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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent le mAthode. rrata o selure, Y A J 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 { r! r mtm n i n £ i ^ «♦- ^ -• (0 Q) ^ ^^ -^ 8 g 3 5 O S w» C "5 -M «d 3 •A (2 .0 ^ ■gScg 8-S.^ o I QQ HISTORY I2s CA] KATH 'St 'I ■ ' PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY KOK BOYS AND GITILS BY KATHARINE LIVINCiSTONE MArPHERSON ArTllOU OK "St.'KNIO SiKllKS AM> HATTI.KKIKI.ItS OK KIIKNOU (.'ANADA,' KTO. IVcndhift their souls' suhlimett nods With tasks of every day. They went ahout their greatest deeds Like noble boys at play. " RENOUF PUBLISHING CO. 25 MdiiLL colm<:(;k avknik MONTREAL INSCRIBED BY PERMISSION TO THK RIGHT HON. THK EARI. GREY G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O. I.ATR auVKRNOR.«JKNKKAr< OF CANADA WHOSK INSPIKINO FAITH IN AND ZEAL FOR THE DOMINION WILL LONG BE KEMEMBERED BY A GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE PEOPLE CONTENTS Hymn to Canada . Chrihtoi'her Coumhus The Discovery of America Cartier, the Navigator Westward Ho I . hochelaoa . The Indian . Indian Folklore . Indian Himour . The First Colony The Order op Good Times Small Beginnings Arg all's Raid Cham PLAIN . The Explorer in the Wilds The Lost Missionary . The Hi RON Campakjn BruliS's Adventure Affairs in Acadia Charnisay's Plot Hero and Heroine The Toy of Fortune . On the St. Lawrence Pioneers Ville-Marie The Fate op Dollard La Salle's Quest The Indian Wars MaDELAINE DE VERCHfeRES The Cause of Acadia The Fall op Louisburg The Acadians TlCONDEROOA PAflK 1 3 7 II 15 17 20 23 25 28 30 32 33 36 40 45 46 48 61 54 55 59 62 65 66 69 73 79 81 87 90 92 98 VII viii rurniRKs ruoM Canadian history Camphkll of Inverawk Thk Sikuk of Qieuki' CoNFIIlMINO THK VlCTOUY . Thk IUttlb of Saintk Foyk Undkh Kritihh Rule . The Old KfiuiMB .... The CoNHi'iRACY of Pontiac Caxaua Invaded .... The United Empire Loyalihth . The Indian Trail The Finder of the Fu ahkr River The War of I8I5J Laira Skcord .... The War Continued . The End of the AVar The Merchants Adventurkrh . The Company's Trappers . The Selkirk Settlers The Prairie Province Stirring Times in Canada Mackenzie, the Patriot . The Secret of Canada's Polar Seas Explorers .... The Search— and its Result The Smallest Province The Crown Colony . Puck's Girdle . British Columbia The Romance of the Mounted Police The Passing of the IUffalo Indian Unrest . The North- West Rehellion From Ocean to Ocean The Rhyme of Victoria I^av The Route of the Great Railways Roughing It Heroes of the Wilds Bridge Builders . The Land of Plenty . The Shore Fisheries . A Notable Event TAflK 100 102 107 108 111 113 115 117 120 124 126 134 ISO 139 142 144 149 154 157 162 164 167 170 174 179 181 189 193 198 202 203 206 209 212 213 216 219 224 225 227 229 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (.'on MHi'H AT La Uaui da (Coloured) . . . Frontupiece Paintal hy OhOKCK CatTKKMolK. I'AOR Tmk CoMiNiJ OP THK Whith Man 13 Intkhiou OF Indian Louuk : Sk.vkiiai. Familikh Hkhidknt 19 Mkuicink Pii'K Stkm Danck (Colourud) .... 26 Painted by TaI'L KanK. Shooting a Kaimd 41 Landing of Champlain at (^tkhkc, lOOS (ColounMl) . 43 J'liinlcd Inj (;. A. Ukik, K.C.A. EnCOUNTKK IIKTWKEN ILvHITANT AND lUOgi'OlS ... 67 Lous XIV AND La Sallk, 1077 75 Madelaink dk Vkuchkhks • . 83 "KvANdKUNK" 93 TiiK Dkath ok WoLFi; 106 TnK Dkath of Montcalm 109 The United Kmi'iue Loyalists 121 Mount Sir Donald, in thk Sklkiuks .... 131 Thk Battlk of Lindy's Lank (Coloured) .... 145 J'ainUd by C W. .Ikkkukvs. Indian Thaitkus of thk Nouth-Wkst .... 151 iiomeskkkkiis 161 Thk *'Fox" Stkaminu olt of thk IIollinu I*ack . . 175 Thk Disputed Trail (Coloured) 196 i'ainUd hy JoHN Innks. North-West Mountkd Polickman in a Blizzard . . 201 Half-Brkkdh Running Buffalo (Coloured) . . . 205 Fainted by Paul Kank. Kla-How-Yah on thk Pacific (Coloured). . . . 211 Painted by John Innks. A Forest Fire (Coloured) 222 II PICTUllES FHOM CANADIAN HISTOIIY HYMN TO CANADA Canada, thy regal head Lift higher to the skies, Pride with humility be wed Deep in thy tender eyes. Stand forth to a more honoured place Proud though thy past hath been, Stand forth, and vindicate thy race, Thou daughter of a Queen. As Venus from the ocean In living beauty sprang, And stood without emotion While heaven with plaudits rancr — So thou, my own dear land, arose °' Far on the western sea, In graces all adorned, for those Long sighing to be free. Thou art a hope the toiler holds Within his heart—a star That many a weary foot still guides From hill and vale afar 2 riCTUllES rilOM CANADIAN lIlS'iX)UY Oil plains to which the streams flow ''jwn, In forest and by sea, . They live anew in hopes that crown This land of liberty. Think what thy storied past hath been, Thy guarded, ancient lore, The deeds thy former years have seen Remembered ever more ! For thee, a babe of nations, The best of blood was spilt, And firmly thy foundations On heroes' bones were built ! O Canada, unworthy Of them thou shalt not be, All noble ends to further The constant aim of thee, Till in the van a leader called Triumphant thou shalt stand, A people's faith, like city walled. Safe in thy honoured hand. — One of the Prize Poems ( Witness National Song Competition, 1899). CIIUISTOrHEll COLUMBUS CHRISTOPHER COLmnU^S— I I. It has been humorously said that when the patriarch Xoah died, he divided the Old World between his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. To Shem he gave the continent of Asia, to Ham, Africa, to Japhet and his descendants the wild, unknown stretches of Europe. Had he had a fourth son, no doubt to him would have been bequeathed North and South America. 2. However that may be, when Columbus reached the New World in 1492, he found it already well peopled. Some, the ruins of whose ancient cities point to a high state of civilisation, were gentle and refined ; the others were in various stages of savagery. All were of the dark races of the earth, but where they came from, or when they reached America, has never been found out, and it is likely never will. 3. Christopher Columbus was born about the middle of the fifteenth century, the son of a wool-weaver. His native place was Cenoa, which you will find on the map of Italy. He was a clever, thoughtful boy, and, with his brothers, well taught at school. He was particularly fond of studying geography, and loved to draw charts and maps of foreign countries. 4. The Genoese were great sailors, and often had desperate battles with the North African pirates, who infested the Mediterranean Sea. These cruel sea-rovers frequently captured and made slaves of white men, and in different parts of Europe there are still funds long since set apart to redeem such captives. At fourteen Christopher took to the sea like the rest of the citizens. He nmst have had plenty of adventures, but of that part of his life we know nothing. 4 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 5. As he grew older young Columbus became more and more anxious to be a navigator. He read all the books he could find about the rich and wonderful coun- tries of the East, and, like the ancients, began to think the world was round, an idea that had long been out of date. 6. At that time the way to the East by water was still unknown. If a traveller wished to go to India, he must make a long and dangerous journey by horse and camel caravan across a great part of Asia. The sea-going ships were small, and seldom went out of sight of land, but already adventurous and determined seamen were trying to fight their way round the south of Africa. Their vessels were constantly driven back by wind and tide, but once round, they hoped by sailing eastward to reach India. 7. It was then that the idea took hold of Christopher's mind that if he boldly plunged out into the Atlantic Ocean he would get to the Indies the other way. It never dawned upon him that a great obstacle like a continent lay in his path. 8. Like many other people who are clever, Columbus was poor. His great difficulty was that no voyage could be taken without a ship, and he had no means of fitting one out. For awhile, hoping to arouse interest, he talked to anyone who would listen about his wonderful ideas. But it was dipcouraging work. The people were thinking of business and pleasure just as they are now, and only smiled at him for a dreamer, or shrugged their shoulders over his foolish fancies. .-sammltm CHIlISTOriIKU COLUMBUS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS— H 1. Italy at that time had a great deal of trade with Spain and Portugal, whose harbours in the south-west of lOurope were always lively with ships and sailors. It must have been about 1470 that Columbus decided to try his luck in one of these countries. 2. By this time the young man had grown up to be tall and handsome, His manly and generous ways made liira a favourite among his friends, and he was known to be very religious. When speaking of the great dis- coveries he hoped to make, his eyes would sparkle with enthusiasm. 3. When Columbus first arrived in Lisbon he found everyone much interested in maritime affairs. He was liappy in finding friends who thought like himself, and soon married Donna de Perestrello, a lady whose father had been a navigator in the King's service. AVith her he got a number of line books and maps, which made him more sure than ever that his ideas were correct. The King of Portugal at that time liked nothing so much as navigation, and it is likely that our hero's fortune would soon have been made, had not the good King died. 4. After all his high hopes, nothing but troubles seemed to come to him in Portugal. After a while his wife. Donna Filipa, died, leaving him with a baby boy. People began to grow weary of hearing about the endless riches of the countries it was expected to find. They would not risk their money, only perhaps to lose it, so it was with a sore heart that Columbus at last decided to take his little motherless child and go home to Italy. 5. By and by, to his delight, the navigator heard that his ideas were gaining ground in Spain. Hastening 6 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY there, he met several noblemen, who showed their friendship by presenting him to the King and Queen. Unfortunately, just then Ferdinand and Isabella were engaged in a terrible war with the Moors, an enemy who swarmed over the country. For weeks at a time the royal pair stayed in camp with their soldiers, but so great was the danger that they could not think of any other work until the foe was entirely driven away. 6. In the meantime the Queen often sent for Columbus, and talked to him kindly of h's great hopes. This was very encouraging, but as soon as he turned away the courtiers were often rude and unkind. Sometimes they made fun of his shabby clothes and careworn face ; some- times they asked, in mockery, if one so humble as he could take them to lands full of gold and precious stones. When at last Queen Isabella sent word that she could do nothing to help the enterprise, poor Columbus abruptly disappeared, leaving no trace. 7. It is years before we see him again. Then with Diego, a boy of fourteen, he was wearily plodding along a country road in Spain. The clothes of father and son were old and faded, and in the bag they carried there was not even a crust of bread left. Presently, in the distance, the boy pointed out towers rising against the sky, and was told that they were drawing near to the celebrated monastery of La Kabida. 8. In those days there were few inns in country places, but to make up for the want, travellers of all classes were made welcome at the monasteries as they passed. The weary pair quickened tlieir pace. " Here," they thought, thankfully, " we shall at least get a good meal and rest for the night ! " 9. But, had they only known it, something better than that was in store for them. Coming nearer, they met the prior of the convent, who, struck by their appearance, u#mMwbm>'; THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 7 stopped to talk to them. Encouraged by his interest, tlie navigator soon began to talk on his favourite subject, and when, after supper, he spread out his chart on the table, and traced the way he would go across the Atlantic, the delight of his kind host knew no bounds. 10. Shortly afterwards, the monk, whose name was Don Juan de Marchena, took his friend to see the (^)ueen. They were graciously received, for their foes had been driven out of the country, and her Majesty was now glad to provide for a voyage of discovery. Preparations were pushed forward, and in August, 14!>2, three small ships were ready for their eventful Journey. The Pinta and the Nina had each a captain of her own, but all three wore under the command of Christopher Columbus. THE DISCOVERY OF A:MERICA -I 1. Try to imagine the Nina, the Pinta, and the t%\nta Maria as they stood out to sea on their famous voyage four hundred years ago ! They were vessels of the kind called caravels. The largest was not nearly as big as one of our river ferry-boats. Xone except tlie hundred-ton Santa Maria bad even a deck, and the crews altogether numbered one hundred and twenty men. 2. The sailors had been engaged in the Mediterranean and West Coast of Africa trade, but none of them were ever far out at sea before. Like everyone else, they imagined that the earth was an immense Hat plain, surrounded by endless oceans. If the admii-al thought that the world was round, and that by sailing on and on he would reach a new and wonderful land, the men did not trouble themselves much about it. 3. As the last known land faded out of sight on ^ 8 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY the horizon, the little fleet faced south-west. Like living things the stoutly built boats gallantly settled to their work, now rolling in the trough, now rising on the crest of the waves. The wind whistled through the rigging, and the huge billows tossed them aboutj like playthings. Who can wonder that the hearts oil the seamen sank lower at every fresh plunge. 4. With danger, however, the courage of the admira] rose higher and higher. The wind was sending tlieiu along at a furious rate, and the faces of the men showeJ that they were both angry and afraid. But they wer^ not allowed to become despondent. Going about frou group to group, Columbus kept up their spirits, alwayj pointing to the unchanging compass, and the Nortlj Star as their guide and hope. 5. The voyage for all on board was certainly a very hai^ one. Everything that happened forced the men's hope wildly up or down. One day a water-logged spar rollinj on the waves made them think of wrecks and death. A] another time some land birds found in the rigging werj taken down, and petted and fed with childish delight. G. In the meantime the chilly gloom of mid-oceaj had all disappeared. The hot sun shone down on ther and the soft sweep of the wind, swelling their sail sent the vessels along easily. Now and then bunch^ of floating seaweed roused a great deal of excitemenj and at every cloudbank on the horizon the cry " Land ho ! " broke out afresh. 7. This went on day after day, however, until tii men thought it would never end. Scorched with heal and parched with thirst, the sight of water and oull water, brought back all their dreadful fears, and droi them almost frantic. In the forecastle the sailon told each other strange tales of enchanted breezes th^ blew only in one direction, and of ships that nev^ THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 9 Icame back. With black looks, and muttered threats, |the crews were on the point of mutiny. 8. Fortunately, however, a day came which put every lone into a better mood. There was a great commotion |on deck, when a thorn branch covered with berries and carved wooden staff were picked up among the drifting reed. At once every doubt turned to joy and happiness. [Calling the men around him, Columbus thanked God that lis hopes were at last realised, and the now penitent crews Iwith tears kissed the hands of the great navigator. THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA— II With redoubled energy the crews strained their ?ye8 round the horizon, each eager to have the first sight of land. Hours afterwards, when the lights were )ut, and sleep had fallen upon the crews, the deck of the Pinta held a little group of watchers. At a sudden ^hout from the crow's-nest everyone sprang to his feet, jazing into the darkness. The roar of a gun followed, md from lip to lip flew the joyful cry, '* Land, land ! " 2. Earliest dawn showed the three caravels at anchor )eside a level island dotted with palm trees, and so near rere they that the ringing cheers of the men brought frowds of wondering natives out of their huts to see ^hat had happened. It was the 12 th of October, 1492, day ever to be remembered in modern history. 3. To the Spaniards it was an ending worthy of all the langer they had come through. The natives, timid at irst, soon became friendly, and there was no end to the render and delight on both sides. The island, under the lame of San Salvador, was at once taken possession of for jpain, and Columbus, thinking the western route to Asia )und, called the islands Indies, and the people Indians. B 10 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 4. This, perhaps, was the happiest part of the great navigator's life. Without losing time, he set out at once to explore farther, and was more and more carried away by what he saw. Months passed before he could tear himself from the scene. The following spring the little fleet, battered by wind and wave, brought home its own glorious news, " the richest freight that ever lay upon the bosom of the deep." 5. A magnificent welcome met the return of Columbus. All Spain went wild with delight, hastening to do honour to her hero. The joyful pride of the people was almost worthy of the man to whom it was ollered. 6. Voyage after voyage followed, in which, with restless energy, the navigator planted colonies in the name of his adopted country, and sent the rich cargoes of many vessels to fill her waiting cofllers. 7. But with his success, hosts of enemies rushed forward, trying to grasp the honours he had so splendidly won. The reputation of the noble Genoese was attacked, and wicked falsehoods soon caused the disgrace and overthrow of the people's idol. On one occasion he was even sent home in chains. Bitterly resenting this injustice, as long as he lived the iron fetters hung on his walls to remind him of the cruel ingratitude he had suffered. 8. To Spain Columbus had been the means of giving wealth and power far beyond his wildest dreams — yet in neglect and poverty she allowed him to die. By some strange fate the new land does not even bear his name, but that of another — Amerigo. Yet, though not so much as one island of all that he gave her remains, it is the proudest boast of Spain that the noble explorer served her, and over his tomb, near Seville, remains the lasting phrase : *' For Leon and Castile Columbus found a New World." CARTIER, THE NAVIGATOR 11 CARTIER, THE NAVIGATOR— I 1. Years passed, and in England the old undaunled spirit of the Cabots had almost died out. The early tales of the vast riches of the New World ceased to tempt seekers across the wild Atlantic. The first English ill 74 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY r I !iF 'iii I ,1'. It 11 vvliich afterwards gained him great reverence among the Indians. 5. In the autumn of 1G78, the friends left Frontenac in a sail-boat with sixteen men, and crossing Lake Ontario, ascended the Niagara River. They were among the first white men to behold the mighty cataract as it plunges over the rock with its sullen and endless roar. 6. Above the Falls the party camped, and there built the (rn'Jin, a boat in which they sailed round Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan during the following summer. "When they could go no farther by water, the vessel was sent back to Niagara with a cargo of skins, and the explorers set off across country. It was a vast and savage wilderness, never yet crossed by white men, and the tribes were so unfriendiy that the little party grew to dread the print of a human foot on the soil. 7. Coming upon a shallow stream, they built canoes, and made their way through the wild rice with its myriads of birds, until they reached the Illinois liiver. Here they had their first view of the prairies. 8. Many weary miles the travellers followed the stream, until they arrived at the chief town of the grea!: Illinois tribe. Here they were well received, and La Salle decided to leave his party and return to look up . his boat, of which, in the meantime, he had never heard. This he did with two men, who painfully traversed the entire distance to Montreal, without, however, ever find- ing a trace of the lost vessel or her valuable contents. 9. A year and a half had passed since his first de- parture when the explorer set out from Montreal again. With him was a large party of artisans and labourers, carrying settlers' supplies. It was the height of summer; no storm marked the great lakes, and the woods were lovely in their dress of shaded green. Everything pointed to success, and in the highest spirits the travellers pushed ■ i I i„,l . Loui.s XIV AM) La Salle, lt;77 (From " France ntnf Knglnnd in Xorth America," b)i F. Parkman Bij peniiiSKion of Little, Brown ^l■ Co., Boston, i'.S.A.) r i ' • 1 ! i i '!^ 1. :i 76 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY on. Fifteen hundred miles, and the prairies lay before them, bright with flowers and covered with countless herds of buffalo. 10. At the Illinois village, however, a never-to-be- forgotten sight awaited them. The wigwams stood battered and burned, skulls and bones strewed the ground, and even the sacred graveyard was rifled and desecrated. At their approach wolves and birds of prey fled from their dreadful feast, and the Frenchmen wept to see before them the traces of Iroquois rage. The old story of the Hnrons and their devoted Jesuit teachers had been repeated. 11. It was months before de Tonty and his remaining men were found. But La Salle's spirit was not yet crushed. Four years of disappointment and hardship were passed when he prepared to make his great attempt once more. 12. This time he was successful. With some French- men and Indians he passed his old camp on the Illinois, and sped on to the Mississippi. Down the winding current of the great river they paddled for three thou- sand miles, noting the features and habits of the natives, the drowsy heat, and the southern trees and flowers. 13. Near the end of their journey the river divided into three branches, low, swampy and thick with reeds. The cool sea breezes blew into their faces, and- the vast lonely Mexican Gulf burst upon their sight. From the great lakes to Mexico, and from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains, the vast interior received the name :of Louisiana, in honour of the King. LA SALLE^S QUEST 77 LA SALLE'S QUEST— II 1. Honours were heaped upon the successful explorer when he returned to Paris. He had won much for his beloved country, but he was not yet to rest on his laurels, for the King had greater things for him to do. Spain had long refused French vessels entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, but with settlement on the Mississippi her high-handed methods must change. To La Salle was en- trusted a great task. With well-stocked colonists' ships, guarded by a cruiser, he set out, accompanied by his two nephew«i; young Moranget and Colin Cavelier, a boy of fourteen. 2. The voyage, however, proved one of storm and misfortune, and, to crown all, the aSV. Fran^xm, with its priceless stores, was captured in West Indian waters by a Spanisli pirate. The squadron entered the Gulf with- out opposition, but it was only to pass the Mississippi and steer too far westward. Along the low coast there was nothing to mark the delta of the river from the endless lagoons and swampy islands, and the explorer bitterly regretted that he had trusted to memory instead of taking the bearings of the great stream. 3. Back aiid forth cruised the ships until, convinced that he had reached his destination, La Salle at length landed the colonists. Not until their escort had set out for France did he discover his mistake. The long inlets running into the land had deceived him, and the sluggish waters, laden with disease, were quick to carry dismay and death into the frightened ranks. 4. It was a heavy blow to the dauntless leader. Hastily choosing a more healthy situation, he built a stockade to protect the people. The new camp lay in sight of the green tiowtr-strewn prairies of Texas. F M ■ % ,] il ii il it II Ml m n: Hi 78 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY Buffalo, deer, hares, and wild fowl on land, and turtles and oysters from the shore would provide ample food ! It was without misgiving that the little party set off to find the lost river. 5. Months, dragging past, brought the spring of 168G, and with it the searchers, still baflled. They had wandered far, and were worn out and in rags, but no welcome sight of the Mississippi had rewarded their longing gaze. In their absence they found that death had been busy on tlie seashore, and many of their comrades had disappeared. 6. For La Salle hope had indeed departed. The bright dream of conquest and settlement had fled, leaving him a stern, disappointed man. But one thing remained, to find his way to Canada, and there obtain relief for those who had trusted him. A party of seventeen was made up, including Liotot the doctor, Moranget and Colin, now grown a tail sunburnt youth. 7. The clothes of the travellers, made of old sail cloth patched with buffalo hide, was a sorry sight, while the pack-saddles of a few horses held their worldly goods. At parting all that were left of the once light-hearted colonists knelt in the little chapel, and never, perhaps, were more heartfelt prayers for success offered to heaven before. Then the forlorn hope filed in silence through the gates followed by the anxious gaze of those they were never to see again. 8. Week followed week, and, as they struggled north, the party painfully realised the weariness and want of their long journey. To make matters worse, Duhant, a Parisian, and the doctor, began to sow discontent and mutiny in the ranks. Black looks followed their leader, upon whom they laid the blame of their many misfortunes, until the hot-tempered Moranget, devoted to his uncle, drew upon himself the ill-will of the revengeful pair. THE INDIAN WARS 79 0. Chance favoured them. Liotot and his confederate liappened to be shooting on the prairie, where they camped for the night. Here they were joined next day by Moranget and Nika, the faithful Indian hunter. The opportunity had arrived, and with one accord they de- cided not to let it slip. 10. Xight came, and the newcomers, rolled in their blankets, lay asleep beside the fire, when the plotters, creeping near, attacked them with tomahawks. In a few minutes, when it was too late, the murderers realised what they had done, and that for them there was no hope as long as the explorer lived. 11. In the other camp the second morning broke with no word of their missing comrades, and La Salle always anxious for his charge, set out in search of them. Suddenly the report of a signal gun warned the guilty pair that he was near. Like madmen they crouched in the long dry grass, while, unconscious of his danger, their leader continued to advance. A moment, and two shots, at close range, rang out in the morning air, and the man of many parts fell dead, pierced through the brain. 12. So, after twenty years' wandering in the New AVorld, perished the Sieur de la Salle, a victim of treachery. " One of the greatest men," wrote de Tonty, " of the age," and one who will forever hold a first place on the roll of Canadian history. I 'ii if (■ » Hi- THE INDIAN WARS 1. Encouraged by the traders of the Hudson, the Iroquois with fire-arms became doubly terrible on the St. Lawrence. The vivid language of the Bible tells the terror of Canada in the seventeenth century : " They 1(1 ,/^] h:? 80 PICTUUES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY are more fierce than the evening wolves . . . they fiy as the eagle that hasteth to eat." 2. It is impossible for us to understand the state of the lonely settlers at that time. Burned and deserted homesteads told their own story to the passing traveller perhaps months after such a tragedy had happened. Women and children carried away were scarcely ever heard of again. 3. The French authorities, grieved for their people, urged their English neighbours to cease trading with the savages, until such attacks were put down, but to no purpose. "We have no quarrel with the Indians," was the cynical answer, and the cruelties continued. 4. Then began one of the most terrible of wars — that of revenge. Planned by the King, Louis XIV, it was car- ried out by Frontenac, Governor of Canada. War parties, raised at Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, were made up of French gentlemen, Indians, and emreurs des hois. In the dead of winter they set out on snow-slioes through the trackless border forests, determined to wipe out their wrongs in blood. 5. On their way one of the partits came upon the quiet little village of Schenectady. It was bitterly cold, and the snowdrifts stood high against the palisade. When the residents went to bed no danger was threaten- ing, and the heavy gates had been left open. 6. In the middle of the night the Canadian Indians stole in, and with sudden and fearful yells burst into the houses. Most of the terrified people awakened from sleep were savagely butchered, while some, escaping in their night-clothes, tried to reach the nearest town only to perish from the cold. 7. Along the border in different places the same thing occurred. In Acadia the unfortunate colonists had suffered from their New England neighbours even more ^ MADELAINE DE VEllCHtUES 81 than others. Many times their shores had been invaded, their houses burned, and goods carried away. 8. Roused at last the Nova Scotian Indians and the settlers banded together, and sailed down the coast or followed the trails through the woods. Keaching English territory, they attacked alike forts and farms. Every- where the New Englanders were as cruel as the French, and every fresh outrage on either side made the enemies more furious with each other thap before. 9. Terrible as the story is, the French have not been accused of treating their Iroquois foes with deceit. All nations look upon a Hag of truce as sacred, but unfortu- nately the English colonists did not always do so. The Indians were willing to meet the whites without arms in council, until they found themselves shot down or taken prisoner. 10. Besides being dishonourable and cowardly, it was great folly to do this. Savages never forget a breach of faith, and in the red light of every camp fire from Cape Breton to Lake Superior, such stories were told with disdainful rage. The Canadian Indians grew to think that every one who spoke English was treacherous. ■:' ■ MADELAINE DE VERCHi:RES— I 1. About two hundred years ago, when the Canadians and the Iroquois were great enemies, there lived at Ver- cheres, near Montreal, a brave little French maiden called Madelaine. Her father was formerly an ofhcer in the famous Carignan-Salieres regiment, but for some years had been residing in Canada. 2. The people were then so afraid of the Indians that every big house was fortified. The stone towers of the buildings had few windows, but were pierced with loop- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 4 {/ I '^jj^ A Ui 1.0 I.I U£ I2£ |2.2 iM 111112.0 im 11.25 III 1.4 1.6 ■* 6" ► / f /: '> > y^ 'W '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation \ -^N « .SJ <^ ^\ ^\ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4S03 'e liibert, C.M.G.) 84 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY and no doabt the young girl loved to watch the great river in its endless flow to the ocean. One afternoon she had gone down to the water side and stood looking at the rippling waves as they canght and threw back the glow of the sunny air. All was still except for the lazy caw of the crows in the tree-tops. 8. Suddenly through the silence came an awful sound ! The loud report of a musket was followed by the whiz of a bullet close to her ear, and all at once the air seemed full of ear-splitting whoops and yells. 