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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimAs A des taux de rAduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seui clichA, il est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bes, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes sulvants lliustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 -t^' *. < FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IK THE CANADAS: INCLUDltiO ^ tlTour tf^rougb )9att or THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE YEAR in23. BY EDWARD ALLEN TALBOT, ESQ., or THE TALnOT 8ETTLEMEKT, UPPER CANADA. Bold riac the mountaini, rich the gardens glow. Bright lake* axpand, and conquering rivers flow : Mind, mind alone, without whuie quickening ray The world's a wiUernas, and man but day,— Mind, mind alone, in bnrrcn, still reiwse, Nor blooms, nor riMs, nor expands, nor flows. Moore. IN TWO VOLUMES, VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, BROWN AND GREEN. 1824. 'W^ FC n Jatn^ Nichols, Printer, 22, Warmck Square, Lmdon. ^P*/S4» TO JOSHUA DANCER, ESQ., SHINRONE, KINO'S COUNTY. My Dear Sik, Allow me to dedicate to you these Volumes^ as a slight tribute of esteem for your private cJutracter, and of gratitude Jbr the many favours which you liave conferred upon me. They relate principally to a country about which you are not wlwlly uninterested ; and if in your moments of leisure, you derive either information or amusement Jrom their perusalf however they may be received by tlic world, I shall not regret the circumstance of having committed them to the press. I am unconscious how Jar, or xvhether at aU, my sentiments, on some important subjects discussed in the following pages, may co-incide with yours ; but I console myself with the reflec- tion, that, though you should be unable to subscribe to every article in my political creed, you wHl not on that account think ' A 2 •^ DEDICATION. less fav^mrahly of my sincerity, or be less witting still to attorv ffte to rank among the number of yotir friends. With this cmvictim on my mind, permit me to that I am. assure you. My Deae Sill, Yours most respectfully and ajffectimatcly. E- A. TALBOT. Faxcov-Square, Londow, June 20th, JU24. ^■*, PREFACE The following pages relate chiefly to a country which must be viewed, by the inhabitants of Great Britain, with some degree of parental solicitude : Their object is to give a true descrip- tion of Upper Canada, to represent the vast importance of that portion of his M^esty's dependencies, and to demonstrate some of its capabilities as a grand field for coloniza- tion. When British terr?*ory is my subject, and the British Public my auditors, — if I may so express myself, — I hope I ne?d make little apology for having allowed this work to pass through the press : For, though I am fully conscious of my inability to do perfect justice to the country which I have attempted to describe, or to afford much amusement to a people whom I am desirous to inform, 1 feel assured that my well-intended endeavours will be regarded by the candid reader as affording some excuse for the abseace of more shining qualities. To lite- A 3 VI PMEFACE. rary merit, I wish it to be distinctly utulcrstood, I make not the sliglitest pretensions. I am a plain man, unadorned witli the graces of eru- dition, and accustomed to clothe my sentiments only in the simple garb of unaffected sincerity : And had some person of more competent acquire- ments entered on this task, many hours of dili- gent inquiry and industrious research, which I have spent in collecting materials, would have been devoted to other more profitable pursuits. But as this has not been the case, I shall perhaps obtain forgiveness for having per- formed that indifferently, which no man has attempted to perform at all, * If, however, I had not the vanity to imagine, — and perhaps it may be only an imagination, — that these volumes contain as much useful in- fo wl tic n( a( * There have, I am aware, been several works recently pubt- lished, which give some account of Upper Canada; but they have been written by Tourists, who have passed hastily through the country, and who have, in common with all rapid travellers, gleaned in their flight a few fragments of information, which, though sometimes correct, are much more frequently manifestly erroneous. Captain Stuart, the only resident writer, in his " Emi- grant's Guide to Upper Canada," — a work which might be much more appropriately entitled the Pilgrim's Guide to the Celestial Regiotis,~~-ha8 given some honest and valuable information respect- ing the country ; but it contains such a confused medley of pole- mical theology, whining cant, and complimentary bombast, that it would require as much patience to travel through his duo- decimo volume, as to make a pedestrian tour through the whole of the Upper Province. PREFACK. ▼il formation respecting that part of the world to which tliey relate, as is usually found in produc- tions on similar subjects, I should certainly never have been induced to offer them to the acceptance of the public. To those who may be disposed to apply to my style the severity of criticism, I would beg leave to observe, that, if I had even felt a dispo- sition to become a candidate for literary fame, my numerous avocations would have precluded the possibility of bestowing such a portion of time on these pages, as every literary man knows to be indispensable to the accomplish- ment of such an object. Compelled, as I have been, to employ almost every hour of my life in avocations, — which, though less congenial to me than those of literature, are necessarily of greater importance, — I have had little leisure either for partaking of those intellectual ban- quets which are provided in rich profusion by other writers, or of attempting to prepare for my own readers a more homely repast. Much, I think, will not be expected from me, when I acknowledge, that almost every sentence contained in these volumes was composed by the light of the midnight lamp, with a mind sometimes unhinged, and often enervated, from having been employed during the day in duties of paramount consideration. During a resi- viii PMBFACB. (lence of nearly six years in America, I cannot now call to recollection a Bin^^lc day which 1 had an opportunity of devoting exclusively either to pleasure or to study : And these circumstances, united with the fact that the [rreater part of this^ work was written before the author had attained his twenty-third year, will constitute a sufficient apology for the defects which it contains. In the succeeding Introduction, I have adverted to my native country, and to the motives for leaving it by which I and my friends were influenced : The reader will there fmd, that I am an Irishman ; and if, in the indulgence of a strong attachment to the land of my birth, I exhibit some of that warmth of feeling and expression by which all my coun- trymen are distinguished, I hope to be par- doned for such unstudied and incidental dis- plays of nationality. I know only of another circumstance to which I may be expected to allude in the form of brief apology; and that is, to the recital of some Trans-atlantic conversations which occurred