e> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k A /./ ^^4. < <;^ i^ p V < ^/^ fe ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 2.0 18 JA mil 1.6 ^ VI p /. y /A iV 4^ •1>^ :\ \ 1.>^^ >. ^. % n.^' r^^ ■' (meaning CONTINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: National Library of Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper l»ft hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la nettet^ de I'exemplaSre filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la der- nlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce A la g6n6rosit6 de I'Atablissement prdteur suivant : Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul cliche sont film6es d partir de Tangle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 . ] yd. ^ OCT sh an Ci nil itaiin Historical i^"niety OCT 26 1899 T o :e^ o 3sr T o. COLONEL MAHLON BURWELL, LAND SURVEYOR. BY ARCHIBALD BLUE, Director of Bureau of Mines, Toronto. I have road all the lettei-s aiul journals of Mahlon Burwell to be foun^ t>. y ■t^t&'i . A Page i-rom thk Lonihjn Townshii- Journal. Reduced to 73 size. 3 by the Lieuteuant-Governor — his orders were always iu the form of conimandH — to seud a surveying party into the London District to survey and lay out the new* road, and upon the recommendation of Col. Talbot the post of surveyor was offered to Mahlon Burwell, being his first commission from the (Jovernment. The instructions, under date of March 24th. 1S()9, were in the following terms : '•In obedience to His Excellency, the Lieuteuant-CJovernor's commands to us, bearing date the 17th Februaiy, 1809, to send a surveyor and a sutlicient party, as soon as the season will jiermit, to comj)lete certain surveys in the London District recommended by the Executive Council and approved by His Excellency the Lieutenant ({oveuior, upon a petition submitted to tbi' Board from Thomas Talbot, Escj., of Port Talbot, who has recommended you to carry the said survey into execution. " You are hereby recpiired and directed without loss of time, as soon as the season will permit, to survey and lay out a road t«» i)a.-4s through the aforesaid townships upon the principle of Y(mge street, by making the said road in breadth one Ciunther's chain, and laying out lots thereon of 20 chains in breadth on each side of the .same, leaving a roatl on the side lines of each of the said townships, and a road between every live lots in each of the same, of one Gimther's chain. •• For this survey your pay will be 7 (> per day, with an allowance in lipu of rations of 1 ',i Provincial currency i)erday. •• Your party is to cimsist of eight men, that is to say, two chainbearers and six axe men only, considering the country througii which you have to pass is lightly wooded, by having little or no underbrush. " The ciiainbearcrs will be allowed 2 - iic.- nmn jter day. The axemen will be allowed 1 (i per man per day. all Provincial currency, and you will be allowed for each ration furnislu'd to your party 1 -i Provincial currency per man per day. •• The ration to be of the following sjiecies, viz., lA lb. Hour, ij lb. of pork and J pint of peas. ••You are to understand that this allowance to you of 1/3 Provincial currency per man jicr day for eacli ration is to cover all expenses whatsctcver, sucli as transjiort. l>atteau hire, camp ketttes, axes, tommyhawks, tents, l)ags, snowshoes, etc. "The chainbearers must be sworn to the faithful discharge of their trust before they enter upon their operation. Tliis you are authorized to do yourself, under an Act of the Province of (Quebec, no law in the Province of Upjier Cauiida having been nuule to the contrary : but it will ajjix-ar more solemn and have a Itetter eflcct to have it performed by a magistrate. *• The Avhole of your jiarty. being eight in number, are actually to be employed in the Held without any subt»'rfuge. as you will be oltliged to nuike oath to this fact. Hut should you not be able to engage the whole of your j)arty — tiiat is to say eight men. including axemen and chainbearers^ — you are to bear no more men on your pay list than those who are actually emi»loyed in the field. '■Siiould you t)e under the necessity of discharging any of your jmrty before the survey is comi)lctcd. you must keep four open pay lists for that i)urj)ose, which the ])erson so discharged must sign, whose signature must be witnessed by some l)ers(in of rcsi)ectal)ility (if possible), and tliose who remain witii you are also to be 1)orne on the said pay list, a form of which is herewith enclosed for your guidance, so tiiat the whole of the expen.se incurred on your survey shall not exceed the number of men your party is rated at, which must be sworn to according to the form given. '•You must keep a field book of the whole of your operation, noting everything worthy of remark, but in particular the white and yellow pine, and the lots on whi<'h it is to be found, which must be so clear and distinct that the whole thereof may be traced on the plan, not only by a surveyor but by any person who can read writing, which must also be sworn to and returned with youi- pay lists and vouchers. "You must keep a diary or journal, clearly explicit, as how you have expended your time, in which you must enter everything worthy of remark, par- ticularly the white and yello>\ pine fit or not fit for masting according to the best of yoiu- knowledge and belief, and such mines and miuerals, etc., that you may pass in the course of