more brilliant
than that of the glowworm ; but it is produced in the
same manner, from the under part of the body. The
glowworm is also frequently seen, even as late as Septem-
ber, on mild, warm, dewy nights.

We have abundance of large and small beetles, some
most splendid : green and gold, rose-colour, red and
black, yellow and black ; some quite black, formidably
large, with wide branching horns. Wasps are not so
troublesome as in England, but I suppose it is because
we cannot otter such temptations as our home gardens
hold out to these ravenous insects.

One of our cho^)pers brought me the other day what
he called a hornet's nest ; it was certainly too small and
delicate a piece of workn)anshij) for so large an insect ;
and I rather conjecture that it belonged to the beautil'ul

220

DACKWOOIJS OF CANADA.

Iw •( .'■

black and jrold insect called the wasp-fly ; but of this I
am nut certain. The nest was about the size and sha{)c
of a turlcey's egg, and was composed of six paper cups
inserted one within the other, each lessening till the
innermost of all appeared not larger than a pigeon's egg.
On looking carefully within the orifice of the last cup, a
small comb, containing twelve cells, of the most exqui-
site neatness, might be perceived, if anything, sujxirior
in regularity to the cells in the comb of the domestic
bee, one of which was at least equal to three of these.
The substance that comjmfted the cups was of a fine
silver grey silken texture, as fine as the finest India silk
paper, and extremely brittle ; when slightly wetted it
became glutinous, and adhered a little to the finger ; the
whole was carefully fixed to a stick; I have seen one
since fastened to a rough rail. I ^ould not but admire
the instinctive care displayed in tlu^ formation of this
exquisite piece of insect architecture to guard the embryo
animal from injury, either from the voracity of birds or
the effect of rain, which could scarcely find entrance in
the interior.

I had carefully, as I thought, preserved my treasure,
by putting it in one of xay drawers, but a wicked little
thief of a mouse found it cut and tore it to j)ieces for the
sake of the drops of honey contained in one or two of
the cells. I was much vexed, as I purposed sending it
by some favourable opportunity to a dear friend living in
Gloucester Place, who took great delight in natural
curiosities, and once showed me a nest of similar form to
this, that had been ibund in a bee-hive; the material
was much coarser, and, if I remember right, had but two
cases instead of six.

I have always felt a great desire to see the nest of a
bumming-bird, but hitherto have been disappointed.
This summer I had some beds of mignionette and other
flowers, with some most splendid major convolvuluses or
*' morning gloves," as the Americans call them ; these
lovely flowers tempted the humming-birds to visit my
garden, and I had the pleasure of seeing a pair of those
beautiful creatures, but their flight is so peculiar that it

IIUMMINO-DIRD.

221

harilly g:ivcs you a perfect sight of th r coloui their
motion when on the wing resembles tlie whirl ot a >j»iM
ning-wheel, and the sound they make is like the iiinn #1
a wheel at work ; I shall plant Howers to entice them i««
build near us.

1 sometimes fear you will grow weary of my long dull
letters ; my only resources are domestic details and i\n*
natural history of the country, which I give whenever i
think the subject has novelty to recommend it to your
attention. Possibly I may sometimes disappoint you i)y
details that apj)ear to place the state of the emigrant in
an unfavourable light : I merely give facts as I have
seen, or heard them stated. 1 could give you many
flourishing accounts of settlers in this country ; I could
also reverse the picture, and you would come to the
conclusion that there are many arguments to be used both
for and against emigration. Now, the greatest argument,
and that which has the most weight, is neckssity, and
this will always turn the scale in the favour of emigra-
t'ion ; and that same imperative dame Necessity tells me
it is necessary *br me to draw my letter to a conclusion.

Farewell : ever faithfully and affectionately, your
attached sister.

( 222 )

LETTER XVII.

Ague.

Illness of the Family.— Probable Cause,— Root-
house. — Setting-in of Winter.— Insect termed a "Saw-
yer." — Temporary Church.

r.i's

November 28, 1834.

You will have been surprised, and possibly distressed,
by my long silence of several months, but when I tell
you it has been occasioned by sickness, you will cease to
wonder that I did not write.

My dear husband, my servant, the poor babe, and
myself, were all at one time confined to our beds with
ague. You know how severe my sufferings always were
ut home with intermittents, and need not marvel if thev
wore no less great in a country where lake-fevers and all
kinds of intermittent fevers abound.

Few persons escape the second year without being
afHicted with this weakening complaint ; the mode of
treatment is repeated doses of calomel, with castor-oil or
salts, and is followed up by quinine. Those persons
who do not choose to employ medical advice on the
subject, dose themselves with ginger-tea, strong infusion
of hyson, or any other powerful green tea, pepper, and
whiskey, with many other remedies that have the sanc-
tion of custom or quackery.

