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I: 1 w \ ■HI ■ JflMjf-l ^* "^l#jfw%5i»-.»* •*»» - S*^i ttwS^W'^w i*- V-J*,-^«i*A< * -livii;; I:? ■V, I lij * >. % >'*^--=. «^ '>■-:' N O u M A S s r~ V ,-. .J'V f '"T" '\ < C^A „ u «,■ «••> Manrtii. li^iM.'llit II '■•".v^ 71 1*1 iti.i.Miiiit w\ iti.ivi.it \ iitn II r.iiiMu iiiiii. 1^ I III.IMII:|t IIV ttl.IVI.lt V IIOYM I.IUMM mill. "•••»« 11. 1 .,1*^ .i»' A(> .«P, -^*.. /.> l# ^■\- f^ >r ■t' l-\ :«?. %y r > — Hl- l -l-:-l-J ''''-^trsR--**^ •^r 4 ^^'^^ -^,/'¥ t "^■ BUimi AMERICA. i>. j <«« :ilp K. i 1 ■I 4 m-^ 'TA' -A 1 OLTVUU vM B* • ; ]^*\jJURGH. /A 'J ^ I ■•j»---''->'^-,*» , *'>ii 'A- \ • -W. J- . ■.!«»" iK'ii-,* If • mi^'^ ^;:^-' '4' -^...v.....^ ■■'j^- 7!' • -m *<■■ '-L •# 1»l r w. ' . , , !■. -t^.', m^, S 1^ BRITISH AMERICA. VOL, I. i (! rALU or NIASABA. OLIVEB & BOYl), EDINBURGH. AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF BRITISH AMERICA; COMPRBHRNDINO CANADA UPPER AND LOWER, NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK, NEWFOUNDLAND, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, THE BERMUDAS, AND THE FUR COUNTRIES : THBIR HISTORY PROM THE BARLIBST SBTTLBMENT ; THB STATISTICS AND TOPOORAPHY OP BACH DISTRICT ; THBIR COMMBRCB, AORICULTURB, AND PISHBRIBS; THBIR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL condition; AS ALSO AN ACCOUNT OP THB MANNERS AND PRESENT STATE OF THB ABORIGINAL TRIBBS ; TO WHICH la ADDBn, A FULL OBTAIL OF THB PRINCIPLES AND BEST MODES OF EMIGRATION. BY HUGH MURRAY, F.R.S.E. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY, BY JAMES WILSON, F.R.S.E. dr M.W.S. R. K. GREVILLE, LL.D. AND PROFESSOR TRAILL. SIX HAPS BY WRIGHT, AND TEN ENGRAVINGS BY JACKSON. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT; AND SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. LONDON, MDCCCXXXIX. ■■;?■•*: l/.l 144761 i^^o ^Rf) fj H J iiSati-^L. ENTERED IN STATIONERS* HALL. Printed by Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. PREFACE. The Work now submitted to the Public will, it is hoped, equal in the interest of its subject any hitherto included in the Edinburgh Cabinet Library. The territories of British America, even after having lost enough to constitute one of the greatest states in the world, embrace a very large proportion of the earth's surface, and pre- sent natural features at once extremely grand and romantic. The native inhabitants were distinguished by energy and intelligence above all the other rude tribes of the Western Continent, and displayed, perhaps beyond any similar race, the most striking peculiarities of savage life. Their long and fierce struggles, before yielding to the superior numbers and martial skill of Europeans, gave rise to scenes much more interesting than ever diversify the routine of civilized warfare. Finally, the exploits by which those regions were added to the dominion of Britain are readily acknowledged to rank among the most brilliant that adorn her annals in any age. These colonies, too, have acquired an augmented im- portance from the great changes efiected in our own times. Their rich and varied products, their vast extent, and the strong direction which emigrants from Britain have taken towards their shores, encourage the expectation that they will one day become the seat of great nations, equalling or even surpassing the power of the mother-country. A deep interest is naturally felt in their future prospects^ 6 PREFACE. more especially when connected with the numbers, amounting during the last twenty years to nearly half a million, who have removed thither from various parts of the United Kingdom. Hence it has happened that many among us, who do not even know an individual in the adjacent county, find themselves bound, not by friendship only, but by the most intimate ties, with the dwellers in those transatlantic regions. All such persons must be de- sirous to receive information in regard to the capabilities of the country in which their friends are placed, and the hopes that may be entertained as to their future prospe- rity in that distant land. It may be added, that to the merchant and manufacturer, British America affords a market already very important, and susceptible of al- most indefinite enlargement. The Author, thus deeply impressed with the import- ance of his task, has anxiously sought every means of rendering its performance complete and satisfactory. In tracing the condition and history of the aboriginal tribes, as influenced by the early settlement of Europeans, he has had access to extensive works and collections in the French language, to which former writers in this country appear to have been strangers. He has devoted much attention to the still more important object of delineat- ing the statistics and present state of the colonies ; an undertaking which was attended with considerable dif- ficulty, on account of the rapid changes which have re- cently occurred, and rendered all previous information in a great measure useless. Hence, besides the works of Bouchette, McGregor, Martin, and others, it was neces- sary to examine the tables published by the Board of Trade, the voluminous reports laid before Parliament, and to compare them with the narratives of the latest travellers and residents. PREFACE. Even with all V ) resources, it was found impossible to render the info&jaation complete, without obtaining personal communications from various quarters. It is gratifying to the Author to mention, that on the mere statement of his object, and of the name of the Work for which he was collecting materials, the most valuable intel- ligence was cheerfully conveyed to him. Particular ac- knowledgments are due to Mr Simpson, the enlightened residentgovemorof the Hudson'sBay Establishment, who fortunately happened to be in England. An ill-founded impression, that the Company sought to shroud its trans- actions in mystery, had, it appears, deterred former in- quirers. The Author, however, upon making an applica- tion, was met with a liberality almost unexampled, and was furnished with a large store of original information respecting their trade, and the general state of the fur countries. A very well-informed gentleman, who long carried on mercantile transactions, and still maintains an exten- sive correspondence in Canada, contributed the valuable chapter on the commerce of the two provinces. An intel- ligent friend, filling an important situation at St John, Newfoundland, transmitted full and recent statistical de- tails relative to that interesting colony. Respecting Prince Edward Island, very useful materials were fraukly sup- plied by Mr Stewart, a gentleman deeply concerned there both as proprietor and manager. To Mr Bruyeres and other distinguished persons connected with the Land Companies, the Author is indebted for several important communications. From other sources of high authority, which cannot here be fully particularized, valuable in- formation, otherwise inaccessible, has been obtained. The reader wUl appreciate one peculiar difficulty under which the Author laboured, namely, that while ■■:m^ 1# ■ {'t n 8 PREFACE. he was composing the Work, and even superintendmgits passage through the press, the subject was undergoing an incessant change ; and at length the principal provinces became the theatre of some very momentous occurrences. He has assiduously studied to trace, by means of the most authentic documents, the course of those events, and to exhibit them in a condensed and connected view. He hopes that he has thereby conveyed to the general reader a more distinct idea of their nature than could have been derived from scattered notices in the daily journals. At a crisis so important, when the two principal colonies are about to receive a new form, he has felt himself justified in submitting such reflections on the various methods proposed as a long study of the subject has suggested to him. These, however, he has anxiously sought to rest, not upon ephemeral interests, or the exclusive reasoning of any political party, but upon enlarged views of history and government, which ought alone to guide legislators in so important a measure, of which the consequences will be so serious and so durable. Emigration, the most important light under which British America can be viewed, will be found to have occupied a very prominent place in the writer's re- searches. He has endeavoured to supply the intending settler with more comprehensive and precise details than have hitherto been collected. The prospects which will open to the emigrant, the course which he ought to pursue, the difliculties to be encountered, and the best means of overcoming them, have been considered at full length. In subservience to this object, a very minute account has been given of the different districts, their situation, climate, and soil, in connexion with their natural and acquired advantages of every description. The different branches of Natural History, — ^Zoology, 7 ■ -^•« PREFACE. 9 Botany, and Geology, — ^have been very carefully illus- trated by Mr Wilson, Dr Greville, and Pi\jfe8Sor Traill, — gentlemen whose names afford a sufficient guarantee for the value and accuracy of their information. These ample details, combined with others in a former volume of the series, will present an instructive view of those remarkable features which Nature displays throughout the northern part of the American Continent. To illustrate these various subjects the utmost care has been taken to prepare a series of Maps, exhibiting at once the general geography of British America and its most important localities. One, on a large scale, comprehends all the provinces already occupied, while four of smaller dimensions show the t'Opography of those districts in Lower and Upper Canada which are best adapted for settlement. Various divisions and towns that have recently sprung up, and could not be in- cluded in any former map, have been carefully marked. To the Third Volume is annexed a delineation of the whole of the Northern and Western Regions which form the theatre of the fur-trade and of those recent expedi- tions which had for their object an extended knowledge of the remote shores and neighbouring seas. The most picturesque features of costume and scenery have been made the subject of wood-engravings by Mr Jackson. June 17, 1839. ! rw>v CONTENTS OF VOL. I. CHAPTER I. GENERAL VIEW OF BRITISH AMERICA, AND PARTICULARLY OF CANADA. Extent and Boundaries — General Aspect— Limits of the present Work — Canada, its Boundaries and general Features — Lakes — Superior — Huron — St Clair — Erie — Niagara Channel — Lake Ontario — Islands and Rapids of the St Lawrence — The Ottawa — The St Lawrence from Montreal to Quebec — Its lower Course — This Region remarkable for its Waterfals — Niagara— Its Description— Supposed Changes in its Position — Climate — How it differs from that of Europe — Effects on Agriculture — Boundary Question with the United States— Reference to the King of Holland— Its Issue, Page 17 CHAPTER 11. THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. Peculiar Condition of those Tribes— Their Physical Character— , Form— Colour— Hahr and Beard— Bodily Strength— Dress— Or- 12 CONTENTS. naments— Painting and Tattooing of the Skin— Modes of Sub- sistence —Hunting _ Cultivation — Food — Houses — Canoes — Spirit of Independence — Internal Order— Marriages — Rearing of Children— Intellectual Character — Oratory— Style of Compo- sition — Religious Ideas — Importance attached to Dreams — ^The Manitou — Ideas of a Future State— Reverence for the Dead — Ceremonies of Interment — Superstitious Modes of curing the Sick — Indian Wars — Their Motives — Preparations — March — Modes of attacking and surprising the Enemy — Return — ^Treat- ment of Prisoners; Tortures; Adoption — Treaties — Indian Amusements — Music — Dancing — Smoking — Games — Different Tribes inhabiting Canada and its Borders, Page 44 CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF CANADA UKDER THE FRENCH. Earliest Discoveries of the English and French — De la Roche — Chauvin and Pontgrave — De Monts— Champlain, employed by him, ascends the St Lawrence — Founds Quebec — Dealings with a Party of Natives— Joins a warlike Expedition — Victory — Torture — Transactions in France— Fresh military Encounter — Foundation of Montreal — Various Transactions — ^Voyage up the Ottawa — Great Expedition against the Iroquois — Unsuccessful — Difficulties in France — Appointment of De Caen — Peace among the Indian Tribes — Duke de Ventadour Viceroy — Rupture of the Treaty — Quebec taken by the English — Restored — Large Supplies sent out — Death of Champlain — Great Power of the Five Nations — Treaty with them — ^War renewed — Destruction of the French Indian Allies — A Remnant flee to Quebec — Iroquois Masters of Canada — Louis XIV. determines to reinforce the Colony — Expedition under De Tracy — Government of De Cour- celles — Frontenac — De la Barre— His fruitless Ezpedition-^- !f "\..v- t'Sub- IOCS — earing lompo- ,— The 3ead — ing the larch — _Tteat- . Indian )i«Ferent , Page 44 CONTENTS. 13 Denonville— .His violent Proceedings — Critical State of the Co- lony — Second Government of Frontenac — Capture of Corlaer or Schenectady— The English under Phipps attack Quebec— Re. pulsed — Negotiations with the Indians — Invasion of their Ter- ritory — Death of Frontenac — De Callieres — Peace, and speedy Renewal of War — Attempts by the English to conquer Canada — Treaty of Utrecht — Charlevoix's Account of the State of the Co- lony—Its Prosperity — Administration of Du Quesne, Page 97 CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OP CAXADA UNDER THE BRITISH. War between Great Britain and France — Advantages gained by the latter — Expedition against Canada under Wolfe— His first Repulse— Lands a second Time — Victory — Death — Conquest of Canada — State of the Population — Their good Treatment — Re- fuse to join the Rebellion by the United Colonies — The latter invade Canada — Siege of Quebec — Repulse and Death of Mont- gomery — Americans driven out of Canada — A Constitution grant- ed — Division into Upper and Lower — Rise of Internal Dissen- sion— War with the United States — Advantages gained by Britain on the western Frontier — On the Niagara, &c. — The Ameri- cans take York (Toronto) and Fort George — Obliged to retreat — Their Successes in the West — Fruitless Attempt on Montreal- Events on the Niagara Frontier — Large Reinibrcements from England — Failure of Sir George Prevost — Peace — Discontents of the Assembly — Administration of the Duke of Richmond — Earl of Dalhousie — Sir James Kempt — Lord Aylmer — Increased Discontent — Commission of Inquiry — Earl of Gosford — Assem- bly still refuse Supplies — Resolutions of the British Parliament-^ Disturbances in Canada — Insurrection — Suppressed — Political Movements in Upper Canada-, was assigned to Russia, though the survey of its shores, still very incomplete, has been ' roL. I. A 18 GENERAL VIEW OP chiefly effected by British navigators. The line of the northern shore runs nearly along the 70th parallel of latitude, though at different points it slightly deviates from it. All the large islands in the Arctic Sea belong also, by right of discovery, to England ; though their value, unconnected with the several fisheries, is by no means considerable. The eastern limit, coinciding also with that of the continent, is formed by the Atlantic and its bays, from the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, in about lat. 70° N., to the mouth of the St Croix, the southern boundary of Kew Brunswick, in lat. 45° 5' N. Along this coast, too, Britain has several large islands ; on the north, Cock- burn and Cumberland ; farther south, Newfoundland, with the exception of a small portion occupied by France ; and those of Cape Breton and Prince Edward in the Gulf of St Lawrence. From the St Croix, the southern boundary extends in a long irregular line across the continent. After in- cluding New Brunswick and a large part of Canada, it strikes the St Lawrence at St Regis, in long. 74° 46' W. about sixty miles above Montreal. From that point the river, with its grand chain of connected lakes, divides the British territory from the United States. Commencing again at tlie head of Superior, the frontier stretches to the north-western angle of the Lake of the Woods, in lat. 49° 20' N. ; and following this parallel it runs across the continent to the Rocky Mountains, beyond which considerable unceilainty prevails. By a con- vention signed at London in October 1818, all questions connected with this remote region were left open for ten years ; but that period was allowed to elapse without any decision being formed on the subject. The United States, Britain, and Russia, advance respectively cer- tain pretensions which do not well harmonize, but these our present object does not lead us to examine minutely. Farther north, however, the boundary of the provinces claimed by the court of St Petersburgh has been fixed in a direct line along the 141st degree of V I BRITISH AMERICA. 19 west longitude, extending from Mount St Elias to the Arctic Ocean.* The British dominions in America are understood to be situated between the parallels of 41° 47' and 78° north latitude, and between 52° and 141° of west longitude. It may be observed, however, that the eastern and northern boundaries are both insular, and comprehend vast tracts of ocean. If we assume limits on the mainland, we must take, on the east. Cape Charles in Labrador, in about long. 55° 30' W. ; and on the north, Cape Clarence in Boothia, in about lat. 74° N. ; though indeed on the latter side no considerable mass of the continent extends be- yond 70°. Thus the whole area amounts to nearly 4,000,000 square miles. Of this vast space the greater portion wears an aspect peculiarly dreary, being buried the greater part of the year in snow, and producing nothing valuable except the skins and furs of the wild animals that roam over its surface. Yet there seems reason to think that, as cultivation advances and the means of intercourse are improved, very extensive tracts may be found fitted for all the productions of the tem- perate zone. The tenure by which Britain holds the larger share of these wild domains is of a peculiar and somewhat equi- vocal nature. Her claim, which is not admitted by the original owners, is allowed only by other powers equally destitute with herself of any natural right ; and yet, when we consider that though she dispossesses a few naked savages, she plants numerous colonies consisting of a civilized and industrious population, there will ap- pear little reason to condemn her conduct. If provision be duly made for the subsistence and wellbeing of the natives, it will be acknowledged that the benefits of European occupation are so great as fully to compensate for any defect in the title. It is not, however, our intention to take a minute * Bouchette, British Dominions in North America (2 vols 4to, London, 1831), vol i. pp. 10, 1348. 20 GENERAL VIEW OF ',• survey of those outer tracts, many of which are un- known to Britain herself, and whose inhabitants have never heard her name. These have been the object of recent discovery, the results of which have been satis- factorily stated in a former volume of the Edinburgh Ca- binet Library.* The present work will relate to the smaller, but more important part, which has been regu- larly reduced into provinces, and is gradually falling under cultivation ; comprehending Canada Upper and Lower, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, with certain detached settlements on the shores of Labrador and Hudson's Bay. These colonies are naturally divided into two classes, distinct in their situation and character : 1. The in- land provinces, watered only by great lakes and rivers ; and, 2. The maritime provinces, or such as extend along the shores of the Atlantic. Canada, Upper and Lower, is as yet the only part of British America which belongs to the first class. Though forming, as it were, only one country, it is more exten- sive, more productive, and more populous than all the maritime provinces united ; and besides, it is the prin- cipal resort of emigrants from the mother-country. To its history and description we shall therefore devote the first portion of this work. Canada is bounded on the north by a range of hills separating it from the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company ; on the east, by Labrador, the Gulf of St Lawrence, and New Brunswick ; and on the south, by the United States. The western limit is very vague ; Imt usage does not seem to extend it farther than Lake Superior. Canada may therefore be described as lying between the meridians of 67° 60' and 90° W., and the parallels of 42° and 62° N. ; being about 1300 miles from eaiit to west, and 700 from north to south. The area is estimated at 348,000 square miles.t * No IX. Historical View of the Progress of Discovery on the more Northern Coasts of America. t Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 63, 64, 173-182. BRITISH AMERICA. 21 Discovery on the Canada, in a general view, consists of a very extensive plain, situated between two ranges of high land ; one on the north, separating it from the Hudson's Bay ter- ritoiy, another on the south, dividing it from New Bininswick and the United States. The grounds whicli stretch along the borders of the St Lawrence and the lakes are esteemed the most valuable portion of it. Neither of the ranges now mentioned aspires to an al- pine character ; nor, if we except Mars Hill in the dis- puted territory, does any part of them appear to reach 2000 feet. But they extend over a vast surface, are very broken and rugged, covered with dense forests, while torrents dash down their sides, filling the valleys with numerous lakes. Both on the north, in the upper part of Quebec district, and on the south, in that of Gaspe, the hills pi ess on the banks of the river, giving to it an air of much grandeur. Higher up they recede, and form on either side a gradually- widening and beautiful plain, susceptible of the most perfect culti- vation. In Upper Canada this level tract attains a very great breadth, and partly includes the basin of the noble stream of the Ottawa. On the west it appears to ter- minate with Lake Huron ; for the northern coast of that fine sheet of water, as well as of Lake Superior, is flanked by the mountains, — a circumstance which ren- ders their shores rough and craggy. It is said that be- hind this rocky screen there is much valuable land still uncultivated.* But the characteristic feature of this region is its wa- ters, more particularly its immense lakes, which, in re- spect to depth and extent of surface, have no equal on the face of the earth. The Caspian certainly exceeds the largest of them, separately considered ; but that great body of salt water, besides being comparatively very sliallow, has no outlet ; whereas the Canadian lakes supply, without apparent diminution, the vast stream of the St Lawrence. The smallest of them is tossed by tem- • Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 1 85, 1 86, 283-294, 297, 298. ? }■ if 22 GENERAL VIEW OP pests like the ocean, and on its surface war was recently waged in ships of the first magnitude. Lake Superior is the largest of these inland seas, and indeed the most extensive body of fresh water in the world. Its form is an irregular crescent, having the convex side towards Canada ; it is very broad in the centre ; but the south-eastern and south-western extre- mities terminate almost in points. Its length, following the line of the curve, is estimated by Captain Bayfield at 360 geographical miles, the greatest breadth at 140, and the circumference about 1500. Its surface appears to be 627 feet above the level of the Atlantic, and the shores afford indications of its having once been 40 or 50 feet higher. The soundings have been given variously from 480 to 900 feet ; and the greatest depth is believed to be about 1200. The transparency of the water is completely crystalline, rendering rocks, even at extraordinary depths, distinctly visible. The bottom consists chiefly of a very adhesive clay, which speedily indurates on exposure to the atmosphere. In violent gales, the waves rise nearly as high as those on the ocean ; and though there are of course no tides, the wind, when it blows strongly from any one point, throws the water with considerable force on the opposite shore. In spring, too, it is sometimes greatly swelled by the melting of the snows. This lake, as formerly observed, is bordered by hills, which in some places rise precipitously from the shore, and in others leave intervals of various breadth, amounting occasionally to fifty or seventy miles. It is remarkable, that while every other large lake is fed by rivers of the first order, this, the most capacious on the surface of the globe, does not receive a third or even fourth rate stream ; the St Louis, the most considerable, not having a course of more than 150 miles. But whatever deficiency there may be in point of magnitude, it is compensated by the vast number which pour in their copious floods from the surrounding heights. The dense covering of wood, and th:. long continuance of frost, must also ui BRITISH AMERICA. 23 1. 1 this region greatly diminish the quantity drawn off by evaporation.* The surplus waters of Lake Superior enter near its south-eastern extremity into St Mary's Channel, by which they are transmitted into Lake Huron, nearly forty miles distant. About midway are St Mary's Falls, scarcely entitled to this appellation, being merely a con- tinued cataract, in which the current forces its way through broken rocks with tremendous noise, and amid clouds of foam. These rapids cannot be ascended ; but canoes, though with great danger, sometimes shoot down- wards. The more prudent avoid them by a portage of two miles. The Huron, into which this channel expands, is the second in succession as well as in magnitude of this great chain. Its outline is very irregular, but may, in a gene- ral view, be said to have three sides, two facing the north and east, and belonging to Canada ; while the third looks to the south-west, and forms part of the United States. Its extreme length, from the entry to the outlet, is about 240 miles ; its breadth is not less than 220 ; and the cir- cumference is supposed to be nearly 1000. Its surface is only thirty-two feet lower than that of Superior ; and it is equally distinguished by its extraordinary depth, esti- mated at 900 or 1000 feet, and by the brilliant transpa- rency of its waters. A range of islands runs parallel to its northern shore, and, with the peninsula of Cabot, separates almost completely the upper part from the main body, so that it was considered by the earliest discoverers as a distinct basin. Among these islands the chief is the Great Manitoulin, seventy-five miles long, viewed by the Indians with superstitious awe as the chosen abode of their Great Spirit. At the outlet of the St Mary the two islets of St Joseph and Drum- mond are fortified as frontier-stations, the former by Britain and the latter by the United States. The coast is • Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 127, 128. Darby's View of the United States (18mo, Philadelphia, 182B), p. 200. I 24 GENERAL VIEW OP generally rugged, broken into heights of from 30 to 100 feet, formed of clay, rolled stones, precipitous rocks, and woody steeps. Towards the north the bold ridge of the Cloche Mountains exhibits several lofty summits ; but the eastern territory is wholly dissimilar, and forms one of the finest portions of the great plain of Upper Canada. This lake receives the Maitland, Severn, Moon, and French rivers, — broad streams, though not of longcourse, — but its chief supply is from the St Mary. Near its north- western point a narrow strait connects it with the lake of Michigan, entirely included within the boundary of the United States. It is equally deep and clear with Huron, and, though nearly on a level with that lake, is not completely so, as a constant current sets from the fonner into the latter. The Huron pours out the surplus of its waters at its southern extremity, thus carrying in that direction the great chain of communication. A channel called the River St Clair, after a course of about thirty miles, ex- pands into the comparatively small lake of the same name. Thence issues the Detroit, a spacious stream cele- brated for the beauty and fertility of the adjacent country. ' Both it and the lake, however, are so shallow, as not to admit vessels which draw more than seven or eight feet of water.* After running twcmty-nine miles, the Detroit opens into the grand expanse of Lake Erie, about 265 miles long, and at its centre sixty-three broad, the circumfer- ence being estimated at somewhat less than 658. The surface is calculated to be 565 feet above the level of the ocean ; making it thirty feet lower than Huron, and sixty-two than Superior. The depth seldom amounts to 270 feet ; and the difficulties of the navigator are in- creased by the want of harbours and anchorage, as well as by the projecting promontories, which render a fre- quert change of coui'se necessary. The direction of the great water-communication, which, from the head of • Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 133, 134. Darby, p. 203-206. ■■■ BRITISH AMERICA. 25 Lake Huron, has been nearly due south, changes here to the north-east, till it opens iato the Gulf of St Law- rence. The coasts, almost equally divided between the British and Americans, are generally very fertile. Lake Erie has acquired a peculiar importance, from having be- come the main centre of inland navigation. The two great canals reaching from it to the Hudson on one side, and the Ohio on the other, render it a medium of communication between the Atlantic, the Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Welland canal and river, joining it to the Ontario, form a channel by which it is expected tliat a great part even of the produce of the United States will be henceforth transmitted.* The outlet of Lake Erie, at its north-eastern point, is the Niagara Channel, which, after pursuing its course thirty-three miles and a half, opens into Lake Ontario. In its progress it forms those stupendous falls which have no equal in the world, and will be afterwards described ; but as they interrupt the navigation, a canal has been formed on a nearly parallel Ime, to unite the two lakes for commercial purposes. The waters, in passing to Ontario, are calculated to fall 334 feet ; this lake being so much lower than Erie, and consequently only 231 feet above the level of th? Atlantic. Ontario, the smallest of the great lakes, extends almost due east, with some inclination northwards; it is 172 miles long, 591 broad, and about 467 in circumference. The depth of water varies from 15 to 300 feet ; and in the middle, a line of 300 fathoms has been let down without reaching the bottom. The banks are generally level, though a ridge of moderate height rises at some distance from its western and north-western shores. They are for the most part covered with wood, though now variegated with partial and increasing cultivation. Toronto and Kingston on the British, and Sackett's Harbour on the American sidcj are excellent stations, in which fleets have • Bouchette, vol. i. p. 134-137. Darby, p. 206-208. Gourlay, Statistical Accoimt oi' iFpper Canada (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1822), vol. ii. p. 53. 13 26 GENERAL VIEW OP been constructed, including ships of the largest size. There are several small islands at the eastern extremity, of which the principal is named Grand Isle, The long and winding bay of Quinte, to the west of Kingston, encloses a very beautiful and fertile peninsula.* From the eastern extremity of Lake Ontario issues the stream which bears now, for the first time, the name of St Lawrence, though it has also been called Iroquois and Cataraqui. Its channel is here so spacious that it is called the Lake of the Th'^nsand Islands. The vast number implied in thia name was considered a vague exaggeration, till the commissioners employed in fixing the boundary with the United States actually counted them, and found that they amounted to 1692. They are of every imaginable size, shape, and appearance ; some barely visible, others covering fifteen acres ; but in general their broken outline presents the most pic- turesque combinations of wood and rock. The navigator in steering through them sees an ever-changing scene, which reminded an elegant writer of the Happy Islands in the Vision of Mirza. Sometimes he is enclosed in a narrow channel ; then he discovers before him twelve openings, like so many noble rivers ; and soon after a spacious lake seems to surround him on every side.t At the end of this reach the St Lawrence is obstructed by an island in the centre, producing what is termed the Lmig Sault. The stream, rushing through a narrow passage on each side, hurries on the bark with danger- ous velocity ; and the two currents, meeting at the lower end, dash against each other, forming what is called the Big Pitch, The river then, expanding to the breadth of more than five miles, is named the Lake of St Francis. At its termination begins a succession of very formidable rapids, named the Coteau du Lac, the Cedars, the Split Rock, and the Cascades, which, continuing about nine * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 151. M'Gregor, British America (2 vols 8vo, Edinburgh, 1832), vol. ii. p. SSS-S^ri. t Howison s Sketches of Upper Canada (8vo, second edition, Edin- burgh, 1822), p. 46. Bouchette, vol. i. p. 168. tWvii BRITISH AMERICA. 27 miles, completely interrupt the navigation for vessels of even moderate dimensions. The hardy Canadian boat- men indeed contrive, with poles ten feet in length, to force through certain flat-bottomed barks of from six to twenty tons. Huge rafts of timber are also seen descend- ing the current ; but passengers by steam leave the vessel at one end of the declivity and re-embark at the other. Great operations, however, are now in progress to overcome these obstacles, and to secure a safe navi- gation to the inland seas. Below these rapids the river spreads out into Lake St Louis, near which there is a beautiful fall bearing the same name. This impediment to navigation has been recently overcome by a canal called La Chine. The St Lawrence now receives an important accession by the influx of the great stream of the Ottawa from the north- west, after a course of about 460 miles,* through an ex- tensive plain, generally very fertile, and covered with magnificent forests. These rivers at their junction form several large islands, on the principal of which is built the city of Montreal.t Below that place the St Lawrence presents a magni- ficent expanse, navigable for vessels of 600 tons, thus giving to the town just named all the advantages of a sea- port. About forty -five miles farther down, indeed, where it widens into the Lake of St Peter, it becomes somewhat shallow, and allows only a narrow passage to large ships. Again, about ninety miles nearer the ocean, the rocks forming the Richelieu rapids so contract the channel as to render it unsafe unless at particular periods of the tide. At Quebec, it narrows to 1314 yards ; yet the navigation is completely unobstructed, while there is formed near * Bouchette, voL i. n. 187. According' to Mr M'Greji^or, Brit. Amer. vol. ii. p. 625, tnis river " is said to have its source near the Rocky Mountains, and to traverse in its windings a distance of 2500 miles." He adds, that it certainly flows ten or twelve hundred miles before joininsj the St Lawrence. We have no hesitation, ho vever, in preferring the sober statement of Bouchette to these extravagant estimates. t Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 156, 162-211. \ I 28 GENERAL VIEW OP the city a capacious harbour. About twenty-one miles lower, its waters, beginning to mingle with those of the sea, acquire a saline taste, which increases till, at Ka- mouraska, seventy-five miles nearer its mouth, they beconi ) completely salt. Yet custom, with somewhat doubtful propriety, considers the river as continued down to the island of Anticosti, and bounded by Cape Rosier on the southeni, and Mingan Settlement on the northern shore.* In considering the St Lawrence as one of the grand hydrographic features of the globe, different views have been taken. Some authors consider it as originating in Lake Ontario, and view the interior channels as onlv the means of uniting one lake with another. Yet when it is considered that there is a continued current from the most remote tributary of Lake Superior to the (Julf of St Lawrence, we may seem justified in regarding it as an entire river, extending upwards of 2000 miles, and forming one of the most important water-commu- nications on the face of the earth. In this river-system a striking and peculiar class of objects is exhibited on a grander scale than in any other region ; we mean the waterfals. The^e are not, indeod, like such as descend from alpinu precipices, distinguish- ed by height or by the picturesque forais of the rocky cliffs amid which they are precipitated ; but while the latter are usually mere streamlets, the others are mighty rivers, swelled to their full magnitude, and pouring the entire volume of their waters into the abysses beneath. Among these cataracts of Northern America there is one which stands without a rival, — Niagara. Here an immense river, after receiving the surplus waters of four extensive lakes, projects them downward m a united mass. In general, when such large streams are obstructed by rocky barriers, they force their way through them in a number of narrow channels, with noise and impe- tuosity, but without any considerable descent. There • Bouchette, vol. i. p. 164-169. BRITISH AMERICA. 29 the northern ,;# is scarcely another instance where a sea-like flood, having brought its whole weight of waters to the brink of a lofty precipice, throws them down in one unbroken sheet. The fall of the Rhine at SchaiFhausen alone, though without either its height or volume of water, bears some resemblance to that of Niagara, which is acknowledged to be not only the greatest of cataracts, but, according to the general opinion of travellers, the sublimest object on earth. The ocean and the gigantic steeps of the Andes or the Himmaleh may include scenery of more varied magnificence, but probably ex- hibit no single spectacle so striking and so wonderful. Without attempting to convey to the reader's mind any image of this stupendous scene, which perhaps no human pen can ever accomplish, we will simply state the elements in which its grandeur appears to consist. Several objects that compose the chief beauty of other celebrated waterfals are altogether wanting. There are no cliffs reaching to an extraordinary height, crowned with trees, or broken into picturesque and varied fonns ; for, though one of the banks is wooded, the forest-scenery on the whole is not imposing. The accompaniments, in short, rank here as nothing. There is merely the display, on a scale elsewhere unrivalled, of the phenomena ap- propriate to this class of olyects. There is the spectacle of a falling sea, the eye filled almost to its utmost reach by the rushing of mighty waters. There is the awful plunge into the abyss beneath, and the reverberation thence in endless lines of foam, and in numberless whirl- pools and eddies. There are clouds of spray that fill the whole atmosphere, amid which the most brilliant rain- bows, in rapid succession, glitter and disappear. Above all, there is the stupendous sound, of the peculiar cha- mcter of which all writers, with their utmost efforts, seem to have vainly attempted to convey an idea. Bou- chette describes it as " grand, commanding, and majestic, filling the vault of heaven Avhen heard in its fulness," — as " a deep round roar, an alternation of muffled and open sounds," to which there is nothing exactly corre- 30 GENERAL VIEW OP spending. He mentions the report made from a little distance by a great naval battle like that of the Nile ; but this few can have experienced. Captain Hall's simi- litude to the ceaseless, rumbling, deep, monotonous sound of a vast mill, though not very poetical, is generally considered as aj>proaching nearest to reality. The diffu- sion of the noise is impaired by the rocky heights that enclose the fall, and perhaps even by the volume of spray which it throws up around itself. It varies also according to the state of the atmosphere and the direc- tion of the wind ; but under favourable circumstances it reaches to T jronto, across Lake Ontario, distant forty-six miles. Sor le hav« thought that the absence of the ac- companiments above alluded to impairs its effect ; while others, perhapii with reason, conceive that these would only distract the attention from the one great object ; and that this is more deeply felt when there is nothing seen but the cataract itself, " no sound but its eternal roar." The Niagara Channel, as already mentioned, extends from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and the falls are si- tuated twenty miles from the former and thirteen from the latter. Being occasioned only by a general and not very great descent in the level of the land, there is nothing in the country around to indicate the vicinity of such a striking phenomenon. From the Erie boundary, in particular, the approach is along a smooth though somewhat elevated plain ; through wliich the river, about a mile in breadth, flows tranquilly, bordered by fertile and beautiful banks, and enclosing a large island. The deep awful sound, however, is soon heard, and becomes gradually louder. Yet nothing appears till about a mile above the fall, when the water begins to ripple, and a little below is broken into a series of dashing and foaming rapids, which form a grand spec- tacle. The stream then becomes more tranquil, though rolling with prodigious rapidity, till it reaches the brink of the great precipice. The fall itself is divided, by the intervention of Goat BRITISn AMERICA. 31 tion of Goat Island, into two unequal portions. The one called the Bri- tish, or Horse Shoe, according to the most careful estunatc is 2100 feet broad, and 149 feet 9 inches high. The other or American fall is only 1140 feet broad, and even in proportion to this inferior dimension pours a much smaller body of water. It has indeed some picturesque beauty, being lined by a wooded shore, and diversified by a number of small islands covered with stunted cedar. Its height is about 164 feet. The British one, however, being that in which the phenomenon is presented on the greatest scale, simple and without accompaniment, is properly the fall. The most approved point of view is from the Table Rock, that reaches close to the waters, and forms part of the very ledge over which they descend. A daring visiter may even, by lying flat on his face, stretch out his hand, and plunge it into the descending surge ; and it is from this station that the nearest view of the cataract is obtained, and all its vastness is most distinctly perceived. An elevated spot behind afiords a more extensive but less imposing sur- vey, which however combines the surrounding scenery. Nearly half a mile below, at a small chasm in the cliff, a spiral staircase leads the traveller down towards the water, and a narrow slippery path, amid fragments of rock, conducts him up to the foot of the fall, and even a little above. To look froni beneath on this immensity of rushing waters produces a peculiar sentiment of mingled grandeur and terror. Some travellers even \'>nture into a singular hollow formed beneath the rocky ledge, where they may see in front the descend- ing flood, and be wet only by its spray. Hennepin asserts that four coaches might be driven abreast through this awful chasm ; and several individuals have pene- trated this recess to the distance of more than a hundred and fifty feet. Goat Island, as already observed, divides the two falls, interposing between them its perpendicular fa9ade, 984 feet in breadth. Its length, extending up the river, is neariy half a mile. It was unapproached by human .)!.:,.;,■:. ■^'- 32 GENERAL VIEW OP foot till Mr Porter, proprietor of extensive mills at Manchester on the American side, contrived, by sinking strong caissons in the water, flowing perhaps eighteen miles an hour, to rear a wooden bridge 1000 feet long, and practicable for carriages. A road, now formed round the island, commands very fine views both of the fall and the rapids above. This spot is richly clothed with trees, among wliich the light foam is often seen flying. It is described as a little Elysium, amid the chaos of the sur- rounding elements. The waters projected down this awful steep continue for some space in a state of violent agitation ; yet a ferry has been established about half a mile below, across which the ptissenger is wafted over the heaving current without serious danger. The high level of the country extends seven or eight miles lower, to Queenston and Lewiston, for which space the Niagara rolls through a rocky channel, I^etween high and steep banks, its breadth contracted to a quarter of a mile. Somewhat more than half-way down, high cliffs, encircling the current in a peculiar manner, cause it to wheel round with an impetuous violence, which would instantly destroy any object that should come within its action. This is called the Whirlpool. Below Queenston the ground sinks by a steep descent to the level of the Ontario basin. The river then emerges, and again rolls a smooth stream between level and cultivated banks.* This great fall has excited an additional interest from the remarkable change supposed to have taken place as to its position. It is believed that the impetuous waters, wearing away the rock over which they descend, are gradually removing the cataract higher up the river. By this process it is said to have receded from a point between Queenston and Lewiston, to which, as already observed, the high level of the country continues, and to have excavated the present deep and narrow channel • Bouchette, vol. Ijp. 138-146. Howison, p. 108.121. Darby, p. 211-213. Stuart, Three Years in North America (2 vols 8vo, 2d edit. Edinburgh, 1833;, vol. ii. pp. 142, 143. ^ — -t'.' BRITISH AMERICA. 33 more than seven miles in length. Upon this point geo- logists and travellers seem generally agreed, the only difference being as to the rate at which the change pro- ceeds. Mr Gourlay, long a resident, says the oldest inhabitants think that the Great Fall has receded " several paces.^* Mr M'Gregor mentions an estimate which fixes this recession at eighteen feet during the tliirty years previous to 1810 ; but he adds another more recent, which raises it to 150 feet in fifty years. Lastly, Captain Hall heard it reckoned, by two persons long resident on the spot, at 150 feet in forty years. This measure, having been adopted by Mr Lyell in his recent work on geology, may be considered as the established belief on the subject.* It is not without particular diffidence that we oppose a conclusion thus almost unanimously formed by the most eminent writers. Yet we tliink we can state facts, of which they were apparently not aware, and which seem completely to refute the supposition that any con- siderable change has taken place, or is perceptibly in progress, as to the site of this extraordinary object. We possess two early descriptions of these falls ; one by Father Hennepin in 1679, very nearly 160 years ago, illustrated by a plate ; the other by Charlevoix in 1721. Now, on comparing these delineations with the best accounts given b}? recent travellers, it appeal's im- possible to discover any sensible difference between, them. In answer to this it may indeed be asserted, that the cataract, wearing away its rocky ledges in an equable manner throughout, may have considerably changed its place, yet retain still nearly the same dimensions and aspect.t But this supposition seems precluded by the * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 146. M'Greffor, vol. ii. ]>. 546. Hall's Travels in America (3 vols 12mo, second edition, Edinburgh, 1830), Vol. i. p. 196. Lvell's Principles of Geology (4 vols I2mo, 5tli edition, London, 11137), vol. i. p. 278. •f- Hennepin, Nouvelle De'couverte d'un trcs grand Pays dans I'Amerique (18mo, Utrecht, lfi97), pp. 44-4H, 443-462. Charlevoix, Journal of a Voyage to North America (2 vols 8vo, London, 1761 ), vol. i. p. 363-360. Hennepin, judging only by the eye, exaggerates VOL. I, B 34 GENERAL VIEW OP existence in its centre of one great fixed object, — the im- mense rampart of Goatlsland, — which, while it divides the two falls, is on a 1 ine with both, or, according to Bouchette, forms along with ther^ the chord of an irregular arc. Now, Hennepin's description, and more particularly his plate, represent the island as dividing the falls, and standing every way in the same relative position to them that it now does. But if the cataracts had changed their place in the manner supposed, they must have receded behind the lower extremity of the island, which would thus have been thrown forward, and appeared in front of them in the middle of the stream. If we assume Captain Hall's estimate, there must have been a change, since Heimepin's date, of 600 feet or nearly a furlong, which would have caused a most conspicuous alteration in the relative position of these objects. Some may urge that the lateral action of the falling waters might demolish this projecting front, and thus cause the island- boundary to recede along with them. Such an hypothesis seems quite out of the question as applicable to this huge mass, nearly a quarter of a mile in breadth. Even sup- posing it possible, a rock thus demolished from two opposite sides must have been irregularly acted upon, reduced to a broken and shattered state, and in some degree to a pyramidal form. There appears no agency which could cut it down like slices from a loaf, so as to preserve always the same smooth pei-pendicular face separating the two falls, which it had in 1679, and contin'ies to have at the present moment. No observer has noticed in this island any symptoms of progressive demolition. Mr Howison so little suspects such a pro- cess, that, following up the common idea, he contemplates the period when it will be left " isolated in the midst of the river as a colossal pillar." From what we have stated, however, if any such change were taking place, greatly the height, making it 600 feet, — which Charlevoix corrects. Both agree as to the appenraoce and relative position of the different objects. .. vv BRITISH AMERICA. 35 it must by this time have afforded some manifest proof of its operation. It may be urged, that water acting with such stupen- dous force must produce greater changes than we have here supposed. We would, however, refer to a fact which seems too little noticed by geologists, yet which any one who walks along the seashore may at once verify. Rocks daily washed by the tide have their surface nardened and polished to such a degree, as in a great measure to protect them against the action of the waves. Even the loosest sand, when within high-water mark, acquires a comparatively firm and smooth surface. The ledge, too, over which the waters of the St Law- rence rush, being beneath them, and not opposing any resistance to their course, is little liable to be disintegrated by their action. We are not aware of such an effect being produced on any other cataract, nor does Mr Lyell refer to any, although several falls are known to have existed from the remotest antiquity. The statements made by the neighbouring inhabitants are so vague. Mid differ so very widely, that little importance can be attached to them. The only changes which can be considered well authenticated are the occasional breaking down of the rocks in the middle of the great fall. Of this an example occurred on the 28th December 1828, when a huge fragment fell with a crash which shook the glass vessels in the adjoining inn, and was felt at the distance of two miles. It destroyed in a great measure the angular or horse-shoe form, and, by ren- dering the line of the fall more direct, heightened its grandeur.* In 1818 there had been a similar dislocation of the Table Rock, other sections of which still wear a threatening aspect.t But this change was not produced, as 13 commonly supposed, by the wearing away of the rocky ledge itself ; it was by the undennining of the bed of soft shale on which it rests : and hrnce the reason * Hall, vol. i. p. 19H. Mackenzie's Sketches of Canada (8vo, Lon- don, 18a3\ p. 103. f Bouchette, vol. i. p. 142. 36 GENERAL VIEW OF why the hollow space already described has been formed beneath it and behind the descending waters. As this softer stratum, however, is acted upon merely by the spray thrown back upon it, the effects appear to be both limited and partial, and the consequent changes to occur only at long intervals. Having treated the subject with reference to the term of human life and the common historical eras, we feel little inclined to consider it in its bearing upon geological theo- ries. It is only necessary to observe that, admitting the deep chasm through which the river flows to Queens- ton to have been excavated by its waters, it does not follow that a similar process must still continue in opera- tion. Upon every mineralogical hypothesis it is admit- ted that the strata, which form the crust of the earth, were at one time in a state very different from what they are at present ; having a soft and yielding texture, pro- duced either by the influence of fire or by recent depo- sition from water. The action of so mighty a flood might then very easily, and in a comparatively short period, ex- cavate such a channel. But it is unphilosophical to apply reasons, drawn from so remote an era, to a period when the materials of the land have acquired that fixed and consolidated form under which they appear in our days. With respect to climate, this country exhibits, in many particulars, a striking dissimilarity to Europe. In the first place, the temperature is much lower under the same latitude ; and this remark applies to the whole of North America. Thus Quebec, in 46° 49' N., has almost the same latitude with Nantes in 47° 13'. Yet the mean annual temperature of the former is 41 '74° ; of the lat- ter 54*68°, — a difference of nearly 13°. Edinburgh and Copenhagen, though more than 9° farther north than Q,i?e' ec, exceed it in mean annual heat, the one by 6° the other by 4°.* The next distinction is the great difference in the * See Table by Professor Jameson, in Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography, p. 164. BRITISH AMERICA. 37 temperature of winter and summer, — the cold of the one and the heat of the other being much more intense than in those European countries where the annual mean is the same. While the medium temperature of winter at Nantes is about 40*46°, at Quebec it is 14*18° ; but that 0*" summer is nearly identical, — at the first 68*54*', at the second, 68*00'^. Nay, the mean of the hottest month, which at Nantes is 70*52°, at Quebec is 73*40°. The summer of this last, when compared to that of Edin- burgh, is almost tropical, exceeding it by ten degrees, and in the hottest month by fourteen. Even in London the heat rarely attains 83° ; whereas in Canada, during July, it rises occasionally 20° higher.* These great heats, however, leave the average still much lower than in European places under the same latitude. We do not intend to enter here into any discussion of the theories formed on this subject, none of which som yet to be fully established. The influence of the winds, which blow chiefly from the north-west, over a vast ex- panse of frozen continent ; the position of the adjacent ocean, filled with fields and islands of ice, detached from the arctic shores; the uncultivated state of the soil, covered with vast forests and swamps ; these have been the chief causes assigned for so remarkable a difference. There prevails a general opinion that, since British America has been partially cleared and cultivated, the extremes both of summer heat and of winter cold have been sensibly mitigated. Others, however, maintain that the variations are casual and temporary, and that the changes referred to have as yet taken place on too small a scale to produce any marked effect. The prevailing winds in Canada are, the north-east, north-west, and south-west. The first, blowing from the ocean, brings rain, snow, and tempest ; the second, from a vast extent of frozen land, is dry and intensely cold ; the last, from warmer regions, is mild and agreeable. In the height of summer, the air is often quite stUl, the sky brightly clear, and the rays of the sun beat fiercely * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 337. t ■ ,■ fi 1^ ii J^i/M 38 GENERAL VIEW OP upon the earth. The nights at tliis season are beautifully transparent. Great and sudden transitions from heat to cold also characterize tliis region. These are of course produced by changes of wind, occasioning a rapid transition from the one to the other of those extremes to which the whole continent is liable. The tropical countries being equally warm in the New as in the Old World, the hot and cold climates are in the former nearer to each other, and more apt to come into collision. These sudden changes have the effect of rendering every kind of atmospheric agitation, and more especially thunder and lightning, peculiarly violent. The order of the seasons also varies materially from that which prevails in Europe. The absence of spring is generally incident to climates where the winter is very long and severe. The moderate heat of the ad- vancing season appears absorbed in the process of con- verting the snow and ice into a liquid state, and can thus act only imperfectly upon the atmosphere. By the time this change is accomplished, the sun's rays have become powerful, and summer is established. Scarcely is the ground cleared of- ^now when vegetation breaks forth, not gradually, as with us, but with almost preter- natural rapidity. The months of June, July, and August are intensely hot, and bring all the crops to a speedy maturity. Autumn, wliich, according to some writers, does not exist in America, is described by others as the most agreeable of all the seasons. In September and October the days are warm, but the mornings and even- ings cool and agreeable ; and the foliage, assuming the varied autumnal tmts, presents an enchanting picture. In November, when frost is about to set in, a grateful interval usually occurs of what is termed the Indian summer. A delightful wanntli is then felt through the air, while a thin and beautiful haze covers the face of nature.* No rational account appears to have been yet * Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 389, 340-344. M'Gregor, vol. i. p. 123-135. Howison, p. 243-245. Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 141-144. Darby, p. 421-431. BRITISH AMERICA. 39 given of this phenomenon ; for the Canadian theory, that it is produced hy the smoke of distant prairies fired by the Indians, is unworthy of refutation. We cannot help suggesting, that all the waters, here s*., abundant, are then undergoing the process of conversion from a fluid into a Solid form ; in the couree of which they must necessarily give out in large quantities the caloric which held them in a state of fluidity. Heat thus developed will naturally be accompanied with thin mist, which is in fact usually seen rising from the surface of a newly-frozen stream. The winter of Lower Canada commences in the end of November, and lasts five months, or till the close of April. In the southern parts of the upper province it is nearly two months shorter. This period, which, in our concep- tions, appears so dreary, is to the Canadian a season of cheerfulness and enjoyment. Warm clothing and due precaution secure him against any dangerous or even painful effects from the extreme cold. As the country is easily traversed in every direction by light cariole'3, large parties assemble, and enliven the gloom of the year by festivity and social intercourse.* It might have been expected that the excessive rigour of the climate, more especially its extremes and sudden changes, would have been peculiarly trying to the human constitution. Experience, on the contrary, has esta- blished its decided salubrity. The countries, too, in which the cold is most severe, and the contrasts greatest, are found the healthiest. Hence Lower is more salubri- ous than Upper Canada, and the latter than the United States. It i" true, at the same time, that diseases origi- nating in cold, such as rheumatism and puhnonary con- sumption, are the most common ; and it is remarkable that over all America the teeth are subject to early d'^cay. The upper province suffers from intermittent fever, though not so severely as the countries farther south ; it is distressing and weakening, but seldom fatal.t The action of the climate upon agricultural produc- * Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 343, 34^ 409. Howison, p. 243. Back- woods of Canada (18rao, London, li.36), p. 206. t Bouchette vol. L p. 344. M'Gregor, vol. i. p. 136-139. 40 GENERAL VIEW OP I tions is more favourable in these countries than in others which have the same mean temperature. The intense heat even of the short summer ripens corn and fruits wliich will not thrive in regions where the same warmth is more equally distributed throughout the year. Thus Quebec agrees in mean annual temperature with Chris- tiania ; yet wheat, scarcely ever attempted in Norway, is the staple of Lower Canada. The upper province nearly coincides with the north of England; yet the grape, the peach, and the melon come to as much per- fection as in their native soil. Even rice is found growing wild. In this respect British America seems not to fall much short of European countries under the same lati- tude. Its winter-cold at the same time enables it to combine the products of the northern with those of the southern temperate climatef' By the side of the fruits above mentioned flourish the strawberry, the cranberry, tind the raspberry ;* while the evergreen pines are co- piously intermingled with the oak, the elm, and others of ampler foliage. The woods are filled with the rich fur-bearing animals that belong to an arctic climate. The only difficulty is found with sujh agricultural pro- ductions as, under milder skies, are improved by win- tering in the soil. Autumn wheat, for example, has not yet succeeded in Lower Canada ; and several of the more delicate artificial grasses have failed. The farmer like- wise suffers inconvenience from the short uiterval in which all his operations of sowing, reaping, and harvesting must be completed, while he is left without occupation during the long remainder of the year. Before closing this general view of Canada, it may be necessary to introduce some notice of the question wliich has arisen between Britain and the United States, re- specting their common boundaries. The vague terms often used in treaties have given rise to disputes and difficulties ; but it is seldom, ai. in the present instance, that they apply to a territory of 10,000 square miles, or 6,400,000 acres. Though this tract is at present only * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 326. Backwoods, pp. 14?, 144. BRITISH AMERICA. 