your operation, noting the lot and concession whereon the same may be foiuifl, a« directed in your field l)oolt, and you must be particularly careful in your diary or journal to enter tbe time and names of the persons whom you engage and dlHcharge, according to their respective dates, so that the same may correspond with your pay list, which also must be sworn to and returned with your vouchers. "Your pay list and vouchers for your pay, ration and abstract must be in quadruplicate. "The rough plans of Yarmouth, Southwold and Houghton, herewith sent to assist you in your operation, on which are laid down imaginary lines upon which the courses of the road are supposed to run, the situation of which nuist be deter- mined by measuring on the side lines of the several townshii)s from lake Erie, until you intersect the road you are to lay out, when it is completed, which must be returned with the fair plans of your oi)eration, on which must be laid down in a clear and distinct manner the mountains, hills, rivers, nuvrshes, meadows and swamps, or whatever eLse may occur that may be remarkable for its singularity or utility. " The principle on which Yonge street is laid out is, that the lots are 20 chains in front by 100 cliains in depth ; therefore it is re»[uisite to *)bscrve that whatever obliipiity you may have occasio:i to make from the concession lines of those town- ships hereafter to be run, making Yarmouth as the centre township the governing one for the three townships, then you will have to calculate the obliipiity of the same on the angle or difference deviating from the concession lines of the townshij) of Yarmouth, which Mr. Chewett will explain, and show you the method of calcu- lating should you be unacquainted the nature thereof. The plans of Southwold, Yarmouth and Houghton, sent with these instructions, will point out how far this can be carried into execution. "You must always have in remembrance that you cannot approach nearer to lake Erie with the rear boundary forming tiie concession on the road to be laid out than the rear boundary of the 7tli concession in Yarmouth, nor the ri'ar boiuulary line of the 4th couces.sion in Southwold from the river Thames, which have been so far conceded. " You must not, however, set out to comir —e your operation until such time as you have reason to believe that the waters . 'ifticiently left the woods, that there may be no plea of delay by being obliged to . your party and to commence your operation at an unseasonable time of the year. "A reasonable time when you arrive at Port Talbot will be given to you for the hire of your party and purchasing your provision, which it is supi)osed may be done at <>ne and the .same time, and also for going to and coming from your place of residence to Port Talbot, and for making up your plans and vouchers, and no more, and every exertion that a surveyor is capable of in cariying the same into execution with accuracy and di.spatch is expected from you." A party of surveyors usually consisted of ten men besides the chief, but as the woods in the west were supposed to be more open than elsewhere, Mr. Burwell concluded that he could effect the work with eight men, and so that number was placed in the instructions. He apprehended, however, that men could not be hired at the Government rate of wages, as they were accustomed to receive more from the farmers. Accordingly the (Jov^ernor in approvij < the instructions agreed that "should it be inii)ossible to procure men to assi.st i e surveyor at the usual price. Col. Talbot nuist be retpiested to certify the lowest wages they are to be had for, which will be allowed upon this location." The regular rate continued without alteration for a long period. In 1797 it was the same as in 1809, but in 1815, after tbe close of the war, rates were increased, owing to the higher cost of living. " The notice you have taken of the prices of Labor and Provisions having risen within the last three or fouryeai-s is very cogent," Mr. Burwell wrote to Mr. Ridout from Southwold, inNoveml)er, 1815. " Provisions are dear here and Labor is high, which I expect is pretty generally the case throughout the Province. Farmers are giving from fifteen to eighteen dollars per month to laborei-s, which will make it difHcult, if at all practicable in the present state of afiairs, to execute the Surveys required at the former established rates. As to myself, I must confess that it is aa arduous undertaking to be in the Wilderness exposed to the inclemencies of the Weather long at a time. It certainly impairs one's health. An increase of pay is desix'able — but it would 1)0 indecorous for inc to state my humble opiniou of what it oujrht to be. Tho circumstuuci's which lead you to mention it, are suHiciently known to yourself as S\U'veyor (Jenerai. ami I shall be content with such additional jtay as the Lieutenant fJovernor in Council shall deem expedient to establish." The scale was nnule lOs currency per day for surveyors, 8s !td for chainnicn ami 2s (id for axenu-n, with the usual allowance for rations. In 1818 a new scheme was intro- duced. Surveys of townshij»s were let unayment was made in a percentajic of the huuls. The common allowance was 4A per cent., but if the land of a township was shown to be nuirshyortho «iuality ofit i)oor, the percentage might be drawn from lands elsewhere. Economy was enjoined ui)on all .surveyors, and the records show that it was rigidly exacted. "You will i)ay the