I will not dwell on this uncomfortable period, further
than to tell you that we considered the complaint to
have had its origin in a malaria, arising from a cellar
below the kitchen. When the snow melted, this cellar
became half full of water, either from the moisture
draining through the spongy earth, or from the rising of
a spring beneath the house ; be it as it may, the heat of
the co<£ing and Franklin stoves in the kitcnen and par-

lause,— Root-
led a " Saw-

r28, 1834.

y distressed,
when I tell
will cease tu

•r babe, anil
IT beds with
always were
irvel if they
ivers and all

bout being
ne mode of
castor-oil or
ose persons
ncQ on the
3ng infusion
pepper, and
/e the sanc-

iod, further
oin plaint to
om a cellar
this cellar
e moisture
he rising of
the heat of
n and par-

lOUE.

223

lour caused a fermentation to take place in the stagnant
fluid before it could be em|)tied ; the effluvia arising from
this mass of putrifying water affected us all. The female
servant, who was the most exposed to its baneful influ-
ence, was the first of our household that fell sick, after
which we each in turn became unable to assist each
other. I think I suffer an additional portion of the
malady from seeing the sufferings of my dear husband
and my beloved child.

I lost the ague in a fortnight^s time — thanks to calomel
and quinine ; so did my babe and his nurse : it has, how-
ever, hung on my husband during the whole of the
sumnier, and thrown a damp upon his exertions and
gloom upon his spirits. This is the certain etiect of
ague, it causes the same sort of depression on the spirits
as a nervous fever. My dear child nas not been well ever
since he had the ague, and looks very pale and spiritless.

We should have been in a most miserable condition,
being unable to procure a female servant, a nurse, or any
one to attend upon us, and totally unable to help our-
selves ; but for the prompt assistance of Marv on one
side, and Susannah on the other, I know not what would
have become of us in our sore trouble.

This summer has been excessively hot and dry ; the
waters in the lakes and rivers being lower than they had
been known for many years ; scarcely a drop of rain fell
for several weeks. This extreme drought rendered the
potato-crop a decided failure. Our Indian-corn was very
nne ; so were the pumpkins. We had some fine vege-
tables in the garden, especially the peas and melons ;
the latter were very large and fine. The cultivation of
the melon is very simple : you first draw the surrounding
earth together with a broaa hoe into a heap ; the middle
of this heap is then slightly hollowed out, so as to form a
basin, the mould being raised round the edges ; into this
hollow you insert several melon-seeds, and leave the
rest to the summer heat ; if you water the plants from
time to time, it is well for them ; the soil should be fine
black mould ; and if your hills are inclining to a hollow-
part of your ground, so as to retain the moisture, so much

L 2

;!:

'I (

;

t •

224

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

' 4 ' .

h;,-.'

I -1 •■:■

the finer will be your fruit. It is the opinion of practical
persons who have bought wisdom by some years' expe-
rience of the country, that in laying out and planting a
garden, the beds should not be raised, as is the usual
custom ; and give as a reason, that the sun having such
great power draws the moisture more readily from the
earth where the beds are elevated above the level, and,
in conse(|uence of the dryness of the ground, the plants
wither away.

As there appears some truth in the remark. I am in-
clined to adopt the plan.

Vegetables are in general fine, and come quickly to
maturity, considering the lateness of the season in which
they are usually put into the ground. Peas are always
fine, especially the marrowfats, which are sometimes
grown in the fields, on cleared lands that are under the

1 plough. We have a great variety of beans, all of the
^Vench or kidney kind ; there is a very prolific white
runner, of which I send you some of the seed : the me-
thod of planting them is to raise a small hillock of mould
by drawing the earth up with the hoe ; flatten this, or
rather hollow it a little in the middle, and drop in four or
five seeds round the edges ; as soon as the bean puts forth
its runners insert a pole of five or six feet in the centre of
the hill ; the })lants will all meet and twine up it, bearing
a profusion of pods, which are cut and foiled as the scar-
let-runners, or else, in their dry or ripe state, stewed and
eaten with salt meat ; this, I believe, is the more usual
way of cooking them. The early bush-bean is a dwarf,
with briglit yellow seed.

Lettuces are very fine, and may be cultivated easily,
and very early, by transplanting the seedlings that appear
as soon as the ground is free from snow. Cabbages and
savoys, and all sorts of roots, keep during the winter in
the cellars or root-houses ; but to the vile custom ol
keeping green vegetables in the shallow, moist cellars
below the kitchens much of the sickness that attacks
settlers under the various forms of agues, intermittent,
remittent, and lake fevers, may be traced.

Many, of the lower class especially, are not sufficiently

BOOT-HOUSE.

225

»(

careful in clearing these cellars from the decaying por-
tions of vegetable matter, which are often sutlered to
accumulate from year to year to infect the air of the
dwelling. Where the house is small, and the family nu-
merous, and consequently exposed to its influence by
night, the baneful consequences may be readily imagined.
" Do not tell me of lakes and swamps as the cause of fe-
vers and agues ; look to your cellars," was the observa-
tion of a blunt but experienced Yankee doctor. I verily
believe it was the cellar that was the cause of sickness in
our house all the spring and summer.

A root-house is indispensably necessary for the comfort
of a settler's family ; if well constructed, with double log-
walls, and the roof secured from the soaking in of the
rain or melting snows, it preserves vegetables, meat, and
milk excellently. You will ask, if the use be so great,
and the comfort so essential, why does not every settler
build one ?