41 an unbroken forest, yet, as it consists in general of fertile land, the process of colonization, now rapidlj'^ approaching it, will, at no very distant period, render it of great value. Both nations maintain their claim 'a a very peremptory manner ; and Bouchette, wit^ other respectable writers on our side, repels with the utmost indignation the idea of yielding a P'nglo inch.* We respect the patriotic zeal of these authors ; yet, when such feelings carry a people to unreasonable demands, and prevent them from listening to argument, it may lead to calamitous conse- quences. We shall therefore endeavour to approach the subject impartially, and view it as if totally abstracted from either British or American interests. The terms of the treaty on which the dispute hinges are, that the boundary shall be drawn " along the high- kinds whichdivide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean." These words were penned in complete ignorance respecting the country of which they were intended to dispose. Instead of one highland tract, whose opposite waters fall into the specified receptacles, there are two ridges, considerably distant, and enclosing between them the wide expanse of the disputed territory. Throughout its centre, from west to east, flows the St John, receiving nearly all the waters from the north side of the one range and the south side of the other. The British, as their boundary, claim the most southerly, the Americans the most northerly of these two lines. Let us see how these claims will agree with the terms of the treaty. The British boundary clearly fulfils one condition ; all the rivers on its southern side fall into the Atlantic. But on the northern it entirely fails, for there they all flow into the St John, and not one drop reaches the St Law- rence. Here, then, we cannot but own a want of coin- cidence with the literal terms of the convention. Bou- chette does not deny this, and allows "that the letter of the treaty of 1788 has described a boundary which the physical and hydrographical divisions of the country to • Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 18, 26. M'Gregor, vol. i. p. 14C'. 42 GENERAL VIEW OF !• be divided rendered it utterly impossible substantially to establish." He contends, however, that its professed de- sign of contemplating " reciprocal advantages and mutual convenience," and of proceeding upon " principles of liberal equity and reciprocity," clearly decides the point in favour of Britain. These, however, are very vague grounds on which to determine a matter of fact ; and, besides, we do not very distinctly see their bearing in our favour. No doubt it would be advantageous and convenient for Britain to get the whole of this territory ; but we cannot expect that the Americans will see the reciprocal benefit of their losing the whole. They, on the contrary, maintain that their boundary is strictly and literally conformable to the terms of the treaty. The rivers on one side of it undoubtedly flow into the St Lawrence, while on the other they reach the St John ; wliich last falls into the Bay of Fundy, and that bay communicates with the Atlantic* This, they pretend, is equivalent to the original rivers falling directly into the Atlantic Ocean. But such an interpretation appears^ to us wholly inconsistent with the precision which ever ought to be observed in the terms of a positive treaty. The obvious meaning was that the rivers descending irom the ridge in question were such as fall into the open Atlantic, and not merely connected with it in this indirect manner. It cannot foi a moment be doubted, that the first was the meaning of the negotiators ; that they had in view the Penobscot, the Kennebeck, and other streams flowing from the north into the ocean. We do not therefore think, that the Americans stand on better ground than ourselves as to the literal terms of the treaty. Nay, we are convinced that these terms are wholly incapable of being executed, as they were obviously framed by persons entirely ignorant of the territory in question. In order to adjust this difference, it was agreed by the two contractinj* powers, on the 12th January 1829, to * Some of them fall into the Ristiji^ouche, and thence into the Baj' of Chaleur, which is also connected with the At .antic; the ar- gument with regard to these is exactly the same. DRITISn AMERICA. 43 refer it to the arbitration of the Kini? of Holland. Ac- cordingly, on the 10th January 1831 his majesty de- livired his award, in which he concluded, that neither of the proposed boundaries could be held as at all con- formable to the terms of the treaty, and proposed there- fore in their stead the river St John, which, as already stated, flows through the middle of the disputed dis- trict.* This decision was rejected by both parties, who represented that the office intrusted to the friendly monarch was to interpret the treaty in reference to the original terms, not to throw it aside and substitute an entirely new boundary of his own contrivance. He had produced, they said, not an interpretation, but a com- promise. This is no doubt true ; yet, agreeing with his majesty, that the treaty cannot be intelligibly interpreted, or possibly acted upon, and that the affiiir can be adjusted only by mutual concession, we cannot help thinking that the expedient proposed was deserving of a favourable consideration. The St John divides the territory in dispute into two not very unequal portions ; the posses- sion of the northern bank would secure to Britain the communimtion between New Brunswick and Canada, and prevent the frontier of the United States from en- croaching too close on the St Lawrence. A water bound- ary, where it can be procured, is usually preferred as the most precise and defensible ; and it is very probable that in this case it would have been adopted by the nego- tiators, had they not been wholly ignorant of its existence. At all events, it is extremely desirable that some adjust- ment should take place as speedily as possible, before the increasing ' nportance of the land shall render it a sub- ject of serious dissension between two great nations.t • His majesty proposes that the line, after following for a con- siderable space upwards the course of the St John, should take that of its small tributary the St Francis, and by it reach and follow the American land-boundary. We do not perceive the motive or ad- vantage of this deviation ; our reasoning proceeds upon tlie St John being made the boundary throughout, till it strikes the American frontier. t Bouchette, vol. i. p. 18-22, 489-498. M'Gregor, vol. i. p. 140. 44 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING CHAPTER II. The Native Indians inhabiting Canada and its Borders. Peculiar Condition of those Tribes — Their Physical Character- Form — Colour— Hair and Beard— Bodily Strength — Dress— Or- naments— Paintinfj and Tattooin,;^ oi' the Skin— Modes of Sub- sistence— Iluntinjr — Cultivation — Fcod — Houses — Canoes — Spirit of Independence — Internal Order — IVIarria^es — Rearing of Children— Intellectual Character — Oratory— Style of Compo- sition — Religious Ideas — Importance attached to Dreams — The JManitou — Ideas of a Future State— Reverence for the Dead — Ceremonies of Interment — Superstitious Modes of curing the Sick — Indian Wars — Their Motives — Preparations — March — Modes of attacking and surprising the Enemy — Return — Treat- ment of Prisoners; Tortures; Adoption — Treaties — Indian Amusements — Music — Dancing — Smoking — Games — Different Tribes i.%ViB.>:5|3i; ••••4^-^ CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 55 e coun- lien go- 28, that, inspire esought ;n they t would the seat the tat- )urs are h^j inci- iis guar- ol of his lis every !S whom on some I warrior ays form Writers smii, how ,nd is ne- to attain 3ly leave iry, these erform a the most contrary will not the same citement. zed parts Imost the >rtance to red by its the same [n his na- WeW, pp. l()G5. tive state, the arrow was the favourite and almost ex- clusive instrument for assailing distant objects ; but now the gun has nearly superseded it. The great hunts are rendered more animating, as well as more effectual, from being carried on in large parties, and even by whole tribes. The men are prepared for these by fasting, dream- ing, and other superstitious observances, similar to those which we shall find employed in anticipation of war. In such expeditions, too, contrivance and skill, as well as boldness and enterprise, are largely employed. Some- times a circle is formed, when all the animals surrounded by it are pressed closer and closer, till they are collected in the centre, and fall under the accumulated weight of weapons. On other occiisions they are driven to the mg'-gin of a lake or river, in which, if they attempt to seek refuge, canoes are ready to intercept them. Else- where a space is enclosed by stakes, only a narrow opening being left, which, by clamour and shouts, the game are compelled to enter, and thereby secured. In autumn and spring, when the ice is newly formed and slight, they are pushed upon it, and their legs brea: ing through, they are easily caught. In winter, when the snow begins to fall, traps are set, in which planks are so arranged, that the animal, in snatching at the bait, is crushed to death. Originally the deer, both for food and clothing, was the most valuable object of chase ; but since the trade with Europeans has given such a pro- minent importance to furs, the beaver has in some de- gree supplanted it. In attacking this animal, great care is taken to prevent his escape into the water, on which his habitation always borders ; and with this view va- rious kinds of nets and springes are employed. On some occasions the Indians place themselves upon the dike which encloses his amphibious village. They then make an opening in it, when the inmates, alarmed by seeing the water flowing out, hasten to this barrier, where they encounter their enemies, armed with all the instruments of destruction. At other times, when ice covers the surface of the pond, a hole is made, at which •I i ^MMTfllill^ 56 THE NATIVE INDIANS INIIABITINO the animal comes to respire ; he is then drawn out, and secured. The hear is a formidable enemy, which must be assailed by the combined force of the hunters, who are ranged in two rows, armed with bows or muskets. One of them advances, and wounds him, and, on being furiously pursued, he retreats between the files, fol- lowed in the same line by the animal, which is then overwhelmed by their united onset. In killing these quadrupeds, the natives seem to feel a sort of kindness and sympathy for their victim. On vanquishing a beaver or a bear, they celebrate its praises in a song, recounting those good qualities which it will never more be able to display, yet consoling themselves with the useful pur- poses to which its flesh and its skin will be applied.* Of the animals usually tamed and rendered subservient to useful purposes, the Americans have only the dog, that faithful friend of man. Though his services in hunting are valuable, he is treated with no tenderness ; but is left to roam about the dwelling, very sparingly supplied with food and shelter. A missionary who resided in a Huron village represents his life as having been ren- dered miserable hy these animals. At night they laid themselves on his person, for the benefit of the warmth ; and whenever his scanty meal was set down, their snouts were always first in the dish. Dog's flesh is eaten, and has even a peculiar sanctity attached to it. On all solemn festivals it is the principal meat, the use of which on such occasions seems to import some high and mysterious meaning. But besides the cneering avocations of the chase, other means must be used to ensure the comfort and sub- sistence of the Indian's family ; all of which, however, are most ungenerously devolved upon the weaker sex. Women, according to Creuxius, serve them as domestics, as tailors, as peasants, and as oxen ; and Long does not • Chateaubriand's Travels in America and Italy (2 vols 8vo, London, 1828), vol. i. p. 269-279. Carver's Travels through the Interior Parts of North America (8vo, London, 1778), p. 287-290. Long, p. 96. ■mHim CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 67 conceive that any other purposes of their existence arc recognised, except those of bearing children and per- forming hard work. They till the ground, carry wood and water, build huts, make canoes, and fish ; in which latter processes, however, and in reaping the harvest, their lords deign to give occasional aid. So habituated are they to such occupations, that when one of them saw a party of English soldiers collecting wood, she ex- claimed, that it was a shame to see men doing women's work, and be[;an herself to carry a load.* Through the services of this enslaved portion of the tribe, those savages are enabled to combine in a certain degree the agricultural with the hunting state, without any mixture of the pastoral, usually considered as inter- mediate. Cultivation, however, is limited to small spots in the immediate vicinity of the villages, and these being usually at the distance of sixteen or seventeen miles from each other, it scarcely makes any impression on the im- mense expanse of forest. The women, in the beginning of summer, after having burned the stu])ble of the preced- ing crop, rudely stir the ground with a long crooked piece of wood ; they then throw in the grain, which is chiefly the coarse but productive species of maize pecu- liar to the continent. The nations in the south have a considerable variety of fruits ; whereas those of Canada appear to have raised only turnsoles, water-melons, and pompions. Tobacco used to be grown largely ; but that imported by Europeans is now universally preferred, and has become a regular object of trade. The grain, after harvest (which is celebrated by a festival), is lodged in large subterraneous stores lined with bark, where it keeps extremely well . Previous to being placed in these, it ''^ sometimes thra^hed, on other occasions merely tlie ears are cut off, and thrown in. When first discovered by settlers from Europe, the degrees of culture were found to vary in different tribes. The Algonquins, who were the ruling people previous to the arrival of the French, • Colden^s History of the Five Natioas (2 vols r2mo, London, 1755), vol. i. pp. 7} 14. Creuxius, p. 57. i-ong, pp. 137, 13^' i 58 THE NATIVE INDIANS INIIAniTINO wholly despised it, and branded as plebeian their neigh- bours, by whom it was praetised. In general, the north- ern clans, and those near the mouth of the St Lawrence, depended almost solely on hunting and hsliing; and when these failed they were reduced to dreadful extre- mities, being often obliged to depend on the miserable resource of that species of lichen called tripe de roehe. The maize, when thrashed, is occasionally toasted on the coals, and sometimes made into a coarse kind of unlea- vened cake. But the most favourite preparation is that called sagamityy a species of i)ap formed after it has been roasted, bniised, and separated from the husk. It is in- sipid by itself ; yet when thrown into the pot, along with tlic prf duce of the chase, it cnricheR the soup or stew, one of the principal dishes at their feasts. They never eat victuals raw, but rather overboiled ; nor have they yet been brought to endure French ragouts, salt, pepper, or indeed any species of condiment. A chief, admitted to the governor's table, seeing the general use of mustard, was led by curiosity to take a spoonful and put it into his mouth. On feeling its violent effects, he made incredible efforts to conceal them, and escape the ridicule of the company ; but severe sneezings, and the tears starting from his eyes, soon betrayed him, and raised a geneml laugh. He was then shown the manner in which it should be used ; but nothing could ever induce him to allow the " boiling yellow," as he termed it, to enter liis lips. The Indians are capable of extraordinary abstinence from food, in which they can persevere for successive days without complaint or apparent suffering. They even take a pride in long fasts, by which they usually prepare themselves for any great undertaking. Yet when once set down to a feast, their gluttony is described as enomious, and the capacity of their stomachs almost incredible. They will go from feast to feast, doing ho- nour to each in succession. The chief giving the entertain- ment does not partake, but with his own hands distributes portions among the guests. On solemn occasions, it is HHttt CANADA AND ITS DORDERS. 59 neigh- north- vreiK'c, g; and . extrc- ist'rablc 'oche. sted on funlca- L is that as been It is in- ng with 3r stew, ever eat hey yet pper, or id to the ird, was into liis eredible of the starting general vhich it 3 him to to enter ►stinence iccessive They usually g. Yet lescribed IS almost oing ho- ntertain- stributes ms, it is a nilo that every thing shall be eaten ; nor does this obli- gation seem to be felt as either burdensome or unplea- sant. In their native state, they were not acquauited with any speeies of intoxicating liquors ; their love of ardent spirits, attended with so many ruuious effects, having been entirely consequent on their intercourse witli Europeans.* The habitations of the Indians receive much less of their attention than tlie attire or at least embellishment of theu' persons. Our countrjnnen, by common consent, give to them no better appellation than cabins. The bark of trees is their chief material both for houses and boats ; they peel it o(f with considerable skill, sometimes strip- ping a whole tree in one piece. This coating, spread not unskilfully over a framework of poles, and fastened to them by strips of tough rind, forms their dwellings. Tht; shape, according to the owner's fancy, resembles a lab, a cone, or a cart-shed, the mixture of which gives to the village a confused and chaotic appearance. Light and heat are admitted only by an aperture at the toj), through which also the smoke escapes, after filling all the upper part of the mansion. Little inconvenience is felt from this by the natives, who, within doors, never think of any position except sitting or lying ; but to Europeans, who must occasionally stand or walk, the abode is thereby rendered almost intolerable ; and mat- ters become much worse when rain or snow makes it ne- cessary to close the roof. These structures are sometimes upwards of a hundred feet long ; but they are then the residence of two or three separate families. Four of them occasionally compose a quadrangle, each pr^n on the inside, and having a common tire in tiiv; centre. Formerly the Iroquois had houses somewhat superior, adorned even with some rude carving ; but these were burnt down by the French in successive expeditions, and have never been rebuilt in the same style. The * Charlevoix, vol. ii. p. 121-125. Adair, p. 409-412. Creuxiiis, p. '■ France, ans l(i57, 1658, pp. 106, 107. 66. ' Missions en la Nouvelld France, 60 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING Canadians in this respect seem to be surpassed by the Choktaws, Chikasaws, and other tribes in the south, and even by the Saukies in the west, whose mansions Carver describes as constructed of well-hewn planks, neatly jointed, and each capable of containing several families. In their expeditions, whether for war or hunting, which often lead them through desolate forests, several hundred miles from home, the Indians have the art of rearing, with great expedition, temporary abodes. On arriving at their evening str.tion, a few poles, meeting at top in the form o* a cone, are in half an hour covered with bark, and having spread a few pine-branches within by way of mattress, they sleep as soundly as on beds of down. Like the Esquimaux, they also understand how to convert snow into a material for building ; and find it in the depth of winter the warmest and most comfortable. A few twigs platted together secure the roof. Our own countrymen, in their several campaigns, have, in cases of necessity, used with advantage this species of bivouac. The furniture in these native huts is exceedingly sim- ple. The chief articles are two or three pots or kettles for boiling their food, with a few wooden plates and spoons. The former, in the absence of metal, with which the inhabitants were unacquainted, were made of coarse earthenware that resisted the fire ; and sometimes of a species of soft stone, which could be excavated with their rude hatchets. Nay, in some cases, their kitchen utensils were of wood, and the water made to boil by throwing in heated stones. Since their acquaintance with Europeans, the superiority of iron vessels has been found so decided, that they are now universally pre- ferred. The great kettle or cauldron, employed only on high festivals associated with religion, hunting, or war, attracts even a kind of veneration ; and potent chiefs have assumed its name as their title of honour. Canoes, another fabric which the Indians construct very rudely, are yet adapted with considerable skill to CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 61 on mr, liefs ict to their purpose. These are usually framed of the bark of a smgle tree, strengthened at the centre with ribs of tough wood. The ends are of bark only, but being- curved upwards, are always above water, and thus remain perfectly tight. Our sailors can scarcely believe such nut-shells safe even on the smoothest waters, and see with surprise the natives guiding them amid stormy waves, where their very lightness and buoyancy pre- serve them from sinking. They have another quality of great advantage in the devious pursuits of the own- ers ; being so extremely light, that they can be easily conveyed on the shoulder from one river or branch of a lake to another. One man, it is said, can carry on his back a canoe in which twelve persons may navigate with safety.* Having taken this minute survey of the physical con- dition of the Indians, we shall proceed to an examination of their social condition. The fundamental principle of their polity is the complete independence of every indivi- dual, his right to do whatever he pleases, be it good or bad, nay, even though criminal and destructive. When any one announces an intention which is disagreeable to his neighbours, they dare not attempt to check him by reproach or coercion ; these would only riv^et his deter- mination more strongly. Their only resource is to sooth him, like a spoiled child, by kind words, and especially by gifts. If, notwitlistanding, he proceeds to wound or murder any one, the public look on without concern, though revenge is eagerly sought by the kindred of the injured person. Notwithstanding this impunity, which, on our side of the Atlantic, would be followed by the most dreadful consequences, it is somewhat mortifying to the pride of European civilisation to learn, that there reigns a degree of tranquillity greater than the strictest police can pre- serve with us. The Indians are divided into a number of little nations or tribes, fiercely hostile to each other, * Charlevoix, vol, ii. p. 127- 130. Weld, p. 383.:^8:). Creuxius, p. 08. Carver, pp. 4f', 231-233. Adair, p. 413-42U. i 62 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING I but whose members are bound among themselves by the strictest union. The honour and welfare of the clan sup- ply their ruling principle, and are cherished with an ar- dour not surpassed in the most brilliant eras of Greek and Roman patriotism. This national attachment forms a so- cial tie, linking the members to each other, and rendering exceedingly rare, not only deeds of violence, but even personal quarrels, and banishing entirely that coarse and abusive language which is so prevalent among the vulgar in more enlightened communities. This feeling, added to the sentiment of dignity and self-command considered suitable to the character of a warrior, renders their de- portment exceedingly pleasing. They are completely free from that false shame which is termed mauvaise honte. When seated at table with Europeans of the highest rank, they retain the most thorough self-posses- sion ; and at the same time, by carefully observing the proceedings of the other guests, they avoid all awkward- ness in their manners. Their generosity, too, in relieving each other's necessities scarcely knows any bounds, and only stops short of an absolute community of goods. No member of a tribe can be in the least danger of starving, if the rest have whorcwitli to supply him. Children rendered orphans by the casualties to which savage life is subject, are immediately taken in charge by the nearest relative, and supplied with every thing needful, as abundantly as if they were his own. Nothing gives them a more unfavourable opinion of the French and English, than to see one portion revelling in abund- ance, while the other suffers the extremities of want ; but when they are told that, for want of these accom- modations, men are seized by their fellow-creatures and immured in dungeons, such a degree of barbarism appears to them almost incredible. Whole tribes, when obliged by the vicissitudes of war to seek refuge among their neighbours, are received with unbounded liospitality ; habitations and lands are assigned to them, and they are treated by their new friends in every themselves. ?spect as a part may. '.Che ver, pp. France, I II ■■=??T;;-»-vr'r;j'":.;^ CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 63 T, be observed, that as such an accession of numbers augments the military strength of the tribe, there may be a mix- ture of policy in this cordial reception.* In consequence of this spirit of order and internal union, the unbounded personal freedom which marks their social condition seldom breaks out into such crimes as would disturb the public peace. Its greatest evil, of which we shall see repeated instances, is, that indivi- duals actuated by revenge or a spirit of daring enter- prise, think themselves justified in surprising and mur- dering a hated adversary. From this cause every treaty between the tribes is rendered precarious ; though, as each is aware of these lawless propensities, room is left for mutual explanation, so that particular outrages may not involve a general war. This circumstance leads us to noti ;e, that the favourable aspect presented ])y the inte- rior of these communities can by no means warrant any conclusion as to the superiority of savage life when com- pared with that of civilized man. On the contrary, the most perfect form of government devised by the human being in the state of nature, has never been exempted from those feelings of relentless enmity and continual fear with which bordering nations regard each other. These, as will appear in the sequel, often impel them to the most direful crimes ; but at present we shall pro- ceed with our survey of their domestic usages. Some writers have denied that there exists among the Indians any thing that can properly be termed a matri- monial union. This, however, seems only a prejudice, in consequence of there not being any regular cere- mony, as with us. The man, it appeai-s, after having made an arrangement with the parent of his bride, takes her home, and they live in every respect as husband and wife. The mode of courtship among several of the tribes is singular. The wooer, attended often by several com- rades, repairs at midnight to his fair one's apartinont, * .Charlevoix, vol. ii. pp. 30-32, 86, 87. Creuxius, pp. 72, 73. Car- ver, pp. 248, 412. Adair, pp. 37ii, 412. Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1037, I()5i', p. 128. 64 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING and three times twitches her nose. If she be inclined to listen to his suit, she rises ; otherwise he must depart. Though this visit he so very unseasonable, it is said to be rarely accompanied with any impropriety ; the mis- sionaries, however, did not think it right to sanction such freedoms in their converts. The preliminary step is, in this mnnner, tal n with the lady, but the decision still rests with the fat 'iPi . to whom the suilor now applies. Long has given ri > li .pleasing specimen of the address : ** Father, I love your daughter — will you give her to me, that the small roots of her heart may entangle with mine, so that the strongest wind that blows may never separate them f He offers at the same time a handsome present,, the acceptance of which is considered as sealing the union. Considerable discrepancy prevails in the de- scriptions, and apparently in the practice, as applied to different tribes ; yet, on the whole, great reserve and propriety seem to mark this intercourse. The young men of the Five Nations valued themselves highly for their correct conduct towards the other sex. Of nume- rous female captives who fell into their hands during a long series of wars, though some were possessed of great personal beauty, no one had to complain that her honour was exposed to the slightest danger. The girls themselves are not always quite so exemplary ; but their failures are viewed with indulgence, and form no obstacle to marriage. Once united by that tie, how- ever, a strict fidelity is expected and commonly observed. The husband, generally speaking, is not jealous, unless when intoxicated ; but when his suspicions are really excited regarding the conduct of his partner, he is very indignant, beats her, bites off her nose, and dis- misses her in disgrace. There are occasional instances of a divorce being inflicted without any asi>igned rea- son ; but such arbitrary proceeding is by no means fre- quent. As the wife performs the whole labour, and furnishes a great part of the subsistence, she is usually considered too valuable a possession to be rashly parted with. In some cases these domestic dioidges become 93, 136. finawriifidi ■- 1 1 mw CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 65 The less ally is dls- nces rea- fre- and lally irted ome even an object of dispute and competition. A mission- ary mentions a woman, who, during the absence of her husband, formed a new connexion. Her first partner having returned, without being agitated by any delicate sensibilities, demanded her back. The question was referred to a chief, who could contrive no better scheme than that of placing her at a certain distance from both, and decreeing that he who should first reach her should have her ; " thus," says he, " the wife fell to him who had the best legs." With regard to polygamy, the usual liberty is claimed, and by the chiefs in the west and the south it is indulged to a considerable extent ; but among the tribes on the lakes the piactice is rare and lunited. When it does occur, the man very com- monly marries his wife's sister, and even her whole family, on the presumption, we may suppose, that the household will be thereby rendered more harmonious. The Indian is said never to betray the slightest symp- tom of tenderness towards his wife or children. If he meets them on his return from a distant expedition, he proceeds without taking the slightest notice, and seats himself in his cabin as if he had not been a day absent. Yet his exertions for their welfare, and the eagerness with which he avenges their wrongs, testify that this li^ parent apathy springs only from pride and a fancied sense of decorum. It is equally displayed with regard to his own most urgent wants. Though he may have been without food during several days, and enters a neighbour's house, notlimg can make him st'^op to ask for a morsel.* The rearing (for it cannot be called the education) of the children is chiefly arranged so that it may cost the parents the least possible trouble in addition to the labour of procuring their subsistence. The father is either engrossed by war and hunting, or resigned to total indolence ; while the mother, oppressed by various toils, • La Potherie, Bacqueville de, Histoire de I'Amerique Septen- trionale (4 tomes 12mo, Paris 1674), vol. ii pp. 22, 31. Loni^, pp. 93,136. Carver, pp. 230-241, 367-376, 410. VOL, I, D ! I I timm 66 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING \. ) ) Infant n a Frame. canrot devote much time to the cares of nisrture. Th iiifart, therefore, being fastened with pieces of skii to a boKV'J spread with soft moss, is laid on the ground or suspersdfid to the branch of a tree, where it swuigs as in a o);i*sh!*t' \-r, »»i»>»rr^">*-m ..-y-T-rrf ;raui iions. CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 67 which are to be their glory in after-life. As manhood approaches, they spontaneously assume that serious cha- racter, that studied and stately gravity, of which the example has been set by their elders.* The intellectual character of the American savage presents some very striking peculiarities. Considering his unfavourable condition, he of all other human beings might seem doomed to make the nearest approach to the brute ; whUe, in point of fact, without any aid from let- ters or study, many of the higher faculties of his mind are developed in a very remarkable degree. He displays a decided superiority over the uninstructed labourer in a civilized community, whose mental energies are be- numbed amid the daily round of mechanical occupation. The former spends a great part of his life in arduous enterprises, where much contrivance is requisite ; and whence he must often extricate hunself by presence of mind and ingenuity. His senses, particularly those of seeing and smelling, have acquired by practice an almost preternatural acuteness. He can trace an animal or a foe by indications which to a European eye would be wholly imperceptible ; and in his wanderings he gathers a minute acquaintance with the geography of the coun- tries which he traverses. He can even draw a rude out- line of them by applying a mixture of charcoal and grease to prepared skins, and on seeing a regular map he soon understands its construction, and readily finds out places. His facility in discovering the most direct way to spots situated at the distance of hundreds of miles, and known perhaps only by the report of his countrymen, is truly astonishing. It has been ascribed by some to a mysterious and supernatural instinct, but it appears to be achieved by merely observing the dif- ferent aspect of the trees or shrubs when exposed to the north or the south, as also the position of the sun, which he can point out, although hidden by clouds. Even where there is a beaten track, if at all circuitous. I • Chateaubriand, vol. i. pp. 129, 213. Weld, pp. 387, 388. 68 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING he strikes directly through the woods, and reaches hk destination by the straightest possible line.* Other faculties of a higher order are developed by the scenes amid which the life of savages is spent. They are divided into a number of little communities, be- tween which are actively carried on all the relations of war, negotiation, treaty, and alliance. As mighty revolutions, ol)serves an eloquent writer, take place in these kingdoms of wood and cities of bark, as in tlie most powerful civilized states. To increase the in- fluence, and extend the possessions of their own tribe, to humble and if possible desti'oy those hostile to them, are the constant aims of every member of those little com- monwealths. For these ends, not only deeds of daring valour are achieved, but schemes are deeply laid, and pursued with the most accurate calculation. There is scarcely a refinement in European diplomacy to which they are strangers. The French once made an attempt to crush the confederacy of the Five Nations, by at- tacking each in succession ; but as they were on their march against the first tribe, they were met by the deputies of the others, who offered their rnediation, intimating, that if it were rejected, they would make common cause with the one threatened. That associa- tion also showed that they completely understood how to employ the hostility which prevailed between their enemy and the English for promoting their own aggran- dizement. Embassies, announced by the calumet of peace, are constantly passing from one tribe to another. The same 2)olitical circumstances develop in an extra- ordinary degree the powers of oratory ; for nothing of any importance is transacted without a speech. On every emergency a council of the tribe is called, when the aged and wise hold long deliberations for the pu1>lic weal. The best speakers are despatched to conduct their ne- gotiations, the object of which is unfolded in studied harangues. The functions of orator, among the Five • Weld, p. 391-394. Long, p. 83. Carver, pp. 241, 242. Nation; equal c each cl to spea was a could f thine Ci all the their sp the En£ of Cicer tion is p which w and whii The oral but give he tlirea If he soli those of friendly who is ft down th( ing the witnessei th« idea So expre been cor Slates an another's Thecc elaborate to be sus attain so in the hi images a hatchet. War; to * Missio 260. Cold ■ fc'- t l K iW ' iW tllB-t'wr 1 CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 69 Nations, had even become a separate profession, held in equal or higher honour than that of the warrior ; and each clan appomted the most eloquent of their number to speak for them in the public council. Nay, there was a general orator for the whole confederacy, who could say to the French governor, " Ononthio, lend thine ear ; I am the mouth of all the country ; you hear all the Iroquois in hearing my word." Decanesora, their speaker at a later period, was greatly admired by the English, and his bust was thought to resemble that of Cicero. In their dip^>matic discourses, each proposi- tion is prefaced by the delivery of a belt of wampum, of which what follows is understood to be the explanation, and which is to be preserved as a record of the conference. The orator does not express his proposals in words only, but gives to every sentence its appropriate action. If he threatens war, he wildly brandishes the tomahawk ; if he solicits alliance, he twines his arms closely with those of the chief whom he addresses ; and if he invites friendly intercourse, he assumes all the attitudes of one who is forming a road in the Indian manner, by cutting down the trees, clearing them away, and carefully remov- ing the leaves and branches. To a French writer, who witnessed the delivery of a solemn embassy, it suggested the idea of a company of actors perfomaing on a stage. So expressive are their gestures, that negotiations have been conducted and alliances concluded between petty Slates and communities who understood nothing of one another's language.* The composition of the Indian orators is studied and elaborate. The language of the Iroquois is even held to be susceptible of an Attic elegance, which few can attain so fully as to escape all criticism. It is figurative in the highest degree, every notion being expressed by images addressed to the senses. Thus, to throw up the hatchet, or to put on the great cauldron, is to begin a war ; to throw the hatchet to the sky, is to wage open * Missions en la Nouvelle France, an 1644, p. B7-93. Carver, p. 260. Golden, vol. i. p. 169; et seq. Adair, p. 79. 70 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING and terrible war ; to take off the cauldron, or to bury the hatchet, is to make peace ; to plant the tree of peace on the highest mountain of the earth, is to make a general pacification. To throw a prisoner into the cauldron is to devote him to torture and death ; to take him out, is to pardon and receive him as a member of the community. Ambassadors coming to propose a full and general treaty say, " We rend the clouds asunder, and drive away all darkness from the heavens, that the sun of peace may shine with brightness over us all." On another occasion, referring to their own violent conduct, they said, " We are glad that Assarigoa will bury in the pit what is past ; let the earth be trodden hard over it, or rather let a strong stream run under the pit to wash away the evil," They afterwards added, " We now plant a tree, whose top will reach the sun, and its branches spread far abroad, and we shall shelter ourselves under it, and live in peace." To send the collar underground, is to carry on a secret negotiation ; but when expressing a desire that there might be no duplicity or concealment between them and the French, they said, that " they wished to fix the sun in the top of the heaven, immediately above that pole, that it might beat directly down, and leave nothing in obscurity." In pledging themselves to a firm and steady peace, they declared that they would not only throw down the great war-cauldron, and cause all the water to flow out, but would break it in pieces. This disposition to represent every thing by a sensible object extends to mattera the most important. One powerful people assumed the ap- pellation of Foxes, while another gloried in that of Cats. Even when the entire nation bore a different ap- pellation, separate fraternities distinguished themselves as the tribe of the Bear, the Tortoise, and the Wolf. They did not disdain a reference even to inanimate things. The Black Cauldron was at one time the chief warrior of the Five Nations ; and Red Shoes was a person of distinction, well known to Long the traveller. When the cliiefs concluded treaties with Europeans, their ■iL CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 71 signature consisted in a picture, "ten tolerably well executed, of the beast or object after which they chose to be named.* The absence among these tribes of any written or even pictorial mode of recording events was supplied by the memories of their old men, which were so retentive that a cei-tain writer calls them living books. Their only remembrancer consisted in the wampum belts ; of which one was appropriated to each division of a speech or treaty, and had seemingly a powerful effect in calling it to recollection. On the close of the transaction, these were deposited as public documents, to be drawn forth on great occasions, when the orators, and even the old women, could repeat verbatim the passage to which each referred. Europeans were thus enabled to collect in- formation concerning the revolutions of different tribes, for several ages preceding their own arrival.t The earliest visiters of the New World, on seeing among the Indians neither priests, temples, idols, nor sa- crifices, represented them as a people wholly destitute of religious opinions. Closer inquiry, however, showed that a belief in the spiritual world, however imperfect, had a commanding influence over almost all theiractions. Their creed includes even some lofty and pure conceptions. Un- der the title of the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, the maker of heaven and earth, they distinctly recognise a supreme ruler of the universe, and an arbiter of their destiny. A party of them, when informed by the mis- sionaries of the existence of a being of infinite power, who had created the heavens and the earth, with one consent exclaimed, " Atahocan ! Atahocan /" — that be- ing the name of their principal deity. According to Long, the Indians among whom he resided ascribe every event, propitious or unfortunate, to the favour or ■ La Potherie, preface to tome iii. Golden, vol. i. pp. 15, 49, 175. Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1655, lod6, p. 21-. Weld, p. 395. f Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1659, 1660, p. 28. Weld, pp. »89, 390. 72 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING anger of the Master of Life. They address hin f »r their daily subsistence ; they believe him to convey to them presence of mind in battle ; and amid tortures they thank him for inspiring them with courage. Yet thougli this one elevated and just conception is deeply graven on their minds, it is combined with others which show all the imperfection of unassisted reason in attempting to think rightly on this great subject. It may even be observed, that the term, rendered into our language " great spirit," does not really convey the idea of an immaterial nature. It imports with them merely some being possessed of lofty and mysterious powers, and in this sense is applied to men, and even to animals. The brute creation, which occupies a prominent place in all their ideas, is often viewed by them as invested, to a great extent, with supernatural powers, — an extreme absurdity, which, however, they share with the civilized creeds of Egypt and India. When the missionaries, on their first arrival, at- tempted to form an idea of the Indian mythology, it ap- peared to them extremely complicated, more especially because those who attempted to explain it had no fixed opinions. Each man differed from his neighbour, and at another time from hunself, and when the discre- pancies were pointed out no attempt was made to re- concile them. The southern tribes, who had a more settled faith, are described by Adair as intoxicated with spiritual pride, and denouncing even their European allies as " the accursed people." The native Canadian, on the contrary, is said to have been so little tenacious, that he would at any time renounce all his theological errors for a pipe of tobacco, though, as soon as it was smoked, he immediately relapsed. An idea was found prevalent respecting a certain mystical animal, called Mesou or Messessagen, who, when the earth was buried in water, had drawn it up and restored it. Others spoke of a contest between the hare, the fox, the beaver, and the seal, for the empire of the world. Among the prin- cipal nations of Canada the hare is thought to have at- tained (1 and th( terms. distinct tluit its I natural, l>ecome as their Todi favourit by vari through sacred c taking, ( principa amined ; duct is g the slcej imagines article o impropr William tiating a fidential been fav upon hin Thefulfi yet on 1 English ( form. S( dream w which th tract of native ri vouchsaf to cease turned m • Adair, p. 139. C t Charle •urn CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 73 tained a decided pre-eminence ; and hence the Great Spirit and the Great Hare are sometimes used as synonymous tenns. What shouhl have raised this creature to sucli distinction seems rather unaccountahio ; unkss it were that its extreme swiftness mij^ht appear something super- natural. Among the Ottawas ah)ne the heavenly hodies Ixjcome an ohject of veneration ; the sun appears to rank as their supreme deity.* To dive into the ahyss of futurity has always been a favourite object of supei-stition. It has l)een attempted by various means ; but the Indian seeks it chiefly through his dreams, which always bear with him a sacred character. Before engaging in any high under- taking, especially in hunting or war, the dreams of the principal chiefs arc carefully watched and studiously ex- amined ; and according to the interpretation their con- duct is guided. A whole nation has been set in motion by the sleeping fancies of a single man. Sometimes a person imagines in his sleep that he has been presented with an article of value by another, who then cannot without impropriety leave the omen unfulfilled. When Sir William Johnson, during the American war, was nego- tiating an alliance with a friendly tribe, the chief con- fidentially disclosed that during his slumbers he had been favoured with a vision of Sir William bestowing upon him the rich laced coat which formed his full dress. The fulfilment of this revelation was very inconvenient ; yet on being assured that it positively occurred, the English commander found it advisable to resign his uni- form. Soon after, however, he unfolded to the Indian a dream with which he had himself been favoured, and in which the former was seen presenting him with a large tract of fertile land most commodiously situated. The native ruler admitted that since the vision had been vouchsafed it must be realized, yet earnestly proposed to cease this mutual dreaming, which he found had turned much to his own disadvantage.t • Adair, p. 32. La Potherie, tome ii. pp. 3-8, 11, 12. Long, p. 139. Creuxius, p. 84. •j- Charlevoix, vol. ii. p. 156-158. Creuxius, p. 84. Long, p. 89. I 74 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING The manitou is an object of peculiar veneration ; and the fixing upon this guardian power is not only the most important event in the history of a youth, but even con- stitutes his initiation into active life. As a preliminary, his face is painted black, and he undergoes a severe fast, wliich is, if possible, prolonged for eight days. This is preparatory to the dream in wliich he is to behold the idol destined ever after to afford him aid and protection. In this state of excited expectation, and while every noc- turnal vision is carefully watched, there seldom fails to occur to his mind something which, as it makes a deep impression, is pronounced his manitou. Most commonly it is a trifling and even fantastic article ; the head, beak, or claw of a bird, the hoof of a cow, or even a piece of wood. However, having undergone a thorough perspira- tion in one of their vapour-baths, he is laid on his back, and a picture of it is drawn upon his breast by needles of fish-bone dipt in vermilion. A good specimen of the original being procured, it is carefully treasured up ; and to it he applies in every emergency, hoping that it will inspire his dreams and secure to him every kind of good fortune. When, however, notwithstanding every means of propitiating its favour, misfortunes befall him, the manitou is considered as having exposed itself to just and serious reproach. He begins with remonstrances, representing all that has been done for it, the disgrace it incurs by not protecting its votary, and, finally, the danger that, in case of repeated neglect, it may be dis- carded for another. Nor is this considered merely as an empty threat ; for if the manitou is judged incorrigible it is thrown away ; and by means of a fresh course of fasting, dreaming, sweating, and painting, another is installed, from whom better success may be hoped.* The absence of temples, worship, sacrifices, and all the observances to which superstition prompts the un- tutored mind, is a remarkable circumstance, and, as we have already remarked, led the early visiters to believe that the Indians were strangers to all religious ideas. Yet * Charlevoix, vol. ii. pp. 145, 146. La Potherie, vol. ii. p. 11, &c. the mi their g be eate honour gical 82 were w( ficence i told tho he had ment to observe! and sac means ^ the onl} tempore The mij the wo( Standiuj the whi getting i it was c devotioi severam length, observec crying ^ The I among i and moi a distinc transpoi ence, fr( throw s their coi exalted • Misi + La an 1667, X Aniii bent. C CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 75 the missionaries found room to suspect, that some of their great feasts, in which every thing presented must be eaten, bore an idolatrous character, and were held in honour of the Great Hare. The Ottawas, whose mytholo- gical system seems to have been the most complicated, were wont to keep a regular festival to celebrate the bene- ficence of the sun ; on which occasion the luminary was told that this service was in return for the good hunting he had procured for his people, and as an encourage- ment to persevere in his friendly cares. They were also observed to erect an idol in the middle of their town, and sacrifice to it ; but such ceremonies were by no means general. On first witnessing Christian worship, the only idea suggested by it was that of their asking some temporal good, which was either granted or refused.* The missionaries mention two Hurons, who arrived from the woods soon after the congregation had assembled. Standing without, they began to speculate what it was the white men were asking, and then whether they were getting it. As the service continued beyond expectation, it was concluded they were not getting it ; and as the devotional duties still proceeded, they admired the per- severance with which this rejected suit was urged. At length, when the vesper hymn began, one of the savages observed to the other : — " Listen to them now in despair, crying with all their might."t The grand doctrine of a life beyond the grave was, among all the tribes of America, most deeply cherished, and most sincerely believed.;}: They had even formed a distinct idea of the region whither they hoped to be transported, and of the new and happier mode of exist- ence, free from those wars, tortures, and cruelties, which throw so dark a shade over their lot upon earth. Yet their conceptions on this subject were by no means either exalted or spiritualized. They expected simply a pro- • Missions en la Nouvelle France, an 1635, p. 72. + La Potherie, vol. ii. p. 12. Missions en la Nouvelle France, an 1667, p. 53-56 ; an 1635, p. 72. X Aniniorum immortaiitatem persuasissimara quidera omnes ha- bent. Creuxius, p. 87. 1 76 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING longation of their present life and enjoyments, under more favourable circumstances, and with the same objects furnished in greater choice and abundance. In that brighter land the sun ever shines unclouded, the forests abound with deer, the lakes and rivers with fish ; bene- fits which are farther enhanced in their imagination by a faithful wife and dutiful children. They do not reach it, however, till after a journey of several months, and encountering various obstacles, — a broad river, a chain of lofty mountains, and the attack of a furious dog. Tliis favoured country lies far in the west, at the remotest boundary of the earth, which is supposed to terminate in a steep precipice, with the ocean rolling beneath. Some- times in the too eager pursuit of game the spirits fall over, and are converted into fishes. The local position of their paradise appears connected with certain obscure intima- tions received from their wandering neighbours of the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains, and the distant shores of the I'acific. This system of belief labours under a great defect, inasmuch as it scarcely connects felicity in the future world with virtuous conduct in the present. The one is held to be simply a continuation of the other ; and under this impression, the arms, ornaments,and every thing that had contributed to the welfare of the deceased, are interred along with him. This supposed assurance of a future life, so conformable to their gross habits and conceptions, was found by the missionaries a serious ob- stacle, when they attempted to allure them by the hope of a destiny, purer and higher indeed, but less accordant wdth their untutored conceptions. Upon being told that in the promised world they would neither hunt, eat, drink, nor marry a wife, many of them declared that, far from endeavouring to reach such an abode, they would consider their arrival there as the greatest calamity. Mention is made of a Huron girl whom one of the Chris- tian ministers was endeavouring to instruct, and whose first question was, what she >vould find to eat ? The an- swer being " Nothing," she then asked what she would see ; and being informed that she would see the Maker of heaven and earth, she expressed herself much at a loss w] only re dignani death i Anot is most is revei though deeply they ar< derness ration if any me: resource to procu all the 1^ tinue til desires t ever, are sunset. J the pro^ pended invited, quired do not their hea tinue loi ment.:{: ornamen richest r( nion of o ject of tl to procu] a proof half-nak( robes to * Missi 1635, p 4 "t" Cura i Charl CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 77 loss what she could have to say to him. Many not only rejected this destiny for themselves, hut were in- dignant at the efforts made to decoy their children after death into so dreary and comfortless a region.* Another sentiment, congenial with that now descrihed, is most deeply rooted in the mind of the Indians. This is reverence for the dead, with which Chateaubriand, though perhaps somewhat hastily, considers them more deeply imbued than any other people.t During life they are by no means lavish in their expressions of ten- derness ; but on the approach of the hour of final sepa- ration it is displayed with extraordinary force. When any member of a family becomes seriously ill, all the resources of magic and medicine are exhausted in order to procure his rocoveiy. When tlie fatal moment arrives, all the kindred l)urst into loud lamentations, which con- tinue till some person possessing the requisite authority desires them to cease. These expressions of grief, how- ever, are renewed for a considerable time, at sunrise and sunset. After three days the funeral takes place, when all the provisions which, the family can procure are ex- pended in a feast, to which the neighbours arc generally invited, and, although on all solemn occasions it is re- quired that every thing should be eaten, the relations do not partake. These last cut off their hair, cover their heads, paint their faces of a black colour, and con- tinue long to deny themselves every species of ..nii se- ment.;}; The deceased is then interred with his army and ornaments, his face painted, and his person attired iji the richest robes which they can furnish. It was the opi- nion of one of the early missionaries, that t' v' chief ob- ject of the Hurons in their traffic vvith the French was to procure materials for honouring their dead ; and as a proof of this, many of them have been seen shivering half-naked in the cold, while their hut contained ricli robes to be wrapped round them after their decease. • Missions en la Nouvelle France an 1637, pp 121, 170; an 1635, p 41. Creuxius, p. 87. Charlevoix, vol. li. pp. 154, 155. •j- Cura inj^ens mortuorum. Creuxius, p 91. J Charlevoix, vol. ii. p. 191. 78 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING The body is placed in the tomb in an upright posture, and skins are carefully spread round it, so that no part may touch the earth. This, however, is by no means the final ceremony, being followed by another far more solemn and singular. Every eighth, tenth, or twelfth year, according to the custom of the different nations, is celebrated the festival of the dead ; and till then the souls are supposed to hover round their former tene- ment, and not to depart for their final abode in the west. On this occasion the people march in procession to the places of interment, open the tombs, and, on behold- ing the mortal remains of their friends, continue some time fixed in mournful silence. The women then break out into loud cries, and the party begin to col- lect the bones, removing every remnant of flesh. The remains are thon wrapped in fresh and valuable robes, and conveyed amid continued lamentation to the family- cabin. A feast is then given, followed during several days by dances, games, and prize-combats, to which strangers often repah* from a great distance. This mode of celebration certainly accords ver^" 'U with the sad occasion ; yet the Greek and Roman obsequies were solemnized in a similar manner ; nay, in many parts of Scotland, till very recently, they were accompanied by festival, and often by revelry. The relics are then car- ried to the council-house of the nation, where they pre hung for exhibition along the walls, with fresh presents destined to be interred along with them. Sometimes they are even displayed from village to village. At length, being deposited in pit previously dug in the earth, and lined with the richest furs, they are finally entombed. Tears and lamentations are again lavished ; and during a few days food is brought to the place. The bones of their fathers are considered by the Indians the strongest ties to their native soil ; and when calamity forces them to quit it, these mouldering fragments are, if possible, conveyed along with them.* Under the head of religious rites we may include * Chateaubriand, vol. i. p. 215. vol. iL pp. 186, 187 ; 193-195. Cieuxius, p. 91. Charlevoix, CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 79 medicine, which is almost entirely within the domain of superstition. The great warmth of affection which, amid their apparent apathy, the natives cherish for each other, urges them, when their friends are seri- ously ill, to seek with the utmost eagerness for a re- medy. An order of men has thus arisen entirely dif- ferent from the rest of the society, uniting the characters of priests, physicians, sorcerers, and sages. Nor are they quite strangers to some branches of the healing art» In external hurts or wounds, the cause of -vhich is ob- vious, they apply various simples of considerable power, chiefly drawn from the vegetable world. Chateaubriand enumerates the ginseng of the Chinese, the sassafras, the three-leaved hedisaron,anda tall shrub called bellis ; with decoctions from which they cure wounds and ulcers in a surprising manner. With sharp-pointed bones they sca- rify inflamed or rheumatic parts ; and shells of gourds, filled with combustible matters, serve instead of cupping- glasses. They learned the art of bleeding from the French, but employed it sometimes rashly and fatally, by opening the vein in the forehead : they now understand it better, but their favourite specific in all internal complaints is the vapour-bath. To procure this a small hut or shed is framed of bark or branches of trees, covered with skins, and made completely tight on every side, leaving only a small hole, through which the patient is admitted. By throwing red-hot stones into a pot of water, it is made to boil, and thus emit a warm steam, which, filling the hut, throws the patient into a most profuse perspiration. When he is completely bathed in it, he rushes out, even should it be in the depth of winter, and throws himself into the nearest pond or river ; and this exercise, which we shoula be apt to think sufficient to produce death, is proved, by their example as well as that of the Russians, to be safe and salutary. As a very large proportion of their maladies arise from cold and obstructed perspiration, this remedy is by no means ill chosen. They attach to it, however, a supernatural influence, calling it the sorcerer's bath, and employ it 80 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING not only in the cure of diseases, but in opening their minds wlienever they are to hold a council on great aflFairs, or to engage in any important undertaking.