strictest attention to the economy of your time." Surveyor (feneral Smith advised Abraham Iredell in 180.3, "as the most minute scrutiny will be made in respect of the same." Tiiere was an audit of the accounts in Toronto, and afterwards an audit in London before they were linally jtassed, and for this reason all accounts and vouchers were required to be made out in quadrujilicate. It will easily be understood that on the allowances for wages and rations a surveyor could nt)t be generous. In most cases he went into the woods without even a tent, and when it rained tiie men i)eeled bark front the trees and made a rude shelter of it. But as the bark will not always peel, it wcmTd happen that the |>arty had to lie down without any covering, and in the journals of .Mr. Hurwell there are freijuent notes of this kind of experience. There was no allowance often or cottee with the rations of (lour, pork and peas, and the early records do not give a hint of any other beverage. Hut twentj' years after Burwell's earliest venture as a land sur\eyor, when Koswell Blount of Caradoc was provisioning a party to lay out a townshij) on the St. Clair river — it was named St. Clair, but has since bt-en divided into the townships of Sarnia antl INloore — he began with the purtha.se of a barrel of jujrk, a barrel of Hour and a barrel of whiskey. We have travelled far since tho.se early days, as witness some articles in the allowance of stationery sujiplied to the surveyor of ninetj' years ago, for which he gave to the Surveyor-(}eneral a detailed receipt. One item is 2-} quills, for althougli steel ])ens Avere made before the close of last century, they did not come into general use until the micMle of the present one. Another was a stick of sealing wax to seal letters, long before the days of the envelope. A third was a piece of mouthglue, so completely gone out of use that a specimen of it would be a ciu-iositj' now. .V fourth was •' one Indian rubber." and a sample in my possession is as dry and hard and brown as a nunnmy of the days of old Hameses. There were al.so papers of ink-powder, black and red, but men luider sixty may remendier the use of ink powders. Some of us, whose faces have not lost the country bronze, who lived in the country school sections, twelve miles away from the nearest general store, may even recall nuMuories of the fluid we hel|)ed to compound in an iron pot from the inner bark of the swamji maple, with green vitriol and sugar added — ink of Just a slightly er shade of purple than Emperors were wont to use in writing their names, which shone like varnish on the paper and crackled like burning brush when the copy-book was oi)ened, and was viscous enough to arrest a house- fly. I think that I could identify that swamp-maple ink upon the written page after a lapse of ninety years ; yet, in s]»ite of the scrutiny and microscopic economy of the audit ottice, I am sure that IVIr. Burwell was never forced down to the level of using it, at all events not in his official correspondence nor in his journals. But the records afford not a i'ow illustrations of the infinitesimal mind that directed the audit ottice when Francis Gore was Lieutenant Governor. One is reminded of Elia's man, John Tipp, of the South Sea House, who thought an accountant the greatest character in the world, and himself the greatest accountant in it. Auditor is Accountant writ large. The surveyors often were annoyed by delays in the passing of their accounts, although it happened sometimes that the Receiver General was more to blame than the Auditor — when there was no money in the Treasury. This, however, is slightly a diversion, and I come back again to the subject. Mr. Burwell was enjoined to read his instructions carefully, and not to leave Toronto until satisfied that he uudei-stood them ; and he was directed without loss of time, as soon ns the season might p(M-niit, to urocecd with the work, l)iit not until he had reason to believe tiiat the waters had left the woods, so that tiiere might be no fear of delay by eomnieneinK at an unseasonable time of the year, with himself and his men idle while under pay. '• I have peiused my instruetions and lookid over the plans," he wrote on April 1st, "as (aiefully and as nuirh as I possibly (!ould for the short time 1 have had them in my possession, and si-e nothing to prevent my ]>ntting the instruetions into execution as soon as time will allow." On the same day he drew the alh»wance of stationery, and having gone to his home in Bertie townsliiji he began to lit out for the enterjtrise in hand about the middle of May. Four days were spent in making out voucher forms, a field book and plans of the townships, and then he was ready to begin the journey to I'ort Talbot. I quote a few pages of the.journai. "Sunday 'il^t May. Could not set out with a Boat on account of the Ice being wafted to the North side of the Lake. "Monday 22'' May. Believing it would be ditlicult to hire nu-n enough at Long Point or Port Talbot for my Party to consist of, and being ready to set out I engaged three, by lanne, Kdward Kerr, .lohn and Bobert Burwell. Ki-rr for a Chain Bearer at 2 (1 currency per May. Was told that Stephen Bartow of Charlotteville had a Boat. I went to get it, but he wanted it himself Made en((uiry elsewhere, but could not hear of any in the vicinity of Long Point, and I found no nu-n to engage yet. Mr. Mitchell the .schoolmaster informed me that Col. Talbot had taken considerable of