Now, dear mamma, this is exactly what every new
comer says ; but he has to learn the difficulty there is at
first of getting these matters accomplished, unless, indeed,
he have (which is not often the case) the command of
plenty of ready money, and can aiford to employ extra
workmen. Labour is so expensive, and the working sea-
sons so short, that many useful and convenient buildings
arc left to a future time ; and a cellar, which one man
can excavate in two days, if he work well, is made to
answer the purpose, till the season of leisure arrives, or
necessity obliges the root-house to be made. We are
ourselves proof of this very sort of unwilling procrasti-
nation ; but the logs are now cut for the root-house,
and we shall have one early in the spring. I would,
however, recommend any one that could possibly do so
at first, to build a root-house without delay, and also to
have a well dug ; the springs lying very few feet below the
surface renders this neither laborious nor very expensive.
The creeks will often fail in very dry weather, and the
lake and river waters grow warm and distasteful during
the spring and summer. The spring- waters are generally

:!i

;i! I

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II '

226

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

^yj

cold and pure, even in the hottest weather, and delight-
fully refreshing.

Our winter seems now fairly setting in : the snow has
twice fallen, and as often disa|)j)eared, since the middle of
October; but now the ground is again hardening into
stone, the keen north-west wind is abroad, and every
outward object looks cold and wintry. The dark line of
pines that bound the opposite side of the lake is already
hoary and heavy with snow, while the half-frozen lake
has a deep leaden tint, which is only varied in shade by
the masses of ice which shoot out in long points, forming
mimic bays and peninsulas. The middle of the stream,
where the current is strongest, is not yet frozen over, but
runs darkly along like a river between its frozen banks.
In some parts vvhere the banks are steep and overhung
with roots and shrubs, the fallen snow and water take the
most fantastic forms.

I have stood of a bright winter day looking with infi-
nite delight on the beautiful mimic waterfalls congealed
into solid ice along the bank of the river, and by the
mill-dam ; from contemplating these petty frolics of Father
Frost, I have been led to picture to myself the sublime
scenery of the arctic regions.

In spite of its length and extreme severity, I do like
the Canadian winter : it is decidedly the healthiest sea-
son of the year; and it is no small enjoyment to be
exempted from the torments of the insect tribes, that are
certainly great drawbacks to your comfort in the warmer
months.

We have just received your last packet — a thousand
thanks for the contents. We are all delighted with your
useful presents, especially the warm shawls and mennos.
My little James looks extremely well in his new frock
and cloak — they will keep him very warm this cold wea-
ther : he kissed the pretty fur-lined slippers you sent me,
and said, *' Pussy, pussy!" By the way, we have a
fine cat called Nora Creina, the parting gift of our friend

■ , who left her as a keepsake for my bov. Jamie

dotes upon her ; and I do assure you I regard her almost

niu

dis

ANNOYANCE OF INSECTS.

227

as a second Whittington's cat : neither mouse nor cliit*
munk has dared intrude within our log-walls since she
made her appearance ; the very crickets, that used to
distract us with their chirping from morning till night,
have forsaken their old haunts. Besides the crickets,
which often swarm so as to become intolerable nui-
sances, destroying your clothes and woollens, we are pes-
tered by large black ants, that gallop about, eating up
sugar, i)reserves, cakes, anything nice they can gain ac-
cess to : these insects are three times the size of the black
ants of Britain, and have a most voracious appetite : when
they find no belter prey they kill each other, and that
w itli the fisrceness and subtlety of the spider. They
appear less sociable in their habits than other ants ;
though, from the numbers that invade your dwellings, I
should think they formed a community like the rest of
their species.

The first year's residence in a new log-house you are
disturbed by a continual creaking sound which grates
upon the ears exceedingly, till you become accustomed to
it : this is produced by an insect commonly called a
"sawyer." This is the larva of some fly that deposits
its eggs in the bark of the pine-trees. The animal in its
immature state is of a whitish colour; the body com-
posed of eleven rings ; the head armed with a pair of
short, hard pincers : the skin of this creature is so rough
that on passing your finger over it, it reminds you of a
rasp, yet to the eye it is perfectly smooth. You would
be surprised at the heap of fine sawdust that is to be
seen below the hole they have been working in all night.
These sawyers form a fine feast for the woodpeckers, and
jointly they assist in promoting the rapid decomposition
of the gigantic forest-trees, that would otherwise encum-
ber the earth from age to age. How infinite is that
Wisdom that rules the natural world I How often do we
see great events brought about by seemingly insignificant
agents! Yet are they all servants of the Most High,
working his will, and fulfilling his behests. One great
want which has been sensibly felt in this distant settle-
ment, I mean the want of public worship on the Sabbath*

I' :

■N

228

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

day, promises to be speedily remedied. A subscription
is about to be opened among the settlers of this and part
of* the adjacent township lor the erection of a small
building-, which may answer the purpose of church and
school-house ; also for the means of paying a minister for

stated seasons of attendance. has allowed his

parlour to be used as a temporary church, and service has
been several times performed by a highly respecttible
young Scotch clergyman ; and I can assure you we have
a considerable congregation, considering how scattered
the inhabitants are, and that the emigrants consist of
Catholics and Dissenters, as well as Episcopalians.