* All cases of internal malady or of obscure origin are ascribed without hesitation to the secret agency of ma- lignant powers or spirits. The physician, therefore, must tlien invest himself with his mystic character, and direct all his efforts against these invisible enemies. His pro- ceedings are various, and prompted seemingly by a mix- ture of delusion and imposture. On his first arrival, he begins to sing and dance round the patient, invoking his god with loud cries. Then, pretendhig to search out the scat of the enchantment, he feels his body all over, till cries seem to indicate the bewitched t^yut. He then rushes u])on it like a madman or an enraged dog, tears it with his teeth, and often pretends to show a small bone or other object which he has extracted, and in which the evil power had been lodged. His disciples next day renew the process, and the whole family join in the chorus, so that, setting aside the disease, a frame of iron would appear necessary to withstand the remedies. Another contrivance is, to surround the cabin with men of straw and wooden masks of the most frightful shapes, in hopes of scaring away the mysterious tor- mentor. Sometimes a painted image is formed, which the doctor pierces witli an arrow, pretending that he has thereby vanquished ti e evil spirit. On other occasions he professes to discover a mysterious desire, which exists in the patient unknown to himself, for some particular object ; and this, however distant or difficult of attain- ment, the poor family strain all their efforts to procure. It is alleged, that when the malady appears hopeless, he fixes upon scr^ethi 4; completely beyond reach, the Avant of which is tlien represent ^d as the cause of death. The deep faith leposed in these preposterous remedies caused to the missionaries much difficulty even with their most intelligent converts. When a mother found • Chateaubriand, vol. i, p. 247-249. Creuxius, pp. 58, 59. Carver, pp. ^90, 391. Lony, pp. 40, 100. one of her came roun to be blow genuine Ii speedy rec woods, wh tian priest could not less enlig with the and deriv could do, sacrifice s holy a so they recc who, tho rently co process, ( missionai natives, possess they so: diseases afflicted made so and wh murder imagine of their Wei of the is that effacing nature •Mil ans 164 p. 238, p.l7«- VOL CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 81 r It one of her children dangerously ill, her pagan neighbours came round and assured her, that if she would allow it to be blown upon, and danced and howled round in the genuine Indian manner, there would be no doubt of a speedy recovery. They exhorted her to take it into the woods, where the black-robes, as they called the Chris- tian priests, would not be able to find her. The latter could not fully undeceive their disciples, because in that less enlightened age they themselves were impressed with the notion that the magicians communicated with and derived aid from the Prince of Darkness. All they could do, therefore, was to exhort them resolutely to sacrifice any benefit that might be derived from so un- holy a source. This, however, was a hard duty ; and they record with pride the example of a Huron wife, who, though much attached to her husband, and appa- rently convinced that he could be cured by this impious process, chose rather to lose liim. In other respects the missionaries suffered from the superstitious creed of the natives, who, even when unconverted, believed them to possess supernatural powers, which, it was suspected, they sometimes employed to introduce the epidemic diseases with which the country was from time to time afflicted. They exclaimed, it was not the demons that made so many die, — it was prayer, images, and baptism ; and when a severe pestilential disorder followed the murder of a Frenchman who fell by their hands, they Imagined that the priests were thus avenging the death of their countryman.* We have still to describe the most prominent object of the Indian's passions and pursuits, — his warfare. It is that which presents him under the darkest aspect, effacing almost all his fine qualities, and assimilating his nature to tliat of fiends. While the most cordial union I * Missions en laNonvelle France, an 1686, partiii. pp. 155, 217; ans 1642, 1643, p. 49; an 1637, partiii. pp. 216, 217; }ait ii. p. 238, &c. La Fotherie, vol. ii. p. 36-40. Charlevoix, vol. ii. p. 176-180. VOL. I. E 82 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING reigns between the members of each tribe, they have neighbours whom they regard with the deepest enmity, and for whose extermination they continually thirst. The intense excitement which war affords, and the glory which rewards its achievements, probably give the pri- mary impulse ; but after hostilities have begun, the feeling which keeps them alive is revenge. Every In- dian who falls into the power of an enemy, and suffers the dreadful fate to which the vanquished are doomed, must have his ghost appeased by a victim from that hostile race. Thus every contest generates another and a more deeply embittered one. Nor are they strangers to those more refined motives which urge civilized na- tions to take arms — the extension of their boundaries, a: object pursued with ardent zeal, and the power of their tribe, which last they seek to promote by incorpo- I'ating in its ranks the defeated bands of their antago- nists. Personal dislike and the love of distinction often impel individuals to make inroads into a hostile territory even contrary to the general wish ; but when war is to be waged by the whole nation, more enlarged views, con- nected with its interest and aggrandizement, guide the decision. To most savages, however, long-continued peace becomes irksome and unpopular ; and the pru- dence of the aged can with difficulty restrain the fire of the young, who thirst for adventure. As soon as the determination has been formed, the war-chief, to whom the voice of the nation assigns the supremacy, enters on a course of solemn preparation. This consists not, however, in providing anns or supplies for the campaign, for these are comprised in the personal resources of each individual. He devotes himself to ob- servances which are meant to propitiate or leani the will of the Great Spirit, who, when considered as pre- siding over the destinies of war, is named Areskoui. He begins by marching three times round his winter- house, spreading the great bloody tlag, variegated with deep tints of black. As soon as the young warriors see this signal of death, they crowd around, listening to the CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 83 ve •St. he Ti- ers ed, lat m oration by which he summons them to the field : " Com- rades," he exclaims, "the blood of our countrymen is yet unavenged ; their bones lie uncovered ; their spirits cry to us from the tomb. Youths, arise ! anoint your hair, paint your faces, let your songs resound through the forest, and console the dead with the assurance that tliey shall be avenged. Youths ! follow me, while I march through the war-path to surprise our enemies, to eat their flesh, drink theii' blood, and tear them limb from limb ! We shall return triumphant, or should we fall, this belt will record our valour." The wampum, that grand symbol of Indian policy, is then thrown on the ground. Many desire to lift it ; but this privilege is reserved for some chief of high reputation, judged worthy to fill the post of second in command. The leader now com- mences his series of mystic observances. He is painted all over black, and enters on a strict fast, never eat- ing, nor even sitting down, till after sunset. From time to time he drinks a decoction of consecrated herbs, with the view of giving vivacity to his dreams, which are carefully noted, and submitted to the deliberation of the sages and old men. When a warlike spirit is in the ascendant, it is understood that either their tenor or their interpretation betokens success. The powerful in- fluence of the vapour-bath is also employed. After these solemn preliminaries, a copious application of warm water removes the deep black coating, and he is painted afresh in bright and varied colours, among which red predominates. A huge fire is kindled, whereon is placed the great war-cauldron, into which every one present throws something ; and if any allies, invited by a belt of wampum and bloody hatchet to devour the flesh and drink the blood of the enemy, have accepted the sum- mons, they send some ingredients to be also cast in. The chief then announces the enterprise by singing a war- song, never sounded but on such occasions, and his example is followed by all the warriors, who join in the military dance ; recounting their fonner exploits, and dilating on those Avhich the^ hope to achieve. They 84 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING Indian Warrior. ?iow proceed to arm, suspending the bow and quiver, or more frequently the musket, from the shoulder, the hatchet or tomahawk from the hand, while the scalp- ing-knife is stuck in the girdle. A portion of parched com or sagamity, prepared for the purpose, is received from the women, who frequently bear it to a considerable distance. But the most important operation is the col- lection of the manitous or guardian spirits, to be placed in a common box, which, like the Hebrew ark, is looked to as a protecting power. The females during these pre- parations have been busily negotiating for a supply of captives on whom to wreak their vengeance and api ease the shades of their fallen kindred ; sometimes also with the more merciful view of supplying their place. Ten- derer feelings ai'ise as the moment approaches when the 7 , CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 85 own country, ^nience of 1 in which Ls. When warriors must depart, perhaps to return no more, and it may be to endure the same dreadful fate which they are imprecating on others. The leader, having made a short harangue, commences the march, singing his war-song, while the others follow at intervals sounding the war- whoop. The women accompany them some distance, and when they must separate, they exchange endearing names, and express the most ardent wishes for a tri- umphant return ; while each party receives and gives some object which has been long worn by the other, as a memorial of this tender parting. As long as the warriors continue in they straggle in small parties for hunting, still holding communicatioi they imitate the cries of certain bird:^ arrived at the frontier, they all unite and liold another great festival, followed by solemn dreaming, the tenor of which is carefully examined. If found inauspicious, room is still left to return ; and those whose courage shrinks are on such occasions supplied with an apology for re- linquishing the undertaking ; but such an issue is rare. On entering the hostile territory deep silence is en- joined ; the chase is discontinued ; they crawl on all fours ; step on the trunks of fallen trees, or through swamps. Sometimes they fasten on their feet the hoof of the buffalo or the paw of the bear, and run in an irregular track like those animals. Equally earnest and skilful are they in tracing through the woods the haunts of the enemy. The slightest indications, such as would wholly escape the notice of a European, enable them to thread their course through the vast depths of the western forests. They boast of being able to discern the impression of steps even on the yielding grass, and of knowing by inspection the nation or tribe by whom it has been made. Various and ingenious artifices are em- ployed to entrap their foe. From the recesses of the wood, they send forth the cries of the animals which are most eagerly sought by the rival hunters. Their grand object, however, is to surprise a village, and if /a ■em J^ "} IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I iiiM2A |2.5 no ■^" ■■■ 1^ S^ 12.2 ^ m ^^ "* iM 12.0 m 11.25 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4S03 r-^l. 86 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING ) I possible the principal one belonging to the hated tribe. Thither all their steps tend, as they steal like silent ghosts through the lonely forest. On approaching it, they cast hasty glances from the tops of trees or of liillocks, and then retreat into the thickest covert ; but in total disre- gard of the most disastrous experience, the obvious pre- caution of placing nightly sentinels has never been adopted. Even when aware of danger, they content themselves with exploring the vicinity two or three miles around, when, if nothing is discovered, they go to sleep without dread. This supineness is much K)stered by a delusive confidence in the manitous enclosed in the holy ark. If during the day the assailants have reached unperceived a covert spot in the neighbour- hood of the devoted village, they expect the satisfaction of finding its inhabitants buried in the deepest slumber in the course of the ensuing night. They keep close watch till immediately before daybreak, when silence and security are usually the most complete. Then, flat on their faces, and carefully suppressing the slightest sound, they creep slowly towards the scene of action. Having reached it undiscovered, the chief, l»y a shrill cry, gives the signal, which is instantly followed by a discharge of arrows or musketry ; after which they rush in with the war-club and the tomahawk. The air echoes with the sound of the death- whoop and of arms. The savage aspect of the combatants ; their faces painted black and red, and soon streaming with blood ; their frightful yells, make them appear like demons risen from the world beneath. The victims, too late aroused, spring from their fatal slumber, and foreseeing the dreadful fate which awaits them if taken prisoners, make almost superhuman struggles for deliverance. The contest rages with all the fury of revenge and despair, but it is usually short. The unliappy wretches, surprised and bewildered, can seldom rally or resist ; they seek safety by fleeing into the depth of forests or marshes, whither they are hotly pursued. The main study of the victo- rious party is to take the fugitives alive, in order to CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 87 tribe, jhosts y cast and disre- subject them to the horrible punishments which will be presently described. Should this be impracticable, the tomahawk or the hatchet despatches them on the spot ; and the scalp is then carried off as a trophy. Placing a foot on the neck of his fallen enemy, and twisting a hand in the hair, the warrior draws out a long sharp-pointed knife, specially formed for this operation ; then cutting a circle round the crown of the head, by a few skilful scoops he detaches the hair and skin, lodges the whole in his bag, and returns in triumph.* At the close of the expedition, the warriors repair to their village, and, even in approaching, annoimce its result by various signals well understood among their families. According to the most approved custom, the evil tidings are first communicated. A herald ad- vances before the troop, and for every kinsman who has fallen sounds the death- whoop, — a shrill lengthened note ending in an elevated key. An interval is then allowed, during which the burst of grief excited by these tidings may be in some degree exhausted. Then rises the loud inspiring sound of the war-whoop, which, by its successive repetitions, expresses the number of captives brought home as the fruits of victory. The barbarous joy thus kindled banishes for the moment all trace of lamentation. The women and children form two rows, through which the prisoner is led, havuig his face painted, and crowned with flowers as for a festival. Then begins the darkest of all the scenes by which savage life is de- formed. A series of studied and elaborate torture com- mences, in which ingenuity is tasked to the utmost to inflict the intensest agony that can be endured with- out actually extinguishing life. The first caress, as the French call it, is to tear the nails from the fingers ; the flesh is then pierced to the bone, and fire in various forms applied to the extremities. Blows are also given to the 1 • Charlevoix, vol. i. pp. 317, 327, 330, 338. 339, 359-361. Adair, p. 3B0-388. Roifers' Concise Account of North Ameiica ( Londun, W), p. 222. 88 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING last degree that nature can sustain ; and sometimes an amusement is found in tossing, for a long time, the victim like a ball from one to another. Other contrivances, peculiar to infuriated savages, are sometimes resorted to. One missionary, for example, being made to lie on his back, had his stomach covered with sagamity, on which hungry dogs were set to feed, which tore his flesh with their teeth. The unhappy wretch is occasionally paraded from village to village, kept for weeks in this state of sufifering, fed on the coarsest refuse, and allowed only a neglected comer of the cabin to sleep in. At length a grand council is held, to decide his fate ; or, in other words, to detemiine wh« Jier all the furies of vengeance shall be let loose upon him, and his life be taken away amid the most frightful tortures, or whether he shall be saluted as one of themselves, and treated as a brother. The decision is influenced by various consider- ations. If he be a youth, or new to the field, a lenient course may probably be adopted ; but a veteran warrior who has been the terror of the nation, and on whose skin is painted a record of triumphs, has to dread a sterner sentence. The women have much influence, according as they either demand revenge for the loss of a husband or brother, or solicit that the captive may sup- ply the vacancy. The Iroquois, though the fiercest of these barbariars, being the deepest politicians, were always anxious to augment their numbers ; hence, though they prolonged and heightened the preli- \ry torture, they usually ended it by adoption. Thio ,• carried so far that they are described as hfeving at length become less a single nation than an aggreg^ Lc of all the surround- ing tribes. The stranger being received into one of the families as a husband, brother, or son, is treated with the utmost tenderness ; and (^he, who perhaps immedi- ately before exhausted her ingenuity in tormenting him, now nurses the wounds she has made, and loads him with caresses. He becomes completely one of the clan, and goes with them to war, even against his former country- men, and so far is the point of honour carried, that to CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 8d return into their ranks would be branded as an act of baseness).* There are however many occasions in which the more inhuman resolution is taken, and a fearful display is then made of the darkest passions that can agitate the human breast. The captive is informed of his fate by being invested with mocassins of black bear's skin, and having placed over his head a flaming torch, — the sure indica- tions of his doom. Before the fatal scene begins, how- ever, he is allowed a short interval to sing his death- song, which he performs in a triumphant tone. He proclaims the joy with which he goes to the land of souls, where he will meet his brave ancestors, who taught him the great lesson to fight and to suffer. He recounts his warlike exploits, particularly those per- formed against the kindred of his tormentors ; and if there was any one of them whom he vanquished and caused to expire amid tortures, he loudly proclaims it. He de- clares his inextinguishable desire to eat their flesh, and to drink their blood to the last drop. This scene is con- sidered, even when compared to the field of battle, as the great theatre of Indian glory. When two prisoners were about to be tortured by the French at Quebec, a charitable hand privately supplied a weapon with which one of them killed himself ; but the other derided his effeminacy, and proudly prepared himself for his fiery trial. In this direful work the women take the lead, and seem transformed into raging furies. She, to glut whose vengeance the doom has been specially pro- nounced, invokes the spirit of her husband, her bro- ther, or her son, who has fallen in battle or died amid torture, bidding him come now and be appeased. A feast is prepared for him ; a warrior is to be thrown into the great cauldron ; his blood will be poured out ; his flesh torn from the bones ; let the injured spirit then cease to * Charlevoix, vol. i. p. 368-373. Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1642, 1643, p. 257, &c. ; ans 1643, 1644, p. 162-168. Adair, p. 389. 90 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING complain. A game begins between the torturers and the tortured, one to inflict the most intqnse suffering, the other to bear it with proud insensibility. That there may be some appearance of open contest, he is not chained, but merely tied to a post, and a certain range allowed, within which, while the brand, the hatchet, and every engine of torture are applied, he can do some- what to repel his assailants, and even attack in his turn. He struggles fiercely in the unequal strife, and while his frame is consuming in agony, still defies his tor- mentors, and outbraves death itself. Some even deride the feeble efforts of their executionera, boastinghowmuch more effiectively they themselves had applied torture to individuals of their tribe. Yet there are instances, when the murderers at last triumph ; the sufferer exclaims, " Fire is strong, and too powerful ;" he even uttei-s loud shrieks, which are responded to by exulting shouts of savage laughter. Some few have been known, by almost incredible efforts, to break loose, and by rapid flight ef- fect their escape. The general result, however, is death, after protracted suffering ; when the scalp, if still entire, is taken off and deposited among the military trophies.* It has been made a question whether the Indians can be justly charged with cannibalism. It is certain that all the terms by which they designate their inhuman mode of putting a prisoner to death bear reference to this horrid practice. The expressions are to throw him into the cauldron, to devour him, to eat soup made of his flesh. It has hence been plausibly inferred that this enormity really prevailed in early times, but was changed, we can scarcely say mitigated, into the present system of torture. Yet, as every action is described by them in terms highly figurative, those now quoted may have been used as expressing most fully the complete gratification of their revenge. Of this charge they can- not now be either condemned or wholly acquitted. In the oft bio en • up( he • Charlevoix, vol. i. p. 37c. Adair, pp. 390, 391 . Colden, vol. i. pp. 144, 145. CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 91 the excited fury of their passions, portions of the flesh are often seized, roasted, and eaten, and draughts taken of the blood. To eat an enemy's heart is considered a peculiar enjojrment. Long meriions a gentleman who came upon a party 'vho were busy broiling a human heart, when he with difficulty prevailed on them to desist. There is little hesitation amongst them, in periods of scarcity, to relieve hunger with the flesh of their captives ; and during one war, this fate is said to have betallen many French soldiers who fell into the hands of the Five Na- tions. Colonel Schuyler told Golden, that having entered the cabin of a chief who had some ric!i soup before him, he was invited to partake. Being b angry and tired, he readily agreed, till the ladle being put into the great cauldron, brought up a human hand, the sight of which put an immediate end to his appetite and nieal.* Although war may be considered as the ordinary state of those tribes, yet, after having for a considerable time experienced its destructive eft'ects, there usually arises a desire for an interval of tranquillity. To pro- cure this, a regular form is observed. The nation which resolves to make the overture despatches several in- dividuals, usually of some note, as ambassadors, with at least one orator. They bear before them the ca- lumet of peace, which renders their character sacred, and secures them from violence. They carry also a certain number of belts of wampum, with which are respectively connected the several motives and terms of the proposed treaty. The orator having obtained an audience of the chiefs on the other side, expounds the belts, dancing and singing in unison, and by actions expressing the peaceful purpose of his mission. If the opposite party be favourably inclined, they accept the offered symbols, and next day present others of a si- milar import. He then smokes in the calumet, and the contract is sealed by burying a hatchet ; if there " Charlevoix, vol. i. p. 318. Adair, p. 199. Long, pp. 77. 78. Gulden, voL 1. p. 136. 92 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING he any allies, one is deposited for each. This agreement is often accompanied with professions, at the moment perhaps sincere, of maintaining the sun always in the heavens, and never again digging up the hatchet ; but the turbulence of individuals, and the satiety of long peace, to which the whole nation is subject, usually rekindle hostili' 'es at no distant period.* Some notice may finally be expected of Indian amusements ; the most favourite of which are smoking, music, and dancing. These, however, are viewed in a much higher light than mere pastime ; being ranked among the most serious occupations, and esteemed quite indispensable in the conduct of every important affair. Without them a council cannot be held, a negotiation carried on, peace or war proclaimed, nor any public or private contract entered into ; for not one of these trans- actions is accounted valid, till it has been smoked over and sung and danced to. The calumet is the grand instru- ment of their policy. No important affair can be taken into consideration without the pipe in their mouths ; and hence, to call an assembly of the chiefs is said to be lighting the council-fire. This tube accompanies and is the guardian of every embassy, and to smoke together is the chief cement of national union. Music and dancing accompanying each other are equally indispensable to every solemn celebration. Yet the instruments and performance are alike simple and rude ; for their song, though often continued for a long period, consists merely in the perpetual iteration of a few wild melancholy notes. The words are usually of the minstrel's own composition, and record his exploits in war or hunting, and sometimes the praises of the animals which he has killed in the chase. The song is accompanied by performance on the drum, and on the chichikoue, or pipe. The former is merely a hollowed piece of wood, covered with skin ; the latter is formed of a thick cane, upwards of two feet in length, with eight * Charlevoix, vol. i. p. 321. CANADA AND ITS BORDERS. 93 the but long [ally or nine holes ; and a mouthpiece not unlike that of a common whistle. Those who know how to stop the holes and bring out a sound consider themselves per- formers ; yet they cannot play upon it even those simple airs which they execute with the voice, though they will often continue for hours drawing out wild irregular notes. The dances of the i^ndians, even those at common fes- tivals, are on an extenoive scale ; requiring to a complete performance forty or fifty persons, who execute their evolutions by following each other round a great fire kin- dled in the centre. Their movements, monotonous but violent, consist iji stamping furiously on the ground, and often brandishing their arms in a manner compared by an able writer to a baker converting flour into dough. They keep good time ; but the music is so exceedingly simple that this implies little merit. They conclude with a loud shout or howl, which echoes frightfully through the woods. The dances in celebration of parti- cular events are of a more varied character, and often form a very expressive pantomime. The war-dance is the most favourite and frequent. In this extraordinary performance, a complete image is given of the terrible reality ; the war-whoop is sounded with the most frightful yells ; the tomahawk is wildly brandished ; and the enemy are surprised, seized,and scalped, or carried off for torture. The calumet-dance, which celebrates peace between na- tions, and the marriage-dance, which represents domestic life, are much more pleasing. Some mention is ma^lc of a mystic dance, carried on by the jugglers or do( is, with strange superstitious ceremonies, and in which a supernatural personage, termed by some the devil, rises and performs ; but it does not seem to have been wit- nessed by any European, and is said to be now in a great measure disused.* * Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1645, 1646, pp. 20, 21. Weld, p. 412-417. Creiixius, p. 67. Chateaubriand, vol. i. p. 2U5. Charlevoix, vol. iL p. 7^. Carver, pp. 270, 2/1. 'I 94 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING There are, moreover, games to which the Indians are fondly attached, whicli, though they he only ranked under the head of amusement, are yet conducted in the same serious manner as their other transactions. Their great parties are said to he collected hy supernatural authority, communicated hy the jugglers; and they are preceded, like their wars and hunts, hy a course of fasting, dreaming, and other means of propitiat- ing fortune. The favourite game is that of the hone, in which small pieces of that substance, resembling dice, and painted of different colours, are thrown in the air, and according to the manner in which they fall, the game is decided. Only two persons can play ; but a numerous party, and sometimes whole villages, embrace one side or the other, and look on with intense inte- rest. At each throw, especially if it be decisive, tre- mendous shouts are raised ; the players and spectators equally resemble persons possessed ; the air rings with invocations to the bones, and to the manitous. Their eagerness sometimes leads to quarrelling and even lighting, which on no other occasion ever disturb the interior of these societies. To such a pitch are they occasionally worked up, that they stake successively all they possess, and even their personal liberty ; but this description must apply only to the more southern nations, as slavery was unkno"\vii among the Canadian Indians. A temporary interval of wild license, of emancipation from all the restraints of dignity and decorum, seems to afford an enjoyment highly prized in all rude societies. Corresponding with the saturnalia and bacchanals of an- tiquity, the Americans have their festival of dreams, which, during fifteen days, enlivens the inaction of the coldest season. Laying aside all their usual order and gi'avity, they run about, frightfully disguised, and committing every imaginable extravagance. He who meets another demands an explanation of his visions, and if not satisfied, imposes some fantastic penalty. He throws upon him cold water, hot ashes, or filth ; CANADA AND IT^ BORDERS. 05 are ced the ■leir irse lat- in ice, iir. sometimes nisliing into his cabin he breaks and destroys the fimiiturc. Although every thing appears wild and unpremeditated, it is alleged that opportunities are often taken to give vent to old and secret resent- ments. The period having elapsed, a fejist is given, order is restored, and the damages done are carefully repaired.* On the first settlement of Europeans in Canada, that territory was chiefly divided between three great na- tions, — the Algonquins, the Hurons, and the Iroquois or Five Nations. The first held an extensive domain along the northern bank of the St Lawrence, about a hundred leagues above Troig Rivieres. Shortly before, they had been the most powerful of all these tribes, and consi- dered even in some degree as mastere over this part of America. They are described also as having the mildest Jispect and most polished manners of any. They sub- sisted entirely by hunting, and looked with proud dis- dain on their neighbours, who consented to bestow on the soil even the smallest cultivation.t The Hurons were a numerous people, whose very extensive territory reached from the Algonquin frontier to the borders of the great lake bearing their name. They were also more industri- ous, and derived an abundant subsistence from the fine territory of Upper Canada. But they were at the same time more effeminate and voluptuous, and had less of the proud independence of savage life, having chiefs hereditary in the female line, to whom they paid con- siderable deference. The Iroquois, destined to act the most conspicuous part among all the native tribes, occupied a long range of territory on the southern border of the St Lawrence, from Lake Champlain to the Avestern extremity of Lake On- tario. They were thus beyond the limits of what is now- considered Canada ; yet, as all their transactions were •Charlevoix, vol. ii. p. 13-15, 159-164, &c. Chateaubriand, vol. i. p. 238-242. La Potherie, vol. ii. pp. 126, 127. t La Potherie, vol. i. p. 232-289. i 96 THE NATIVE INDIANS INHABITING; A:,:. completely connected with the mteresta of that country, we cannot at present avoid considering them as be- longing to it. This people were divided into five cantons, each of which was considered as an independent nation. They were united, however, by the closest alliance ; are never found waging war with each other ; nor did they often fail to combine their forces when attacked by neigh- bouring tribes.* The following are the names given to them by English and French authors : — English. French. Mohawks. Agniers. Oneidas. Onneyouths. Onondagoes. Onontagues. Cayugas. Anniegue. Senekas. Tsonnonthouans. « La Potherie, vol. i. p. 232.289. Rogers, p. 237. Coldeii, pp. 3, 4. ' p»^ll»p HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER Till: rilENCH. 97 CHAPTER III. History of Canada under the French. Earliest Discoveries of the Enj^lisli and French — De la Roche — Chauvin and Pon^ravc — De Monts — Champlain, employed by him, ascends the St Lawrence — Founds Quebec — Dealing's witli a Party of Natives— Joins a warlike Expedition — Victory — Torture — Transactions in France Fresh military Encounter — Foundation of Montreal — Various Transactions — Voyage up the Ottawa — Great Expedition against the Iroquois — Unsuccessful — . Difficulties in France — Appointment of De Caen — Peace amon^r the Indian Tribes — Duke de Ventadour Viceroy — Rupture of the Treaty — Quebec taken by the English — Restored — Large Supplies sent out — Death of Champlain — Great Power of the Five Nations— Treaty with them — War renewed — Destruction of the French Indian Allies — A Remnant flee to Quebec — Iroquois Musters of Canada — Louis XIV. determines to reinforce the Colony — Expedition under De Tracy — Government of De Cour- celles — Frontenac — De la Barre — His fruitless Expedition — Denonville— His violent Proceedings — Critical State of the Co- lony — Second Government of Frontenac — Capture of Corlaer or Schenectady — The English under Phipps attack Quebec — Re- pulsed — Negotiations with the Indians — Invasion of their Ter- ritory — Death of Frcmtenac — De Callieres — Peace, and speedy Renewal of War — Attempts by the English to conquer Canada 'I'reaty of Utrecht — Charlevoix's Account of the State of the Colo, ny— Its Prosperity — Administration of Du Quesne. The English took decidedly the most prominent part in the discovery of North America. In 1497, John Cabot, under a commission from Henry VII., landed on its shores, four years only after Columbus had reached the West Indies, and nearly twelve months before that celebrated navigator had touched at any part of the con- VOL. I. F 98 HISTORY OP CANADA ■ tinent. In the following year, Sebastian, son to the first discoverer, performed a most extensive exploratory- voyage along the greater part of the eastern coast, to lat. 66° or 58^ N., and south as far as Florida. The same eminent seaman took part in another expedition undertaken in 1617, for the discovery of a north-west passage. The squadron appears to have penetrated into Hudson's Bay, but through the pusillanimity of Sir Thomas Pert, the commander, returned without com- pleting the object in view. These interesting voyages, however, have been illustrated with such diligent and acute research by Mr Tytler, that to our readers an- other detailed narrative of them would be very super- fluous.* Various circumstances combined to withdraw the suc- cesfiors of Henry from this brilliant career. They were succeeded in it by France ; and it is singular that the settlement of by far the greater part of what is now British America was effected by that power. When, too, England had wrested these possessions from her rival, she retained them after most of her own colonies had established their independence ; for which reason we find it necessary to enter at considerable length into the proceedings of those Gallic adventurers who laid the foundations of civilisation in the Canadian provinces. In 1624, Francis I. commissioned Giovanni Verazzano, a skilful Florentine navigator, who appears to have sailed along the whole coast from Carolina to the northern extremity of Nova Scotia. It was then appropriated in the name of his Most Christian Majesty, under the mag- nificent title of New France. His second expedition was disastrous ; but in 1634, Jacques Cartier, a bold and able mariner of St Malo, was sent out with a similar view. This discoverer made two voyages, in the second of which he penetrated up the St Lawrence as high as the position now occupied by Montreal, and brought home • Progress of Discovery on the more Northern Coasts of Ame- rica, from the Earh'est Period to the Present Time (Edinburgh Cabinet Library, No. IX.), pp. 19-28, 39-41. UNDER THE FRENCH. 99 with him Donnaconna, a native king. He was employed a third time in 1540, though in a subordinate rank, under the Sieur de Roberval, an opulent nobleman of Picardy, who, having agreed to defray the expense of the expe- dition, was created Lieutenant-general and Viceroy. The enterprise was begun with spirit ; and a fort named Charlesbourg was erected near the site now occupied by Quebec. The natives, however, showed a hostile spirit ; the two leaders quarrelled ; and Roberval abandoned the undertaking. He renewed it in 1549, but with an issue singularly unfortunate, neither he nor his brother, who accompanied him, being ever again heard of. For the details of thes voyages also we refer to the work above mentioned, where they will be found narrated in a very satisfactory manner."* These failures, and still more perhaps the distracted state of France during many years, occasioned by reli- gious wars, withdrew the attention of the government from schemes of transatlantic colonization. The mer- chants, however, of the great commercial towns, parti- cularly Dieppe, Rouen, St Malo, and Rochelle, had opened communications, and even established posts for the prosecution of the fur-trade. That of Canada was carried on chiefly at Tadoussac, near the mouth of the river Saguenay. Tranquillity being restored by the union of parties under the sway of Henry IV., the public attention was again directed towards New France. The Marquis de la Roche, a nobleman of Brittany, undertook to equip an expedition on a large scale, and form a settlement on that remote shore. The encouragements to such enter- prises were always liberal ; and Henry in this respect seems to have surpassed all other monarchs. The marquis was authorized not only to levy troops, make war, build forts and cities, and enact laws, but even to create lords, counts, barons, and similar dignities. He accordingly equipped several vessels, with a considerable • Paues 53-67. 100 HISTORY OF CANADA I number of settlers, whom, however, he was obliged to draw partly from the prisons of Paris. He sailed under the guidance of Chedotel, a Norman pilot ; but of the voyage it is only narrated, that he landed and left forty men on Sable Island, a small barren spot near the coast of Nova Scotia. He then returned ; when being thwarted in his designs at court, he fell sick, and died of chagrin. The colonists were entirely forgotten, and soon expe- rienced such hardships as caused even the criminals among them to regret their dungeons. Having with a few planks, obtained from a wrecked vessel, erected a hut, they were obliged to subsist on the fish which they caught, and to replace their worn-out garments with the skins of sea-wolves. In this condition they were left seven years, when the king, or according to Champlain the parliament of Rouen, sent out Chedotel to see what was become of them. He found only twelve survivors, who exhibited the most wretched and deplorable aspect. On their return to France, they waited upon Henry, who received them kindly, and made them a handsome donation.'^' The king was still disposed to encourage colonization. In 1599, two eminent naval characters, Chauvin of Rouen and Pontgrave of St Malo, undertook to settle five hundred persons, and prevailed on his majesty to aid them, by granting a monopoly of the fur-trade on the St Lawrence. Chauvin, it is alleged, was disposed to execute as little as possible of the agreement, his chief object being to avail himself of the exclusive traffic. However, being under the necessity of making some show, he fitted out two vessels, and arrived at Tadoussac. This situation being bleak and barren in the extreme, he was strongly advised to proceed farther up the river, to one which was reported to be much more advantageous. Dis- regarding this suggestion, he built a house twenty-four leet long, eighteen broad, and eight high, surrounded it • Histoire Gcnerale des Voyages (19 vols 4to, Paris, 174K- 177^^)? tome xiv. p. fiH9 591. Cliamplain, Voyages du Sicur de {•2 vols 8vo, Paris, 1B30), tome L p. 41-43. UNDER THE FRENCH. ]01 with a ditch, .v \ lodged there sixteen settlers for the winter. Thcv id, however, a very slender stock of provisions^ and vii the setting in of the cold, were reduced to the last extremity, and finally obliged to throw them- selves on the mercy of the natives. From that simple people they experienced a great degree of kindness, but, nevertheless, suffered such hardships, that many of them perished before the arrival of vessels from France. Chau- vin performed another voyage, which was as fruitless as the first ; and in the course of a third he was taken ill and died."' Fresh adventurers were never wanting in this hazard- ous enterprise. *Tlie next was the Commandeur de Chaste, governor of Dieppe, who, though already gray with years, engaged in it, and prevailed upon some con- siderable mercliants to second him. He made a most important acquisition in Samuel Champlain, the destined founder of the French settlements in Canada, who had just arrived from the East Indies. He and Pontgrave were sent out to Tadoussac, with instructions to ascend the St Lawrence, and examine the country on its upper borders. They penetrated as far as the Suult St Louis, a little above Montreal ; but finding it impossible to pass that cataract, they with some difficulty reached the licight above it, where they made the best observations they could on the river and country. Champlain, on his arrival in France, was dismayed to find De Chaste dead, and the whole undertaking deranged. He proceeded, how- ever, to Paris, and showed to the king a chart and de- scription of the region he had surveyed, with which his majesty appeared highly pleased.t Scarcely an interval cla[)sed, when the same enter- prise was taken up by De Monts, a gentleman of opu- lence and disthiction, and a special favourite of Henry, He obtained the highest privileges that had been granted to any of his predecessors, and liaving prepared an expe- dition on a more extensive scale than any former one. * Champlain, tome i. p. 44-41). f Ibid, tome i. p. 41J-r/3. >d 102 HISTORY OF CANADA he put to sea ; but as he had accompanied Chauvin to Tadoussac, and viewed that bleak shore, he felt very averse to enter the St Lawrence. It appeared to him that the seacoast, being in a more southern latitude, was likely to enjoy a milder climate ; an idea plausible, though erroneous. He directed his chief efforts, there- fore, to the country now named Nova Scotia ; and though his operations there were disastrous to his companions, and ultimately to himself, they were the means of found- ing the important colony of Acadia. Our narrative of these adventurers, however, is reserved till we come to treat of that province.""' Champlain, whose services he had secured, then remon- strated with him on the error of preferring an iron-bound coast to the beautiful and fertile banks of the upper St Lawrence. De Monts listened to the suggestion, and, undeterred by previous losses, applied to the king for a commission. He obtained it w^ithout difficulty, asso- ciated, as before, with the grant of a monopoly of the fur-trade on the river. He fitted out two vessels, but not finding it convenient to command in person, placed them under Champlain, who, accompanied by Pont-< grave, was authorized to act as his lieutenant.t The expedition sailed from Honfleur on the 13th April 1608, and on the 8d June reached Tadoussac. The Saguenay, liitherto the chief scat of the traffic in fiirs, was described as flowing from a considerably distant source in the north. Forty or fifty leagues up, its cur- lent was brolvcn l)y a succession of falls, beyond which was a lake (St John) which it required three days to cross. On tlie other side Avere wandering tribes, from whom the skins were chiefly procured, and who re- ported, that in their roamings they came in view of the Northern Sea. Champlain had sufficient informa- tion to know that this could only be a large gulf ; though he had no knowledge of Hudson's Bay, which had not yet been entered by the great navigator whose name it Champlain, tome i. p. 64-56, + Ibid. pp. 160, 151. UNDER THE FRENCH. 103 bears. The small port of Tadoussac was tolerably safe ; but the shore consisted only of dreary rocks and sands, scantily clothed with larch and pine. lie could find no- tliing to catch except a few small birds, which visited the spot only in summer. The natives who traded with the French sailed in canoes of birch-bark, so light that a man could easily carry them from one river or lake to another. The navigator continued to ascend the stream, though the banks were still naked and unpromising, till he reached the Isle of Orleans, which formed the com- mencement of the most valuable part of the river, being adorned with finS woods and meadows.* After passing this island, he immediately sought a commodious place of settlement, and soon fixed on a hill richly clothed with vines and walnut-trees, called by the natives Quebeio or Quebec. Having begun to clear and build, he formed an acquaintance with a number of the natives busily employed in the fishery of eels. They showed a considerable disposition to adopt Euro- pean culture and other improvements, the introduction of which he was led to hope might issue in their con- version.t The Frenchman spent thie winter here, and sowed some grain, for which he found the soil well adapted. The inhabitants, who, unlike those higher up the river, did not practise agriculture in any degree, were often reduced to the most dreadful extremes of famine. Of this the settlers witnessed a painful example in Fe- bruary 1609; when a party of the samges, seeing them from the opposite bank, and hoping to obtain relief, re- solved to cross, without regard to the floating ice. The French considered the attempt quite desperate ; and, ac- cordingly, in mid-channel, the canoes were dashed to pieces, and the poor creatures leaped on a mass of ice, whence they raised the most doleful cries. By peculiarly good fortune, a larger piece struck that on which they * Champlain, tome i. Ut. iii. ch. 3, 4. "f Ibid. liv. iv. ch. 5. 104 HISTORY OF CANADA stood, and caused it to drift ashore. They landed with joy, but in a state of such ravening hunger, that had the discoverers made any attempt to satisfy it, their whole stock would have been swallowed up. A limited al- lowance was, however, granted, which they sought to augment by very strange expedients. A dead pig and dog had been laid out as a bait for foxes ; but liaving been exposed two months, and the weather be- coming milder, such a scent issued from them, that the French could scarcely approach the spot. The new comers, however, on discovering this store, exultingly carried it to their hut, and began to feast upon it. Their hosts ran to warn them of the danger of such food, but found them so busily engaged, each with a piece in his hand, that remonstrance was vain, and be- ing themselves assailed with disgusting odours from the half-cooked victuals, they were glad to retreat. An- other dead dog had been placed on the top of a tree to attract birds of prey. The natives were so extremely weak, that they could not climb, but having by great efforts cut down the tree, they possessed themselves of this highly-flavoured morsel.* As soon as the season admitted, Champlain resumed his voyage up the river, the banks of which were covered with noble forests. Twenty-five leagues above Quebec, at a small island named St Eloi, he met a band, belong- ing chiefly to the celebrated nation of the Algonquins, commanded by two chiefs, Yroquet and Ochasteguin. It now appears that a treaty had already been opened at the winter station by a son of the former, through whom they had promised to assist the stranger in his attempt to traverse the country of the Iroquois, on the condition that he should aid them in a war against that fierce people. The zeal of our adventurer blinded him not only to the danger, but to the guilt of this most unprovoked aggression on a nation who had never offfended him. In reply to a solemn appeal from the savage chiefs, he * Champlain, tome i. liv. iii. ch. 0. UNDER THE FRENCH. 105 »fe' assured them of his determination strictly to fulfil this questionable engagement, and accepted of their proposal to visit him previously at Quebec* They accompanied him thither, and, exulting in the prospect of approach- ing triumph, spent five or six days in dancing and fes- tivity, while Champlain procured a reinforcement from Tadoussac. He set out with his new allies on the 28th May ; and in a short time, having passed through Lake St Pierre, he reached the mouth of the river which takes its rise in the country of the Iroquois. He had been apprized that fifteen leagues farther up there was a considerable fall, but had been led to hope that his light shallop might be*conveyed beyond it. On reconnoitring the spot, he found this to be quite impracticable, as the stream, from bank to bank, Avas dashing with violence amid rocks and stones ; and his party had not strength to cut a road through the woods. Nothing, however, could damp his ardour ; and in the failure of every other resource, lie determined to commit himself to the canoes of the savages, and share their fate. As soon, however, as this was announced to his men, they " bled at the nose ;" and two only were found who did not shrink from accompanying the Indians.f By carrying their canoes, arms, and baggage, half a league overland, the natives avoided the fall and re- embarked. When night approached they landed, reared huts covered with birch-bark, and having cut down large trees, formed round the spot a barricade of such strength, that five hundred assailants could not have stormed it without much difficulty. They sent some of their num- ber to reconnoitre a few miles up and down the river, but rejected the advice of their European .ally to set a watch during tlie night. High conjurations were now performed by the pilotois or priest, who was placed alone in a cabin, while the multitude sat round in solemn silence. Violent and mysterious movements shook the wigwam, which the Frenchman clearly perceived to be produced by its • Champlain, tome i. liv. iii. ch. 7. + Ibid, tome i. iiv. ill. ch. 0. 106 HISTORY OF CANADA crafty inmate ; while, in answer to his solemn call, the demon appeared, and, in the form of a stone, foretold the issue of the enterprise. Solemn sounds overawed the spectators, though it was easy to discover that they were all uttered hy the pilotois himself. The French chief was also every morning carefully examined regard- ing his dreams, and great exultation was expressed when they appeared to portend success. The only drilling em- ployed to prepare them for the approaching battle was confined to their taking a number of canes, one for each man, with two longer ones for the chiefs, and fixing them in the ground according to the order in which the troops were to advance. The Indians then practised the various movements till they could arrange themselves exactly in the same manner. The river was diversified with numerous low islands, abounding in woods, mea- dows, and game, but deserted in consequence of the deadly wars which had for some time been raging. It opened into an extensive lake, now named, from our traveller, Champlain, and containing four large islands, also un- inhabited. They had reached its southern extremity, and even entered a smaller one (George) connected with it, when, on the 29th June, at ten in the evening, they beheld the Iroquois, w ho raised loud shouts of defiance, and began hastily to arm and to form a barricade with trunks of trees. The invaders sent two canoes to ask if their adversaries would fight ; the answer was, there was nothing they more desired, but the hour was unsuit- able, adding, however, that they would be ready next morning at daybreak. This delay was approved ; but the two parties, instead of qualifying themselves for the combat by taking suitable rest, danced the whole night without intermission, exchanging the most embittered expressions of reproach and contempt. The Algonquins being told that neither their courage nor arms were of any value, and that to-morrow would witness their doom, threw out in return mvsterious hints, that their adver- saries would then see something never before witnessed. In the morning they landed, and the French chief saw UNDER THE FRENCH. 107 the enemy come out of their barricade, two huudred strong, firm and robust, headed by leaders with waving plumes, and advancing with a bold and determined aspect which struck him with admiration. He and his two countrymen stationed themselves at different points, and the natives made way for him to go about twenty paces in front. He then fired an ar- quebuss, loaded with four balls, by which two Indians were killed, and one mortally wounded. His allies raised shouts which would have drowned the loudest thunder, Avhile the enemy were astounded at seeing armour, proof ^amst native weapons, pierced by this unknown instrument of destruction. Yet they still poured in clouds of arrows, till another shot fired from a thicket excited such a degree of fear that they fled precipitately, abandoning their fort, and seeking refuge in the heart of the forest. A number were killed, and ten or twelve taken prisoners.* Tlie savages, having celebrated their victory with dance and festival, immediately began their return to their own country. After travelling sixteen leagues, they took one of the captives, and in a formal harangue recounted to him all thecrueltiesofhiscountry men, which he must now expiate ; they then summoned him, if he were a man of courage, to sing. He did so, though in a somewhat lugubrious tone. Champlain then was per- haps the first European who beheld that horrid scene of torture, which we spare our readers, though described by him in the most minute detail. He did not, how- ever, witness that stoical apathy so often displayed, for the sufferer occasionally uttered loud shrieks, though his fortitude was on the whole wonderful. The French- man was asked why he did not join in this triumphant vengeance ; and when he declared that the sight gave him pain, and even showed a disposition to withdraw, they allowed him to terminate the scene by a discharge of his arquebuss. The most shocking indignities were in- * Champlain, tome i. liv. ill. ch. 9. 1 il 108 HISTORY OF CANADA flicted on the lifeless body ; even the heart was plucked out and cut in small pieces, which the other prisoners were compelled to receive into their mouths, though they were not expected to swallow the horrid morsel. The Algonquins marched on with the romjiining Iro- quois, who continued to sing, though fully aware of their approaching fate. Another employment of the victors was to ornament the heads of the slain, to be dis- played in triumph on their arrival. With this view they earnestly solicited from Champlain some copies of tlio paternoster, which sacred article, amid all his profes- sions of piety, he did not hesitate to bestow for this pro- fane purpose. Thus prepared, as the party approached home, the heads were fastened on the ends of poles, and exhibited to the women, who came swinnning across the river to meet their lords. The adventurer himself was presented with one of these savage trophies, with a re- quest that he would offer it to his sovereign, which, to please them, he engaged to do,* On the author's return from this expedition, which seemed to hold out a great promise of ultimate success, he was greeted with unfavourable tidings from France. The merchants of that country, to his deep indignation, though we think with very good reason, had raised loud complaints of the injury which they as well as the na- tion at large sustained l)y the fur-trade being confined to a single individual. De Monts' commission was in consequence revoked, and his lieutenant was obliged to return home. He gave an account of his transactions, first to his patron, and then to the king, who listened to them with much satisfaction. All his attempts, how- ever, to procure a renewal of the monopoly proved abortive ; yet such was his zeal, that he determmed even without this aid to retain the settlement. To lighten the expense, he made an agreement with some traders at Rochelle, to give them the use of his build- ing at Quebec as a depot for their goods, while they by * Champlain, tome i. Uv. iil cli. 10. UNDER THE FRENCH. 109 way of recompense engnp^cd to assist him in his ])hins of colonization. He was thus enahled in 1610 to fit out Champlain with a considerahle reinforcement and fresh supplies.'"" On his return to the St Lawrence, he received an ap- plication from the Algoncjuins to assist them in a new war ; and they promised to join him with 400 men at the entrance of the Iroquois river. Undeterred by any motive either of fear or principle, and seemingly without any hesitation, he accepted the proposal ; but on reach- ing the spot affairs were found more urgent than had been supposed. A canoe arrived with intelligence that a hundred of the»enemy were so strongly intrenched in the vicinity, that without the aid of the Misthigosches, as the French were termed, it appeared impossible to dislodge them. The savages, on this information, hur- ried on board of their canoes, and prevailed on their Euro])ean friend to (juit his bark, and accompany them with four of his countrymen. On landing, the natives ran forward so swiftly that they were soon out of the sight of their allies, who floundered after them through woods and marshes, tormented by mosquitoes, and much at a loss for their way. They met, however, an Indian, who came in all haste to inform them that his brethren, ill acquainted with military tactics, had no sooner arrived, than, without waiting for the French, they rushed to the assault ; and that, having sustained a most severe repulse, in which several of their chiefs were killed and a num- ber wounded, all their hope was now placed in their auxiliaries. Having proceeded about half a mile, they heard the bowlings of the hostile parties, who, as usual, poured on each other torrents of invective. On their appearance, these illustrious allies raised shouts louder than thunder, while Champlain advanced to reconnoitre the fort. He found it very strong, composed, according to the usual fashion, of large trees fixed close together in a circle. He himself was inmiediatelv wounded in the » Champlain, tome i. pp. 152, 163. no niSTORY OP CANADA and 246, it will be evi- dent that the one here given is correct, though the narrative of his voyage precedes the account of 'lis departure. VOL. I. O L i) h 114 HISTORY OF CANADA shores, and had there witnessed the wreck of an English vessel. The crew, eighty in number, had reached the land, where they had all been killed and scalped by the inhabitants, except one boy, whom they would have been happy to present to him, along with the trophies of their victory. Wishing to assure himself as to this story, the navigator caused the man to sign his declara- tion before two notaries, warning him, if it were false, that he was putting a rope round his own neck. Find- ing the fellow persevere, and learning that some Eng- lish vessels had icallybeen wrecked in 1612 on the coast of Labrador, his doubts were removed, and he deter- mined to devote a season to the prosecution of this grand object. With this view he did not stop at Quebec, but setting sail on the 13th May, arrived on the 21st at the fall of St Louis. Here, with only two canoes, containing four of his countrymen and one native, he began his voyage up the river. The hardships and difficulties were very severe. He encountered a succession of cataracts and rapids, which it was necessary to avoid by carrying the skiffs and stores overland. Sometimes, the woods being too dense to admit of this, it became requisite to drag them through the foaming current, not without danger of being themselves ingulfed. If they had lost their boats, they could neither have proceeded back nor for- ward, unless by the mere accident of meeting with friend- ly Indians. There was reason, besides, to dread an attack from some wandering bands of Iroquois, who, if victo- rious, would have doubtless treated the French as they treated their Algonquin captives. As the difficulties of navigation increased, they were obliged to leave their corn behind, and trust entirely to the produce of their guns and nets, which afforded a precarious and some- times very scanty supply. Nicolas, to our author's sur- prise, was forward in recommending parts of the river which the natives declared to be highly dangerous. At length the party reached the abode of Tessouat, a friendly chief, whose country was only eight days' sail from that 'K UNDER THE FRENCH. 