in my presence, and which 1 considered to be highly characteristic of American morals. These details, however, it will be perceived, have been given with as studious a regard to decency, as the high claims of my duty to the Public would allow. I could not reconcile it to ray .Ml th PHKFAtr. in jud^monl, to siiflTor any man to rise np IVniu the peruHal of tliifl pul)lieatiun, without ol)tain- incf from it accurate intelligence concerninj^ the 8tale of society in Upper Canada : And, Ihouj^h a decided friend to the speedy colonization of that fertile and extensive tract of liie New World, I raise my warning voice against the undue expectations which an emigrant may cherish respecting " the artless simplicity, the innocent lives, and the unsophisticated manners" of American settlers, among whom he intends to take up his future abode. To tell such an individual, " that he is about to be introduced " to an earthly Paradise, in which persons of " both sexes are celebrated for their chaste con- " verse and exemplary virtues," — would be most egregiously to mislead. But when I offer him a few practical illustrations of Canadian moral- ity, and shew him the proximate causes of the grossness of manners and of the semi-barbarism, which are much too prevalent, I guard the pro- posed settler against all misapprehensions on this subject, in a more effectual manner than by general remarks and distant cautions. In communicating to the world the result of my observations on the Canadas, I have, accord- ing to modern usage, adopted the epistolary form, on account of the facilities wiiich it affords to such a writer as myself in the free expression PREFACE. of his opinions ; and chiefly because, under the familiar designation of a Correspondent, I am enabled to introduce numerous remarks that might appear too trivial, when delivered in the imposing formality of didactic composition. The extracts from the Journal, which I wrote during my excursion through the United States, I have presented to my readers in a consecutive and abridged narrative, that it might be complete by itself. I lie under no necessity to assure those who know my connections in life, as well as my prin- ciples, that my sentiments on several of the subjects discussed in these volumes, have been as maturely formed, as they are honestly and fearlessly declared ; and that many of them are at variance with those of some persons whom I highly respect. But how erroneous soever these friends may deem certain views and conceptions which I entertain and have here published, it is a duty I owe to all other persons to affirm, that in no single instance have I enlisted wilful mis- representation or personal obloquy in support of my positions ; but have stated facts and reasoned upon them in a manner, which, I hope, the most scrupulous of my readers will consider to be at once fair and conscientious. E.A.T. Pri Int Dept Feeli Arrii AD< Sea-i Deat Arri^ Ddij Intel Islai Enti Arri Divt Situ Its! Gen Pub Orij CONTENTS OP VOLUME FIRST. TAGE Preface ...... v Introdvctiom ...*.. I LETTER I. Departure for Cove ..... 13 Feelings on contemplating the Country through which wc passed . 16 Arrival of the Ship for our conveyance . . . 17 A Description of her Accommodations — Embarkation, &c. . SO LETTER II. Sea-sickness and unpleasant weather .... 27 Death of various Chiluren ..... 28 Arrival on the Great Fishing-Bank, and View of the American Con* tinent ...... 29 Delightful appearance of the St. Lawrence and its numerous Islands . 31 Interesting manners of one of the Female Aborigines . . 33 Island of Orleans, and hospitable reception on it . . 35 Entrance of the Basin at Quebec — Falls of Montinorenci . . 38 Arrival at Quebec . . . . .41 Diversity of Language and Costume .... 42 LETTER III. Situation of Quebec ..... 45 Its fine external appearance, Fortifications and Citadel . . 46 General Wolfe's Statue ..... 49 Public edifices of Quebec — Castle of St. Louis— Roman Catholic Cathedral — Protestant places of Worship — Court House, &c. . 64 Origin of the word Quebec, and population of that city . . 57 XII roxiEXTs. LETTER IV. Arrival at Montreal .... Interview with the Duke of Richmond and Colonel Cockbum Objections to a Residence in the Lower Province The Country between Quebec and Montreal— .Trois Rivieret_Lakc St. Pctre— William Henry — Berthier Montreal.island, Description of the City Sheet-iron Doors and Window Shutters Public Buildings . . . Banking.housefb— Public Library — Newspapers Alarket-Placcs— Commerce— Defenceless Situation — Steam-boats and their Accommodations — Shallowness of the Water between Que bee and Montreal . . . • LETTER V. Embarkation at La Chine for Prescott Rapidity of the St. Lawrence— Vessels used in navigating it Lake St. Louis — Cascades— The Cedars Exertions of the Boatmen — Durham Boats Conduct of an American Farmer . • Appearance of the Country . . Division-Line of the Province Prescott— Ogdensburgh — Brockville — Kingston— Fort Frederick Lake Ontario — Town of York— Garrison and Public Buildings LETTER VL Choice of a Settlement .... Colonel Thomas Talbot's eccentric habits Preference of the Township of London • ' . Progress towards this point of Settlement The Country on the River Ouse— Villages belonging to the Indians of the Six Nations . . . Interview with one of the Native Catechists . Arrival at Port Talbot . . . Disaster which befel my Father's Party on Lake Erie Joyful meeting .... Situation of the Township of London— Form and Extent First Day and Night on our American Estate— Wolf-Hunt in the Morning . . . • • . . Operations and stay in the Woods previous to the Arrival of the Fa mUy . . . .. PAor. r>!i 61 62 66 66 69 77 80 VilW SituJ 83 84 85 87 88 03 94 97 102 103 103 106 107 108 109 111 113 114 115 117 118 i Desc Milil Oene Mod Few The Modd More Milit 1 Villai Midi Gore, Until Dom Hon Will The The Tht Dcii CONTENTS. XIU m 61 62 66 66 69 77 80 83 84 85 87 88 93 94 97 102 103 105 106 107 108 109 111 113 1114 115 117 Ill8 LETTER VII. PAr.B Village of Dundas— Ancastet— Great Western Road— Talbot-street . 121 Situation of the Talbot Settlement— Niagara, or Fort George, taken by the Americans— Retaliation of the British . . 121 Falls of Niagara ..... 124 Suj^osed to be once at Queenstown . . . .129 Anecdote of an Indian and of Two White Men . . . 135 Noise of the Falls ..... 137 Chippawa— Lake Erie— Long Point — Amersburg -Sandwich . 141 Lakes St. Clair, Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Lake of the Woods 142 LETTER VIII. Description of the Canada* .... 143 Militia of the Upper Province .... 144 General aspect of the Country, and Public Roads . . 145 Mode of settling the Lower Province . . . 151 Few Mountains and numerous Rivers in Upper Canada . . 153 The most improved Districts, and the great variety of Soil . . 155 Mode of Culture after first clearance, and of ascertaining the quality of Land ...... 158 LETTER IX. More particular Sketch of the different Districts— Eastern, including Johnstown and Bathurst— Its Commercial and Agricultural advan. t^ges . . . . . ' . 161 Alilitary Settlement — Attention of the Government to its Improvement and Prosperity . . . . .163 Village of Perth— The Character of its Population . . 164 Midland, Newcastle, and Home Districts . . . 