9. For a moment Madelaine felt as if she were turned to stone. She knew that the Indians were upon them, and that all tlie people of the little settlement would be cruelly put to death, with no one to help them. More shots were fired, and as she turned to run she saw a number of dark forms smeared with horrible colours bounding towards her from the edge of the wood. 10. Madelaine was a very brave girl. As she fled towards the house calling, ** To arms — to arms ! " at the top of her voice, she did not think of her own danger, but of the dreadful fate in store for the others. To the end of her life she could hear the awful rush of the Iroquois' feet behind, but fortunately the gate was open and she hoped to get there first 11. The girl's long hair was loose, and flying in the wind. One of the savages had outrun the rest, and in another moment would have had her in his gnisp, but as he «agerly leaned forward to clutch the brown locks bis hand missed its hold, and he caught instead a kerchief wound round her shoulders. With a wrench Madelaine tore it apart in front As it gave way her fierce pursuer fell back, astonished, and before he could recover himself, she had rushed into the courtyard, and shut and barred the gate. MADELAINE D£ VERCHERES 85 MADELAINE DE VERCHfeRES— II 1. Inside there was a great commotion. White with terror, the women and children were huddled together in a comer, while the men seemed too dazed to know what to do. With her two little brothers, Madelaine ran round inside the palisade, and in places where the logs had fallen, set them up again. This done, she hurried to other parts of the house to see if it were as strong as it should be. 2. In the magazine she found the. solitary soldier. His face showed traces of great fear, and in his trembling hands he held a flint and steel, with which he was trying to strike a spark. The open powder keg at his side showed that the cowardly fellow meant to blow up the building. 3. Such conduct roused all the indignation of the courageous girl. With flashing eyes she ordered him to attend to his duty, which was to defend the fort and those in it. Without a word the man slunk away to the courtyard, where fortunately he soon recovered his manliness. 4. Seeing the heroism of their little mistress, the spirit of the women came back, and they crowded round with oilers of help. Wishing to make it appear to the savages that there were plenty of defenders inside, they all pnt on men's hats and jumped about from one high thing to another, to let the tops of their heads be seen above the palisade. 5. The silence outside now convinced the little garrison that the Indians had disappeared, and their first thought was that the danger was over. But the relief of the women was soon destroyed when they remembered that the unfortunate harvesters in the fields were facing their fate alone. 6. It was now growing dark, but everything had been w I j ,. I). : 86 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY done to make the place as strong as possible, and the heroic handful determined to stand or fall together. All looked to their young mistress for help and comfort, and were anxious to obey her orders. In a stirring little speech Madelaine told them that even if the savages killed and cut her in pieces they were not to give in. 7. For the night the soldier was detailed to the block- house to care for the women and children. The old man, the two boys, and Madelaine herself each took the top of one of the corner towers, where they were to keep awake and call " All's well,." now and then, to encourage each other until daylight. If anyone thought he heard the savages trying to break in, he was to fire off his gun. 8. As the long hours passed, the warmth of day died out, and a cold wind sprang up, bringing with it rain and cutting sleet. Hour after hour through the stormy night the watchers paced round their narrow foothold, listening for the stealthy tread of their enemy. 9. There was no attack, however, and with the morning light hope came back to the anxious household. If one night were passed thus safely, it seemed to them that they might hold out until help came. And so they did. Seven days and nights filled with ceaseless watching followed, through which everyone did his duty fearlessly. 10. Then the long-looked-for help came. Worn out with her endless precautions, poor Madelaine had fallen fast asleep. Her head was on the table, and her long loaded musket lay across her outstretched arms, to be ready at the slightest need. 11. As she lay, however, loud and confused sounds reached the ear of the sleeper, bringing her back from the land of dreams. It seemed like the tread of men's feet and the cheerful sound of human voices. Springing up Madelaine ran to the look-out. In the gathering dusk she could see a throng of forms moving about outside. THE CAUSE OF ACADIA 87 "Who are you ? " she cried anxiously. *' We are Frenchmen," was the welcome answer. " It is La Monnerie bringing you help. Open the gate and let us in." 12. In spite of their grief over the fate of their com- rades, never, perhaps, was there greater joy in any garrison. Gladly did the brave young girl give up her command, and well might La Monnerie say that it had been in very good hands. THE CAUSE OF ACADIA— I 1. While these things were going on in Canada, the woes of Acadia were becoming deeper and deeper. The population was still small and scattered. Dense forests covered the country, with only here and there a little settlement beside the sea. The people were all either fishermen or merchants, who did a great business with France in mackerel, cod, lobsters, and other things that come from the teeming waters of the coast. 2. At the same time a great deal of underhand trade was going on with New England, whose boats came in at all hours of the night, and paid well for the loads they carried away. This was against the law, and some- times exciting encounters took place between these boats and the French officials. Oftener, however, the smugglers got away safely. 3. The worst of it was that the settlers of Massachu- setts Bay did not always play fair. Sometimes, when the Acadians were all away fishing, these men came down on their neighbours' storehouses and helped them- selves, without stopping to pay for what they took. On other occasions, private vessels sailed into the bays and plundered right and left, carrying away every- thing the poor people had. 'I 88 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 4. The New England and New York coasts of that time were swept by lawless pirates, like Captain Kidd and Paul Jones. With daring cruelty these crews at- tacked ships and villages, English and French alike. Armed privateers were always coming and going in Acadian waters, and desperate fights took place fre- quently. 5. Most to be feared of all, perhaps, were the Govern- ment vessels of the near by colonies. Early seeing the great wealth of the Nova Scotian forests and fisheries, the English in America were determined, as soon as they could, to sweep out the French and make that country their own. 6. It will be remembered that several attempts, some of them successful, had already been made to seize Acadia, though the French always managed to regain their own. Most of these invasions were planned in New England, which kept alive the hatred of the Mother Country for their northern enemy. 7. Which of the two border countries was the more to blame is not always clear. For a long time the French were satisfied with their fur trade and with making the virgin wilds their own. They did not trespass upon what belonged to others, though, when interfered with, their revenge was swift and terrible, and the innocent were often made to suffer with the guilty. THE CAUSE OF ACADIA— II 1. The cruel border wars which have been described in another chapter made the New Englanders more eager than ever to subdue their enemies. In 1690 a frigate of forty guns and several other vessels were sent from Boston to attack Port Boyal. Sir William THE CAUSE OF ACADIA 89 the ibed ■more 90 a were liaui Phipps, the commander, had been knighted by the King for raising a Spanish ship full of treasure, which had been wrecked long before. 2. Unfortunately for the fort, the walls had fallen out of repair, and the garrison was not strong enough to resist, so without much ado they gave in. The Admiral, as usual, offered good terms if the people would take the oath of allegiance to England. When they did so, he broke all his promises, and sailed home carrying much plunder and a number of prisoners. 3. With his ships, considered big at the time, the victory seemed so easy, that the brave Phipps next set out for Quebec. His squadron was powerful, and, had he only known it, the defences on the St. Lawrence could not have held out against him. 4. Arrived at the Citadel, an officer was sent on shore demanding surrender. Count Frontenac, however, told him with scorn that the only answer he should get would be " from the mouth of his guns." This spirited answer was too much for Sir William, who turned and sailed back to Boston, while the Canadians joyfully built a church in honour of the event, and called it Our Lady of Victory. 5. For a long while this unhappy war went on in the province by the sea, causing great suffering and loss to the people. The oath of allegiance, as usual, had come to nothing, and the English and French colonists were greater foes than ever. 6. Battered and destroyed so often, the old fort had defied its foes for more than a hundred years. It was ill the reign of Queen Anne that the Lilies of France were hauled down for the last time, and the Union Jack floated in its place. The name of the country was changed for good to Nova Scotia, and the fortress named Annapolis Koyal after the Queen. i i 90 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY THE FALL OF LOUISBURG 1. On the wild, rocky coast of Cape Iketon, next to Nova Scotia, stood Louisburg, the strongest fortress in America. The building had taken a long time to raise, and cost a vast amount of money. The four great towers were called King's, Queen's, J)au])hin's, and Princess's, and the thick walls were mounted with big guns, whose black muzzles grinned at the enemy. On islands close by other batteries were ready to help in time of need. 2. Louisburg, of course, guarded the French coast aiid the tisheries, and a great many armed vessels were always coming and going about the harbour. The New Knglanders had a grudge against the place, because, among other things, it forced them to cease poaching in Canadian waters. 3. It was in 1745 that Governor Shirley of Massa- chusetts and a few other daring spirits determined to take the castle ! To us the scheme seems wild and im- possible, for they had no soldiers, and only the smallest of ships and guns. Knowing that England would not approve, they carefully concealed their project. 4. Attacking Canada was always popular, so farmers and fishermen ran to enlist in the ranks, which soon swelled to four thousand. The commander was a mer- chant called Pepperel, who knew little or nothing about fighting. There was no time for training, as every- one's time was taken up with finding vessels and other necessaries. 5. Much depends upon a successful landing in in- vasion, and every schoolboy has heard of the gallant warriors in ancient Britain, how they rushed into the sea to beat off the advancing boats of the Romans. ' THE FALL OF LOUISBUHG 91 G. The New England troops had great difticulty in landing at Cape Breton, and were almost caught by the enemy. The boats could not get near the shore, and the men had to wade through deep ice-cold water carrying cannon-balls and other heavy burdens on their heads. 1). Hundreds of men were then attached to the cannons and drew them for miles over rocks and swamps until they reached the great fortified walls. Tndaunted at the sight, they set to work at once mount- ing their guns. When firing began, the soldiers inside laughed at the little balls, as if they had come from pea-shooters. 8. Week after week the guns on either side flashed and roared, sending shells and other missiles back and forth at each other. The French forces were eager and courageous, but they had wretched officers. More than once the men would have rushed out to blow up the batteries of the enemy, but they were not allowed to do so. 9. The besiegers were beginning to see that their guns were of no use, when they found a number of French cannon buried close by in a sandbank. These guns they found much larger and better than the ones brought from Boston. Turned against their owners, they did great damage, and soon the battered walls were totter- ing to their fall. Sickness and famine raged within the fort, and the unfortunate garrison tried in vain to keep up the contest. 10. All this time a number of English and colonial men-of-war patrolled the coast, driving off or capturing the French vessels that came to the rescue. When at last the troops on sea and land turned against the fortress together, there was nothing for Louisburg to do but to surrender. •f '■--* ![ 92 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTOKY I '■' )| THE ACADIANS— I 1. Far from these exciting scenes of plunder and blood- shed, there dwelt at this time in Nova Scotia thousands of people who were neither soldiers nor sailors. Though the simple and happy country people cared nothing for war, they too were to be drawn into the struggle of nations for mastery. 2. Many years before their forefathers had come from Brittany to Acadia, and settled round Port Hoyal to clear and cultivate the land. As their numbers increased, many of them moved to the upper end of the Bay of Fundy, where they built the villages of Grand I're, Minas, Beaubassin, and others. 3. The peasantry could not read or write but they were shrewd and very industrious. They chopped down the trees, and, like clever engineers, built strong dikes of logs and clay to keep out the tides. The reclaimed land made splendid pasture for cattle, and cows, horses, sheep, and pigs fed on the rich grass in great numbers. 4. Everything that was needed for use grew on the farms — grain, vegetables, and fruit. Wool from the flocks made warm clothes for winter, flax spun and woven by the women provided linen, and the forests gave plenty of wood for fuel and building. The people were merry, contented, and hospitable, and dearly loved the land where they were so prosperoub. 5. When, in the course of time, the country was made over to England, Queen Anne told tlie inhabitants that if they went away they might take with them all their belongings, or if they chose to stay as her subjects, farms, religion, and language were theirs as before. Under her rule, however, they must make up their minds once for alood- isands bough ig for gle of ; from D clear •eased, 5ay of Minas, t they lopped strong . The , and rass in on the m the and s gave e were le land made that if their I farms, ler her ice for f ;5 .5 'A ^ u s 5 x. a: n G X ■ hi ' 94 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY ii'' I I I' all to keep the o«i th of allegip.nce to the Empire, and fight for her whenever they should be needed. 6. Now the Acadiana were quiet country folk who hated warfare. They wished only to be left in peac^, and to see their crops and cattle flourishing. They had never fought either in France or their adopted country, and it was terrible to them to think that they must fight for England against their own people. 7. Though at first the peasantry had found Acadia cold and lonely, they had become deeply attached to the country. Here their fathers had lived and died for generations, and here they thought to die and be buried themselves. With sore hearts they decided to leave all this to make new homes in Canada, where they should not be forced to fight for anyone. 8. In spite of their resistance, however, the English Governor knew how useful were these hard-working folk whose farms produced everything needed by the colony. The land would soon run wild if the settlers went away, for there were no others to cultivate it in their place. So he raised every objection he could think of, and had so many excuses to prevent their departure, that at last the farmers settled down again, and began to sow and reap as before. 9. The people were naturally much attached to their religion, and it is said that the wiser priests advised submission to British authority. Had a more decided demand upon their allegiance been made at the first, it would have been better policy, and they would, no doubt, have quietly accepted the new government, as did their countrymen later in the province of Quebec. 10. Governor after Governor came and went, some good and wise, some careless and unkind. Fifty years passed, and the Acadians knew little more of Great Britain than at first, while from the borders of Canada they were never allowed to forget that they were of French origin. fight who y had untry, t fight A-cadia led to ied for buried ave all should English mg folk I colony, ^ay, for So he many farmers before, io their advised [decided first, it doubt, id their le good passed, liiii than jy were )rigin. THE ACADIANS 95 THE ACADIANS~II 1. For years after this England and France kept up an outward peace, but when war broke out between them again, France thought it a good time to win back Acadia. Secret agents were therefore sent out, and highly paid to rouse the unfortunate country folk to rebellion. False stories of England's cruelty were circulated among the settlers, whose greatest fault was that they believed them too easily. 2. One of these agents was the Abbe La Loutre, a stern and determined man, who did his utmost to force the unwilling Acadians to obey him. Gaining control of the savages as well, he more than once set them with great ferocity to murder and pillage the new Halifax colonists. His own people feared him almost as much as they did the English. Threatened with the horrors of Indian attack, the Acadians were made to appear rebels against Great Britain. One of their own proverbs is "As stubborn as an Acadian." They never took to arms or destroyed property in open revolt, so that the evasion of tbe oath of allegiance is their principal crime. It is easy for us, however, living under a just and mild government, to blame those influenced by threats of torture and death. 3. On one occasion, hearing that an English officer, Major Lawrence by name, was coming with his troops, the Abbe induced every man, woman, and child in a certain village to llee for refuge to Beausejour, a French fort just over the border of Canada. Having led them into this breach of loyalty, lie sent Indians to burn their settlement to the ground, to prevent their going back. 4. In 1755, when the war was over, most of the people who had fled crept back to their ruined homes, and I r:'i 96 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY prepared to settle down again. All the trouble, no doubt, would soon have blown over, but unfortunately the good Governor had been recalled and Major Lawrence appointed in his place. Always harsh and overbearing, the new Governor had already made up his mind to send away the Acadians to other countries, and be rid of them forever. 5. Lawrence did not seek advice from England, because he knew that she could not be induced to treat the colonists so unjustly. With Colonel Shirley of Massa- chusetts he arranged this strange and cruel plot. His friend sent a large number of vessels from New England to Nova Scotia with troops to take the affair in hand, and great secrecy was observed for fear it would be found out and they would be forced to stop. 6. In one place all the men and boys were ordered to meet in their church, to hear the contents of a letter from the King. As His Majesty George I wrote no letter ordering the removal, there is no doubt that this document was locally made for the occasion. From this paper the thunderstruck people heard without prepara- tion that they were to be sent away from their homes without delay. This messsage delivered, the church doors were locked and they were made prisoners. 7. Too dazed and heartbroken to make resistance, the poor villagers prepared to leave the homes in which they had been so happy. A very few disputed the King's command, but they were easily put down. In tears and confusion, young and old men, women and children, were forced on board the vessels waiting in the bay. As they sailed away one homestead after another was set on fire, and the last thing they saw was the leaping flames, from which the terrified cattle fled for safety. 8. But even this was not the worst of the sad story. On the ocean the boats soon began to lose sight of each i oubt, good (inted ! new away them ecause at the Massa- . His n gland hand, uld be ered to i letter •ote no lat this im this irepara- homes h doors ice, the |ch they King's irs and ^n, were Ly. As Is set on flames, |d story, of each THE ACADIANS 97 other, and the frantic people found that husbands and wives, parents and children, were all separated. In Pennsylvania, they had been told, they would all meet and form a new colony. Now, in helpless terror, they realised that they had been duped. The promises had been made only to be broken. 9. To liide his guilt, Lawrence had ordered the ships to land their prisoners as far apart as possible. This was done, and for a thousand miles the coast of America and the West Indies received their scattered victims. Leaky vessels sank at sea with all on board, and others were wrecked. In far-off countries, as time went on, the despairing people searched for their relatives, and in poverty and grief died without finding them. 10. Sometimes, indeed, they did meet long afterwards, and were very happy. Our beloved Canadian sculptor, Mr. Hebert, is descended from a young couple who were separated as children, and being reunited by chance years afterwards when they had both made their way back to C'anada, were married. 11. After years of wandering, some of the refugees got back to their old homes on the Bay of Fundy, but it was only to find that their land had been given to strangers. Fearing to be punished, the poor outlaws hid in the woods among friendly Indians, and eked out a living as best they could. 12. For three-quarters of a century the strange trials of this people, which have no equal in British history, continued. Then Judge Haliburton, the great jurist, and various statesmen took up their cause, and little by little the rights of the Acadians were restored. To-day, in Nova Scotia, from which they were once so cruelly driven, their loyal descendants now live in peace as happy and thrifty as of yore. I I = I ( .: ,, . 98 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY TICONDEROGA h ■ipi 1. In the eighteenth century Canada's frontiers were guarded by surh fortresses as Niagara, Frontenac, Quebec, Louisburg, and Ticonderoga. The latter stood on a jutting point at the head of Lake Champlain. It was in the very heart of the Iroquois country, and was the old war-path between the two countries. 2. Things had been going from bad to worse for so long that it was felt a life and death struggle between the two great nations must soon take place in America. In 1758 troops came from England to New York, pre- pared for the coming war. The armed New England colonists added to the forces under General Abercrombie numbered 15,000 men. With drums beating and flags flying, they marched through the country to Lake George. 3. The Marquis de Montcalm, a great French general, had already won a number of victories in Canada. He was much beloved by the troops, who were always proud to follow him. In July 1758, Montcalm marched from Quebec to Lake Champlain, with between three and four thousand men. It was a small army with which to meet the much greater force of the enemy, and the General feared that he could not win this time. 4. Near by stood the strong French fort Carillon, called in the Indian dialect Ticonderoga. While Mont- calm was considering what to do, a thought struck him. At some distance off lay a rising ground, on the top of which the troops were hastily ordered to build a strong barricade of logs, loop-holed for musketry. This done, ♦^he dense woods in front were hewn down, the tree- anks falling over each other in every direction. 5. When the French found that the enemy was coming, they took shelter behind the breastwork and waited. r were aebec, on a .t was as the long en the uerica. k, pre- ngland rombie d flags jeorge. reneral, a. He proud d from d four meet eneral jarillon, Mont- Ik him. top of strong done, le tree- TICONDEROGA 99 Miles away the English army was trying to force a way through the forest. Fallen trunks slippery with moss, swamp, and brushwood made it almost impossible to move forward. The cannon brought from camp had to be left behind, for without a road no power on earth could take them over such country. G. Even without the guns that march was one never to be forgotten. Weary and discouraged the troops at length emerged near Carillon, only to be met by showers of French bullets from behind the barricade. Without shelter the British rushed forward, finding themselves caught in the wild confusion of logs and branches that covered the ground. 7. It was a terrible scene. Falling, climbing, fighting, the attacking forces pressed on again and again, only to be driven back. Some indeed, in blind fury, reached the breastwork, and, climbing on their comrades' shoulders, strove to reach the foe. When it was over, amidst the fnrious rush of bullets, two thousand British lay dead on the field of Ticonderoga. 8. Many a bright uniform gained honour for its country on that day, and foremost among them could always be seen the bonnet and tartan plaid of the Black Watch. With desperate courage on both sides, the battle raged until sunset, when Abercrombie's forces retreated, without any success to mark the dreadful hours that had passed. 9. Overjoyed at the result, and proud of his men, General Montcalm thanked God for the victory, and began to hope that Canada might still be held for his Majesty of France. i I ' I t .1 [oming, waited. w '" 100 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY CAMPBELL OF INVERAWE— I 1. The Black Watch at Ticonderoga was commanded by Major Campbell, a Highland officer, whose story has often been told. By some it is looked upon as true, by others deemed only a legend. 2. The estate of this gentleman lay in Argyllshire, Scotland, and the old stone mansion in which he lived stood on the beautiful banks of Loch Awe. 3. One day some years before this the laird had been out on the hills shooting, and late in the evening, after the servants had gone to bed, he went to the wide hall to have a look over his game bag. Suddenly the heavy knocker on the door was. raised, and a startling rap echoed through the house. 4. In haste he ran to the door and opened it, when before him stood a terror-stricken figure, whose panting tongue asked for refuge. A man had been killed in self- defence, he explained, and friends of the dead were already on his track. He implored to be hidden until the danger was over. . 5. The time was shortly after the rising in Scotland for Prince Charles Edward, and the whole country was sore and unsettled. Scarcely a Highland house but had taken in and aided some despairing clansman fleeing from justice. 6. " Swear on your dirk that you will not betray me," pleaded the stranger. To soothe him the kindly host took the ancient oath, and, leading the way to a distant room, told him to fasten the heavy door, and open only to one whose knock proved him in the secret. 7. As Inverawe returned to the hall, the pursuers entered and excitedly told their tale. His own cousin had been wickedly murdered, they said, and alreadv they I 4 ^Ij! CAMPBELL OF INVERAWE 101 were hot on the track of the criminal. In dismay Camp- bell listened, but, with the fatal oath n^iging in his ears, feigned ignorance, and haF/teneJ the searchers on their way. CAMPBELL OF INVERAWE— II 1. For hours that night the laird paced his chamber thinking. Wearied at length, he threw himself on the bed and fell asleep. The moonbeams were streaming across the room when he v/akened, and beside him stood the lifelike form of his cousin, wounded and bleeding. In the familiar voice came the solemn words : " Inver- awe ! Inverawe ! Blood has been shed. Shield not the murderer ! " 2. The next day the laird made his way to the locked room, and, in great agitation, told the culprit that he could shelter him no longer. Leading the way to a wild glen in the neighbourhood, he showed him a deep cave where he might hide, and turned away. By morning the murderer had escaped, and was never seen again. 3. The third night Campbell tossed sleeplessly on his couch till midnight, when the spectre once more stood beside him. Again the unearthly tones floated through the room, this time like a sentence of doom : " Farewell, Inverawe ! Farewell, till we meet at Ticonderoga ! " 4. Years passed, and the state of Scotland needed the care of all her loyal sons. Uncertain whether the scenes had been real or but dreams, Campbell could never forget the strange word Ticonderoga. It was one he had never heard before. He did not even know to what language it might belong. 5. In the meantime, news from America was becoming more and more disturbing. It was felt that there peace fm ! I !'•*■■, t!':' 102 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY would never be possible until either French or English were master. Among the troops sent to the scene of war under Abercrombie was the Black Watch. 6. In the Highland Brigade their commander's story was known and believed. It was therefore with mixed feelings that his friends heard of the neighbouring fort under its Indian name Ticonderoga. Until then it had been known to them as Carillon. 7. In high spirits the English forces prepared to move forward, taking with them the guns they were afterwards to leave behind. On the last evening at Lake George, Major Campbell strolled by himself in a wood on the beautiful shores, and there, once more, met face to face the spirit of his unavenged relative. 8. No longer doubting his coming fate, Campbell led his men through the next day's battle with a reckless courage that won lasting fame for his regiment. In the height of the engagement, with many other gallant com- rades, he and his son. Lieutenant Alexander Campbell, received their death wounds. ? THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC— I 1. At the very time of Montcalm's success at Ticon- deroga, Louisburg in Cape Breton had fallen for the second time. Given back to France after its first capture, the great fortress had continued to hold the New England colonies in wholesome terror until invested by British troops under Amherst and Wolfe, when its doom came quickly. 2. Following rapidly came news of other French losses — Forts Frontenac and Duquesne, the old frontier guard, which had long menaced the English colonies, had been forced to surrender. With these evil tidings crowding lY iglish f war story nixed g fort t had THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC 103 move -wards reorge, on the io face lell led eckless In the it com- oapbell, Ticon- for the IS first ^Id the ivested len its losses guard, Id been )wding upon her thick and fast, France determined to make her last stand at Quebec. 3. The old grey fortress was deemed invincible, but through the long winter months of 1758, everything that could be thought of was doD« to add to its safety Ticonderoga and other frontier points must be defended as well, but most of the troops were liurried to the Citadel. Patriotism ran high. From every direction even aged men and young boys crowded the narrow streets, eagerly ollering life and limb for Canada. 4. It was early the following summer when the fisher- men in the lonely coves down the St. Lawrence with astonishment saw the English fleet sweeping forward up the river. Never had they imagined such a splendid sight as these great ships, crowded with armed men and bristling with guns. Hope, however, reigned in every Canadian heart. It could not be that their loved land was to be taken from them ! 5. At the head of the British forces stood the young hero James Wolfe, whose career from childhood had been watched by his friends with great hope. Daring and full of life, the lad had grown up, by study and sheer hard work bringing himself to notice in the service. At thirty- three, beloved by his men and honoured by his King, he was leading England's army to victory. 6. His first glance at the Citadel, however, showed a solid strength that he was not prepared for. Guarded round, above and below, by thick walls bristling with cannon, stood the massive rock, while along the bank of the river for miles stretched the French camp, under the watchful eye of Montcalm. ll f I: m 104 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY f 1 I 1 '^ - 1^ i i H 1 , 1 I ■I 1 .'^ i M i, ■; .^ THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC~II 1. In the following weeks the fears of the young com- mander proved real enough. At one point and another his men, fighting desperately, were driven back. Day after day the batteries at Pointe Levi pounded holes in the walls of the town until ruin filled the streets, but to no purpose. ^lonths passed, and in sick despair General "Wolfe began to fear that success was not for him. 2. With ceaseless thinking, however, a viigue idea that he could not get rid of began to haunt his brain. He could see that, with all its strength, one part of the walls had very little protection. If he might only reach the Heights above ! Choosing a night of storm und darkness, he sent several of the fleet past the town and up the river to a place of safety. It was the first step to victory. 3. For the hundredth time scanning the rock with his glass from the south shore, the General at length found the place he sought. It was the narrow gorge of a dried- up stream, barely to be seen through the thick trees. The height was an almost sheer rock of nearly two hundred feet, but to win success it must be climbed. Thoughtfully he laid his plans, and made them very complete. 