11; it of the Nebicerini (Nipissings), on whose borders the shij)- wreck was said to have occurred. The people received our adventurer courteously, and agreed to his request of admission to a solemn council. It was preceded by an entertainment of boiled maize, with meat and fish ; after which the young men went out, and the old took their pipes and smoked for half an hour in silence. Champlain being then asked his object in soliciting the interview, after many courteous professions requested four canoes to escort him into the country of the Nipis- sings, which he earnestly desired to visit. To this the Indians demurred, stating that the route was very diffi- cult, and that theynvere bad men and sorcerers, who had caused the death of many of their tribe ; nevertheless, upon his earnest entreaty, they at length consented. After the meeting had broken up, however, the French chief learned that there was a great indisposition to fulfil the engagement, and that no one could be found who was willing to accompany him. He therefore again called them together ; reproached them with their me- ditated breach of faith ; and in refutation of their asser- tions of danger as arising from the people, referred to the fact of Nicolas having spent some time among them with- out any annoyance. Hereupon De Vignau was called on to say if he had ever made such a journey ; and when, after long hesitation, he answered in the affirma- tive, they raised loud and fierce cries, declaring that he was speaking falsely, having never passed beyond their country, where he had gone to bed with them every evening and risen every morning ; and that he ought to be tortured to death for having so grossly deceived his chief. Champlain, seeing his follower a good deal con- fused, took him aside, and adjured him to state the truth. The fellow, however, having recovered his confidence, renewed his former averments, and gave the fullest assurance, that if canoes could be procured they would erelong reach the spot. The commander, unable to believe that any individual could persevere in such audacious falsehoods, went back to the savages, re- I'i' 116 HISTORY OF CANADA fcrred to the interior sea, the English shipwreck, tlic eiglity scalps, and the young hoy in possession of the natives. Ilerenpon they sliouted louder than ever, ])roclaiming his deceit to he now quite palpahle. They ])egan to put close interi'ogatorics, to which he return- ed only unsjitisfactory rei)lies. Champlain, extremely ])erplexed, called him .again to a private interview, and told him that every thing already past should be forgiven ; hut that if, by persisting in false assertions, he should induce the expedition to go a step farther, he would most assuredly be hanged. The man then, after remaining silent for some time, fell on his knees and confessed that all he had said, and which had induced his master to undertake so long and painful a journey, Avas a c(jmplcte untruth. The motives of this crime had lieen the eclat derived from the supposed discovery, and the being brought out to New France in a conspicuous situation. He had trusted that the obstacles would be such as, at some earlier point, to lead his superior to re- nounce the attempt ; and with this view, in passing the falls he had urged him to prefer the most dangerous channels. Champlain was obliged to inform the Indians that they were right, and himself egregiously deceived. They earnestly entreated him to ])lace the liar in their hands, who they would take effectual care should never again deceive him. But, though much and justly en- raged, he resolved honourably to redeem his pledge. He had the vexation, however, to reflect, that not only had he encountered in vain a long series of labours and fatigues, but that the whole season had been spent without any effort to i)romote other objects which he had much at heart. He had now no alternative l»ut to comm(>nce his voyage down the Ottawa, and on his way he was joined by a considerable number of savage allies, who rendezvoused at the fall of St Louis. They agreed, though with difficulty, to allow two young Frenchmen to accompany them, with the view of ob- taining a knowledge of the country. Cham])lain left also De Vignau, as a punishment for his falsehood ; who UNDER THE FRENCU. 117 promised to undertake further discoveries, and to reach, if possible, the North Sea ; hut none of the natives would have any intercourse with him. Our author then sailed to Tadoussac, and thence to St Malo, where he arrived on the 26th August 1014.'^' Affairs in France continued favourable to the colon}-. Tlie Prince of Conde l)eing still powerful at court, no difficulty was found in equipping an expedition from Rouen and St Maio, though it gave some discontent to the merchants of Rochelle, who v/ere excluded on ac- count of their not having come in time. They wen; accompanied hy four Fathers RccoUets, whose benevo- lence led them to attempt the conversion of the Indians.t Champlain, with this new company, arrived on the 25th May IGlo at Tadoussac, whence he immediately pushed up to Q,ue))ec, and thence to tlie place of ren- dezvous at the fall of St Louis. He found his old allies there full of projects of war against the Iroquois, whom they proposL'd now to asstiil among the lakes to the west- ward ; and they promised to muster for this attack no fewer than 2500 fighting men. The Frenchman, never slow to embark in such enterprises, now laid down a plan of operations, at which they expressed tlie utmost satisfaction. He accompanied them in a long- route, first up the Ottawa, then, partly carrying the canoes overland partly launching them on small pieces of water, till they came to Lake Nipissing, northward from that of Huron. The country through which he passed is described as in many places broken and rocky, though not mountainous, and comi)letely uncultivated ; yet there was a profusion of berries and delicate small fruits, which the natives preserved for winter use. The Nipissings, about 700 or 800 in number, who inhabited the shores of this lake, received the party well. After remaining two days, they made their way by land and water to the coast of the great lake Attigouantan, which appeared a complete fresli-water sea, 300 leagues in * Champlain, tome i. liv. iv. ch. 1, 2, 3. f Ibid, tome i. p. 31I3-'31 7. V'> ir w I ! I 118 HISTORY OF CANADA length by 50 in breadth. It is evidently the northern part of Lake Huron, apparently separated into a distinct body of water by the continuous chain of islands which extend parallel to this shore.* After coasting it for about forty-five leagues, they turned a point which *omis its extremity, and struck into tlie interior, with the view of reaching Cahiague, the appointed rendezvous of their savage friends. Tliis country was found much superior to that hitherto passed, being well cultivated, and abounding in Indian corn and fruits. At the place just mentioned, a large body were found collected, who gave them a joyful welcome, stating their expectation of five hundred more, who also considered the Iroquois as tpcmics. While their forces were mustering, several days were- spent in dancing and festivity, the usual pre- lude to their bloody expeditions. They then set out and passed several small lakes, one of which led to the great one, which they now named Entouhonorons (Huron). On the way they employed themselves in several hunt- ing parties. Upon one occasion they made a large circle, enclosing the whole of a promontory that stretched into the lake ; after which, by loud cries and volleys of arrows, they drove all the animals to the extreme point, where they were either taken or threw themselves into the water. To meet this last case, a range of canoes were «lrawn up, and the quadrupeds fell beneath the weapons darted from either side. Having met a detachment re- turning with a band of prisoners, our adventurer was shocked to see tliem begin the horrid work of torment upon a female, and reproached the leader with a cruelty so unworthy of a genuine warrior. The Indian replied, that it was no more than the enemy did to his country- women ; but in courtesy to his ally he would desist, re- taining, however, his full right to torture the men. After quitting the Huron Lake, they struck into the intei ior, and came to a smaller expanse of water finely di- versified by islands, which seems to be Lake George. On * Cliamplain, tome i. liv. iv. ch. 6. UNDER THE FRENCH. 1J9 inoes were its banks they descried the Iroquois fort, which, in expec- tation of this attack, had been rendered peculiarly strong. It was defended by four successive palisades of trees twined together, and with strong parapets at top ; and it enclosed a pond whence streams were led to the diiferent quarters, with the view of extinguishing fire. They had advanced, and were skirmishing with success against their assailants ; but when the firearms began to play, and they heard the balls whizzing about their ears, they hastily retreated within the rampart. Thence, how- ever, they poured forth showers of arrows and stones, which induced the allies, in spite of the exhortations and reproaches of Champlain, to withdraw beyond their reach. He now, however, endeavoured to train them to the use of European machinery, teaching them to construct with wood an elevated enclosure of planks, called a cavalier, which should command the enemy's entrenchment. The discharge from this platform was meant to drive them from the parapet, and afford to the assailants an opportunity of setting fire to the defences. The savages showed the utmost activity in constructing this work, which tliey finished in four hours, and 200 of the strongest moved it forward close to the palisade. The shot from it drove the Iroquois into the interior of their stronghold, whence they still continued to return mis- siles of various kinds. The Indians might now, with the greatest ease, have set the fort in a blaze ; but Cham- plain soon found that he had to do with men who would make war only as they were inclined and accustomed. Instead of following his directions, they preferred to pour out execrations upon the enemy, and shoot ar- rows against the strong wooden defences. At length they began to throw pieces of burning timber, but care- lessly, and with little effect. Their European ally called out to them in what manner to proceed ; but the field was filled with such clamour and confusion, that his voice was lost amid the tumult. The Iroquois mean- time drew water from their reservoir so copiously, that streams flowed through every part of the fortress, and '«( !! :1 I ■ ( ' ^1! 1 I: If I " I! J 20 HISTORY OF CANADA the slight fires were speedily quenehed. Taking advan- tage of the disorder in the adverse ranks, they made arrows descend like hail, which pierced two chiefs and a nuniher of their followers. Chaniplain hhnself was twice wounded in the leg. His allies hereupon felt a strong inclination to retire, and, as usual, they followed their own views, without any regard to his exhortations. They justified themselves hy alleging the absence of the oOO auxiliaries, promising, on their arrival, to renew the iussault. Although, therefore, /or two days a strong wind l)lew most favourably for another attempt, nothing could induce them to advance. Several petty attacks were made, but with so little success, that the French were always obliged to come to the rescue ; while the enemy bitterly taunted the Algon(|uius as unable to cope with them in a fair field, and obliged to seek the odious aid of this strange and unknown race. As the reinforcement did not appear, the savages de- termined to abandon the enterprise altogether, and re- turn homeward. The retreat was conducted with a degree of skill and juc'gment which had not appeared in any of their off^cnsivc operations. They placed the wounded and aged in the centre, while armed warriors guarded the front, rear, and flanks. The Iroquois followed a short way, but soon gave up the pursuit. If, however, the safety of the disabled was well provided for, their comfort was very little considered. Their bodies were bent into a circular form, l)Ound with cords, and thrown into a basket, where they lay like infants in swaddling- clothes, unable to stir hand or foot. Champlain feel- ingly describes the agonies he endured while carried twenty-five or thirty leagues in this position, on being relieved from which he felt as if he had come out of a dungeon. He now claimed the promise to convey him home after his campaign. First, however, guides were want- ing, then a canoe ; and he soon found that they were determined to detain him and his companions, with a ^'iew to their defence in case of attack, or to aid them in UNDER THE FRENCH. 121 future expeditions. He was very ill provided for win- tering in so desolate a region ; but a chief, Darontal, gave him his hovel, huilt in the best Indian style, and he found considerable amusement in their hunting ex- cursions. On one occasion they constructed a wooden enclosui-e, of a triangular form, each side nearly a mile long, with a narrow opening at tiie point, into which, by loud cries, and imitating the howling of wolves, they contrived to drive all the deer in the vicinity. The aperture being then shut, the animals became an easy prey."- On the 20th May of the following year Champlain set out, and found himself in the end of June at the Sault St Louis. Jlaving remained there a short time, he repaired to Tadoussac, whence he sailed, and arrived at Honfleur on the 10th Stptrmber IGiG.f The interests of the colony were now in considerable jeopardy. The Prince of Conde, in consequence of the share taken l)y him in the ', wliieli was kej)t up a lono- time hy the allies and the three visiters ; tlieu each of them kissed Ills liand, and put tlieirs into tliat of tlie governor. Tlie Ifuroiis now danced in a hody, men, women, and eliil(hvn,when harmony was considered as comph'tely cstal)lislied. At this .stage the Irocjuois ex- plained their oliject, Avhieh Cham])lain readily engaged to promote. They rejiresented this proposal for amity as proceeding entirely from themselves, an«l that tliey came not as authorized envoys ; though this, we sus- pect, was rather to avoid prematurely connnitting the nation. The Hurons, however, treated them with friendslii]), and, in concurrence with their French ally, determined nj)on sending four of their numher to com- plete, if possil)le, the negotiation o])ened under such ta- vourahle ansj)ices.* On arriving at the headquarters of the Iroquois, they met a very khul recei)tion, and the treaty was nearly concluded, when it was almost hroken off hy an event strikingly characteristic of this fierce independent race. Even heforc they set out, a savage, whom the French named Simon, declared his determi- nation to accompany then), hut in a hostile character, singly to wage war against this hated enemy ; and such, in this rude trihe, was the total want of any puhlic authority, that they could use nothing heyond impotent remonstrances to deter him. They had recourse to their ally, who employed warm representations, and even threats, to make the harharian desist. But though the latter admitted it to he very wicked in hhn, he declared that he was perfectly miserahle, and could have no peace, till he had cut off' the head of an enemy. After this as- surancc all argument was vain, the community not having any means of placing its men>hers under the slightest • Champlain, tome ii. liv. i. ch. t>. UNDER TlIK FREXCII. 125 ,ith ro.stniint. lie ac'C'oMijmnii'd his coiintrymi'n, aiul sliarrd ill tlu'ir f>:<)()(l n rt'i>tioii ; but as they wi'iv ritiiiniii',' hoinc, hv met oiu" of tlu' Uotrsted tribe ami gratlHcd lii.s vcn^taiu'c by despatthinj^ him. SiK'h a (hed, by any incinbcr of a cIn iH/ed mission, must at oncf have ter- minated all ne(j;()tiation ; but the di'j)uties havinite oi' the court, therefore, they formed the majority of every crew ; and though the most illiberal restrictions were laid upon their worship, llieir numbei's enabled them to treat these with little ceremony. I^iVen De Caen professed this faith ; and the new viceroy had the afHiction to learn that he had not only allowed Pi'otestant prayers to be publicly offered lip, but even «lesired the Romanists to attend them. Ho was restless, therefore, till an arrangement could be made, by which a captain of sound belief should be appointed to conmiand the vessels. lie could not, liow- Cliamplain, tome ii. p. 79-09. 126 HISTORY OF CANADA ^i'l ■ !! ever, escape the fatal necessity of employing a crew- most of whom were accounted heretical ; but in return, he directed that the means of exercising their religion should be confined witliin the narrowest possible limits. In particular, he strictly enjoined that they should not sing psalms in the St Lawrence ; but the mariners, who had freely performed this act of worship in the open sea, loudly exclaimed against such a capricious restric- tion ; and though the express orders of the duke could not be departed from, a compromise was made, allowing them greater latitude in other parts of their ritual. Our author uniformly expresses a pious horror touching the Reformers, and the utmost reluctance to grant them the slightest favour ; but oddly excuses himself by saying : — " They were almost two-thirds Huguenots ; so of a bad debt, one must take what payment he can get."* Champlain was coritinued in all his powers by the Duke de Ventadour, who kept him a considerable time near his person, so that two years and a half had elapsed before his return to Canada. He found the colony in the same unsatisfactory state as after his for- mer absence ; the fort, for completing which all the materials and full instructions had been left, was ex- actly in the same condition as when he departed. The settlement at Quebec consisted still of no more than fifty-five persons, of whom twenty -four only were fit for labour.t He learned, moreover, that the In- dian affairs were by no means in a good state. The Iroquois, being on their way to attack a tribe called the Wolves, had killed a party who opposed their pro- gress, among whom were five of another nation. The latter forthwith sent messengers, bearing as gifts collars of wampum, to the chiefs of the French allies, and en- treating their aid in a war of revenge. It was easy to kindle a hostile spirit among these fierce clans, and a strong party was soon formed in fiivour of warlike mea- sures. The more prudent anxiously recommended a • Champlain, tome ii. pp. 41, 94, 103, 104, 133. -)- Ibid, tome ii. pp. 13/, 138. UNDER THE FRENCH. 127 pacific policy, and Mahigan Aticq hastened to Quebec, to apprize Champlain of what was passing. Deeply re- gretting these events, he reiterated all his arguments for the preservation of the blessings enjoyed under the present tranquil system. As it was not in his power to go in person, he sent Boulle, his brother-in-law, and afterwards one of his people, named Emery, to impress tliese views upon the savage assembly. They were both well received, and their advice approved by the great body of the nation ; but the lawless system which still prevailed in the tribe made it impossible to prevent nine or ten hot-headed youths from making an unauthorized inroad into the Iroquois territory. This band having readied Lake Champlain, surprised a canoe with three individuals, two of whom they seized and brought home in triumph. The preparations for the work of torture were already going on, when Emery hastened to convey the intelligence to Champlain, who immediately re- paired to the spot. The sight of the captives, fine young men, and of the tortures preparing for them, quickened his ardour in the cause of peace and huma- nity. He strongly urged that, instead of such barba- rous treatment, they should be sent home unhurt, with presents to compensate for this wanton attack. After due deliberation, this advice was so far adopted that one individual was sent back, with two allies, one of them a chief, and Magnan, a Frenchman. This ex- pedition, sent with so laudable an intention, had the most tragical issue. An Algonquin who wished to foment war, contrived to rouse the jealousy of the Iroquois, by persuading them that this mission, though professing friendship, was devised with the most treacherous intent. Misled by tli^sc views, the latter prepared to take cool and deliberate revenge. When the strangers arrived, they found the fire kindled, the cauldron boiling, and being courteously received, were invited to sit down. The Iroquois then asked the chief if, after so long a journey, he did not feel hungry. As he replied in the affirmative they rushed upon him, and began to cut slices from hii \ 128 HISTORY OF CANADA ' 1 arms, and throw them into the pot ; soon after, they presented them to him half cooked. Tliey then cut pieces from other parts of his body, and continued their torture till he died in lingering agonies. The Frenchman was tormented to death in the usual manner. Another Indian, more fortunate, while attempting to escape, was shot dead on the spot ; a fourth was made prisoner. When news reached the allies of this dreadful tragedy, the war-cry was immediately sounded, and the remain- ing captive was put to death with every refinement of cruelty. "■ Champlain himself, though d('ej)ly afflicted by the intelligence, saw no longer any possd)ility of avert- ing hostilities ; he felt that, as a countryman had been deprived of life, the power of the nation would be held in contempt if no resentment were shown at so dreadful an outrage. Indeed he ex])erienced no little trouble, even among the friendly tribes, who immediately sur- rounded him. In several cases, Europeans were mur- dered in an atrocious mtumer, and under circumstances which rendered it impossible to accept as an explana- tion the assurance that j)arties of Iroquois had pene- trated to the spot. After overlcjking these as much as j)ossi])le, a fresh instance having occurred, he demanded that an individual, to Avhom strong suspicion attached, should be put into his hands. He detained him fourteen months ; but being unable to ]>rocure positive evidence, and pressed by other circumstinces now to be related, he set him at liberty. The dignity of the French re([uired that vigorous measures should have been taken to avenge so great a wrong ; but their attention was soon called to other qu.arters. Hostilities having broken out with England, two of their sul)jects, David and Louis Kertk, Calvinist refugees, entered the service of that country, where they were known under the name of Kirk. They equip- j)ed a squadron, which sailed to the mouth of the St Lawrence, captured several vessels, and intercepted the I )l Champlain, tome ii. pp. 14(1, ^11-214.. UNDER THE 1 llENCH. 129 fter, they then cut iiicd their I'enchmaii Another scape, waH prisoner. I tragedy, c reinain- lement of fflicted by of avcrt- had been be held in dreadful trouhh', itely sur- cre mur- inistaneeH explana- ad pene- much as eniandcd attached, fourteen evidence, lated, he vigorous great a to other EngUmd, Calvinist u re they y equip- tif the St pted the communication between the mother-country and the colony. The settlers, who had not yet sufficiently ex- tended cultivation to supply themselves with provisions, were thus reduced to the greatest distress. At length, in July 1629, Sir David Kirk summoned Quebec. As, in addition to famine, the ammunition was nearly ex- hausted, the governor considered himself as having no choice but to surrender. The invader, who still retained many of the feelings of his birth, promised honourable conditions, and every species of good treatment to his countrymen. They were allowed to depart with their arms, clothes, and baggage. The request of a ship to con- vey them directly libme could not be complied with ; but they were promised a commodious passage by way of England. Champlain was desirous to take with him two little native girls, whom he had carefully educated, and although at first objected to, this was granted on a fuller explanation. The place being surrendered, Kirk and the English showed to the garrison every species of courtesy ; though Baillif, a renegade Frenchman, to whom he intrusted the keys of the magazine, seized a great quantity of furs, besides various articles of church property, and subjected his countrymen to all the ill treatment in his power. Champlain, who arrived at Dover on the 27th Oc- tober, proceeded thence to London, for the purpose of conferring with the French ambassador. The differences between the two nations were now in a train of adjust- ment ; but a large party in the Gallic eabinc*, set too little value on the settlement to think its restoration worth insisting upon. Champlain strongly deprecated this view of the subject ; his counsels at length pre- vailett at the court of Louis XIII. ; and when the Fnglish found the matter seriously pressed, they con- sented without much difficulty. The final treaty, however, was not signed till the 29th March 1632. The indifference with which both countries viewed this colony, though bearing the pompous title of New France, was not ill jujtified by its actual condition. A fort VOL. I. H I ''I ii . "i 'I li ' \f\' ^ V. (! It 11 kif. I I!' 130 HISTORY OF CANADA with some houses and barracks at Qiiehec ; a few huts for fishing and trade at Tadoussae, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal, fomied nearly all that answered to that im- j)0sing name.* But even prior to its late disaster, arrangements had been made with a view to rescue it from this depressed state. Under the direction of Cardinal Richelieu, whose administration was marked by a bold and enterprising character, an association was fonned of a hundred distinguished individuals, who imdertook that, by the year 1G43, they would raise the population to 6000. They engaged to maintain the emi- grants for three years, bestowing upon them lands and seed-corn. They were also to send a suitable number of clerg\nnen, subsisting them for fifteen years, and at the end of that period to assign them glebes sufficient for their support.t Their operations were suspended by the disastrous events just narrated ; but when the above treat} restored Canada to the French, their rights were fully confirmed, and th^y made no hesitation in rein- vesting Champlain with his former jurisdiction. The year lCi33 had arrived, however, before an expedition was ready to sail, which carried with it more property than was supposed at the time to exist in the colony. The governor found most of those whom he had left ; l)ut their prosperity must have been greatly checked by the bigoted spirit which induced the court to prohibit altogether the exercise of the reformed religion, by whose professors chiefly the settlement had been sup- ported. Some small compensation was afforded, by the institution of religious establishments embracing objects of general education and instruction. A son of the Marquis de Gamache, whose fervour had impel- led him to join the order of Jesuits, conceived the ambicion of founding a college at Quebec, and was ena- bled by his friends to offer GOOO gold crowns for this purpose. His proposal was readily accepted, and, though • Heriot, History of Canada, 8vo, London, 1804 (translated from Charlevoix, Histoire de la Nouvelle France), p. 49. -|- Cliarlevoix in Heriot, pp. 37, 3B. a few huts ^uercs, and that im- e disaster, to rescue irection of as marked association duals, who d raise the in the emi- lands and number of and at the nt for their id by the the above •ights were >n in rein- tion. The expedition 'e property ;he colony. had left ; checked by to prohibit eligion, by been sup- forded, by embracing >n. A son had impel- ceived the id was ena- ns for this iud, though 4 (translated Hi. UNDER THE FRENCH. 131 delayed by the misfortunes of the colony, was carried into effect in 1635. Four years later, under the auspices of the Duchess d'Aiguillon, a party of Ursuline nuns were sent out, and a seminary established by them at Quebec. But the religious foundation from which the greatest advantages were derived was that projected by the Abbe Olivier, who had originated the order of St Sul- pice, and proposed that a seminary, bearing its name and composed of its members, should be formed in New France. The king listened favourably to this sugges- tion, and, with the view of realizing it; made a grant of the whole island of Montreal. A party was formed, the Sieur Maisonneuve Vas placed at its head, and invested with the government. That important place, where hi- therto there had been only a few detached huts, assumed now the aspect of a Regular settlement, and rose, by gra- dual steps, until it attained a great degree of pros])erity /"' But, in the mean time, the rising colony was destined to encounter severe disasters. The death of Champlain, early m 1636, was a severe blow. Though some parts of his early policy were very questionable, his devotion to the cause, his energy and high reputation, were generally viewed as the chief bond by which the whole undertaking had been held together. The company, after their first great effort, scon relaxed, and allowed the settlement to relapse into a languishing state. They had sent hideed a considerable number of monks and nuns ; but of troops and stores, which were more urgently wanted, the supply was very scanty. The situation of M. de Mont- magny, the new governor, was rendered more critical by the state of the Indian nations. We have already seen the lenewal of the war with the Iroquois ; and as the weakness of the French had rendered it im- possible for them to afford any aid to their native allies, that warlike confederacy had advanced by rapid steps to a supremacy of power. They had completely humbled the Algouquins, who formerly held the fore- • Charlevoix in Ileriot, p, 49-55. 132 HISTORY OP CANADA 'Sf most place in the savage world ; they closely pressed the Hurons, scarcely allowing their canoes to pass up and down the river ; and they now threatened in great force the settlement of Trois Rivieres. In this exigency, Montmagny's resources enabled him only to carry on a defensive warfare, which he appears to have done with vigour, erecting a fort at the mouth of the river Sorel, by which the Iroquois chiefly made their de- scents. That fierce people, whether tired of so long a contest or awed by the renewed power displayed by the French, began to make proposals for a solid peace ; and though the governor had good reason to doubt their since- rity and dread some sinister object, his situation left no choice but to receive them with apparent cordiality. He tlierefore repaired to Trois Rivieres to meet their de- puties, while the chiefs of the tribes in alliance with him came also to the interview. The envoys of the Five Nations then produced seventeen belts, which they had arranged along a cord fastened between two stakes. Their orator came forward and addressed the governor- general by the title of Ononthio, which, in their language, signifies Great Mountain ; and though it was in refer- ence to his name of Montmagry, they continued ever after to apply this tenn to the French viceroy. They often added the respectful appellation of father. The speaker declared the sincerity of their intentions, and their wish " to forget their songs of war, and to resume the voice of cheerfulness." He then proceeded to the exposition of the belts, which occupied three hours, each explana- tion being accompanied with appropriate gestures, which alone would have been almost sufficient to unfold his meaning. Thus, having occasion to refer to the diffi- culties of canoe-navigation, he performed all the move- ments necessary in guiding one through the rapids, and, representing himself as striking against a rock, used signs expressive of the pain caused by such an acci- dent. These belts variously expressed the calming of the )=-^irit of war, the opening of the paths, the mutual visits to be paid, the feasts to be given, the restitution UNDER THE FRENCH. 133 of the captives, and other friendly proceedings. The governor, in conformity to Indian etiquette, delayed his answer for two days, when, at another general meeting, he bestowed as many presents as he had received belts, and through an interpreter expressed the most pacific sentiments. Piskarct, a great Algonquin chief, then said, — " Behold a stone, which I place on the sepulchre of those who were killed in the war, that no one may attempt to remove their bones, and that every desire of avenging their death may be laid aside." Three dis- charges of cannon were considered as sealing the treaty. It was for some timg faithfully observed, and unwonted tranquillity reigned throughout this savage region. The Iroquois, the Algonquins, and Hurons forgot their deadly feuds, and mingled in the chase as if they had been one nation.* M. de Montmagny, like his predecessor, appears to have commanded the general respect of the native inha- bitants. Unluckily, in consequence of an attempt by De Poinci, who commanded in the West Indies, to render himself independent, the court adopted the jealous po- licy of continuing no governor in power longer than three years. This system was peculiarly ill suited to a settlement like that of Canada, where intimate local knowledge, and a peculiar mixture of firmness and ad- dress, were necessary to deal with tumultuary tribes whom they had not strength to subdue. Montmagny was replaced by Ailleboust, said to have been a man of probity, hut scarcely possessing the energy required in so difficult a situation. During his government the Iro- quois formed the resolution of renewing the war in all its fury. No ground is stated ; but the Europeans and their allies in consequence of it became exposed to a series of dreadful calamities. The missionaries had not merely formed establish- ments at Quebec and Montreal, but had also penetrated into the territory of the savages. In this task they cer- * Charlevoix in Heriot, p. 51-63. 134 HISTORY OF CANADA P .It ;f h' 1 lis M : ■ ' i (• ; tainly gave full proof of sincerity, renouncing all the comforts of civilized life, and exposing themselves to every species of hardship and danger. They have been accused of unduly combining political v, ith religious ob- jects. They did certainly employ their influence for the furtherance of French power ; since they induced a number even of the Iroquois not only to quit the country to which they were so strongly attached and settle withui the limits of the colony, but even to light against their own relations. But, at the same time, they undoubtedly reclaimed their votaries from many savage habits, and trained them to some degree of order and industry. The Hurons were found the most docile and suscc])tible of improvement, and their great numbers afforded a wide field of exertion. Ujiwards of three thousand of them are recorded to have been baptized at one time ; and though it was easier to make converts than to retain them, yet a considerable change is said to have appeared in the aspect of this wild region, and very favourable prospects to have been opened.'* The main object was to unite them in villages, of which the chief was Sillery, or St Joseph and St Mary, with several smaller de- pendent ones. In 1G48 the Iroquois, as already stated, determined to renew the war ; a resolution adopted by them, if we may believe the annals of the colony, without any ground, or even pretext. The settlement, how- ever, was now destined to experience the terrible effects of their rapid movements ; that they could advance like foxes, and attack like lions ; and that their arrival and triumphant return were usually an- nounced at the same momcnt.t In the village of Sillery, where four hundred families were settled in the most profound peace, and the missionary was celebrating the most solemn ordinances of religion, Lhe cry was suddenly raised, " We are murdered !" An indiscriminate mas- • Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1642, 1643, p. 32 ; an 1647, p. hi ; ans 1649, 16.')0, p. 92. •)- Missions, ans 1659, 1661', p. 17* UNDER THE FRENCH. 135 sacre liad begun, without distinction of sex or age. In vain did women flee into the depth of the forest with infants in their arms, whose feeble cries betrayed themselves and their mothers. Finally, the assailants fell upon the priest, and, uft . each successively had struck a blow, threw him into the flames."' Notwithstanding this dreadful example, the Iroquois liaving disappeared for six months, the villages relapsed into their former security. This tran([uillity, however, was again disturbed in 1G49 by a party of the same people, amounting to a tho'usiind, who made an attack upon tbe mission of St Ignace. Some resistance was offered, and ten assailants fell ; but ultimately all the inhabitants, except three, were killed or carried off. St Louis was next attacked, and made a brave defence, which, though it was finally stormed, enabled many of the women and children to escape. The missionaries could have sa'ed themselves ; but, like others of their brethren, attaching a high importance to the administration of the sacrament to the dying, they sacrificed their lives to the performance of this sacred rite. They were Jiou killed on the spot, but " reserved for greater crowns," having to pass through a dreadful series of torture and mutila- tion.t Deep and universal dismay now spread among the Huron people. Their country, lately so peaceable and flour- ishing, was become a land of horror and of blood, a sepul- chre of the dead, and no hope a])peared to the Svirvivors. The whole nation, with one consent, broke up and fled for refuge in every direction. A few reluctantly offered to unite with their conquerors, who, according to their usual policy, readily accepted them. The greater num- ber sought an asylum among the nations of the Cat, the Ottawa, and others still more remote. The missionaries were greatly at a loss how to proceed with the remnant of their converts, now nearly reduced to the single vil- * Missions, ans 1048, IfUO, pp. 12, 13. + Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 164^, 1649, pp. 12, 34-311, c. iv. 136 HISTORY OF CANADA lagc of St Mary. The island of Manitoulin, in Lake Huron, was proposed ; but though they wanted the means or courage to defend their country, they felt a deep reluctance to remove to such a distance from it. They preferred the insular situation of St Joseph, in Lake Ontario, which, it was hoped, would secure them against this dreaded foe. They enjoyed for some time an unwonted tranquillity, hut were obliged, by the dif- ficulty of subsistence, to fonn stations on the opposite coast, at the distance of six or eight leagues. It was hoped, that on any al.'irm the inhabitants might thence flee to the island for safety ; but the Iroquois, on learn- ing the existence of these posts, came upon them suc- cessively, with such suddenness and fatal precision, that it seemed as if a destroying angel had guided their steps. One after the other was surprised and destroyed, till of many hundreds only a single individual escaped. The unhappy remnant of the Huron nation, now re- duced to 300, renounced every hope of remaining in their native seats. One of their chiefs addressed the mission- ary, representing the extremity to which they were re- duced, being ghosts rather than men, and hoping to pre- serve their wretched existence only by fleeing into the depth of the forests, or to some distant country. If he chose to remain where he was, he could only have trees and rocks to instruct. This was the preface to a solicita- tion that he should convey them to Quebec, and place them under the immediate protection of the French set- tlement. After serious consideration, this was deemed t^e most eligible course, and arrangements were imme- diately made for its execution. They were then led through the wide regions lately peopled by their coun- trymen, to the number of ten or twelve thousand, but wliich now presented a scene of unbroken silence and desolation. The sombre aspect of the vast forest w^ only intemipted by the traces of havock and slaughter at every spot formerly inhabited, attesting the general destruction of the Huron name. Overwhelmed with distress, they reached Quebec, where they expeiienced UNDER THE FRENCH. 137 now re- ft mortifying contrast to the reception which they would have touiid among any neighhouring tribe of savages. There they would have had every want supplied, and been welcomed as countrymen and equals. Here they were viewed only as objects of charity ; and though in this light considerable exertions were made, the reli- gious houses finding room for a hundred of the most destitute, yet the remainder were in danger of perishing from cold and hunger, till a station could be formed for them, which, from their fonner chief settlement, was named Sillery.''* As the Iroquois now lorded it completely over Ca- nada, the French were virtually blockaded in the throe forts of Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal, from un- der the very cannon of which they and their allies were sometimes carried off ; and, almost every autumn, bands of hostile invaders swept away the limited harvests raised in the immediate vicinity of these places. Yet in 1653 tliis fierce nation began, of their own accord, to make overtures of peace ; and it was found with surprise that the missionaries had powerfully contributed to this reso- lution. They had been regarded at first with extreme antipathy, being probably considered as enemies of their race, seeking to subvert the native deities and customs. In the course of the late inroads, however, a considerable number had been cari'ied off, and after suf- fering protracted torture and partial mutilation, had been spared and adopted. Then their meek deportment, their solemn ceremonies, and the fervour with which " they raised to God lands without fingers," made a strong im- pression on tne savage breast. Hence, at different times, deputies from the ruling horde said in their figurative language that they came to wipe away tlie blood which had reddened the mountains, the lakes, and the rivers, to bring back the sun, which had hid his face during the late dreadful scenes of war- fare. They solicited, at the same time, " black-robes," * Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1649, 1650, pp. 83-8(1, 100. 138 niSTORY OP CANADA idi m they termed the misHionaries, to teach them the Christian doctrine. This invitation to go int«) the midst of ferocious enemies, into u land yet smoking with European hlood, wouM liave shaken the nerves of most men. Yet individuals were found who, with a generous self-devotion, did not shrink from the undertaking ; nor does it appear that the im])licd pledge of safety was vio- lated even during war.* The Onondagoes, in 1(55(5, went so far as to solicit that a settlement connected with a mission should he formed in their territory ; jmd Lauson, then governor, having acceded to this proposal, sent the Sieur Dupuys, with fifty of his countrymen, who huilt a church in the hosom of that savage region. This esta])lish- ment, however, was generally dittfipproved hy the other trihes ; and after it had subsisted two years, formi- dable assemblages took place, which Dupuys could not doubt were intended to attack him. He therefore con- sidered himself fortunate in being able, while their at- tention was attracted to a great feast given for that purpose by a friendly Indian, to embark his troops, and convey them to Montreal. f The French felt themselves too weak to reject proposals for peace, though often made Avith mortifying haughti- ness. ^Ihe Viscount d'Argenson, who went out in 1658, considered it necessary to accept their terms, especially as the utmost cruelties were otherwise threatened to the captives. Yet even by these means his countrymen scarcely obtained any degree of the expected repose. This disappointment arose either from deliberate treachery, or the impossibility of confining in one course the va- rious unruly elements of which the confederacy con- sisted. The most amicable professions hardly procured a respite from hostility ; for while one party treated, another attacked : " Peace, it is said, is proclaimed at Montreal, while war rages at Trois Rivieres ; we are daily attacked and murdered by those who call them- * INIissions en la Nouvelle France, ans 1055, KiSfi, p. 18-20; ans J6H0, 1(5(51, p. 83-40. -f- Charlevoix in Heriot, pp. 74, 81-86. UNDER THE FRENCH. 139 selves our friends." At lenj;th, in lOfJO, it was un- nouuced that u grand deputation was coming from all the cantons, with the professed intention to unite the wliole earth, and to hury the hatehet so deep, that it might never again ho (hig up ; and they hrought with them a hun(hvd eolhirs of wanii)um. Unhap[Mly a party of Algon(|uins, stung hy aecumuhited wrongs, deter- mined to violate even the sacred character of such a mission ; anil having formed an amhuscade, they sur- prised and killed the greater part of them. All ])rospcct8 of ])eace were thus hlasted, and war raged with greater fury than ever."' • The Inx^uois, during this period, continually extend- ed their dominion. Having seen the powerful effect of firearms, they procured them from the Dutch at Man- hatti, and thus acquired an additional superiority over the neighbouring tribes. They attacked the Ottawas, ou accomit of the shelter afforded to their fugitive enemies. That people did not make even an attempt at resistance, l)ut sought refuge amid marshes or in the islands on Lake Huron, while others penetrated far south-west into the valley of the Mississippi, where they formed a junc- tion with the Sioux. On the same ground the Iroquois commenced a desj)erate war with the nation of the Eriez, — a name in their language signifying Cats. After a somewhat hard struggle, they completely succeeded ; seven hundred of them stormed the main fortress of the enemy, though defended by 2000 men ; and tlut survivors were either incorporated with the victors, or fled into remoter regions. This once powerful nation has left no memorial of its existence except the great lake which bears its name. It is reckoned that the con- querors held undisputed sway over a country five hun- dred miles in circuit. The very sight of one of them struck terror into the neighbouring tribes ; and on t\\e side of New England, the cry of " A Mohawk !" echoed " Missions en la Nouvelle France, ans IGUO, Klfjl, p, 12-26 ans ItJUJ, lt)(J4, p. IQ\), &c. Heriot, pp. 87, 94, 95. I 140 HISTORY OF CANADA from hill to hill, causing general consternation and flight.* Amid this series of disastrous events, the French go- vernors, whether from weakness or pusillanimity, hehcld the destruction of their allies and the complete ascend- ency of this hostile power, without any attempt to prevent either. They did not even goto war, but thouglit it enough to keep the colonists shut up in fortified posts, which the enemy had not skill to besiege ; and nothing else pre- vented them from speedily destroying these settlements, the environs of which they daily insulted. They even made a descent upon the Isle of Orleans, where they surprised a party of ninety Hurons ; and having killed six, bound the rest, and made them sing in front of Quebec, thus openly defying the governor. M. Maisonneuve, appre- hensive for Montreal, and unable otherwise to procure aid, repaired to France, where, by earnest solicitation, he obtained a reinforcement of a hundred men. The Hurons, under European protection, in a moment of despondency, had made an offer of uniting themselves to the Iroquois, which, as usual, was readily accepted ; but the former soon repented. That proud nation then sent thirty deputies to remonstrate, not only with them, but with the governor-general, M. de Lauson. To him they said, " Lift up thy arm, Ononthio, and allow thy chil- dren, whom thou boldest pressed to thy bosom, to de- part ; for if they are guilty of any imprudence, thou hast reason to fear, lest in coming to chastise them, my blows fall on thy head." They even demanded canoes to convey these reluctant associates, Lauson, instead of resenting this haughty address, caused them to be informed, that if the Hurons were inclined to go, he would not oppose their departure ; that he had no canoes, but they might construe!, as many as they wanted. After this, considering that no option was left them, except to which of the five nations they • Heriot, p. 73-77. Missions, ans 1659, 1660, p. 33-35. Colden's History of the Five Nations, vol. i. pp. 3, 4. UNDER TUE FRENCH. 141 should unite themselves, the greater part in consequence left the island.* Amid these external evils, the colony was farther visited by a terrible convulsion of nature. A succession of earthquakes, which commenced on the 5th February 1663, were felt for half a year with little intermission throughout all Canada, recurring two or three times every day, agitating both the earth and the waters, and spreading universal alarm ; yet, as they did not inflict any permanent injury, nor cause the loss of a single life, the accounts given of them are probably much exaggerated.t Meantime the mo^ urgent representations were made to Louis XIV. that his government was totally neglect- ing one of the finest countries in the world, and expos- ing the French name to contempt, by allowing it to be trampled upon by a handful of savages. That prince, who had recently assumed the J'eins of power, being eager- ly bent upon every means of aggrandizement, was not likely to overlook one so considerable. He was seconded by his minister Colbert, who had specially devoted his thoughts to the extension of commerce ; and it was there- fore immediately resolved to take steps for raising Canada to her due importance. Four hundred troops were ordered thither ; and M. de Monts was appointed commissioner to examine into and regulate the diflferent branches of ad- ministration. Tlie governor had hitherto exercised in person, and without control, all its functions ; but there was now united with him a council of royal appoint- ment, and an intendant, to whom were intrusted the weighty concerns of justice, police, finance, and marine. This new system did not at first work altogether smoothly, nor did the independent materials of which it was composed well harmonize. M. de Mesy, the gover- nor, after having sent back to France two of the princi- pal members of council, was himself recalled. The • Heriot, pp. 7:^ 75, 7«-»2. t Ibid. pp. U9-102. Missions, aa 1663, pp. 17, 18. 142 HISTORY OP CANADA ; :! it' court, however, per.«cvcred in its determination to raise the new colony to a proper rank. The associates who had so loiig neglected it, and were unwilling to involve themselves in a large outlay with uncertain returns, re- signed their privileges into the hands of the crown ; and government, according to the unvarying system of that age, pl'iced it in the hands of the West India Company, though it retained for some time the administration of its affairs.* In T>nrsuance of these views, the Marquis de Tracy was it out in 1G65 under the joint character of vice- roy and lieutenant-general, and thus invested with un- controlled power. Along with hhn, in addition to the former detachment, was despatched the entire regiment of Carignan-Salieres, for some time employed in Hun- gary against the Turks, where it had acquired a high reputation. A considerahlc innnher of settlers, h\cluding artisans, with horses and cattle, formed an accession to the colony exceeding the amount of its actual members. The new viceroy lost no time in taking measures for checking the insolence of the Iroquois, and estahlishing a supremacy over these proud savages. He began by erecting three foils on the river Richelieu, in a situa- tion fitted to cover the French territory from their in- cursions. Overawed by these movements, and by the report of his large force, three of the cantons sent depu- ties with ample professions of friendshi}), proposing an exchange of all the prisoners taken on both sides since the last treaty. The viceroy was pleased witli their de- portment, and agreed to the terms. The fierce Oneydas and Mohawks, however, still kept aloof ; and a party of tlie latter even killed three officers, one of whom, De Chasy, was nephew to the viceroy. But as two corps were advancing into their territory, an envoy from each nation soon appeared at Quebec, professing to negotiate for peace. They were well received, and invited to the governor's table, when the conversation happening to • Charlevoix in Heriot, pp. 97, 103-112. r< UNDER THE FRENCH. 143 fall »n De Chasy's death, the Mohawk, in a paroxysm of savage pride, lifted his arm, saying. a With this hand that young officer wiis slain." Tracy, in a trans- port of rage, told him he should never live to kill ano tiler Freuchipan, and ordered him to be immediately strangled ; while the other deputy was detained a pri- soner.* This event put an end to all pacific overtures. De Courcelles had already begun his march into the Mo- hawk dominions ; but as it was the depth of winter, the excessive cold, together with the wary conduct adopted by the enemy, prevented him from effecting much. On his return he found The viceroy ready to take the field, with an expedition on a greater scale, in wli'cb 600 of the Carignan regiment were employed. He detained, without listening to tliem, two new ambassadors, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, resolved to command in person. In spite of every precaution, the Indians had receiver" r.otice of his approach, and, abandoning their village ; sy left liim to march through a desolate count ^ . ilc found, however, an abundance of grain buried near their deserted abodes, which enabled him to subsist his troops till he reached the extreme frontier, where he found the Indians assembled on a spot whither they had not expected him to penetrate. On discovering the French they attempted no resistance, but fled with i)recipitation into still more remote and less accessible retreats ; and as the viceroy could not attempt to occupy this extensive territory, he found it necessary to return, without striking any decisive blow. Though this expedition had not fully answered its object, yet the awe which it inspired, added to the protection of the forts, secured the colony in a great degree from the inroad of these fierce marauders. It enjoyed a long tranquillity, and began even to assume a flourishing and cultivated appearance. Most of the regiment of Carignan, both officers and soldiers, settled • Heriot, p. 113-116. 144 HISTORY OP CANADA in the country, where they received liberal grants of land. As many of the former belonged to families of rank, they rendered society more polished than was usual in transatlantic communities, though they intro- duced the feudal laws and usages at that time common in "urope. Considerable inconvenience having arisen ft . the scattered manner in which a great part of the ^ .s had been brought into cultivation, an attempt was Fiiurde to concentrate them ; but the amount of labour and prope. vy already invested rendered this to a great extent impracticable.* M. de Courcelles, who succeeded Tracy in 1667, is accused of some faults in the internal administration ; but in his conduct towards the Indians, which formed the most important and difficult branch, he displayed a happy union of firmness and address. He even suc- ceeded, though not without difficulty and some indig- nation on their part, in preventing his savage allies from engaging in war against the Iroquois. He availed himself of this auspicious interval to extend the power of France to the interior of Canada and the upper parts of the St Lawrence. Two Jesuits, Perrot and Marquette, were employed to survey those districts. The latter induced a large body of the Hurons to settle at Michillimakinac, on an island in the river, between the great lakes Huron and Michigan, a situation very favourable for the fur-trade. Agreeably to the reports transmitted to him, the governor fixed upon Cataraqui, on Lake Ontario, near the present site of Kingston, as an advantageous point both for the protection of the trade and for holding the Five Nations in av/e. He visited the spot, and having procured a meeting of the savage chiefs, obtained their consent to the measure, carefully concealing, of course, the most important object con- templated in its erection. Courcelles had requested his recall, and on his return to Quebec in 1672 found his place supplied by Louis, • Heriot, p. 120-125. 6 UNDER THE FRENCH. 145 Count de Frontenac, who was destined to act a most im- portant part in the history of Canada. He was ahle, en- terprising, active, and ambitious, but proud, overbearing, and subject to capricious jealousies and enmid/js. He entered, however, cordially into the views of his prede- cessor in regard to the fort at Cataraqui, which he immediately caused to be established ; and it has often from him been called Fort Frontenac. At the same time he set on foot, or actively promoted, vast projects for exploring the interior regions of America.* Although this leader conducted the affairs of the colony with spirit and energy, his domineering temper could not brook the*checks by which a jealous court sought to limit his juriadiction. It was enjoined that all affairs of hnportance should be decided in a council composed of himself, the bishop, and ihe intendant, each with an equal vote. The prelate was supported by a numerous body of clergy, many of wliom were connected with powerful families at home, and were iccused of wishing to obtain the supreme direction of affairs. Their influence was laudably exerted in opposing the sale of spirits to the savages, which produced most per- nicious effects, but which the count considered as at once extremely profitable, and a means of attaching them to the French interest. The government, on carefully con- sidermg the opposite statements, decided according to the opinion of the clergy, and strictly prohibited the traffic. But the count had still more violent dissensions with the intendant, M. Chesneau, Avho was not only a member of the council, but autliorized to act as its president ; and being considered a man of a mild temper, the chief blame was thrown on the governor. As it was found impos- sible for them to act together, the court determined to recall both ; and M. de la Barre, accordingly, m 1682, was sent out as the new viceroy.t Canada was then in a critical situation, which ren- dered it ill able to sustain the want of a vigorous * Heriot, p. 123-140. VOL. I. t Ibid. pp. 146.149, 160, 161. I I J 46 HISTORY OF CANADA if 11 ' il'tj m . administration. The fine territory on the Hudson, at first occupied by the Dutch under the title of New Belgium, was subsequently claimed, and, after several contests, secured by the English, who named it I.^vv York. Here, according to European ideas, tliey held the Iroquois country as included within their domi- nion ; and though this pretension could not be yet dec^^ '' \ they endeavoured with success to court that ])eop and alienate them from the French. Their mere .;.nts, carrying on a free trade, while that of their rivals was fettered l)y an exclusive company, dealt with the tribes on more advantageous terms. The Iroquois, therefore, found it their interest, not only to carry all their furs to the English market, but to buy up those of the savages in alliance with France. Heavy complaints were made by that power ; but the Indians, fissured of British support, treated them with great in- diiTerence ; and that shrewd race soon discovered, in the eager competition between these two European na- tions, the means of rendering their own position more secure and imposing. The military strength of the colony, too, was greatly reduced ; the troops who had gone out with De Tracy, having had lands assigned to them, were become proprietors and cultivators rather than soldiers ; and though they held their tenures on the condition of military service, they could not be called out without intennipting the agriculture of the country, and endangering its subsistence. M. de la Barre, however, determined upon war, and, having obtained a reinforcement of 200 m(jn, advanced up the river. He was met at Montreal by deputies from the cantons, w^ho made strong professions of friendship ; ])ut these he considered vague and unworthy of credit, and was confirmed in this opinion when soon after a party of fourteen of his countrymen were attacked and plundered.* He endeavoured, however, to divide the strength of these fierce tribes, by sending belts of peace * Heriot, pp. 162-168, 174, 175. UNDER THE FRENCH. 147 n, advanced to three of them, and directing all his force against the iSenekas, whom he considered the most hostile, and also, we suspect, because it was through their territory that the English penetrated to the fur-trade on the lakes. This hope was quite illusory in regard to the members of so politic a confederation. In proceeding upwards, he received notice that deputies from the other tribes were coming to mediate a peacv^ between him and their neighbours ; that in case of refusal, they were deter- mined ti make common cause with them ; and, in the event of this alternative, they had received ample as- surances of support from New York. The difficulties of the French comman3er were greatly increased by sick- ness, which, in consequence of the bad quality of the pro- visions, had broken out in his army. Yet when the deputies met him on the northern sliore of Lake Ontario, he assumed a lofty tone. He complained of their inroads into the country of the Illinois and other tribes in alliance with France ; of their outrages against the traders of that nation ; and particularly of their having conducted the English to the lakes, and enabled them to supplant the commerce of his countrymen. He concluded by stating that unless reparation were made for these in- juries, vdth a promise to abstain from them in future, w^ar O'id the devastation of their country must be f iie immediate consequence. The deputies very coolly re- plied, that Ononthio appeared to speak like one in a dream ; and that if he would open his eyes, he would see himself wholly destitute of the means to execute these formidable threats. They defended their right to make war upon any Indian nations by whom they conceived themselves aggi'ieved ; adding that the French party wereattackedby them because they were conveying arms to their enemies. As to the English, they had allowed them to pass thiough their lands, on the same principle that they had given permission to his people, and would continue to do so. They were afraid lest the great number of warriors here present, if they proceeded to Cataraqui, should trample down the tree of peace 148 HISTORY OF CANADA there so happily planted. They were still willing to dance the calnmet-dance under the shadow of its hranchcs, and to leave the hatchet huricd, unless the country jioners on both sides were allowed to return. On this occasion, there was witnessed a surprising and somewhat morti- fying occurrence ; for, while the natives eagerly sought their homes, the greater part of the French captives were found to have contracted such an attachment to the wild freedom of the woods, that neither the com- mands of the king, nor the tears and entreaties of their friends, could induce them to quit the savage associates with whom they had united. • Heriot7pr337-346. r.i UNDER THE FRENCH. 