i)ork to his place, and he presumed part of it was intended for me, also that I could get a sulliciency of Flour there, a'ul finding that I could not get a Boat, I concluded to set out on Foot. I could not engage any Men. " Sunday 28'h May. Bained severely the whole day, that I could not .start. " Monday 29'h May. Bained until 2 o'clock P.M. 1 oflered two Indians the wages allowed, but they said it was too little. We travelled to the house of Thomas Welch, Esq., tarried all night. "Tuesday 30'h May. Set out early. Mr. Welch sent his sou to pilot us to Big Creek, there being no Boad to that place. Found the creek very high in consequence of the great fall of rain. Travelled on to within four Miles of Big Otter Creek and encamped. Rained smartly in the night. "Wednesday 31st May. Hindered some time cro.ssing Big Otter Creek, had to fall a large Hemlock Tree across it, which would have failed us, had not the Creek been narrower below, that the Banks interfered as it swam down. We had to fall a tree across Catfish Creek also and encamped on good land a mile to the Westward of the creek, "Thursday l^t June. Travelled on to Kettle Creek and had to fall timber across it, — reached Port Talbot after Sunset and it rained in the Night," At the mouth of Big Otter creek is now the village of Port Burwell, named aftor surveyor Mahloii Unrwoll. At tlie mouth oCthc CatHsh is Port Briicc. This Btrcani was formerly called by its Kreucli name, Harltet river, anil a line drawn due north from its nioutii was the western Itoiniiiary of Norfolk eonnty. At the niontii of Kettle ereek is Port Stanley, at tirsi ealleil Slirlinu. The name of tins stream, like the one east of it, has also heen anjjlieiseil. it havinjf been knovui in the (h>ys of tlie French ocen|>ation as tlie Chaudien- river. " Frida.N 'J'' June. Colonel Talbot cnjraj;ed William Coyl to po with me at 2; per (hiy it iieinji the lowest he could be ennaffcd for. Kindinj; it impossible to get either Provisions, or nu-n I'noujrh to conslilulc my Party at Port Talbot, I set out for Long i'oint in a Hark ('am>e, that I mi)j;ht be at the return of the Boats from Fort lOrie and enpige one to take my Provisicms to Port Talbot. The Weather somewhat unfavorable, that we oidy reached Cattish creek. Alter conversinj,' with Colonel Talbot I found myself much at a loss how to act, his wishes ditlered so very much from the tenor of the Instructions I received from the Surveyor (Jeneral's othce." This dillerence seems to have been ow in>i to undue haste on Colonel Talbot's part, for the letters show that when he had perused the instructions he did not disai)prove the plan. '•Saliwday IV' .June. Left Catfish Creek early but were soon interrupted by a head Wind, however we proceeded on to the Three (Jun l^altery ami encamped.'" The Three (Jini Battery is not now known as a {jeograidiical term on the shore of lake Erie, and I have not found it mentioned elsewhere than in Burwell's journal. It is ajjain referred to in eonnection with a traverse (»f the front of Houghton. •• i'rocecdi'd from Big Otter ereek down to the Three <>un Battery." the .Fournal of.iuly4th notes; "here areinimen.se Sand hills above the regular high Banks, from the summit of which is a prospect of all tin* surrounding country."' Most likely it was a name given to the sand dunes in tloughtt>n. ten miles west of Big cn-ek in Walsingham, eight miles i-ast of Big Otter creek in Bay ham, anc«>d. and tlicii Wolfcn refused to f^o at all, and I could not eouiplete my party, hut determined to proceed in the morning. "Friday !>'•> June. I^oaded the Hoat early and ro\ve«l a^aiiiHt the Wind to the earryinj? place, or Inthnuis of Lon^ I'oint. We took everything acronn to Imj ready in the nunniuK. "Saturday lU*'' June. Loatled the Boat early and rowed an;uinHt the Wind to BIk Otter Creek ; the Wind blew hard and we lay by. .\bout t> o'clock I'.M. it calmed and we rowed ujt to ('atHrth (>reek by 10 o'cloci. I*. M. there was a heavy Hwell and when entering the mouth of the Creek the Hctat had like to have tilled and my Trunk and my I'apeiN jrot wet, by which some drawing? I'aper wa.** conHid«'r- ably injured. "Sunday 11''' .June. There waH hucIi a violent Hoa that it was imposnible to proceed on the way. "Monday 12"' June. The Lake raK^'*! most tremcMuluouHly all day that we could not move out of the mouth of the Creek. So I Hearche'> June. It rained very hard all r en(|uireH. he nuiy have jminted out to him the bouse where Col. Maidou Hmwell lived with his family for a third of a century, as well as the little building of red brick where he kept the register of titles for Middlesex county ; aud beyond these the (piiet churchyard by the roa«lside where, under the shadow of great forest trees, is a grass-covere THIS LIFK THE 25th day ok JANrAUY A. I). 184(5 A(iKI) 62 YEAI{S 11 MONTHS AND 7 DAYS. HE WAS FOR SEVERAL I'ARLIA- MENTH A MEMBER OK THE HOUSE OK ASSEMBLY KOR THE COUNTY OK MIDDLESEX, AND KOR ONE PARLIAMENT MEM- bER FOR THE TOWN OF LONDON. Ill tlic plan of thiH pa|i<>r I liavi> piirpDHoly t'litcrt-d iiitt) dduilH orthobcKiiitiiii^x of ('ill. Hiii'woII'h work an a laiiil Hiirvryor, to illiiHtratc the valii«> of his IcttfiH and Journals as niat«>rials of liislory, lait \vitlu)ut a prt'ti-iu'u (o (>lal)orat*> thfin into litfrary Conn — for history is not urittt'ii hastily in lirokcn hours at tlu' ond of a day's Work. What ri'inains to he done is the lianlcr task of pr(>s«'ntin>>; within the limits of a f«-w piiKcs a ch'ar idea of tho rxti'iit and natiirt' of Hurwcll's labors dur- ing tin- ni'.xl tw»'nty or inorr ynirs of activf can-t-r as a surveyor . or down to tlio tiiiif when, thoiiuh still in niiiidh' lif< . his jihysical pow<>rs ha. I dt'caycd and h» was no loiijjt-r ahh- to »'X«'cnli' a < i>niinission from hischiff. ''Saoiild His Majesty"!