166 Gore, Niagara, London, and Western Districts . . . 168 Untimbered Lands, commonly called Plains— Opinions of the Indians about them ..... 172 LETTER X. Domestic Animals of the Canadas— The Horse . . . 176 Horned Cattle— Sheep and Hogs .... I79 WUd Animals -The Mammoth— The Buffalo . . 181 The Fallow.Deer, and Elk . . . . - -186 ThcCaribou, or Rein.Deer— TheBear ... 188 LETTER XI. The Tracks of three Bears, and the place of their Retreat . 191 Dciith of one of tho Bear!*, and fall of the Tree in which they lay . lf)2 I!i XIV CONTENTS. PACK Two Settlers proceed in pursuit of them . . . I'M Their Adventures and Privations during thirteen Days . . liiH Their safe return ..... 208 LETTER XII. The Wolf ' . . . . . . 209 The Wolverine and Fox . . , .211 The Catamount, the Wild Cat, the Lynx, or Loup-Cenrier, and the Kincajew ...... 212 The Weasel, the Ermine, the Martin, the Mink, the Otter, the Skunk 213 The Opossum and Wood>Chuck . . . . 214 The Hare and Racoon . . . . . 215 The Grey, Black, Red, Striped, and Flying Squirrels . . 216 The Beaver ...... 218 The Musk Rat ... . . 224 The Mouse, the Mole, and the Hedge>hog . . . 225 The Seal, the Sea-Horse, and Sea-Cow . . .226 LETTER XIII. Various kinds of Birds and Aquatic Fowl that visit the Canadas . 227 The Swan, Goose, Heron, Crane, and Redshank . . 228 Wild Turkey and Pheasant . . . .229 Quail, Pigeon, and Woodpecker . . ... 230 Mock.Bird ...... 231 The Thrush and B^ ic Jay . . * . . 233 King.Bird, War.Bird and Yellow-Bird . . . 234 The Humming-Bird, the Raven, Owl, and Eagle . . 235 LETTER XIV. Insects of various kinds . . • « • 237 Butterfly ...... 238 Grass-hopper and Locust ..... 239 The Horse-Fly, Musquito, Sand-Fly, and Black-Fly . . 240 The Shad-Fly, Snow-Fly, and Flre-FIy . . .245 The Black Beetle and House-FIy . . . .248 The Bed Bug, Hive Bee, and Wasp . . .249 Lambert*8 Remarks on the Insects of America . . . 254 Captain Stuart's Observations on the same subject . . 258 LETTER XV. The Amphibia and Fishes of Caaada— the Bull-Frog and its various affinities . . . . . . 259 . The Mud-Tortoise or Turtle . . . .262 Mus CON'TKNTS. XV The Rattle-Snakc, its poWcr of Fascination Account of a Gentleman who was bitten by one . The Black Snake — the Water Snake, &.C. Fishes of various kinds in the rivers of Canada->the Salmon and Sturgeon .... Muskinungc, Cat-fiith, Pike, Pickerel, Mullet, Dog-fish, Sucker. Black and \Vhitc Bass, and Herring Trout, White Fish, Sword Fish, and Eel LETTER XVI. Trees found in the Canodas— Hard and Soft Maple Red, Hliite, and Blue Beech— Black, Red, and White Oak— Black and White Ash— Red and White Elm Iron Wood and Birch— Basswood — Black and White Wahiut Chesnut and Hiccory — Button-wood— White-wood— Balm of Gilcad and Poplar . . • ' • Red and White Pine, Hemlock, Larch, and Cedar Weeping Willow — Lombardy Poplar and Aspen Apple, Pear, Plumb, Cherry, and Peach Trees LETTER XVn. Horticultural productions— Melons, Cucumbers, Gourds, Pomegra nates, and Squashes . . . . ' Red Pepper, Beet-root, and Radishes— Carrots and P.arsnipg— Cab bages. Beans and Peas Celery, Asparagus, Spinnage and Sea-kail Wheat, Maize or Indian Com, Rye, Barley and Oats Potatoes, Turnips and Pumpkin:. Tobacco, Hemp and Flax . . LETTER XVin. Medicinal Herbs and Shrubs * . Gensing and Capillaire Sarsaparilla and Bitter sweeU-AIum root and Crow's foot^Wild Horehound, White Coatli, and Gentian-root — the Seneca Snake. root, and Spearmint— Thimble-berry and Blackberry roots The Blood root. Sumach, and Poison Tree Herbe aux Puces, or Poison Ivy . . . Sorrel — Colt*8-tail, and Marsh-mallows — Dog-wood, and Prickly Ash— Spice-wood and Sassafras— the Cotonnier, or Cotton Plant The Onion Tree and Wild Garlic . . . . The Wild Turnip and Juniper Tree — the Rein-Deer Moss, Wild Oats, and River Grass— the Sea Rye, Plantain, and Sea-Rocket ..Laurea and Sea-side Peas— Indian Grass and Indian Tea -IVui 2()5 207 2G9 270 271 278 279 2m 281 282 283 293 296 297 298 299 302 303 312 314 316 316 317 318 319 322 ii • ■ . 1 1 Xvi CONTENTS. LETTER XIX. Natural Curiosities in the Upper Province— Whirlpool near ^Queens- l-AGB town ....... 324 Rash Adventure of a British Soldier . . . . 326 The Falls of M^'est-Flamborough . . . .32? Alincral and Saline Springs .... 330 Want of Encouragement for the Manufacture of Salt— Conduct of the Provincial Legislature .... 332 Gypsum.— Marl and Black Lead— Iron Foundery . . 336 LETTER XX. Qimate of the Canadaa . . . . < 339 Effects of Frost on the Human Body .... 344 Meteorological Tables ..... 346 Diseases ...... 360 Aurora Borealis, and other Atmospherical Phenomena . . 366 LETTER XXr. The Discovery of America . ■ . . . 374 Various Expeditions to Canada from France and England . . 375 The Foundation of Quebiec ..... 383 The final Conquest of the Country by General Wolfe . . 387 LETTER XXIL Laws and Constitution of the two Provinces . . . 389 Governor, Legislative and Executive Councils, and House of As- sembly in Lower Canada .... 392 Court of Appeal— Description of the Barristers . . . 393 Complicated Nature of the Laws of the Lower Province . . 394 The various Tenures by which Lands are held in Canada . . 396 Manner in which the Country was first settled, and Conditions of the Grants ... . . . ib. Communite de bien, or co-partnership in Alarriage . . 399 LETTER XXIIL Laws and Government of Upper Canada . . . 400 The House of Representatives . . . . 401 Elections— Anecdote ..... 405 The Provincial Parliajnent more respectable than in former days . 409 Court of King's Bench — District Courts— Courts of Request . 411 General character of Jurors ..... 412 Justices of the Peace . . . . .413 (J i'AGB 8i4 896 8S7 980 888 886 INTRODUCTION. 889 844 374 376 383 387 389 302 393 394 396 ib. 399 400 401 405 409 411 412 413 If I may form any opinion respecting the feelings of other men, by the general inclination of my own, on subjects which may be supposed to have nearly a similar effect upon all, I think every reader must evince a wish to know something of the author whose works he may have an opportu- nity of reading. It is, however, difficult to tender this information, without either incurring the impu- tation of egotism, or appearing solicitous to con- ceal something with which curiosity might wish to become acquainted. I make no pretensions to more of that " charity which thinketh no evil," than is inherent in the intellectual part of our species ; and yet I always feel disposed to put the most favourable construc- tion on the confessions of an author, who endea- vours to introduce himself to his reader, with a becoming diffidence. I enter on the perusal of his work with additional zest. His frankness, in speak- ing of himself and \i\» connections, inclines me to VOL. I. INTKODUtTlOX. think favoiini])ly of his clmraeter ; and, from the previous knowledge which I thus obtain of hia pri- vate concern?, I feel far more interested in his fate, and in the varying sensations of pleasure and pain with which he is afl'ecled, — even if his style be not altogether unexceptionable, — than if I were read- ing the most elegant composition of an utter stran- ger. I have been accustomed from my boyhood to regard those unassuming, yet manly, explana- tions as a friendly shake