4. The 13th of September was chosen for the attempt, every detail of which was laid with the greatest care. For hours the troops were ready in the boats, and at the right moment, in perfect silence, a large flotilla dropped down the river with the tide. They reached a little cove on the north shore before daybreak, and at a given signal the wild climb began. 5. Clinging for life to rocks and roots, struggling and breathless, each man mounted the ladder-like path, at last reaching the top. There was a short tussle with the tempt, care. it the [opped cove Isigual ig and |th, at ththe 'J < 1 PP 1 a t V: ^ 106 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY utterly surprised guard, who gave in at once, and the newcomers set off rapidly across the fields towards the Citadel. C. In the meantime, the half-dazed townspeople had heard the firing, and were preparing to defend themselves, while streams of men from the French camp poured for- ward to meet the enemy. With frantic haste a few cannon were planted on each side, horses dashed hither and thither across the field, and officers sped back and forth with orders. With scarcely time to think, the troops faced each other, and the memorable Battle of the Plains began. 7. Volleys of musket balls thinned the ranks on both sides, and over their comrades, wounded and dying, the troops drew together to fill the vacant spaces. Short and fierce was the strife on which the fate of Canada rested. With glittering bayonets the British troops swept across the field carrying all before them. 8. It was a famous victory for Wolfe, but the hero of the day had no time to think of his success. Eunning at the head of a detachment, he was wounded three times, and, falling, died on the field of honour. At the same time his noble foe Montcalm won a soldier's grave. 9. In the present critical age, when belief in many of the heroic stories of the past is becoming very dim, it has been proved that the poetical letter dictated by Montcalm on his deathbed is false. However that may be, no one denies that the great French General, grievously wounded, and striving to make his peace with Heaven, forgot his sufferings for the time in the thought of his heart-broken countrymen. 10. With great nobility he caused a practical message in their behalf to be despatched to the victorious enemy. General Wolfe having already passed away, and Brigadier CONFIRMING THE VICTORY 107 Townshend being reported at the point of death through wounds, the dying man knew not to whom to address his formal note, which ran thus : — 11. "Monsieur, — Being compelled to yield Quebec to your arms, I have the honour to ask your Excellency's good oflices on behalf of our sick and wounded, and request the execution of the treaty of exchange arranged between His Most Christian Majesty and His Britannic Majesty. " I beg your Excellency to accept my assurance of the high esteem and the respectful consideration with which I have the honour to be, sir, your most humble and most obedient servant, Montcalm." 12. So, without intention, Montcalm placed his name yet more securely upon the deathless roll of fame, and to the two Generals, loved and honoured in life^ death has given a lasting renown together. ^ny of ^m, it jd by lybe, [ously laven, )f bis ^ssage lemy. kdier CONFIRMING THE VICTORY 1. With tottering walls, dismounted guns, and unroofed and. battered buildings, Quebec was a sorry sight as soldiers and sailors from the British ships swarmed through the narrow streets. 2. In every direction the ragged, starving towns- people fled, hiding in holes and corners, from which they could scarcely be induced to come out. The French forces had scattered, leaving the unfortunate citizens to their fate, and over the country thousands of refugees fled seeking shelter. 3. On the British side the victory was far from joyful. Their beloved young leader was no more, and the price was too great even for such a success. In his place I 108 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY '!! m [r General Murray took charge of affairs, and, with kind words and thoughtful deeds, showed the frightened folk that they could trust British honour. 4. When the fleet sailed for home it carried in funeral pomp the body of the dead hero, and only the Racehorse and another frigate were left on guard in the harbour. Winter came swiftly, bringing heaps of snow, and cold unknown to the victors. Scarcely a house in the town was fit to live in, and high officers occupied cellars and stables, glad only to crowd round the huge log fires. 5. All discipline was made as easy as possible. The soldiers bundled in anything they could find to keep out the cold, tramping through the snowdrifts to the surrounding forests. While some chopped down endless trees for fuel, others stood on guard with loaded muskets. In every direction French and Indian sharpshooters fired from cover, and no one outside the walls could be sure of safety for a moment. ^ 6. Early in 1760, while wintry storms still howled over the land, whispers began to reach Quebec of a force which was preparing to seize the town. Large numbers of men were said to be gathering at Montreal. The gallant de L4vis and Vaudreuil the Governor were at the head of the movement. A last great effort was to be made to oust the conquering Britons, THE BATTLE OF SAINTE FOYE 1. On the St. Lawrence the ice had broken up, and spring-tides were tossing the fragments back and forth on the surface. In the early morning of April 27, 1760, the sentry pacing the deck of the Racehorse could hear no sound but the slap of the tide against the black hull. Suddenly, what seemed like a cry for help caught his to , and forth 11760, hear hull. it his s> iJ S" c .>- •—, a> •« E I 110 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY ear. Listening intently, it came again, and the report of his musket brought up the guard. 2. Boats were lowered, and the eager tars pushed out into the stream. Their search was soon rewarded. On a large block of ice a man almost frozen to death was found, and quickly taken on board ship. Care and kindness brought back the ebbing life, and in gratitude the man told his story. 3. He was, he said, a sergeant of artillery with the army of de L^vis, at that moment on the march to the Citadel. The forces, twelve thousand in number, had sailed down from Montreal and landed some miles above, where, in the darkness, the gunner*'s boat had been over- turned and his companions lost. With difficulty climb- ing on the ice, he had been drifting back and forth for hours, while across country de Levis silently advanced to take the town by surprise. 4. The enemy was almost upon them ! The sergeant was hurried in a hammock to headquarters, where he repeated his story to General Murray, and with all possible speed the troops were called together to meet the crisis. At break of day they marched out upon the Plains, prepared as well as the short notice would allow. 5. The British forces had suffered terribly from cold and illness through the winter, and many of those answering the call to arms rose from sickbeds. Al- together they numbered only about a third of the enemy. During the Battle of Sainte Foye, which took place next day, they managed to hold their own for a time, but that was all. With furious charges that showed how much was at stake, each side in turn drove the other off the ground. Later in the day, however, pressed beyond their strength, Murray's troops slowly retreated into the town. 6. But the men who had behaved so gallantly were UNDER BRITISH RULE 111 to have one more chance for a lasting victory! The walls were repaired, sick and wounded assisting, and guns dug from the ruins were hoisted with vast labour and turned to the Plains. With pick and shovel, officers and men worked manfully side by side, while all looked forward anxiously for help from home. 7. On the 9th of May, 1760, a man-of-war was sighted in the river, making her way against wind and tide towards the harbour. The news spread like wildfire, and soon the ramparts were crowded with eager throngs of soldiers. Was she French or English ? 8. Faces gaunt with sickness looked on in silence as the Union Jack slowly mounted the Citadel flagstaff. The answering signal rose to the mast-head, and in a moment every hat was waving wildly and every voice joyfully shouting itself hoarse. It was our own loved and honoured British colours. 9. A few days, and the end had come. Other ships, following each other up the current, met and defeated the last gallant French vessel, and de Levis, seeing that further fighting was useless, raised the siege and retired from the contest. Later at Montreal, Amherst and Murray received the capitulation of Canada for the British Crown. I !|: r . 'i ',■■} UNDER BRITISH RULE 1. For some time before the downfall of Canada, affairs there had reached a very unhappy state. In France reckless splendour and wickedness marked the Court of Louis XV, and the misery of the peasantry was in- tense. It mattered nothing to the selfish King that his people ate grass, and ground bitter acorns to make bread in order to keep themselves alive. 2. In the same way New France had been made to i: I; i"! ',, Iff- r i.ii.Hi ii| ! 112 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY feel the heavy hand of her rulers. They, also, were a harpy crew, put in power by the beauties and rogues of Versailles. The Intendant Bigot boasted — and it was nothing to be proud of — that he would do as he pleased because he was a favourite of Madame Pompadour. 3. Under the guise of lively goodwill, this wicked man's palace at Quebec was the scene of gaiety so far unknown in America. Eich dress, feasting, and wild gambling threw their spell over the higher classes, while in town and country the working people suffered. 4. The Canadians, with their good crops and big herds, were really well-to-do, though in Bigot's time they were sadly ground under heel. The dishonest tricks of the Intendant were cleverly planned, and the distance of his victims from each other hid his guilt. Of his helpers the most barefaced was Cadet, the son of a butcher. By their evil practices these men made fortunes that seem vast even in our own day. 5. To this lawless Government the habitants, under cost, were forced to sell their farm produce, which was re-sold in the colony at the highest prices. Failures in crops were constantly reported to the King, who, in answer, was compelled to send supplies for the use of the colonists. Nearing port these vessels were fre- quently allowed to run aground in some safe place, and, while accounts of total loss reached France, Bigot and his friends seized the booty for their own purposes. 6. In town and country the peasants were obliged to do all public works without pay, while they were called out so often to fight for the King, that none were left to care for the farms except old men, women, and boys. In every way the country was on the swift road to ruin, 7. The habitants were quick to see the difference be- tween their rulers new and old. The English took were )gues ; was eased icked 10 far wild asses, ired. d big time honest id the guilt, tie son L made under ;h was allures who, |he use re fre- place, Bigot joses. )bliged were none romen, swift ice be- took THE OLD REGIME 113 their produce, indeed, but at good prices, while justice and honesty were the order of the day. With amaze- ment the French Canadians saw their former enemies the soldiers ordered out in squads to help them with their scanty harvest. 8. Amidst all their trials it is pleasant to hear how the citizens of Quebec took life at this time. A British officer writing from the town says : " It is surprising with what ease the gaiety of their tempers (the Cana- dian ladies) enables them to bear their misfortunes. Families reduced from the height of luxury to want, laugh, dance, and sing, comforting themselves with the thought that it is the fortune of war ! " 9. Look at the map, and think what a great part of Xorth America was now ruled by Great Britain. From the extreme north to Mexico, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It was indeed a mighty heri- tage. THE OLD REGIME 1. During the old regime, the houses of the country people, large and small, were built with thick stone walls to keep out the cold. The roofs were very steep so that the snow might slide off, and sometimes there were two rows of garret windows one above the other. 2. Inside, the wide chimney held the fireplace, over which stretched the black arms of a crane, hung with pots and kettles. The spit was used for roasting, while on one side the deep baking oven extended into the wall. The ovens of the gentry were often built of stone outside the house. 3. In the corner of the farm kitchen stood the spinning- wheel and handloom, still to be found in use in couutry places. Beside the fire the home-made cradle and the Ill: ' !i, : II 114 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY seats for the aged always had the warmest place. Round the walls stood the heavy wooden benches and rush- bottomed chairs for all comers. 4. The Frenc^ Canadians of all classes were a social and gay people, as they are to-day. However far apart they lived, the Seigneurs' mansions were not lonely. Driving parties, especially in winter, when the roads were good, were an endless source of pleasure to old and young alike. 5. Baptisms and weddings were celebrated by many a feast, and on May Day and other holidays the Seigneur and his family took part in the old-time merriment of the tenants. St, Catherine's Day was looked upon as the beginning of winter, when pulling candy and dancing were kept up with great spirit. Among the habitants the fiddle was much used for dance music, and, lacking it, " lilting " and hand-clapping did very well instead. 6. Great preparations were made for the entertain- ment of guests, when meats, fish, and many kinds of cakes and pies were made ready. Among the upper classes a large dish called the Easter pasty was a great favourite. A turkey, chickens, partridges, and other game formed the contents, enclosed in rich pastry. On very festive occasions the company all sang in turn round the table. 7. The dresses of ceremony among the ladies were the rich and beautiful ck thes of the period, with pow- dered hair and high-heeled shoes. The wide-frocked coats of the gentlemen were of gay brocade, with long embroidered waistcoats. Wide lace was used at neck and wrist, and knee-breeches with silk stockings, while swords were always worn in public. 8. The habitants' coats and dresses were made of coarse woollen home-spun, coloured with dyes made from bark and mosses. The women wore short, full lY ound rush- social apart anely. roads io old lany a igneur ent of pon as ancing •hit ants dng it, :ertain- mds of upper a great other y. On In turn |s were h pow- Ifrocked ih long it neck while lade of made Irt, full THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC 115 skirts, with bright kerchiefs round their shoulders. In addition to their heavy coats, the men used grey woollen leggings and caps. In winter a many-coloured woollen sash of beautiful pattern went twice round the waist, and hung in long fringe almost to the feet. With moccasins, mittens, and pointed hood drawn over the head, they were ready to brave the coldest weather. 9. Early life in Canada was full of hard work and danger, but it was happy and interesting for all that. The habitants soon became used to their hardships, and grew to love dearly their adopted land. In winter they traversed the forests on snowshoes, hunting or lumbering, while in summer they became experts in guiding their canoes over the rapid streams. At such times songs, merry or sad, echoed from every lip, and their paddles kept time with the measure. No people could or did come through so much without gaining a character and a literature worth having. THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC 1. PoNTiAC, Chief of the Ottawas, was one of the wisest and most far-seeing of his race. His influence reached far beyond his own country, and many of the Western tribes were guided by him in matters of policy. To the haughty savage the fall of France in America came as a rude and unexpected shock. 2. Exerting all his pow^r, Pontiac roused the fiery spirit of the red men, who like himself had suffered from the contempt and the broken treaties of the English colonists. Among them a widespread plot was laid to drive their new masters out of America. The enraged tribes bound themselves to stop at nothing. 3. After peace was proclaimed in Canada, the French . ^^' 1 116 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY I'l ; of the "Western forts were replaced by English garrisons. Detroit, the strongest, it was decided, should be the first attacked. One day in May, 1763, I'ontiac, with his followers, approached the stockade, and desired to be admitted. Under their blankets the savages carried muskets whose barrels had been cut short. 4. At the risk of torture and death, however, the plot had been revealed to the commanding officer by a young Indian girl, and the garrison was prepared. To their surprise the plotters saw the entire armed force drawn up inside the gates. Making some excuse for his visit, the chief turned away, only, however, to come back the next day. This time he was refused in such a way that he could not doubt his design was known. 5. This was the signal for a furious outburst which spread over the west, and as far south as Maryland and Virginia. Bloodshed ran riot, and whole white settle- o ments were almost wiped out. Detroit was besieged by a throng of warriors, and the troops sent to assist the garrison were met and cut to pieces. 6. One of the distant posts, that had not heard of the rising, fell into the hands of the savages by a trick. A large number of Indians had gathered outside the stockade, professing to be loyal to the new Sovereign. On the King's birthday, in honour of the event, they, arranged a lacrosse match, to which the officers were invited. In great good humour they all went in a body. 7. For hours the game was kept up with great spirit and by degrees the whole garrison was drawn from its post to see the play. Suspecting nothing the gates had been left open, and while the onlookers cheered each fresh game, one by one Indian women stole unnoticed into the fort, carrying weapons under their shawls. 8. Suddenly the ball was tossed over the palisade, and amidst a wild tumult the lacrosses were flung aside, and Pli : 1 1 ons. the with d to rried 1 plot oung their irawn visit, :k the f that which id and settle- ssieged assist ird of trick, le the jreign. they, were )ody. spirit loin its js had each noticed [e, and ie, and CANADA INVADED (lllj the savages sprang to follow it. The trick was only understood when, without arms, the unhappy garrison turned to meet its awful fate. 9. With terrible slaughter most of the Western forts went down before Pontiac's allies. Detroit was saved just in time, and strong forces marching west once for all taught the savages the strength of their foes. If the worst, it was the last great effort of the red-men to drive Britain from America. CANADA INVADED— I 1. Among other things, the new Government determined to make the walls of Quebec stronger than ever. It took time, however, and so much money that the young King George III wondered if they were built of silver dollars instead of stone and mortar. Partly repaired as it was, the old fortress was certainly in a position far from secure. 2. Great Britain's continued wars in Europe had caused her vast losses in men and money, which her people were terribly taxed to supply. Her colonists in America, now well-to-do and strong, might have come to her aid, but they did not. Instead, they took the opportunity of seizing the big, new country for themselves, and, forgetting their boasted loyalty, flew to arms. England, still fiercely engaged across the ocean, sent all the troops she could spare to America, but her armies were defeated again and again. 3. Not satisfied with what they had already won, the ambitious rebels began urging Canada to join them in revolt. To her great credit Canada refused, and, enraged at the repulse, her old enemy determined to take her by force. Hostilities began at Ticonderoga. 4. One autumn night in 1775, a band of rebel soldiers ■ J '.r^. ■^ i M. 118 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY ■^ '.i i I-; : : marched through the border forests and bravely took the old fort, now more or less in ruins, and without a garrison. Having thus thrown down the gauntlet, they moved down the Richelieu River and seized a British vessel. 5. The rebel authorities had been waiting for this event, and without loss of time two thousand troops were hurriedly ordered forward to take Montreal. On their way, wherever the army found French Canadians, they did their best to set them against ]]ritish rule. Promised vast rewards if they would rise, the habitants wisely refused to listen to them. Too well they remembered the days when these flattering friends were bitter enemies. 6. By this time Montreal was a growing place, though not at all prepared for war. Most of the regulars were at Quebec, and little in the way of arms was to be had. Sir Guy Carleton, the Governor, called out the volunteers and counted them. There were less than two hundred. What could such a handful do against two thousand or more? 7. General Montgomery was at the head of the rebel forces, whose floating batteries were already advancing up the St. Lawrence. The next day the town would be forced to capitulate. Affairs were desperate. 8. The citizens, fiercely loyal, shut themselves up in their houses and waited. As darkness fell, loud ex- plosions told them that the Governor was blowing up the magazines. Then came silence, and the fitful glare of fires against the sky. 9. Late that night a big boat with muffled oars stole out from the riverside, and turned down stream. In the stern sat Sir Guy Carleton wrapped in his military cloak. Fortunately there was no moon, and not a word was spoken as, with noiseless strokes, the rowers slipped through the enemy's flotilla. The Governor was on his way to Quebec to prepare for the foe. CANADA INVADED 119 CANADA INVADED— II rs stole [n the cloak, td was slipped Ion his 1. In the meantime the crafty Arnold was marching through the State of Maine with another army. Early in November they reached Pointe Levi, opposite Quebec. It was bitterly cold, and they were without shelter, but the French Canadians in the neighbourhood could not be induced to ferry them across the river. Towards the middle of the month, however, Indians landed the forces on the north shore. 2. The winter set in early, and was a season of wild snowstorms and intense cold. The town garrison numbered only eighteen hundred men, and the un- finished walls were little able to hold out against a determined foe. But in Carleton British spirit was strong, and the courage of the defenders made up for everything else. 3. Leaving Montreal in charge, Montgomery joined Arnold in December on the Plains of Abraham, where they camped together. The rebel general knew Quebec well, having served there under Wolfe in 1759. He was not the mild and humane man many believe. Especially in punishing the habitants at that time, he had been guilty of cruel acts for which he could have been court- martialled. 4. The siege from the Plains was carried on with great energy. Batteries poured shot into the town, and scaling ladders were set up against the walls. Often showers of arrows from Indians in American pay fell over the walls, with notes tied to the shafts inciting the citizens to refvolt against the King. Night after night the Governor slept in his clothes, while the garrison stood to arms. Every movement of the enemy was watched with unceasing anxiety. I II t n II I ill- li :i; .^ i !i!l i r! I :'4l 1i 120 riCTtUES FllOM CANADIAN IIISTOIIV 5, A general attack had been planned for the early hours of 177G. It was bitterly cold, and tlirough tlie driving snow Montgomery forced his way at the head of his men along the bank of the river. Above him towered tliedark Capo fronting the storm, and in their path stood a barricade without light or any sign of life. Tlie leader pressed on with liis sword in hand. " Push on, brave lads ! " he exclaimed, " Quebec is ours ! " G. It was the last word he uttered. Through the darkness came the quick word of command, " Fire," and amidst a shower of b diets the General fell dead with several fellow otlicers tt his side. At the same moment Arnold's men were desperately fighting their way round the lower town from the other direction. In the furious struggle that followed, the commanding officer fell severely injured, and the force fell back, leaving many killed and wounded. 7. IkCpulsed and wounded as he was, Arnold kept up the siege for months afterwards. Dut all his plans fell through. Carleton was more than a match for American craft, and loyally shoulder to shoulder behind the walls stood the once mortal foes, French and English, THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS 1. Trouble between the United States and Canada, however, was not yet over. For some, indeed, it was only beginning. For years before the War of Independ- ence the colonists had been bitterly divided in their opinions as to their rightful allegiance. One party threatened to throw off the yoke of England, while the other only became more determined to stand by the King. 2. When the war decided the question, and the de- inada, it was »pend- their party le the the de- .?. : r. ?> It. mtm niM I ; ! K 5 'II :: 122 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY feated army returned to England, the opponents found it harder to get on with each other than ever. Far from becoming peaceful, the wordy war daily grew more bitter, until the Royalists were openly branded as outlaws and traitors. 3. Did the successful rebels just then remember the poor Acadians whom they had helped to punish so savagely for disloyalty only a few years before ? Whether or not, they decided to repeat the cruel in- justice, now, however, going a step further. This time their own brothers and friends were to be the victims. 4. A sudden and terrible order was sent out that all Kingsmen were to be arrested and put to death. With no mercy to be expected from such a high-handed Government, the men of British leanings were forced to flee at once, while the frantic women and children were left to follow as best they could. 5. Where should they go? It did not take long to decide, for the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia were still loyal to the King. Some of the fugitives took ship for Great Britain, but by far the greater number streamed through the northern States to Quebec, or by sea to the Maritime Provinces. 6. In great trouble, but hoping soon to come back and claim their own, the women prepared to follow their hus- bands. With a few household goods packed in carts or on horseback, whole families set out from every town and village. Th y walked along the country roads carrying their little ones, and at night camped in all weathers on the commons like gypsies. Black looks and insults followed them everywhere. Those who showed the wayfarers any kindness or even sold them food were treated as disloyal to the young Republic. 7. For a hundred miles on each side of the border the hills and dales were covered with dense forest and brush. lY md it from bitter, 7S and er the ish so lefore ? lel in- .3 time ims. hat all With handed reed to sn were :e long Scotia 68 took number ;, or by ick and )ir hus- Jts or on m and jarrying on the )llowed |ers any lisloyal Ider the brush. THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS 123 Dangerous swamps lay in the hollows, and deep streams that they could not pass. In winter the terrible cold and snowdrifts added to their misery, and wild beasts always prowled about on the look-out for prey. 8. As years passed, more and more joined the stream pouring north, until the Canadians were at their wits' end to provide food and shelter for such a multitude. At last large tracts of wild land through Quebec, Nova Scotia, and in the new provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick, were divided by the Government, and the newcomers moved into the woods, and began to make homes for themselves as best they could. 9. It was a pitiful downcome to the educated, well- bred colonists. To clear forest land is the hardest of work, and it takes time to prepare even a small patch on which to grow oats or barley. The settlers had to do without tea, s "-ar, and all the comforts they had been used to. It was not safe to go into the woods without a gun at any time, on account of wild beasts, and the howl of wolves often kept them awake at night. 10. All this time the refugees were hoping to regain their valuable lands and goods across the border. The Government of the Republic had solemnly promised to give up every man's property when he came to claim it. But of the belongings of many thousands of persons, not a thing was ever refunded. Those who ventured back were treated as harshly as before, and warned that the lives of " traitors " were not safe in the country. 11. Traitors — that was the false and cruel name they gave their fellow citizens. With us in Canada it is ditlerent. Here we remember with pride those who gave up all for a great cause, and pray that our nation may always be true to the principles of truth and honour ou which it is founded. 'i i'' i ^ ^ I ^ li: 1^ m ■ 124 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORV THE INDIAN TRAIL 1. Before the Revolution Sir William Johnson was agent for Indian affairs in the colonies. Brave in battle and just in all his dealings with them, no other white man ever gained such power over the savages as he. At his fine colonial mansion in Maine is still shown the place where the Mohawks used to come and sit on the lawn for hours, waiting patiently to speak to him. 2. In 1742, while the English and French were still at daggers drawn, a little Indian baby was born to the Chief of the Mohawks. The child had a pretty native name of his own, but the colonists called him, like his father, Brant. Later, Joseph Brant was to be elected Chief of the Five Nations, and do great things for his people. 3. Sir William Johnson, seeing how clever the boy was, sent him to a Christian Indian school. With what he learned there, Brant became very anxious to teach the heathen races about our Lord Jesus. He translated the Gospel of St. Mark and other books into the Mohawk tongue, and did much to help the work of the mission- aries. He meant to have written an account of his people, and it is a great pity he did not do so, for very little is known of the early history of the Indian tribes. 4. As time went on the Iroquois began to feel that they were not well treated under the laws of the new Republic. Indians and other natives have a strong sense of justice. Because they are honest themselves, they believe that the promises made by others will be kept. When the Five Nations found that solemn treaties were broken, and that the whites were turning them off their ancient lands, they were very indignant. 5. When the English colonies rebelled against the Mother Country, the Iroquois, led by Chief Brant and THE INDIAN TRAIL 125 3 new sense they kept. were their the It and Sir William Johnson, fought for their British rights. They could not believe that anyone had been unfairly treated. " The Great King," they said, " has never taken away an acre of our land as you are doing." 6. Both before and after the war the Five Nations had to suffer the same wicked and unjust treatment as the white Eoyalists. Like their fellow-sufferers, they at length left their old hunting grounds and sorrowfully took the trail to Canada. Christian and loyalist as they had now become, the once savage races were glad to take refuge on British soil. 7. Soon afterwards Chief Brant paid a visit to England, where he went by the name of the " Noble Savage." He was greatly made of in Court circles because he had been faithful to the King, and one of his friends, a nobleman, had his portrait painted by the artist Roniney. 8. Since leaving their old lands, the chiefs were at a loss where to found a new settlement for their people. Great councils were held, in which all agreed that they would rather " go away to Japan or beyond Hudson Bay, than return to their former homes," where true justice was not to be found. 9. When Brant reached Canada in 1784, he found that the King had offered a rich and fertile part of Ontario to the homeless braves. It is very interesting to know that the first loyalist chapel in Canada was built by the Mohawks on the Grand River, and that a fine silver communion ser- vice, given them by Queen Anne, is still in their possession and greatly prized. Among the busy towns that have long since sprung up in this district, is Brantford, where an imposing monument stands in memory of the great chief. 