* (Jovcrnnifiit i«'(|iiir)' that this township (iMunvich) should la- ri'-sur\(y<'d," ho wrote to .\i-tiii>? Survcyor-ttfiieral William t'hcwett on Kehrnary 2ltli, Ik;{'_». "may I h«'H that yon will not order me t.) perform tin- service, as my health wonid really not jtermit me to jro into th»' woods at this lime." — and he snjfjfested the name of anollui' to whom the oriler ini>i;lil fjo i istead. After that time it dots not ajipear that .Mr. Ihirwell attempted any work for tin- (tovernineiit except to finish the surveys of one or (W(» townships which he had commenced lonjj; heforc. A list of his undertakings from IS(I!I to iH.i.") includes surveys in vhole or in part of the townships of Wuintleet. in llaldimand : lloUKhloii, ?(Iiili. Kinniiey, Tiihnry Ivist and Zone, in Kent ; and Colchester. (Jiis- lield. Maidstone, .Mersea, |{ochester, Sandwich and Tiihnry West, in llssex. The list also includes surveys of the towns of LoikIoii and Cliatliam (the latter heinji; a re-survey); ofTalhol Hoad Kast, from the west line of Southwold to the ea.st line of ^liddleton : ofTalhot lioad North, from the west line of Southwold to the junc- tion with the lioiif^woods Koad in Westminister; ofTalhot Road West, from Tort Talhot to the town of Sandviich on the Detroit river; of the Middle Koad, midway hetweeii lake Krie on the south ami the river Thames and lake St. Clair on the north, from IIh- east line of the township of Orford to a jxiint of Junction witli the Talhot IJoad in the township of Sandwich ; of the Brock Road in Wellin^iton. from (inel]ih to the rc.tr of Flamhoro ; of the north limit of lands jiurchased IVom the Chippewa Indians in 1S27. IVom the northwest corner of (larafraxa to lake Huron ; besides several Indian reserves in the counties of Middlesex and Lambtor. The survey of Talliot Road Ma.st.or Colonel Talbot's Roa«l, as it was tirst called, occupied the whole of the season of ISO!) and jnirt of ISIO ; and the work was jjushcd on without cessation every day the party was in the wooils, the only days of rest heinjr the rainy days. The limits between Dunwichand Sctuthwold. South- M'old and Yarmouth. N'armouth and llou^^hlon. and Houghton and Walsin^ham were lirsl traversed, the western boundary of Yarmouth beinji intended as a fr<»verninjr line, and the most eli;;il»lc points of intersection for the road were found in this way. No dilliculty was exp«'rienccd in discoveriiifj; a suitable location acro.ss Southwold and Narmouth, and only two courses were neees.sary in the former, made to avoid a marsh in which Talbot creek had its Hource. The south- ern part of Yarmouth had been surveyed in I7!(5), where a grant of •">()()() acres v,as made to Hon. James Baby ar.d his brothers. In the instructions to Surveyor Jones Yarmouth was described as situated between Si.nthwold and Houghton. The original intention was to run the road through the .seventh eonees-sion, but Mr. Burwell's «'xplorations .showed that a mori' favorable nmte was one on the line between the eiglith and ninth concessions. IK repoitcy one of Burwell's own men. On Sunday. Septeml)er Kith, ^Ir. Burwell records in his jouriud. " I took a Boy and Two lloi-ses whom I had engaged to Pack the Flour and I'ork to the Survey on the Old Road, had much trouble on account of Logs, Brusii. Briers, &c.. but Readied Big Creek." Next day the provisions were packed into Hough- ton, "and it took us faithfully all day to proceed Seventeen Miles." There a dejwsit was made, and taking a supply they proceeded to resume work at the point they had h'ft twelve days before. Such is an instance from life in Norfolk county ninety years ago. In 1810, besides finishing the survey of Talbot Road East, Mr. Burwell survey- ed the southern i)art of the township of London, which was believed to be suitable for tiu' cultivation of flax. "I kept a Proof Line in the centre of the Township," he V ■-ote to tiie Surveyor Geueral's oflice, '"that my Survey might be as correct as possible, on which I Proved every Conce.-s. under the names of Malahide and Bayham. The work A\as done accordingly, and under date of February iL'th, 1811, tiie Lieutenant (Jovernor commanded iiis secretary to accjuaint the Surveyor General that " the townships of Malahide .-;.d Bayham are to be annexed to the county of Middle ex." Li making this survey Mr. Burwell selected a block of land in Bayiiam at the mouth of Big Ottei- creek, a part of which was sul/sequently surveyed for a town plot and called Port Burwell. Writing of that region to the Surveyor General in June. 181."), he said : '* Otter creek discharges more Water than all the small Rivers which disem- bogue themselves into the North side of lake Erie excepting the Grand River. When a few drifts are cleared out of it. Boats may descend from the Mills in Nor- wich to its mouth, at almost any Season of the year. Tiiere are beautiful (Jroves of White Pine Timber, on each .side of the Creek, interspersed with Groves of other Timber, alternately ; there is therefore no doubt, but what ere long considerable quantities of Lumber will be conveyed down that stream, from Norwich and other l)laci's to the Lake. It would appear as if Nature had intended the moiitli of Big Otter Creek for a i)lace of greater imj)ortance than any other in the District of Loudon. Ill my mind it i.