of the hands ])etween the writer and his reader ; and, after such an introduc- tion, I pass as pleasantly over his pages, as if in the company of an old acquaintance. This preliminary information is still more neces- sary from any writer who assumes the character of a " Tourist," — how slight soever may be his claims to that appellation. Every man betrays a desire to become acquainted with the real motives that have induced the w^anderer to roam, and to give the world a history of his adventures, — of the ideas which have arisen in his mind on viewing particular objects, — or of the vivid images which have been impressed on his memory by contemplating man under the influence of " other laws and other climes." Reasoning thus, with all humility, from myself to others, I have resolved to prefix to these volumes a brief statement of the reasons which first induced me and my conneclionss to emigrate. Poverty, I conceive, is no crime. The greatest sages of antiquity have not been ashamed of allud- ing to res angustas domi : and it would be a curious * li INTRODUCTION. s I i in»iance of seniimenlul fastidiousness, or modish affectation, in one so far beneath the least of them, were I to hesitate in the acknowledgement, that I became an exile, not as a matter of choice, but of necessity, — not with the view of realising a fortune in the trans-atlantic wildernesses, — but of escaping from penury and its consequent miseries, in the land of my nativity. My father, once possessed of a handsome compe- tency in the South of Ireland, found himsejf, about the conclusion of the late war, in such circum- stances as to preclude the possibility of his continu- ing in the country, without descending from that sphere of life in which he had been accus- tomed to move, to one, for the endurance of whose toils and difficulties he was, by his former habits, completely incapacitated. Being attached to a military life from his infancy, and having early entered into the Militia of his native county, — in which, however, he did not long remain, — his sons very naturally manifested a strong predilec- tion for the army. Believing that he had interest sufficient to obtain commissions for us, as soon as we should attain to a proper age, he endeavoured, limited as his resources were, to give us such an education as would qualify us for a station in that school of honour, the British army, without dis- gracing our profession, or in any other manner placing insuperable barriers against our future pro motion. This hope alone served, for many years, b2 4 INTRODUCTION. an an encouragement to hlin to hiiftet the waves of adverse fortune, till he could thus provide for my brother and me. But his expectations, at the return of peace, were all blasted. Almost every avenue of honourable competition, in other professions, w^as then pre-occupied ; and they soon became still more crowded, when many young men, who were obliged to retire from the service, sought out new sources of advancement, with higher claims upon that coun- try for whose honour several of them had fought and bled, than could even be assumed by the most respectable person in private life. Gloomy and lowering at that time were the pro- spects of our family. When my father perceived, that the door of military preferment was, through inevitable circumstances, closed against his sons, — and that scarcely a chance remained of our success in other quarters, or of being able to escape i -The whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay. The insolence of office, or the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes ;— he directed his attention to emigration, as the only means of providing for his numerous family, and of avoiding those painful feelings which must neces- sarily arise in the breast of any man, who, through the effects of youthful indiscretion or other disas- ters, cannot prevent his children from retrograding in the scale of society. rNTIiOlM'CTIOX. I Whatever portion of pride may enter into the composition of such wounded feeh'ngs, they will at least command sympathy from those whose sensi- bilities are alive to the condition of an affectionate parent, doomed to spend the evening of his days, in comparative poverty, near the place of his birth, and contiguous to the very possessions which had for ages been the abode of his family. Thousands of the unfortunate sons and daughters of Ireland were at this time contemplating a removal to the United States of America. The popular pre- judices, in favour of settling there, were then in their full force, though many of them have since been dissipated by the painful experience of such as too readily believed the glowing descriptions which had been given, or deceived themselves with unreasonable anticipations. The amazing variety and extent of territory in the Republic, — the ample choice of climate and soil which it offers to agricul- turists, — the successful enterprise of the first settlers, — and the rising importance of some recent establish- ments, — all conspired to recommend that portion of the New World to the notice of adventurers. But there was another consideration, which, in my father's mind, preponderated over all these seduc- ing advantages : To become the subject of a coun- try avowedly hostile to that in which his family had, for many centuries, flourished in the sunshine of British protection, — to separate himself for ever from British institutions and British laws, — and to be compelled to teach his little children the political b3 Q INTROnrCTIOM. creed of a Republic, for which he could himpelf never feel a aentirnent of attnchrnent, — were thouirhts which neither he, nor such of hi* children as were capable of judj^ing for themselves, could ever be induced to entertain. These were the chief considerations which decided us in giving a preference to the unexplored wilds of Upper Canada, and made us ncp^lect what was generally denominated ** the Elysian scenery" of the United States. With this choice, — although originally made from political motives, — we have had no reason to be dissatisfied. On the contrary, after a trial of nearly six years, we felicitate our- selves on the determination to which we then came. But as the reasons of our self-gratulation will be fully developed in the subjoined narrative, it is unnecessary in this place to anticipate the subject. Our choice of country having been maturely formed, my father applied to Earl Bathurst, his Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonial De- partment, for a grant of land in the Canadas. This application was accompanied with the following letter from a highly respectable Irish nobleman : "Birr Castle, Qlst Dec.j 1817. ** My Lord, " Mr. Richard Talbot, who lives in this neighbourhood, and who has some intention I.NTUUULtTION. 