10. Under Tecumseh, the Tuscaroras later joined their Ontario friends, and in 1812 the united tribes, now called the Six Nations, won undying fame for their splendid loyalty to the British Crown. n ft 1 ':'. \ \ 186 PICTUKES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY THE FINDER OF THE ERASER RIVER— I 1. Among those attached to the British forces in America during the Revolutionary War, was a Highland officer named Fraser. His wife lived, for the time being, at Bermington on the Hudson, with her infant child, who was called Simon, after the chief of their clan. 2. As we all know, one reverse after another befell the British until at last the unhappy affair ended in their defeat. Captain Fraser was present with his detachment at the surrender of General Burgoyne. There, unfortu- nately, he was captured by the Americans and thrown into prison, where he soon afterwards died. 3. So great was the hostility of the victors to their so-called enemies, that Mrs. Fraser, overcome with terror, seized her child and fled. After many hardships, she reached Cornwall, Upper Canada, in company with other fugitives. 4. It was a terrible blow to the young wife. Besides her grief, she had to face dire poverty. Everything she possessed had been left in Bermington, and it was un- likely that she would ever regain her property. Like most of the other United Empire Loyalists, she had to set about providing for the little family without delay. It was a difficult task, but one that she bravely met and conquered. 5. Simon Fraser grew up a stirring and conscientious boy, and at the age of sixteen entered the service of the North- West Fur-Trading Company of Montreal. There, among men whose chief thought was activity in business and fearlessness in the face of danger, the lad soon proved his merit. 6. No doubt young Fraser sometimes went about this time to Lachine, to see the yearly departure of the I 111 lY THE FINDER OF THE FRASER RIVER 127 —I BS in ;hland being, child, ell the their ;hment ifortu- bhrown their e with rdships, ly with Besides ing she ^as un- Like had to delay. kly met lentious of the There, business (,d soon iut this of the voyageurs for the North-West. There anchored off shore lie would see a number of large canoes packed with provisions and other necessaries for the far distant trading posts. The day was kept as a holiday, and the streets of the old village were lively with the French Canadian servants of the Company, as well as numerous Caughnawaga Indians and their families. 7. Most of the Indian women carried their papooses strapped to boards and slung from their backs, while here and there, along the side of the road, a mother had relieved herself of her burden. The board, propped against a tree or stone, held its wide-awake, black- eyed little occupant, who looked about silently, and accepted its lonely situation with true Indian stoicism. 8. All day games of various sorts were in order, and good-humour prevailed. The greatest interest, how- ever, centred about the Canadian and Indian wrestlers, in which the patience of the latter usually proved him victor. The levelling beams of the sun at length gave the signal of departure, and the farewells were quickly said. The canoes paddled over to one of the adjacent islands, where camp was pitched for the night, and at sunrise the flotilla set off on its long journey to the west. 9. The route of the voyageurs was that traced by Champ- lain three hundred years ago, — up the Ottawa and the Mattawa rivers, across the lakes on " the height of land," and down the French River to Lake Huron. It had long been the Indian short cut from the upper lakes to the St. Lawrence, and accounts for the swift movements of the tribesmen over great distances in former times. Modern engineers know no better way to follow for the great Georgian Bay Canal. 10. Threading their way in and out among the islands of the Mer Douce (Lake Huron), the canoes at length I i 'lil'il 128 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY reached Sault Ste. Marie. At this point the short river of twenty-two miles discharged the immense flood of Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Here they found the little canal built some years before, which saved the labour of a portage for goods going up and fur-laden boats coining down from the trading posts. Primitive as it wf.3, this canal serves to prove the vast energy and ability of the North-West Company. 11. Simon Fraser had entered the service in 1792, but a few years after Mackenzie's great feat in following the course of t'lfc river, now named after him, to the Arctic Ocean. T'l.^ jxplorer, too, was just about to set out on hm still more v/onderful journey on foot across the Rocky Mountar-^'. 12. ISiaturally, the youth's adventurous spirit was aroused over such exploits as these. It is not unlikely that he soon proved his mettle in one or more minor ex- cursions with the voyageurs, and the first important posts he managed were Grand Portage and Lake Athabasca. He was indeed a rising man, and it was with great satis- faction that he accepted charge of a party leaving in 1805 to establish forts for the Company, and open trade with the Indians west of the Rockies. THE FINDER OF THE FRASER RIVER— II 1. The adventures of Eraser's voyageurs in their long journey across the continent has never been told. Heroes, it is true, seldom have time to record " the dangers they have passed." For all time, however, the names of certain rapids and rocky chasms on that route will recall the weary portages, the moments of terrible danger, and the loss of countless lives yet to be in the discharge of duty. 2. Far off on the prairies the travellers had their first THE FINDER OF THE FRASER RIVER 129 sight of the Rocky Mountains like a cloudbank on the horizon. As they approached they found themselves among the rolling hills, and, following their Indian guide, entered a pass that led into the heart of the mighty ridge. It was a grand and striking scene. A narrow, rocky gorge whose sides were clothed with dark pines, while below a boiling, impetuous torrent dashed along. On every side the snow-capped heads of mighty hills crowded one behind the other, while in the near distance rose a giant among giants, whose sharp, round peak seemed to reach the very skies. 3. This place was to become famous as the Tete Jaune Cache for a curious reason. An Indian of the district, whose yellow hair was the wonder of his race, was known by this nickname. On the foundation of the trading posts, Tete Jaune found the spot a convenient one in which to cache or hide the skins he was collecting for barter with the white man. It is worthy of notice that just a century later this pass should be chosen by the Grand Trunk Pacific for its rocky entrance to British Columbia. 4. The first post to be founded west of the "Great Divide " was Rocky Mountain House, and shortly after- wards one farther north called Fort McLeod. Journeys here and there in the interior soon proved to be more than perilous, but the natives, some of whom greeted their first white visitors with angry terror, were worse. As with Mackenzie, however, Eraser's tact and patience won the day. For years, indeed, these tribes kept up their savage raids upon each other, but comparatively few bloodthirsty attacks on the whites can be laid at their door. 5. The next year or two were employed in tracing the surrounding territory, which the explorer called New Caledonia. He found that it was mainly held by the ill 5,|: 'it I iS ! 130 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY !| Carriers, tlie Babines, and the Indians of the Skeena Kiver, with whom he began friendly relations and a great native traffic. It was not long, however, before he noticed signs among them which made him very uneasy. Iron tools, guns and ammunition were common in the villages, and the questioner was told that they came from white men along the course of a river which he took to be the Columbia. G. In the autumn of 1807 his suspicions concerning these traders were confirmed. News came from Mon- treal that American explorers were pressing along the Columbia Iliver, then in British territory, and busily annexing it for their Government by right of discovery ! Fraser lost no time in deciding to go down the great stream on which he was just then building his fourth post, Fort George, and securing it for his Company. 7. The expedition left the new fort in four canoes towards the end of May 1808. Nineteen voyageurs and two Indian guides, besides the chief and his two lieu- tenants, made up the number. One of the latter, Mr. John Stuart, a leading man in the service, was some years later to have a baby nephew, now known to us as Lord Strathcona. 8. Scarcely was the party afloat, however, when diffi- culties began to crowd upon it thick and fast. In spite of all its steersman could do, one of the canoes was caught in an eddy and whirled against the precipice forming one side of the canyon. For a brief space it seemed as if nothing but a miracle could save it from being dashed in pieces. As they proceeded, equally wild places met their view, and the iron muscles and stout hearts of the paddlers had all they could do to hold their own against the furious current. 9. Other troubles as well as the fight with nature appeared. After some days' pulling, upon a near stretch Mount Sik Donald, in thk Selkiuks This monolith was named after Sir Donald A. Smith, now Lord Strathcona. It is said that 120 glaciers may be seen from the summit of this mountain. Hi }; ' ■; ;r ■ f I lij 132 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY of sandbank hoof-marks warned the party that they had reached the country of the Attahs. This was the *' very malignant race " whose warlike gestures had forced the intrepid Mackenzie on one occasion to turn back. A nation of riders, they had then despatched swift horsemen to warn other tribes of the approach of the white man. Now they were about to repeat the unfriendly act, had not the explorer spent a day among them, which resulted in a change of tactics. Perhaps the firing off of his musket, which caused the natives to fall flat on the ground in terror, had something to do with his ultimate success. 10. From where he stood on the Attah shore, Fraser could see that the stream was becoming worse instead of better. Before him stretched two miles of rapids, which for a moment caused even his brave heart to quail. Anyone who has been in a canoe shooting a rapid will never forget the breathless danger, described by Champlain as " making my hair stand on end." The sheer, rocky walls on each side were but forty or fifty yards apart, and through this space the swollen waters hurled themselves with a roar like a cataract. 11. To add to his dismay, the banks at this point were too steep to allow of a portage. Even the Indians here left the water, and ascended by means of rude ladders fastened to the face of the rock. As an experiment, one of the canoes, lightly loaded and carrying the five best men, was launched on the boiling current. Cool, determined, and in awful silence, they held their paddles with a grip of steel, only to find ohemselves seized by a flume and whirled round and round with tremendous velocity. The horrified onlookers from above saw the frail craft shoot from one danger to another, until the very fury of the stream hurled it against the bank, fortu- nately on their side of the stream. THE FINDER OF THE FRASER RIVER 133 12. It was a terrible moment. The men, clinging for life to the rough rocks, held the boat with their feet, while their comrades above plunged downward to their aid, striking their dirks into the clefts of the rocks to prevent pitching head-first into the water. With vast labour the canoe was rescued and hauled up the height, and the party proceeded by a path along which it was scarcely possible to carry even a gun. 13. From the Attahs the travellers had procured some horses, and once a laden animal, missing its footing, fell over the edge and was killed. At another time one of the men, with a heavy pack on his back, found himself on a narrow ledge where he could not move or even release his burden. Seeing his danger, Fraser, at great risk to himself, crawled along the edge of the cliff, and, leaning over, cut the cords and let the bundle drop into the river. 14. Taking to the water again, the fierce fight with cascades, rocks, and whirlpools went on for four more long anxious days. Then the courageous leader was forced to take the advice of the natives, and for a time confine himself to land. Even here dangers of a new kind beset them. In carrying the boats and their contents along the frightful ups and downs, a pair of moccasins was worn out in a day, and the footsore and weary voyageurs were at times almost baffled. 15. Keeping up heart, however, the party persevered, and at last reached somewhat level country. How they met and passed the fierce natives of the inlet is told in the journal of the intrepid leader. Swollen by the melting snows, the river had been followed at the most dangerous season, and, to the satisfaction of all, was found to discharge, by the Gulf of Georgia, into the Pacific Ocean. With the Columbia it had no identity. 16. The exploit, carried through without the loss of even one life, is one that will never be forgotten in ':'l> w. PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY Canadian annals. Ilis gallant feat had won a name for 8imon Fraser, and he was offered a knighthood, which, however, he declined. Honoured and admired, however, be was tendered the highest post in the gift of the Company, and continued until old age devoting himst to the best interests of his adopted country. THE WAR OF 1812 1. While things were going on so busily in Canada, Great Britain had been drawn into another dreadful war, this time with Napoleon Bonaparte. The Americans, for some reason, had never forgiven England for her too great generosity to them after the devolution. With few regular troops in Canada, it seemed a suital' time to pun.'sh the Mother Country and at the sa' time add to their own domains ! 2. In June, 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain, and once more the loyal colonies found themselves a great battlefield and graveyard. A terrible duty lay before the Canadians, twelve hundred miles of frontier to guard, and neither men nor arms for the task. 3. The war was not of England's seeking, and, for a time, she hoped, for Canada's sake, to secure peace at any price. The Americans, however, in their trumped- up indignation, would listen to nothing. 4. Seeing this, the colonists rose to the task with great spirit. Expecting that most of the fighting would be about Lake Ontario, troops hurried from all the provinces, and the Loyalists, both white and Indian, flocked to join the volunteers. Armed vessels of both nations cruised up and down the Lakes, and Kingston, Toronto (then called York), and Niagara were on the alert. *v THE WAR OF 1812 l^.") 5. great lid be dnces, to join Iruised (then Fighting began at Detroit, when the brave, beloved General Brock captured the town. Among other things, thirty-three much needed cannon fell into his hands, and from mouth to mouth flew the news of victory. 6. October had now arrived, and from the Canadian side of the Niagara river the enemy's camp could easily be seen. Attack was expected at any time, and a sharp look-out kept up. Before dawn on the 13th a large force of Aaiericans could be made out crossing the river at (.^)ueenston. With great spirit the little British force fired into the darkness, and succeeded in driving off the foe. 7. About sunrise General Brock galloped up from Fort George, and sprang from his horse. Here and there thick clumps of bushes covered the n- ^ghbouring ground, and h'ilf-way up the incline stood a single cannon, still warm from its morning's work. Climbing rapidly, the soldierly figure stood beside the gun, and with keen eyes looked about him. 8. At this moment a hidden body of the enemy burst from a near-by thicket, firing as they came. Taken by surprise, Brock retreated to the foot of the hill, and, hastily joined by others, charged up the slope to regain the position. " Push on, brave York volunteers," cried the young General, waving his sword. A volley of musket-balls from above was the answer, and with the words on his lips the gallant commander fell dead at the head of his men. 9. The struggle that followed was of little avail. Later in the day General Sheaffe's force marched up from Fort George, but, warned of his danger, the oflicer made a wide circuit, and approached from above. The troops, raging at the loss of their beloved leader, charge^! with the bayonet, and after a fierce hand-to-hand combat, drove the enemy over the cliff, leaving a thousand prisoners behind. i.i ■' t i':i I I ■.vf i , > u 'i' 136 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY LAURA SECORD— I 1. The fateful 27th of May, 1813, brought ruin to the little town of Niagara. After a brave defence against great odds, the place, already in flames, was taken, and not a family but had friends among the gallant dead. The district swarmed with Americai troops, now more sure than ever of taking Canada. The people were really prisoners, and watched with unceasing vigilance by the besieging force. ?. In a cottage on the outskirts lived James Secord anu his young wife Laura, The times were full of daring deeds, and the Secords belonged to an intensely patriotic United Empire Loyalist family. It was nearly two months since the fall of the town, and James was still only recovering from his wounds. 3. Sunrise was flooding the beautiful countryside on the 23rd of June, when Mrs. Secord entered her husband's room and carefully closed the door. Sitting by the bedside, she excitedly whispered some news she had happened to overhear from two American soldiers passing the house. , 4. About twenty miles off Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, with fifty men of his Majesty's 49th Eegiment, held a post. The few careless words had revealed the fact that this force was to be surprised next day by six hundred of the enemy. As no help could be sent the little garrison, it would be cut to pieces. It was a matter of desperate importance. 5. After a pause, Laura raised her head resolutely. "James," she said, "I am going to tell them." The young man looked at her for a moment without speaking. " You can't go by the road," he answered slowly. " They will see to that." " I know," was the quiet ans wer. iY LAURA SECORD 137 bo the gainst n, and dead. more really by the Secord 'ull of ,ensely nearly es was lide on d her itting Iws she loldiers with post. it this red of :rison, )erate [utely. The iking. They 6. For a few minutes the pat.iotic couple talked eagerly of ways and means. The country was still but thinly settled, and the only road leading in that direc- tion well watched. The forest, extending for miles on every side, was dense and dangerous. Wild beasts lurked in its gloomy shades, and swamps made some part3 almost impassable. At length Laura rose and kissed her husband. " Good-bye," she said bravely, " till we meet again." 7. A few minutes later, hatless, and with a pail on each arm, the young woman was stopped at the meadow gate. "You can't pass here," said tne sentry, shortly. Mrs. Secord put on her most engaging smile. " Can't," she returned lightly, "and what will Colonel Boerstler do without milk for his breakfast ? " The man laughed, and, lowering his piece, made way for her and watched her upright figure tripping across the pasture. " Don't be long," he called sharply; "I'll be on the look-out for you!" 8. As he spoke there was a quick step on the road, and a rattle of arms caught Laura's ear. At the sound her heart bounded. It was the change of sentries, and seemed a good omen, for now her absence might not be noticed. As she proceeded, sounds of military life rose in the crisp morning air ; soon the little town would awaken to its burden of sorrow. About the wide field the cows were cropping the dewy grass, while the sun touched the forest trees on the far side of the fence. LAURA SECORD— II 1. Mrs. Secord chose the farthest away animal, and pushed it still nearer the fence. For a few moments there was the quick sound of milk frothing into the pail, then, with a hasty look round, she ceased work, crept 1 i 'lit l i ;-! !h ■*! 138 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY past the cow, and, running a few yards, plunged into the wood. For a few minutes in terror of a musket shot to show that she was missed, the panting figure fied through the trees scarcely caring where she was going. 2. No sound, however, reached her anxious ear. As she pressed on, the brush became more dense and thorny, and the long branches of the brambles pulled at her hair and tore her face and hands. In her haste she stumbled over mossy logs, and, still trembling with excitement, had to retrace her steps again and again to find some easier way. 8. For hours the heroic woman fought her way through the jungle-like growth. Her shoes and stockings were long since worn out, and her dress torn to shreds. Her bare feet sank in the oozy swamp, or, striking against sharp stones, caused her to cry out in pain. 4. The countless trees rose on every side solemn and confusing, the dark interlacing branches almost shutting out the light. From far off now and then came the long howl of a wolf, and, once stooping to drink at a rocky spring, the horrid rattle of a snake caused her to bound back with a shriek and rush on in terror. 5. Weak and dizzy, Laura sometimes threw herself on the ground wishing to die, and again, with a prayer on her lips, sprang up, determined to push on. The day seemed endless, and yet, as the sun waned, she could have wept despairing tears. In darkness, and with no guide, she would be lost indeed. 6. Approaching what seemed to be an opening in the trees, she suddenly sprang backwards in affright. With no sound of warning, her terrified eyes were staring straight at an outpost Indian in full war-paint. With a long moan the wanderer swayed forwards, and fell fainting on the ground. 7. When she came to she found herself in a tent, RY d into Qusket ire fled ing. r. As le and pulled r haste g with gain to hrough ;s were . Her against nn and hutting le the rocky bound lelf on |yer on ^ day could ith no in the With ^taring With Id fell tent. THE WAR CONTINUED 139 surrounded by the kindly faces of white men in uniform. Half sobbing, she told her story, and was amazed to see the instant energy it produced in her hearers. Nothing could have aroused the young heroine so quickly as the way in which her brave act was received. 8. History tells how the next day Boerstier's force of Americans, marching along the road, was suddenly hemmed in by two hundred Indians at Beaver Dams, and, when Fitzgibbon's force also advanced upon them, they surrendered with scarcely a shot. THE WAR CONTINUED— I 1 1. Through the summer of 1813 the valour and loyalty of Canada were tried to their utmost. The American forces, smarting under their losses, were increased to 56,000 men, and their armed fleets on Lakes Erie and Ontario made stronger than ever. 2. Few in number and in want of everything, the Canadians kept up their spirit, though the work was desperate. No post had enough of men. Toronto was twice seized, and its public buildings t v. ned. Fort Erie and Fort George, across the lake, went through the baptism of blood that has made the Niagaia ground for ever sacred to patriotic Canadians. 3. In June the British forces, obliged to fall back from Fort George, had reached Stoney Creek, at the head of Lake Ontario. They were pressed by between three and four thousand Americans, who wearily threw themselves down for the night without posting sentries. Canadians had already proved themselves alert scouts, and the state of the enemy was soon reported at headquarters. Colonel Harvey determined to lose no time. 4. With his force of 1400 men, he stole through the u iT. t t »:1 "" 1 1 1 \ i i i 1 1 ': f 1 ; 1 1 i 1 1 140 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY darkness, and fell upon the sleeping ranks. The sudden and gallant attack caused a complete rout. The force fled in confusion, leaving everything, including two generals and many prisoners, behind them. 5. Later in the summer, off-shore at the same spot (now Hamilton), a two days' naval battle took place, in which the British fleet under Yeo proved victorious. The scene is described by an officer on the Heights above : " It was a moment of great anxiety with us when the two fleets lay in sight of each other, the one wishing to avoid coming to hard knocks, and the other straining every nerve to be at it. I rode twenty miles to see the hostile squadron. ... 6. "At eleven o'clock on the night of the last day that I was there, Sir James Yeo contrived to bring them (the Americans) to a partial engagement, and for an hour and a half the lake opposite appeared to be in a continual blaze." , 7. The result was uncertain until daylight, " when," the writer continues, " I observed the Yankee fleet bear- ing away to Fort George with two schooners less than they had the evening before, and our fleet steering for York (Toronto) with two additional sail. The Americans have besides lost two of their largest schooners, which upset from carrying a press of sail when our fleet was in chase of them." THE WAR CONTINUED— II 1. Such good luck, however, did not attend a fierce battle that took place in September on Lake Erie. The British ships, under a brave officer named Barclay, were attacked by a strong American fleet. The fight was long and stubborn, but in the end the entire English squadron was taken prisoner. adden force ; two ! spot ice, in The ibove : 3n the ling to aining see the ly that m (the lur and iitinual when," t bear- s than ng for ricana which iwas in THE WAR CONTINUED 141 fierce The were long ladron 2. With this defeat fell Detroit, then held by Proctor with a garrison of nine hundred men. With them were Tecumseh, the noted Indian chief, and his followers. In desperate straits the force retreated, followed by five thousand of the enemy. Near where London now stands, the Indians refused to retire farther, as they considered it, in disgrace. 3. General Proctor continued his flight, while the gallant Tuscaroras turned to face the foe. Wit.h fierce valour, that the race as British allies has never equalled, Tecumseh and his braves held their position until the leader and nearly all of the band were killed. 4. So far the war had raged in Upper Canada, but in October the Americans prepared to attack Montreal. Hampton, with seven thousand men, marched through the State of New York and down the Chateauguay lliver. Their movements were watched from cover by de Sala- berry's three hundred Voltigeurs. 5. The battleground was well chosen. The French Canadians had learned the use of rocky glens and dense woods in Indian warfare, and strong breastworks of logs added to their security. A reserve force guarded the ford at some distance, and a few Indians were on the alert. The difference in numbers, however, between the rival forces was great. 6. At one time de Salaberry's little company was in dire straits, when some buglers were ordered to sound the advance, which they did with great spirit from different parts of the wood. Indian war-whoops added to the commotion, and the Americans, breaking up in consternation, scattered in all directions. To the credit of the Voltigeurs, the rout that followed was complete. 7. About the same time a brigade under General Wilkinson was passing through the Thousand Islands on its way to meet Hampton at Montreal. Watching them K IH i Ml i!.£u 142 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY closely came Colonel Morrison in the rear, with a British detachment of eight hundred men. At the head of the Long Sault Rapids^ the American forces divided, two thousand five hundred landing near Crysler's farm, and intending to march forward, while their comrades went by water. 8. This was Morrison's time. Hurrying forward, he attacked the enemy, and in the bloody fight that followed the day was won for Canada. The American troops, in disorder, fled down the river, hearing on the way of the defeat of their forces at Chateauguay, two weeks be- fore. The news quite overthrew their plans, and, while they hastily retreated southwards, Montreal thanked God for her miraculous escape. THE END OF THE WAR 1. The grim winter of 1814 had scarcely begun to merge into spring, when, undeterred by its reverses, war turned its pitiless march northward once more by the ancient route of Lake Champlain and the Richelieu. At the old mill of LacoUe, however, the invading forces met their first British reception, and it was a warm one. Nearly a hundred years have passed, and there has been no need to repeat it. 2. Other repulses followed, and, driven from the out- skirts the American troops hastened from all quarters towards the Niagara. One more great effort was to be made to humble Canada. 3. In July five thousand Americans under one Brown crossed the Niagara River, and took Fort Erie. Turning north, they were met by General Eiall, who, with too * There are Long Sault Rapids both on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers. ni ij RY British of the d, two □a, and ; went ird, he Uowed ops, in !\ray of 2ks be- , while edGod THE END OF THE WAR 143 \ merge turned ncient Ithe old t their early a o need ^e out- larters to be JBrown lurning Ith too ice and great daring, matched his force against more than double the enemy. In the memorable action that followed, one- third of the British were killed or made prisoners. The rest fell back on Fort George. 4. Hearing of this reverse, Sir Gordon Drummond, with all the troops he could muster, hurried west from Kingston. Near the Falls a narrow road called Lundy's Lane crosses the highway, and here, on a ridge, Riall had taken up his position. As night drew on he was hastily joined by Drummond and squads of men running from the harvest field. 5. They were none too soon. Already the slope towards the river was held by the enemy, on the point of a violent onslaught. With the roar of the mighty cataract sound- ing above their hateful strife, the greatest battle in our history was fought on July 13, 1814. 6. With well-matched determination on each side, the action lasted until about nine o'clock in the evening, when there came a pause So far the British had refused to give way before the overwhelming attack, but their strength was almost spent. At this moment, however, twelve hundred of Scott's Brigade, who had made a forced march of twenty miles, came up at the double. 7. It was the signal for a fresh onset. Through the dense darkness, without a word of warning, the enemy's gunners dashed up the slope, swinging their batteries almost mouth to mouth with the British guns. For more than three hours the furious death-grapple lasted, until, with a cheer, the heroes of Lundy's Lane saw the foe give way and retreat once more. In the awful struggle a thousand lives had been lost on each side. 8. While this murderous conflict was raging in Canada, great events were making history in Europe. After the untold suffciings he had wrought upon the nations, Bonaparte was caged at last on the Island of Elba. 1^'!' ^^i- ir :i i!^ 144 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 9. The vast loss of her men in battle, the grinding taxes to supply money for war, and the never-ending threats of conquest, had made Napoleon an inhuman monster to the people of the British Isles. No wonder that heralds with waving flags galloped through the country, shouting the glad tidings, "Peace on earth again," and the church bells took up the joyful chorus. 10. Among other things. Great Britain was now free to go to the aid of her people overseas. For the second time the United States had chosen the hour of England's dis- tress in which to vent her fury on Canada. Now she had to suffer for it. The flower of his Majesty's army hurried to America, and there left some sorely needed warnings of the danger of meddling with her northern neighbours. 11. England's fleet easily regained the power which her self-made enemy deemed lost to her for ever. "Washington, capital of the republic, was taken, ports blockaded, and much damage to vessels done at sea. The republic was thoroughly humbled, however, and the end of the turmoil came peaceably on Christmas Eve, 1814, when quiet once more settled down on sea and shore. I ;! ' I'" THE MERCHANTS ADVENTURERS 1. Flying from the upset realm of his father, the King of Bohemia, Prince Rupert betook himself to the court of his uncle, King Charles the First of England. But he had only transferred his allegiance from one ill-governed state to another. Handsome, clever, unscrupulous, and, above all, daring, he threw himself heart and soul into the cause of his royal relative. 2. Cast upon his own resources, however, by the execu- tion of the King, the young Prince lost no time in deciding RY inding ending buinan vonder r\\ the . earth Drus. free to id time d's dis- ow she 's army needed Lorthern hich her hington, ied, and blic was turmoil liet once King of curt of But he overned us, and, ul into execu- leciding 'A PS' i;S ?■■ ! ! 146 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY ' f what he should do. With f^reat audacity he sei/icd upon several ships of the Royal Navy, and set out for tlie West Indies. These waters, already teeming with pirates, were the world's highway for merchantmen. Arrived there, the royal freebooter for years chased and plundered the richly laden Dutch, French, Spanish, and even English ships, on the high seas. 3. This exciting career over, the Prince returned to England with the Stuarts in 1660. The gay follies of Charles's court had now, however, no attractions for liim, but all his love of adventure still remained, and the found- ing of the Hudson Bay Company took hold of his fancy. Through him a number of noblemen and gentlemen ob- tained a charter, and he became the first Governor of the Merchants Adventurers. It is strange tliat when most of the princes of our own royal house are forgotten, the dashing Rupert, half-foreign as he was, is still bound up with the history of Canada. 