< highly i)robable that such will be the case before many years. I am about to lay out what Land I own on the Ea.st side of the mouth in a Town Plot." At the same time he encouraged the (tovernment to lay out an adjacent lot held as a reserve for the same object ; and "if it should meet with the approbation of His Kxcelleney the Provisional Lieutenant tTOveriior. it would much facilitate the fut.ic growth of that part of the Province, to have it laid out by the Government, for a Town at the mouth of Big Otter Creek." But the.se bright anticipations have not been realized, and although the town is beautiful for situation, it has been for many years a finished town. Like its neighbor town, Vienna, on the same stream, its glory departed when the last of the Big Otter pine was cut. The north branch of Talbot Road was laid out in 1811, the object of it being to connect the main line of the Talbot Settlement with the road through Westmin- ster. Its western end is at the Dunwich and Southwold line, where the village of lona now is, and it extends eastward through Southwold parallel with the main II road, to a point where five roads converge, long known as Five Stakes, but now called Talbotville Royal. Thence the road runs north to Join the Talbot Long- woods Road in Wostmiuster at a place formerly known as the Junction, but now called Lambeth, six miles from the city of London. An instruction was received the same year to survey under the direction of Col. Talbot a road from Port Trdbot west near the shore of lake Erie to Amherstburg on the Detroit river, to be known as Talbot Road West. "In surveying the Road through Dunwich and Aldborough," Mr. IJurwell wrote to the Surveyor (Jeueral on October 24th, "Colonel Talbot directed that I should begin to numuer the Lots from his Mills and continue to the westward, wliich I have done, and also contin- ued numbering them in succession as far as the Survey extends at jjresent : without regard to the Townships through whicli tluiy pass." Work was commenced on August 2(ith ..nd was carried on until September 8th, when the survey reached lot 90, near the west side of Howard, and was then discontinued for the season. It is likely that Mr. liuvwell had before this time left his home in Bertie, as a deed dated February 2r)th, 1S12, from Col. Talbot to him of a small piece of land in lot 24 of the 11th concession of Dunwich, describes him as of Port TallM>t.* But the war between the United States and Great Britain, which had been threatening for several years, broke out in the sununer of 1812, and until peace was again established surveyuig oi)erations near the frontiers of this Province were suspended. Only a few references to tiie war occur in Mr. BurwelTs otlicial letters, and no information is c.\ miles, and the river was crossed fre<[uently. In four days more, during whicii the survey bore away northward from the river, lake Huron was reached at 59 miles 39 chains from the starting point. Storms of rain, hail and snow were fretiuent, and the actual running time was only nineteen days. The return journey occupied six days, and was made disagreeable by storms of rain and snow, and by the swollen waters of the river, which had to be frequent- ly forded. The stores of i)rovisions which had been left at various points for the return trip were found to be destroyed by wild animals, and it was observed that bears, wolves, foxes, fishers and martens had followed the party along the line. A note of Natural History is entered in the journal of November 3rd, upon the authority ' f the Indians. " The Deer all appear to have left Lake Huron, some time ago, for the Shores of Lake Erie, where the Snow does not fall so deep, and * I heard this story from the Lite John Sinclair, who movcil from AldKirouifh into Orford in i8u, and took up .1 lot on the Middle Road. My father, the late John Uhie, was the second settler on this road in Orford, hav- ing been located b) Col. Talbot i '.te in i8jo or early in 18^7. llis nearest neinhbor was four miles away, and the woods were alive with turkeys, deer and wolves. 13 this the Chippewa Indians inform me is uniformly the case with them every Autumn, to avoid being taken by the Wolves during the deep snow of this neigh- borhood, which is frequently crusted over." This is doubtful, and I do not think it has been confirmed by observation elsewherr in our country. The instances are exceedingly rare in wliich the land survej^or unbends him- self in the letters and Journals of Mr. Burwell, and one might suppose that the beauties of landscape and of voodland scenery were unapprecip,ted by him. But over the Huron Tract he grew almost eloquent. "Notwithstanding the fatigues and priva- tions attendant on such a tour," he reports to the Surveyor General, "I have had great pleasure in Surveying the purchase line — the country through which it passes is magnificently fine. The River Menesetunk is about half the size of the Thames. It is a fine River of pure clear water. Its banks afford numerous eligible situa- tions for country seats to the right and left, sufficiently elevated and in variety to add beauty to their appearance, and in general they are easy of access, and the Flats extensive. When you are in i)ossession of the Field Notes, Map, and report of the Survey of the purchase line, and the exploring expedition for the Canada Company in detail you cannot fail to feel a deep interest in this part of the coun- try."