These distinctions, however, are not carried to such
lengths in this country as at home, especially where the
want of religious observances has been sensibly felt. The
word of God appears to be listened to with gladness.
May a blessing attend those that in spirit and in truth
would restore again to us the public duties of the Sab-
bath, which, left to our own guidance, we are but too
much inclined to neglect.

Farewell.

( 229 )

Letter XVIII.

I .

I' 1

'! Ill

l?usy Spring. — Increase of Society and Comfort. — Recol-
lections of Home. — Aurora Borealis.

This has been a busy spring with us. First, sugar-
making on a larger scale than our first attemj)t was, and
since that we had workmen making considerable addition
to our house ; we have built a large and convenient
kitchen, taking the former one for a bed-room ; the root-
house and dairy are nearly completed. We have a well
of excellent water close beside the door, and a fine frame-
barn was finished this week, which includes a good granary
and stable, with a place for my poultry, in which I take
great delight.

Besides a fine brood of fowls, the produce of two hens
and a cock, or rooster, as the Yankees term that bird, I
have some ducks, and am to have turkeys and geese this
summer. I lost several of my best fowls, not by the hawk,
but a horrid beast of the same nature as our polecat,
called here a skunk : it is far more destructive in its nature
than either fox or the hawk, for he comes like a thief in
the night and invades the perch, leaving headless me-
mentos of his barbarity and blood-thirsty ])ropensities.

We are having the garden, which hitherto has been
nothing but a square enclosure for vegetables, laid out in
a prettier form ; two half-circular wings sweep off from
the entrance to each side of the house ; the fence is a
sort of rude basket or hurdle -work, such as you see at
home, called by the country folk wattled fence : this
forms a much more picturesque fence than those usually
put up of split timber.

Along this little enclosure I have begun planting a sort
of flowery hedge with some of the native shrubs that
abound in our woods and lake-shores.

L 3

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230

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

:^^^'^'

Among those already introduced are two species of
shrubby honeysuckle, white and rose-blossomed : these are
called by the American botanists quilostium.

Then I have the white Spircea frutex^ which grows
profusely on the lake-shore ; the Canadian wild rose ; the
red-flowering raspberry (rtibus spectabilis), leather-wood
{dircas)y called American mezereon, r; moose-wood:
this is a very pretty, and at the same time useful shrub,
the bark being used by farmers as a substitute for cord in
tying sacks, &c. ; the Indians sew their birch-bark baskets
with it occasionally.

Wild gooseberry, red and black currants, apple-trees,
with here and there a standard hawthorn, the native tree
bearing nice red fruit I named before, are all I have as
yet been able to introduce.

The stoup is up, and I have just planted hops at the
base of the pillars. I have got two bearing shoots of a
purple wild grape from the island near us, which I long
to see in fruit.

My husband is in good spirits ; our darling boy is well,
and runs about everywhere. We enjoy a pleasant and
friendly society, which has increased so much within the
last two years that we can hardly regret our absence from
the more populous town.

My dear sister and her husband are comfortably settled
in their new abode, and have a fine spot cleared and
cropped. We often see them, and enjoy a chat of home
— sweet, never-to-bc forgotten home; and cheat our-
selves into the fond belief that, at no very distant time,
we may again retrace its fertile fields and flowery dales.

With what ^delight we should introduce our young
Canadians to their grandmother and aunts ; my little
bushman shall early be taught to lisp the names of those
unknown but dear friends, and to love the lands that gave
birth to his parents, the bonny hills of the north and my
own beloved England.

Not to regret mv absence from my native land, and
one so fair and lovely withal, would argue a heart of in-
sensibility ; yet I must say, for all its roughness, I love
Canada, and am as happy in my humble log-house as if it

' li

CLIMATE OF UPPER CANADA.

231

';■;

species of
: these are

lich grows
I rose ; the
ither-wood
ose-wood :
jful shrub,
for cord in
irk baskets

)ple- trees,
lative tree
have as

ops at the
loots of a
ch I long

)y is well,
asant and
vhh'in the
L*nce from

ly settled
ared and
; of home
leat our-
ant time,
y dales,
ir young
my little
of those
:hat gave
1 and my

Eind, and
rt of in-
8, I love
seas if it

were courtly hall or bower ; habit reconciles us to many
things that at first were distasteful. It has ever been my
way to extract the sweet rather than the bitter in the cup
of life, and surely it is best and wisest so to do. In a
country where constant exertion is called for from all ages
and degrees of settlers, it would be foolish to a degree to
damp our energies by complaints, and cast a gloom over
our homes by sitting dejectedly down to lament for all
that was so dear to us in the old country. Since we are
here, let us make the best of it, and I ear with cheerful-
ness the lot we have chosen. I believe that one of the
chief ingredients in human happiness is a capacity for
enjoying the blessings we possess.