4. Years before the lands round the vast Bay had been taken by the explorer Henry Hudson in the name of Phigland, but it was two picturesque French rogues who led the merchants of London to begin trade in the northern regions. Des Groseilliers and liadisson were coureurs des hois in Canada, and knew by heart every way to cajole or force the Indians to trade with them. 5. Here is a picture of Radisson after years of wild life in the woods. " He was dressed more like a savage than a Christian. His black hair, just touched with grey, hung in wild profusion about his ])are neck ai:d shoulders. He showed a swart complexion, seamed and pitted by frost and exposure in a rigorous climate. A liuge scar, wrought by the tomahawk of an Indian, disfigured his left cheek. His whole costume was surmounted bv a wide collar of marten's skin ; his feet were adorned by buckskin moccasins. In his leather belt was sheathed a long knife." of ex the pos iak« du you ove ild life than He y frost rought cheek, illar of casins. THE MERCHANTS ADVENTURERS 147 6. Finding Canada, for the time, too hot to hold them, this worthy pair hetook themselves to London. Here, through Prince Rupert, they managed to rouse so much interest in the frozen North, that in June, 1G08, the ketch Nonsuch sailed from Wapping Old Stairs, and two months afterwards entered Hudson Straits. " And now there came both rain and snow, And it grew wondrous cold ; The ice, mast-high, came floating by, As green as emerald. " ^ Among such strange scenes the sturdy little boat made her way south through the lonely Bay, and, at the end of September, the handful of Englishmen she carried landed at a stream they called Rupert's River. Cheerfully all hands set to work to build a log fort and other buildings, enclosing all with a strong stockade. 7. The unusual stir soon drew wandering natives to the scene. They were greatly surprised and alarmed at the appearance of the white man, but, won over by presents, promised to go home and bring what furs they had. This was a beginning, and Groseilliers did not let the grass grow under his feet. Knowing several Indian dialects, he pressed on into the country, everywhere making gifts and urging the value of trade with the English. 8. At that time the energetic Talon was Intendant of Canada. With his encouragement an army of traders, explorers, and Jesuit missionaries were pushing on into the far West. As yet, however, it had been found im- possible to force a path across the wild mountains and lakes which stretched between Quebec and the Mer du Nord. In 1672 a priest named Albanel and the young Sieur St. Simon for the first time found a way overland to James Bay. * The Ancient Mariner, by S. T. Coleridge. ( H i; 'I M 148 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 9. This outpost party was soon followed by traders from Canada. At Ilupert's River, in the meantime, little love was lost between the English and French servants of the Company, and their misunderstandings led to complete rupture upon the advance of the latter's countrymen. Going back to Quebec, Radisson and Groseilliers soon set up a rival company, and their voyageurs scoured the interior, picking up valuable packs that should have been brought to the Merchants Adventurers. 10. As time went on more English posts were opened round the Bay. The trade proved very paying, and yearly two or more ships carried rich cargoes of skins to the great warehouses in Old London. The intense rivalry between the fur-traders, however, could not but lead to exciting events, and the first serious brush took place in the Straits, between a Hudson Bay ship for York Fort and two vessels of the French Company. The former, with her cargo, was seized, and her un- happy crew were sold as slaves in the West Indies. 11. In Canada this bold stroke roused the spirit of the Chevalier de Troyes. Drawing round him the most daring men he could find, he placed them under the three dashing Le Moynes, d'lberville, Marincourt, and^ Sainte Helene. The party left Montreal in winter, and, ascending the Ottawa, crossed the northern laV^' Speeding down the Abitibi River, they stole Moose Fort in the dead of night, and the e garrison, roused from sleep, was easily overpi red. 12. In light marching order the victorious ^drty pursued its way along the seashore, finding the t^irit- less traders at Rupert's River and Fort Albany all equally ready to submit. The loss of their forts in time of peace, however, and the vast amount of plunder falling into the raiders' hands, roused the worthy direc- lY THE COMPANY'S TRAITERS U» •aders little •vants ed to itter's I and their luable 3hants )pened 5, and skins ntense d not brush ly ship jnpany. Br un- irit of most er the t, and , and, arty fepirit- y all rts in lunder direc- tors in London to a pitch of fury. Petitions were sent to the Government, with the surprising result that the enemy was allowed to keep all its unlawful gains. 13. This weakness only served to increase French boldness. For years the northern bay and straits be- came the scene of bloody encounters on land and sea, and the once English possessions were overrun by tho enemy. So vast became the losses of the (Jonipuny, that the nation at last awoke to its duty, and the seized forts were all given back to their owners. Once more safety was restored, and to this day the great Company in peace reaps its wide northern harvests, where other harvest there is none. THE COMPANY'S TRAPPERS 1. In course of time the great Company began to realise the vast extent of its charter rights. North and west by prairie and mountain to the Pacific Ocean, and east through the dreary solitudes of Labrador, stretched Rupert's Land. At long intervals, surrounded by wastes of snow, appeared their stone-walled forts, from whose flagstaffs floated the Union Jack with its mysterious initials H.B.C. Far as the tiny footprints of mink or marten led, followed the patient snowshoe trail of the Company's trappers. 2. From the first the relations between white man and savage in the north were honourable and pleasant. Each trusted the other, and though the Merchants Adventurers r'ot their rich wares cheap, European goods made the idians vastly more comfortable than in bygone days. - nough the tribes had savage conflicts with each other, he small groups of white traders and their families were lot attacked. Insult and serious wrong were unknown, ij V 150 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY the ,1, J. ij i¥ I - ■:i i scenes of common in the and the outskirts of Canada were never ruthless vengeance that later became United States. 3. The story of the fur hunter is one of thrilling interest. The thickest and softest fur is naturally the product of the greatest cold, and active work in taking it is carried on during the intense winter weather. The hunting grounds are often solitary and savage reaches, where food is of the scarcest. If he would be successful, the trapper must possess great endurance and patience. He must know the tastes and habits of the wild creatures he hunts, and be prepared for cunning surpassing that of human brains. In the constant life and death struggle he wages, his bodily strength, if not a match for ferocious attack from great and small, has to yield to superior force or wisdom. 4. Now it is a hand-to-hand conflict with a bear deprived of her cubs, now the terrific claws of a trapped and infuriated lynx capable, with one stroke, of ripping open a man. Once in a while the Indian or half- breed, patiently following his quarry, comes across all that remains of a fearful encounter between man and beast. On the snow lie the bleached bones of a human skeleton, and near by, perhaps, are a rifle with shattered stock, a cartridge belt with few remaining bullets, and the dead bodies of three or four grey wolves. 5. The methods of the trapper are to-day much the same as they have always been. The profession descends from father to son for generations. The primitive de d- falls are still widely found in the interior, though steel traps are becoming more common. At the proper season whole families leave their summer homes, and travel together to the hunting grounds. The outfit is expensive and bulky, but by long experience firearms, ammunition, food, and clothing are packed so as to give the least !ii h the icends de d- steel leason travel msive [ition, least M o = "J H Q |i? i tf If; m il '■ 152 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISIORY trouble in portaging. The furled tepees and heavy traps fall to the care of the strongest. 6. Arrived at their field of operations, sometimes a couple of hundred miles off, the tents are pitched. For this seventeen stout poles are used, tied together in pairs about three feet from the top. The lower ends are spread out into a circle twenty feet or more in diameter, and dressed moose or deer skins, neatly sewn together and cut to fit, form a snug, rainproof covering. A fireplace formed of stones occupies the middle of the floor, and just above is an opening to let out the smoke and admit the light. A loose flap of hide serves for door, and cedar or spruce boughs make sweet-smelling beds and a warm carpet for the feet. 7. Among themselves the limits of each family are well known, and the penalties of poaching understood. Certain districts, sometimes extending over hundreds of square miles, are considered the absolute property- of the squatter, with the creatures there rearing their young. Roving big game, however, such as deer or bears, may be killed wherever they are met, and are always joyfully added to the none too -"ilentiful family provisions. 8. Suitable traps and snares are set at intervals along a blazed path, perhaps ten or twelve miles in length, and baited with fish, flesh, or, in the case of the vegetarian musk-rat, with carrots, apples, or pieces of squash. Every device, such as powdering new-fallen snow from a gloved hand, or drawing fir branches or fresh deer hide across his track, must be looked to by the trapper, or nothing would be (taught. Every morning the long line is in- spected, the kills removed, and, where traps are sprung, new bait set. 9. Running down and taking the skins from their original owners, however, is but a part of what has to be done by the expert sons of the hunting-knife. Great RY J traps imes a . For a pairs spread )r, and er and replace Dr, and I admit d cedar i warm ily are jrstood. Ireds of • of the 1 young, may oyfuUy along 1, and etariau Every gloved across othing is in- prung, their has to Great THE COMPANY'S TRAPPERS 153 care is needful in preparing and stretching the precious pelts over hoops and frames, and the temperature must be right, in order to lose nothing of the silky softness of the fur. 10. In earlier times bringing in the season's catch was attended with ceremonies that delighted the heart of the Indian. Members of tribes, attended by wives and children, assembled at a given place, and, after feasting and speech-making, proceeded on their way together. Six hundred canoes decorated with flags made a brave show, and created no end of commotion on their way. Nearing the end of their journey, the travellers, perhaps a thousand in number, put the women ashore to settle camp. This done, the various parties paddled on until within two hundred yards of the paHsade, where they fired off their fowling-pieces, and were saluted in return by the Governor's cannon. 11. A trader now appeared to meet them, and with ceremony led the chiefs into the fort. Greeting on both sides followed, and amidst clouds of tobacco smoke a dignified silence settled down over the group. At the proper moment the Governor rose, and informed his visitors that he had plenty of good merchandise at hand, and that he loved the Indians, who might be sure of his kindness to them. Trading now proceeded briskly, and presently the delighted chiefs retired wearing the Company's gifts. A red or blue cloth coat with white military cuffs, waistcoat and knickerbockers of baize, a checked shirt and woollen stockings, one red and the other blue, tied below the knee with coloured garters. A coarse felt hat with feathers, and a silk handkerchief tied round the neck, completed the costume. 12. With every mark of good-humour on both sides, the conference ended. The visitors were escorted from the fort in state. A procession headed by the flag and a I n\ ld4 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY drummer beating a march, was followed by highly prized gifts of fruit and bread from the Company's stores, while in the place of honour the chief paced with dignified mien, conversing affably with a factor on each side. 13. So, from mountain and moor, lake and muskeg, the dusky hand of the savage collected the spoils of the north. Mink, marten, ermine, and silver fox filled the great ware- houses in London, and these, in turn, went to supply the markets of Europe with fabrics suited to the coronation robes of a queen. THE SELKIRK SETIXERS 1. There were stirring times in other lands than our own about the end of the eighteenth century. Even in the far north of Scotland old ways were giving place to newer if not happier methods. The people, it is true, loved their native mountains and glens as fondly as ever, and would as willingly as of old have shed the lasu drop of their blood for their country. 2. At that time the Highland valleys were thickly peopled. From the small farms, however, it was hard to make a living, much less to pay a reasonable rent — at least so the landlords thought. In certain districts it became known that the ancient holdings were to be thrown into great sheep farms, where a few could do the work of many, and the tenanti^ were warned to seek work elsewhere. 3. In the north, however, they refused to leave their homes, and to the lasting shame of the great Duchess of Sutherland, men were sent about with blazing torches to set fire to the thatch of the cottages and drive out the inmates. In great misery the unfortunate people stood looking at the destruction of their poor goods, and then THE SELKIRK SETl'LERS 155 lickly ird to least icaine into kk of Iwork their >ss of ^es to the stood I then turned away with their little ones, more homeless than the birds of the air. 4 Far from these painful scenes, in the south of Scotland lived the Earl of Selkirk, a young nobleman whose heart bled for the evicted folk. Just then the revolted colonies in America were busily setting up their republic, and at the same time savagely driving those that remained true to Britain from the country. Through the northern forests and across lakes and rivers in peril of their lives, the outlaws were escaping to Canada. 5. These events naturally brought the north country into notice, and, seizing his opportunity, Lord Selkirk came forward with a well-considered scheme. Pointing out that where the United Empire Loyalists were going others might follow, he offered to take Highland outcasts to the British Dominions overseas. The plan was well received, and, in the course of some years, hundreds of families were carried to Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and the eastern part of Ontario. Here, to the ringing stroke of the lumberer's axe, they soon settled down on their own acres, a state never dreamed of in the old land. 6. The success of his first efforts brought to the kind- hearted nobleman visions of a great future for the golden West. Practical means were employed, and he secured an immense stretch of land from the Hudson Bay Company on the Red River. It was almost as big as Great Britain and Ireland put together. 7. How to reach this isolated part of the earth was the next question— a puzzle that for a time baffled the wisest heads. The map, however, solved it. Embarking, their vessel steered her course by the shortest route across the North Atlantic, and landed her handful of Highland and Irish settlers on the bleak shores of Hudson Bay in the autumn of 1811. 8. Here the little colony spent a terrible winter. In I. ! ■ 1 ■■ I w i 1 r h . ! m 156 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY the spring they set out on their weary overland march to their new home, which they reached just as the cruel war of 1812 had begun to rage along the border of the United States and Canada. Poor people, they had little known that the world was so big or so full of trouble, and their hearts were sore for the old land. To one of Lord Selkirk's settlers we owe the exquisite lines : — CANADIAN BOAT-SONG 1 9. Listen to me, as when ye heard our father Sing long ago the songs of other shores : Listen to me, and then in chorus gather All your deep voices, as you pull your oars : Fair these broad meads, — these hoary woods are grand ; But we are exiles from our Fathers' Land. 10. From the lone shieling of the misty island Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas ; Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we in dreams behold the Hebrides : Fair these broad meads, — these hoary woods are grand ; But we are exiles from our Fathers' Land. 11. We ne'er shall tread the fancy-haunted valley, Where 'tween the dark hills creeps the small clear stream. In arms around the patriarch banner rally, Nor see the moon on royal tombstones gleam : Fair these broad meads, — these hoary wo6ds are grand ; But we are exiles from our Fatliers' Land. ^ Gaelic poem — author unknown. THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE 167 12. When the bold kindred, in the time long vanished, Conquered the soil and fortified the keep. No seer foretold the children would be banished. That a degenerate lord might boast his sheep : Fair these broad meads, — these hoary woods are grand ; But we are exiles from our Fathers' Land. 13. Come, foreign rage, let discord burst in slaughter! ^ O then for clansmen true, and stern claymore ! The hearts that would have given their blood like water Beat heavily, beyond the Atlantic roar : Fair these broad meadu, — these hoary woods are grand ; But we are exiles from our Fathers' Land. 14. After what they had already come through, well might the wanderers hope to begin their little colony in peace. But it was not to be. Years were to pass and they were to know every suffering and hardship, before their dream should be realised. THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE 1. Years before this the great North-West Fur-Trading Company had been formed, principally of Scotchmen, in Montreal. The members did not at first intend to invade the great northern territory of the Hudson Bay Company, but rather chose the Vfist interior, as yet tenantless, for their hunting ground. In doing this they soon found that the fine exploring spirit of early times had not died out. French-Canadian and Indian alike were as eager as ever to push their way on any quest across the trackless wilds of the continent. 1 Alluding to the much-dreaded invasion of Great Britain by Napoleon Bonaparte. 1- i ' \\'% ,f.i 158 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 2. The old-time voyageur, with his reckless courage and energy, has passed away for ever, but he will live in song and story. With gentle humour our beloved poet, W. H. Drummond, depicts him among the tribes of the West, welcomed alike by ancient warrior and merry papoose. Light-hearted and good-humoured, no matter how heavy his pack or how difficult his path, the grey wolf had little to fear from him, and the wild deer followed along the shore to hear his paddle song. Ever pushing his lonely way, the poet in fancy beholds at last the red sash of the voyageur floating from the Pole ! f, 3. For years peace reigned between the two com- panies, and many a time in the distant wilds servants of both shared their scanty meal round one camp fire, and parted better comrades than ever. A time came, however, when a more unruly spirit arose among the Nor '-Westers, causing them to poach widely on the neighbour's preserves, sometimes under the very guns of the forts. 4. All over the country the Scotch and French half- breed trappers, named Bois-Brules, had become the most reckless adherents of the new company. Hot words led to attack, and, with no law but their own will, the half- savage allies soon took to raiding the outposts of their rivals. 5. Cuthbert Grant, an educated Scotch half-breed, was widely known about this ^ime over the North- West. He was a devoted agent of the Montreal Company, and in his way a veritable hero of romance. He had little pity for those serving other masters, and no sense at all of their rights. Unfortunately for them, it was into the power of Grant and his faithful Bois-Brules that the much- tried Selkirk settlers were at that moment patiently plodding across country from Hudson Bay ! 6. They had scarcely arrived at the Bed River, before >RY THE PRAIRIE PROVINCE 159 ourage ill live )eloved tribes merry matter le grey d deer Ever at last 3! com- ervants np fire, 3 came, DDg the on the y guns 5h half- le most )rds led le half- ►f their f-breed, i-West. ly, and little le at all ito the much- |,tiently before they were beset by a band of men disguised and painted like savages, who forced them to halt. With assumed authority, the poor wayfarers were told that they were unwelcome, and ordered to proceed farther south, and never to venture to return on pain of dire vengeance. Driven nearly frantic by this reception, and the fate of starvation awaiting them if they refused, there was nothing for the unhappy settlers but to take up the line of march again. 7. Across the border at Pembina they spent the winter getting their first insight into frontier life, and, though at first scarcely able to handle a musket, learning the ways of buffalo hunters and semi-savage methods of living. Their experience restored the courage in which the High- land and Irish colonists were not wanting, and in spite of the threats they had heard, the next spring they gallantly took the northward trail, determined, if neces- sary, to fight for the land allotted to them. 8. In this way they struggled on for two or three years, spending their winters at Fort Daer, and turning north each spring. New arrivals from the old land had added to their strength, and they were all en- couraged once in a while by the presence of their good friend, Lord Selkirk. Already they were different people from those who had crossed the sea a few years ago. In addition to agriculture, they were becoming expert with their guns, good riders and trappers, and many a hot brush with the Bois-Brules took place in defence of their prairie possessions. 9. The sturdy and unexpected resistance of the settlers served to arouse the Nor'- Westers to even greater action, especially when they saw a stronghold mounted with guns rising at the Red River. Several savage raids upon the prairie posts took place, in which provisions, furs, and cannon were carried off, and Hudson Bay L ■'^ i 1 \: ■ .1 ! '1' it 160 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY buildings were reduced to ashes. Iieprisals naturally followed, and the approaching crisis took place in 1810, on the 18th of June, one year to a day after the battle of Waterloo. In this savage onslaught, Governor Semple, five officers, and sixteen settlors met death, while the rest escaped to the woods. 10. In the meantime the doughty Earl was pre- paring for some such outbreak. The country was fast approaching the state of England in the Middle Ages, when the barons attacked each other in their castles and strongholds, and he wisely saw that high-handed tactics alone could put a stop to it. Fortumtely, the means were at hand. Parts of several regiments re- cently engaged in the Pevolutionary War were then in Canada, and from these about eighty men were equipped, and the expedition left for Fort William. 11. This post on Lake Superior had long been the western headquarters of the Xorth-West Company. Palisaded and fortified, the spacious buildings and vast courtyards were the meeting-place of voyageurs and half-breeds, red men and white, with the cnfants perdu of every part of Europe. Little knowing what was in store for them, this motley, company had flocked to the fort, to take part in the yearly high carnival, and celebrate the downfall of the prairie settlement. 12. Upon this scene of revelry Lord Selkirk suddenly appeared, armed with warrants for the arrest of the law-breakers. It was at once seen that their assailant was too strong for them, and the guilty partners gave in with what grace they could. It was not in their nature, however, to submit without long and trying legal proceedings, in the course of which the kind- hearted nobleman died, worn out with work and anxiety. A few years later, fortunately, the union of the two great fur-trading companies took place, and the peace RY urally 181G, \v the pernor death, 3 pre- is fast Ages, castles landed ly, the its re- e then 1 were 1. sen the nipany. id vast and jpcrdu was in ved to il, and ddenly of the jsailant :s gave L their trying I kind- nxiety. le two peace rs a; u: -i c r II I I 162 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY of the interior, so rudely broken, was happily once more restored. 1'3. In hardship and danger a score of seasons came and went. Far from the other provinces the gallant settlers fought their way, tilling their lonely farms and pasturing their cattle on the lush grasses of the prairie. In time the tale of rich harvests and richer lands be- came known, however, and an ever-increasing stream of homeseekers took up the western trail. With the inrush of immigrants began the wide wheatfields and vast cattle ranges that are making Canada famous, and so it has come about that the dreams of three hundred years are realised. iii'i ■.1 STIRRING TIMES IN CANADA 1. SCAKCELY had the echoes of war died away, when another dark cloud began to spread rapidly over the Provinces. The Government was already caring too much for its own power, and too little for the wishes of the people. In all parts of the country it was the same story. 2. Upper Canada's ruling class had smoothed its own path by giving away large tracts of land and many un- warranted rights. Friends thus rewarded held with them in the Family Compact, and all behaved like tyrants, as indeed they were. The favoured few scornfully told the citizens that they had no right to know what laws were made, or how the public money was spent. 3. The gage of battle was thrown down by Ptobert Gourlay, a Scotchman, who spoke of asking the British Government to interfere and set things right. The Family Compact was furious, and threw him into prison. Later, by an unlawful act, they put him out of the country. RY 3 more J came rjallant Tis and prairie, ids be- stream Lth the ds and us, and undred > y, when iver the ng too ishes of le same its own any un- h them •ants, as ,old the ws were Robert British It. The prison, of the STIRRING TIMES IN CANADA 163 4. Some years afterwards, William Lyon Mackenzie left Dundee to make his home in Toronto. By this time the people knew more of the rights they should have, and combined to make the patriotic newcomer their leader. So eager was Mackenzie to rouse the country, that he brought out a newspaper in which everyone's wrongs might see the light of day. At every fresh in- justice the clever editor held up tlie ruling class to the angry scoffing of the country. 5. For the same reasons the smouldering indignation in Quebec Province was on the point of breaking out. There part of the English people had seized the power, and the French, to their credit, were the reformers. Those who would have joined the French Canadians' demand for greater liberty, however, were led to believe that their fellow-citizens were disloyal to the King — a very different thing from merely trying to get their civil rights. 6. The false charges made by the Compact did a vast amount of harm. The friendly feeling that had grown up between French and English since the conquest was swept away. In their wrath they forgot everything, even how shoulder to shoulder they had already proved their loyalty to King and country on the field of battle. 7. While the rest of the country looked on in silence^ Upper Canada and Quebec burst into open revolt. Papineau and Dr. Nelson in the one province, and Mackenzie with his followers in the other, took up arms demanding justice from the Mother Country. In answer, soldiers were hurried from Kew Brunswick and special volunteers armed. 8. The Bible says "oppression makes wise men mad," and in this case it certainly was so. For years the just appeals of sensible men to Great Britain had been set aside, and all kinds of misrule allowed to go on. In the f I It \) N 'i9 Z W" ^li 164 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY provinces speeches ,1,'rew more and more violent, and the whole country v/as in the white heat of wordy strife. 9. Fighting began in the streets of Montreal m November 1837, and soon spread to the country. The habitcmf.i, often aimed v^ith nothing but sticks and pitch- forks, defended themselves with great courage. At St. Eustache, north of Montreal, they seized the parish church, and held it against two thousand regular troops, until the building was burned. 10. Taking to flight, most of the patriots managed to make their escape, though some were captured. Fourteen citizens, however, were. tried and put to death together in Montreal. The revolt in the Upper Province was equally determined, but not so well managed. Here, too, some men, passionately loyal to the Empire, died for seeking justice and honest government for the people. 11. In the first year of her glorious reign, Queen Victoria was Vjro'.:ght face to face with the trials of the Canadians. The Queen never believed in the disloyalty of her people, and it is likely that the injustice she then helped to relieve made our country dearer to her through life than it might otherv/ise have been. Wa 11 i m ; 1 -i . i. 11 ir MACKENZIE, THE PATRIOT 1. Even if rebels are ia the right, it is a very serious thing to rise against the Government. The leader carries his life in his hand, and there is always loss of property and suffering. Years afterwards Mackenzie used to tell ho^v he ma le his escape from Toronto on the ill-starred yth of December, 1837. 2. It was a cold dark night, nd the insurgents, gather- ing from all quarters, perhaps felt too sure of success. Their want of training, however, was fatal. The first I^kk.ki. I I MACKENZIE THE PATRIOT 165 lerious iarries )perty lo tell ;aiTed ither- Iccess. first volley of musket-balls from a barricade threw them into hopeless confusion. The leaders frantically tried to rally their forces, but in vain. All scattered and lied in every direction. 3. Not venturing to be seen, Mackenzie lay hidden all next day, but the news brought by friends served ^'^ confirm his worst fears. The Government, with pent-up feelings of rage, were sending notices for his capture far and wide. Five thousand dollars were offered for him, dead or alive. 4. Scarcely knowing how he had obtained his mount, the evening of the next day found the patriot galloping for life towards the border. The way was long, but such was the violent state of feeling, that the tidings would spread fast. Not sure of whom he could trust, his night of hard riding was followed by a day's going through rough country, as far as possible from the highway. 5. On the second night, the tired horse came to a standstill at the door of a lonely farmhouse, still well within the border of Canada. The rider knocked at the door, which was opened by the owner. As it lurned out, he was one of those who were utterly opposed to the reformers' views. The man eved his visitor with suspicion. 6. " Who are you ? " he inquired. " I am T.y r Mackenzie," was the leply. ''I am Hying fror ( 'anada. Will you shelter ma for the night V "I don't believe you," returned ::he farmer, bluntly. "Mr. Mackenzie is a gentleman. You have stolen that horse." 7. "I had to admit," said the narrator, "that I did not know to whom the animal belonged, but, taking a fine gold watch which had been presented to me from my pocket, I showed him the inscription. Thig only con- firmed his suspicions. ■' II 'I f; 166 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 8. " ' You are a criminal flying from justice,' answered the man, hotly. 'You have stolen the watch too.' What was I to do ? In despair I loosened my shirt-collar, and pointed to my name in marking ink. Fortunately for me, I was believed at last, and I and my weary steed taken in for the night. In the early morning my host aroused me. 9. " ' Mr. Mackenzie,' he said, not unkindly, ' you know my risk is great in shielding you. But that ia not all. The reward on your head is five thousand dollars, and the debt on my farm is exactly for that sum. I cannot say that I am not sorely tempted to give you up.' " 10. Of course his host did not do so, and the fugitive galloped off. But his troubles were not over yet. Later in the day he happened to come across some soldiers, and, sure that he would be chased, urged on his panting horse, lieaching a barn near by he leaped to the ground, and, giving the animal a parting stroke, concealed himself under some hay. 11. Barely settled in his hiding-place, his pursuers were upon him, and the bundles of hay all round were well-drilled with bayonet-thrusts. Fortunately, none of them touched him. It was an exciting escape for the patriot, and he did not dare to move for hours, though nearly choked by the heat and dust. For all he knew, someone might have been watching the place to seize him ! 