* It would lea wonder indeed if a stream of so much picturescpie beauty flowed on forever without a poet to write a verse in praise of it. The Menesetung has its singing lover, and although I think his genius has been nurtured o\ermuch on the metrical version of the Psalms of David, he sings out of the heart with a swelling note and a touch of Robert Burns.t Unknown to fame thy waters run. Past groves of living green ; . And all obscure they gently flow Thy leafy banks between ; Thy beauties ne'er hiive found a voice, Thy charms are yet unsung ; Be mine to sing in humble strains Thy praise, Menesetung. No tumbling torrent roaring down Its rocky bed art thou ; Thy peaceful waters murmuring low Kiss soft each nodding bough ; The sombre cedars bathe their limbs Thy crystal depths among ; And mirror'd hemlocks sigh to thee, Oh, fair IMenesetung ! The dappled trout in many a pool Their speckled beauties hide. Or, startled from their shy retreat, Swift down thy current glide ; * Menesetunk, as the word was written by Burwell, is stated by him to signify •* w.^pnewa language a large, open harbor. In .t private letter to Ri'dout he says : " The Can.-ida Conipa. ...le called it the Noeton, after an estate of the Father of Lady Goderich in England, and they have called the mouth of the River Goderich Harbor." Mr. J. C. Bailey, the railway engineer, who is one of the best of our local authorities, writes in reply to an enquiry: "Goderich, or in that neighborhood, was called by the Indians Ma-nose-tung. So, if the Maitland river was called after the village-as the rivers generally are— it should have the word 'se-be' after it, which ineans a river, and should then read Ma-ne-se-tung-se-be. Me-nis means an island; Me-nis-ing, in, at or on an island ; Me-ne-ting, nn isl.ind in a river ; Me-ne-te-goje-wun, an island in .1 rapid." At about 25 miles from the starting point of the purchase line survey it is described by Burwell as "a fine River with Islands, gentle banks, and Stoney bottom," t The writer is my associate in the Bureau of Mines, Mr. Thomas W. Gibson, who was born in the village of Wroxeter, on the banks of the Maitland. »4 The wild canary builds her nest, And rears her timid young Upon thy calm sequestered banks, Oh, sweet Menesetung ! No lordly ships thy bosom bears, Slow-moving, one by one, Unknown, obscure, thou turnest still Thy bright face to the sun ; But while my heart within me beats Till life's last change is rung, I'll love thee still, and love thee well, Oh, dear Menesetung ! But if an idea that once possessed some leading men of the Canada Company had taken substantial shape, tlie " lordly ships" might have become a moving fea- ture on tlie bosom of the Menesetung. Mr. JUirwell was strongly impressed with the i)racticableness of the scheme ; and in his report to tlie Surveyor (Jeneral he ven- tured the opinion that the river might be the means of allbrding greater facilities for making a canal to pass between its banks and comnuniicate between lake Huron and lake Ontario than any other that coidd be selected for the purpose. This river, he observed, passed through a very fertile tract of country, and discharged it.self at a good posjition into lake Hunm, so tliat a canal in its directitm could not fail to produce very great advantages as well in a commercial as in a military point of view. ''In producing tlie purcha.se line from its place of beginning, after cross- ing several rills trending in Northwesterly directions, I crosseloil that treasure house with any degree of intelligence and thoroughness will soon become convinced that there is necessity lor a new departure in the care of its contents, w hich ought to be treated as possessing great historical as well as oHicial value. If we cannot have a Keference Lil>rary for the Province, with a Librarian possessing industry and genius in charge of it, established uj)on the scheme conceived and matured by the Canadian Institute, let us at least have a Provincial Archivist, whose office should be the collection and care of every paper, and letter, and record, and document that concerns the public and otlicial business of the Province. Biographical Note. The Burwells are an old family, whose homes in England were in Bedford and Northampton. More than two and a half centuries ago some of them came to America, settling in Virginia. They were loyal to Charles I. throughout the Civil War, and some were loyal to George III. in the American War of Independence. In Sabine's Loyalists a sketch of one James Burwell of New Jei-sey shows that he served the King seven years, having enlisted in 1776, that he came to ri)per Canada in 17!)<) where he received I'OO acres for himself and each of his children, that he remo\ed to the Talbot Settlement in 1810 and died there in ]S-);>, aged !)!