163 After peace had been thus established with their enemies, the French were involved in a contest with their allies. Bourgmont, governor of Detroit, had endea- voured to unite the Ottawas with the Miamis in an expedition into the interior of the continent ; but ani- mosities had been for some time fermenting between these tribes, aggravated by some imprudent and violent actions on his part. At length the former, instigated by a leading chief named " the Heavy," commenced an attack upon the latter, whom they pursued under the cannon of the fort. Thf guns being opened upon them, a contest ensued, in which two Frenchmen, one of whom was a priest, were killed. The assailants then retired, and an old chief came to the governor to make the most humble apologies for this outrage, describing it as a mo- mentary ebullition, for which they could not themselves account. The European leader promised pardon, pro- vided the savage, who had instigated them to this vio- lence, were delivered up. To this step they showed the most extreme relue Lance, even pretending that it was out of their power ; but as the condition was held indis- pensable, they at length produced the offender, though with the most earnest entreaties for his pardon. This was granted, though rather imprudently ; for the Mia- mis, who had considered themselves fully entitled to his head, raised a violent commotion, which it required some force to put down.* Scarcely had peace been thus concluded among the savage tribes, with some hope of duration, when it was broken by their civilized neighbours. The succession of PhQip of Anjou to the throne of Spain gave rise to a long and eventful contest between France and England. It was begun by Louis XIV. in the height of his power, and with every prospect of giving law to all Europe ; instead of which, the exploits of Marlborough and Eugene, the fields of Blenheim and Ramillies, reduced him to the lowest condition, and at one time even Heriot, pp. 34'i, 362, 374-377, 380-3C4. ]64 HISTORY OF CANADA I'll seemed to place his crown in peril. In these disastrous circumstances, the mother-country was obliged to leave lier colonies to their own resources ; while England, elated with repeated triumi)hs, conceived the bold design of em- bracing withhi her territory the whole north of America. The situation of Canada was rendered still more critical by the death of De Callieres, her able governor, which took place in May 1703, though he was succeeded by the Count de Vaudreuil, who proved himself by no means destitute of the qualities requisite for his high office. The English now called upon their allies of the Five Nations to renew hostilities against their old enemies ; but these tribes were exceedingly unwilling to inter- rui>t their repose. They alleged that, when they con- cluded a treaty, they did so with an intention to keep it ; while the Europeans seemed to enter into such en- gagements solely with the view of immediately breaking them. One chief, with the rude freedom of his nation, intimated his suspicion that the nations were both drunk. They did little, therefore, of themselves, or by their own impulse ; and when called upon to join an expedition, came slowly and reluctantly forward. De Vaudreuil, in contemplation of a formidable at- tack, sought to dissipate it by an offensive movement. He sent out a detachment 200 strong, which, after a long march, succeeded in storming and destroying a frontier village named Hewreuil ; though while returning they fell into an ambuscade. Thirty of their number were killed ; but, having beaten off their assailants, the remainder reached Montreal in safety.""' In May 1709, .in individual named Vetch, who had become intimately acquainted with the navigation of the St Law rence, laid before the cabinet of Queen Anne a plan for the conquest of Canada. It being approved, he was sent to New York, then called Manhattan, with authority and resources supposed sufficient for its ac- complishment. De Vaudreuil soon learned that 2000 • lieriot, pp. 363, 364, 388, S97. UNDER THE FRENCH. 16a Engli-^h had issued from the pluci just mentioned, and that these were to l)e joined by an equal number of sa- vages. Having mustered his troops, he at first thought of carrying war again into the enemy's country ; but after the march had Ix'gun, his allies objected, and he adopted the more prudent course of merely protecting his frontier. The British, after forming a chain of posts from New York, had occupied in great force Lakes George and Champlain, and were erecting forts, with a view to cover their descent upon Canada. The Iroquois had joined them according to promise ; but it appears that a general counciWof the cantons was held at Onon- dqgo, when one of their chief orators remarked, that their independence was only maintained by the mutual jealousy of the two European nations, each of whom, if they could, would lord it completely over them, and that it was therefore highly imprudent to permit the English to conquer New France. These views were considered accordant with the policy which had always governed the cantons, and were immediately acted upon, though the manner in which this was accomplished does not vei y exactly apj)ear. Our countrymen, however, in consequence of this want of co-operation, and of a pestilential disorder which broke out among their own troops, abandoned the enterprise, burning their canoes, and reducing their forts to ashes.* Canada now enjoyed an interval of repose, though it was understood that the enemy were making active preparations for a fresh expedition, and sparing no pains to secure the co-operation of the Five Nations. All means of conciliation were therefore studiously employed, and were so far successful as to obtain friendly profe^- sioiis from the Senekas and the Onondagoes, but from them alone. At this time, however, Lhe French were involved in a desperate struggle in the upper territory, * A report has g'enerally prevailed that the Iroquois caused this malady by throwinjr the skins of wild beasts into the stream out of which the English drank ; but we cannot think this a very probable story. 4 166 HISTORY OP CANADA with a nation hitherto unlieard of, called the i ?tAqainis) or Foxes. This they ascribe to the machinations of their old antagonists, who yet do not api)ear to have taken any share in the contest. 13y the aid of a large body of Indian allies, these people were reduced to the necessity of humbly soliciting terms of peace. But the subjects of Louis were persuaded by their savage auxiliaries to push matters to the last extremity ; and after a fresh and dreadful struggle, this unfortunate tribe was nearly ex- terminated. The victors, notwithstanding, had reason to repent of their barbarous conduct, as the remnant of the defeated nation carried on against them a ceaseless and harassing warfare, and rendered insecure their commu- nication with the settlements on the Mississippi.* The English in 1710 prepared a new and greater armament. General Nicholson arrived at Boston with a considerable squadron ; and fresh forces were ex- pected, which, with those already in the colony, were to be employed in two joint expeditions, by sea against Quebec and by land against Montreal. Not- withstanding every possible preparation, these tidings excited deep apprehension, which continued unabated till a report arrived, and proved ultimately correct, that the invading squadron had been wrecked at the Seven Islands, near the mouth of the St Lawrence. Several barks having sailed thither, found the remains of eight vessels, which having struck upon the rocks, had been abandoned, after being stripped of their cannon and stores. A number of dead bodies scattered along the shore attested this calamitous event. The commander, impatient to proceed, and disregarding the warning of an experienced pilot, had involved his armament in this disaster. General Nicholson had already taken the field, but learning the loss of the fleet, and foreseeing that the whole force of the enemy would now be turned against him, he fell back upon New York.f Though Canada had thus been twice delivered, in- telligence was received that fresh preparations were Heriot, p. 397-416. t Ibid. p. 399-404. UNDER THE FRENCH. 167 ivere ex- making, and there was reason to fear that, if left without aid, she would at lenjifth he overwhelmed by superior forces. The governor, however, was relieved by the in- telligence that, in consequence of a complete change of ministry, the English cabinet had determined to se- parate from its allies, and had opened a negotiation at Utrecht. Instructions were sent to the colonial councils to suspend hostilities. Both the European powers being favourably inclined, the negotiations pro- ceeded smoothly, and on the 30th March 1713 this memorable treaty was signed. France retained Canada, though obliged, by tjio urgency of her circumstances, to cede Acadia and Newfoundland. She made over likewise all her claims to the sovereignty of the Five Nations ; a very empty concession, by which she gave that which she had never possessed, and England re- ceived a nominal right which she could not enforce.* After this treaty, Canada enjoyed a long period of uninterrupted tranquillity. The observations of Charle- voix, who visited the principal settlements during the years 1720 and 1721, give a pretty good idea of tlicir condition at that period. Quebec was estimated to contain about 7000 inhabitants ; both the lower and upper town were partially built, but none of the extensive suburbs appear to have then existed. The view from the summit of the rock appeared to him extremely striking, and anticipating the change, since partly fulfilled, when the surrounding shores and islands, then covered with al- most unbroken forests, should display cultivated fields, meadows, and villages, with numberless barks studding the broad expanse of the St Lawrence, he expects it to form a prospect which nothing could equal. The society, composed in a great measure of military officers and noblesse, was extremely agreeable ; and nowhere was the French language spoken in greater purity. Under this gay exterior, however, was concealed a very general po- verty. The settlers, while they admitted that their Eng- lish neighbours knew better how lo accumulate wealth, • Heriot, pp. 418, 419. !'■ / A \l ri li il [i 188 HISTORY OF CANADA were consoled by reflecting that they were quite ignorant how to enjoy it. They themselves, on the contrary, under- stood thoroughly the most elegant and agreeable modes of spending money, but were greatly at a loss where to ob- tain it. The only employment suited to their taste was the fur-trade, the roving and adventurous habits of which were extremelyattractivc to them, and little fortunes were thereby occasionally made ; but they were in such haste to expend these in pleasure and display, that the author compares them to hillocks of sand in the deserts of Africa, which rise and disappear almost at the same moment. Many, who had made a handsome figure, were now lan- guisliing in distress. They began by retrenching the luxury of their table, and, as long as possible, were richly dressed. The patient and laborious process of agriculture had drawn little attention, and the timber-trade was yet in its infancy, though the author points out the great im- portance which it was capable of attaining. The absence of gold and silver, almost the only objects then considered fts giving lustre to a colony, had always caused New France to be viewed as of very secondary impoiiance.* The coasts of the St Lawrence, for some extent be- low Quebec, were already laid out in seigniories, and tolerably cultivated. At Pointe aux Trembles, seven leagues from the capital, many of the farmers were found in easy circumstances, and richer than their landlords ; tlie latter, having obtiiined grants which they had neither capital nor industry to improve, were obliged to let them at very small quit-rents. On reaching the mouth of the Bc^ancour, he found a baron beaiing the title of that river, and holding the office of inspector of the highways. He lived almost in a desert, and derived his in- come chiefly from traffic with the neighbouring Indians. Thence Charlevoix crossed to Trois Rivieres, which he found an agreeable place, amid a circuit of well-culti- vated fields, but not containing more than 800 inhabit- ants. The fur-trade, with a view to which it was founded, * Charlevoix's Journal, vol. i. pp. 104, 111-114, 121-125, 14,% 263-265. UNDER THE FRENCH. 169 P liories, and had already been in a great measure transferred to Montreal, and the iron-mmes had not yet begun to be worked. From Trois Rivieres he proceeded through the Lake of St Peter, and, coasting along its southern shore, made particular observations on the river and district of St Francis. From its excellent soil, covered with timber, it appeared to him well fitted for cultivation ; but the farmers were few, and had made such small progress, that, but for the opportunities of trade, they would have been extremely poor. A more cheerful scene presented itself at the island and city of Montreal, the beauties of winch he describes in terms similar to those of all subsequent visiters. He does not make any estimate of the population ; but it must have been con- biderable, as both the upper and lower towns were al- ready built, and a suburb had been commenced. The place was then enjoying a respite from the alarms and calamities of war ; and the two neighbouring villages of Sault St Louis and Montgomery, inhabited by friendly Indians, served as barriers against their more savage countrymen.* Above Montreal, the traveller appears to have found nothing but detached stations for defence and trade. He made his way through the rapids to Lake Ontario, in In- dian canoes formed of birch-bark . Wc find no mention of any thing French till he comes to Fort Cataraqui or Frontenac, at the entrance of the lake ; but in his short description there is no appearance as if the neighl)our- hood contained either cultivation or settlement. He had then a tedious voyage to perform along the southern shore in slender canoes, in which he was obliged to follow every winding of the coast, and often to sail two hundred leagues in order to shun a direct passage of twenty. He was liable also to be detained for an indefinite period by violent or adverse vvinds. At length he entered the river of Niagara, and came to a cottage which had been dig- nified to him with the name of fortress, and was occu- pied by the Sieur de Joncaire. There were two or three • Charlevoix, Journal, vol. i. pp. 172-178, 190, 213.2I». 1 1 ,B iff* *B Hj .^R H m m m i m 1 Iw H IM flV M (Is ■ nil i I 170 HISTORY OF CANADA officers of rank, and, we presume, a few troops, but apparently no trace of cultivation.* After having surveyed the falls, he ascended the channel of Niagara, and having entered upon Lake Erie, proceeded along its northern shore. The voyage appeared to him delightful, in a charming climate, on waters clear as the purest fountain, and landing every night on the most desirable spots. He found always abundance of game, and a beautiful landscape, bounded by the noblest forests in the world. He fancied himself, like the anci':nt patriarchs, wandering through wide un- appropriated tracts, where he could pitch his tent in the most pleasant scenes. The oaks of Mamre and the foun- tain of Jacob seemed realized to him in the wilderness. Five days' sail along these beautiful shores brought hlhi to the channel of Detroit, at the other end of which, near Lake St Clair, he found the fort bearing that name. He inclined to the opinion of those who regarded this as the most beautiful and fruitful part of all Canada. A French settlement had been begun there fifteen years before, but various untoward circumstances had reduced it almost to nothing. He proceeded thence to Michilli- makinac, near the adjoining extremities of the great lakes Huron, Superior, and Michigan. Like the others, it was a mere fort surrounded by an Indian village. On the whole, it appears that, above Montreal, there was nothing at this time which could be called a colony.t The repose procured for Canada by the treaty of Utrecht was followed by a long continuance of pros- perity. Vaudreuil, till his death in 1725, administered her affairs with judgment and activity ; and under hftn cultivation was greatly extended. To remedy the want of hands, he proposed sending out annually 160 coi>- victs, of the class usually condemned to the galleys. This governor was succeeded by the Chevalier do Beauhamois, who continued in power twenty years. Tliis long period seems to have been diligently em- ployed in promoting the interests of the colony, and was •Charlevoix,Journal,vol.i.pp. 293-297, 312-316, 341. t Ibid. vol. ii. p. 3-7* UNDER THE FRENCH. 171 productive of a remarkable improvement. Tlie range of cultivated farms was extended along the whole shore from Quebec to Montreal, and even several of the tri- butary streams. As the French Canadians studiously sought a river-frontage, they were content with lots in- cluding only a small portion of this, with extensive back- ground. The proportion, in some degree fixed by sta- tute, was an acre and a half in front, with an extent of forty behind. In the course of this period, too,' the settlement at Detroit, which Charlevoix had found in such a languishing state, was raised to some consequence. The French, likewise, during this interval, appear to have entirely overcome that rooted enmity so long cherished by the great Indian tribes. Their pliant and courteous manners, their frequent intermarriages, and in some instances an actual adoption of the habits of savage life, rendered them better fitted than the English to secure the confidence of this savage race. Instead of having to dread them as allies of Britain, they could usually, when occasion required, employ them as for- midable, or, at least, harassing enemies to her. By their aid, and by the erection in commanding positions of the forts of Crown Point andTiconderagc, they kept the rival colonies in perpetual alarm. The struggles, however, carried on during almost the first half of the eighteenth century were chiefly confined to Nova Scotia, under which head they wDl be narrated. Canada ufoyed a happy exemption from those eventful vicissitudes which form the materials of history. An equally favourable change took place in respect to the fur-trade, which had shown so gr^^-su a preference of the English market. A more liberal and equitable system appears to have been adopted ; and a large an- nual fair, opened at Montreal under judicious regula- tions, became the general centre of this traffic. Even the Indians in the back settlements of New York brought their furs thither, rather than to the capital of that state.* * McGregor's British America, vol. ii. p. 374. Burke's Account of the European Settlements in America (2 vols 8vo, London, 1808), vol. ii. pp. 42, 43. I i , 1 72 HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER THE FRENCH. M. de Beauharnois was followed in office by a rapid succession of governors, each holding sway for an ex- tremely short period incompatible with any steady system of administration. The Count de la Galissoniere, though a nobleman of groat acquirements, ruled only a year, being superseded in 1746 by M. de la Jonquiero, who took an active part in the war for the reduction of Nova Scotia. After a temporary occupation of power by the Baron de Longueuil, the Marquis du Q,uesne, in 1752, went out as governor-general. This officer appears to have carried on more openly than ever the system of en- croaching upon the British colonies ; and the fort bear- ing his name was erected within the confines of Virgmia. So great an alarm indeed spread through our settle- ments, that a general convention was held at Albany, when a plan of common defence, proposed by the celebrated Dr Franklin, was approved, but, from dif- ferent causes, never carried into effect. A census taken of the colony in 1753, is said by Raynal to have shown a population of 91,000 ; but, from the number afterwards found by the English, this appears to be s > rnewhat ex- aggerated. The finances were, however, involved in consi- derable disorder. The expenditure, which in 1729 did not exceed 400,000 francs, had risen in 1750 to 2,100,000 livres ; in 1768 it was 27,900,000 ; but this last, we may observe, was a period of general war, of which North America became one of the principal theatres. The conduct of Bigot the hitendant was loudly complamed of, and proved indeed to have been most fraudulent, his defalcations amoui/mg to i:j400,000 sterling. In 1755, Du Quesne was succeeded by De Vaudreuil Cavagnal.* • M'Grogor, vol. ii. p. 375-381. Raynal, Histoire Philosophique et Politique des Etablissements et du Commerce des Eiiropeeris dans les deux Indes (4 vols 4to, Geneva, 1780), vol. iv. pp. 125, 137. Hawkins' Picture of Quebec (18mo, Quebec 1834), pp. 31G, 317» HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER THE BRITISH. 173 CHAPTER IV. kf History of Canada under the British. War between Great Britain and France — Advantif^es gained by the latter — Expedition against Canada under Wolfe — His first Repulse— Land? a second Time — Victory — Death — Conquest of Canada — State of the»Population — Their good Treatment — Re- fuse to join the Rebellion by the United Colonies — The latter invade Canada — Siege of Quebec — Repulse and Death of iMont- goraery — Americans driven out of Canada — A Constitution grant- ed — Division into Upper and Lower — Rise of Internal Dissen- sion — War with the United States — Advantages gained by Britain on the western Frontier — On the Niagara, &:c The Ameri- cans take York (Toronto) and Fort George — Obliged to retreat — Their Successes in the West— Fruitless Attempt on Montreal- Events on the Niagara Frontier — Large Reinforcements from England — Failure of Sir George Prevost — Peace — Discontents of the Assembly — Administration of the Duke of Richmond — Earl of Dalhousie — Sir James Kempt — Lc/d Aylmer — Increased Discontent — Commission of Inquiry — Earl of Gosford — Assem- bly still refuse Supplies — Resolutions of the British Parliament — Disturbances in Canada — Insurrection — Suppressed — Political Movements in Upper Canada — Sir Francis Head Governor — Rising and Defeat of Mackenzie — Aggressions from the United States — Conduct of their Government — Mission of the Earl of Durham — Recent Events. We now approach the most memorable period in tlie his- tory of Canada, when its dominion was finally transferred from France to a rival power. As the events of this coiitest, however, though extremely memorable, form a portion of general history, and are familiar to many readers, we shall here content ourselves with a rajjid summary of them. The ij^reat war which broke out in 1755 opened in a manner most unfavourable to the British arms. Gene- 174 HISTORY OF CANADA •iij ral Braddock, who marched from New York against Canada, having neglected the precautions necessary in such a country, was completely surprised by a com- bined force of French and Indians. He himself being killed, only part of the army was saved by the skill and intrepidity of Colonel (afterwards General) Wash- ington, who on that occasion distinguished himself for the first time. His troops being afterwards joined to the provincial force under Generals Shirley and Jolmson, repulsed near Lake George an attack made by a large body of the enemy under Baron Dieskau. Johnson having acquitted himself with great ability, and received several wounds, was rewarded with the honour of knighthood, and Avas long much esteemed in Ameri- can warfare.* But in the two following years the enemy, headed by the gallant Marquis de Montcalm, obtained a series of successes, terminating in the reduc- tion of the impoi-tant forts called Oswego and William Henry. This last triumph was stained with tlie barbar- ous murder, by the Indians, of fifteen hundred English prisoners ; which Montcalm, though it should seem un- justly, was accused of sanctioning. These disasters, joined to the failure of Byng at Mmorca, and other abor- tive expeditions, deeply depressed the spirit of the nation, and seemed to sink their reputation in arms lower than at any former period. Yet the courage of the British lion was soon afterwards roused : the public voice called to the helm of affairs William Pitt, the greatest statesman then living, and who wa^j destined to raise her name to a pitch of glory before unrivalled. It was one of the main objects of Pitt's policy to obtain possession of the French territories in America, and to form +"uem, ^igether with the British colonies, into one vast range of domirn'm. He chose as his chief instrument Wolfe, a young ma,n without family or par- liamentary interest, or even any established character as a commander. He had served only in subordinate situa- " IJawkins, pp. 318, 311). Bouchette, vol. i, \t, 440. UNDER THE BRITISH. 175 tions ; yet the minister, with intuitive sagacity, saw in him the man best fitted to lead British troops to victory.* In the expedition against Louisburg, in 1758, the most active though not the highest post was assigned to him, and, through his exertions chiefly, that main bulwark of French America fell. After the great name thus earned, there could no longer be any objection to in- vesting him with the chief command. In 1769 preparations were made on a great scale for the conquest of Canada ; comprising twenty sail of the line, with smaller vessels and transports, having on board 8000 veteran troops. These were placed under the direction of Wolfe, who was allowed the choice of all his officers. After a prosperous voyage the armament, on the 26th June, arrived off^the Isle of Orleans. Quebec was defended by the Marquis de Montcalm, having under his command 13,000 men, of whom indeed only 2000 were regular troops, the rest being Canadian militia, with a few Indians. The attack having been long foreseen, full time was given him to entrench and strengthen his posi- tion. An attempt was first made to destroy the British fleet by fire-ships ; but these were caught with grap- pling irons, towed aside, and allowed to burn out without doing any injury. Brigadier-general Monckton then oc- cupied Point Levi, opposite to the capital, which was thence bombarded with vigour ; but, though a number of houses were destroyed, the defences remained almost uninjured. The place therefore could only be carried by storming the entrenchments which the French had thrown up in front of it. This bold measure Wolfe re- solved to adopt, and on the 31st July he effected a land- ing. The boats, however, had met with an accidental delay ; the grenadiers, it is said, rushed forward with too blind and impetuous a valour ; Montcalm, strongly posted between Quebec and Montmorenci, poured in upon them a destructive fire ; the Indian rifle told with fatal effect ; and the assailants were finally repulsed with the loss of 182 killed and 650 wounded. * Entick's History of the late War," vol. iv. p. 91. )' III 176 HISTORY OP CANADA AVolfe felt this disappointment so deeply that his delicate frame was thrown into a violent fever ; and in a despatch to Mr Pitt he afterwards expressed the ap- prehensions under which he lahoured. The fleet, his strongest arm, could not act against the wall of rock on which Quebec is seated ; and with his weakened force he had to storm fortified positions defended by troops more numerous than his own. As soon, how- ever, as his health pcnnittcd, he called a council of war, desired the general officers to consult together ; and, it is said, proposed to them a second attack on the French lines, avoiding the errors which had led to the failure of the first. They were decidedly of opinion that this was inexpedient ; but on the suggestion, as is now ' i^ovcd, of Brigadier-general Townsend the second in command, they proposed to attempt a point on the other side of Quebec, where the enemy were yet unprepared, and whence they might gain the Heights of Abraham which overlooked the city. Wolfe assent- ed, and applied all his powers to the accomplishment of this plan. Such active demonstrations were made against Montcalm's original position, that he believed it still the main object ; and though he observed detach- ments moving up the river, merely sent De Bougainville with 2000 men to Cape Rouge, a position too distant, being nine miles above Quebec. On the night of the 12th September, in deep silence, the troops were embarked and conveyed in two divisions to the j^lace now named Wolfe's Cove. The precipice here was so steep, that even the general for a moment doubted the possibility of scaling it ; but Fraser's Highlanders, grasping the bushes which grew on its face, soon reached the summit, and in a sliurt time he had his whole army drawn up in regular order on the plains above. Mont- calm, struck by this unexpected intelligence, at once concluded that, unless the English could be driven from this position, Quebec was lost ; and, hoping pro- bably that only a detachment had yet reached it, pushed forward at once to the attack. About 1500 light 2 UNDER THE BRITISH. 177 infantry and Indians arrived first, and began a desultory fire from among the bushes ; but the British reserved their shot for the main body, which was seen advancing behind. They came forward in good order, and com- menced a brisk attJick ; yet no general fire was opened in return till they were within forty yards, when it could be followed up by the bayonet. The first volley was decisive ; Wolfe and Montcalm both fell almost at the same moment ; the French instantly gave way in every quarter ; and repeated charges, in which the Highland broadsword was powerfully wielded, soon completed the victor;^. As soon as Wolfe received his mortal wound, he said, " Support me ! let not my brave soldiers see me drop." He was carried to some distance in the rear, — and hearing the cry " They run !" he asked " Who run ?" Being told " The enemy," he gave some short directions, and then said : " Now, God be praised, I die happy !" We cannot forbear quoting the simple and feeling observations of General Townsend respect- ing his heroic friend, whose fate threw so affecting o. lustre on this memorable victory : " I am not ashamed to own to you, that my heart does not exult in the midst of this success. I have lost but a friend in Gene- ral Wolfe ; our country has lost a sure support and a per- petual honour. If the world were sensible at how dear a price we have purchased Quebec in his death, it would damp the public joy. Our best consolation is, that Providence seemed not to promise that he should remain long among us. He was himself sensible of the weakness of his constitution, and determined to crowd into a few years actions that would have adorned length of life." The battle had scarcely closed when De Bougainville appeared in the rear, but on seeing the fortune of the day, immediately retreated. On the l7th a flag of truce ciime out, and on the 18th a capitulation was concluded on honourable terms to the French, Avho were not made prisoners, but conveyed home to their native country.^ : it * Entick's History of the late War, vol. iv. p 85-118. kins' Picture of Quebec, pp. 331 , 359, 373, 374. VOL. I. L Haw. 178 HISTORY OF CANADA Canada was not yet conquered. General Amherst, indeed, marching from New York with a large force, had reducc'l the strong posts of Ticonderago and Crown Point ; while General Prideaux, aided by F^v William Johnson with a body of Indians, had ruivn Nia- gara. But the winter arrested their fartner advance ; and General de Levi, who had assembled at Montreal upwards of 10,000 men, conceived the design of recap- turing Quebec in the spring, before it could obtain suc- cours, either by sea or land. Being baffled in his p cts to carry it by a coup de main, he landed his ar* on the 27th April 1760, advanced to the heights of Abra- ham, and prepared to carry on a regular siege. General Murray had been left with a garrison of 6000 men ; but a severe attack of scurvy had reduced to half that num- ber those who were capable of bearing arms. This offi- cer, dreading that the place was unfit to stand a siege, and hoping much from the bravery of his troops, attacked the enemy on the 28th April at Sillery ; but, being overpowered by superior numbei*8, he was defeated with great loss. If guilty here of any rashness, he atoned for it by the activity with which he placed Quebec in a state of defence, and held out the town till the 16th May, when a fleet J antier Admiral S wanton, arrived and raised the siege. The French army then concentrated itself in Montreal, where the Marquis de Vaudreuil made an at- tempt to maintain his ground ; but being enclosed by the forces under General Amherst, and by those from Que- bec and Niagara, he found himself obliged, on the 8th September 1760, to sign a capitulation, by which that city and the whole of Canada were transferred to British dominion. He obtained liberal stipulations for the good treatment of the inhabitants, and particularly the free exercise of the Catholic faith, and the preservation of the property belonging to the religious communities. He even demanded that the bishop should continue to be ap- pointed by the French monarch, but this was of course refused.* The possession of Canada, as well as of all • Hawkins, p. 410-413. EnUck, vol. iv. pp. 473, 474. UNDER THE KRITISII. 179 ral Amherst, refusal of tlio drn'n and the ate intend- of most r '■ vuynal .»,y ; 'Ut, con- the adjoining countries, was confirmed to lirituin by the peace of Paris, signed on the 10th February 170.'3. The popuhition at the time of the conquest was stated by Governor Murray to amount to 09,275, consisting mostly of cultivatoi-s, a frugal, industrious, and moral race ; with a noblesse, also very poor, but mucli re- spected among them. The Indians converted to Catho- licism were estimated at 7400.* The inhabitants were involved in great calamity by tlie French government to pay the bills paper currency issued by M. Bigot, ant, already mentionpd as having ' h extensive peculation. The gross sum i at 80,000,000 of livres (£3,333,000 ste sidering the small number and poverty of the people, we cannot help suspecting it to be much exaggerated. It is said that the claims were, on grounds of equity, reduced to 38,000,000 ; though, according to M'Gregor, no more was received in return for them than £250,000 m money, and £125,000 in bonds, which never became effective.t The terms in favour of the French residents were faithfully, a ad even liberally, fulfilled by our govern- ment. All offices, however, were conferred on British subjects, who then consisted only of military men, with not quite 500 petty traders, many of whom were ill fitted for so important a situation. They showed a bigoted spirit, and an offensive contempt of the old inhabitants, including even their class of nobles. General Murray, notwithstanding, strenuously protected the latter, with- out regard to repeated complaints made against him to the ministry at home ; and by this impartial conduct he gained their confidence in a degree which became conspicuous on occasion of the great revolt of the United Colonies. During that momentous period, though pressingly invited to assist the latter, the Canadians never swerved from their allegiance. With • M'Gregor, vol. ii. p. 382. f Ra^'nal, vol. v. p. 230. M'Gregor, vol. ii. p. 381. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^f.:i the Canadas as much under our command as Great Britain has the ocean. — We must take the continent from them. I wish never to see a peace till we do."t A simi- ' lar impression prevailed in the colony itself, defended then by only 4500 troops, of whom not more than 1460 were in the upper province, though the most exposed, and pre- senting the most extended frontier. Not a few were in- clined on the first alarm to pack up and quit the coun- try ; but Sir George Prevost, seconded by the majority • Bouchette, vol i. pp. 443, 445. jM'Grejror, vol. ii. p. 391. Roebuck on Existing^ DifRculties in the Administration of the Canadas (London, Ui'.iG), p. 0. t James' Military Occurrences of the late War (2 vols 8to, London, 1818), vol. i. p. 77. 186 HISTORY OF CANADA of the inhabitants, adopted a more spirited resolution. The militia were called out ; Quebec was garrisoned by the citizens ; and the frontier placed in a state of de- fence.* The States, though they had plunged into hostilities so eagerly and with such sanguine anticipations, were by no means in a forward ' ♦late of preparation. Few of the officers who had distinguished themselves in the war of independence survived the lapse of nearly thirty years.t General Hull, however, one of these veterans, was sent with a force of 2500 men to open the campaign on the western frontier of Upper Canada. On the 6th of July 1812 he arrived at Detroit, and on the 12th crossed the river and took possession of Sandwich, whence he issued a proclamation inviting the colonists to join him, or at least to remain neutral. He an- nounced that no quarter would be given to a white man fighting by the side of an Indian, though this is said never to have been acted upon. Having no cannon mounted, he did not think it practicable to attack Fort Maiden, which covered Amherstburg, where Lieute- nant-colonel St George with his small force was posted. Hull, however, pushed forward detachments into the country, which gained some advantages and induced a few of the inhabitants to join them. But his prospects were soon clouded. Captain Roberts, with a small de- tachment, had early reduced the Fort of Michillimaki- nac, which " opened upon him the northern hive of Indians." Almost the whole of that race, indignant at the encroachments of the Americans upon their territory, eagerly espoused the British cause, and poured in from every quarter to support it. Meantime General Brock, having embarked all the troops that could be spared from the Niagara frontier, arrived on the 12th August at Amherstburg, where he mustered about 830 regulars, • Montgomery Martin's History of the British Colonies (5 vols 8to, London, 1U34), vol. iii. p. 118. ■|- Carey and Lea, Geography, &c. of America (8vo, London, 1823), p. 69. !'■ UNDER THE BRITISH. ]87 400 militia, and 600 Indians. Hull, whose force, weak- ened by sickness and by sending away two detachments, is said not to have exceeded 800 effective men, retreated across the river, withdrawing the cannon prepared for the siege of Amherstburg, and shut himself up in Detroit. General Brock instantly crossed, advanced upon the fort, and prepared for an immediate assault ; but a white flag then appeared fr< n the walls, and a capitulation was quickly signed, uy which the whole American force, including the detachments, were sur- rendered prisoners of war. The Canadian citizens, who had despondingly anticipated speedy conquest, were not a little surprised to see in less than three months the whole army destined for that object marched in as cap- tives. Loud complaints were made by the Americans against the conduct of Hull, who was afterwards tried and condemned to be shot, though spared on account of his age and former services.* The Americans made great efforts to obtain a more fortunate result on the Niagara frontier. Though the New England States, disapproving of the war, withheld their militia, yet early in September more than 6000 men were brought to the banks of the river, with the view of crossing it and penetrating into Canada. They were encouraged by the exploit of two row-boats, which captured the same number of British gun-brigs with valu- able cargoes as they were passing Fort Erie. The troops are represented as filled with enthusiastic confidence, urging and almost compelling General Van Rensselaer, their commander, to commence active operations. Ac- cordingly, after one aborti\e attempt he succeeded, on the morning of 13th October, in pushing across to Queen- ston a deta*;hment which, being well reinforced, gained possession of the heights. General Brock having come up, resolved to check their progress, but making his ad- vance with too small a force he was repulsed and killed, • James, vol. i. pp. 6(5-58, 374.37fi, 72, 73. Martin, vol. iii. p. 189. Brackenridp^e^s History of the late War (12nio, 6th edition, Philadelphia, lb»6), p. 32.41. 188 HISTORY OF CANADA closing his brilliant career by a glorious death. Van Rensselaer, however, complains that when he returned to the other side, the heroes, who the day before had boasted so loudly, having now witnessed an actual en- gagement, though a successful one, were seized with such a panic that neither commands nor threats could induce one of them to enter the boats. Meantime General Sheaffe, having brought up the main force of the British from Fort George, and being joined by a body of In- dians, with a detachment from Chippeway, attacked the enemy ; and, after a sharp contest of half an hour, compelled the whole, amounting to above 900, to sur- render at discretion.* The Americans made yet another attempt to retrieve this unfortunate campaign. General Smyth, who suc- ceeded Van Rensselaer, had assembled on the 27th November 4500 men in the vicinity of Black Rock. Early on the following morning, two detachments suc- ceeded in crossing, and after a long and confused fight in the dark, drove in with loss the British outposts ; but when day broke, and Lieutenant-colonel Bisshopp had collected about 600 regulars and militia, they hastily re- tired to the other side, leaving a party of thirty to fall into the hands of the English. Another division began to cross ; but some rounds of musketry and artillery in- duced them to return. In the course of the day, after a vain summons to surrender Fort Erie, nearly half the force was embarked ; though in the afternoon the post- ponement of the enterprise was announced. After several days of uncertain councils, it was finally decided that the expedition should be abandoned for the season. The troops are said to have displayed the fiercest indignation, threatening even the person of their commander, whom they named General Van Bladder ; but whether their courage would have been equally conspicuous in the hour of trial their former conduct leaves some room to question.f * James, vol. i. pp. 111,376, 377, 382-384. Brackenridge, p. 65-69. t Ibid. pp. 110-1^0, 3lii', 38y. UNDER THE BRITISH. 189 id fight ts ; but The severity of the season caused a suspension of operations scarcely interrupted unless by an attack on Ogdensburg by Captain M'Donnell, who, crossing the St Lawrence on the ice, drove out the garrison, and ob- tained possession of eleven pieces of cannon and a consi- derable quantity of stores. The Americans meantime were making extraordinary exertions to open the new campaign under better auspices. At Sackett's Harbour, on the southern shore of Ontario, a naval armament was equipped, which gave them for some time the con- trol of that fine lake. A large force had been assem- bled and placed under a new commander, General Dear- born. The plan of this caiupaign was limited to the con- quest of Upper Canada, the achievement of which, as that country was defended by only 2100 troops, was considered bejt)nd the reach of chance. On the 25th April 1813, the general with Commodore Chauncey em- barked about 2000 men, and sailed to York (Toronto), the rising capital of the province. It was then very ill prepared for resistance, scarcely at all fortified, and defended by General Sheaffe with only about 600 men. On the morning of the 27th they reached the place and succeeded in landing, when, after a brave defence pro- tracted till two o'clock, the English were obliged to abandon the town. The invaders suffered chiefly by the explosion of a mine, which killed or wounded about 260, including among the former General Pike, a young officer of distinguished merit, who had planned and con- ducted the attack. After burning all the public build- ings, they carried off the artillery and naval stores, and by the 1st May evacuated the place.* The next enterprise was still more important, being directed against Fort George, near Newark, at the entrance of the Niagara channel, considered the chief military posi- tion in the country. Nearly the whole force was employ- ed, a small part only being left to defend Sackett's Har- bour. Brigadier-general Vincent, on the other hand, had • James, pp. ISB-UO, 397-4'Ji;. Brackenridije, p. 102-106. I 190 HISTORY OP CANADA only a British detachment of ahout 1000 regulars and 300 militia ; and Newark had been exposed to so severe a fire from the American fort on the opposite side, that it was no longer defensible. The enemy, therefore, could be resisted only by opposing his landing, or by beating him afterwards in the field. When Commodore Chauncey, on the 27th May, disembarked 4000 men under Dearborn and Lewis, both these operations were attempted ; but, after a long and severe contest, were rendered unavailing by the superior numbers of the invaders. Vincent was obliged, after calling in the garrisons of Chippeway and Fort Erie, to retreat first to the Beaver Dams, and then to Burlington Heights, near the western extremity of Lake Ontario. The victors could not intercept his re- treat, but they established for the first time a regular lodgement in Canada.* Meantime a respectable naval force having been or- ganized at Kingston by Sir James Yeo, Sir George Prevost, the governor, was prevailed upon to employ it in the attack of Sackett's Harbour, defended only by a small party, while the main body of the enemy was employed against Fort George. He sailed on the 27th of May, with about 760 men ; but on approaching, showed considerable hesitation, and even gave orders for a return to Kingston, till, encouraged by the success of the Indians in capturing twelve boats with seventy dragoons, he suc- ceeded in effecting a landing on the morning of the 29th. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the ground, he drove the enemy before him, till they took shelter in a log-bar- rack and stockaded fort. Thence they kept up such a destructive fire, that General Prevost, considering it im- possible to force the position, and panic-struck, it is said, by a false alarm raised by General Brown in his rear, ordered a retreat. Much difference of opinion, however, prevailed among the officers. Major Drummond is re- ported to have said : " A few minutes, sir, and I will put you in possession of the place." He was ordered to * James, vol. i. pp. 1$1.164, 407-412. Brackenridge, p. 108-112. UNDER THE BRITISH. 191 obey ; upon which discontent and a want of confidence in the commander-in-chief became general, and had a most injurious effect on the subsequent operations.^ Fortune, so favourable to the Americans at the open- ing of the campaign, did not continue so throughout. Extraordinary exertions were made in the western states, particularly Kentucky. Two corps were formed, and despatched under Generals Winchester and Harrison to march in different lines through Michigan ; then to unite and co-operate in recovering Detroit, and invading the adjoining districts. Winchester, suspected of a desire to achieve something before yielding the command to his coadjutor, advanced with about 1000 men to French- town, within twenty-six miles of Detroit. Colonel Proc- tor, justly appreciating the importance of attacking him before the junction, hastily collected all the fo» e within his reach, amounting to about 600 whites and 450 In- dians. With these, on the 22d January 1813, he succeeded in bringing the enemy to action. They made an obsti- nate resistance, and being posted in houses and enclo- sures, caused considerable los£> to the assailants ; but they were ultimately overpowered, and nearly all made prisoners. The general himself was among the number, having fallen into the hands of a Wyandot Indian, who stripped off his uniform, adorned his own person with it, and could not without great difficulty be induced to make restitution.t General Hamson, on receiving intelligence of this disaster, took up a position near the rapids of the Miami to await reinforcements. Colonel Proctor felt equally the importance of attacking him before their arrival. Having assembled about 1000 regulars and militia and 1200 Indians, he embarked them at Am- herstburg on the 23d April, then sailed across Lake Erie, and up the Miami. Many delays, however, occur- red, by which the enemy was enabled so to strengthen his position, that the attack made on the 1st May had • James, vol. i. pp. 163-176, 41.^-416. t Ibid. pp. 184.I8U, 41iM2d. Bnickenridge, pp. 88, 89. \ 192 HISTORY OF CANADA very little effect. The Americans were then encour- iiged to assume the offensive, which they did with large bodies of troops, partly landed from the river, partly sallying from the fort. At first they gained possession of the British batteries ; but they were then attack- ed at different points with such decisive success, that upwards of a thousand were killed or taken, and the rest with difficulty foimd refuge within the intrenchments. These Proctor found himself still unable to storm ; but he had so weakened the enemy's force as to remove all immediate danger of invasion.* Let us now return to the main theatre of operations on the Niagara frontier, where we have seen the British driven before the enemy to Burlington Heights. Dear- born immediately sent forward Generals Chandler and Winder, with 4000 men, to destroy if possible this shattered remnant ; a success which would have been followed by the conquest of all the western provinces. On the 6th June they took post at Stoney Creek, to prepare for operations on the following day. In this critical situation. Lieutenant-colonel Harvey, having carefully reconnoitred the enemy's position, suggested a night-attack, to which General Vincent readily assented. It was m'-'^e with 700 chosen troops, and being favoured by deep darkness, was completely successful ; the Ame- ricans fled in every direction, and the two commanders, with seven officers and 116 men, were made prisoners. Tlie British at daylight withdrew their small force ; and the Americans boast, that but for the unaccount- able capture of the two generals, the advantage was all on their side. Their loss, indeed, had not been great ; yet such was the panic inspired by the events of this night, that before eleven next morning they had abandoned their camp, and commenced a retreat to Forty-mile Creek, eleven miles distant. Here they re- ceived a reinforcement ; but being threatened by Sir James Yeo, who had come with a squadron and a small • James, ^fol. i. pp. 104-201, 426-428. 5 Brackenridge, p. 86-98. UNDER THE BRITISH. 193 body of troops to support General Vincent, they deter- mined on retreating to Niagara. Nor did their disgrace stop here. Intelligence being received that the English had a small advanced post at Beaver-dam, Lieutenant-co- lonel Boerstler, with about 700 men, was sent to attack it. That officer, however, being unexpectedly assailed, first by a party of Indians, and soon afterwards by a small body of regulars, conceived himself to be sur- rounded, and on being summoned by Lieutenant Fitz- gibbon, surrendered his whole corps prisoners of war. The Americans now held nothing on the right bank of the river beyond Fort George. The British even made incursions on the opposite shore, in one of which Colonel Bisshopp gained possession of Black Rock, where he destroyed or carried off the arms and stores ; but being unfUrtunately attacked while rt-embarking by a superior force, his party suffered some loss, and he himself received three wounds, which proved mortal.* Our countrymen at this time gained some advantages on Lake Champlain, taking several vessels, and destroy- ing the enemy's magazines at Plattsburg and Swanton. They were now, however, destined to experience some severe reverses, and that too on the theatre of their most brilliant triumphs. The Americans made extraordinary exertions to re- trieve their affairs on the western frontier ; volunteers crowded from Kentucky, a territory of fierce and war- like habits, — and by September they had succeeded in augmenting General Harrison's army to upwards of 5000 men. They had formed another fortified station on San- dusky river, which Major-general Proctor, without suc- cess, attempted to reduce. A squadron of nine vessels, mounting fifty-six guns, had been equipped by them on Lake Erie, and it was with great difficulty that one at all able to contend with it could be fitted out by the British, under Captain Barclay. An engagement took place, which was maintained with the utmost obsti- * James, vol. i. pp. 206-229, 431.442. Brackenridge, p. 114-119. VOL. I. M 4 MauitMa 194 HISTORY OF CANADA I nacy, and the American commodore's ship had even struck her flag ; but fortune afterwards turned, and the conflict ended in the defeat and entire surrender of the English squadron.* This event reduced General Proctor to extreme distress, depriving him of access to supplies and reinforcements, while liis stock of pro- visions had become quite inadequate for his own troops and the numerous Indians who had joined his standard. On the arrival, therefore, in the end of September, of General Harrison at Detroit, he did not attempt to maintain liis position at Amherstburg, but retreated up the river Thames. The other pursued him closely with 3500 troops, while Proctor was deserted by most of his Indians, of whom he had now only about 600, with 800 vrhites. At the Moravian town, on the 6th of October, he took up a strong position flanked by the river on one side and a wood on the other, where he hoped to render unavailing the superior numbers of the enemy. Harrison, however, had with him a body of combatants yet. unknown in warfare, the Kentucky mounted rifle- men, accustomed to ride through the woods, using their weapon with almost preternatural skill. Their very novelty, he justly hoped, would make a strong im- pression. Following his instructions, they received the fire of their opponents, then galloped forward, and in a few minutes completely broke the British ranks, spreading among them a general confusion. The severest conflict was with the Indians, who lost their chief Te- cumseh, one of the bravest of the brave, stamped a hero by the hand of nature, and equally distinguished by policy and eloquence. The main object of his life had been to unite his followers in a grand confederacy against Ameri- can encroachment. In enmity to them he had warmly attached himself to the cause of the British, and aided them in f uccessive victories. He was shot through the head by Colonel Johnson, a member of Congress. Ge- neral Proctor retreated to Ancaster, where he could rally * James, vol. i. p. 2()3-274. Carey and Lea, p. 62. 6 UNDER THE BRITISH. 105 only 200 men, with whom he 'oined the Niagara army. Harrison, also, having thM« ;covered Michigan, and conquered the western distrie ;, marched to reinforce his countrymen in that quarter.* The Americans now formed a plan of operations on a grander scale, directed against Montreal, the suc- cess of which would have placed in their hands the whole of Upper Canada. In this enterprise, two armies were destined to co-operate ; one consisting of nearly 6000 under Major-general Hampton, from Lake Cham- plain ; the other amounting to 8800 under Major-general Wilkinson, from Grenadier Island, near Sackett's Har- bour on Lake Ontario. As the city was defended by a very small proportion of the regular soldiers, who were chiefly employed in the upper province, Hampton hoped, by pushing vigorously forward, to capture the place with little difficulty. But having passed the frontier in the end of October, he found on the banks of the river Chateauguay the advanced corps of 800 British with 172 Indians, commanded by Lieutenant-colonels De Salaberry and M'Donnell. These officers posted theh* troops so judiciously amid woods, and so skilfully con- cealed the smallness of their number, that the enemy, though they made several brisk attacks, were always repulsed ; and Hampton, believing himseK opposed by a large force, determined to retreat. Meantime the larger expedition under General Wil- kinson having crossed Lake Ontario, entered the river St Lawrence. At Williamsburg, two considerable de- tachments were landed in order at once to clear the banks and to lighten the boats wliile descending the rapids. On the 11th November, one of these, under Ma-jor- general Boyd, encountered Lieutenant-colonel Morrison with an inferior British force. A very obstinate con- flict ensued, in wliich both parties claimed the vic- tory. The English seem to have gained the chief honour ; but their success was not so decisi»^e as to pre- James, vol. i. pp. 276-298, 451-458. Brackenridge, p. 146.156. 196 HISTORY OF CANADA vent the enemy from continuing to descend the river towards Montreal. Near Cornwall the commander re- ceived despatches from General Hampton, intimating that he declined the expected co-operation, and intended to fall back upon Lake Champlain. Wilkinson then conceived it necessary to give up, for this season any attempt upon Montreal, especially as he found the po- pulation altogether hostile to the States, and attached to the British government. He therefore placed his army in winter quarters near French-mills on the Salmon liver, where he formed a plan for attacking Prescott and Kingston ; but finding himself much straitened for pro- visions, was induced to fall back upon Plattsburg.* Meantime the employment of the main army of the Americans in this abortive expedition, enabled their op- ponents to resume the offensive on the Niagara frontier. On the first intelligence of the disasters sustained in the west. General Vincent had been ordered to fall back upon Kingston ; but he considered that circumstances now jus- tified him in maintaining his position. The enemy's force in this quarter was not only reduced, but was under the command of Major-general M*Clure, an officer of little spirit or enterprise. On the advance of a strong detachment under Colonel Murray, he first fell back upon Fort George, then abandoned that post, previous to which he barbarously reduced the adjoining town of Newark to ashes. Murray was not content with driving him beyond the river: he crossed it, surprised and stormed Fort Niagara, taking above 400 prisoners, with a large quantity of arms and stores. The English after- wards surprised and plundered the villages of Lewis- ton, Black Rock, and Buffalo, where they retaliated not very considerately the outrages of M'Clure at Fort George.t Operations were recommenced early in the spring of 1814. Lieutenant-colonel Williams, with 1500 British, * James, pp. 301-333, 347-350, 467-475. Brackenridge, p. 158>167> f James, vol. ii. pp. 4, 8-22, 39&403. Brackenridge, p.,169.171. UNDER THE BRITISH. 197 having taken post at La Colle on the river Richelieu, Wilkinson, who had upwards of 4000 men at Platts- burg, determined to attack them. On the 30th March he completely invested a large mill, which the British had converted into a fortress. All his attempts to carry it were, however, fruitless. Major Handcock even made two attacks on the artillery posted in a wood, though without success. The American general finally gave up the undertaking, and fell back upon Platts- burg. In the beginning of May our countrymen gained another advantage, carrying, though with some loss, the fort of Oswego, where they captured a considerable quantity of ammunition and stores.* The main effort of the enemy during this campaign was made on the Niagara frontier, where about 5000 men were placed under Major-general Brown, an officer who had distinguished himself on several occasions. On the 8d July he crossed and summoned Fort Erie, wliich, with its garrison of 170, immediately surrendered. He then marched towards Chippeway, and beat at Street's Creek the advanced-guard of Major-general Riall, which had endeavoured to stop his progress. The English general was then obliged to retreat to Fort George, and thence in the direction of Burlington Heights. Brown here- upon laid siege to the fort, but finding it stronger than he expected, and being disappointed of assistance from Sackett's Harbour, he fell back upon Chippeway. General Riall, on his part, having received some rein- forcements, advanced ; the armies came close to each other, and on the 25th the republicans commenced the attaclf. The battle of Lundy's Lane was fought long, obstinately, and with various fortime, a great part of it amid thick darkness, which caused several strange mis- takes. The American general and his second in com- mand were wounded, and Riall, on the other side, was taken prisoner. By a singular accident, in the midst of the conflict, Lieutenant-general Drummond arrived with * James, vol. i. pp. 83-90, 421427. Brackenridge, p. 19U-193. 198 HISTORY OF CANADA I (■V I '- i VI;' I h I'i ■ a reinforcement from York, which restored the battle. Both sides claim a dearly bought victory ; but the real issue seems clearly indicated by the retreat of the enemy to Fort Erie. On the night of the 14th of August, Dnim- mond made an attack on the place in two divisions ; but his men, in both cases, were repulsed with very severe loss.* Meantime another part of Canada became the theatre of important operations. After the successes of the allied powers in Europe, the capture of Paris, and the abdication of Napoleon, Britain was enabled to turn her whole strength against the United States, over whom a full triumph was then anticipated. A strong detachment from the south of France arrived in Canada, and enabled Sir George Prevost to place himself at the head of 11,000 men, with whom he undertook to carry the war into the enemy's country. He proceeded to the attack of Plattsburg on Lake Champlain, defended only by 1600 troops, the rest having been sent to the upper province. Macomb, the American commander, on being pressed by this superior force, fell back on his main position, which he strongly fortified. Sir George on the 11th September arrived in front of it ; but a flotilla under Captain Downie, destined to co-operate with him, was attacked by the enemy, and under his very eye completely defeated and captured. Conceiving, after this disaster, that any success in storming the enemy's position would be fruitless as to ulterior objects, and a useless sacrifice of men, he immediately withdrew his army. This course was not approved by all ; and the general result, so contrary to expectation, gave rise to much discontent and recrimination.t The Americans were still strong in Upper Canada. On the l7th General Brown sallied from Fort Erie, and, though driven back, caused a severe loss to the British, who soon after raised the siege. Being pressed by a large additional force under Izard, General Drummond * James, vol. ii. pp. 143-147, 436.452. Brackenridge, p. 219-2'Mi. t James, vol. u. pp. 213-217, 462-468. Brackenridge, p. 266-271 . UNDER THE BRITISH. 19d lis main retreated to the old position at Burlington Heights ; but receiving a reinforcement, consisting of a detach- ment of the troops newly arrived from Europe, he again advanced. Izard, who did not dare to face him, evacuated Fort Erie, and took up winter quarters on the opposite side of the river. During this autumn the republicans gained some advantages on Lake Erie, but were re- pulsed with considerable loss in an attempt to recover Fort Micliillimakinac.