7 of aettlinj( in Upper Carj-ula, has rcquealed from nipu letter of reeoiinnondiiiioii to your Lordship. ** I linvo known Mr. T ilbot, and all his funiily, ft)r many years, 'limy are all vt»ry loyal, worthy, and highly reapeclahle people ; and, I am certain, ihoy will always* diaoharge, with the strictest fide- lity, any trust which his Majesty's (Government may repose in him; and, 1 am confident, that he will he found hv the Covernment of Canuda, should he jro there, a most zealous, attached, and active subject of his Majesty's, as ho has always been in this country : And 1 beg leave to add, if you will permit me so to do, that any mark of attention, with which you may be pleased to honour him on this occasion, will be esteemed by me a most particu- lar favour. " I have the honour to be, my Dkak Loud, " Your very f/iithful and obedient Servant, (Signed) "KOSSE." " To Earl Bathiirnt;" 4r, Sfc. In a short time the Earl of Rosse received, and forwarded to my father, the subjoined reply : « Dowmng-Strcct, July ^Itk, 1818. " My Dkar Loud, " I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 29th ult., recommending to my favour- able consideration a memorial of Mr. Richard Tal- bot. I have only deferred the acknowledgment 8 INTRODUCTION. of it SO long;, in order that I might have it in my power to communicate to your Lordship the extent of encouragement which his Majesty's Government were prepared to give to persons desirous of receiv- ing grants of land in Canada. I cannot better explain their decision upon this point, than by inclosing, for your information, a copy of the letter which I have directed to be addressed to all persons making similar applications, and which contains a full statement of the conditions under which alone extensive grants of land can be made to any indi- viduals. " I have the honour to bo, my Dear Lord, " Your very faithful, humble Servant, (Signed) " BATHURST.^ " To the Earl ofRosser th« a assi The following is the circular to which Earl Bathurst alludes : " Colonial Department, Downing-Street, « May 16, 1818. " Sir, " I am directed by Lord Bathurst to acquaint you, in reply to your letter of the 29th of December, 1817, that his Majesty's Government have ceased to give any encouragement to indi- viduals desirous of proceeding as Settlers to his Majesty's Colonies abroad, beyond a grant of twenty-five acres of land, in the Colony which INTRODUCTION. larl they may select, and that they are neither to expect a passage at the expence of Government, nor any assistance after their arrival in the Colony. ** Lord Bathurst is, however, ready to receive proposals from any persons willing to undertake, either in person or by their agents, the cultivation of larger grants of land, either at the Cape of Good Hope, or in the North American Provinces, under the following conditions : " Such grants will only be made to those who can engage to take out, and locate upon the land granted, ten settlers at the least ; and the quantity of land granted, in each case, will be in the propor- tion of One Hundred acres for every settler pro- posed to be taken out. " In order to prevent any evasion of this con- dition^ the person applying for a gr?int of land will he required to pay down a sum at the rate of Ten Pounds for every settler, which sum will be repaid to him, so soon after his arrival in the Colony as the Settlers shall have been located upon the land assigned. " I am only further to acquaint you, that, in case of your being willing to undertake the culti- vation of land under these conditions, either at the Cape of Good Hope, or in North America, and in the event of your proposal being approved by his Lordship, a grant will be made to you free of expence ; and the necessary tonnage will be pro- vided for the conveyance of yourself or your agents, and the Settlers whom you may have engaged to i. fe 10 INTRODUCTION. accompany you. The expence of victualling the Settlers will be to be defrayed by yourself. " I am, « SiR, " Your humble Servant, "HENRY GOULBURN." I i My father at once acceded to the terms proposed in this document; and, instead of procuring ten Settlers to accompany him, fifty-four families, con- sisting of nearly Two Hundred persons, presented themselves as candidates for emigration under his auspices. When he had made the requisite arrange- ments with this numerous party, — some of whom were respectable yeomen, and others, small farmers of loyal principles and fair characters,— he fulfilled the conditions of Earl Bathurst's letter, by paying down the specified deposit. Immediately after the completion of this part of the business, we received the following note from Mr. Goulburn, inclosing Lord Bathurst's order to the Governor of Canada : « Downing-Street, \^ih May, 1818. " Mr. Goulburn presents his compliments to Mr. Talbot, and transmits herewith Lord Bathurst's order to the Governor of Canada, to make the grant of land in proportion to the number of Settlers who accompany him." INTRODUCTION. 11 «< Secretary of State's Office, Domnng-Street, " HVh May, 1818. " Sir, '* Richard Talbot, Esquire, having engaged to take out to Canada the Settlers whose names are hereunto annexed, you are in the first instance to assign to him a grant of land, in the propor- tion of One Hundred acres for each male indi- vidual above the age of Seventeen years who may accompany him. And as the Settlers become located on the land assigned to him, repay to him the sums affixed to their respective names ; drawing on my Under-Secretary for the amount. " I have the honour to be, &c. &c. (Signed) "BATHURST." " Sir John Cope Sherhrooke, " Governor of Canada^ ^-c. , On receipt of these letters, which were tant- amount to marching orders for our busy band of settlers, we prepared for our immediate departure to the place of embarkation. As a particular account of the subsequent pro- ceedings of the whole party will be found in these volumes, the preceding Introduction, will, it is hoped, be considered sufficiently copious. i •■ "oLi AKY MAX MVIXG MAY MAKE A BOOK WORTH READiyG, IF HE WILL Bl'T SET DOWX WITH TRUTH WHAT HE HAS SEEK OR HEARD, — NO MATTER WHETHER THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEX OR NOT. GRAY. REGIONS MOUNTAINOUS AND WILD, THINLY INHABITED AND LltTLE CULTIVATED, MAKE A GREAT FART OF THE EARTH; AND HE THAT HAS NEVER SEEN THEM, MUST LIVE UNACaUAlNTED tflTH MUCH OF THE FACE OF NATURE, AND WITH ONE OF THE GREAT SCENE9 OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. LETTER I. DEPARTURE FOR COVE— FEELINGS ON CONTEMPLATING THE COUN- TRY THROUGH WHICH WE PASSED— THE REGRETS WHICH IT OCCASIONED — ARRIVAL OP THE SHIP FOR OUR CONVEYANCE— A DESCRIPTION OF HER— THE ACCOMMODATIONS — EMBARKA- TION, &C. Cork Harbour, June 13<^, 1818. The celebrated Lady Morgan has justly observed, *' that there are certain emotions which no elo- *' quence can paint, which good sense shrinks from " attempting, and which, — however strongly con- " ceived by the mind, pourtrayed by the fancy, or " felt by the heart, — become feeble and languid " through the coldness of detail." Never did I feel so forcibly the truth of this sentiment, as I do at this instant ; and never until now, were the feel- ings of my soul of that acute nature which language would in vain attempt to delineate in all their force and poignancy. The thought of separating myself /or ev>er from a beloved country, from the companions of my youth and the friends of my bosom, produces such an assemblage of conflicting sensations in my mind, that, — were it not for the isolaoing hope of independence beyond the Western 14 PUEIilMINARY OBSKRVATIOXS. I- t Main, and the exhilarating idea of ac(3nstant inter- change