> years five months. He was probably related to Adam Burwell, but that is uncertain. The latter was al.so a native of New Jersey, and came to Canada with his wife and family after the war. The records show that he settled in the townsliip of Bertie, and that in 17!)7 he received a grant of SoO acres of land for military service ; but the petition in which his claims were set out appears to be lost. There is a tradition in the family that he had large possessions in New Jei"sey, and that they were couHscateil by the Govern- ment of the United States. Adam Burwell spent the later years of his life with his son. Col. Burwell. He died in 1828 at the age of 79, and was buried beside the walls of the English church in St. Thomas. His eldest son was the Mahlon Burwell of the foregoing paper, who was born in New Jersey February I8th, 1788, studied land surveying, and through the influence of Col. Talbot got professional employment from the Government. In 1811 Mahlon Burwell was appointed Registrar of land titles for the District of Middlesex, and in 1812 he was elected to represent the Districts of ^liddlesex and Oxford in the Legislative Assembly of Upi)er Canada. He held the rank cf Lieutenant Colonel of militia at this time, and during the war of 1812-14 was active against the enemy on all occasions, and became odious to them, although ther* is no record of his l)eing in any battle of the war. In 1814 a band of American.-- raided the Talbot Settlement, and although Col. Burwell was in his bed, ill of fever and ague, he was carried off a prisoner and held for ni;uiy weeks in Ohio t)i' Kentucky. In a second mid his buildings were destroyed by fire and his family was driven otl". In 181.") he was establislied in Southwold, where the Talbot Road crosses the townline between Dunwich and Southwold. afterwards known as Burwell Park. A new Registry building was erected there in wiiich the office was kept until by authority of an Act of the Legislatiuc it was removed to London in May. lS4:i. Col. Burwell was re-elected to represent Middlesex and Oxford in 181(5 and again in 1820. A redistribution tot)k place before the next general election in 1824, and John Matthews and Dr. John Rolph were chosen to represent Jliddlesex. They were successful again in 1828, and referring to this contest in a private letter to Hon. Thomas Ridout (Aug. 22n(l, 1828) Col. Burwell wrote : "Our Election lasted (i days — when the I'oU closed the votes stood— for Rolpli 340— Matthews ;U7— Buhvell 80.") & Hamilton 275, Matthews 12 over me, and many of my Friends not allowed time to vote, although returned to the poll two or three times for that purpose.'' In 1880 Burwell was successful in Middlesex, but was defeated in 1884, and in 1830 he became the first representative of London town. During the whole of this period he held the offices of Registrar and Postmaster, and was almost constantly i6 employed by the Government as a surveyor of Crown lands. But in those days the provisioiii^ cf the Act for the Independence of Parliament were not as rigid as they are wmv. Col. Burwell had a family of soven sons, all but two of whom were nr.mpil after great soldiers, viz., Alexander, Hercules, Isaac Brock. Leouidas, John Waipole, Hannibal and Edward. He had also two daughters, Louise und Mary. Of these only Edward and Mary are now living. All except Alexander and Louise are named in the will, which was executed eight days before Col. Burwell's death, and Alexander is no doubt the child referred to in a pathetic note to the Surveyor General (Dec. 20th, 1817) written to explain delay in reporting a survey in Westminster. " You would have received the report long since, had it not been for a most dreadful circumstance which occurred in my Family in October last, which deprived me of the use of my right hand for more than two months — A little son of mine two and a half years old was scalded to death, and in taking him out of the boiling water I scalded my Hands as related, but my right hand the worst." One ambition of Col. Burwell's life was to found a family, and with this object he memorialized the Governor in Council in 1829 for permis- sion to extinguish his claim for 10,000 acres of land held in small isolated areas and receive in lieu thereof a block of 10,000 acres on lake Huron, adjoining the southern boundary of the Canada Company's territory, wherewith to make an entailed estate to his heirs forever. But no action appears to have been taken in the matter, and the records do not even show that the memorial was considered. But the idea possessed Col. Burwell's mind to the end, and by the terms of his will it was provided in the case of each of the sons that the lands bequeathed should be held to himself and his male heirs forever, and in the event of anyone of the sons dying without issue the lands should descend to the next son and his male heirs. "I have willed thus to fasten the before mentioned freehold estates upon my children and their heii-s forever because my own experience, which has been extensive in this Province, and History have shewn me that children place less value on that which is given them than that which they acquire by their own care and industry ; and because I have acquired the estates so willed and devised by a steady perseverance and laborious industry in my profession as a surveyor of lands, of which my heirs can never be sensible : I exercise this moral, legal and conservative right for their benefit : And Avhen advanced in age my heirs in all time to come if they be sensible persons will know how to appreciate thesoundness of my motives." Ermatinger, who has written uiyustly and unkindly of Col. Burwell (Life of Col. Talbot), says he was tall in stature and dignified in appearance. ie days igid as whom ouidas, ise uud xander re Col. athetic porting >e, had mily in an two h, and >ut my family, permis- l areas ng the \ke an e been al was by the ! lands in the to the itioned y own shewn which ed the idustry asible : [ when 1 know ivritten tall in