* The war meantime in other parts of America was productive of important events. The British obtained possession of Washington, where they destroyed the public edifices and property ; but they were defeated in their attacks upon Baltimore and New Orleans. Thus, while one party felt itself engaged in an unequal contest, the other ha^ not reaped the expected advantages from its superior means. Both became inclined for peace, which was concluded at Ghent on the 24th December 1814 upon terms which, after this long and chequered contest, brought back the two powers to exactly the same position as when they had commenced. Sir Greorge Prevost was succeeded in April 1816 by Sir George Gordon Drummond, under whom some dis- contents began again to appear. These referred chiefly to the conduct of the judges, whom the Assembly viewed with such jealousy that they had impeached at one time the heads of the court both at Quebec and Montreal. In 1816, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke went out as governor- general ; and under his administration, at once vigorous and conciliatory, harmony was little interrupted. In 1818, he was instructed by Earl Bathurst to accept the offer formerly made to pay the whole ciVil list out of the funds of the province ; and he applied, not for a permanent settlement, but merely for the sum necessary to meet the current expenses. This was readily granted, and in order to raise it new taxes were imposed, of which, however, the Assembly reserved to themselves the appropriation. ■ ■ — ■■,,■, , . ,. , ■.■,.,_,,,. I. I- - 11 ^1 II ■ ■■■■ ■■■ I.I.I — I <;' ) ■ 1 ■■ I^H^—P ^ ■■■■■ ■■.■■!■■■■ ■■■■ I ■■> ■■ I 1 ■■■»■■-■ * EvHence before Committee of 1834, pp. 4, 5, 8, 87( 91-93. Existing Difficulties in the GoTernment ot tlie Canadas, by J. A. Roebuck, M. P. (London, 1836), p. 16. u UNDER THE BRITISH. 205 to employ chiefly in paying the stipends of the clergy of the Established Church, hitherto drawn, not very ap- propriately, out of the anny extraordirmries. It was urged, that .ese funds belonged legally and constitu- tionally to his majesty, whose employment of them upon chjects, not of mere patronage, but closely connected with the interests of the province, coiiiJ not be reason- ably objected to. Lord Aylmer was well aware that this last reserva- tion would be deemed very unsatisfactory ; but he con- sidered it most prudent to lay before the Assembly a full and fruii^' statement of the views of government. That ^'ody, ai v inquiring into the mode of collection and tttaount of these revenues, passed a resolution, that *' under no circumstances, and upon no consideration whatever, they would abandon or compromise their claim to control over the whole public revenue." Parti- cular objection was also intimated to the support of ex- clusive religious establishments ; doubtless more strongly felt from the circumstance that the church to be endowed was different from that of the ruling party. They deter- mined, therefore, for the present, not to grant any per- manent supply ; and on the 8th March 1831, drew up, on the motion of Mr Neilson, a pretty long list of griev- ances, which was presented to the governor. He ex- pressed in return an earnest wish to know if these com- prised the whole of their complaints ; giving them to understand that silence would be construed into an ad- mission of their being so. They were accordingly silent ; passed a bill of annual supply ; and showed on the whole a more favourable tone and temper.* His lordship transmitted the list of complaints, with an admission that many of them were well founded, at the same time strongly eulogizing the loyal disposition Af the people of Cana4i. Lord Goderich, in a long reply, dated July 7, 1831, declared, that there was scarcely a poin which government were not ready to concede, and i I * Evidence before Comoiittee of 1834, pp. 9-13, 19-25, 3140. 206 HISTORY OP CANADA 1 , b5 expressed his satisfad;ion at the prospect thus afforded of a termination to this long and harassing contest. This despatch was laid before the House, who, in a series of resolutions, declared their gratitude for the ey.pressions of his majesty's paternal regard, the proofs of a just and liberal policy, and the feelings of kindness and good- will manifested in it. The different points to which it re- lated were referred to separate committees.* Soon after, a despatch from the colonial secretary made known that the act for transferring the funds in dispute had passed the houses of Parliament and re- ceived the royal assent. Whether from extreme libera- lity or total inadvertence, it was so worded as to preclude the imperial treasury from ever exercising any control over them, leaving thus no room for negotiation with the Assembly. Lord Aylmer was instructed, however, to demand, in return, a grant of permanent salaries to the judges, who were also, according to the Assembly's desire, to be made independent of the crown ; and a si- milar provision was asked for the governor and a few of the chief executive officers. This matter being referred to the Assembly, they began, on the 20th January 1832, with the first particular. On providing that the judges should be independent of the crown, and, with the excep- tion of the Chief Justice, should not sit in the executive or legislative councils, it was determined that pennanent salaries should be paid to them. But, at the same time, a motion of Mr Neilson was carried b} a large majority, that these should be drawn in the first instance from the casual and territorial revenues, which Lord Goderich had expressly reserved to the Crown. Lord Aylmer considered it therefore necessary to send home the bill, yet with an advice to accept the terms, as the best there was any likeliliood of obtaining. It was rejected, however, on two gromids ; — first, that it did not render the judges really independent of the Assembly, but left an annual vote still necessary. We cannot help suspecting was. • Evidence^ 1834, p. 37-47. UNDER THE BRITISH. 207 that there was here an unhappy misconception. The terms of the bill are, '' that the salaries shall be se- cured to them in a fixed and permanent manner ;" and " shall be taken and paid out of the proceeds of the casual and territorial revenue, and the revenue now ap- propriated by acts of the provincial Parliament, for defraying the charges of the administration of justice, and the support of the civil government, and out of any other public revenue of the province which may be, or fcome into the hands of the receiver-general." It would appear that, according to the plain meaning of lan- guage, these terms involved a, full warrant for pay- ment. Probably Lord Goderlch had legal advice, and some technical terms usual in British acts might be wanting ; but a provincial legislature could scarcely be expected to be fully aware of these niceties. The legisla- tive body, the governor, and we doubt not also the As- sembly, had considered this as a permanent settlement ; the latter, had it been so acted on, probably would not, and certainly could not reasonably have objected. The other ground was the encroachment upon the casual and territorial revenue, which, made in this indirect manner, was considered peculiarly offensive, though Lord Goderich had been fully apprized of their determination against any agreement in which this article was not included.* The next question which came before the Assembly was, the demand of a permanent provision for the go- vernor and a certain number of the leading executive officers. After a long debate, however, it was carried by a large majority in the negative. This decision placed the Assembly completely at issue with the Crown, and has been represented as a breach of faith on their part. They had not, it is true, come under any formal engagement ; yet the report of the committee of 1Q28, which decidedly connected this arrangement with the ces- sion of the disputed revenues, had always been referred to by them as embracing almost every thing desired ; • Evidence, 1834, p. 66-65. 208 HISTORY OF CANADA and to this part of it they had never hinted any objection. On the 6th December 1830, they had passed resolutions, insisting indeed on the control of the entire revenue, but expressing an intention, were this gained, to grant the permanent provision now demanded. That preliminary claim certainly embraced also the casual and territorial branches still withheld ; yet these were not of great amount ; and the present bill, like that relating to the judges, might have been so framed as to be inoperative without these funds being embraced by it. No reason was assigned ; but the view of the As- sembly is stated to have been, that the executive not being dependent on them for a naval and military esta- blishment, would, in case of such a permanent settle- ment, have been entirely free from that control which they sought to exercise over it. They passed, however, a vote of annual supply, which Lord Goderich, though much dissatisfied with the tenor of their proceedings, thought it expedient to sanction.* Next year (1833) the Assembly still granted only an annual bill, in which, according to a requisition of Lord Goderich, they stated the purposes to which each par- ticular sum was to be applied. They added, without its being asked or wished, the individuals to whom it was to be paid ; and appended a number of conditions, chiefly bearing, that such persons should not hold any other situa- tion, and should not be members of the executive or legislative councils. This was considered objectionable, because public officers were thus suddenly deprived of situations which they had long held, without any con- sideration of their claims to compensation ; also because those regulations ought not to have been tacked to a money bill, but made the subject of a separate enactment. On these grounds this bill was negatived by the legis- lative council, and Lord Stanley, who had been placed at the head of the Colonial Office, intimated, that had it reached him, he could not have advised his majesty to I'l \ * Evidence, 1834, p. 68.63. UNDER THE BRITISH. 209 assent to it. In the same session, a measure was intro- duced for securing independence and permanent pro- vision to the judges, in a form calculated to obviate Lord Goderich's chief objections ; but on the motion of M. Papineau it was rejected, and the speeches of the leaders of the Assembly are said to have implied, that it was no longer considered advisable to exempt these functionaries from their control.* The breach now contmually widened. Lord Stanley, considering the conduct of the Canadians as manifesting a resolution to engross the whole power of the state, directed the funds not yet made over by Parliament to be employed in the partial payment of the civil officers ; and he is said to have determined to bring in a bill for repealing the act by which the concession had been made. Meantime the Assembly had raised, and placed in the front of their demands, a new article, which almost entirely precluded all hope of accommodation, namely, the abolition of the present legislative council, and the substitution of one elected, like themselves, by the body of the people. Such an arrangement was with- out example in any British colony ; and the existing state of political feeling in the mother country would have rendered it scarcely possible for ministers to propose it in Parliament. It had beenfirst started in March 1831, when Lord Aylmcr had just gone out with the an- nounced intention of acting upon the report of 1828, and redressing, if possible, every grievance hitherto com- plained of. There seemed therefore room to suspect, that the conciliatory disposition shown, instead of producing final satisfaction, had only prompted to higher demands, tlirough the belief that by perseverance they would finally obtain whatever they chose to ask. Yet, thougli a resolution of the committee to that effect Wi>g approved l)y the members, it was not expressly included in the list of grievances then presented. But on the 20th March 1833, a petition to the king, signed by M. Papineau, * Evidence, 1834, p. 74-70. VOL. I. N 210 HISTORY OP CANADA speaker of the House of Assembly, strenuously urged this measure, and the calling of a body of delegates to arrange the conditions. The leading ones proposed were, a qualification in the electors of £10 in the country and of £20 in towns, a certain income to qualify the councillor, and the duration of his functions for six years. Lord Stanley in reply said this was an object to which, deeming it altogether inconsistent with the very existence of mo- narchical institutions, he could never advise his majesty to consent ; and he particularly objected to the proposed mode of effecting it, by what he termed "anational convention." A counter address, however, by the legislative council, was censured as intemperate in its language, and ap- pearing to ascribe generally to his majesty's subjects of one origin views inconsistent with their allegiance. In conclusion, he alluded to " the possibility that events might unhappily force upon Parliament the exercise of its supreme authority to compose the internal dissensions of the colonies, and which might lead to a modification of the charter of the Canadas."* This despatch was submitted to the Assembly, and its entire tenor, particularly the implied threat at the close, excited the highest indignation in that body. They declined this year (1834) to pass any bill of supply whatever, and employed the session in prepar- ing another long list of grievances. They complained, that while those formerly urged were still unredressed, there had been added the partial payment of the civil officers without their consent. They made a peremptory demand of the elective legislative council, without which nothing would be accepted as satisfactory. Lord Aylmer's conduct was reprobated as violent, unconstitu- tional, and contemptuous, and his recall urgently de- manded. The published correspondence assuredly does not bear out this charge. His addresses to the As- sembly are particularly courteous ; and he recommends generally to the government at home concessions so ex- • Eyidence, 1834, pp- 7»> 11/3-200. Roebuck, p. 17. UNDER THE BRITISH. 211 IS 80 ex- tensive, that Lord Goderich, himself considered liberal towards the colonies, refused to accede to them. The petition, however, was presented to Parliament, and a committee appointed for its consideration. Meantime Lord Stanley retired from power, and was succetded in the colonial department by Mr Spring Rice, This gentleman renounced the design entertain- ed by his predecessor of recalling the revenues yielded to the Assembly, and gave intimation, it is said, that he would follow a more conciliatory course. He only asked a little time till he could make himself master of the sub- ject ; and thus the popular leaders were induced to delay taking any strong measures. They bitterly complained, however, that the administration was carried on as before. Lord Aylme^; was continued in the government, and though the Canadian funds were not entrenched upon, a sum of £31,000 was advanced from the military chest for payment of the civil servants, by which their re- sponsibility to the Assembly was equally evaded. Before Mr Rice had matured his plan, he was removed from office by the accession of Sir Robert Peel to power. He stated that he had it completed, and was ready to submit it to the cabinet on the very day when this change occurred ; an assertion which Mr Roebuck treats with evident scepticism, though seemingly without any adequate ground. Sir Robert, on assuming the reins of office, early di- rected his attention to the disturbed state of Canada. After some deliberation, he determined to send out a commissioner, with power to examine on the spot, and redress without delay, every real grievance which should be proved to exist. Even the casual and territorial re- venues were to be surrendered, on condition of the set- tlement of a civil list for at least seven years. The elective legislative council, however, and the entire management of the public lands could not be conced- ed,* Viscount Canterbury, the late speaker, was first * Despatch from tlie Earl of Aberdeen to Farl Amherst, p. 3-(i. 212 HISTORY OP CANADA > I invited to fill this important appointment, and, on his declining, it was conferred on Earl Amherst. This ar- rangement, however, was nullified by the vote which led to the resignation of Sir Robert, and the return of Lord Melbourne to power. The restored ministry followed up, with certain modi- fications, the plan of their predecessors. A commission was sent out, for inquiry only and without the power of decision, composed of the following individuals, — the Earl of Gosford, Sir Charles Edward Grey, and Sir George Gipps. The first, an Irish nobleman, professing prin- ciples decidedly liberal, succeeded Lord Aylmer as go- vernor. Lord Glenelg, now the colonial secretary, drew up for their guidance a series of instructions, in which he considered the claim to the disposal of the entire revenue somewhat exorbitant, and not warranted by British example, yet was willing, for the sake of peace, to consent to it, on certain conditions. Thest; were, an independent provision for the judges, and sala- ries for the civil officers, fixed for a certain number of years, ten being mentioned as particularly suitable. With regard to the uncleared lands, the wl^ole proceeds arising from their sale were to be placed at the disposal of the Assembly ; but government could not consent to part with the management of them, or annul the con- tract made with the Land Company, though tlic}^ would be ready to guard against all abuses, and even to receive any suggestions on the subject. The exist- ing pensions were also to be retained, but the future power of granting them would ])e surrendered. In re- gard to the critical question of the elective legislative council, it was said, — " The king is most unwilling to admit, as open to debate, the question, whether one of the vital principles of the provincial government sliall undergo alteration." The right of petition, however, was fully recognised, and his majesty would not " ab- solutely clos.^ the avenue to inquiry," even where, "for the present, he saw no reasonable ground of doubt."* • Copy of the Instructions to the Earl of Gosford, &c. p. 5-13. UNDER THE BRITISH. 213 The Earl of Gosford having arrived in Canada, lost no time in calling a meeting of the legislature, who were convoked on the 27th October 1835 ; and in his opening speeches, he professed the most conciliatory views, par- ticularly towards the French or popular party. He avowed the opinion, that " to be acceptable to the great body of the people, is one of the most essential elements of fitness for public station." He intimated his readiness to place the whole revenue at the disposal of the Assem- bly on the conditions fonnerly stated. All the other grievances were to be carefully examined and redressed ; and allusion was made to "still graver matters," respect- ing which the commissioners " were not precluded from entering into an inquiry." The legisUtive council returned an answer which, in all respects, was extremely moderate. They generally concurred in the sentiments of the speech, deprecated the idea that difference of origin should affect political rights, which ought to be equal to all his majesty's subjects. But the House of Assembly, while holding conciliatory language, advanced much more lofty pretensions. The change in the legislative council was repeatedly pressed, as absolutely essential to the tranquillity and content- ment of the province. The entire control of the public revenue was referred to, not as a boon, but an incontest- able and essential right ; and while they stated their readiness to consider attentively any measure tending to facilitate the exercise of this right, they avoided all mention of conditions to be performed in return. Not- withstanding the high ground thus taken, the inter- course between the popular leaders and the governor was extremely friendly. He admitted them to his table and his intimacy, and treated them on every occasion witli much kindness. They were understood to represent tJie great body of the people, whom he had expressed his desire to conciliate ; and he professed liberal views to those who would understand that term in its widest sense. So decided was the impression produced, that the opposite party loaded him with the bitterest invec- 214 HISTORY OF CANADA I i' tivcs, and even threw out menaces of insurrection ; while the leaders of the Assembly went so far as to intimate, that they would relieve the immediate financial em- barrassments by granting the three years' arrears, and a half-year in advance. They attached to the grant some- what hard conditions, which, however, were not rejected ; and on the remark being made, that these would ensure its rejection by the legislative council, an intimation is said to have been given, that it would be accepted di- rect'y by address, without being lip^^le to the veto of that body.* Tliis good understanding was suddenly interrupted. The 'governor's language above cited, in regard to the elec- tive council, had been very diflferent from that of his in- struciions, not pledging him indeed to the measure, yet such an, combined with his other conduct, conveyed to both parties the idea that it was determined upon. This course is defended as the only one by which the supplies so urgently wanted could be obtained ; and it was hoped, that by a continued conciliatory course, the Assembly might, when the real intention of the cabinet could no longer be concealed, be induced to wave their demand. Any degree of duplicity in a g6, &c. UNDER THE BRITISH. 215 leaders scarcely a hope of its attainment. Their rage knew no bounds ; they complained not only of disap- pohitment in their favourite object, but of a deception hy w}iich they bad been nearly misled. It was now determined not to grant the three years' arrears, but merely a supply for the current half-year, allowing only that short period to comply with their demands. Tliis slender boon, too, was clogged with conditions which, as had been foreseen, induced the upper house to reject it, so that the session, in all respects very stormy, passed over without any provision whatever being made for the public service. The legislative council felt na- turally indignant at the violent attempts meditated for its overthrow, and instead of studying to show these to be unmerited, the members vented their resentment by rejecting almost every bill sent up from the Assembly. Among these was the vote continumg the funds for national education, which were thus entirely withdrawn. All the political elements were disturbed, and in violent collision with each other.* The commissioners, in March 1836, viewing this state of things, and seeing no prospect of obtaining money to carry on the government, without immediately yielding to every demand of the lower house, considered it indis- pensable to obtam it without their consent. This, they thought, would be best accomplished by Parliament repealing the act passed on the motion of Lord Goderich, by which funds to the amount of £88,000 had been made over to the Assembly. This would indeed excite bitter resentment ; but with the other reserved reve- nues, it would at least enable the government to proceed without any grants from that body. Lord Glenelg was not forward to act on this recommendation. He wrote to tlie Earl of Gosford, expressing a hope, on grounds wliich do not very distinctly appear, that the violent resolution complained of had been induced by the partial • Roebuck, p. 39. The late Session of the Provincial Parlia- ment (Montreal, 11336), p. Vd-'Iii. »l i ■J i 216 HISTORY OF CANADA and imperfect knowledge of the Instructions, and that a communication of the whole might lead to more favour- able views. He expressed a wish, therefore, that the provincial Parliament should be again called, and an opportunity afforded for retracting, before recourse was hav- lor, they were to suifer the penalty of death. The same was awarded to Papineau and others implicated in the late rebellion^ but who, after its disas- trous issue, had fled the country.* As soon as this ordinance was knowm in Britain, it created an unusual excitement in the legislature. Lord Brougham, in the House of Peers, made a motion, de- claring it illegal as condemning to death without trial, and to transportation to a colony which was not within the jurisdiction of the governor-general ; but, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, he proposed a grant of indemnity. This vote, though strenuously opposed by Lord. Melbourne, was carried in the Upper House by a consider- able majority. Ministers then having received from the law-officers of the crown an unfavourable report, at least as to the last particular, considered it impossible to make • Correspondence, pp. 103, 104, 128, 129. 238 HISTORY OF CANADA a'ly farther resistance. They annulled the ordinance ; hwt at the same time conveyed to Lord Durham ex- pressions of their regret, of their general approbation of his measures, and of the unaltered confidence with which they regarded his administration.* His lordship, however, was not of a character to brook thi 'uterposition. He had, it is true, passed the limits of /'ct law ; but he mai'.tained that these were scarceb ^licable in the critical and convulsed state of the provi^ice ; that the sentence was lenient ; and on the principle of volenti nulla Jit injuria, the parties concerned could not be wronged by a decision in which they had cheerfully acquiesced. In short, there being no sub-, stantial injustice inflicted. Lord Durham thought he had reason to complain that his scheme was not allowed a fair trial. He had perhaps an equal ground of dissatisfaction in refcx'ence to the hostile interference of the opposition lords, ttnd more especially because the ministers, his em- ployers, did not resist it to the utmost. Yet it would certainly have been more magnanimous on his part had he endeavoured, under every discouragement, to have done his best to accomplish his undertaking. He yielded too far to passion and pride when, even before receiving the official accounts, he publicly announced his intention of throwing up the administration. He did not even fol- low the established course of requesting her majesty's permission to resign, and waiting till he received it. In announcing, too, the disallowance of the ordinance, he commented on the decision with a severity which was considered irregular, and tending to compromise the royal authority. On the 1st November his lordship set sail from Quebec, and on the 26th arrived at Plymouth.t Meantime a fresh storm of rebellion brooded over the province. In the course of the summc. , even amid appa- rent quiet, the burning of a steam- vessel called the Sir Robert Peel in the St Lawrence, and the acquittal of the murderers of Chartrand in the face of the clearest evi- * Correspondence, p. 65-60. t Ibid. pp. 20().209, 243, 245. UNDER THE BRITISH. 239 dence, showed that the spirit of disaffection was still deep- ly cherished. By the beginning of winter arrangements had been made for a general rising of the habitanSf sup- ported by a numerous body of American citizens who, under the title of sympathizers, had vehemently espoused their cause. Arms and ammunition had beon clandes- tinely introduced ; and a species of association, bound by secret oaths and signs, had been formed along the whole frontier. LordDurham imputesthismovementtothepro- ceedings at home, which had shaken the confidence in his authority, and raised the hopes of the disaffected ; but Sir John Colborne considers that those preparations had been actively pursued ever since the preceding June. The government of the United States, though they had no adequate power to prevent the part taken by their subjects, showed a good disposition by giving the first intimation of what was going on to Mr Fox, the British ambassador at Washington. The tidings were soon confirmed from other quarters ; and Sir John Col- borne lost no time in putting the province in a state of defence, and procuring an additional force from Nova Scotia.* On the night of the 3d November, a concerted rising took place in all the southern counties of Montreal District ; but owing to some failure of arrangement, the stations along the Richelieu were not found supplied with arms according to appointment, so that most of the inhabitants there dispersed and returned to their homes. The chief seat of insurrection was now farther west, between that river and the St Lawrence. There three areh-rebels, Dr Robert Nelson, Cote, and Gagnon, had collected about 4000 men, and established their head- quarters at Napier ville. Their first object was to open a communication with their friends in the States, for which purpose 400 men were detached to the frontier. There a body of British volunteers, as brave as loyal, had stationed themselves, by whom the rebels were attacked * Correspondence, pp. 106, 125, 174-180, 222, 24b. 240 HISTORY OP CANADA \ if ! and obliged to retreat with great loss. To retrieve this disaster, Dr Nelson, with upwards of 900 men, marched against the loyalists. The latter, only 200 strong, took post in Odelltown chapel, on which the enemy com- menced a brisk attack, but, after two hours an 1 a half, were obliged to retreat, with the '! jss of one hundreu killed and wounded. The defenders had an officer and five men killed, and nine wounded.* Meantime "^'TJor-general Sir James M*Donnell, under orders from ♦ governor, with seven regiments of the line, crossed the it- , iiawrence, and marched upon Napierville. The rebels, discouraged by former losses, after a vain attempt to unite their forces, dispersed in every direction without firing a shot. They still retained a post at Beauharnois ; but Colonel Carmichael, with a detach- ment of regulars and 1000 Glengarry militia, drove them out, though with the loss of two men killed and the same number wounded . Mr EUice and a party of friends, who had been made prisoners by them at the outset, were allowed to return to Montreal. On the 11th, a week only after the first movement, M'Donnell could announce that the insurrection was compl 3tely at an end, without the rebels having been able to open any communication with their supporters beyond the frontier.f We must now turn to Upper Canada, where, even be- fore the former outbreak. Sir Francis Head had resigned. The immediate cause was the disapprobation expressed by Lord Glenelg for his removing Judge Ridout on account of his democratical principles, and his refusing to ob«\y an order to raise to the bench Mr Bidwell, late speaker of the Assembly, and an opposition leader. He at the same time, in no measured terms, condemned the system of conciliation hitherto pursued in the Colo- nial Office, whose members he even branded as republi- cans ; insisting that a stern uncompromising maintenance of the monarchical principle, and the exclusion from • CorrespoiKlence, pp. 248, 261, 262. t Ibid. p. 260-263, 2 UNDER THE URlTISir. *i 241 office of all opposed to it, was the only basis on which Canada could be governed. Ministers unwillingly ac- cepted liis resignation ; while the loyal inhabitants, among whom he had rendered himself highly popular, expressed on the occasion deep regret and disgust. Colonel Sir George Aiihur, who had previously held a similar situa- tion in Van Diemen's Land, was appointed to succeed him.'^ Tlie new governor soon for.nd himself involved in difficult circumptanccs ; for ciirly in June, bands to the number of lOOC or 1200 Americans crossed the Niagara channel, and endeavoured to excite the people to insur- rection. They attacked a party of fourteen lancers posted in an inn, and, by setting it on fire, obliged them to surrender. But no sooner did they learn that Sir George had arrived at Niagara, and that the country was rising against them, than they hastily recrossed the fron- tier, leaving about forty prisoners, among whom were Morrow and Waitc, the first and second in command. In the end of June, a smaller party passed the St Clair, and invaded the Western District ; but finding themselves unsupported, and the militia advancing, they returned, after losing a few of their number, who fell into the hands of the pursuers.t The summer now passed in comparative quietness, though the great movement at the beginning of Novem- ber continued to be deeply felt along tbe upper frontier. Almost simultaneously with the rising in Montreal Dis- trict, a body of about 400 sailed from the vicinity of Sackett's Harbour and landed at Prescott. On the 18th, Colonel Young with what force he could muster, and aided by Captain Sandom with an armed steamer, compelled a large proportion of them to disperse, while the rest took refuge in a windmill and an adjacent house built of stone, whence they could not be dislodged. * Narrative hv Sir P'raiuis B. Head, Bart. (8vo, fiOndoii, IJWJJ, 2(1 edition), p. 21}{-;M4. •j" Correspondence, p. !?1 IIWI. VOL. I. ^O 242* HISTORY OP CANADA UNDER THE BHITISII. Eighteen British were here killed and wounded. In the course of the day Colonel Dundas arrived with four companies from Kingston, but considered the buildings, the walls of which were three or four feet thick, too strong to be reduced without cannon. A few guns and some aflditional troops being brought up, an attack was commenced on the 16th, when the party within the stone building, after son e stand, sought to escape among the brushwood, but v ere all captured ; upon which those in the mill tllsplt yed a n-Ji'te flag, and surrendered at discretion. The vholc numi ir cf prisoners was l/>9. The militia, among whom some lukewarmness had been suspected, showed the utmost zeal, and mustered to the extent of ^5000.* The Niagara frontier was fo'md by the enemy so well guarded that no attempt was made there. But early in the morning of the 4th December, about 350, organized at Detroit, landed near Sandwich, set fire to a steamer and to the barracks, and killed several indivi- duals in cold blood. Being as cowardly as cru^l, they were no sooner attacked by a party of militia, than they fled either to the woods or to the American shore, leaving twenty- six killed and twenty-five prisoners.t The captives on the former occasion had been treated with extraordinary lenity ; but this forbearance not having produced its due effect, and being loudly com- plained of by the inhabitants, it was judged necessary to exercise greater rigour on the present occasion. A con- siderable number of the ringleaders were accordingly put to death, and the rest condemned to severe or ignominious punishments. Correspondence, p. 354-361. t Ibid. p. 3Gb.372. TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. 241 CHAPTER V. Topography of Lower Canada. Boundaries— Surface— Divisions— District of Quebec— City of that Name— Situation ; Edifices; Upper and Lower Town; Vici- nity — Fall of Montraorenci — Isle of Orleans— Tadoussac and the Saguenay — Lower Coast — Shores above Quebec — Trois Rivieres, Town and District— Montreal District— City— Ca- tholic Cathedral— Other Edifices— Rural Districts— Settlements on the Ottawa— Country South of the St Lawrence — Settlements on the Richelieu — Southern Part of Trois Rivieres District Eastern Townships — American Land Company's Territory Southern Part of Quebec — Townships — Lower Shores of the St Lawrence — Gaspe — General Summary. It has not been usual, in the volumes of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, to enter into minute topographical details of the various countries described. A general survey is all that is required in most instances ; but in regard to British America, and particularly to Ca- nada, a different course appears to be expedient. These provinces are chiefly inhabited by a British popula- tion, and a continued stream of immigration has been, and still is, airected towards them. The adventurer who is to remove his abode to the new world, and choose there a situation for life, is deeply interested in knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each particular district. The numerous individuals, too, in this country, who have now friends settled in that remote region, cannot but feel curious as to the locality in which the objects of their affection are established. We propose therefore to give in this chapter a somewhat minute description VOL. I. P ^ W 242 TOPOGRAPUY OP tOWER CANADA. of Lower Canada, and, in the next, a similar account of the Upper Province. The former has for its eastern and northern bound- aries the Gulf of St Lawrence, Labrador, and the high ridge which separates the tributaries of the St Lawrence from the rivers falling into Hudson's Bay. The north- em limit terminates about 80° west longitude, where a line drawn due south to Lake Temiscaming, on the Ot- tawa, separates the two Canadian provinces. The river just named forms the western boundary, till it approaches Montreal, whence a line drawn from it due south, passes through Lake St Francis, and extends for some space southward of the St Lawrence. The southern frontier is parallel to the whole course of that great river, at a distance of from fifteen to a hundred and thirty miles, and is formed on the south by Chaleur Bay, New Bruns- wick, and the States of Maine, New Hampsliire, Ver- mont, and New York. The precise limits, however, still remain dependent on the important territorial question now agitated between Great Britain and the United States. This extensive province lies between 46° and 52^ north latitude, and between 57° 50' and 80° 6' of west longitude, making thus about 950 miles m length, and 490 in breadth. The entire area is estimated by the best authorities at 205,863 square miles, of which not less than 3200 are supposed to consist of lakes and rivers.* The northern part of this region consists throughout of a bold, rugged, and rocky territory, watered by almost innumerable streams and torrents, and diversi- fied by many chains of small lakes. The soil is generally unproductive, and no settlements have been attempted in any part of it ; yet recent surveys have discovered various detached spots embosomed among the hills, or on the banks of the rivers, that appear susceptible of high cultivation. This description of country comes down and borders upon the St Lawrence, along its • Bouchette, vol. i . pp. 173, 182. TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. 243 lower course, as high as Cape Tourment, only thirty miles below Quebec. It then recedes, and leaves, between itself and the courses of the St Lawrence and Ottawa, an extensive and generally fruitful plain, varying from fifteen to forty miles in breadth. Detached eminences and branches from the northern mountains serve only to variegate the surface, and give to it a more picturesque appearance.* On the south of the St Lawrence there is a similar plain, not quite so spacious, but somewliat more fertile and beautiful. The high lands cover only a small portion of its surface, except in the most eastern district of Gas})e, which presents through- out a rugged surface, similar to that of the opposite shore, though including a much larger proportion of good soil.t Lower Canada is divided into three principal districts, Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal, and two small ones, Gaspe and St lYancis. This last, however, is so duni- nutive, and its townships so enclosed by those of Mon- treal and Trois Rivieres, that its subdivisions have been included within their counties. Quebec is divided into thirteen counties, — Beauce, Bellechasse, Dorchester, Ka- mouraska, L*Islet, Lotbiniere, Megantic, Montmorenci, Orleans, Portneuf, Quebec, Rimouski, and Saguenay, These are subdivided into seventy-nine seigniories, twelve fiefs, and thirty-eight townships. Montreal comprehends nineteen counties, — Acadie, Beauhamois, Berthier,^Chambly, Lachenaye, La Prairie, L' Assomption, Missisqui, Montreal, Ottawa, Richelieu, Rouville, St Hyacinthe, Shefford, Stanstead (this county includes five townships of St Francis), Terrebonne, Two Moun- tains, Vaudreuil, and Vercheres. These are subdivided into sixty-three seigniories, eight fiefs, and forty-five town- * Lieutenant-colonel Bouchette considers this plain as terminat- ing, or, accordinff to his order, comniencintj with the Grenville Hills on the Ottawa ; but as the upper banks of that river are still more level than those of the St Lawrence, that cluster seemingly can only be considered a branch from the threat northern range. t Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 185, 28I.21iO, 298-3U4, 324. 244 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. ships, besides fourteen others newly formed beyond the limits of the counties. Trois Rivieres includes six counties, — Champlnin, Dnimmond, Nicolet, St Maurice, Sherbrooke, and Ynmaska ; subdivided into twenty-five seigniories, nine fiefs, and fifty-three townships. Dnim- mond is partly, and Sherbrooke almost wholly, composed of townships belonging to St Francis. Gaspe contains only two counties, — Bonaventure and Gaspe, comprising one seigniory, six fiefs, and ten townships. It may Ikj obsen'ed, that large portions of the three principal dis- tricts, and, indeed, the most valuable part of Trois Rivieres, are situated on the south side of the river.* The subdivisions above stated, founded upon the feudal system, according to wliich the French settlers were established, is important to them as connected with various judicial and political arrangements, but have little interest for British readers, or even residents. We shall therefore, after the example of Colonel Bou- chette, pay more regard to the natural divisions, at least to the extent of considering under separate heads the territories, as situated respectively on the northern and on the southern bank of the St Lawrence. We pur- pose, not, however, like him, wholly to disregard pro- vincial marches, but will consider successively the districts of Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal, begin- ning with those on the northern side of the great river boundary. The district of Quebec occupies the whole coast w^atered by the gulf and river of St Lawrence, from the eastern limit of the colony to the mouth of the river St Anne, about thirty miles below Trois Rivieres, and thence in a direct line to the northern boundary. The greater part of this extensive section belongs to the uncultivated portion of the country, and presents a chaos of mountains, lakes, and torrents, tenanted only by wild beasts and a few wandering Indians. At Cape Tourment, however, it begins to give place to a tract * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 175-181. T0P0GR4PUY OP LOWER CANADA. 245 of a much more pleasing character ; and thoup;h still traversed by rugged eminences, it conUilns much fertile land, which is described as being at once romantic and beautiful. On the northern side of the St Lawrence it is divided into the counties of Quebec, Montmorenci, Orleans, and Port Neuf, and comprised, in 1831, a popu- lation of 56,616. In the midst of this fine; landscape stands Quebec, the capital of British America. It is seated on a promon- tory stretching out into the river, which, by means of it and Point Levi on the opposite side, is narrowed to about three quarters of a mile, though immediately below it spreads out into a wide basin. Cape Diamond, the most elevated point of the city, is reckoned by an eminent traveller 1000 feet high ; a proof of the fallacious nature of such estimates, since the more accurate observation of Bouchette fixes it at 34.5. Above a hundred feet lower i? an elevated plain, on which are built the castle and thh whole of what is tenned the upper town. Thence a perpendicular steep of above 200 feet descends to the banks of the St Lawrence ; and in tbe narrow interval between this precipice and the river is the lower town, the crowded seat of business and shipping. The scenery of Quebec and the surrounding country is described by all travellers as rivalling in picturesque beauty the most favoured parts of the earth. The navigator who ascends the St Lawrence, after he has passed the Isle of Orleans and entered the broad basin already mentioned, where he first comes in sight of this capital, is struck with intense admiration. He sees its citadel crowning a lofty cliff, its castle and batteries overhanging a range of formidable ^^^'^ps, the river crowded with numerous vessels ot i v^ery form and size, from the huge timber-raft to the bark canoe. The fall of Montmorenci appears dash^rrg its white foam almost to the clouds ; and on each 4de is a long range of fertile and beautiful shore. On ascending Cape Diamond a still grander and more extensive pano- rama bursts upou his view, combining all the boldness '■ t( 216 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. of nidc with the richness of cultivated nature. Up and down the magnificent stream of the St Lawrence is a reach of more than forty miles, on which sails almost innumerable are in ceaseless movement. Below is the beautiful Isle of Orleans ; while the opposite coast is diversified by a great variety of natural and cultivated scenery. To the north appears the river St Charles winding amid fertile valleys and hills, with villages hanging on their sides ; while the prospect is closed by a bold screen of mountains. Mr Weld prefers the views from the upper town, where, though fewer objects are seen, they appear more distinct and brilliant. This traveller, after visiting a great part of Europe and America, gives to them a preference over every thing that he had observed on either continent. Mr M'Gregor considers them similar, but much superior to those from the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling. Quebec, from its situation and the care with which it has been fortified, is a very strong town, and con sidered the chief bulwark of British America. On the summit of the lofty headland just described, stands the citadel. The rock consists of gray granite mixed with quartz crystals, and a species of darlc coloured slate. About forty acres are here covered with works, carried to the edge of the precipice, and connected by massive walls and batteries with the other defences of the place. The main body of the fortress, however, consists of tlie upper town, whose fortifications enclose a circuit of about two miles and three quarters. The face of the hill towards the river is so extremely precipitous, that it requires only a common wall to protect it, though the gate leadr ing from the lover town is defended by heavy cannon, and the steep approach by Mountain Street is enfiladed and flanked by many guns of large calibre. As the declivity towards the interior and the plains of Abraham does not present the same i brupt face, but descends by successive ridges, it has been strengthened by a series of regular works, including ditch, covered way, and glacis, with some exterior defences to obstruct the approach of TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. 247 an enemy. It seems probable, therefore, that the place would hold out against any attack, till the approach of the rigorous winter should compel the assailants to raise the siege. The upper town, which these fortifications enclose, forms the chief part of Quebec, and the residence of all the principal inhabitants not engaged in trade. It is a tolerably handsome old-looking town ; the houses being mostly of stone, partly roofed with tin. The streets are well paved, and in some instances macadamized, but they are much too narrow, as the broadest does not exceed thirty-two feet. St Louis Street, the almost exclusive residence of the fashionable circle, has been lately adorned with several elegant mansions. The public buildings are commodious and substantial, without much pretension to architectural ornament. The castle of St Louis, a large plain baronial-looking edifice, forms the dwelling of the governor. It comprises a space of four acres, once fortified ; but the great extension of the works has rendered its walls su- perfluous, and they are allowed to go to decay. The apartments are large and commodious, and the veranda commands a magnificent vista up the river. Ad- joining is a spacious structure, once occupied by go- vernment offices, now chiefly employed for public en- tertainments. The enclosure contains two excellent and well-cultivated gardens. Of religious edifices the chief is the Roman Catholic cathedral, being 216 feet long by 180 in breadth, and capable of containing a congregation of 4000. The in- terior has a lofty and solemn aspect, but the outside is heavy and not in very good taste. There are several other Catholic churches. The English cathedral, though smaller, being only 136 feet long by 76 broad, and in a simple style, is considered extremely neat. The Scotch church is much inferior. The monastic establish- ments are spacious. The Hotel-Dieu, founded in 1637 by the Duchess d'Aiguillon, includes a convent, church, and courtyard, besides cemetery and gardens. The range 248 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. of buildings is extensive, but without any ornament ; and its chief use is as an hospital, in which respect it affords the greatest benefit to the colony. A prioress and thirty-two nuns are continually employed in ministering to the sick, with a great degree of attention and skill : hence government have been induced to make occa- sional grants in addition to the considerable revenues attached to the establishment. The Ursuline convent is a neat building in the heart of the city, surrounded by fine gardens. It was founded in 1639 by Madame de la Peltrie, chiefly for the purposes of education. The inmates, forty-six in number, observe a somewhat rigid seclusion, but they instruct, in reading, writing, and needlework, a certain number of girls, comprehending even Protestants. They are very assiduous in embroi- dery and other ornamental works, especially for eccle- siastical vestments ; and the fruits of their industry are often sold at high prices, which are thrown into the com- mon stock. The spacious monastery of the Jesuits, 224 feet by 200, surrounded by noble gardens, was forfeited on the suppression of that order, and at the conquest was regarded as crown property. It was then converted into a place of exercise for the troops, and to the regret of many its fine trees were cut down ; but the legisla- ture of the province have lately petitioned for its being restored to its original purpose of education. The large edifice called the Seminary, with an extensive domain attached to it, was founded in 1663 by M. de Petre, with a view to the instruction of the Catholic clergy. It is now open to all students of that persuasion, who are initiat- ed in the diflFerent branches of knowledge upon paying the trifling sum of 5s. annually to defray incidental ex- penses. Pupils, indeed, may be boarded as well as taught for £12, 10s. -'-year. The buildings employed for public purposes are ample and commodious, though mostly reared for different ob- jects. The bishop's palace formed an extremely elegant residence, with a chapel and many conveniences ; but, in return for an annuity, it was relinquished, and now ac- in the TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. 249 commodates the two branches of the legislature. About the year 1803 a very handsome house was erected by a joint-stock company in the best situation the town afford- ed, with the view of being employed as a hotel. This plan, however, being abandoned, it was sold to the cliief- justice, and is now leased at £500 a-year by govern- ment, who give it up to the use of their chief civil de- partments. It contains also the Museum of the Literary and Historical Society founded in 1824, and which in 1829 was united to that for the promotion of arts and sciences. The collection is said to be valuable in regard to mineralogy and botany. There is a library also, though only in its infancy. The Artillery Barracks form a long range of building, somewhat roughly constructed, but substantial and convenient. The Armoury con- tains equipments for 20,000 men, and, being extremely well arranged, excites the admiration of strangers. The market is held in an open space 250 feet long, with a breadth in some places of about 165. A large building with stalls has bean reared in the centre, though the chief business is still transacted on the open ground. It is held every day, but Saturday is the busiest. The crowds of carters with their wives and families, bringing in the productions of the surrounding country, their brawlings and vociferations in bad French and broken English, form a scene of noise and confusion, amid which appear a few Indian squaws, and the gentlemen of the city and garrison going round to make purchases. Every kind of provision is abundant and cheap except fish, which is less plentiful than might be expected from the situation. Among public places may also be mentioned the Grand Parade in front of the castle, surrounded by the most distinguished edifices ; and also the Esplanade, a large level space along the. interior wall, which is the chief theatre for military exercises. The lower town is a narrow crowded range of build- ings, extending along the base of the precipice. The spot on which it stands is entirely the creation of human industry ; for originally the waves at high water beat tlie I! V 250 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. very foot of the rock. Wharfs, however, have heen found- ed and carried out mto the river, though nowhere farther than 240 yards ; and on these streets have been erected. So liir.ited, indeed, is the space that the quarter beyond Cape Diamond communicates with the rest only by a path cut in many places through the solid rock. This part of Quebec is compared to the most irregular and con- fused districts of Edir burgh. It is connected with the upper town by what is called Mountain Street, which formerly was not pf'isanf 3 for carriages without extreme difficulty, but has ; ( late been much improved. The Break-neck Stairs, as they are denominated, are more commodious for foot passengers. Besides extensive wharfs, the lower town contains the Quebec Bank, which, in addition to apartments for its appropriate purpose, has others for a fire assurance company and a subscription library, the most extensive and valuable in Canada. The government warehouses are also spacious, and the custom-house having been found inconvenient, the foundation-stone of a new one was laid in 1831. Amid wharfs lately formed on the flat beach of the St Charles, has been erected the exchange building, an ele- gant structure, containing a spacious reading-room and several others devoted to commercial purposes. Projects are in contemplation for erecting a pier, which would also serve as a bridge across the estuary ; an improve- ment which, while it would afford ample space for the extension of the lower town, would enable tlie largest vessels and rafts to lie in security, instead of resorting, ajs at present, to coves in the neighbourhood. On the inland side of the fortress, stretching more than a mile into the interior, are the large suburbs of St Roch and St John. They are built regularly, but chiefly of wood, and with accommodations suited only to the lower ranks ; though of late, indeed, they have been adorned with many stone houses of a superior class. There is also a smaller suburb named St Louis. Quebec maintains a constant communication with Point Levi on the opposite shore, whence it derives a though TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. 251 great part of its provisions. A steam ferry-boat plies every half-hour, making the trip in about ten or fif- teen minutes. The navigation also being very pro])erly left free, the river is constantly covered with numerous canoes generally hollowed out from the trunks of trees. The boatmen brave the most tempestuous weather, and though often driven several leagues out of their course, are scarcely ever wrecked. Even in winter, when they must encounter blocks of ice with which the channel is encumbered, they contrive with ropes and iron-pointed poles to raise their vessels upon the surface of the masses, and drag them along till they find open water on which to launch it. When this channel is frozen entirely over, the communication becomes still more easy. A line is marked with beacons placed by the Grand \oyer, over whicli hay, firewood, with other bulky articles, are trans- ported abundantly and at reduced prices. This advan- tage occurs only occasionally ; but every year the chan- nel 1)etwecn the Isle of Orleans and the northern coast is frozen over, when the produce of that fertile spot, re- served for the occasion, finds a ready conveyance. For- merly milk and vegetables Avere brought in a frozen state from distant quarters ; but now these commodities are procured in abundance from the neighbourhood. The socici,^; of Quebec is more gay and polished than is usual in colonial cities, Avhere the pursuit of wealth forms too often the sole object of the mhabitants. Here, besides merchants, there are a number of British civil and military officers, and a body of French noblesse, living on their domains. These different classes do not, it is sttid, always thoroughly amalgamate. The x ronch, though often superior in maiii.ers and habits, are in some degree disdained by the ruling people, which they do not well brook. Among the English themselves, the chief test of rank is an introduction at the castle, without which strangers will find themselves placed below those whom they would have been classed above in the mother country. The hotels are good, and, after the foahion of the United States, the inmates com* 3 lit ; ; conveyed. Imn«ediate]y westward, in fro j it of tlxi foi-ti- fications, are the Plains of AbraJ)am, memorable ris tlic scene whereon Quebec was gained by the gallant Wolfe, and Avhence only it can i)o successfully assailed. The summit, indeed, is 330 feet high, which does all but command that loftiest pinnacle on which I ort lUainond stands. As some security against this daiiger, four rjiarteli;^ nel, extends parallel to that of Montreal for the spsxce of twenty-one miles, and is six at its greatest breadth. It is throughout level, fertile, and highly cultivated ; the original forest being almost entirely extijrj-'.i.ed, except for ornament and fuel. In this quarter, on the small lake of the Two Mountains, are a couple of villages belonging to tlie Algonquins and Iroquois, containing together about two hundred houses.* J ' i : j ^^ -f * Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 209-211, 232, 233. mi m m' 264 ^z TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. The poi-tion of Montreal district on the St Lawrence extends to Pointe au Baudet, fifty-five miles above the capital, where it meets the boundary of Upper Canada. This tract, between the St Lawrence and the Ottawa, foiins the county of Vaudreuil ; it is level, diversified only by a few gentle hills, and is also very fruitful. Vaudreuil and Rigaud are only villages ; the chief impoi'tance being attached to the places which lie on the river. La Chine is about eight miles above Montreal, where the navigation is interrupted by the fall of St Louis, to obviate which, the fine canal ])earing- its name has been erected, at an expense of £137,000. This village, which originally received its appellation from the chimerical idea that it would affbrd a route to China, still forms an important point in the navigaticn both of the St Lawrence and the Ottawa, near whose junction it is situated. About twelve miles farther up, at the village of Pointe des Cascades, commences a series of formidable cataracts, which, with little interruption, extend about nine miles. There is nowhere any high fall ; but the stream, filled with hidden rocks and covered with breakers, dashes like the waves of a ttn ^-estuous ocean. Yet the rafts, the Durham boats, and batteaux constructed for the purpose, can, under skilful guidance, be safely piloted through these dangero\is rapids. The crews, however, are often obliged to unload the most bulky part of their cargo, and have it conveyed by land. Steam navigation, which ceases at one end of this obstruc- tion, is resumed at the other ; and the village of the Cedars, situated opposite to the rapids of the same name, is the chief depot for the land-passage. It commands a mag- nificent view of the foaming billows, and of the barks which steer through them their perilous course.* The Ottawa province, extending about 350 miles along the northern bank of that great river, forms as it were a very extensive wing, detached from the district and from Lower Canada, while the upper province extends Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 2o4, 23d. TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. 265 opposite to it along the southern bank. Thus the bound- ary between these two territories, which at first runs due north, as soon as it strikes the Ottawa, stretches first north-west, and then almost due west. This extensive tract is as yet by no means occupied or improved in pro- portion to its natural capabilities. The numerous ob- stacles to the navigation, though now in part remove)t TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. 