Though at our first outset we experienced many disap-
pointments, many unlooked-for expenses, and many an-
noying delays, with some wants that to us seemed great
privations, on the whole we have been fortunate, especi-
ally in the situation of our land, which has increased in
value very considerably ; our chief difficulties are now
over, at least we hope so, and we trust soon to enjoy the
comforts of a cleared farm.

My husband is becoming more reconciled to the coun-
try, and I daily feel my attachment to it strengthening.
The very stumps that appeared so odious, through long
custom, seem to lose some of their hideousness : the eye
becomes familiarized even with objects the most dis-
pleasing, till they cease to be observed. Some century
hence, how different will this spot appear ! I can picture
it to my imagination with fertile fields and groves of
trees planted by the hand of taste; — all will l)e difi'erent;
our present rude dvvellings will have gi^^en place to others
of a more elegant style of architecture, and comfort and
grace will rule the scene which is now a forest wild.

You ask me if I like the climate of Upper Canada ; to
be candid, I do not think it deserves all that travellers
have said of it. The summer heat of last year was very
oppressive ; the drought was extreme, and in some re-
spects proved rather injurious, especially to the potato-
crop. The frosts set in early, and so did the snows; as
to the far-famed Indian summer it seems to have taken

Iff.
h

I !

232

BACKWOODS OF CANADA.

its farewell of the land, for little of it have we seen during
three years' residence. Last year there was not a sem-
blance of it, and this year one horrible dark gloomy day,
that reminded me most forcibly of a London fogr, and
which was to the full as dismal and depressing, was de-
clared by the old inhabitants to be the commencement of
the Indian summer ; the sun looked dim and red, and a
yellow lurid mist darkened the atmosphere, so that it be-
came almost necessary to light candles at noonday. If this
be Indian summer, then might a succession of London
fogs be termed the ** London summer,'* thought I, as I
groped about in a sort of bewildering dusky light all that
day ; and glad was I when, after a day or two's heavy
rain, the frost and snow set in.

Very variable, as far as our experience goes, this cli-
mate has been ; no two seasons have been at all alike, and
it is supposed it will be still more variable as the work of
clearing the forest goes on from year to year. Near the
rivers and great lakes the climate is much milder and more
equable ; more inland, the snow seldom falls so as to al-
low of sleighing for weeks after it has become general ;
this, considering the state of our bush-roads, is rather a
point in our favour, as travelling becomes less laborious,
though still somewhat rough.

I have seen the aurora borealis several times ; also a
splendid meteoric phenomenon that surpassed everything
I had ever seen or even heard of before. I was very
much amused by overhearing a young lad giving a gen-
tleman a description of the appearance made by a cluster
of the shooting-stars as they followed each other in quick
succession athwart the sky. " Sir," said the boy, " I
never saw such a sight before, and I can only liken the
chain of stars to a logging-chain." Certainly a most
natural and unique simile, quite in character with the
occupation of the lad, whose business was often with the
oxen and their logging-chain, and after all not more
rustic than the familiar names given to many of our most
superb constellations — Charles's wain, the plough, the
sickle, &c.

Coming home one night last Christmas from the house

AURORA BOBEALIS.

233

of a friend, I was struck by a spcndid pillar of pale
greenish light in the w est : it rose to some height above
the dark line of pines that crow ned the opposite shores
of the Otanabee, and illumined the heavens on either side
with a chaste pure light, such as the moon gives in her
rise and sitting; it was not quite pyramidical, though
much broader at the base than at its highest point ; it
gradually faded, till a faint white glimmering light alone
marked where its place had been, and even that disap-
peared after some naif-hour's time. It was so fair and
lovely a vision, I was grieved when it vanished into thin
air, and could have cheated fancy into the belief that it
was the robe of some bright visitor from another and a
better world. Imagination apart, could it be a phos-

{)horic exhalation from some of our many swamps or in-
and lakes, or was it at all connected with the aurora that
is so frequently seen in our skies ?

I must now close this epistle : I have many letters to
prepare for friends, to whom I can only write when I have
the opportunity of free conveyance, the inland postage
being very high ; and you must not only pay for all you
receive but all you send to and from New York.
Adieu, my kindest and best of friends.

''•I

Douro, May 1st, 1835.

f*»L'

m
w
n

sk
in

its

ga
til

foi

mi
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cu
ki

( 236 )

NOTES

Furnished in 1836,

Note A. — p. 80.— -Soft Soap.

Of the making of soft soap I can give little or no correct
information, never having been given any certain rule my-
self; and my own experience is too limited. I was, how-
ever, given a hint from a professional gentleman, which I
mean to act upon forthwith. Instead of boiling the soap,
which is some trouble, he assured me the best plan was to
run off the ley from a barrel of ashes : into this ley I might
put four or five pounds of any ort of grease, such as pot
skimmings, rinds of bacon, or scraps from frying down suet ;
in short, any refuse of the kind would do. The barrel with
its contents may then be placed in a secure situation in the
garden or yard, exposed to the sun and air. In course of
time the ley and grease become incorporated ; if the grease
predominates, it will be seen floating on the surface ; in such
case add more ley ; if the mixture does not thicken, add
more grease. Now, this is the simplest, easiest, and clearest
account I have yet received g'h the subject of soap-making,
which hitherto has seemed a mystery, even though a good
quantity was made last spring by one of my servants, and it
turned out well : but she could not tell why it succeeded,
for want of being able to explain the principle she worked
from.