12. When Mr. Mackenzie reached the United States, he was glad to be safe, but still more glad some time afterwards when he was pardoned and allowed to return to Canada. Settled once more among his old friends, it made the old patriot very happy to see how much good he had done to the country. THE SECRET OF CANADA'S POLAR SEAS 167 THE SECRET OF CANADA'S POLAR SEAS I though knew, him! )tates, time return [•iends, much 1. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the wonderful successes of Great Britain on the ocean were being talked of at home and abroad with immense interest. But lately the discoveries of Captain Cook, England's greatest navigator, had been cut short by his terrible death at the hands of the Sandwich Islanders. 2. Following came the splendid victories of Nelson, Lord Dundonald, end many others, and the spirit of the people, worn with war and hardship, rose to the pitch of rejoicing. Every schoolboy knew by heart the victories, and exulted in tlie names of the heroes who were winning the freedom of their country from the great Napoleon. 3. It was a sunny, midsummer day more than a hundred years ago on the coast of Lincolnshire, England. The fields were bright with scarlet poppies and blue cornflowers, and the fresh breeze played with the broad fields of ripening grain. Over the wide dikes and ditches of the pleasant land, a fine, manly boy of ten or twelve came rushing to the sandy seashore. 4. There all was sound and motion as the foaming surf of the North Sea chased itself up the beach. It was the first time John Franklin — for that was the boy's name — had seen the ocean, and he greeted it with cap off and a ringing " Hurrah ! " From that hour he was at heart a sailor. 5. Like Cook and Nelson he began his chosen career on a merchantman. Tlie dangers and hardships of tlie life, however, did not change his mind. At fourteen, the same age as that of Columbus, his parents allowed him to join the Royal Navy. In less than a year his ship, the Polyphemus, was winning laurels for herself in the terrible battle of Copenhagen. Here it was that Nelson ^1 I ti rj 11 \ " i l! II 1 ■ f t llli m§ K W! 168 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY broke the power of United Northern Europe, and lost an arm in the service of his country. G. Peace being restored for a short time, Franklin seized the opportunity, and went on an exploring trip with his relative, Captain Flinders. This noted navigator was on his way to the South Pacific, where for two years he care- fully examined the shores of the great island-continent, which he named Australia. There, forestalling Napoleon Bonaparte, who tried to prove a former right, in every quarter, Captain Flinders secured for Great Britain this part of the Empire. 7. Exciting years at sea followed. Once more Franklin was back in the Navy, and from the deck of the JMIero2Jho)i on the 21st October, 1805, supported the beloved Admiral in his last fight at Trafalgar. 8. The time was approaching, however, when the fall of Napoleon I made an end of the war. Then revived an old cry in England. From time to time attempts had been made by navigators to force a vfa.y from either side into the Polar Seas. Queen Elizabeth's gallant Frobisher, following an already long record of Norsemen and Scandi- navians, was the first Englishman to make the venture. Following him came Baffin, in the time of Cromwell, Behring the Dane, Davis, and the beloved Captain Parry. The idea began to gain ground that, could a passage bo found from ocean to ocean, the sailor would be a vastly more happy and useful man than before. 9. On the 25th April, 1818, the first Arctic expedition of the century sailed down the Thames. It consisted of two Admiralty brigs, the Dorothea and the Trent, com- manded respectively by Captain Buchan and Lieutenant Franklin. Their orders were to pass north between Green- lano and Spitzbergen, and meet Captain Eoss, going by Baffin's Iky, in the Pacific ! It was all so easy on paper. 1 0. With stout hearts, plenty of hope, and a vast amount h :.l THE SECRET OF CANADA^S POLAR SEAS 169 sdition ted of corn- tenant reen- r.g by paper. ount of ignorance, the journey began. Who could imagine that mere ice and cold could frustrate the designs of the victori- ous British seamen ! Within six months two battered hulks crept home with a wondrous tale of their fight with the terrific forces of nature. Happily all on board were safe. 11. Four weeks from Greenwich they had entered the Polar seas, dark with fog and covered with huge blocks of drifting ice. Fierce wind and snowstorms came on, and tons of snow, ceaselessly lashed with frozen spray, fell upon deck and yard. With every spar and rope thick with ice, the ships could scarcely be distinguished from floating icebergs. 12. The light-hearted crews tried to laugh it off, while labouring with axe and shovel to lighten ship, but it was a revelation to them. From Spitzbergen they three times threw themselves out to battle to the death with the ice. Three times were they driven back, the last time humbly thanking God for their lives. 13. Caught in a furious storm, the sister ships faced the floe, with a terrible sea beating upon it. Driven onward, the gallant little Dorothea resorted to the desperate step of " taking the pack," and pitched forward into a frightful scene of surf and broken ice. As she disappeared many a prayer rose from heart and lip of the onlookers on the other deck. Well they knew that nothing but a miracle could save either of them from destruction. 14. The time of the Trent comes ! No longer able to avoid it, she sees before her an awful line of breakers and broken iceblocks, rearing and crashing over each other, wuth a roar that mingles with the howling of the wind. "Hold on for your lives, and stand to the helm, lads!" is met with a cheerful " Ay, ay, sir ! " and the stout little vessel, tossed from block to block, at last joins her com- rade in calmer waters. The storm lulls, and, with ripped timbers and broken beams, the brigs return to Spitzbergen, and thence, in hourly fear of sinking, home. A i' ; . i (1 h I I • I ) ;i 'i 170 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY EXPLORERS 1. A YEAR had scarcely passed when Lieutenant Franklin was once more in the Arctic regions, this time to explore, in boat and on foot, the northernmost coasts of America. With a party of scientists and others, his researches began with a long and difficult journey through the Hudson Bay Territory. Month followed month, and turned to years, and tidings came back only at long and anxious intervals. 2. In 1822 all but the murdered midshipman, Robert Hood, returned. The wanderers' tale was listened to with blanched faces and eyes of pity. It was one long record of terrible but fascinating danger. So great had been the strain that several native Esquimaux attached to the party had given way to despair, and died of want and cold. With one exception, however, the Englishmen, borne up by faith in God and their own brave spirit, reached home in safety. They had explored the mouths of the Mackenzie, t^e Great Fish, and the Coppermine rivers, and mapped out vast regions of America thus far unknown. 3. Knighthood awaited some, and promotion all of the party, and every honour was heaped upon them. From that time for two generations, a hundred eager heroes set forth to trace the passage which was so unwilling to reveal itself. The Frigid Zone bristles with names that cause England, no less than Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, to lift high their heads with national pride. 4. Years passed, and Franklin, now Sir John, returned from Tasmania, where he had been Governor. One more Government efibrt, on a large scale, was preparing for the North. Her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror, safely returned from the Antarctic, were in commission, lY EXPLORERS 171 enant , time coasts )ther8, lurney Llowed k only Robert led to le long ?at had :tached f want shmen, spirit, ouths lermine .us far of the From [heroes [ling to js that and ide. turned more ig for lission, and the rolls of both ships included some of the most well-known names on the Navy list. Franklin was offered charge of the expedition, and accepted it with delight. Provisioned for three years, and stored with instruments for taking observations, they left Greenhithe for Behring Straits in May, 1845, with an " Hurrah " on every lip. 5. For a month eager eyes traced their course north- ward, until they met and dived into the wild icepack heading south. Skilful hands, however, carried them through to larger water, where the scene became one of desolate grandeur. Immense icebergs towered on every side, whose peaks and spires resembled cathedrals sparkling in the opal tints of the blazing sun overhead. The ice, yards thick, was seamed with channels of water blue as the skies above. The splitting and grinding of the floes, and the fall, night and day, of huge blocks from the bergs, seemed like the discharge of some unearthly artillery. G. Whichever way the wind blew, the ice broke up, and packed again, while the ships, taking advantage of ev.^ry opening, pressed westward. They have long since passed the last of the Dundee whalers, busy with the huge mammals of the deep. On they go. Are not letters tc "leet them at Petropaulovski and the Sand- wich Islands ! 7. Winter, long delayed in temperate regions, settles down at home, and is followed by spring and lovely summer. Winter returns. The whalers are all in again from their perilous cruise, and not a line, not a me- mento, do they bring from the absent vessels. Time creeps on and L pe goes and comes. The papers are full of [.ales of explorers, Sir John among them, who have been lost for months and years, and have at last come back none the worse of their experiences. h I In I : , ,1 ; ) • ( Ni 172 PICTURES FROIM CANADIAN HISTORY 8. In 1848, the first relief expedition left England. One was sent by the Government under the veteran Sir John Itoss, the other by Lady Franklin. These were followed at intervals by others. In 1850, four Admiralty ships set out to do or die in the attempt. Of these the Intrepid and Pioneer were screw-steamers, for the first time steam being employed in the Arctic Zone. There the vessels met with the Lady Franldin and the Soj^hia, and the Enterprise and Investigation of Sir John Ross, as well as two American brigs officered by the United States Navy. No less than ten ships anchored in one bay, all engaged in the same disheartening search. 9. Here for the first time they came upon traces of the ill-fated Erebus and Terror. At Beachy Island appeared plain proof that here the expedition had spent some time. Half-ruined huts covered an armourer's anvil and a carpenter's bench, surrounded with heaps of shavings. In a sheltered nook tiny poppies still bloomed on the graves of three seamen, and neatly arranged pebbles showed that kind hands had taken care of them. Above, on the cliff, stood a tall cairn of stones, which, however, on examination gave no line in writing or clue to be followed. Parties from all the ships scoured the land for miles in every direction, but without result. 10. That year and the next some of the ships made their way far to the west, and wintered in the ice. Discipline was splendidly kept up, and among men and officers alike hard work was mingled with play. The light-hearted tars entered into the various sports and games with more than the delight of schoolboys. " Not fair, not fair — run again," and *' Well done, Jack," with many a hearty cheer, echoed strangely from the icepcaks above them. Then the sun, bright but without heat, sank below the horizon, and for three months left them to the wonders of the Arctic night. I lY Tland. m Sir were liralty se the 3 first There 'o2:)hia, lloss, L'nited in one ices of Island i spent .ourer's heaps 3S still neatly en care stones, Lting or kcoured result. made le ice. m and The Its and " Not with jpeaks heat, them EXPLORERS 173 11. With the vessels still firmly beset, spring found the crews far afield in sledges drawn by men. Villages of Esquimaux were invaded, and quantities of presents given, in order to learn, if possible, whether they could unravel the mystery. These efforts, however, proved useless, and the ships, one and all, sadly spread their sails to the breeze, and hastened back to England, baffled. 12. It was in 1854 that Dr. Rae returned, and public sympathy became wide and heartfelt over his tale. Far to the south, on the extreme edge of what was to be Canada, he had found in the snow-huts of the Esquimaux a few personal belongings of the lost expedition. There also he had learned of a large party of Englishmen years before, who fell and died as they struggled on foot towards the mouth of the Great Fish River. 13. Once more the cry was taken up, and the Govern- ment pressed from every side to continue the search. Without success, however, for her Majesty's ministers felt that they had already done their utmost, and were un- able and unwilling to further adventure the lives of their heroic sailors in the quest. 14. When all hope from this quarter had failed, Lady Franklin, the noblest of women, came forward again. With the help of devoted private friends, she decided to make one more effort. Not that she believed any of the unfortunate party were still alive, but that for the mourners their sad fate should be settled once for all. The yacht Fox was purchased and refitted. She was filled to the hatches with provisions and other necessaries, and, under the gallant Captain McClintock, R.N., sailed from Aberdeen, July 1, 1857. ii i! 1 1' ! 1 i iiP^ 174 nCTUIlES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY THE SEARCH— AND ITS RESULT 1. The Fox was an ocean-going pleasure yacht of 177 tons. Her engine was of 20 horse-power, but she was also fitted with sails. Officers and men all told numbered twenty- five, and some of the former, as well as the captain, had offered their services free. Surely the Golden Age of Great Elizabeth had returned to earth once more ! 2. As they sailed, Britain's heart was touched to the core. But lately the people had been sending their best in thousands to perish in the Crimea, and already loomed another fierce struggle on the sandy plains of India. Now they realised that an heroic handful of their own had led the way to the same bourne from the desolate lands of the North. 3. A cry of pain still echoes from the closing lines of Mrs Mulock-Craik's ^ "Arctic Expedition — from the Women's Side." " Sail on, sail on, through the frozen seas, Not endless labour and little ease. Come back triumphant, if Heaven so please, Or with unwon goal, inglorious ; Only come back ! No. Should God say That He has crowned thee another way, Love ! see beyond our night, His day ! — And we are yet victorious." 4. The date was late in the season, but all felt that too much time had already been lost. Every day the traces must become fainter and the mystery deeper than before. Arrived in the Polar seas, the little Fox found summer far advanced, but cheerfully plunged on to the west. Everything, however, seemed determined to thwart her ^ Author of John Halifax, Gentleman, at too traces 3efore. mmer west. t her p-> o o ^ 5 o -^ c; v: o M Hi ii :1 i! i; IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 Sf 1^ 1^ I.I 1.25 'l^i '^ 1^ II 2.2 i.8 1.4 1.6 m /] A -!>' '/ M Photographic Sciences Corporation ^\^ \ ^^ V <> n *1^ •i?' 33 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. I4SS0 (716) •72-4503 >^^ ^ 6^ ^ 5<. \ (^^ 176 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY progress. At a time when the north wind usually clears the channels of broken ice, south-east breezes prevailed, blocking up every opening. In vain the gallant-hearted crew worked like beavers, blowing up and chopping out passages, through which they tugged the ship like a canal boat. 5. Everything about them was of the most intense interest. The wild fowl from southern regions, which nest and bring up their young in the far north, swarmed about in myriads. Nest-building, chattering and flying about, were wild duck, geese, loons, and willow-grouse. The great white gull, called "Burgomaster" from his habit of swooping down and carrying off the food of the other birdfolk, earned many a missile from the wrathful Jackies. Seals, hares, bears, and foxes were numerous, while the affectionate gambols of mother and child among the white whales caused endless diversion. 6. Winter set in, and the vessel, thickly banked with snow -^nd anchored to an iceberg, comforted herself with the thought that at least she was so far advanced on her quest. But she had reckoned without her host. At that time the movement of the solid ice was not under- stood. During the winter it was believed to be immov- able. Spring, however, had a different tale to unfold. Then, to the dismay of all, it was found that while fancy- ing themselves motionless, they had never ceased drifting with the ice, and now found themselves in the Greenland seas, nearly fourteen hundred miles away to the south- east! 7. It was a bitter disappointment, but during the short summer time was made up with a will. Winter, however, caught them once more, this time not far from Boothia Felix and North Somerset. Away to the south, they knew, stretched King William's Land. Small parties of friendly natives had been met at intervals and ques- ORY y clears evailed, ■hearted )ing out a canal intense , which iwarmed d flying r-grouse. rom his i of the nrrathful imerous, d among ed with elf with on her St. At under- linimov- unfold. fancy- Irifting tenland south - ig the '^inter, Ir from south, )arties ques- THE SEARCH— AND ITS RESULT 177 tioned, and with great difficulty important facts dis- covered. According to our ideas, Esquimaux knowledge of time and distance is but vague. Years before, they told how two white men's ships had been caught in the ice, and after a long time deserted. One of the vessels had been crushed and sunk, the other driven far inland by the moving ice. 8. From this one the joyful natives had carried vast quantities of wood and other things. To confirm their words, they showed silver spoons and forks engraved with well-known initials, uniform buttons, and knives made of cutlasses, plainly belonging to the ships. All these things were gladly secured by the searchers. These Esquimaux, it seemed, had never seen living white men before, but they vaguely traced from hearsay the route c! Hif. lost crews on their southward march. 1' In March, 1859, the Fox being still fast, two sledges left the ship to follow the clues. Lieutenant Hobson was to trace the western and southern shores of King William's Land, while Captain McClintock's route lay along the eastern side of the same great island. In time the latter reached Montreal, a little place strangely resembling our own island home in shape, and lying near the mouth of the Great Fish River. 10. To this place, where, according to the Esquimaux, human remains had been found, all eyes had turned. Every foot of its surface was eagerly searched, but nothing found except a few pieces of iron hoop. Owing to the heavy sea beating upon this lee-shore in summer, it seems likely that much had been carried away. No trace of a cairn which, in such places, are built over written records, appeared. Disheartened, the voyagers turned aw , along the south-western side of King William's Land, to meet and return with the other party. 11. This shore was farther west than any of the other / I i: .i 178 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY search expeditions had penetrated. It had not even been visited for many years by native seal-hunters. The first proof of this was a melancholy one. Lying on his face, as he had fallen, they came upon the bleached remains of a man, clad in a braided blue jacket. Several little articles lay near by, but nothing to show who he might have been. A number of miles further on was found a boat placed upon a large sledge. 12. The scene filled the searchers with awe, for within the boat lay portions of two human skeletons. Quantities of clothing, a much-used Bible, a little food, and five watches were among the contents, while the shore was littered with things that might have been blown out by the wind. These, with the graves on Beechy Island, were all the mortal remains that were ever found. What became of the other ninety-nine men will never be known until that great day when " the sea gives up her dead." 13. With hearts grieved by these grim relics, the party hastened on, finding at intervals many things which had been discarded on that terrible march. To Lieutenant Hobson, however, fell the sad and only record that lifted the veil. On the northern point of the island he found a cairn, which contained the paper he sought. In the writing of Graham Gore, commander, and that of Captains Crozier and FitzJames, the posiiion of the near by ships was shown. Sir John Franklin had died in his ship in June, 1847, almost within sight of the channel whose opening would bear him on to Behring Strait. The last writing, dated ten months later, told how the crews were starting on the morrow for the Great Fish lUver. 14. Never was there a shorter or more pathetic chronicle of suffering and despair. They were on the point of starvation, and half-maddened by disease and THE SMALLEST PROVINCE 179 loneliness. When hope was dead, and not till then, the crews hoisted the colours on the maintops, and, following their captains, Hed southward. 15. Like many others, these men had perished for Queen and country. By such noble sacrifice the unknown regions of the world are sought out for young colonies and new peoples, and never, as long as the Empire exists or our language is spoken, will their heroic fate be forgotten or their tale be left untold. THE SMALLEST PROVINCE— I " Where the long waves of Canada's proud gulf Beat on her roseate shores, Prince Edward Isle Looks forth across the blue, a picture fair Of glowing colour framed in sun and sea I " 1. Half-held in the embrace of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick lies fair Prince Edward Island, once known as Isle St. Jean. It is the smallest, but not now the youngest, of Canada's provinces. 2. Centuries ago, coasting round the great Gulf in search of the St. Lawrence Iliver, Jacques Cartier came upon this land, as he called it, " the most beautiful it is possible to see." Then, as now, its green fields sloped towards the sun, and all were enclosed with bright red rocks, worn into strange shapes by the restless tide. 3. "We went ashore," says the navigator, "in four places to see the trees — cedars, pines, white elms, ashes, willows, and many others to us unknown. . . . The lands, too, where there are no woods are very beautiful, full of peas, white and red gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, and wild grain like rye." 4. For one hundred and forty years the Isle St. Jean kept up its romantic character under French rule. i1 180 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY Along these shores the spirited boatmen gave and took many a hard knock in their endless quarrels with their English neighbours. "Waiting to pounce upon each other, the dark caves and Jutting rocks often hid the weather- beaten crews of either nation, while on shore a number of ruined forts cover the grim records of long ago. 5. To their sister colony, many of the Acadians fled after the great exile, and until lately the countrywomen often wore the high-crowned Norman cap and full skirts of their ancestors. The United Empire Loyalists, too, fleeing for safety, here settled down to a freer life than that of the great republic. 6. It was in 1763 that England became mistress of the lovely shores, at the same time that Newfoundland came back to her from stranger hands. Louisburg and Quebec had already fallen. With British Columbia and Australia soon to be made hers, it was a great age of extension for the Mother Country. ;if THE SMALLEST PROVINCE-II 1. Since joining the Dominion, Prince Edward Island has grown used to her fame for beauty in Canada. Her charm is clear air and glowing colour rather than grand scenery. From nowhere else does the delighted visitor carry away such a picture of fertile flelds, country avenues, and rosy rock against a sail-flecked sea. 2. Looking north the half-moon shore is a fringe of blue inlets that nearly cut the island in two. Here long red ridges of wind-swept sand defy the wild Atlantic surf, and the lagoons in the hollows are alive with fluttering, quacking water fowl. 3. In winter the scene changes, bringing in the strange needs of the little province. From the north sweeps 1 THE CROWN COLONY 181 [sland inada. than bghted Juntry ige of long llantic with |)range reeps down the blast that banks her in a frozen sea. The nearest point across the Straits to New Brunswick is nine miles, while in another direction forty miles stretch to the mainland. In both spaces the ice blocks or floats away according to the state of the weather. 4. These conditions have led to the use of a winter ferry seen nowhere else in the Dominion. The powerful steamboats Stanley and Minto ram their way through the ice until overcome by its strength and solidity. When this happens, the Islanders fall back upon the older service and shorter route across Northumberland Straits. 5. The ice-boats employed here are of great interest. They carry compasses, provisions, fur-robes, and every- thing required for a safe and speedy passage. Built with a double keel that serves for runners, the boat glides over the frozen surface or plunges into the icy pools at need. Travelling three together, each vessel is manned by a crew of powerful and courageous men, who generally make the trip in about three hours and a half. 6. Such precaution?, it is true, were not always taken. From the past come grim tales of blizzard-beaten boats, lost reckoning, and days of suffering " even unto death." Wherever men are found, there also exist devotion to duty and endurance that can never be forgotten. 7. But after the worst of trials summer comes again, with all its old charm of colour and sunshine. The birds sing in the hedges and the fish play in the waters. Since Confederation, the little out-lying province has won her place in the heart of the Dominion. THE CROWN COLONY— I 1. Long before the discovery of America, the mariners of England were full of the spirit of their Viking ancestors. For the men of Dorset, Cornwall, and Devon the ocean I I 182 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY h. had no terrors, and on their own coasts as well as those of Iceland, they faced the wild northern seas in their ancient trade of fishing. Winds might shriek through the rigging and billows sweep the decks, but year in and year out the stout little craft manned by " hearts of oak," came home safely, laden with the scaly products of the deep. 2. After all, it seems strange that it was exiled sons of sunny Italy who first took the risk of cros&ing the Atlantic. Next to Columbus comes John Cabot. Living for years in the west of England, his cry for means of discovery was taken up by the merchants of Bristol, and petitions presented to King Henry VII resulted in one small barque grudgingly given for a voyage to the New World. 3. The good ship Matthew, for so she was called, with Master Cabot and his crew of sixteen, sailed from Bristol on May 2, 1497. Down the Irish Channel they headed nearly due west, and four hundred leagues, according to the reckoning, brought them to a coast which the navigator supposed to be Asia. Just where the jubilant company first sighted land is not known, but all New- foundland traditions point to Cape Bonavista. In three months the gallant little vessel, none the worse, arrived home again in the Avon, where she was met with open arms. 4. The navigator, feasted and praised, was dubbed Admiral by his laughing townsmen, and in great good- humour presented his friends with territories across the sea. An amusing letter written to Italy about the time, says: "The Admiral, as Master John is already styled, has given his companion of Burgundy an island, and another to his barber, and they regard themselves as Counts, and my lord the Admiral as a Prince. I believe that some poor Italian friars will go on the voyage, who have the promise of being Bishops. And I, being a THE CROWN COLONY 183 friend of the Admiral, if I wished to go, could have an Archbishopric." 5. One more voyage of the Cabots, father and son, and all traces of the famous mariners fade from history. Already, however, other English ships were following their lead, and, all unknown, our first colony was looming on the horizon. 6. When we next see the islands of Terra Nova, years have come and gone, and monarchs with them. Henry VIII, little Edward, and Queen Mary have vanished, and "the spacious days of great Elizabeth" are at hand. In the interval the fishing trade has shifted from the frozen seas of Iceland to the New World, and, shared in by the nations of Western Europe, has risen to a great industry. French, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese claim their own, but England alone finds herself Mistress of the Seas. 7. These were the days when fish, salt and fresh, formed the staple food of Europe, and, as years passed, more and more foreign vessels found their way to the Banks "where sailors gang to fish for cod." Amidst fog and drifting ice, the ill-clad fishermen of Southern Europe brought their wine, oil, and tempting fruits to barter for the cloth caps, woollen hose, and knives for which the " tight little island " was already famous^ 8. St. John's, with its land-locked harbour, was, of course, their headquarters, but in many a sheltered cove along shore, the bronzed fishermen made merry on high day and holiday. Every week the rollicking ''Admiral" of the port retired in favour of one of his fellows, who in turn played host and feasted the crews ; and the grey rocks rang with the bagpipe and guitar of many lands. Amongst all comers, however, " ye mariners of England " continued to hold sway, though not without occasional breaking of heads. 1 i •:,l ,.? 184 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 0. The glory of Elizabeth's reign was not solely her brilliant statesmen, the loyal and deep love of Sovereign and people to each other played its own part. Small and weak as kingdoms go, England was in the shadow of a trial that might easily have proved her ruin. Spain, overbearing and cruel in America, had roused her to action, and her sea power, gaining experience in New- foundland, was rising to meet the crisis. While the Queen's councillors guided afl'airs at home, her captains scoured the seas in search of her arch enemies, the Dons. 10. " Regions Ccesar never knew Thy posterity sliall sway, Where his eagles never flew None invincible as they " * — it was the Druid's prophecy to Boadicea — and amongst all the brilliant courtiers, Sir Walter lialeigh and his half-brother. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, were most keen in their patriotism. Under the Queen's charter, the Golden Hind,^ the Delif/ht, and the ten-ton pinnace Squirrel de- parted under Admiral Gilbert in search of the kingdom that was to be. 11. In August, 1583, the little fleet arrived at St. John's, and Gilbert took possession of the island "for the Queen's most excellent Majesty." The rich ores and minerals cropping from the rocks at once roused, the explorer's enthusiasm, and he hastily set out on his return home, leaving discovery for others. As ill-luck would have it, however, the Delight was lost on the coast, and the furious gales continued to threaten the other ships. Sir Humphrey, anxious to proceed, yet unwilling * From *• Boadicea," an Ode by William Cowper. ' In the beautiful hall of the Middle Temple. London, is a table made from the wood of the Oolden Hind, the 120-ton ship in which Drake sailed round the world. ■n THE CROWN COLONY 185 to risk others where he would not go himself, took up his position on the Squirrd. 12. In great peril the two vessels were proceeding, keeping together as best they could, when the guns of the pinnace broke loose, and swung about the deck. Heeling from side to side, she righted more than once, and the Hind, making incredible exertions to stand by her com- rade, signalled her relief. The turmoil of wind and wave was terrible, yet through it all the gallant Admiral sat on the deck with a book in his hand. As the sorely driven flagship came within hearing, he lifted his face, and fear- lessly exclaimed, " We are as near Heaven by sea as by land." 13. Night fell, and, through the lashing foam, the Hind strove to keep her comrade's light in view. Suddenly the red gleam went out, and, fancying that a wave had come between, the watch anxiously endeavoured to pierce the gloom. A moment, and his startled cry brought up the crew. The gallant little vessel was indeed gone, and they themselves, in almost as bad a case, were alone upon the raging seas. PRAYER FOR THOSE AT SEA^ " Lord, hearken to me ! Help all poor men at sea ! Thy breath is on their cheeks,-^ Their cheeks are wan wi' fear : Nae man speaks, For wha could hear ? The lang-haired sea-wives scream, The wind cries loud ; Ghaistly the fireflaughts gleam On tattered sail and shroud ; I ^ North Coast Poems, by Robert Boohanan. 