273 along the rivers, v;ith much good arable land ; and the townships generally have been greatly improved under a judicious plan of government location. Dunham, Stand- bridge, and Sutton, in the county of Missisqui, lie also on the southern border ; but to the eastward of the Riche- lieu and Lake ChamplaiQ there is a considerable variety of soil, most of which is well fitted for grain, flax, and hemp. The first contains 2121 settlers, the second 1800, the third 825. The counties of SheflFord and Stanstead, composing the south-eastern part of Montreal district, have been entirely laid out in townships, and possess very impor- tant settlements. Sheffbrd, watered by the lower branches of the Yamaska, is partly mountainous and rocky, partly swampy ; but there is a fair proponion of good and even fine soil. The township itself, though in some parts rather steril, has in general exceedingly rich land, with 1470 settlers, and contains a village named Froste with 120 souls. Brome, rather rugged, is so well settled as to have 1648 ; Famham good, though partly swampy, 1642; Stukeley, rather broken, only 486; Granby, generally good, 991 ; Milton, 190 ; Ely, 131 ; Roxton, 60. These three last are somewhat wet and marshy. Stanstead forms the south-easterly angle of Montreal district, and is one of its most valuable portions. It is well diversified with hUl and dale, and has in its centre the pleasing lake called Memphramagog. On its east- em side are the townships of Stanstead, Bamston, and Hatley. The two first are extremely fine and well settled, having respectively a population of 4226 and 2221. It contains the villages of Stanstead and George- ville, — ^the first of which is the largest as well as the neat- est and best built place in all the townships. According to the report of the British American Land Company, there are upwards of two hundred houses, three churches, and two printing offices, at one of which a weekly news- paper is published. The high road from Quebec passes through it. Hatley is much more chequered, pos- VOL. I. R 274 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. I I sessing some very fine land, with a few hilly and poor districts. The village of Charlestown has fifty houses and two churches. Bolton and Polton, on the west side of the lake, though somewhat rugged and uneven, are well watered and have several tracts of good land. Popula- tion of Hatley, 1600, Bolton, 1170, Polton, 1006. To the eastward of Stanstead are Bamston and Barford, both favourably described, so that, notwithstanding their remoteness from water, the first has 2221 settlers, though the second, as yet, has only 84. We now proceed to the county of Sherbrooke, embrac- ing the greater part of the district of St Francis, imme- diately south of Trois Rivieres, *<> which it is often con- sidered as attached. Being quite beyond the range of the seigniories, it has been divided into 29 townships, which include much valuable land. It presents in ge- neral a broken and varied surface, sometimes rising into mountains clothed with fine timber, is well watered, yet not so encumbered with swamps as the more western districts. The only part hitherto settled is that adjoin- ing to Stanstead in Montreal ; but the British Ameri- can Land Company expect soon to diffuse culture over the whole. Orford, indeed, the first on this side, is so mountainous as to be almost unfit for improvement, and contains only 320 inhabitants. But the next. Ascot, with 1800, Compton, to the south, with 2020, and Eaton, to the east, with 1600, are in general very fine, with an undulating surface, and conimodiously wa+^^-'d by streams well adapted for mills. The first conto Sher- brooke, the county town, where the commerce of the neighbouring settlements chiefly centre". It contains about 360 inhabitants, with three place,:; of worship and a woollen manufactory ; and the Land Company have lately made it the centre of the'.r operations. They have undertaken a new road to Fort St Francis, where- by the distance will be reduced to seventy miles, and have likewise established a stage conveyance between the two places, by which the journey is performed in one day. They have also improved the roads to Quebec I i| r. t *^^ 'r I I ■H ■ ■.r\: K)or and eof ivell :^i3^:i£!:'r '}!v?r^i^m^6 ■i:?:^;^- "* 'k <• S': la, T*»7»OCr<\fflV <)P LOWEtt CANADA, RossiiJif H*-:>«: • c; ■ fitu* la?ul, wit.ii a few hilly and jwor districts, i i^c "■ illi^rt Mi* ( ^liavlestowii has fil'fy Jiou8»'S mid two olu.vfb's*. lU.Jtu'.. and Poltoii, on the west side of ihi }jtf<';, rJnniKH soi)ii.'vvhyt i-;trj;[('d ,ind unovon, arc wcii u'wciux')^ ^y-.,} hioo w^vci-n! tr;ictH of ;;<0< :.>( HfttK'V, 1*'<>'N };5olton, 1170, Poltuiu 1 005 . To \hc' vAstwftri of Stnirtiriul arc liamstoii >.> that, notwitlisiatniiiigthdi' rein<>ti;ju;ssf)om water, the first hiis L'-.^il scttlens, thou;t^-li thv W'cond. ;is yet, hu'' only H4. We now |>!'oefed i>.> the fouuty of Slu'rl-n'oke, ('iiiisnu*- ing- the jj'vatei' part of the district of St l:*r.'incL«i, Iduh.;.. illat*'Iy stiuth of Trois Riviercj*, to wliicli it i.s often -Mm- .^idiTcd a.s attaehed. Being quite beyond the nmae <.h- land. It presents lu u'v neral ahroken ai.d varii>d surface, soraetinies y\»\nu- i)VfA. niouniains cIotht;d witli fine timber, is well w%'iivvvd. yet -not so encumbered v^'itll swamps as the more weht«»ru ^ districts. 'rhi> only part hitherto settled is that adj-ir. inq- to Stansteail in Montreal ; but the liritisli Aroir'- ('tin Land Company expx ct moM t>> diffuse culture 'v the whole, Oi-ford, inched, the first on tiiis side, i.-; - mountainous as to be almost unlit for improvemenU (<'. ' contaijis inhubitunts, Jiut tbc next, A'>.'!. with 1800, CouvjHon, to the .''outh, with 2020, and E.-it' : . , to the east, with ir)0(>, are in general very line, wif, an u^'.dulatili^ s'aHiu'e, .md connuodionsly watered hx .••f.rt«.nt!i.« 'r which is handsome, and placed in a healthy situa- tion ; aflbrding a great accommodation to this populous part of Lower Canada. Lower down, at River Quelle,' * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 299-314 Picken, p. 53-60. Commissioners' Report, Appendix to General, p. 13. ( 280 TOPOGRAPHY OF LOWER CANADA. there is a considerable porpoise fishery. In the rear of this district is the township of Ixworth ; which, so far as it has been surveyed, is found to contain excellent land. About ninety Iniles below Quebec, E^amouraska, the most frequented watering-place in Canada, has risen to great importance. Visiters are attracted by the salu- brity of the air and the fine scenery, — ^much height- ened by islands in front, which are also the seat of a considerable herring-fishery. Below Kamouraska, the country is diversified by more abrupt eminences, while population and culture become more limited. After the village of St Andrew, occurs the portage of Temiscouata, leading to the lake of that name on the main road to New Brunswick T,nd Nova Scotia. On the Riviere du Loup is an exten- sive saw-mill ; but there, and in the succeeding dis- tricts of Cacona, Isle Verte, and Trois Pistolles, coloni- zation scarcely extends beyond the range in firont of the river. The Rimouski district is still more gloomy, covered with dark hills, enclosing a narrow valley. At Bic, especially, the mountains become bold and precipitous ; yet the eye is still occasionally cheered by smiling settlements. Four leagues lower, at Anse au Coq, the road ceases, and the trackless desert is interrupted by single hab'^^ations only, on the banks of the rivers Grand Mitis and Little Matane. On the first are large saw-mills, and on the second a fishery for the supply of the Quebec market ; but ito success is said to be doubt- ful. At Matane only about 600 acres are cleared, and occupied by 300 fainUies. The uninhabited coast, extending thirty miles from Mitis to this place, is con- sidered by Bouchette as highly propitious for settle- ment; and it certainly possesses many advantages in point of situation. From Matane to the boundary of the province, there are only a few scattered dwellings. Behind the stations now described, adjoining Lake Temiscouata, Colonel Fraser, since 1823, has given im- portance to the settlements of Kent and Strathern. The landscape here is bold and romantic, and the rocks '• " i r'" "" "' ' m i'- faf i ni" iM'ii'ri- • -iimr i im hw i mh TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. 281 afford a large supply of excellent limestone. The road by the portage to New Brunswick is very beneficial to his establishment ; and more southerly, at the junction of the Madawaska and St John, another has been formed. The whole upper line of the latter river, extending 132 miles in length, might. It is supposed, afford an excellent base for a range of townships, but it constitutes part of the disputed territory, and is still entirely neglected. The least improved portion of this section of Lower Canada is the district of Gaspe. It forms an extensive peninsula, having on the north the river and on the east the gulf of St Lawrence : on the south, the Bay of Chaleur, penetrating deeply into the land, separates it from New Brunswick. Gaspe, having thus a circuit of about 360 miles of coast, enjoys a favourable posi- tion for fishery, which has hitherto been the chief em- ployment of its inhabitants. The principal settlements are on Chaleur Bay, particularly along a space of fifty miles from Port Daniel to Maria. The cold is not much more rigorous than on the St Lawrence, while it is free from those dreary fogs which encumber the neighbour- ing coasts, but are here merely seen rolling in dense volumes along the entrance of the bay. The fishery is chiefly of cod_( carried on by open boats, with the aid of a few larger vessels. It employs about 1800 indivi- duals, of whom 600 come from Quebec during the season. The produce is about 60,000 quintals of dried and 10,000 green fish, and 27,000 gallons of cod oil. The whale fishery employs five or six large schooners and 200 men ; it yields from 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of oiL About 4000 barrels of herrings and 2000 of salmon are also cured. Of late, the attention of the colonists has been attracted to agriculture ; the soil having been found of a friable clay, thickly coated with vegetable mould, and yielding good crops of grain, flax, and hemp. The whole line of coast has been laid out, and even double ranges begun, though the roads are yet very im- perfect. Since 1816, the timber trade has become an impoi-tant resource. In each of the years 1826 and 1826 I V ' 282 TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. sixty vessels were employed, exporting about 760,000 feet of pine. In 1831 the whole population was calcu- lated at 13,312, including the settlements on the river Ristigouche, and others from Cape Daniel to Gaspe Bay on the eastern coast. The northern boundary, stretching thence along the St Lawrence, presents still an aspect of the most dreary desolation. Three small stations have been formed, but are scarcely at all occupied, unless during the fishing season. Yet there seems nothing in the soil or climate to prevent settlement, which would be of great use in affording protection against the ship- wrecks which too often occur at this dangerous entrance of the St Lawrence. For this purpose, £6000 has been appropriated by the legislature.* The following tabular view, as it respects the different districts, will be found to comprise much interesting in- formation. The St Francis territory, we believe, is com- prehended imder those of Montreal and Trois Rivieres, Area in square miles Population in 1831 Possessors of real property Families employed in agriculture.. Families employed in trade Acres of improved land Acres occupied, but unimproved Wheat.produce inminots(Ubushel) Oats, minots Potatoes, do Homed cattle Horses Sheep Hogs Grist mills. Quebec. Montreal. 125,717 151,985 17,215 12,467 764 562,7781 1,685,817 911,8875 798,133*1 l,6.95,853j' 104,794 26,213 152,382 74,615 94 Trow Hivieres. 15,811 56,670 7,653 9,662 489 253,447i 49,769 290,050 31,747 28,229 1,240 1,231,3001 2,629,859i629,902i 2,098,982i 383,544* 1,911,861 426,760* 4,221, 802i 910,295* 229,747 48,752 76,067 13,739 310,523 71,458 174,447 39,766 235 60 Gaspe. 7,389 13,312 1,276 466 10 18,687 136,214 10,342 6,520 529,465 6,411 677 8,980 6,409 6 The progress of Lower Canada, though not quite ^qual to that of some modern colonics, has yet been extremely rapid. It was, indeed, long depressed by the weakness of the government and Indian warfare ; so tliat, in 1676 it appears not to have contained above 8416 inhabitants. In 1700, however, the estimate was 16,000, and in 1714 it had risen to 26,904. At the conquest in * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 315-330. McGregor, vol. ii. p. 452^56. Evans, Supplement, p. 63. .,. 7-;-v-«r^,]iyqri^j;5^^^jji2:j^jBaj«LT*iKt"«txna::i.--. — V' TOPOGRAPHY OP LOWER CANADA. 283 1769 the number m> Mieved to be 65,000. In 1784, a census, ordered b^ ;neral Haldimand, gave 113,000. A similar one, takea m 1826 under the authority of the House of Assembly, showed 423,630 ; another in 1831 611,917. There can be no doubt that this last, as well as all the preceding enumerations, was extremely defective. Mr Chapman, after a careful consideration of all circumstances, considers himself rather under the truth, in fixing the real number at 682,000 ; and he supposes that, by the combined effect of immigration and natural increase, it must have now risen to fully 660,000. Of the number returned by the census of 1831, it was stated that 67,891 were possessed of real property. The number of families employed in agriculture was 60,824, while 7602 persons acted as farm servants, and not more than 2603 families were engaged in commerce or trade. The lands under cultivation amounted to 2,066,913 acres, while3,981,7l3 were occupied, but in an unimproved state. There were, moreover, 4,336,494 acres still in the hands of the government, besides vast tracts yet unsurveyed. The inhabitants were possessed of 389,706 homed cattle, 1 16,686 horses, 643,343 sheep, and 296,137 hogs. They had 396 grist, and 737 saw mills ; 90 for carding, 97 for fulling, and 3 for paper ; 70 distilleries ; 489 manufac- tories for pot and pearl ash, and 64 for other articles. In 1836 Mr Evans estimated the cultivated lands as having increased to 2,486,000. An official report states the acres of surveyed lands belonging to the crown at 999,976 To the clergy, ..... Total surveyed, .... Unsurveyed, though formed into townships, 2,136,174 Besides those now described, there are vast tracts yet undivided on the Saguenay, on the southern frontier, and in the disputed territory.* 558,099 1,668,076 668,099 • Bouchette, vol. i. p. 347. Tables for Colonies, 1832, pp. 1, 2, 7* Chapman's Statistics of the Population of the British Colonies (Montreal, 1834), p. ()-12. T 284 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. It; ' ' CHAPTER VI. Topography of Upper Canada* Boundaries — Surface and Extent — Progress of Settlement and Cultivation — Climate and Soil — Divisions — Eastern Division- Eastern District — Johnstovrn — Bathurst; Perth and By town- Central Division— Midland District — Tovrn of Kingston — Nevr- castle District ; Coburg and Port Hope ; Peterborough — Home District — City of Toronto — Settlements on Lake Simcoe — West- ern Section — Its early Settlement — Gore District — Canada Company — Guelph — Gait — NiagaraDistrict — Towrn— Queenston — Falls — London District ; Colonel Talbot ; Town of London — Huron Tract; Goderich — Western District ; Amherstburg and . Sandwich — General Summary. Upper Canada comprehends an extensive range of territory, considered till lately a mere appendage to the lower province, but now fast rivalling it in wealth and population. Its eastern boundary, as defined by the proclamation of 1791, has been already stated to be a line drawn from the St Lawrence, a little above Mon- treal, due north to the Ottawa, and then along that river to Lake Temiscaming. Thence it again stretches due north to the mountainous border of the Hudson's Bay territory, which forms the northern limit. Oa the south it has the winding shores of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior, with the channels connect- ing them, and generally ranked as portions of the great stream of the St Lawrence. On the other side of this water-boundary is the territory of the United States. The western limit is much more vague, being by the proclamation just mentioned merely stated to be that of " the country commonly called or known by the TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. 285 ^1 name of Canada." M. Bouchette seems to adhere most closely to established ideas, when he fixes it at the head of the streams which fall into Lake Superior, and thus extends it to about 117° west longitude. This extensive province consists almost throughout of one uniform plain. In all the settled and surveyed portion, at least, there is scarcely an eminence deserv- ing the name even of a hill ; though it is traversed by two ridges of considerable extent, which decidedly mark the different levels of the country. The principal one passes through nearly its whole length from south-east to north-west, separating the waters v^ hich fall into the St Lawrence and the lakes from those which are tributary to the Ottawa. The highest point is supposed to be the greatest elevation of the Rideau Canal, about forty miles north of Kingston. It is 290 feet above the Ottawa at Bytown, but only 160 higher than the level of Lake Ontario. Towards these opposite limits the surface descends at the rate of only about four feet in the mile, exhibiting to the eye no sensible departure from a complete plain. The high ground, however, after passing the limits of settlement, about eighteen miles northward of Lake Balsam becomes connected with a somewhat loftier range, which continues in nearly the same direction beyond Lakes Huron and Superior, till it joins the mountainous frontier of the Hudson's Bay territory. The other ridge begins near the eastern extremity of Ontario, to which it runs nearly parallel, and proceeds in the same direction to a point about twenty- four miles north-west from Toronto, where it separates the tributaries of that lake from those of Huron. It now turns to the south-east, and, running between On- tario and Erie, crosses the Niagara, forming its stu- pendous &lls, and terminating on the Genessee, in the United States territory. Although no part of it can aspire to the appellation of mountain, it has a more sensible elevation than the former ridge, and even rises into some bold heights. The whole of this territory is estimated to contain 286 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. about 141,000 square miles, or nearly three times the extent of England. The only portion, however, that is yet surveyed, or at all settled, is that bounded by the eastern coast of Lake Huron, and a line drawn thenoe to the Ottawa. This is estimated by M. Bouchette to contain about 33,000 square miles, or 21,000,000 acres.* Upper Canada, down to the period when it was con- quered by Britain, was in a very wild and unreclaimed condition. With the exception of the small location on the banks of the Detroit, it contained only detached posts at great distances, formed for military defence and the prosecution of the fur-trade. After the peace of 1763, when the possession of it was confirmed to this country, a proclamation was issued, fixing allotments of land to reduced officers and discharged soldiers. These grants, however, appear to have been sought chiefly in the vicinity of the capitals and cultivated districts, and to have scarcely at all extended into the great forest domain. The real settlement of Upper Canada took place in 1783, at the close of the first American war. At that time not only a large body of troops were disbanded, but many inhabitants of the United States, who had adhered . to Britain during this unfortunate contest, sought refuge within her colonies ; and as these last were generally in a state of great destitution, the government felt disposed to treat them liberally, and afford the utmost possible compensation for their losses and sufferings. With this view, the whole land along the St Lawrence above the French settlements, and also on Lake Ontario, to and around the Bay of Quinte, for the space of 160 miles, was formed into townships, originally entitled First, Second, Third, but to which regular names were after- wards attached. These settlers were termed the United Empire Loyalists ; and not only received an ample supply of land, but farming utensils, building materials, and sub- sistence for two years. A farther engagement was made, * Bouchette, vol. i. p. 64-71 • TOPOGRAPHy OF UPPER CANADA. 287 that every member of their families, on attaining the age of twenty-one, should have a fresh donation of 200 acres ; a promise which has been strictly fuliilled. Military grants were at the same time bestowed, at rates varying from 6000 for a field officer, to 200 for a private soldier. These new occupants, many of whom had been accus- tomed to agricultural labour and even to the improve- ment of forest land, soon produced a wonderful change, and converted a great extent of wilderness into fruitful fields. On the site of Fort Frontenac was founded Kingston, which gradually rose into a place of import- ance. At the same time, other emigrants, in considera^on of local habits and attachments, .were settled upon the Niagara channel, and upon that part of the Detroit not previously occupied. In 1791 Upper Canada had attained to such import- ance, that when Mr Pitt determined to bestow a con- stitution on the colony, he formed this part into a separate government, giving to it the name of Upper, and to the early settled districts that of Lower Canada. The former was not supposed, after all, to contain at that time above 10,000 inhabitants. General Simcoe, however, in 1794, founded the town of York, which was fixed on as the seat of government, and made the most strenuous efforts to encourage colonists to settle in the neighbourhood. They came in considerable numbers, though chiefly from the United States. It was not till 1803 that, through the exertions of Colonel Talbot, emi- gration from Britain was commenced on any large scale. The result of these measures was, that in 1811 the country was found to contain about 9623 persons paying taxes. By a careful examination in regard to the most populous township, Mr Gourlay estimated the tax-payers at one-eighth of the entire population, which, on this principle, must have amounted to about 77,000. A vast additional impulsCjhowever, was given at the close of the last war, in consequence of the low rate of profit and wages, and the difficulty of finding employment at home. The attention, first of the labouring, then of 11 1 288 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. the middling class, j»nd finally of the government, was thus forcibly drawn to the relief which might be ob- tained by removal to a new country, where the means of subsistence were abundant. These motives have attracted a continued succession of emigrants, both in- dividually and in bodies, by whom the population of the province has been most rapidlj'^ augmented. In 1824 a series of returns, called for by Parliament, showed the number to be 151,097. In 1828 a similar census produced 185,526. At the end of 1832 the amount had risen to 296,000, and in 1835 to 336,000. It pniay be observed, too, that these returns are un- derstood to be extremely defective, and the omissions numerous ; probably, therefore, the actual population of Upper Canada may not fall materially short of 400,000. Improvement and wealth appear to have kept full pace with the progress of population. We do not find any statement of the number of acres under cultivation till 1823, when they were reported at 570,000. In 1835 they had increased to 1,308,300. The assessment lists of 1810 gave 9982 horses ; in 1832 they had increased to 36,822, The number of honied cattle was in the first period, 24,436 ; m the second, 166,499 ; in the third, 192,005. In 1810 the assessment of a penny in the pound,on all fixed property, yielded £4133, implying a value of £992,000, which, in 1828, was reckoned at £1,969,000. In 1835 the assessment amounted to £20,207, and consequently was levied upon a property estimated at £4,849,000. This being Halifax currency, was equal only to £4,364,000 sterling. The rating, however, as usual in such cases, appears to be very low, cultivated land being valued only at £1 per acre, probably a good deal less than half the real worth. A stone or brick house, with six apartments, is rated only at £100. Farm stock is assessed more nearly at its marketable price ; but the payment is made exclusively upon lands, buildings, cattle, and car- riages, and does not extend to furniture, clothes, produce, trading goods, or specie. It should seem, therefore, that TOPOGRAPnY OF UPPER CANADA. 289 the actual value of property cannot be much less than double the rated amount. Should we suppose it £8,000,000 sterling, the average share to each in- dividual will be £20, or for a family of five, £100 ; and this will probably purchase the means of living to double the amount which the same sum would procure in Britain. Upper Canada, as formerly observed, enjoys a climate considerably milder than that of the lower province. The great water-communication, along which it extends, stretches upwards from Montreal, in a south-western direction, till it reaches nearly the latitude of New York. M. Bouchette has given a comparative table, from which it appears, that in the year 1820, the mean annual heat was six and a half degrees higher than in the other province. The extremes, also, are less severe ; for while the mean of the four winter months is from thirteen to seventeen degrees higher, that of July and August is a little lower. Nor do the seasons follow each other so abruptly as at Quebec ; and hence a certain interval occurs between winter and summer. In return for these advantages, the wcathc r is observed to be more variable, and there are only two months in which sleighing or sledge-travelling over the hard snow can be practised. Ague, too, more especially in the newly-settled districts, though not fatal, is distressing and debilitating. But the mildness of the climate affords to the farmer the important advantage, that he can sow wheat in autumn, which thus attains a quality superior to that of the spring-sown grain, hitherto alone reared in other parts of British America. The opportunity of cultivating the finer fruits is a less momentous though a very agreeable circumstance. The soil of Upper Canada, at least within the present range of settlement, bears a very superior character. Its fertility, indeed, as will presently appear, is not so uni- form as has sometimes been represented ; yet there is probably no tract of equal extent in the temperate zone with which it may not be advantageously compared. VOL. I. 8 -r^s: 290 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. '[ It is nowliere mountainous, nor, with very few excep- tions, is it rocky. Considerable tracts are light and sundy, but few so much so as to be absolutely barren. The productiveness of the country appears to be chiefly interrupted by swamps, which cover a large space, both in the most eastern and most western districts.* The circumstances alluded to in the beginning of the preceding chapter, as giving a peculiar importance to Canadian topography, apply in an especial degree to the upper province, which has for some time been the favourite resort of British emigrants, and its remotest lo- calities have of late acquired a deep political importance. The materialF, indeed, are not quite so ample as could be wished, for Messrs Bouchette and M'Gregor have given only some general views on the subject. Reports, however, have been made respecting most of the town- ships, by deputy surveyors and inspectors, to the justices at quarter sessions, as well as to the provincial govern- ment, with a view to the guidance of settlers. These have been communicated by Mr Picken, in the work on the Canadas, which he composed with the aid of documents furnished by Mr Gait ; also in the volume entitled, " The Canadas as they now are, by a late Resident." Mr Gourlay, too, in 1817, procured a considerable nund- ber of similar returns, which still hold good, so far as concerns the natural capabilities of the country. Sup- plementary information has been gleaned from ShirrefF, Ferguson, and other travellers, who have examined different districts with a special view to emigration. To Mr Martin we are indebted for the population of the toviHiships in 1888 ; and the statements brought down to 1885 are derived from the most respectable private sources. Upper Canada is divided into eleven districts, subdi- vided into twenty-six counties, and six ridings, which altogether comprise 277 townships. An official report I*. I * Gourlay's iStatistical View of Upper Canada, vol. ii. pp. 8-14, ]?.», 170, 2i2. Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 7«, 8«, »y, 108-110,237. Martin, pp. 297, 298. *4l 'i ••'•^m^ . - ftBRffTT'* jsi^^mtm^r ms'rKLm'^. M If J"l ;i» (m> l'l'hl.lN..l^l> IIY i( .:« t'K V M*n I) KltlMII ItlUI ■\ ) / ' ■ j)^\ m 1 f 1 t 1 'i 1 fe ) Utl'tKll'UfJf 1 4 1 1 ! I. TOl'fKiH VrilY uV ri'I'KU ( ANAOA. i>l)l in in»"'), relating', wo jin.smnc, i" tin l.irulM actn.illy occiif !, «;iv(.s th<> Jiinoiiiit iii all I, ■ • liMtrirts at r»,7<^'.'>(» wore iinjlcr «'ultiv;ifioti. In (>iil< lin _' upon tlir tii-' n- cl'-irh- plaer! I j. • iiatuv'-. '1 lie eastern fli\i>ion wji. 'ii. i. .nt t. i the t< i- rito';. l'*>' ii the St l«nvn'i'. '■ ; 'i! <:••.- ott.tw a . fhe iciif.M^ wti, I'v*' !t:< M ici ...'; I^.ii ' Oit,.?.!,. un>\ evton.l aur* ' 'fv, •»:■!.- iu *M.' ( >t th f ri\ rr-". v tlootit, Jiow- OV;r, ft« H.! ■j i>!' r; (I. ..' .' ,'.. '-. ,M !!ial stltli inent. 'i'ln- •ji' ■■ '• loiN e pcriiiisiilii, riiiirly St «."t,iir, and Huron, ami tlie oliii .nt.'l.s hy which thesv riko are eonnii-ii'd. The eastern division, i.'»" n, dMi^i^ls of iotir di>triets: I^Mteni iind .johnstowii wr. thv*^! Iriiwrenee, ( )ttaAvai aJ'd Hjithursf ou the ()ttav\.i. |f (•'•tupris('I<>etiltivat.-i iUTi'H^ l.l t'.!.o-^<) nrK.uJtivaud, J l,vU.JI horses, and •4i>,tt4l Ijornod .'ill '-• . 't i.> well watered, not oiiiv hv the two i'v several important trihiiturie:"-. of ■ fill into th'' Ottawa. The IVtitr •, ■'iont five mih'^ from the St Law- *•" n, traverses thr Tcrritiirv in .a line a-t. The K.id<-.;ii, the Mi.s.si.s.si])jii (qviite 'h.~' liut ti ill 1 :u! jrnnit eentniJ river of that name), lUid the MadawaisUa, rise in tli'' MidiaJid Dist^g^ and flow iu an rasterly diro'tion till Mt.y reaeh the^^awa. The only import U'- trilnitury to the St Lavvrenec 1^ tiie Caranoqui, whic fails into it near Laiisdown. The -Joil of th- } art. of Canada has been H)mewltat variously reported, laii apjx.arsun t\\v wli^de not so uni- formly sood a> in the more \vest(;rn districts. ( './nsitlor- ftble tracts nre sandy, ^-onK: are marshy, and othiM-s are broken and rocky, 'fliere i>s not wantini^, howt vcr, a very fair proporth>n of hue land. Thy climate, beuig ;rreat. i"»\e;v, o, whieii tile I)'-:, Nation. fi«.ir':. < rene* . h- i/ «.r.;i nearlv -lue uot ;^^ y.)//.;i^"/ ■- " t* ^^Jr-T -*n»» •^.w*v.>*»»;«;>»^^ii' rti ^i W ' i .*,t-S-*W ■■il -^ ^S** --•, .^,r— >^j^;' I ^ ,'v- .flay:!,-.,,., , : , ' .-^#5 -■^—■■Mif! I 1! ^ '•■, ^> '% . /. V ''/J -■/ 'V,,-, ,• 1. (.,-P . tT'^i* '•"'": Marl if ■ .? I ''s- ' l€f / •• ""-y$'^ ^-i^^^-^ . -M"- -^^.^^11 I ■*-' - -M-.-Nttl,/ ,~»|^, -J * .1 ■- i.- i "• // r- -. •SX I /J '"■-'••" ' ' fl^ - '^ ^ J ^ ^ -^ ^-^ • "!»..■ : v * -*'f; '>•'''■•■ *•■•"' ''■ '^-. U»v»t IV))al fj •-. i iioumi' , B^itliurxt. •* l-l'M,INlti:i. ItY (ll.lvr.H v^- tiovi) i^DlNlll IIIUI ■^>'il^^4ifi^,?i^r^fva" , -Ml TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 291 4 M n\ in 1835, relating, we presume, to the lands actually occupied, gives the amount in all these districts at 6,700,000 acres, of which not more than 1,308,000 were under cultivation. In entering upon the description of this province, we shall follow the example of M. Bou- ch6tte,in dividing it into three great portions, the Eastern, the Central, and the Western. We must nevertheless dis- rent from him so far as to attach the Midland District to the central part, where it appears to us clearly placed hy nature. The eastern division will then contain the ter- ritory between the St Law^rence and the Ottawa ; the central will have its base on Lake Ontario, and extend north towards the latter of tliese rivers, without, how- ever, at all approaching it as to actual settlement. The western division composes an extensive peninsula, nearly enclosed by Ontario, Erie, St Clair, and Huron, and the channels by which these lakes are connected. The eastern division, then, consists of four districts : Eastern and Johnstown on the St Lawrence, Ottawa and Bathurst on the Ottawa. It comprised, in 1885, a po- pulation of 87,380, to whom belonged 227,010 cultivated acres, 1,149,856 uncultivated, 11,361 horses, and 45,041 homed cattle. It is well watered, not only by the two great rivers, but by several important tributaries, of which the largest fall into the Ottawa. The Petite Nation, rising only about five miles from the St Law- rence, near Johnstown, traverses the territory in a line nearly due north-east. The Rideau, the Mississippi (quite distinct from the great central river of that name), and the Madawaska, rise in the Midland District, and flow in an easterly direction till they reach the Ottawa. The only important tributary to the St Lawrence is the Gananoqui, wliich falls into it near Lansdown. The soil of this part of Canada has been somewhat variously reported, but appears on the whole not so uni- formly good as in the more western districts. Consider- able tracts are sandy, some are marshy, and others are broken and rocky. There is not wanting, however, a very fair proportion of fine land. The climate, being ■«W*a 292 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. more northerly than on the upper course of the river, is not so mild, and the summers are shorter ; yet, even in these respects, it has the advantage of Lower Canada. It has also the benefit of being near Montreal, where agricultural commodities can be readily turned into money ; and the produce of the dairy, with vegetables, fruits, and other articles, which elsewhere can be raised only for home use, find a value in that market. There is an easy conveyance to it by the rivers, though the roads in the inland townships are very defective. Its progress, however, has been particularly retarded by large and improvident grants to American loyalists, disbanded officers and soldiers, or favourites of the rul- ing powers. Many of these have altogether neglected their lots, and few have turned them to account with that active and improving spirit which has animated the recent classes of British emigrants. The military settlers, it is said, generally showed themselves incapa- ble of the persevering labour necessary to bring wild land into a productive state, and took the first oppor- tunity of selling their allotments. Hence its progress, though great and rapid, has not equalled that of the western districts, towards which the tide of immigration has been chiefly directed. The Eastern District, that nearest to Montreal, extends along the St Lawrence about sixty miles, with a breadth of about thirty. It contained, in 1835, 70,645f acres cultivated,and355,07l ^uncultivated, 13,119horned cattle, and 6148 horses. The population, which in 1817 Mr Gourlay estimated at 12,700, had, in 1826, risen to 17,000, in 1832 to 23,743, and in 1835 to 29,119. For thirty miles up, the river is navigable ; but then com- mence those formidable rapids, which render it necessary that the produce of all the districts situated along their course should be conveyed a certain distance by land. The main road into Upper Canada, called Dundas Street, passes through it, and though very imperfect, like all others in this country, is of considerable use. The soil appears to possess the variable degree of fertility genfiral TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 293 in this tract, being chiefly deteriorated by extensive swamps. Limestone, however, abounds, also good stone for building, and earth fitted for making bricks. The Canada Company have purchased a considerable extent of crown lands in different townships. Eastern District is divided into the counties of Glen- gary, Stormont, and Dundas. Glengary comprises the townships of Lancaster and Charlottenburg, fronting the river, particularly that broad part of it called Lake St Francis ; those of Lochiel and Kenyon are in the rear. The soil is in general good, excepting some portion of Lochiel which is low and stony, and of Lancaster which is light and sandy. Charlotten- burg, which in 1833 contained 4576 settlers, is watered by the river Aux Raisins ; Lochiel, having 2162, by the La Grasse ; and Lancaster, having 2230, by the Delisle ; all of them small streams, but useful for turning mills. Kenyon has 1573 inhabitants. This district, as its name imports, has been chiefly settled by Scottish Highlanders, who, displaying their characteristic qualities, have par- tially redeemed the soil, and brought it into tolerable cultivation. Yet skilful farmers remark, that they have not drawn from it all the means of comfort which it is fitted to afford ; and hence its settlements consist only of diminutive log-houses, with a few acres cleared round them, exhibiting altogether a slovenly and neglect- ed aspect. There is no place which can make any pre- tensions to the name of a town. The Canada Company have lands to dispose of in Lancaster and Lochiel ; but those of the best quality are already occupied. Stormont, the next county, consists of Cornwall and Osnabruck in front, Roxburgh and Finch in the rear. In 1833, Cornwall and Roxburgh contained 4586 set- tlers, Osnabruck 2313, Finch 413. The first has a good soil, though in some places stony ; and being watered by the river Aux Raisins, it has numerous mills. The second enjoys a similar advantage ; but the land, which, towards the interior is a strong clay, is in front light and tliin. Roxburgh has a black loam and argillaceous soil ; 294 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. U] 'i' J J some part is 8tony,and a large portion swampy ; yet it is ill watered, though small branches of the Raisins and Petite Nation pass through it. Finch is described as a very fine district, with the exception of a sandy tract in the rear ; but falling into the hands of proprietors who did not know its value, it has been much neglected. The Canada Com- pany have here purchased a large lot, and also some of the best land in Roxburgh. Cornwall, on the St Law- rence, has some pretensions to the character of a town, containing 1047 inliabitants, a church, courthouse, and •other buildings. The navigation upwards to Prescott being greatly impeded, there is much land-travelling between the two places, which affords support to both. Dundas includes the townships of Williamsburgh, with 1586 settlers, and Matilda, with 1448, in front ; Mountain with 707, and Winchester with 181, in the rear. The soil of this last is very favourably spoken of, though rather swampy. It is well watered by the Petite Na- tion, which serves in summer for boat conveyance, and in winter as a road. A small canal from it to the St Law- rence would greatly benefit the country. Williams- burgh has very good land, well settled by American loyal- ists, but the tract behind is little occupied. Matilda is a productive district, and well managed. Mountain is also represented as possessing an excellent soil, and, notwithstanding the obstructions from improvident grants, a thriving settlement has been formed on the Petits Nation. The Company have purchased a con- siderable lot in this as well as the neighbouring town- ship of Winchester, and hope, by arrangements in their block, to effect speedy improvement.* Johnstown District extends from the boundary of the one just described, westward along the St Lawrence, It is not quite so long as the eastern, but it stretches more deeply into the interior, so that it may be regarded * Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 56f). Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 109, 75, 76. Picken, p. 1 18-124. Canadas as thev now ace, p. 51-65. Martin, p. 220. Ferguson's Practical Notes (Edinburgh, 1833), pp. 86, 265.> TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 295 as forming a square of about fifty miles in every direc- tion. It has been divided into a triple range of town- ships, the third or most inland of wliich is considerably distant from the St Lawrence ; but this is amply com- pensated by the Rideau Canal, which traverses it from east to west. The navigation of the great river along its front is mostly unobstructed, which gives it a ready communication with Kingston, though the more im- portant intercourse with Montreal is rendered imperfect by the rapids below ; but, to balance this loss, there is now a free, though circuitous, navigation by the Rideau and the Ottawa. The soil is as various as that of the Eastern ; its fertility is chiefly interrupted by rocky tracts, which extend along the banks of the river, and give a very unfavourable impression to the navigator ; but in the rear it generally improves. Johnstown, in 1835, contained 82,813 acres of cultivated and 331,134 of un- cultivated land, 16,338 horned cattle, and 3924 horses. The population, estimated by Mr Gourlay, in 1817, at 9200, had risen, in 1826, to 15,354, and in 1835 to 28,504. Its augmentation, especially during the latter period, it thus appears, has been extremely rapid. This district is divided into two counties, Grenville and Leeds. The former contains eight townships ; Ed- wardsburgh, with 1584 settlers, and Augusta, with 4091, on the river ; South Gower, containing 646, Oxford, 1292, and Wolford, 1121, in the second range ; North Gower, having 245, Marlborough, 445, and Montague, 755, In the tliird. Edwardsburgh possesses a good soil, and is well settled ; but the navigation of the St Lawrence in that quarter is encumbered by rapids. It contains Johnstown, the nominal capital of the district, and a large village, almost a complete counterpart to Cornwall. Augusta, the .next western township, is also favourably described. It includes Prescott, now called Fort Wellington, advan- tageously situated at the termination of the rapids, so tliat it forms the limit of the upper steam navigation. Travellers or goods proceeding down the river must dis- embark, and proceed either in boats or by land. Hence 296 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. : ti: M. Bouchette, though it consisted, when he visited the district, of only forty or fifty houses, anticipated a rapid increase ; but of this Mr Ferguson, some years after, saw no appearance, the place being far outstripped by Og- densburg, on the opposite side of the river. The townships of South Gower, Oxford, and Wolford, which form the second line in this county, are described in nearly the same favourable terms ; the soil good, and the situation tolerable, as they have the Rideau navi- gation on the one side, and on the other passable roads to Prescott and Johnstown. North Gower, Marlborough, and Montague, are represented, the two first as good, the third inferior, but not bad. All three have the advan- tage of being traversed by the canal, which opens a dis- tant intercourse with Montreal, and a near one with the most flourishing settlements on the Ottawa. Leeds, the next county, contains m front the townships of Elizabeth Town, with 4360 settlers ; Yonge, 2894 ; Lansdown and Leeds, the two, 1867 : in the second line, Kitley, 107l ; Bastard, 1826 ; and South Crosby, 664 : in the third, Elmsley, 1070 ; Burgess, 304 ; and North Crosby, 186. The first is one of the best tracts in tliis quar- ter. The li.Ad,towards the river, is broken and rocky ; and some parts are sandy ; but the greater portion, especially in the rear, is extremely good. In front is Brockville, named from the gallant officer who fell in the battle of Queenston. It seems the most thriving place between Montreal and Kingston, and, as we are informed by Mr Evans, contains 2000 inhabitants, a neat Presbyterian church, and numerous houses two stories in height. The main road to Albany and other parts of New York com- mences on the opposite side of the river. Yonge, the next township, is described as nearly similar, and possess- ing the same advantages. Lansdown presents a different aspect. The ground bordering on the river is stony and ill cultivated ; but the rear, according to Mr Smart's report, shows a >ery considerable improvement, and con- tains some excellent farms. A large portion is covered by the lakes of Gananoqui, which present varied and TOPOGRAFHY OF UPPER CANADA. 297 beautiful scenery. Leeds is still less favoured by nature, being throughout rugged and rocky, though including Bcattered patches of good land, and in the rear some fine farms. Limestone and ironstone abound in both these townships, particularly in Leeds ; but the latter has not yet been turned to any advantage. In the second line of this county, Kitley is reported by the commissioners as indifferent. Mr Smart gives a much better account, admitting, at the same time, that the soil is in some places shallow, and poorly watered. Bastard is said to be excellent, and South Crosby, though rocky, contains much good land. All the three enjoy more or less the benefit of the Rideau Canal. In the third line, Elmsley and Burgess are described as being indif- ferent, but the former has the benefit of the navigation. North Crosby has a good soil, but is destitute of water- oonveyance.* Ottawa District extends from the frontier of Lower Canada, along the southern bank of that river ; for the opposite one, as already noticed, belongs to the lower pro- vince. The land-boundary is the Eastern District, with which its dimensions, both as to length and breadth, nearly coincide. The situation is extrerafely favourable, whether along the river, which is here navigable for steam- vessels, or along the Rideau Canal. The soil, how- ever, is decidedly inferior, being either light and sandy or covered with extensive swamps ; though this last descrip- tion is said to suit the French habitans. The population consists of a mixture from the United States, with English, Scotch, and French Canadians, many of whom have made considerable efforts to render their possessions valuable ; but improvement is much obstructed by the intervention of large tracts of land, granted long ago, and still neglected. Mr Gourlay, in 1818, did not con- ceive the population to exceed 1500; in 1826,- it had risen to 3009 ; in 1832, to 6348, and in 1835, to 7044. • Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 109, 76. Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 509-518. Picket!, pp. 144, 145. Canadas as they now are, p. 56-59. Martin, p. 222. M 290 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. I At this last period, the cultivated acres amounted to 16,354, and the uncultivated, to 110,288 ; it contained 3525 horned cattle, and 748 horses. The Canada Com- pany have purchased considerable lots, and are making exertions to improve them. It is divided into two coimties, — Prescott and Russell. Prescott has, on the frontline,four townships, Hawkes- hury East, with 833 settlers in 1 833, and West with 1440 ; the Letter is sometimes called Longueuil ; Alfred has 112, and I'lantagenet 613. In regard to ti c soil of the two Hawk'3sburys, reports which should be authentic differ very widely ; that to the Quarter Sessions representing it inboth as rough,stony,and gravelly ; while Mr M'Dowell, deputy-surveyor to the Canada Company, describes both as gooQ, though the second is in some parts swampy. They foiin, the last especially, the best-settled part of the district, held by industrious and improving colonists, Alfred is admitted on all hands to be poor, the roads bad, and settlements thin ; but hopes are enteilained that natives of the lower province may turn the swampy tracts to account. Plantagenet has some good land, and its favourable situation, with the Petite Nation flowing tlirough it into the Otta\ra, has obtained for it many more inhabitants. Caledonia, behind West Hawkesbury, has also some rich spots, but is in other parts very swampy, and yet has 311 settlers. Plantagenet-rear is still worse situated, in both respects, though a road from Cornwall passes through it. Russell county contains, in front, Clarence, with 125 settlers ; Cumberland, 1161 ; and Gloucester, 653 ; in rear, Osgoode, 198 ; Russell and Cambridge, 37. The two first are tolerably good, though interspersed with sandy and marshy tracts. The occupants, however, are few, and nearly confined to the bank of the river. A great part is monopolized by old proprietors, who either neglect their lots, or have sold them to speculators, by whom an enormous price is demanded. Gloucester not only contains much good land, but is very happily situated, having the Ottawa in front, and the Rideau 7 , TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 299 , on its western frontier, besides several tributary creeks. Farther improvement may still be expected, owing to the completion of the canal connected with the latter river, on which the principal settlements are already situated. The Canada Company have some valuable lots upon the river Rideau. Cambridge is light, sandy, and swampy, with some good land, but as yet wholly unoccupied, and destitute of roads or other communi- cations. Russell possesses scarcely any natural supe- riority ; but it has. been located by a party of Scottish immigrants. Osgoode is an extensive township, with a large proportion of rich soil, and the important ad- vantage of the Rideau navigation on its front. Althougli, therefore, it has been much neglected, there seems every probability of its rising speedily into greater im- portance.* Bathurst, till 1816, had no existence as a district, being only an uncultivated appendage to Johnstown. At that time a body of North British settlers formed a range of townships in rear of the latter, to which they gave the general name of Perth, and by their industry and perseverance have rendered it very flourishing. Behind it, another called Lanark was occupied by troops, chiefly from Scottish regiments disbanded at the close of the last war. Afterwards, when the great works of the Rideau navigation were undertaken, the township situated at their commencement on the Ottawa, attracted a large population. The banks of the river, upwards from this point, and those of the great lakes Chaudiere and Chats, being particularly romantic and agreeable, > induced a number of highly respectable individuals, par- ticularly the Highland chieftain M'Nab, to settle on them. This district, which in 1815 was a complete wilderness, in 1826 contained 11,364 inhabitants, which had risen in 1832 to 22,286, and in 1835 to 22,693. In this last year *■ Bouchette, vol. i. p. 100. Gourlay, vol. ii. p. ♦>12. Tables for Colonies, 1832, p. 9. Picken, p. 12ti-144. Canadas as thej now ate, p. 64. 300 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. there were 67,197 acres cultivated, and 363,362 uncul- tivated, 12,469 homed cattle, and 1641 horses. It is divided into two counties, — Lanark and Carleton. Lanark consists of the two ranges formed chiefly by Caledonian settlers, in reax of Johnstown. The first line comprises Beckwith, with 2217 settlers ; Drummond, 2472; Bathurst, 2019; and South Sherbrooke, 98. These townships are represented as possessing much good land, carefully cultivated by industrious colonists. Perth, in the county of Drummond, and connected with the Rideau by a small river called the Tay, has become a village of some importance, with a population of about 400 comfortable houses, a church, and other accommo- dations. The range behind, but still not reaching the Ottawa, consists of Darling, Ramsay, 1776 ; Lanp lI:, 1846; Dalhousie, 1019, and North Sherbrooke, 262. These are nowhere very minutely described ; but they appear, in territory and culture, nearly to resemble tha first range. They have the advantage of being traversed by the Mississippi, which connects them with the Grand River. The county of Carleton comprehends the settlements situ-^ted on or near the Ottawa. The prin* Ipal of these IS Nepean, with 2810 settlers, and includes the point at which that great stream is connected with tlve Rideau river and canal. The large body of men em- ployed on that vast work, the market which they afibrded, and the numerous individuals who remained after its completion, have caused it to be well settled and inhabited. Bytown, at the junction of the canal, is named from Colonel By, its able engineer. In 1831 it contained nearly 160 houses, only of wood indeed, but built regularly, and in many instances with much neat- ness and taste. The scenery is singularly picturesque. The view from the colonel's mansion includes the falls of the Chaudiere, the opposite shores, partly wild andbroken, partly adorned by the flourishing settlements of Hull, and the river itself diversified by numerous verdant islands. A large hospital and three barracks are built of stone. inciil- It is st line ^mond, Ke, 98. 1 ; "WW'W* ' ^f-.i -* - >^ i.""* '\ n •J \ -*s f V- \ H \ ^1 1 Topor.HAPirv or riM»rR panapa-. 301 'A ';!' the 1hIv<* Tlw! rrs*)!-!, on tioconntof th«' i ;^nal 'tinl tlio Hue sc.'Mrn' wIjkIi mlunis tlir. l-.tkcs Cliiiudien; mid (^hiifs, )ias in- rnnv(^ liytown i^ hriiuinia, n ViiluaMo projui'ty with t'Xtciiiiv.' mills, fivii < :-it(i,it<'*l near tilt- lM!iiutit'ul ni]ii(l IW'h ' luncs. '\'\xv .aii-f u'tw moiilioiiol',Va' liis l..c.uttrtaM«- , -U"' 'S.' tr-iv ''iK-i 'n tht^sf wild ivei(>ns meots htn- a (i)t'5i(d s,\!'c<>mt'. I niuckily his oxnjiiplo has not opfnitcd wit!} sulhoiont force on lii.< ll??tin^ of tlio Midland, Newca,sth\ and Jiomc distncls, h;i:s iti hiLso ujw'Ti tile m-ithern sliori';-' of liake Ontario, whrtirt- it oxTfii"!.-; t'rAar<1s tin,' Ottawa ; hutl nu hcfvro reach- lUix that l>oiiiidar^. whiv h from tlio diivctioii of the st.'\ini Ix'coinos liJMrc ;uni inort- dimtai)!", rvoi y trac<' of settletnont disa;ip('ars amidst ono vast and pathless fonst. Tliis forms by far tho mo^t extensive' part of IJjtper Canatla, and tVojn its aiuindancn of fv»ver, it Avas the least occupieil, fK^ina K>wher< eiiltivati il, but in the vicinity of the govornnteut itatiwer O.uiada, -vhUi- the vrcstt ru po;!>ii,'ii.*'.;{:',, TfthU-s, Hi'JJ, s>. y- CuoaJa* •.i-. Ui?') a>w ati', p. t>4-(i7> Muitin. ^). '2'ZX ^0Ufffh^' ;t .I*.,,.. Wi ■^ "^"^>%:; '-m- f.U ■?^j m. •.■■HSi' ><*; I- —. \i(5* >'4lCT irM.. ■s V. H- r>.-ft*.t*4t«>ii Ol.lt IN. . rt«lva ■ * I ."(yN fc" o >«» •-!••' -«*''' 'i .. 1. ■^•^"5 \iiCl ,»^a Ki' ,%A>y* I I- >- "^ Si*--* \; .#>;. -J. j'"> ''■1 V"-'" ■■ . '' l-xr .1 (I rrk /. = M..nv..r» , want of a navigable river, must long operate unfavourably. xvingston, in this county, was the original capital of Upper Canada, and, even after the transference of the seat of government to Toronto, continued tlie most flourishing, till the agricultural colonies formed in the west gave to tie latter the pre-eminence. It is, as we have already noticed, advantageously built on the site of Fort Frontenac, at the junction of the St Lawrenci^ 4^- ^m I . 1 1 1 > M P1 J. I JI I nw r M i i i i i 'ur i 304 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. J '; with Lake Ontario ; a position which has raised it to considerable importance as the main entrepot betwieen the lower and upper province. Barks of from 80 to nearly 200 tons carry on an active intercourse with To- ronto, Niagara, and other places on the lake ; and mag- nificent steam-vessels convey passengers to and from those places. To accommodate this trade, wharfs and a num- ber of spacious v/arehouses have been provided ; the harbour being easily accessible to vessels not requiring more than three fathoms water. The streets are regu- larly arranged at right angles, but not paved ; the houses are chiefly built of stone, and are spacious and convenient, though without much attention to elegance. About half a mile distant is a low penmsula ending in Point Frederic, whichj with another parallel one ter- minating in Point Henry, encloses Navy Bay, — the depot for the maritime armament fonned during the late war. On its western side is a dock-yard with other accommodations ; and in this inland station were built some of the largest ships in the British navy. Point Fre- deric is connected with the town by a wooden bridge 600 yards long, at once solidly constructed and very orna- mental. The town in 1833 contained 4196 inhabitants. The county of Lennox and Haddington, contiguous on the west to the one now described, possesses a more favourable soil. Its front townships, — Ernest Town, having 3763 settlers, Adolphus Town, 666, Fredericks- burgh, 2666, and Richmond, 1367, are all reported as ge- nerally good, and deriving great advantages from their situation along the exterior coast of the Bay of Q,uint^. The last only has bad land in the rear ; >vhich is com- pensated b^'^ having the river Napanee flowing through it. Camden, which, with its 1780 settlers, occupies the whole of the second line, is also reported to be good, and is well watered by the same stream. Sheffield, situated behind it, is decidedly inferior, and Kalador, in the fourth range, still more so. The fifth consists of Anglesea, re- gpecting which no report has yet been received. Amherst island, in Ontario, is one of the townsJiips of this county. TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 305 The county of Hastings extends also along the Bay of Quinte, and thence into the interior. It has three front townships, — Tyendinaga or Mohawk, with 692 set- tlers, Thurlow, with 1511, and Sidney, with 2237. The first has a poor soil, but is watered by the river Salmon. The two others are favourably reported ; the second is traversed by the river Moira, at the mouth of which is the flourishing village of Belleville ; and the third has the larger stream of the Trent on its western border. The second range consists of Hungerford, Huntingdon, and Rawdon. The two first have an indifferent soil, and few advantages of situation. The third possesses a considerable extent of good land in front, and is crossed by a tolerable road leading to the iron works at Marmora, and also by branches of the Trent. Behind these, wc find Elzevir, bad ; Madoc, generally good ; Marmora, not very good : this last at one time had iron works of some importance, but they are at present suspended. Tudor, Grimsthorpe, and Lake in the extreme rear, have not yet been reported. The county of Prince Edward consists of the penmsula enclosed between Lake Ontario and the long windings of the Bay of Quinte. It contains the townships of Ameliasburgh, with 1722 settlers, Hillier, with 1733, Hallo well, with 8525, Sophiasburgh, with 2137, and Marysburgh, with 1674. The report as to these is gene- rally favourable ; the lands are nearly all occupied ; and the settlers derive great benefit from the vicinity of water-carriage. In the latest returns to government, this county is described as a separate district, containing 68,900 cultivLted acres, and 12,320 inhabitants.* The Newcastle District commences where the Mid- land ends, at the western extremity of the Bay of Quinte, whence it extends about sixty miles along the coast of Ontario, when, by an arbitrary line, it is sepa- rated from the Home district. Its northern boundary, • Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 496. Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 108, 76-78. Tables, 1B32, p 9. ricken, p. 146-149. Canadas as they now are, p. 67-72. VOL. I, T 306 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. I like that of the Midland, is nominally formed by the Ottawa, in which direction it extends not less than 200 miles; but the actual settlements cover only a small portion of this wide space. Notwithstanding an ex- tensive sandy tract on Rice Lake, it contains a greater proportion of good land than any of the districts yet described ; and the lake, itself twenty-five miles long and four or five broad, forms a valuable water-communica- ,tion. A portage, indeed, intervenes between Balsam and Simcoe ; but this obstacle, as well as others, are expected to be removed by canals, and by improving the Trent, with which it is connected. Notwithstanding its advantages, however, this district, as it neither contained any principal town, nor lay in the line of the fur-trade, was long almost wholly neglected. In 1817 it was esti- mated to contain 6000 mhabitants, and even in 1824 it had only 9292 ; but since that time it has been a favourite resort for immigrants, so that in 1882 it numbered 25,660, and in 1836, 30,246 settlers. It then possessed 94,419 cultivated acres, 434,526 uncultivated, 16,367 horned cattle, and 3339 horses. It is divided into townships, that reach into the interior about the same distance as those of the Midland ; but as the Ottawa boundary is still more distant, the unoccupied tract is very extensive. The counties are two, — Northumberland and Durham. The first of these has, in front on the lake, four town- ships, — Murray, 1788 settlers, Cramaghe, 1906, Hamil- ton, 2871, and Haldimand, 1857. These are not the finest in the district, though the first is described as gene- rally good and well watered ; but owing to the streams flowing through a level country, there is a want of mill power. The three others, with some good, contain a large proportion of bad land, which, in the second and fouith, also predominates. In Hamilton they are about equally divided ; and its situation on the shores of Ontario is very advantageous. The port of Coburg i° the principal one in the district. In 1812 it consisted of '^ ne house ; in 1827 it was believed to contain 350 inhabitants, with an Episcopal church and Methodist TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 307 TO meeting-house ; and since that time it has very much increased. It commands the road to th country on and beyond Rice Lake ; for the productions of which it is the chief market. Tlie vicinity exliibits a number of farms, whose condition and managenient pleased even the eye of Mr Shirreff. In the second range, tlie townships of Seymour, Percy, and Alnwick, contain as yet very few settlers. The gr-^ater number, 377, are in Percy, which has a good soil, and is watered by the Trent. Alnwick, on the southern bank of Rice Lake, is poor and sandy, whicli quality of land, however, has been thought adapted to sheep-fiirm- ing, a branch of industry little practised in Canada. Immi- grants have been chiefly attracted to the north-western side of the lake, formed into the townships of Monaglian and Otanabee. These, divided by the river bearing the latter name, are described as generally good, though in- terspersed with steril and swampy tracts. This quar- ter was nearly i?