Note B. — p. 80. — Candles.

Every one makes tlieir own candles (i.e., if they have any
materials to make them from). The great difficulty of
making candles — ^and, as far as I see, the onlj one — is pro-
curing the tallow, which a bush-settler, until he begins to
kill his own beef, sheep, and hogs, is rarely able to do, unless
he buys; and a settler buys nothing that he can h.lp. A

Inl

23G

NOTE?.

COW, however, that is unprofitable, old, or unlikely to t^ur-
vive the severity of the coming winter, is often suffered to
go dry during the summer, and get her own living, till she
is fit to kill in the fall. Such an animal is often slaughtered
very advantageously, especially if the settler have little
fodder for his cattle. The beef is often excellent, and good
store of candles and soap may be made from the inside fat.
These candles, if made three parts beef and one part hogs'-
lard, will burn better tlian any store-candles, and coFt less
than half-price. The tallow is merely melted in a pot or
pan convenient for the purpose, and having run the cotton
wicks into the moulds (tin or pewter moulds for six candles
cost three shillings at the stores, and last many, many years),
a stick or skewer is passed through the loops of your wicks,
at the upper part of the stand, which serve the purpose of
drawing the candles. The melted fat, not too hot, but in a
Huid state, is then poured into the moulds till they are full ;
as the fat gets cold it shrinks, and leaves a hollow at the top
of the mould : this requires filling up when quite cold. If
the candles do not draw readily, plunge the mould for an
instant into hot water, and the candles will come out easily.
Many persons prefer making dip-candles for kitchen use ;
but for my own part I think the trouble quite as great, and
give the preference, in point of neatness of look, to the
moulds. It may be, mv maid and I did not succeed so well
in making the dips as the moulds.

■sTl'^^'l

Note C. — p. 120. — Maple Sugar.

This spring I have made maple-sugar of a much finer
colour and grain than any I have yet seen ; and have been
assured by many old settlers it was the best, or nearly the
best, they had ever met with : which commendation induces
me to give the plan I pursued in manufacturing it. The
sap having been boiled down in the sugar-bush from about
sixteen pailsful to two, I first passed it through a thin
flannel bag, after the manner of a jelly-bag, to strain it
from the first impurities, which are great. I then passed
the liquor through another thicker flannel into the iron pot,
in which I purposed boiling down the sugar, and while yet
cold, or at best but lukewarm, beat up the white of one egg
to a froth, and spread it gently over the surface of the
liquor, watching the pot carefully after the fire began to heat

■0''^-

NOTES.

237

it, that I might not sufTer the scum to boil into the sugar. A
few minutes before it conies to u hoil, the scum must he
carefully removed with a skimmer or ladle — the former is
best. 1 consider that on the care taken to remove every
particle of scum depends, in a great measure, the brightness
and clearness of the sugar. The best rule I can give as to
the sugaring-oft", as it is termed, is to let the liquid continuo
at a fast boil : only l)e careful to keep it from coming over
by keeping a little of the liquid in jour stirring-ludle, and
when it boils up to the top, or you see it rising loo fast,
throw in a little from time to time to keep it down ; or if
you boil on a cooking-stove, throwing open one or all the
doors will prevent boiling over. Those that sugar-otf out-
side the house have a wooden crane iixed against a stump,
the fire being lighted against the stump, and the kettle sus-
pended on the crane : by this simple contrivance (for any
bush-boy can fix a crane of the kind), the sugar need never
rise over if conmion attention be paid to the boiling ; but it
does require constant watching : one idle glance may waste
much of the precious fluid. I had only a small cooking-
stove to boU my si' ar on, the pots of which were thought
too small, and not well shaped, so that at first my fears were
that I must relinquish the trial ; but I persevered, and expe-
rience convinces me a stove is an excellent furnace for the
purpose ; as you can regulate the heat as you like.

One of the most anxious periods in the boiling I found to
be when the liquor began first to assume a yellowish frothy
appearance, and cast up so great a volume of steam from \t8
surface as to obscure the contents of the pot ; as it may then
rise over almost unperceived by the most vigilant eyv^ As
the liquor thickens into molasses, it becomes a fi>H; yellow,
and seems nothing but thick froth. When it is getting
pretty well boiled down, the drops begin to fall clear and
ropy from the ladle ; and if you see little bright grainy-
looking bubbles in it, drop some on a cold plate, and con-
tinue to stir or rub it till it is quite cold : if it is ready to
granulate, you will find it gritty, and turn whitish or pale
straw colour, and stiflF. The sugar may then safely be
poured off into a tin dish, pail, basin, or any other utensil.
I tried two different methods after taking the sugar from the
fire, but could find little difference in the look of the sugar,
except that in one the quantity was broken up more com-
pletely ; in the other the sugar remained in large lumps, but
equally pure and sparkliiig. In the first I kept stirring the

238

NOTES.

sugar till it began to cool and form a whitish thick substance,
and the grains were well crystallized; in the other process
— which I think preferable, as being the least troublesome
— 1 waited till the mass was hardened into sugar, and then,
piercing the crust in many places, I turned the mass into a
cullender, and placed the cullender over a vessel to receive
the molasses that drained from the sugar. In the course of
the day or two, I frequently stirred the sugar, which thus
became perfectly free from moisture, and had acquired a
fine sparkling grain, tasting exactly like sugar-candy, free
from any taste of the maple-sap, and fit lor any purpose.