of sentiment with those who may deem me worthy of their correspondence, — this feeble spirit, devoid of every other support, would, I fear, soon sink beneath the burden of its sad reflections. You had frequently endeavoured to persuade me, that, in the first moments of keen affliction, it is useless to contend with the overwhelming sor- rows of the heart ; but the justness of this remark, I was, as you may recollect, always unwilling to admit. Now, however, I am satisfied, from painful experience, that, in such cases, we vainly look around us for sensible objects, which, though not sufficiently potent to eradicate our sorrows, may serve at least to divert them ; — that man, of himself, is more eminently " a creature of circumstances," than the wisest or the humblest of us is willing to allow ; — that human nature is rightly said, on the highest possible authority, to inherit the pro- perty of looking too much at " the things which are seen," at those objects which urgently force themselves on the immediate attention of our spirits; — and that consequently, the more elevating and important considerations, of whose benign and salutary impressions we are at other times sus- ceptible, are frequently, on these more trying occasions, either totally forgotten, or allowed to exert their influence without effect. W!-.iie enve- loped in this mental gloom, we lose our relish for the captivating scenery of nature, which, in its almost infinite variety of forms, is calculated to i n PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 15 soon >) inspire delight: But her charms in vain present themselves to one, whose heart is ill at ease, and who is either lingering with mixed sensations of complacency and regret on the past, or is yielding the reins to his imagination in excursive anticipa- tions respecting the future. These keen emotions have taught me, that if the first ebullitions of sor- row receive no sudden check, but are permitted to expend their rage, they will, like the troubled waves of the ocean after a violent storm, gradually subside, and imperceptibly qualify us for resuming our former placidity, without losing the more soothing portion of our regrets. Sensible, however, that " while the mind con- " templates its own distress, it is acted upon and " never acts, and that, by indulging in this contem- ** plation, it only becomes more unfit for action,'* — I shake off the lethargy that already begins to steal upon my faculties. Lamenting no longer what is remediless, I will not seem desirous of exciting your sympathy by further sorrowful allusions to events now beyond human control ; but will pro- ceed to the fulfilment of my parting promise, and have only to request that you will kindly Accept whate'er ^neas can afford. Lve- for its to After bidding you perhaps an eternal adieu, on the morning of tl.e 4th instant, I passed through the most romantic country imaginable ; but, not- I() PRKLIMINARY OBSEKVATIONS. I ■'T** withstanding^ the beauty and maa^nificenoe of the diversified landscapes, studded with beautiful seals and elegant villas, which continually came within my view, I saunterad alonir without deriving even a momentary gratification from the scene. I beheld fill, perhaps too much in the spirit of a convict, (though devoid of the guilty portion of his corrod- ing feelings,) who is doomed to perpetual exile, and who, while sailing to a foreign land, looks w^ith a stupid indiflference upon the shores of his native country, as they recede from his sight in majestic pride, and with unpitying rapidity. I reflected that, in all human probability, I had beheld for the last time the " scenes of my childhood ;" and the very thought of quitting my native land for a foreign soil, sickened pleasure in a manner which baffles expression. I said within myself, and my looks must have conveyed my sentiments to all around : " Sublime *^ and picturesque assemblages, adieu ! The contem- '* plation of the enchanting scenery and superb ** erections which you present, would formerly have *^ afforded me unmixed satisfaction ; but your proud- est displays now serve only to add poignancy to grief, and to aggravate those wounds which are still rankling under recent inflictions. Never more will you produce a pleasing sensation in my mind, *^ which will not be embittered with sleepless regret, *' — which will not be mingled with the gloom of ** retrospection, and the sigh of patriotism." <( I ONE OF TIIL ABOUKJINES. 3;) over ance is most uninviting, and av;akena in the mind few feelings, except such as are the most unpleasurable and repugnant. Unfruitful soil, frowning rocks, Htunted trees, and roaring cataracts, are the most prominent and engaging features which it offers for attraction. As we remained twelve days in the river, I had frequent opportunities of going ashore in various places. On Green Island, I saw, for the first time, one of the aborigines of the country. She was a female, and her covering was a large brown cloth .shawl, thrown rather carelessly over her shoulders and reaching down to the knee. Her legs were loosely bandaged with cloth of a simi- lar colour. Her feet were bare ; but she appear- ed to tread the ground as if unaccustomed to walk without shoes or moccassins. Her skin was an exact copper colour ; and her hair, which almost touched the ground, was black as the moonless midnight. Her countenance was mild, placid, and unassuming. Her accent was not disagreeable, nor was there any thing particu- larly coarse or unpolished in her manners. On the whole, I think she exhibited as much of culti- vation, as we commonly see in the countenance, manners, or address of uneducated females, how- ever favoured with the example of surrounding millions ; and as I conversed with her, — for she understood English well, — various and op- posite emotions fluctuated within my mind. Vol. I. D gl ISLE OF ORLKANS. Rep^ret, admiration, and astonis^hnient rapidly suc- ceeded each other; — HncuKT, when I reflected that so many of this unfortunate race are per- mitted to live and die uninstructed, unpitied, and contemned ; — admiration, as I gazed upon The charms her downcast modesty concealed ;—> and ASTONisiiMnNT, when, instead of a wild savage, I beheld a being endued with all those nameless graces, which irresistibly impel us to admire the female character, even when beauty is wholly excluded. I was accompanied to the Isle of Orleans by Captain Blake, Mr. Hardy, Mr. Burton, Mr. Geary, and my brother. Immediately after land- ing on the shore, we proceeded to the house of a Canadian pilot, for the purpose of soliciting per- mission to inter another of those little ones in whose burial we were then daily employed. We knocked at the door, which was immediately opened by a female elegantly attired in black silk, whom, if we had judged merely by outward appear- ances, we should have supposed to be an European Countess, and not the wife of a Canadian pilot. After apologizing for our intrusion, we acquainted her in English with the mournful object of our mission. She replied, with a smile, " Je ne puis pas parler Anglois:' One of the company then addressed her in French, informing her, " that we " came to solicit permission to inter a child, which our