186 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY Under the red mastlight The hissing waters slip ; Thick reeks the storm o' night Round him that steers the ship, And his een are blind, And he kens not where they run, Lord, be kind ! Whistle back Thy wind For the sake of Uhrist Thy Son I " n*' THE CROWN COLONY— II 1. The reign of James I was really the beginning of New World settlement, and Britain, roused by her splendid beginning, looked forward to a new version of the colonies of Greece and Rome. English noblemen and gentlemen besieged the King for charters, and, taking what emigrants they could find, sailed to make a beginning overseas. 2. Following Raleigh's Virginian colony, John Guy, an alderman of Bristol, set out in great spirits at the head of a party for Newfoundland. In three ships he carried twelve months' supply of food and various kinds of domestic animals. Among the thirty-nine passengers were workmen skilled in the most useful trades. 3. In a little land-locked bay the emigrants landed, and cheerfully set about building their new homes. It was a fertile and beautiful spot, whose sunny fields gave promise of golden harvests to come. Houses began to rise as if by magic, and these were followed by wharves, stores, and a fishing establishment. There were visions of flower gardens and orchards, and the merry clack of mill wheels filled the air with its homely sound. Beech, pine, and oak stood leady for the axe, and the Mother Country waited to take all they had of timber and fish. THE CROWN COLONY 187 4. Tx)ng before this the Devon shipowners had found the Bank fisheries famous for making fortunes. Having won their trade with their own riglit arm, they had no mind to share it with anyone. By petition and audience the jealous proprietors did their best to induce th(3 King to recall Guy's colony. Failing in this, they set in motion a plan to crush out the seashore settlement, whicli was only too successful, tlangs of fishermen, led on by their ruthless masters, attacked the place with fire and terrorism, and easily accomplished the savage design. 5. Scattered and homeless, the disheartened people returned to England, or fled along shore to safer quarters. Years passed, and colony after colony took up sections, only to find that the fisherman and his trade reaped all the benefits, leaving none for the poor settler. In turn each bright pros]iecfc faded, leaving the shore to the sea birds and the great interior covered with forest to the bark of the fox and the challenge of the wild stag to his rival. 6. In spite, however, of turbulent fishermen and oc- casional pirates, the business of the Crown Colony in- creased. The endless riches of the deep in cod, herring, seals, and whales drew other merchants into her ranks, and the island bid fair to become a centre of trade between the Mother Country and the colonies of Virginia and New England. 7. Over this happy outlook, however, a fate heavy with dismay and ruin was already brooding. Without warning, and for what reason is not known, Charles II suddenly presented the greater ])art of England's fair possession to his ambitious cousin, Louis of France. 8. The French monarch lost no time in making use of his new territory. Settlers arrived in numbers, and without more ado set about fortifying the shores of Placentia Bay. In vain the unhappy residents pro- I 188 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY tested, urging their attachment to their native land. The Merry Monarch only shrugged his shoulders, and said the thing was done. 9. As if, too, his own injustice served only to rouse greater resentment against them, the King coldly in- formed the indignant Islanders that they must forth- with return to England or betake themselves without delay to the West Indies. This was too much to be borne ! The Newfoundlanders, never a spiritless people, refused to obey the edict. Instead, they sent si)ecial pleaders to the London law-courts to support their cause against the King. It is safe to say that few colonists have gone so far and won in the end ! 10. For a time the newcomers proved friendly enough and both nationalities fished side by side in the lovely bays. Border hostilities from the Massachusetts colonies, however, led to French reprisals on Terra Nova. Armed privateers swooped down on the quiet shores, and robbed the terrified villagers. When a British fleet came to their relief, it was beaten off and disabled by the Fort of Placentia. Thoroughly roused, the English residents turned to their sailors. 11. Forts were rapidly raised near Ferry land, and when five frigates bore down upon them, the fishermen under Holman flew to arms, and, as the old record says, ' so battered the Frenchmen that after five hours' fight, they ran off, leaving their anchors and cables behind." • . 12. It was two years before the enemy ventured to renew their attack on the sturdy fishermen. In 1696, however, siege was twice laid to St. John's. In addi- tion to the shore batteries, a strong steel chain, part of which still hangs from its rocky stanchions, had been strung across the mouth of the harbour. With all sail set, the iron-rammed vessels drove down against PUCICS GIRDLE 189 the barrier only to rebound and, after some spirited fighting, to the joy of the besieged the foe was driven oft'. 13. Incensed by these repulses, the enemy prepared for a final effort. November had set in, and the fishing fleets were well on their way to England. Owing to the wild state of the country, no raid by land had ever been dreamed of, when the French and Indians made their swift, stealthy approach under Le Moyne d' Iber- ville. On a winter night, and utterly taken by surprise, the unhappy residents made what defence they could, but the horrors of that night are better imagined than described. St. John's fell, and, with the unfortunate colonists huddled into a single vessel, Britain's first colony appeared to be at an end. I ^ PUCK'S GIRDLE— I 1. " I'll put a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes," so spoke Shakespeare's fairy Puck three hundred years ago. It was a merry jest that the great wizard of the pen little knew was a prophecy. Will Shakespeare, the schoolboy, must have often flung down his books, and rushed into the street to gaze at passing sailors who had been in America across the Atlantic ! 2. The rocks of Newfoundland, pounded by the giant breakers, and the strange medley of ships drawn to the Banks in search of fish, were, no doubt, a familiar thought to the young genius. Queen and courtiers were talking of the "gold mine of the fisheries," while heroic adventurers sailed into the western jaws of death. Amid iceberg and floe England's sailors were learning the way of greatness. Who among them all could have dreamed that to these very rocks Puck's girdle would one day be attached in sober earnest. 3. Centuries passed, and the tide of adventure and 190 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY trade had settled the New World. Over the very ground where heroes once toiled facing danger and death at every step, spread fair cities, teeming with population, and busy as beehives. The wonders of modern science grew apace in Europe and America, and foremost of all stood the electric telegraph. 4. Vessels, always becoming bigger and faster, ploughed the oceans in every direction, yet with all their speed the distance of the continents from each other grew only more trying. Ideas wild and strange as the tales of the Arabian Nights were thought of to shorten the journey from land to land. 5. In Manchester, England, about this time, the keen mind of a young man called Frederick Newton Gisborne was full of theories about the wonderful new power. The problem of quicker communication between the Old and New Worlds took hold of his imagination, and New- foundland, jutting far out into the Atlantic, seemed the first stepping-stone. 6. The first thought of the young engineer was that news brought from Europe might be telegraphed from St. John's to the south-west corner of the island. Carrier pigeons could then be employed to cross the seventy miles of stormy sea to the mainland, from whence messages by wire would reach every part of America. 7. In following up his theories, however, one careful experiment led to another, and Mr. Gisborne found that the powers of electricity were not injured by water. The idea of telegraphing by cable along the bottom of the sea took the world by storm, but the inventor, for a time, had to face the fate of every genius. His discovery, in many quarters, was not credited, and he was voted a madman. At this point, however, Mr. Cyrus Field, a wealthy American, took up the theory with enthusiasm, and offered to find the money required for the project. PUCK'S GIRDLE 191 8. Mr. Gisborne's own energy and ability had led to this result. Like Carlyle he thought that "genius is just a vast capacity for taking pains." In organising his business he was several times round the world, and twice across the continent of America on horseback. On one occasion being in New Brunswick he found it necessary to reach Montreal with all possible speed. There was no railway, and recent heavy snowstorms had made the roads impassable. 9. Leaving Campbelltown, New Brunswick, on snow- shoes with an Indian guide, he covered fifty miles in the first day. So hard was the going that towards nightfall his Indian gave out, and had to be partly supported. Reaching Metis, the travellers had some hours' rest, and, though weary, set oft' again in the morning at the same- pace. 10. The whole journey to the ancient capital was per- formed on snowshoes in three days, through intense cold, deep snowdrifts, and wild and lonely surroundings. After a day in Quebec, the energetic traveller left by sleigh for Montreal, which by frequent change of horses he reached in the shortest possible time. 11. At another time the inventor in his sailboat wished to land at a place in Newfoundland where there was no beach. The sea was very rough, and the rocks showed their jagged heads above the angry breakers. The boat approached as close to land as she dared, and as she rose on the waves, Mr. Gisborne first, and each of his assist- ants in turn, with his eye measured the distance, and jumped. It was a dangerous experiment, but fortu- nately everyone reached land in safety. 192 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY V ! PUCK'S GIRDLE— II 1. The successful laying of the short submarine cable between Cape Breton and Newfoundland, in 1856, gave rise to even more surprising hopes. Could not the plan be carried out in great as in little ? Instruments of extraordinary power for gauging the ocean currents at every depth were used, and the rugged abysses of the Atlantic floor carefully examined from land to land. 2. The material best fitted to bear the enormous weight of water, the likelihood of attack from marine animals, and lastly, the vast length of line required, had all to be provided for. Human ingenuity, however, attacked the problem from every standpoint, and solved it. 3. In the summer of 1866 everything was ready for the great work of laying the cable. With one end secured at Valentia, Ireland, the huge merchant vessel Great Eastern left port, carrying on her decks over sixteen hundred miles of coiled wire rope. 4. Paying out as she proceeded, the line sank into the bubbling abyss, where ever since it has lain uninjured at varying depths of thousands of fathoms. In safety the giant vessel reached Heart's Content, Newfoundland, on the 27th July, 1866. 5. Thousands of visitors were there to meet her from far and near, and the harbour was alive with gaily decorated vessels thronged with excited people. For weeks the whole civilised world had been looking for- ward to the event with breathless interest. It was indeed a red-letter day for Terra Nova. 6. About mid-day the living end of the cable was attached on shore, and a favoured few gathered in the *:ielegraph operator's office. At a given hour the current was turned on at Valentia, and, amidst intense silence, every eye was fixed upon the frail instrument. BRITISH COLUMBIA 193 7. Presently a strained whisper crept about the room : " It moves ! " and, with unconscious tears on their faces, men heard the first ocean message. It was from Queen Victoria to the President of the United States, the old, beautiful greeting from Heaven to mankind, "Peace on earth, goodwill to man." 8. More and more, as time goes on, the marvels of science are unrolling themselves. Across other oceans Puck's Girdle has long since been carried, and the circuit of the globe has become a daily necessity. 9. Once in a while, however, a visitor sits beside the cable instruments in that little Newfoundland harbour on the rim of ocean. In the stillness of night the con- tinents are at rest. Presently the wire awakes, and a busy click heralds the working day in Europe. With scarcely a pause it is followed by the eager rush of America. 10. For a moment time and space are swept away, and the brain hears the tramp of multitudes in two hemi- spheres. Among the scientific wonders of the age, the laying of the ocean cable bears out the old words of prophecy: "Thou hast made him (man) a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour: Thou hast put all things under his feet . . . and whatever passeth through the paths of the seas." I I BRrriSH COLUMBIA— I 1. It was when Captain Cook, sailing up the western shores of America on his last voyage, saw the snow-laden peaks of the Kocky Mountains, that he took possession of the unexplored land in the King's name. Keturniug, he touched at the Sandwich Islands, and there, after a desperate struggle on the seashore, met death at the hands of the cannibal savages. * PI 194 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY 2. The tragic fate of England's greatest navigator drew London merchants to seek the trade of the new-found land. By way of Cape Horn a highway was found, and a steady stream of bluff captains established friendly re- lations with the west coast natives. In 1792 Captain Vancouver, R.N., carefully led the way north, examining the coast-line. To-day, among the inlets of that noble shore, a score of names dear to Sailor England keep alive the heroic energy and paticT'ce of the Pacific explorers. 3. With the advent of the English sea-rovers, the cen- turies' old rivalry with Spain blazed out afresh. Spanish rights had long been planted north and south of California, and her enemy's presence in Vancouver Island was dis- puted with all that nation's old time vigour. When, however, European councils settled the vast territory from the Flowery Land to Kussian America on Great Britain, proud Spain retired from the unequal contest. 4. The interior of the mountainous land is not without its devoted searchers any more than the coast. The dis- covery of the Mackenzie River had roused Britain, but this wonderful feat was to be outdone by the same ex- plorer. In the spring of 1793, Mackenzie and his party pushed their way, on foot, through the wild gorges and frightful passes of the Rocky Mountains. They were the first white men to reach the Pacific Ocean overland. 5. The worker leaves others to recount his deeds. Here, it is said, with a stick dipped in a mixture of vermilion and liquid fat, the leader smeared his record on the face of a rod' in short and pithy words : ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, FROM MONTREAL BY LAND July 22nd, 1793 6. Time passed, and the middle of the nineteenth century had arrived. The treasures of the new land in gold and minerals may indeed have been guessed at, but BRITISH COLUMBIA 195 the wjr^d still swept through the mighty trees in solitude, and the myriads of silvery salmon, unnoticed by the world, made their yearly leap up the plunging streams. 7. But a startling change was at hand. With the gold-seekers' rush to California in 1849, many eyes turned north to Canada. A few short years saw streams of miners on the trail of the precious metal, and the sands of the Fraser and Thompson Kivers proved to be fabulously rich in nuggets and shining grains of gold. Soon the rocky canyons were alive with the echoes of the workers' pick and cradle. BRITISH COLUMBIA— II 1. Swiftly on the heels of labour came British justice and order, though, for a time, the reckless delver laughed r,t both. With the better class, however, law aroused a sense of safety among the knights of the shovel, and they grew to look upon the fair land as home. The forest kings fell to the lumberer's axe, and the rich coastlands yielded '-everything pleasant to the sight and good for food." 2. At this, over the border, the people, ever eager for new lands to seize, began to prick up their ears. To them the north country had gained a new and enviable import- ance. Their old tactics were worth trying once more. An unreasonable demand to (Jreat Britain for the riglits of the territory, fortunately, met with a dignified refusal. The Mother Country would stand by her, but the fears of the young Province, once aroused, were not likely to go to sleep again. What might not their grasping neighbour do next ! 3. With the birth of the Dominion in 1866 came longings for closer ties and stronger protection. But N 2 o n BRITISH COLUMBIA 197 c 4 how could such vast distances be brought together with- out a railway ? To the staid East the request came like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Never before had such a great work been demanded of so small or poor a people ! i. For years excitement over the needs of the Pacific Province was never allowed to die out from one end of Canada to the other. At length three or four daring and capable citizens, of whom our Lord Strathcona was one, undertook the huge scheme. Work began from both ends of the line at once, and in five years the last spike of its three thousand miles was driven in. 5. Since 1885 the opening up of British Columbia has been like a fairy tale. Her snow-capped peaks guard untold wealth of coal and other minerals, while rock and ledge hold in store riches yet undreamed of. The slopes of the mountains are clothed with the noble growth of centuries, and the sheltered valleys are fair with blooming fruit trees. 6. Where a score of years ago stood dense forests of Douglas fir, cities hav3 sprung up like mushrooms. Fast steamships plough the Pacific to far China and Japan, and men of every race and colour rub shoulders under our nation's flag. The dream of the explorer for the shortest route to the East has been found across Canada ! 7. From halls of Asgard come, To find its rightful home The race has sought ; AVestward and ever west Its toilsome path has pressed With terrors fraught. Here, on earth's utmost rim, Found is the spot, I deem, Bv ages brought. 198 PICTUHES FilOM CANADIAN HISTORY (fuarded by mount and seas, Lapped by the wave of peace, Kissed by the sun Sinking on ocean's crest, This our last home, and best, — Goal we have won ! THE ROMANCE OF THE MOUNTED POLICE— I 1. The old story of the North-West is simple. Beyond the scattered stations of the great Company, stretched the country whose end no man knew. In every direction the roving children of the wild trapped and hunted as they pleased. When enough had been gathered, the rich store was brought by dog-team across the snow to the nearest Hudson Bay post. Red men and white trusted each other, and there was no trouble. 2. Far from the other provinces the little colony of the Red River lived its own life. In time the lean form of the prairie wolf lost its terrors, and the driving winter blizzard left no trace in the summer flowers. Locks were unknown, and the wayfarer everywhere found a welcome. 3. Prosperity has its own drawbacks, however. With the wider sweep of prairie cultivation came the trader and adventurer, and the old God-fearing order began to be lightly held, or not held at all. Riot and trickery took the country by storm, and the honest settlers indignantly saw British law defied and broken. It was plain that there must be more protection. 4. Appeals to Ottawa were not in vain. A livelier interest in the plains sprang up^ and from that time the lonely ranchman and his scattered herds have never been ROMANCE OF THE MOUNTED POLICE 199 lost sight of. In the West a new order of military police soon showed its mettle, and the troopers set to work with a will that has never flagged. 5. To prevent the sale of liquor among the Indians, and to break up the lawless gangs of cattle thieves on the prairies, were at first the main objects of the band. Since then their duty has grown in fifty directions. To-day the far-reaching respect for law and order through the country is due to the courage and zeal of the North- West Mounted Police. 6. The ordinary duties of the day are many. From settler's shack to Indian reserve rides the soldierly con- stable, with quick eye noting the crops, the roads and bridges, the cattle-mark of the last foreign emigrant. One day he may be helping to 6ght a prairie fire, the next miles away following the trail of a lost child. 7. Early in their history the Indian tribes learned that red men and white are alike in the eye of the law. "Three years ago," said wise Chief Crowfoot on one occasion, " I met and shook hands with the Colonel at Pelly River; since that time he has made many promises, not one of which has been broken. His men have protected us as the feathers of the bird protect it from the frosts of winter." THE ROMANCE OF THE MOUNTED POLICE— II lier the ?en 1. If the trooper's name in that wide land brings with it a sense of safety to the upright, it no less carries terror to the guilty. A story will illustrate. The wife of an Indian trapper in the far north died, leaving him with a little girl, who proved a burden. The old instincts of the savage awoke. Never dreaming that 9M) riCTUUES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY his crime would be found out, he carried his child to a lonely island, and left her there to die. "J. lUit the murderer had reckoned without his host. Hearing of the affair, a Mounted Policeman followed up his clue, and arrested the culprit. Six hundred miles away, however, stood the jail at Hegina, and until he hud taken in his prisoner, the olUcer's duty was not done. 3. In a canoe stocked with provisions tJje strange l)air set out on the trip that for one was to end in life imprisonment. The scene is one that may never be repeated. In the bow sat the handcufled savage, ever looking for a chance of escape, while, with his paddle in hand, and a cocked revolver near, the stern held its one lonely constable ! 4. Another incident, which shows that no criminal may feel safe so long as a Mounted Policeman is on his track, is told. A certain fugitive was followed all over North America for six months, and at last run down in Mexico. 5. Taken to the nearest seaport, he was put on board a British vessel, and after a long journey landed with his captor at Halifax. Arrived once more on Canadian soil, the murderer paid the full penalty of his crime with his life. 0. After this it is not needful to tell how the most desperate gamblers, train-robbers, and cattle-thieves have been taught respect for the laws of the country. What- ever may be its course, the trooper does his duty, and the cool courage which is covered by a trim uniform and jaunty forage cap has won for itself a fame worth having. ^ost lave (lat- iiid )nn Irth *< 'A ^^ 'A U o o a H J', t-i O H 2 5^ u 202 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY i i THE PASSING OF THE BUFFALO 1. A FEATURE of prairie life, now gone forever, used to be the immense herds of buffalo that ranged the western plains. Every autumn, from the iir north to Mexico, these animals followed their time-worn paths south, and every spring found them on the return trail. They cropped the rich grasses at their ease, and drank at a hundred well-known watering-places. 2. For ages the huge bovines had been the stand-by of the Western tribes. The Indians looked to the passing herds for food, and stores of pemmican were always packed away to last until their return. The gieat provision of Nature for her children continued from year to year. There was plenty for man, and the herds did not become less. 3. As the buffalo season drew near, parties of Indians and French Canadians along the line of march eagerly scanned the horizon for signs of the shaggy heads. They were all expert hunters, and absolutely at home on the backs of their half-tamed bronchos. And indeed they needed all their skill, for the animals were very savage when attacked. Soon the prairies were black with the on-coming herds. 4. The first railway that crossed the prairies of the United States brought with it the doom of the buffalo. With the early trains great numbers of armed men went west, and waited for the proud herds whose coming literally shook the earth. 5. The slaughter that followed among the noble brutes has never been equalled nor explained. There was no sign of sport in it. The countless thousands of bison were deliberately wiped out. The earth drank in blood INDIAN UNREST 203 like water, and for years the blanched bones of the victims lay in heaps on the ground. 6. In the first onset, the poor creatures that managed to escape, fled out of range, and became cunning in their fear. Though suffering terribly from thirst, none came near the water-holes for days. But the hunters were prepared for this. Aware that at last even the deadly rifle would be faced for the sake of water, they kept big fires blazing by night along the banks of the streams, and lay in wait for their prey. 7. The end came swiftly. Drawn by the bright lights or their frantic need, the poor remnants of the herds stole back by night to meet their doom. Standing knee- deep in the water, and drinking with feverish haste, they were shot down almost to the last animal. hey age the ent ing tes no teon od INDIAN UNREST 1. Meanwhile the spring of 1878 came and went in the Canadian North-West. The Indians waited as usual for the return of the buffalo, but they did not come. For some years, it is true, scattered herds were sometimes seen among the mountains, but these timidly fled from man, and were seen no more. 2. As winter approached, reports of the state of the tribes began to spread, and to excite pity. Thousands were said to be on the point of starvation. The red men at that time knew very little of agriculture, and what grain they had was used up. Long custom had made buffalo meat their sole food supply, and deprived of this they had nothing to fall back upon. 3. The seat of Government for the Territories had been placed at Battleford, and here bands of Indians 204 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY if M r ! ■| began to congregate, mutely seeking aid for their perish- ing families. Three or four thousand Sioux, Blackfoots, Crees, and others were already on the ground, and anxiety as to their attitude in the settlement became intense. The supply of provisions was barely enough for the white residents, and weeks must pass before the arrival of the teamsters from Winnipeg. 4. The fears of the citizens were worked up to the highest pitch. Every day at sunrise, gangs of Indians began to move round the houses with measured pace. Guns were fired rapidly into space, and long-drawn, mournful songs chanted to the sound of the native drum. The little town hastened to offer what help it could, but none might tell how this strange outbreak would end. 5. On the night of June 26, 1878, affairs seemed to be nearing a crisis. Death songs chanted through the long night were followed next morning by sudden volleys of ritie shots. The residents rushed to door and window to see what this might mean. The sight caused many a cheek to pale. Mounted on ponies, five or six hundred painted savages were seen approaching at full gallop, keeping up, as they came, a fusilade of random shots. 6. The strange performance was soon explained. The Governor had already been notified that the Hungry Dance meant no harm, and would be followed by a Council, to which he was invited. With fantastic exhibi- tions of riding, the tribes drew up in an orderly manner round Government House, while numbers of their women and children stood patiently looking on. With a few officers and Mounted Policemen, Governor Laird came out to meet them. 7. The speeches were few and to the point. That the red men were starving was the burden of words made more painful by their want of hope. Unless relieved at once, they said, they must die ! As the voice of the last The liner bien I few Line I the ide at last I :l^ 206 PICTURKS FROM CANADIAN HISTORY speaker ceased, a stalwart Indian, standing on the out- skirts of the throng, suddenly dropped on one knee, and, taking careful aim with his rifle, fired. In the in- tense silence, the bullet whistled dangerously near the Governor's head. 8. Without a sign that anything unusual had occurred, His Honour made reply to the assembled chiefs. Relief on the arrival of the supplies was quietly promised, as well as Government aid for the future. A few days later the promise was carried out, but Battleford resi- dents have never ceased to wonder what would have happened had the tribesman's shot proved fatal to the courageous Governor. THE NORTH-WEST REBELLION— I 1. BiilTlSH justice looks on the native races of every land with a kind eye. Under the Old Flag their rights are upheld, and religion and education unite to charm away the darkness of savagery. 2. The early policy of the United States was to get rid of her Indians. Lands made over to them under the most solemn oaths were rudely snatched away, and others of less value given instead. From these, in turn, the red man was again driven far afield. This treatment, of course, aroused revengeful feelings that led to great atrocity on both sides. 3. Knowing the fate of others, colonisation in British territory was looked upon by the savages with dismay. The fear had good grounds. For the time, the Canadian Government seemed to have forgotten its duty as guardian of the tribes. 4. At the setting up of the Prairie province, the half- THE NORTH-WEST REBELLION 207 breeds and Indians protested against injustice, and a short but tiery upheaval led to the wise settlement of claims. But the improvement stopped with Manitoba. 5. Years passed, and ever farther over the prairies crept the immigrant waggons with their white tilts. The Indians of the territories gloomily watched their progress. The now well-settled Metis of Manitoba had title-deeds for their lands — they had none. Were the scenes of injustice and cruelty in the United States to be repeated under the Union Jack ? 6. More than once, Indians and half-breeds from Sas- katchewan had pleaded their cause with fiery eloquence at Ottawa, but without result. Each time the claimants were sent away with fair promises of redress, and that was the end of it. With grim humour, Sir John Mac- donald began to be known among the tribes as " Old To-morrow." 7. Since the disappearance of the buffalo, the state of the Western Indians had become more and more painful. The Government stores, carelessly dealt out by agents, were not plentiful, and, especially in winter time, famine sat in every lodge. " All the earth was sick and famished, Hungry was the air around them, Hungry was the sky above them, And the hungry stars in heaven Like the eyes of wolves glared at them ! " ^ THE NORTH-WEST REBELLION— II 1. With the opening of 1875, affairs reached a climax. The cause of the former rebellion had prospered, and Louis Kiel, living in exile across the border, was still in * The Song of Hiawatha, by H. W. Longfellow. 208 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY heart the champion of his fellow-countrymen. In danger- ous mood, the French half-breeds decided to send for him. 2. The rising began quietly, but became so popular that prudence was soon flung to the winds. The M^tis flocked to Kiel's standard, while their Scotch brothers and the frien^..y Indians as boldly held to their British allegiance. Throughout the West- and North the full- blooded warrior nations, Blackfoot and Cree, were rest- less. Which side would they take in the struggle ? 3. As spring drew on, the scattered settlers grew more and more alarmed. They saw that Riel's wild eloquence could have but one result with the excitable rebels. In the older provinces the horror of the crisis was not understood. Eastern Canadians merely shrugged their shoulders, and smiled over this storm in a teacup. 4. On the prairies every hour grew more threatening. The half-breeds gathered round their leader's head- quarters at Batoche. With no prospect of aid from any direction, the men of Prince Albert flung themselves into the breach, and began to barricade the town. They were still at it when the clash came at Duck Lake. Over Canada like lightning flew the news that the loyal volunteers were attacked and routed by rebels. 5. With the tidings Canadian apathy fled. Aid from Winnipeg rushed to as'^ist the Mounted Police, and with one accord Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto sprang to arms. Fortunately the great railway was ready to carry them to their destination. 