I observed that in general maple-sug r, as it is commonly
made, is hard and compact, showing lit\ e grain, and weigh-
ing very heavy in proportion to its bulk. Exactly the re-
verse is the case with that I made, it being extremely light
for its bulk, all the heavy molasses having been separated,
instead of dried into the sugar. Had the present season
been at all a favourable one, which it was not, we should have
made a good quantity of excellent sugar.

,,-»«(,

Note D. — p. 120. — Vinegar,

By boiling down five gallons of sap to one, and when just
a little above the heat of new milk, putting in a cupful of
barm (hop-rising will do if it be good), and letting the
vessel remain in your kitchen chimney-corner during the
summer, and perhaps longer, you will obtain a fine, cheap,
pleasant, and strong vinegar, fit for any purpose. This plan
I have pursued successfully two years. Care must be taken
that the cask or keg be well seasoned and tight before the
vinegar is put in ; as the dryness of the summer heat is apt
to shrink the vessel, and make it leak. If putty well
wrought, tar, or even yellow soap, be rubbed over the seams,
and round the inner rim of the head of the cask, it will
preserve it from opening. The equal temperature of the
kitchen is preferred by experienced housewives to letting
the vinf?gar stand abroad ; they aver the coldness of the
nights in this country is prejudicial to the process, being as
speedily perfected as if it underv/ent no such check. By
those well skilled in the manufacture of home-made wines
and beer, excellent maple-wine and beer might be produced
at a very trifiing expense ; n e., that of the labour and skill
exercised in the making it.

NOTES.

239

Every settler grows, as an ornament in his garden, or
should grow, hops, which form one of the principal compo-
nents of maple-beer when added to the sap.

NoTi:; E. — p. 141. — Hop-Rising.

This excellent, and, ! might add, indispensable article in
every settler's house, is a valuable substitute for ale or beer
yeast, and is made in the following simple manner : — Take
two double handfuls of hops, boil in a gallon of soft water,
if you can get it, till the hops sink to the bottom of the ves-
sel , make ready a batter formed by stirring a dessert-plate-
ful of flour and cold water till smooth and pretty thick
together ; strain the hop-liquor while scalding hot into the
vessel where your batter is mixed ready ; let one person pour
the hop-liquor while the other keeps stirring the batter.
When cooled down to a gentle warmth, so that you can bear
the finger well in it, add a cupful or basinful of the former
barm, or a bit of leaven, to set it to work ; let the barm stand
till it has worked well, then bottle and cork it. Set it by in
a cellar or cool place if in summer, and in winter it is also
the best place to keep it from freezing. Some persons add
two or three mealy potatoes boiled and finely bruised, and it
is a great improvement during the cool months of the year.
Potatoes in bread may be introduced very advantageously ;
and to first settlers, who have all their flour to buy, I think it
must be a saving.

The following method I found made more palatable and
lighter bread than flour mixed in the usual way : — Supposing
1 wanted to make up about a stone and half of flour, I boiled
(having first pared them carefully) — say three dozen — good
sized potatoes in about three quarts or a gallon of water, till
the liquor had the appearance of a thin gruel, and the pota-
toes had become almost entirely incorporated with the water.
With this potato-gruel the flour was mixed up, no water be-
ing required, unless by chance I had not enough of the
mixture to moisten my flour sufficiently. The same process
of kneading, fermenting with barm, &c., is pursued with the
dough, as with other bread. In baking, it turns of a bright
light brown, and is lighter than bread made after the com-
mon process, and therefore I consider the knowledge of it
serviceable to the emigrant's family.

240

NOTES.

^t'^;.^'

m. ' .

Note E. — (continued) — Salt-Rising.

This is a barm much used by the Yankee settlers ; but
though the bread is decidedly whiter, ar.d prettier to look at,
than that raised in any other way, the peculiar flavour it
imparts to the bread renders it highly disagreeable to some
persons. Another disadvantage is, the difficulty of fermenting
this barm in the winter season, as it requires a temperature
•which is very difficult to preserve in a Canadian winter day.
Moreover, after the barm has once reached its height, unless
immediately made use of, it sinks, and rises again no more :
careful people, of course, who know this peculiarity, are on
the watch, being aware of the ill consequences of heavy
bread, or having no bread but bannocks in the house.