ISLK OF ORliKANS. ** had died the piecedinjij nijijht and then lay upon " the shore/' She very ])()lilely acceded to our request, sent a man to point out a spot in which we might deposit the body, and afterwards kindly invited us to return and partake of some refresli- ment. It is needless to observe, that we availed ourselves of this friendly invitation ; for wo had been long pent up within the confined bounds of a ship, and had consequently enjoyed no change of society. When we came back from the funeral, we were introduced into an apartment, which would not disgrace the most splendid mansion in Europe. We found a most delicious beverage prepared for us ; it was composed of Jamaica spirits, new milk and maple sugar. Of this rare and unexpected treat we partook with delight ; and, after having spent nearly an hour, in applaud- ing the liberality of our hostess, and admiring the neatness and cleanliness of her inimitable little cottage, we returned to the ship, highly pleased, and much prepossessed in favour of Canadian hos- pitality. . The soil of Orleans, though it is said to be richer than any in the province of Lower Canada, appeared to us to be of a very inferior quality. The wheat, which is now ripening, would in Europe be considered scarcely worth reaping. Potatoes looked better, and tobacco was luxuri- ant ; but it is evident, that little, if any, attention is paid to the cultivation of the soil. Time was, indeed, within our own recollection, when nearly d2 3(] BAP HUSBANDRY. as little regard was paid to this object, in several parts of Great Britain. But when, in the course of the late war, agricultural produce was enhanced in value, a stimulus was imparted to the farmers to improve waste and neglected lands ; and every barren speck of soil soon became the subject of various experiments, which were in most instances eminently successful. The tenants were not the only persons who were early gainers by the improved system of husbandry: Their landlords received accurate farming information, in rather a refined form, by means of "Agricultural Socie- ties," which were instituted in almost every district throughout the kingdom. Adopting the mass of intelligence which had been communicated to the public by *^ the Board of Agriculture," that may be correctly denominated '^the Parent Society," each of the branches proceeded to offer premiums for excellence in various departments ; and, from the results of the competition which was thus excited, the landlords were generally instructed in the art of increasing their rents, and augment- ing their income. When, at the conclusion of the war, the stimulus subsided, or, rather, did not exist in the same degree, it would have been well for all the parties concerned if the rents had low- ered in propoi lion to the reduced value of produce. One good effect, however, has been produced by this spirit of enterprise and exertion, which will not ceuse to operate in favour of the amelioration of the soil and the improvement of agriculture ; — t t ISLK OF ORLEANS. 87 the value of land has been duly appreciated ; and 5> of of eomi every particle oi ii, which, in yes tive cheapness, will more than repay the cost of tillage, is brought into cultivation. When the Canadian farmers shall, in a similar manner, find their interest concerned in a pro- vident tillage of their extensive possessions, they will abandon the practice of conveying their superfluous litter to the St. Lawrence, and will begin to husband their own and that of the inhabi- tants of the various towns on the river. No longer regarding it as a nuisance of which they cannot be too speedily rid, they will then suffer their manure to accumulate and become useful ; and, not trust- ing to the common, but foolish, idea of " the per- ennial and unaided fruitfulness of all cleared lands," they will apply it in aid of exhausted nature, and may then hope to extract as abundant produce from her bosom, as in the days when their grand- sires first heaved the axe, and smoothed the rug- ged surface of the soil. Till interest and reflection shall thus combine, in vain may we look for any improvement in the system, where land is cheap, and the means as well as the desire of information exceedingly restricted. Orleans, which is very little elevated above the stream, gradually rises from the shores to its centre. Its woods are nearly all cut down. Scarcely a tree presents itself to the view. The fenccjj are composed of rails of split wood, which have a tendency to impart to the whole d3 88 ISLE OF ORLEANS. island an impoverished and unpropitious appear- ance. It is about 48 miles in circumference; its length is twenty, and its greatest breadth six miles. At the lower extremity of the island, the river is about fifteen miles across ; and the stream is, thence to the Western point, divided into two nearly equal channels ; where a basin opens, which extends in every direction about six miles, and may be said to be bounded in one angle by the mouth of the river St. Charles, and in another by the shores of the St. Lawrence opposite the extremity of Cape Diamond. Within its safe and ample bosom may be seen riding at anchor an immense number of merchant-men, and minor trading vessels, from various quarters of the world ; but **^ the forest of masts," which is a conspicuous object in all busy sea-ports, dwindles here into insignificance, in consequence of its contiguity to thicker and more towering woods. On entering this basin, a delightful combination of imposing scenery arrests the attention. On the 'eft, the falls of the Montmorenci, the waters of which pour over a precipice Two Hundred and Ninety feet in height ; — the rocks of Point Levi on the South shore, displaying signs of human industry down to the very banks ; — and the ele- vated promontory opposite, on which the city of Quebec stands ; — combined with the crowded trees on each side of the river, compose a grand scenic exhibition, from the contemplation of which the stranger turns aside with the utmost reluctance. it isl ai FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY. 39 m In fact, the whole country, for nearly One Hundred and Fifty miles below Quebec, differs greatly in its features from that which presented its rugged visage at the entrance of the Gulf, and is calculated most powerfully to affect the mind of an observant traveller. Admiration is excited, not merely by the novelty of the entire landscape, which, however, varies much from any in Europe; but by the broad masses of some of its compo- nent parts. Lofty mountains, covered with imper- vious woods, whose summits bound the horizon, — rapid and meandering rivers, which discharge their tributary streams into the St. Lawrence, — innu- n^ "%ble islands, the nurseries of luxuriant trees, V Ji'? ; umbrageous foliage throws deep and length- ened shadows over the vast expanse of waters with which they are surrounded, — and numerous cata- racts at several points in the distance, reflecting with effulgent brightness the rays of the sun, while they pour their foaming torrents upon projecting rocks, whence they rebound in light and airy spray, and when again collected rush downwards in an impetuous current, till they murmur at fresh interruptions, and