6. In the meantime the settlers bravely faced the worst. At last the dreaded Indian war was a reality, and for a time the awful terror of rifle and scalping knife hung over every lonely farmhouse. The massacre at Frog Lake and the desperate defence of Fort Pitt will live in history. Batoche, Fish Creek, Battleford — the familiar names send a thrill through every Canadian heart. FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN 209 7. Through the following weeks the land was full of fiery excitement. Fortunately, few of the full-blooded tribes took the war-path, but the half-breeda showed their mettle, and fought with cool daring and skill from start to finish. Our citizen-soldiers, it is needless to say, showed courage and energy beyond all praise. 8. The rebellion, fortunately, was short-lived, and the breach soon healed. But it had not failed. With a promptness that did it credit, the Government hastened to fulfil its trust. The rights of the half-breeds as citizens of the Dominion were settled once for all, and to-day no more contented people may be found than the native population of the Canadian North- West. the [nd ife log I in tar FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN 1. Many, many years have passed since the days of the first settlers in Canada. What a change three hundred years have brought with the;n ! 2. Past the once lonely shores of Newfoundland throng an endless stream of steamships, and the wide way of the St. Lawrence is never free from the stir of her traffic. Over the shining rails speeds the traveller from ocean to oceau. 3. The widespread gloom of forest has given way to ever-growing areas of cultivated land. In the solitudes have sprung up prosperous towns, each the centre of a thousand useful industries. Steamboats plough the inland seas, and beside great Huron and Superior stand the towering cliffs whose rocky depths hold untold store of silver, copper, and other metals and minerals for the use of man. 4. Who that has seen them can describe the prairies ? r-fc il ,' 210 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY North, south, east, and west they lie, like a vast peaceful sea, whose billows have been cast in earth and green verdure. 5. " Would you learn the charm of the prairie land ? Then stand at the break of dawn, Where the long low sunlight Hoods with light The plains of Saskatchewan. Or stand again, at the set of sun, As the light in the west grows dim ; While the blue grey clouds, with crimson lined. Lie low on the prairie's rim. 6. Would you learn the spell of the prairie land ? Then follow the winds at play, . . As the long grass waves and the flowers toss ' In their scattered colours gay. Those prairie flowers ! what else may grow Such hosts of anemones rare ? Broad mounds of roses interspersed With the blue-eyed flax so fair ? " ^ 7. And if the prairies in their own way are wonderful, what of the mountains, with their snow-capped tops, by turns bathed in floating clouds and the rosy glow of sun- set ? Guarded by the triple domes of The Sisters or the mighty peaks Sir Donald and Robson, the panting engines lead the way into the heart of the Rockies. 8. The wild waters of the Kicking Horse, the Crow's Nest, and the Tete Jaune Passes ceaselessly toss them- * The Prairie Land, by Laura E. Marshall. I s f>; t-i £ '^1 i O 212 rirruHEs from Canadian history selves under the trestle bridges, and in winter the loosened masses of snow thunder down the gorges. Far below, the eagle darts from his eyrie to scream defiance at the passing trains. 9. The spruce-covered sides of the mountains, black in the shadows, will forever be the home of the big-horn sheep and the grizzly bear. At the foot of the western slopes nestle the famous orchards of the Okanagan. Across the purple distance the shining peaks look out upon the Sea of Peace. 10. From Ocean to Ocean stand the sister provinces hand in hand awaiting their destiny. But the young Dominion has much to learn. The world has a long record, and the star of many nations has risen and set. " They that would build well the Empire.*} of the future, must read well the histories of the Empires of the past." I THE RHYME OF VICTORIA DAY (May 24) Once on a time, so runneth the rhyme, In an Island whose name you know There reigned a Queen, the best ever seen 'Mongst rulers on earth below ; O'er whose Empire wide upon every side Of the globe as through space it swung, The sun never set, for he could not get Beyond where her praises rung ! Her ships sailed fast on the winter wind And rocked in the summer breeze, Wherever a spar or a sail you'd find Afloat on the storm-swept seas ; the Far nee I in orn ern jan. out ices ung ong set. ure, 5t." ROUTE OF THE GREAT RAILWAYS 213 And her men went forth, o'er the blue, blue wave, Scholars and soldiers too, To win renown, or to find a grave. And many found both, 'tis true ! The laws were good and the people free, But that they would never own, 'Till their rights were threatened by foreign decree, And then they did nobly atone. For they loved their Queen and their country dear. Though seldom if ever, you see. Would they clioose to acknowledge, no matter how clear, Such failings to you or to me ! So time went on till the days were come When a lady might weary be. Of the troubles and cares, and the State affairs From which she never seemed free, And when King Death removed the crown From that dear and noble head. For ever and aye we call her own Victoria Day instead ! THE ROUTE OF THE GREAT RAILWAYS 1. Those who have sought out and laid the course of our three transcontinental railways in Canada have done so in the face of nearly as great bodily hardships and danger as that experienced by Alexander Mackenzie a hundred and twenty years ago, in his wonderful journey on foot through the Rocky Mountains. 2. They have had to ride thousands of miles on horse- O 2 214 riCTUUKS rUOM CANADIAN IIISTOllV back, to ford or swim unknown streams whose current sucked them down or carried them away to ahuost certain deatli. They have climbed or been slung by ropes down precipices, and have crept by a single slippery log across the dizzy depths of gorges and canyons. Often have they been lost in the wilds and known what it is to suffer terribly from hunger and thirst, and they liave had to run the risk of attack from every kind of tierce wild animal whose haunts they were invading. In one thing only have they known less than the terrors of primitive travellers, and that is from the cunning rage of the Indian savage, himself in moital terror of what the white man could do to him. 3. Boys and girls sitting round the cheery fire on a winter night, or lounging under the garden trees in summer, with a fascinating book of travel in hand, know little of the overwhelming trials of reality, or the kind of men it takes to penetrate the wilderness. 4. To begin with, the first great difficulties in building an ocean-to-ocean road were met with in the northern wilds of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Here, it is true, there are occasional Hudson Bay trading-posts, between which and Montreal a fine system of communi- cation has been established, but these are few and far between, and nature reigns supreme. The rushing water- ways, whose perils of rock and rapid may be avoided by the trapper's canoe, generally flow from north to south, or vice versa, and are at right angles to the route of the surveyor being carved through the forest from east to west. 5. The Canadian Pacific Railway, being the first to push its way across the continent, naturally encountered all sorts of savage perils without experience. Coming after such an effort, it may be supposed that the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern would be able to ROUTE OF TIIK GUKAT KAILVVAYS 215 to Ired ling iiid to avoid some, at least, of the difficulties of their forerunner. While this is true to a certain extent, the route of each of these lines is far from the others, and must face con- ditions and dangers to the others unknown. 6. Try, for instance, to picture to yourself the scene that met the view of the first land survevor of the Grand Trunk Pacific in Northern Ontario. Far as the eye can reach, the vast stretch of country is made up of rocky ridges and yawning valleys covered with endless trees. For the most part it is a sea, hundreds of miles in extent, of sombre green verdure, with, at intervals, long reaches of brown or black pointing the trail of the forest fire. In the distance a patch of grey-blue indicates the mist rising from water. 7. The dark, interlacing branches of the trees hide well their secret dangers. Here it is a swamp, or, in the Indian dialect, mnshcg, whose soft mossy clumps and waving grasses cover unknown depths of black ooze, ready to suck in man or animal. There, wide ranges of boulder and broken rock, tossed hither and thither, seem like the playthings of giants. Again the trunks of trees, felled by age or storm in the course of many years, lie across each other in every direction, covered with slippery vegetation which makes every etep over them a danger to life and limb. 8. The only paths through the wilds are those of the Indians, trodden deep, but so narrow as to be almost unnoticed. These prove little or no guide. To the white man they seem aimless, and, if followed, will very likely lead him to the edge of a cliff overhanging a stream, whose wild waters must be crossed. At such a time there is nothing for the traveller but to put together, as best he may, some flimsy craft, upon which to battle for his life through the boiling rapids. 9. If not following the already blazed paths, new ways "iTm f m .. 216 PICTURES FROxM CANADIAN HISTORY must be cut through the tangled bush foot by foot with the axe. At all times every sense has to be on the alert. If on horseback, the rider must be prepared to jump clear in case of a false step on the part of his animal. 10. All this, of course, applies to the summer. In winter, when the weather is good, travelling is much easier and quicker ; but winter has its own dangers, and they are terrible. Overtaken by blizzards, or caught in deep drift, as so often happens, forward progress is slow, and always remains the dread of the cruel cold, against which no clothing, however thick, is proof. 11. Over and above all is the intense loneliness, with no sound but the sweep of the wind through the trees, the crack of the leafless branches in time of frost, or the long-drawn howl of a wolf. Not a living soul is to be met with, except at long distances a stray Indian or trapper, and if illness or accident should occur, months might elapse before the sad end of the tale would be known. 12. Such is the life, and such the sacrifice, faced by those who penetrate the wilds of Canada, and open up the country for the foot of the emigrant, and the easy, swift carriage of tourist and business man. No wonder we think much of our railways and those who build them. ->:> ROUGHING IT 1. The next stage of the Grand Trunk Pacific was the division, for convenience, of the country into sections about 300 miles in length. Each district was assigned to a party of two or three under a well-trained engineer, who was always in touch with the chief at Ottawa. 2. These men, besides possessing technical ability, had to be strong and fearless, with a quick eye for the best ■■!■■ ROUGHING IT 217 ^'■K :'. . in'y ''■ 'J kind of country to select. They must be able to find their way anywhere, and be prepared for every kind of danger. Every one was in light inarching order, and was given authority to range his section far to the north and south of the possible line. 3. In this way the engineer and his party moved rapidly, making maps as they proceeded, and noting whether the country was forest or plain, and in what position or direction were to be found lake, river, or swamp. 4. Next came the making of road-beds and the laying of rails, but anyone supposing that a railway is so quickly constructed knows little of the real business in hand. These first lines were prepared only for trial, and to them other parallel lines were added at various distances. The object in doing this was, of course, to discover the best possible . 'ation for the permanent work. In this way, for one division of about 290 miles, over 1500 miles of rail were laid, and before the way was finished between Moncton and Winnipeg, a distance of 10,000 miles had been explored and built. 5. In addition to the character of the ground for building, other things had to be considered. As he went along, the surveyor must notice of what use the land might be for commerce, and whether agriculture, mining, or lumbering would make it worth the while of the settler. 6. In this way, winter and summer alternating, each party toiled over its lonely circuit. They seldom met each other except by chance au their eastern or western limits, and every camp was supplied with its own necessaries. Food was plentifully furnished from headquarters, and a cook, who knew his work, gave the needed comfort to the busy and lonely group. 7. Ranging over such long distances, however, it was 218 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY necessary that stores of food should not be too far apart, and caches were therefore formed in many a spot to supply their daily wants. These places had no caretaker. Known by certain marks, they were covered with heavy stones to protect them from wild animals, and were quite safe. 8. The means of carrying the surveyors' instruments, clothing, and provisions were various. In summer pack- horses were employed, or canoes, if there were much water, and in winter dog-trains sped over the snowy trail, doing their twenty or even forty miles a day in fair weather. 9. But every means had its own drawbacks, and often the suffering to man and beast was heart-breaking. Portaging sounds romantic, but it is, of all others, the most wearing-out of work. The northern parts of Canada have more waterways than perhaps any other country in the world, but most of them are very treacherous. They are full of eddies and rapids, with hidden rocks and the frequent blundering tree-trunk being swept down-stream, which often force the voyageur to run his canoe ashore and unload. 10. The boats were of different materials — birch-bark, dug-outs, and folding canvas. They were up to 22 feet in length, and capable of holding as much as a ton apiece. A portage being reached, the boatman and his assistant rapidly removed the goods, slung the packs by a head- band upon their backs, and set out at a trot across country. Lastly, the boat itself was turned over the heads of the two carriers, and conveyed to the next water. The trained Indians, half-breeds, .'^nd voyageurs of the Hudson Bay Company were invaluable, as they have always been, at this work, and little could have been accomplished without their aid. 11. In summer the streams were lively in this way HEROES OF THE WILDS 219 with much traffic. When, however, Jack Frost had bound things in his icy grasp, the packers transferred themselves to the woods, whose arches echoed with the yelps of the dog-teams and the shouts of their drivers. Toboggans, being light and strong, are much used by the trappers and other carriers for this purpose, and speed over the shining surface, with the dogs straining and pulling at their burden. 12. The animals in use are strong, active creatures known as "huskies." They are raised on the Indian reserves and in the fur-trading posts, and are very in- telligent, but of a fierce and sometimes treacherous char- acter. If the going is easy and the snow fairly well beaten, two dogs may form a team, but generally six are employed, the latter being able to draw about 500 lbs. Each team is generally guided by one man, but much depends upon the driver's ability and his method of treating his charges. The dogs often prove terribly annoying, but while fiercely resenting harsh treatment, they soon learn to know a kind master and respect him. HEROES OF THE WILDS 1. It is hard to induce those who have met and over- come many perils in the open, to tell their experiences. Sometimes, however, the warmth of the camp fire thaws out a man's reserve, and sympathy and the soft mantle of darkness unfold strange stories. But in the awful fight with nature the tales are not always of escape. A lowered voice and gaps in the conversation sometimes mean more than many words. 2. Here and there, near the trail, one pauses reverently to gaze at a dark mound enclosed within a low fence 220 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY where a cross of rough timber marks the place of a lonely grave. There he who sleeps so soundly will lie till the last trump shall awake him, and then many a one un- known to wealth or fame will arise to hear the words of the Great Judge, "Well done, good and faithful servant." 3. But the heroes who are so unwilling to recount their own exploits, will always, when they have time, tell of the self-sacrifice of others. Here, it is tlie man going forward alone in winter-time to secure aid* for a little party iu difficulties. He does not return, and search follows his footsteps to the edge of a forest lake, sur- rounded by sombre trees. The ice may be of that strange quality known as frazil, which never becomes solid even in the greatest cold. Here footprints strike out for a certain distance and then suddenly stop. The valiant son of the trail is engulfed by the treacherous mass, and is, perhaps, never found. 4. Again, it is one of the most expert and careful of the men, half-breed or French Canadian, who are almost more at home on water than on land. Sunk snags and movable roots of trees are the most common enemies, and an overturned canoe in the whirling rapids has little chance of e«!cape. 5. The terrors of the winter trail, too, have demanded many a victim, alike among settlers, mounted policemen, and railway employees. Buffeted by the pitiless wind, and blinded with cutting sleet, the mind becomes dazed and weary, and the unfortunate traveller stumbles along the path until he falls into a snowdrift. Earely, if ever, is he revived from his fatal sleep. 6. But the greatest destruction and danger of all, per- haps, comes from the bush fires which devastate the country in summer-time. Occasionally it is the bolt of swift lightning which sets afire the thick brush, dried by ' HEROES OF THE WILDS 221 the hot sun ; again, the camp fire none too carefully raked out and extinguished. Into the foot-deep, tinder - like moss an unnoticed spark finds its way, creeping for hours after the traveller has gone on, until a i)ufr of wind rouses it into flame. Then the fire springs with terrible rapidity up the trunks of the j.jck-pine, spruce, and other native timber, and the fierce red light, with its volumes of smoke, rages along the crowding tree-tops. 7. Where the axe of the settler has not yet forced a way, the sweeping flame is not so much a menace to huniiin life as it is to the hidden stores which have been carried across country in many directions, and placed in readiness for the survey parties. In the northern wilderness there is not much game, and what there is flees frantically before the approaching fire. Small and weak animals are often overcome by the smoke, and though fireweed and young poplars spring up again about the bleached standing trunks, it is some time before animal life returns to the haunts it has formerly known. 8. The loss of provisions in this way, where none else could be readily obtained, was often very serious. In one place, near Lake Abitibi, fire approaching from several directions at once hemmed in the cache-keeper and his assistant. For two days, in their heroic efforts to save the stores, they neglected their own safety until it was almost too late. A transport party in the vicinity, however, happened to hear of the dreadful conditions, and hurrying to the spot, gave the most valuable iiid. Had it not been for this timely help, the gallant fire- fijjhters would never more have been seen alive. 9. This tire, of great extent and terribly destructive, was one of the worst on record. Another party, also within the same zone, was suddenly reduced to the greatest straits. Quietly pursuing their work, the men found themselves in extreme danger of being entirely I fa i' HEROES OF THE WILDS 223 5 I enclosed, and leaving everything, even their instruments, fled in terror through the only opening. 10. As a rule, however, the workers have time to save their belongings, and placing them in safety, stand aside until rain or want of material puts an end to the flames. Then they return to the blackened and defaced country, and patiently resume their labours. 11. Farther to the west, among the mountains, forest fires do an immense amount of damage, and are even more to be dreaded than those of the wilds, because of the presence of farm and settled village. Here the traveller, pushing past the end-of-steel in company with his pack- horses, met many a grand and terrible sight of flame and smoke which forced him to delay his march. Proceeding he would find that the fall of the great trunks had com- pletely wiped out the trail. The trees remained but dull, red embers, while the ground still smoked vigorously. 12. Forced to dismount and walk, on account of the nervous state of the horses, he would often find the soles of his boots ruined with the hot ashes, and be obliged to advance with great caution. Here and there, a few yards from the road, the trees might still present a roaring, crackling mass of flame. On such occasions, though the fire was driving away from the path, the led horses generally came to a stop, either unable to move, or plunging and snorting in an excess of terror. Thus held back, hours elapsed before the blackened and half- smothered party could emerge into open country, where they might speed forward and thankfully lose sight of the dangerous and uncomfortable spectacle. I ' 224 PICTURES FllOM CANADIAN HISTORY BRIDGE mriLDERS 1. Approaching the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, the end of the new railway became a scene of greater activity than ever. In advance for many miles engineers' camps made preparation, and countless yokes of oxen and horses struggled knee-deep through the mire, dragging immense timbers for the trestle-work. Near the junction of Wolf Creek and the McLeod River a bridge was in course of construction. 2. Here the McLeod is but 200 feet wide, and its deep channel is formed of solid rock from which all the soil has long been washed away. Nothing at this point would serve, therefore, but the erection of a massive steel bridge 600 feet long, with a central height of 180 feet. 3. Anyone suddenly appearing on the scene found his ears assailed by a terrific din, thundering through the once quiet valley. On the structure overhead the " bridge flies" were to be seen working with vast energy and great speed. They were placing in position and bolting together the enormous ribs of metal, and at the moment some of their number had just thrown out a span from the top of the concrete pier in the middle of the stream. 4. A yard engine cautiously approached, bearing the great shaped bands of steel. Like a human creature a crane dipped over and seized the right piece. Slinging it upward, and securely holding it in its mouth, it ran out to the end of the span. There the busy workers, standing upon the narrowest footways, took hold, and, pushing the weighty bars into position, slipped in the temporary bolts. 5. Upon other flimsy levels appeared small but terribly energetic furnaces, wherein the bolts to be used might be heated. Becoming more than red-hot, a man grasped a rivet with his tongs, and, uttering a warning cry, sent it THE LAND OF PLENTY 225 flying through the air. From one to another sped the bolt, and was caught with amazing dexterity. None the worse for its journey, it was seized by another pair of tongs and slipped into place. In a few moments, with some resounding raps from a compressed-air riveter it was immovable. \ THE LAND OF PLENTY 1. Once through the huge barrier of the Ilocky Moun- tains, the interior becomes strangely familiar to us. The Fraser River, Lake Stuart, Fort George, the Nechaco Valley ! We have heard all these names before, and turn to the story of the indefatigable explorer and fur-trader, Simon Fraser. Truly Canada owes much to the force that drove the United Empire Loyalists over her border ! 2. The interior of northern British Columbia is far from being all level, though it is called a plateau. The Bulkley Valley has long been thought the Paradise of the north, and the most casual summer visitor cannot but confirm its name. It is a wide plain almost as level as a table, stretching on either side to a ridge covered with trees. 3. Over the surface, in leisurely fashion, little streams meander through the meadows, overhung with willows and young poplars. To the mind's eye fancy pictures herds of red and white cows feeding or standing knee- deep in the placid waters, while dappled horses stray here and there through the lush lowland grasses. 4. On the ridges grow vast quantities of wild fruits, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants, both black and red. Of a size larger than most cultivated specimens, 226 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY they bear profusely, and are sweet and juicy. The raspberry canes bend under their dehcious burden, and all seem to be awaiting the pleasure and convenience of man. Already, indeed, there are signs of human occupa- tion. Far in advance of the railway, the settler has already reached this heart of nature, and is hard at work beginning to make a home. 5. A British Columbia ranchman's shack does not appear at first sight either beautiful or spacious. A typical one is oblong in shape, its one room measuring, perhaps, 14 feet by 20 feet inside. It is built of logs without the bark, neatly fitted together at the corners, and the roof, extending in deep eaves, is shingled. Out- side, among British emigrants, a little kitchen-garden supplies delicacies for the table, and a variety of sweet- smelling flowers give the appearance of home. 6. The plain log walls of a house like this, however, may shelter a husband and wife, who, in other lands have had the best education that money and application can give. Yet it is safe to say that neither regret their training, however much they may desire more time to exercise and enjoy it. In one instance, at least, the lady of the ranch was able to extend help to those who would otherwise have been obliged to do without it. 7. A ranchman, living four or five miles away in the bush, had three children, and, with no school nearer than a hundred miles, it seemed likely that they must exist without much instruction. His nearest neighbour, an educated Englishwoman, offered to supply the want if the children would come to her three times a week. Here, however, arose a difficulty. Anyone walking through the dense woods was liable to stray, and there was no one to guide the steps of the children. 8. But "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a proverb which has comforted many. On the farm was THE SHORE FISHERIES 227 an old horse, intelligent and kind, and to him was com- municated the state of affairs. He appeared willing, and no doubt had more than a dim idea of the circumstances. 9. The very next day the eldest girl clambered upon his back, with the youngest behind holding her tightly round the waist. At the rear the third child mounted and held on as best she could. Satisfied that all was in order, the horse set off sedately along the trail. 10. No rein was needed to guide him, and nothing could tempt him from the path of duty. Back and forth on the appointed days he went, carrying his charges safe and sound. THE SHORE FISHERIES 1. If the great interior plateau of British Columbia con- jures up a vision of wealthy farmlands, orchards, and prize vegetables, not so appear the farthest western shores. Here again the character of the country has changed, and the wild, forbidding coast-line of the Cascades stands with its massive declivities fronting the rim of ocean. 2. Through this route, far more trying and expensive to build than that of the Yellowhead Pass, the Grand Trunk Pacific has forced a way, until it arrives at Prince Rupert, on the Skeena River. And here again we remember that soon after his entrance into the new country, Simon Fraser fell in with the Skeena Indians, and before long induced them to enter into a large and profitable trade with him. 3. Not for pleasure only has the great enterprise made its way in this direction, but because of the rich returns to be made in many ways. Here the great product in 228 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTOIIY agriculture, cattle, and lumber will be brought down to the coast for shipment, and, in addition to this, the mineral wealth "^ the province bids fair to last for ever. Though much has been taken from them, the mountains still abound in silver, copper, lead, gold, and coal, and the scientific knowledge of the prospectors is likely to reap a rich reward. 4. But there is yet another principal industry which has brought fame to the Skeena, the Fraser, and other rivers of the north. This is the salmon fisheries. Through the precipitous rifts of the coast-line rush many wild torrents, whose falls in the upper reaches preclude all idea of navigation. The immense drop of the Skeena River is a good guide to the general surroundings. Among majestic scenery the stream flings itself down- ward 1000 feeV in the course of 120 miles, and the velocity of the water is, of course, tremendous. 5. For a long time the Fraser River had the greatest salmon run on the Pacific coast, but the Skeena has now proved an even richer field. In the season the fish swarm up the stream in myriads, those in the rear pushing so hard that it is impossible to avoid being caught. Hundreds of boats are pressed into service, but British law is on the side of the lordly creatures whether they will or not. For forty-eight hours each week every boat must cease to work, to allow the fish to have free way up the river. 6. So multitudes make the run in spite of all opposi- tion, and surge forward against the furious current, only to meet their fate at the hands of the expert Siwash fishermen. 7. At Moricetown the salmon encounter a barrier that only the strongest can face. Here the water hurls itself over a ledge fifteen feet high, and then whirls on through a precipitous gorge. Undaunted, the noble A NOTABLE EVENT 229 game take the leap, the floating mass of scales below showing at what a cost. 8. Over the water at this place the Indians have built a spidery wooden trestle, and upon this a man stands with a spiked pole. The air seems full of flying fish, and, as quick as thought, out flashes the muscular brown arm, never missing its quarry. In this way one par- ticularly quick fisherman took twelve scaly beauties a minute. The next an able assistant had opened and prepared them, either for drying or the soldered tin. 9. Far and wide over the whole world goes the canned salmon of British Columbia, and of all the gifts lavished upon her by the gracious hand of Nature, this is, perhaps, the most interesting. It is an historic occupation that has helped to make the west coast of Canada famous. A NOTABLE EVENT 1. On a beautiful autumn day, now a number of years ago — to be exact, November 7, 1885 — a company of men were assembled in Eagle Pass, one of the rocky gorges of the mountains in the new province of British Columbia. To the east stretched the wild and seemingly impene- trable regions of the Gold Range, the Selkirks, and the noble Rocky Mountains, while far to the westward, over hill and valley, lay the blue rim of the Pacific Ocean. 2. On the ground at their feet from either direction came the shining steel rails, not yet connected, of the Canadian Pacific Railway, whose line, built ^"ith in- credible energy and daring over prairie and nountain pass, was at length complete. While the workmen cut two long rails to fit the space required, the officials and friends of the great enterprise talked together happily of 230 PICTURES FROM CANADIAN HISTORY the trials and difficulties that had been met and over- come. 3. When all was ready, a big iron spike was placed in position, and from the company Sir Donald Smith, now Lord Strathcona, advanced, and took the heavy spike hammer in his hand. Without hesitation the stalwart arm descended in two powerful strokes, and seut home the spike even with the rail. Once more standing erect, the deep-set eyes looked about with a shrewd, kindly glance as the man who has done so much for Canada exclaimed, " Stand fast, Craig EUachie ! " 4. It is said that the phrase refers to a massive crag or mountain in Morayshire, Scotland, near the birthplace of Lord Strathcona, but without doubt the words were used figuratively to mean strength, power, and continued usefulness to the first Canadian trans-continental railway. In these few words the good wishes of the great promoter of the road were conveyed, and the simple ceremony that meant so much ended. THE END Printed by Bai.lantyne, Hanson <&* Co. at FauI's Work, Edinburgh HISTORY aet and over- was placed in d Smith, now heavy spike the stalwart ad sent home ianding erect, irewd, kindly h for Canada massive crag ihe birthplace J words were ind continued ental railway, 'eat promoter eremony that