As near as I can recollect, the salt-rising is made as
follows : — For a small baking of two or three loaves, or one
large bake-kettle-loaf (about the size of a London peck loaf),
take about a pint of moderately warm water (a pleasant
heat to the hand), and stir into the jug or pot containing it
as much flour as will make a good batter, not too thick : adc^ t(»
this half a tea- spoonful of salt, not more, and set the vessel i.
a pan of moderately warm water, within a little distance oi
the fire, or in the sun : the water that surrounds the pot in
which your rising is, must never be allowed to cool much
below the original heat, more warm water being added (in
the pan, not to the barm) till the whole is in an active state
of fermentation, which will be from six to eight hours, when
the dough must be mixed with it, and as much warm water
or milk as you require. Knead the mass till it is tough, and
does not stick to the board. Make up your loaf or loaves,
and keep them warmly covered near the fire till they rise :
they must be baked directly this second rising takes place.
Those that bake what I term a shanty loafy in an iron bake-
pot, or kettle, placed on the hot embers, set the dough to rise
over a very few embers, or near the hot hearth, keeping the
pot or pan turned as the loaf rises ; when equally risen all
over they put hot ashes beneath and upon the lid, taking
care not to let the heat be too fierce at first. As this is the
most common method of baking, and the first that a settler
sees practised, it is as well they should be made familiar with
it beforehand. At first I was inclined to grumble and rebel
against the expediency of bake-pans or bake-kettles ; but as
cooking-stoves, iron ovens, and even brick and clay-built

NOTES.

241

[G.

settlers; but
ier to look at,
ar flavour it
•able to some
jf fermenting
temperature
n winter day.
leight, unless
ain no more :
iarity, are on
ces of heavy
bouse.

; is made as
loaves, or one
m peck loaf),
r (a pleasant
containing it
thick : ad(^ t(>
t the vessel i.
le distance oi
ds the pot in
;o cool much
ig added (in
n active state
hours, when
warm water
is tough, and
laf or loaves,
11 they rise :
takes place,
in iron bake-
dough to rise
, keeping the
ally risen all
e lid, taking
\s this is the
that a settler
'amiliar with
ble and rebel
ttles ; but as
id clay-built

ovens, will not start up at your bidding in the bush, these
substitutes are valuable, ard perform a number of uses. I
have eaten excellent light bread, baked on the emigrant's
hearth in one i2/f these kettles. 1 have eaten boiled potatoes,
baked meats, excellent stews, and good soups, all cooked at
diifereut times in this universally useful utensil : so let it
not be despised. It is one of those things peculiarly adapted
to the circumstances of settlers in the bush before they have
collected those comforts about their homesteads, within and
without, that are the reward and the slow gleaning-up of
many years of toil.

There are several other sorts of rising similar to the salt-
rising. " Milk-rising," which is mixed with milk, warm
from the cow, and about a third warm water ; and " bran-
rising," which is made with bran instead of flour, and is
preferred by many persons to either of the former kinds.

Note F. — p. 145. — Pickling,

The great want of spring vegetables renders pickles a
valuable addition to the table at the season when potatoes
have become unfit and distasteful. If you have been fortu-
nate in your maple-vinegar, a store of pickled cucumbers,
beans, cabbage, &c., may be made during the latter part of the
summer ; but if the vinegar should not be fit at that time, there
are two expedients : one is to make a good brine of boiled salt
and water, into which throw your cucumbers, &c. (the calv
bage, by the by, may be preserved in the root-house or cel-
lar quite good, or buried in pits, well covered, till you want
to make your pickle). Those vegetables, kept in brine,
must be covered close, and when you wish to pickle them,
remove the top layer, which are not so good ; and having
boiled the vinegar with spices, let it stand till it is cold. The
cucumbers should previously have been well washed and
soaked in two or three fresh waters, and drained ; then put
in a jar, and the cold vinegar poured over them. The ad-
vantage of this is obvious ; you can pickle at any season.
Another plan, and I have heard it much commended, is
putting the cucumbers into a mixture of whiskey* and water,

♦ In the * Backwoodsman/ this whiskey-receipt is meii-
tned as an abominable compound: perhaps the witty author

tioned as

^m
i ^^^.>i

242

irOTES.

-which in time turns to a fine -vinegar, and preserves the
colour and crispness of the vegetable ; while Uie vinegar is
apt to make them soft, especially if poured on boiling hot,
as is the usual practice.

had tasted the pickles in an improper state of progression. He
gives a lamentable picture of American cookery, but declares
the badness arises from want of proper receipts. These yeast-
receipts will be extremely useful in England ; as the want of
fresh yeast is often severely felt in country districts.

-■'M^

THE ANO.

preserves the

he vinegar is

boiling hot,

i 243 )

^ression. He
but declares
These yeast-

I the want of

Its.

r*^

ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. Peter, the Chief

To face Title Page

2. Falls of Montraorenci

. 21

3. Sleigh-driving ,

. 53

4. Silver Pine ,

•

6. Spruce . .

. 59

6, Log-house

•

. 75

7. Log-village.— Arrival of £

I Stage-coach

8. Road through a Pine Forest

• ■

. 85

9. Newly-cleared Land

•

• <

. 101

10. Papouses

•

• «

. 125

11. The Prairie

•

. 157

12. Snow Bunting

•

• «

. 167

London : Printed by VVilmam Clowes und Soxs Stamfonl-street.