*" occupied till 1825, when Mr Robinson conducted thither a large colony of Irish ; and it has since been a favourite resort, particularly for half-pay officers. In the north-easteni angle of Monaglian has been founded the town of Peterborough, which now contains about 1000 inhabitants. It is somewhat rudely built oi wood, covering a great extent of ground ; and, as we have been informed, the stumps of trees in many places are left sttmding in the streets. It has waters, however, admirably fitted for mills, and several accordingly have been erected. The settlers collect the productions of the country behind, and transmit them to Coburg by the Rice Lake, on which steam- vessels now regularly ply. There are churches, both Roman Catholic and Episcopal ; a school, partly supported by government ; and a com- modious hotel. In consequence of the number of mili- tary settlers, the society is supposed to be particularly polished and agreeable. Asphodel, eastward, in an oblique line, from Otanabee, is a good township, with 2G5 in- habitants, and watered both by Rice Lake and the Trent. The fourth range, consisting of Emily Gore, Smith, i ;l 308 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. Douro, Dummer, and Belmont, has, in consequence of its watfer communication by the Otanabee with Peter- borough and Rice Lake, been better settled than is usual •with townships so much in the interior. Emily Gore, or Eimismore, with 254 cultivators, has an excellent soil of loam resting upon clay ; and in 1825 it received a nume- rous body of Irish from Kerry. Smith, having 763 colo- nists, ishappily situated betweenthe Otanabee and a chain of small lakes, which form it into a penmsula, and be- tween which there is an Indian portage. It was settled lirat by a ])arty of Cumberland miners, located there by government about the year 1818, who were afterwards joined by parties from the north of Ireland, and by a por- tion of those who came from the south in 1825. Douro, with 571 inhabitants, has a calcareoiu soil, well watered, Imt in part sv/ampy. It is also occupied by the emigrants of 1825, and by disbanded militia. The Canada Company have lands in this and the two preceding townships. Dummer resembles the last in the nature of its soil, though the rear is rocky, and no settlements have yet lieen formed on it. This is also the case with Belmont, wliicli is of rather an indifferent quality. The fifth icUige, consisting of Methuen, Burleigh, and Harvey, labours under considerable disadvantages both as to bar- renness and situation, and has not yet attracted the notice of immigrants. Durham county contains in front the townships, — Clarke, with 919 settlers, Hope, with 2272, and Darling- ton, with 1098. All three are described as of good soil, juid advantageously situated on Lake Ontario ; but the improvement of the first and last is much obstructed, owing to the great quantity of land held by absentees ; whence, perhaps, arises that bad management of which Mr Shirreff complains. The middle one exhibits a more improved aspect, containing Port Hope, on the Ontario, an agreeable and thriving place, with all the usual appendages of a country town ; and it has, besides, a stream with a fall, well fitted for mills. On the second range, Cavan, with a soil generally fertile, derives great TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 30^ advantages from its vicinity to Otanabee and Rice Lake. It began to be settled in 1817, and there are now 2173 inhabitants, chiefly Protestants fr. > the north of Ireland. There is an Episcopal churcli, and six schools. The farms arc in good order, though the dwellings are only log- houses. To the westward, on this line, are Manvers and Cartwright, of much inferior quality, though the latter is rather the best, but neither is yet occupied. On the fourth line, Emily, adjoining to Emily Gore in Nor- thumberland, and possessed of nearly the same advan- tages, has attracted 1095 Irish, of whom those from the north are in the front, those from the south in the rear. A road has been opened to Peterborough, whither the produce is expected to be mostly conveyed. Of the western townships on this range, Ops has a very fine soil, unless in the nortli-eastern angle, where it is en- cumbered by swamps ; but the want of roads and mills has prevented its attracting more than 545 colonists. Mariposa is described as being generally good land ; though, from its remote situation, it is occupied only by 208 persons. In the fifth line, Eldon has now 406*. Verulam and Fenelon are as yet scarcely known, and lie beyond the limits of settlement.* The Home District extends from the boundary of Newcastle, — westward to the river Credit, near the ter- mination of Lake Ontario, — ^northward to Lake Mipis- sing, which flows thence into the Georgian Bay ; but tliat large branch of Lake Huron covers a great poo- portion of this district, rendering it considerably smaller than either of the two last described. In its extent of settlement, however, it fully equals either ; for tliougli Lake Simcoe occupies a considerable surface, it affords at the same time facilities of intercourse, by means of which culture is carried to a great distance in- land. A road, called Yonge Street, above thirty miles long, connects Toronto, the capital, with tliis lake. It ^ .. - ■ ■ ■-,-.. , - - ■■ — -' ■■ — ■ — — --«» — * Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 469. Bouchette, vol. i. p. 108. Picken, p. 150-166. Canadas as they now are, p. 72-7B. ShirrefF, pp. 122, 123. 310 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. was carefully improved by the North-west FurCompany, juid having of late been partly macadamized, is one of the best in Canada. On the borders of Lake Ontario the soil is poor and sandy, bearing only pines ; but along the road now mentioned, and aroimd Lake Simcoe, it is exceedingly fertile, excellently fitted for wheat. Accord- ingly it has attracted an ample share of the recent im- migrations. In 1817 we find its population estimated at 7700 ; in 1824 it reached JG,GOO; and in 1835 it had risen to no less than 47,543. In that vear the cultivated acres amounted to 170,518, and the uncultivated to <)IJ0,753. It contained 28,732 horned cattle, and 6049 horses. This district is divided into three counties, — York, East and West Ridings, and Simcoe. The first comprises tlie tenitory along Ontario, and thence to the southern shore of Lake Simcoe, the East Riding including by far the larger portion, with the capital. Its townships su-c, — Whitby, po])ulation, 3212 ; Pickering, 1807 ; Scar- l.ioroiigh, 1897 ; York and Peninsula, 3544 ; Etobicoke, 1290 ; Markham, 4486 ; Vaiighan, 2861 ; King, 1672 ; Whitcl urch,2782 ; UxbridgeandReach,imcertain;Guil- lirabury East, 1389, and North, 467 ; Scott, uncertain ; Georgina, 855 ; Brock, 1032. The West Riding con- sists only of a narrow strij)e on the western frontier, composed of the townships, — Toronto, 4900 ; Toronto Gore, 483 ; Chinguacousy, 2728 ; Caledon, 1233 ; and Albion, 1050. The county of Simcoe consists of the townships lying iiorth-west of the lake of that name, and extending thence to the Severn, and towards the Huron. These are, — West Guillimbury, population, 1293 ; Tecumseth, 1389; Adjala, 787; Mono, 1208; Amai-anth, Luther, Proton, Melancthon, Mulmur, Tossorontio, Essa, 167 ; Iimisfil, 406 ; Tliorah, 431 ; Mara, Rama, Oro, 881 ; Vespra, 236 ; Sunr^.dale, Merlin, Ospiy, Artemisia, Euphrasia, Alta, Java, Flos, 90 ; Medonte, 448 ; Orillia, Matchedash, Tiny, and Tay, 401 ; Zero. From some unexplained cause, the official reports, in wliica the TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. 311 it is detailed notice of the townships in the preceding dis- tricts were derived, are wanting with regard to the one now under consideration. Mr Gourlay also com- plains of not having received a single return from any of its districts. We must therefore be content with giving a general view of it from the best sources which can be procured. York, which has now assumed the Indian name of Toronto, is the official capital of Upper Canada, the residence of the governor, the seat of the courts of justice, and the place where the Parliament assembles. No town in the province has made so rapid a progress. In 1793 M. Bouchette saw the spot covered with dense and track- less forests, on the border of which stood one solitary wigwam. In 1794 the town was founded, and in a few years attained a considerable magnitude. It remained long inferior to Kingston, and in 1831 was supposed to contain only 4000 inhabitants. The great improvement, however, of the western districts, and the extensive sales of Lnd made tliere, both by government and the Canada Company, have now rendered it every way the more important place ; and by the last accounts its population had risen to 9500. The streets are spacious, and regularly disposed at right angles. Wood, the original material, is in course of being rapidly super- seded l^ brick ; and even stone begins to come into use. The public buildings are such as might be expected at a seat of government, and well suited to their object, but none is me;vtioned as particularly striking. The new college consists of five neat brick buildings, of which the central one, appropriated to instruction, is about eighty feet square, surmounted by an ornamental dome. The residence of a number of civil and military officers gives to the society a considerable degree of polish and elegance. The harbour is formed by a long narrow peninsula, enclosing a circular basin about a mile and a half in diameter, affijrding spacious and secure accommodation foi shipping ; but it has the disadvantage of being very defenceless, as was fatally experienced in 1813. II >^ ,,»< SB I I! 9 JIJ!l!-lfc* 312 TOPOGRAPHY OP UPPER CANADA. The soil, for a considerable space along the margin of the lake, is arid and sandy, covered with pine-forests ; and the township of Whitby, on the borders of New- castle District, has very rich loam, with a deep vegetable mould, and contains thriving farms. The population, however, is chiefly collected along the road called Yonge Street already described, on each side of which flourish- ing settlements arc formed to a considerable depth, and covered with excellent crops. Newmarket, adjoining Lake Simcoe, appeal's a considerable place, to which a stage-coach runs regularly from Toronto ; and the sur- rounding country, which is fertile, is laid out in well-cul- tivated farms. About four miles distant is Hope, a village of sixty or seventy houses, inhabited by a sect professing peculiar tenets, called the Children of Peace, who hold their property almost in common, and are under the entire direction of an individual named David Willson. Near Newmarket is West Guillimbury, whence a steam-vessel makes a weekly trip round the lake, which implies a respectable degree of settlement. Se- veral even of the inland townships to the north and west, n twithstanding it lir remote situat'on, have made con- siderable progress, as will appear by the amount of their population already given.* The Western S^jction of Upper Canada, though less extensive than those just described, possesses such ad- vantages of soil, climate, and situation, as renders it fiilly equal to them in value and importance. It con- sists of a long irregular peninsula, enclosed by successive portions of the great lake and river chain of Canada. This boundary, beginning with the western shore of Lake Ontario, is continued by the Niagara channel. Lake Erie, the Detroit, Lake and River St Clair, and the southern and part of the eastern shore of Lake Huron. It ter- minates a little beyond Goderich, whence stretching across to Lake Ontario, it is met by the Home District ';. * Gk)urlay, vol. ii. p. 464. Bouchette, vol. i. pp. 108, 86-90, Ficken, 168. Canadas as they now are, p. 7^- Shirreff, p. 106-117. t\ i'lnillliYIXiaTiacil'^. ■ I ■•-r^j}: f.(.»A# ■..;■, .^ •■■»' .<» • y Iw .:*^' %1. ' *-. i * ■ V ?»nj.t.. V -Tj , ' "'-^ \ ' 1 --'^^^t^ » ^'^. i ■'■ ■■ ■ ■ . ,* '.■„._ . . '.*" .••ll-II'llO*' llT 1,. .'•......;■ ;.' i\ t'.Mitiin ! (i..i«..lir:-..«r,;'. ■--V ,. •> f'h«4f»m ("•(til ■|'l»«»i • i Moiiltiiti. . J 'V; ■1.' / • ••.^■.' ■».•■••■■"" P V.»:;,.., 7 \\'i3iin<>r»r'''\\ l.iaci 1. J J .It * •• "■; U-_ ^ -^ 1 ri'iii.is'iii-:n m* oi.ivkk vitdvu. ■■-■itiNniuini •*-1l^^* l UiW ii ■■ ri»'w ;g 4 iiu" margin of f. piuc-forcsts ; ■ ^'Hiler^ of IVcw- iu a. 'W^-tJ vegetable The Jjoil, iVv u toni^uifraf'Jr fjf.a. r tlio lake, k arM uifd vut»'^y, «.":- •■t-i ami t.bt- ro»vs?shJb ui' V\'h;t-'v , ';!> i BU'vS i al»v-;i-,S rJi scribed, on cadi r;iili ^.1 svh''M' rh uri?ili- iJic >*>i:f ii;mt !-ts? ai'i- farmed to a considt aibl* -k );?>>, -ihA ,3,.v..vv!i iv'iili excellent. «:i'0|>s. NevMiiarket, ad^'.-bjliT/r l.iike Sirncoe, appeal's a eonskb ni})]c place, to \\ Uitij ife •*l.iue-ooach rur. :• ri.u'ularly t'tvuii 'ruivuite : and tlie mw- nmivYmji ci-nntry, whicli is fertile, is J.-iid out- in v .'11 etib- tiv.ited iariii;'). Altout four miles distant is Hope, a viliago of sixty or .seventy lioiiscs, iiduibited by a sect profe.ssiiif^ peculiar tenets, called the L'bildren of Peace, "vvlio hold their j)roperty almost in co)>imon, ajid arc under the entire direct ion of an individual named David Willson. Near Newmarket is West G n illintinirv, witfuce a steam-vessel makes a weekly trij; round the !ake, whieb implies a. rcspectalile dep-ee of scttleroent. Se- veral even of the inland t<»wnsbi})s to the north and west, iiot\vithstanding their remote situation, have made con- siderable progrosf*, as will appear by the amount of their ■[M^ipnlation already given. •'' The Western SecfiiOi rd' Upper Canada, thonp\ b^ss extensive than ibo-ie y\st deseribi.*!, possesses siu-ii ad- van'Hjjes of ^m]^ climate, and situatirm, as renders it fully (-(jual to them in value and importance. Itroa- siats ■■'a b- le. irregular ])eninsulfi, enebtsed by .so i'^stiive jKirt.ins of t!ie great lake ami river chain •.»* *'u.iada. This b<>un(b;»ry,]>eginning with the \vo«t.eni .sks.Mo ot Lake Ontario, is <.'ontinned by the Niagiirac'^nn* J, Lake Erie, the I^etroit, l^ake and River St C'biir, axtd the soutlieni and part of the eaytern shore oi Lnk-: llm-on. It ter- minates a little beyond Goderit b, wbence stretching ftC'ffxsvS to Lake Ontario, it is nu-t by the tlome District ' (xoiirtay, vol. ii, p. 404. Bosi.hetti'. vob i. pp. U)B, l:»i-*M>, Pickeji, Uiii. Caiuidus as tlioY now are, p. 7'J- Shirreff, p. KXvli'/. ^■^■v- ■ •:'m of 'W:sm^EEiT Dl^^'JilC^ll?^, TOmiKTO f1 ln;ini Klulnioke :^k¥^ ^i ''v.<"-' U=i.' .'/^ •I-'' A H ?■> .-r- ->. »'"' ^-^V" w*^ RelVreucp to tlu> Town8lu|is in V«"Utvrii»iij>-h l.'i tii-aiitluuu i\ Moultun U> Niiiguiii 7 WnijilliM-l 17 aiaiifoKi a Uiinihei-dtfiiic IH Uinhroak . » CrcAvland 1!> Olalstoi 10 Willoujvliby M Bert iv 21 \i V»v / .41' .^.r>.T>^t^ ri-lll.lSlliJ) in' (U.IVKH Vltnvil. KIIINKI'UIIH '" ^ ' KWH^ ' ' I .,-^.,^=. TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 313 and the Indian territory. Its surface in singularly level, scarcely containing any eminence that deserves to be called a hill, except in the ridge already described aa runniD.g in a circuitous Ime from the neighbourhood of Toronto to Niagara. Even its heights seldom exceed 100, and never 350 feet. Besides that no part is very distant from the grand line of water-communication, several fine rivers traverse the interior. The most considerable is the Thames, which, rising in the Loudon District, and running westward about 150 miles through a fine country, falls into Lake St Clair. It is navigable for large vessels to Chatliam, fifteen miles up, and for boats nearly to its source. Parallel to it on the north, though with a shoicer course of not more than 100 miles, is Big Bear Creek, which throws itself into one of the branches of tlie river St Clair. Next to the Thames in magnitude is the Ouse, rising in the Home District, and flowing in an opposi*' rlirection south-east, till by a very serpentine course it r Lake Erie. It is navigable for schooners about twi. ^^ Lve miles above its mouth, and consider- ably higher for boats. The Welland or Chippeway, near- ly parallel to it, runs into the Niagara after a course of only fifty miles ; but this river has become important on account of the canal cut from it to Ontario on one side and Erie on the other, which has obviated those obstruia- tions by which the navigation of the Niagara channel is rendered impracticable. The soil of this extensive tract is almost entirely alluvial, consisting of a black or yellow loam, some- times mixed with sand, and covered with a thick stratmu of vegetable mould. The forests are dense, but not as in other quarters entirely uninteiTupted ; opening rather, in some places, into wide prairies or expanses of natural meadow. The country has by sanguine writers been described aa every where luxuriantly fertile ; and though minute surveys have discovered light and sandy tracts of considerable extent, there is perhaps scarcely a spot on the globe which it may not rival. The climate of a country situated between the 42d and 45th parallels. 314 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. ought to be that of the south of France ; but in con- sequence of a peculiarity in the American continent, this does not procure an exemption from several months of frost and snow. Still its winter is considerfebly shorter, and its mer longer than in any other pa].*t of Upper Canada Sucl vantages drew the attention of European set- tlers to this quarter earlier than from its distance might have been expected, and portions of it were brought into cultivation, when the rest ot Upper Canada was a wilderness. The French, when forming, stations for the fur-trade at its western extremity, were tempted by the fertile banks of the Detroit, between Lakes Erie and St Clair, and established a number of seigniories similar to those on the St Lawrence in LoNver Canada. At the end of the great American contest, a number of disbanded troops or banished lo^^alists, who, in the course of mili- tary operations, had become acquainted with the Niagara district, or to whose former residence and habits it was congenial, accepted grants in it. In 1802, Colonel Tal- bot having formed the plan of a settlement on tha most central part of the northern coast of Lake Erie, obtained from government a grant of 100,000 acres, on condition of locating a settler upon evciy 200 ; which condition he has successfully fulfilled. From these causes the population in 1817 had attained to the estimated number of 34,227, which in 1824 had risen to 65,200, in 1832, to 101,605, and in 1835, to 124,628. The number of cultivated acres at this latter period was 620,022, of uncultivated, 1,760,820 ; there were of homed cattle 77^930, and of horses, 18,430.* This part of Canada is divided into four districts : Grore, London, Niagara, and Western. Gore District rests on the western shore of Lake Ontario, whence it extends towards Lake Huron and Lake Erie, but without reaching either. It is separated • BoMcliette, vol. i. pp. 10», 92-96. Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 20. Canadas as they now are, p. 94-99. Shirreff, pp. 172, TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 327 Blan- tility. This is particularly conspicuous on the upper part of the two streams just mentioned ; for as they approach their estuary in Lake St Clair, their banks become what the Americans call prairie, or moist mea- dow-land, destitute of trees, and covered with long rich grass, but scarcely fitted for grain. Cultivation might here be greatly extended by draining, but it seems doubtful whether the return would yet pay the ex- pense. The fine soil and climate early attracted a party of French habitaus, who settled on the banks of the Detroit ; and after the American war, a body of exiled loyalists was located behind them. This pre-occupation of the most desirable spots, added to the inconvenience; of distance, has prevented it from attracting recent immigrants, and from attaining a population propor- tioned to its natural advantages. As the early settlers are little imbued with the spirit of modern enterprise, and content with a bai'e subsistence, the country wears, on the whole, an unimproved appearance. It must soon receive an impulse, however, from the new commu- nication by canals and steam- vessels ; and the Canada Company have undei-tiiken the settlement of consider- able districts. Indeed, the progress already made is by no means inconsiderable. In 1817 Mr Gourhiy reckoned the population at 4158 ; in 1824 it had risen to G952 ; in 1832 to 11,788 ; and in 1835 to 14,496. At the last date it contained 39,561 cultivated, and 281,290 un- cultivated acres ; 8525 horned cattle, and 2459 horses. It is divided into two counties, — Kent and Essex. As to the townships, we possess not the minute details afforded by the official reports on the other districts ; but Mr Shirreff's careful survey will in a great measure supply this want. Kent contains fourteen townships, of which Orford, Howard, Harwich, Raleigh, Tilbury East, and Romney, are situated between Lake Erie and the Thames ; Dover, East and West, Chatham, Camden, and Zone lie to the northward of that river, and along Bear Creek ; Adelaide, Warwick, Brooke, Plymton, Inniskillen, Moore, St Clair, Dawn, and Sombra, reach from the ii I 328 TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. latter to Lake Huron, The soil on the Thames round Chatham is a heavy loam, compounded of strong clay and sand, and of the very finest quality. That on Bear Creek is nearly as good ; and large tracts of the richest land may still be purchased at a very moderate price. The want of fall and th? 'efcctive machinery in the mills, still deteriorate the qu ility of the flour. To the north- wards, is a large extcn* of < own lands, till lately unoccu- pied. In 1832, when ^5,000 emigrants arrived in Upper Canp.da, for whom employment could not be found, Sir John Colborne laid out the townships of Adelaide and Warwick, which were quickly colonized. To these have since been added, Brooke, Inniskillen, Plymton, and Moore. Chatham in a twelvemonth had increased from five or six to nearly twenty houses ; and there is every likelihood of its continuing to prosper, as steam- vesSels can ascend to it. On the lower part of the Thames, as it approaches the lake, the ground becomes exceedinHy moist, and is also to a considerable extent rather poor. Southward is a large prairie, still uncul- tiyated, but yielding rich pasturage on its margin ; and the townships between the Thames and Lake Erie are described as generally very fertile, having a soil similar to that round Chatham. Point aux Pins, or Landguard, in the township of Harwich, lies on a bay with good an- chorage, and forms a centre where different roads meet. The county of Essex, the most western part of the district, is a peninsula, enclosed l)ctween Lake St Clair, Detroit Channel, and Lake Erie. On the margin of the latter it has the townships of Mersey, Gosfield, Colchester, Maiden ; and on St Clair are West Tilbury, Rochester, Maidstone, Sandwich. This last and Maiden are bounded on the west by the Detroit, on the banks of which is the Huron reserve. The soil of the county is vaiiable, but includes much rich land, consisting of black loam on a clay bottom, fitted for the cultivation of hemp and tobacco, the growth of which last has been greatly extended. The original settlers, as already observed, on the first line along Detroit and St Clair, were French colonists ; behind them were American loyalists ; and a u TOPOGRAPHY OF UPPER CANADA. 329 considerable number of negroes from the States have more recently found refuge there. According to Mr Shirreff, the towTiships of Tilbury and Mersey are com- posed of alternate clay and sand, with a preponderance of the lighter substance. Gosfield is distinguished from all the rest by an undulating surface, and a gravelly soil, not of the first quality. Here Messrs Calhoun and Field have established a rude but extensive iron- work, from a productive species of bog-ore. It is expected to consume annually the coke from 200 acres of forest, and in re- turn for this substance they undertake to clear any neighbouring proprietor's ground. Colchcoter and Mat- den are for the most part sand alternating with thin clay ; but the soil of the latter, in approaching Am- Iierstburg, is of very fine quality. A mile beyond tliat place, the Huron reserve stretches seven miles along the Detroit, and the same distance inland. To the ex- tent of four miles the bunks are about twenty feet high, of rich clay, and extremely be{futiful. The Indians do not now exceed ten or twelve families, who profess Christianity, cultivate orchards, and rea? large her-'" of fine cattle. The British government have purchased some part of this reserve, and it is said tliey are desirous of possessing the whole. The more north- em portion, which sinks to the level of the river, is swampy, and overgrown with aquatic plants. The aoil continues inferior till beyond Sanflv/ich, when it again becomes fertile ; and it is occupied by French '^ettlers in their usual style, in long r^rroAV stripes, facing the water, and completely cleared of wood. In the approach to Lake St Clair, the ground is once more low and swampy, but contains some tolerable soil intermixed with prairie. M. Bouchette anticipates its speedy settle- ment ; but this, according to Mr ShirreflF, has as yet taken place only to a very inconsiderable extent. Amherstburg, near the junction of the Detroit with Lake Erie, is the principal town in this part of Canada ; and its situation is allowed to be equal to any in the world for picturesque beauty. This distinction is pro- duced, not by the usual objects which constitute magni- \ 330 TOPOGR VPIi\' OF UPPER CANADA. i I,- licent scenery, but by the wide expanse of clear and pellucid Avaters surrounding it, the rich brilliancy of tlie vegetation, and the profusion of fine orchards, of which almost every inhabitant has one. The to\vji, according to Bouchette, contains about 200 dwcllim^, and 1200 inhabitants. It is said to be regularly buiii., but the houses, with a few exceptions, are onsy of wood, and not ver}'^ haiidsome. The military ',v<.rks and dockyard were demolished in 1P«1«], but have 1 ven partly lestored. Fort Mjildon, about half a mile dis- tant, is of very little conseijacnce. The trade of Am- herstburg is not at present progressive ; but as ^'jssels of any magnitude can touch at its pier, it must, at no tlistant period, derive benefit from the extension ol set- tlemi.'nt and steam navigation. Sandwich, fourteen niiley higher up the ijiream, coatains 140 or 150 houses, and enjoys some inipoi ( ance as tlie county town. It consists of an irregulai- . .rcet ninning along the beach, mostly inhabited by French. The trade is more limited tlian that of Amherstburg, and equally stationary. About a mile and a half above, however, is the ferry where there ai*e fifteen or twenty houses, the number of which is increasing ; and on the opposite bank, belonging to th«i United States, is the town of Detroit, which is consider- ably larger than any on the British side of the river,* The following is a summary of the statistics of this interesting province, brought down to 1836 : — Assessment 1 "i \ 'i Dittricts. Fopula- tion. Acies culti- vated. Acres nnculti- of 1 (1. per vatad. 1 pnuiid nil »«""• "c^t?!*:! mU.M?luJ Johnstown property. £ 1699-10 1 29,119 70.645J 355,07U 6148 1 13,119 19 36 Eastern . . 28,504 82,813 331,134 1490*13 3924 16,338 30 46 Ottawa . . 7,044 16,3541 110,288* 443-10 748 3,525 6 16 Bathurst. 22,693 67,197 353,362 810-14 1541 12,459: 26 28 Jlidland .. 46,685 187,338 358,214 3113-14 8550 24,5.35i 47 111 Newcastle 3(),245 94,419 434,526 1559-17 33391 15,367 26 76 Home.... 47,543 179,518 690,753 2465-12 6049 28,732 51 160 Gore 40,156 226,428 611,712 2407- 6 5287 24,.506 35 113 Niagara .. 28,736 2(»9,763 249,212 2210-16 5721 18,4J» 30 93 London. . 41,241 144,270 718,606 3083-17 4963 26,4(K) 45 108 Western.. 14,496 39,561 l,308.3()7i 281,2f>0 4,394,169 922- 20,207- 9 2459 47,729 8,525 192,(X)5 13 328 12 789 Total.. 336,4(il ♦ Bouchette, p 105-i08 Tables, 1832, p. 9-11. Gourlay, vol. ii. p. 299. Shirreff, p. 192-216. lear and [iancy of lards, of le town, wollingSj •ly buii),, only of V 'ANH'ks ive 1 ven iiile dia- of A m- st, at no ) 01 set- ;e) 1 milci.' ises, and ; consists , mostly ;ed tlian About a ire there which is g to th«; lonsider- iver,* of this 1 i 'Orist Saw Mills. Mills. 1 i __. 19 36 3() 46 6 16 ; 26 28 i 47 111 26 76 51 15(> 35 113 30 .93 45 108 13 12 328 789 1 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 331 y, vol. ii. CHAPTER VII. Agriculture of Canada. Local Peculiarities — The Climate — The unbroken Forest — Mode ot" Clearing — Ashes — Soil indicated by the Timber — First Crops — Wheat — Other Grains — Grasses, Flax, Hemp, Tobacco — Live Stock, Quality and Treatment— Horticulture— Floriculture — Maple Sujrar — Agricultural Processes — Hunting and Shooting — Fishery. In Canada, as in all other new countries, especially when blessed with a fertile soil, agriculture is the most im- portant branch of himian laliour. Here the industry of man, seconded by the powers of nature, produces, with much less of exertion and of costly machinery, a far higher amount of desirable and useful commodities, than when, as in the department of the mechanical arts, lie works alone. Even the United States, though they have made greater progress in wealth and population than the British colonies, have in vain attempted, by the most impolitic prohibitions, to become a manufacturing nation, and to render themselves independent of foreign supply. Though we do not, in this work, undertake to instruct the emigrant in the general principles of agriculture, we may nevertheless confer a favour upon him, by pomting out certain peculiarities connected with the practice of it in the Canadian provinces. The climate is one particular by which its operations must be greatly modified. It differs, as formerly ob- eerved, in having much longer and severer winters, and on the other hand, much hotter summers, than are knoAvn in Britain or France. The extraordinary warmth of the latter season, notwithstandmg its short duration, is suf- ficient to ripen the most valuable grains, including eT(ai t I I S32 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. Indian corn and other species whicli cannot be brought to matm'ity in England. On the other hand, tlie great length of the winter involves the former in much in- convenience. He is obliged to crowd into the space of six, or at most seven months, all the operations which, with us, can be continued almost without interruption throughout the year. While he is condemned, during one season, to unwelcome indolence, in the next his va- rious labours follow each other with harassing rapidity. He must employ a greater number of servants ; and it is a serious disadvantage that the cattle employed on the farm must be provided with good housing, and a large stock of food during the long winter. These are difficult arrangements for new settlers ; and if, as too often hap- pens, they are not duly attended to, the animals either perish, or are reduced to a very weak condition. Another weighty obstacle to be encountered by the colonist in this territory arises from the vast forest with which almost the whole of it is covered. On taking possession, he does not find a spot on which a crop of any description can be raised, or where even a shj-f^p oauld feed. To level with the ground, and root out myriads of trees that have stood for ages, seems a task beyond human power ; and no instniment or process has yet been found efficacious, except the axe applied successively to each. At first, attempts were made to grub up the trees, and clear the surface at once. This labour, however, was found very great, and utterly useless, even breaking up the soil in an injurious manner. The established plan, therefore, now is, after removing the brushwood, to cut round the trunk, at a few feet from the ground, till it shakes and falls with a tremendous crash. When this takes place, the axeman must make his escape with the utmost agility, other- wise he may sustain a serious accident ; and many settlers, in their fii-st operations, have met with such. When the tree is thus brought to the ground, the branches must be separated from it, and the trunk cut into logs of teii or twelve feet in length ; and after the wood of two AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 333 brought he ^reat luch in- space of 3 which, rruption I, during t his va- rapidity. and it is d on the a large difficult ten hap- Is either I by the jt forest n taking crop of a slij^p oot out a task process applied nade to Thi=. utterly ijurious is, after ik, at a with a ixeman other- ettlers. When ranches logs of of two or three acres has been reduced to this state, a day is fixed for consuming it, when the whole being drawn by oxen into huge piles, is soon reduced to ashes by the application of liro. TJie neighbours, when called upon, usually assist on this occasion, which is called " a logging bee." The visiter from England, who has been tccustomed to regard rows or clumps of trees as both agreeable and highly ornamental, sees with surprise how completely they have been swept a^A ay from the inhabited spots in Canada. The French on their grounds have not left one ; and though the English immigrants find difficulty in (bearing as much as they could wi.«'i,all the land near their houses is completely denuded. The axe of the chopper levels all before him. " Man appears to contend with t le trees of the forest as though they were his most o onoxious enemies, for he spares neither the young sap- ling in its greenness nor the ancient trunk in its lofty pride ; he wages wai against the forest with fire and steel." Besides the settler's aversion to objects that so much obstruct his operations, there are serious objections to allowing them to remain singly or in rows. The trees stand so thick together, that neither their roots nor branches have had room to spread. They accordingly i^hoot up to a great height, with little hold in the earth, a.>d with scarcely any foliage, so that when left single they are neither beautiful, nor able to withstand the vio- lent gusts of wind to which the country is subject ; henc<; their sudden fall might be attended with much injury. As, however, a considerable quantity of timber must be preserved for fuel and other purposes, attention might be paid to dispose it in groves or little clumps in a picturesque and agreeable manner. The trees which should be preserved are maple for making sugar ; beech and white ash for firewood ; oak, cedar, and hemlock spruce for fences ; and other liard kinds for ashes, from which soap may he made.* Evans' Emigrant's Guide (12tno, Dublin, 1833), pp. 88, 92,93. f: ■ 334 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. '\ A lighter mode of clearing, strongly recommended by Mr Pickering, especially where the trees stand at some distance from each other, is girdling. According to this method, rings are cut round the trunk, completely through the bark, so as to prevent the rising of the sap, in consequence of which they gradually wither. In a few years they begin to fall, and after six or seven can he easily removed. Meantime the under brushwood may be cut or burnt, and crops raised between the trees. A great deal of labour is thus saved at the beginning ; yet the practice is not generally approved, at least where the forest is at all dense. Light and air are thus in- tercepted ; the falling trees are found to injure both animals and fences, and the final clearing is rendered more tedious. Several writers recommend the manufacture of ashes fi*om the burnt wood as an important article of com- merce. The hard species are the most productive. Beech is reckoned the best, and hickory, elm, oak, and maple, stand next in the scale of value. The ashes must be kept under cover and dry till they can be sent to the manufactory ; for the settler, amid his numerous avoca- tions, could scarcely undertake to work them up him- self. Mr Gould reckons that an acre should yield on the average 10 cwt. worth from 12s. Gd. to 15s. the cwt. Could this be depended upon, clearing, instead of being a heavy burden, would be a most profitable occupation ; but the estimate, which we suspect to have been from the first too flattering, is admitted to be no longer ap- plicable. It is now found that soda and other salts can by chemical improvements be made to answer the pur- poses of wood-ashes in bleaching, glass-making, and other processes ; and as these can be produced at a low rate, the latter, in order to find a market, must accommodate itself to the diminished value. Mr Magrath states the price at from fourpence to sixpence the bushel, and was Backwoods of Canada (IHrao, London, 183fi), pp. 192, 292. Ma- l^rath's Letters, p. lf»7-100. Gould's Practical Advice to Emigrants (^ London, 1834), p. fil. AGRICULTURE OF CAXADA. 335 to the informed that the average produce ought to be al)out sixty bushels. This conclusion, he adds, was not con- firmed by his own experience, but he imputes the failure to his land being lightly timbered. As however, not- withstanding the vast clearing which has recently taken place in Upper Canada, there has been no increase in the exportation of this article, it would appear that the asheries have not extended themselves to the new dis- tricts. As a proof of this, we do not generally find them considered as a resource for the new colonist, or capable of being turned to any account but for making- soap, or being used as manure. It seems advisable for the settler, however, to make inquiry into this subject ; for such a manufacture, it is obvious, would raise the value of well- wooded land. Where a property, in course of being cleared, can com- municate by water-carriage with any town or large vil- lage, the timber fit for building, or even for fuel, acquires a considerable value. Even in the bush, if there be a saw-mill in the neighl)ourhood, logs are taken in ex- change for planks, which are necessary for the construc- tion of comfortable houses.* Canadian writers generally consider that the quality of the soil is made known by the trees which grow upon it ; and the best indication is said to be afforded by the species which go under the general appellation of hard- wood, or those which shed their leaves during the winter. We find enumerated, maple, basswood, elm, black wahiut, hickory, butternut, iron- wood, hemlock, with a large species of nettle. A mixture of beech is considered good ; but the land on which it is the solr tree is generally light. Oak is the most uncertai/i, being found on a good bottom, as well r.3 on that of a sandy description. On the other hand, soft wood, bearing evergreen leaves, and consisting chiefly of fir and otlver pine species, is said to give decided intimation of a very * Pickering's Guide to Eniif^nts, p. 159. Ma^rath, pp. 163, 164. Gould, p. 62-64. Backwoods, p. 2\)2. Sliirreft; p. ajO. 336 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. light soil. The larch or tamarack, on wide flat plaini^, indicates sand upon a suhstratum of marly clay, which, when drained, is extremely good ; but this operation is in general too laborious for the immigrant. The French Canadians, we arc informed, hohl this species of land as one of the best. Mr Evans considers a surface where all these trees are mingled together as very valuable, and likely to be fitted for every kind of produce. Yet these inferences, which seem to l)e founded on just observa- tion, are disputed by Mr Shirreff, who denies that any indication whatever can be drawn from the qualities of the timber. As, however, he stands completely alone, and was not long resident in the country, we incline to think he must be mistaken ; but, on a point so very momentous, we concur with him in advising the purchaser to super- add a diligent examination with the spade, both of the soil and subsoil. After the trees, with the exception of the stumps, have been cleared from the ground, no farther prepara- tion is necessary for putting in a crop. The seed requires only to be scattered on the surface, and a harrow drawn over it ; and wheat is the grain most usually committed to such virgin soil. Very flattering reports have been made as to the produce which may be expected in such circumstances, and which has been estimated at forty or fifty bushels, or even more. This however is now ge- nerally admitted to be an exaggeration. Considering that nearly one-fourth of the land is still occupied by stumps, that the growing corn does not enjoy the full benefit of light and air, and is often liable to smut, Mr Shirreff conceives that it will not exceed eighteen bushels an acre. The reports also of the soil continuing to bear the most valuable crops for a series of years without intermission, appear to be realized only under very peculiar circumstances. According to Mr Talbot, a good second crop, though not equal to the first, may be obtained with the aid merely of the harrow ; but after this, com is not in general raised without the use of the plough. As, however, the ijtumps cannot be removed AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 337 for seven or eight years, the prevailing practice in Upper Canada, till that process has been aeconiplished, is to lay the field down in grass ; and this i)lan is recommended by good authorities. It may even he necessary for the settler, who can command only his own personal lahour, and has still large portions to clear : but, in the case of one who can afford to hire servants, it appears an un- profitable system ; for it confines him to the rearing of sheep and cattle, the least advantageous branch of Cana- dian husbandry. Several writers, indeed, represent it as impossible to carry on any other, while such obstruc- tions remain ; but others, better and longer acquainted with the country, assure us, that these oppose no very serious obstacles to culture, the plough being able with little difficulty to pass between them, as they are usu- ally at least twenty feet distant from each other. This plan has also the advantage, that by the loose state in which it keeps the ground, the stumps may be rooted out sooner than from the more compact surface of a grass field. When their removal is effected, the plough can move, though not without some attention, over the whole, and the ground is then considered in a state of regular cultivation.* The ground having been thus cleared of timber, the question arises, what crops can be most advantageously raised upon it. Soil and climate are the two particulars which nature places in the hand of the agriculturist, and according to which his operations must be modified. The soil of the upper, and of all the settled part of the lower province, may rank with the most favoured on the globe. The absence of mountain and rock, on such a scale as to interfere with cultivation, scared v exists elsewhere over a similar extent of country. Light and sandy soils or swamps almost alone interrupt the general fertility ; and these, from the detailed local survey already taken, will appear not to be very extensive, and perhaps in few • Evans, pp. 73? 95. INIajrratli, pp. 88, 89. Backwoods, pp. 194, 196. Shirreff, p. 370. Talbot's Five Years' Residence in the Cana- das (2 vols 8vo, London, 1824), vol. ii. p. 200-2U2. VOL. I. X. 338 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. i H cases wholly irreclaimable. It is calculated that there is a greater proportion of wheat soil in the Canadas than in England ; and that, if this valuable grain were culti- vated in the latter country in the same defective maimer as in these provinces, it could not be of much value. Climate, which forms the other important particular, wears at first view a less favourable aspect. A region which, for several months, and in some districts for more than half the year, remains buried in frost and snow, may well be supposed unfriendly to vegetation. As al- ready observed, however, the strong steady heat of sum- mer counteracts almost completely this chilling influence, and matures with surprising rapidity the most valuable plants. Mr Evans has had wheat in ear nine weeks after it was sown. Even the violent alternations of frost and thaw, of snow and rain, instead of injuring vegetation, are found to pulverize and soften the soil, and thus render it more fertile with less culture. The great steadiness of the summer weather exempts plants from sundry vicissitudes which they undergo in a more changeable climate. From these causes, the annuals suited to a temperate region grow in Canada to full perfection ; and as these include the grains fitted for bread, the food most essential to man, she has little cause to envy any other country. In regard to wheat, indeed, the chief of those vegeta- bles, this observation must be somewhat restricted. Its plants are so far biennial, that to acquire the very first quality they must be sown during the preceding autumn. Yet this course has not been found safe in Lower Canada, where wheat must be treated as an annual, sown in spring, and reaped before the end of the year. The defect is owing, not to the rigour of the winter, stUl less to the depth of snow, which, on the contrary, is found to pro- tect and cherish vegetable growth, but is ascribed to severe frosts, violent and chilling rains, occurring after the snow has left the ground, and the plants have made some progress. An opinion is entertained, that with good management, hitherto much wanting, autumn wheat 2 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 339 might be raised with success. The British American Land Company have decidedly adopted this idea, and some successful experiments have been made. Mr Evans, however, is of opinion that from the above causes, imless in some favoured situations, it must always be an un- safe crop, and peculiarly liable to disease. He had once autumn and spring wheats growing on the same field, when although the first was completely ruined by rust and mildew, the other proved excellent. He seems to apprehend, therefore, thpt Lower Canada must be content with her good spring growth. It is said, however, to require a soil more minutely pulverized ; while the grain produced contains a greater proportion of gluten, and is thus harder and more difficult to grind. In Upper Canada, autumn wheat is raised without difficulty. Barley is well suited to the climate, and on well- prepared soils the produce is found very little inferior to that in England. The square or four-rowed species is generally cultivated, as the most productive, and not objected to by the brewer, though the two-rowed or long- eared brings a higher price, and has been partially intro- duced. Oats have not hitherto been prosperous in either of the Canadas, as the intense heat of summer is apt to dry the panicles, which then do not convey sufficient nourishment to the ears. It is all« ged, however, that by enrly sowing and other precautions the evil might be obviated. This grain in fiict has been much neglected and underrated. Rye, so much a fiivourite in the north of Europe, is cultivated here, but only for the distilleries. Maize or Indian corn, the only important farinaceous plant peculiar to the new world, is the tallest, and yields the largest bulk of all this description of plants. The grain, though very productive, affording from 30 to 70 bushels an acre, is too soft and deficient in gluten to make good bread without a large admixture of wheat. It is relished, however, in various forms of pudding or pot- tage ; and for feeding cattle and poultry seems superior to any other corn. Its range in America is very extensive, since, being an amiual, it is unaffected by the cold of ! 340 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. winter. Yet a strong heat of considerable duration is required, the absence of which in a great part of Canada renders this crop very precarious. If cold or wet weather occur soon after sowing, the seed is liable to rot ; while, as the harvesting does not take place till the end of Sep- tember, the crop suffers often from premature frosts. Mr Evans considers it as unsafe beyond lat. 45° N., which excludes most of Lower Canada ; while Mr ShirrefF re- stricts it within lat. 41^°, scarcely allowing it to go north of Lake Ontario. At Peterborough it had failed for several consecutive years. Where successful, it is con- sidered excellently fitted for new lands, and also as a preparation for wheat. It is planted in rows to f dmit of horse-hoeing, and in Upper Canada pumpkins pve advantageously raised in the intervals. Of leguminous plants, pease are perhaps the most valuable, and are well suited to the climate of Canada, where they form generally a secure crop. Wet weather during harvest, which is peculiarly unfavourable to them, seldom occurs there. The flesh of hogs is delicate and of better flavour when fed upon pease than upon any other grain ; and from their use the povk of these pro- vinces is considered superior to that of the United States. Tares are cultivated as an excellent food for horses and cattle ; and their extension is recommended. Beans are not grown ; but for this omission no sufficient reason has been assigned. Among roots, the potato takes the precedence, and its value is too well known to require comment. Though a native of America, it was for a long time not very extensively cultivated, at least in Upper Canada ; but its importance has now been appreciated by European settlers. Besides its value for human use, this vegetable affords in the same bulk more food for cattle, and is more easily guarded against the cold of winter, than most others, which generally require a root-house or cellar to preserve them ; wliile potatoes may be kept in a pit five feet deep, dug in dry earth. They should be planted by the end of May, so as to attain some strength before the T I AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 341 intense summer heats, and to be ripe before the setting in of the autumnal frosts. Turnips, which require a cool, moist, and temperate climate, have not been found well suited to Canada. Carrots are beginning to be intro- duced, and are strongly recommended as hardy, nutri- tive, and not very liable to suffer from cold. Grass, both natural and artificial, forms a most im- portant article of farming produce. Canada has not the fine natural pastures of Ireland, England, Holland, and other countries enjoying a cool, moist, and equable climate. The settlers, too, in general, as soon as they have cleared away the wood, are eager to break up tlie ground and raise a crop. It is alleged, however, tliat this system has been carried too far, there being many meadows, uplands, and other well- watered tracts, which might very advantageously be appropriated to pasturage. Artificial grasses, now a most valuable branch of British liusbandry, are peculiarly important in Canada, where so large a quantity of hay should be stored for winter use. They are also most useful in preparing the soil for grain crops, but have the disad- vantage of requiring to stand the severe winter, so trying to all except annual plants. Clover, which is supposed to yield three times the produce of natural grass, grows luxuriantly ; but in the second year its roots are often found to have been destroyed by frost. For this i : .i: jn. it is necessary to have recourse to the species named timothy, which is extremely hardy, and will set at defi- ance even a Canadian winter. The course recommended is to plant it in spring along with clover, whitL last may be expected to yield a good crop the first year ; and if it fails in the second, the other will supply its place.* Among miscellaneous articles, flax is well fitted to the climate, and a small quantity is grown upon almost every farm for domestic use ; but it has not yet become 1 II • Evans (William), Treatise on Agriculture (8vo, Montreal, 1035), pp. 33-94, 175, 222. Talbot, vol. I p. 304. Pickering, «3.9B. tiould, p. 67. Shirreff, p. 31)8. Backwoods, pp. 18«, 181 ,§: 342 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. an ai'ticle of exportation. It is dark coloured, and rather liable to brieak. Mr Talbot imputes these faults to the small quantity of seed, being only two bushels per acre, while double that amount is used in Ireland. Hemp has been sown with advantage, particularly in the heavy soil of the Western District ; but, though consi- derable expectations have been formed, it has not as yet any where risen to much importance. It seems admit- ted, that considerable loans from government are neces- sary to provide the machinery indispensable to its suc- cess ; and moreover that, without a protecting duty, the farmer could not compete with the importations from Russia. Tobacco is planted in the same district, and has also been made the object of flattering hopes. In quality it is inferior to that of the southern states of the Union, — a circumstance which some ascribe to im- perfect culture, but others think a warmer climate ne- cessary for raising it in perfection. The produce, never- theless, has of late years been considerably augmented. The rearing of live stock, an important branch of r. al economy, is still in a backw^ard state in Canada. The length and severity of winter produce a necessity for dry food and shelter during that season ; but the providing of this, in the actual circumstances of the colonists, is attended with difficulties, which they by no means make sufficient exertions to overcome. The horses are small, not standing above twelve hands high, and are at the same time clumsy and thick shouldered. Yet they possess good qualities, are active, fleet, and sure-footed, and in these respects have been compared to the Scottish galloway, though they are not equally fit for heavy and continued labour. Proposals have been made io introduce improved breeds, but this would probably avail little, till accom- panied by a more careful management. The cows are also about a third smaller than the English. They are still worse treated, having scarcely any shelter and very little food during the winter, at the end of which they are in a miserable state, and many perish. A complaint called the hollow-horn, arising from the juices of that AGRICULTURE OP CANADA. 343 substance being congealed by the excessive cold, proves generally fatal ; yet those which survive, on coming to grass, quickly recover, and give abundance of milk. The labouring oxen are for the most part procured from the United States. The sheep are extremely small, weighing, it is said, not more than fifty pounds, and their fleece about two and a half. They suffer, not only from the rigour of winter, but from the violence of tlie heat in summer, and are also exposed to the ravages of wild beasts. The wool, however, is ratlier fine, owing perhaps to the cold, from which nature usually protects animals by a richer covering. Some of the hilly tracts in the Western District, where the climate is milder, have been pointed out as well fitted for supporting an improved breed of this animal. The hog alone does something to compensate the general deficiency of the animal creation, for though not large, its flesh is excel- lent, and forms the staple dish at every Canadian table. It finds nourishment amid the woods and pastures, always in summer, and often during winter ; though some grain ought to be given in the latter season, as well as when it is to be fattened. Since the great depression in t'>e price of wheat, salted poik has been considered the most profitable article which a fanner can raise. It moj" be observed, that the Eastern Town- ships, notwithstanduig their severer climate, possess decidedly superior breeds of cattle. This seems partly owing to the variety of surface, and the numerous streams with wliich this region is watered ; and partly, it must be owned, to the character of the settlers, who have come chiefly from, the neighbouring territory of the United States, and have introduced a more active and efficient mode of managing this branch of hus- bandry. The recent cattle shows at Sherbrooke, and other places in the same district, are said to have dis- played specimens that would do honour to similar exliibitions in England. It ma}* be proper here to forewarn the settler with re- gard to an inconvenience that attends the keeping of live 344 AGRICULTDRB OF CANADA. stock in the ruder districts. As the fences are often slight, hastily put up, and meant to enclose a great extent of ground, spirited animals find little difficulty in clear- ing such barriei*s, and plunge into the woods, where all traces of them disappear. Without great care, the farmer will find a good deal of his time lost in this ha- rassing pursuit. Mention is made of a female cultivator, who almost every week mounted her pony, and sallied into the bush in search of stray cattle ; and sometimes a day or two elapsed before she and they returned. The author of the " Backwoods" notices a remarkable c; se of two newly purchased oxen which were missing for some time, and considered finally lost, when it was f. of wild woodland — where no game-laws sportsman, and whence he may expect to derive an agreeable addition to his supply of food. Yet it is a fact that the colonists scarcely ever take a gun into their hands. Dr Dunlop thinks it can only be accounted for by the perversity of human nature and the exclu- sive zest of what is forbidden, that Toronto, situated in the heart of this great forest, is worse supplied with game than any town in England. But, after all, the woods do not s 'm so productive in this respect as might at first view be supposed. Mr ShirreflF, who has made it a particular study to dispel all illusions respecting that part of the world, represents this deficiency as miserable, and declares he has seen more game in half an hour in Scotland than in all his wanderings through Canada. This appears an exaggerated statement, though Mr Magrath observes, that the birds called game, as they do not find food in the forest, multiply only as the land is cleared ; hence the old cultivated districts on the Detroit and Niagara afFoid the best shooting in Upper Canada. A particular species of pheasant, considered sometimes as a large partridge, is the most common ; but though the flesh is delicate, the flavour is very often injured by feeding on the buds of spruce. The quail, considered • Pickering, pp. 65, 80, 559, 98. Statistical Sketches, pp. 77» 104, 105. Ferguson's Practical Notes, p. 263. Sliirreff, pp. 341, 368-370. %- '^ «04 ^V^-„c>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ **% .**•'. V ^. c v.%; :/. tf 1.0 I.I 1^12^ |2.5 |50 "^ Bi^ 1^ §M 12.2 us -I 20 i£ 1.25 1.4 II 1.6 11^ II— ^ 6" ► *' / HiotogP^hic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 "^":^' %'' .A "*'■ '^ f/. ^ & 350 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. by Dr Dunlop as a small partridge, is common in the Home and other western districts. The woodcock and snipe appear in great numbers in spring and autumn, particularly the latter season. Wild ducks of various kinds abound in marshes, and on the borders of lakes. Geese and swans merely pass and repass between warmer and colder climates, without making any so- journ. The turkey, in the London and Western dis- tricts, to which he is confined, is considered the most important of the feathered game ; the colour is dark, and his flesh nearly resembles that of our domestic spe- cies. But no bird equals in number the wild pigeons which, at particular seasons, move in vast flocks, or rather swarms, that darken the air like locusts. A body of them once hovered three or four days over the capital, when a continued war was carried on against them by all who could muster fire-arms of any description. The feathered tribes, in unfrequented places, fall easy victims, owing to their having no fear of man. Sir George Head has seen a whole covey drop one after another without the survivors being in the least degree intimi- dated. Among quadiTipeds, the beaver, the chief object of chase to the early settlers, is now nearly extirpated from all the riange of settlement. At present the deer is the principal game. The idea of Mr Shirrefl^ and other writers, that they exist only in small numbers, is refuted by the diligent researches of Mr Magrath, a Canadian Nimrou. These animals, long hunted by the Indians, and thus accustomed to dread human art and power, fly even at a distant sound, and are never seen by a noisy pursuer. After one day's total failure from this cause, he was told that he must walk in the quietest manner, avoid- ing, if possible, to touch even the bough of a tree ; and by this means he soon obtained complete success. Such a mode of pursuit, borrowed seemingly from the Indians, lias in view rather the result of the chase than its sportful vicissitudes. A similar remark applies ajfao to the prac- tice of deer-stalking, or watching in concealment and AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. 351 ffllence the approach of the animal to one of the salt-licks or springs, which are his favourite resort. Night-shoot- ing is another process of the same kind, in which the hunter passes the hours of darkness, concealing his light till it is necessary to discover the retreat of the game. At other times, these timid creatures are driven by bands of men and dogs into a river or lake, where canoes wait to receive them : similar hunts, on a small scale, are carried on by whole tribes. It has been asserted tliat the Canadian deer do not afford the rich fat so much prized by the epicure ; but this is ascribed to their being hunted chiefly during the winter, amid deep snow, when they are of course in meagre condition. The bear is the most ferocious of the wild animaLs, yet cannot be considered as dangerous. He acts as if under a treaty of neutrality with man, whom he never attacks unless in self-defence. Yet as he scruples not to possess himself of a pig or other inmate of the farm-yard, the settler, with a view to prevention, recovery, or re- venge, often becomes the assailant. He is animated also by the desire of possessing the skin, not a little prized ; the flesh, considered very delicate ; and the grease, which forms so valuable a pommade. The person, however, who wounds this tenant of the desert, without killing or dis- abling him, is placed in a very perilous predicament ; and should never make the attempt without having one or two shots in reserve. The wolf is another de- predator, extremely dangerous to the flocks, but who shuns the presence of man. He is not usually hunted for amusement ; but, on account of his destructive qualities, the legislature have set a price on his head, which xt is hoped will reduce or exterminate the race.* Another pursuit, for which there exist ample ma- terials, is yet scarcely in its infancy. The extensive fislieries, which enrich the maritime provmces of British America, have not hitherto created any interest in the prac- and * Statistical Sketches, pp. Magrath, pp. 1«2, 239-201). (8ro, London, 1829), p. 233. 33, 39; 46-48. ShirrefF, p. 390. Head's Forest Scenes and Incidents '¥■ •>>iiPSS»^'' •^ 352 AGRICULTURE OF CANADA. interior. Yet its vast waters contain numerous species, which must, as the country advances, become more and more important. The salmon abounds in Ontario, and is supposed by Dr Dunlop not to visit the ocean; but Mr Magrath, observing that it never ascends above Niagara, nor is found in any lake not communicating with the sea, concludes that it does perform this voyage, however long. The usual mode of taking them, learned £rom the Indians, is by spearing from a canoe, particu- larly in the night ; but there is always some risk of this frail bark being upset. The most delicate creature in those aters is that called white-fish, resembling the herring, but superior. In some places it is caught by the seine, and packed in barrels of 200 lbs., which sell at from twenty-seven to thirty shillings. The herring is also plentiful, but not very fine. Other common kinds are the trout, mullet, pike, pickerel, bass — ^black and white and rock — and masquinonge, a fish pecu- liar to the country, and highly esteemed. But all of tJiem, it is maintained, must yield to the Mackinaw trout, found only in Lakes Huron and Superior, which weighs from twenty to forty, and even ninety pounds, and has flesh of extreme delicacy. There can be no doubt of the ultimate success of this important branch r^f industry ; though the extent of capital required, and the distance from markets, give little encouragement ta any immediate attempt o' s^reat scale.^ * Statistical Sketches, p. 49. Pickering. Backwoods, pp. 159, 160. END OP VOLUME FIRST. Printed by Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Bigh Street, Ediaburgh. #/: -y-TSSR"' > pis'"' ■" :■» ' -^iipsj/ '"--r. LIS species, more and tario, and e ocean ; ids above lunicating is voyage, n, learned , particu- le risk of i creature Lbling the aught by ich sell at B herring common ss — ^black ish pecu- iut all of lackinaw or, which '■ pounds, m be no it branch lired, and :ement to i p. 159, 160. '^ . I' ♦