hasten to gain the parent stream : These are some of the bolder and more uncommon features of the country, which offer themselves to the view of the spectator from the river. But there are others of a milder and more civil- ised cast, that give an air of liveliness and delight- ful variety to several parts of the scene ; and designate them as more peculiarly the abodes of men, and the objects of human culture. The 40 ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC. !; churches with their tin-covered roofs and steeples, reflecting, at intervals of nin« miles, light and splendour oti every thing around them, — the neat farm-houses which, for nearly fifty leagues, form a close and well-connected settlement, — the thick brush-wood on some points of the banks, and the beautiful diversity of the more minute parts of inanimate creation which fill up the interstices, — exhibit altogether such an assemblage of every thing essential to constitute the picturesque and the romantic, that an attempt to convey any ade- quate idea of the whole, would only expose the insufficiency of human language and prove the absurdity of human vanity. It was nearly six o'clock in the evening, when we anchored before the city of Quebec. As we Sailed slowly up the basin, the cannon from the batteries, and the continued fire from the ship- ping in the port, — all saluting their new Governor, who had anchored a few minutes before us, — created such a general confusion, that it was some time before I recollected our voyage was con- cluded. When the smoke had disappeared, the city, hitherto partially concealed from our view, presented itself in sober majesty. The houses, most of which are covered with tin, rising tier above tier, in the form of an amphi- theatre, — the impregnable walls and batteries, pointing their foe-defying guns down the river, — the Martello towers, with their more aspiring neigh- bour a Telegraph, — and the lofty steeples, whose overtopping spires illuminate the very heavens with t el al fj VISIT TO TIJE CITY. 41 i their chastened radiance, — are objects which fill every stranger with an astonishment at once solemn and pleasing, and produce in his mind the most favourable impressions of the country. *f As soon as the revenue-oflScera. had inspected the ship, orders were issued by our Captain, that no person should attempt to go on shore, until the ensuing morning. This injunction was not very patiently received by the passengers, many of whom were most anxiously desirous of mingling with the crowds that lined the quays, and were waiting to receive their illustrious Governor. As my father's family was not included in this pro- hibition, I received an invitation from Captain Blake to accompany him in an excursion to the city. The ship lay in the centre of the basin, which obliged us to put ashore in a boat. Arrived at the Queen's Wharf, we proceeded up a narrow gloomy street, partially illumined by a few paltry lamps, which were then just lighted. We next entered a more creditable street, (Cul de Sac,) t Some allowance, it may be supposed, ought to be made for the feelings of one who had not seen such a vast concourse of human dwellings for several weeks preceding. Admitting this, I may be allowed to add, the emotions that arose within my mind, at the first view which I obtained of Quebec and of the bold scenery in its en -'irons, as I stood on the quarter-deck of the Brunswick, were excited, in all their freshness, at a subse- quent visit to the capital. This, to myself at least, is a good criterion of the truth of my first impressions, and of the objects from which they were received ; and it is confirmed by the acknowledgment of every intelligent man with whom I have had an opportunity of conversing. ' 42 DIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE, &c. crowded like the former with a motley train of all nations, from the torrid, frigid, and temperate zones; among whom it was impossible to say, whether the descendants of Shem, Ham, or Japheth were the most numerous. Africans, Indians, Americans, Europeans, and Asiatics, composed the variegated groupe. Some were clothed in purple and fine linen, and appeared, from certain external indications, to have fared sumptuously every day ; others displayed their grotesque figures in a state of almost total nudity; and here and there a sable countenance was seen peeping through the spoils of the forest ; while, at intervals, the eye relieved itself by resting on the charms of female beauty, arrayed In all the glaring impotence of dress. In a word, such an exhibition of the costumes of all the nations which inhabit the terraqueous globe, is nowhere to be witnessed, except in America, and perhaps in the modern capital of Russia. The confused chattering and inharmonious diversity of languages had such an efiect upon my auditory organs, that I could almost have fancied myself about to place the last stone upon the Tower of Babel. Not a word of English did I hear, not a face that was English did I see, until, to my great satisfaction, I found myself in a British mercantile warehouse ; where, on looking around me, and reflecting on the short excursion I had taken, I SAILORS' RECREATIONS. 4a the n, I was reminded, that, instead of having been engaged in placing the last stone on the tower of Babel, I had only concluded my first walk in the city of Quebec. The next visit which Captain Blake and I made, that evening, was to an Hotel. On arriving there, we were ushered into a large aparJun t, in which there were about thirty sea-captains. We entered sans ceremonie, and discovered, that each person had an enormously large tumbler full of liquor placed before him, with a smoking pipe about three feet and a half in length, and a paper of best Virginia tobacco. In a few moments, Captain Blake and I were furnished with similar accom- modations ; I drank some of the liquor, which was really delicious, but begged leave to dispense with the pipe and tobacco. The room was exces- siv^ely warm, and filled with the smoke of burning tobacco and the effluvia of over-heated bodies : I wished most heartily to make my exit ; but since I went to this place, not by choice, but in compli- ment to the Captain, who appeared as happy in the company of his amphibious fraternity, as if he were engaged in discovering the longitude, I could not with propriety retire, till he thought fit to propose our departure. These sons of Neptune talked of long and short voyages, of well and ill- built ships, of the felicities of a sea-faring life, and the exhilarating qualities of Cognac Brandy, in such a lengthened strain as made me wish my- self asleep in the worst-built house in Quebec. ' Si 44 SAILORS' RECREATIONS. Not a subject was discussed, nor an idea sug- gested, which could afford either profit or plea- sure to any one beside themselves. I therefore *' sat in sad civility," until about eleven o'clock, when the whole party withdrew Dy mutual con- sent, but not before an appointment was made to meet on the following evening for their general edification, and the prosperity of the tobacco trade. This rendezvous, it is unnecessary to assure you, I did not attend. LETTER III. ■4 id n? J 4 SITUATION OP QUEBEC— ITS FINE EXTERNAL APPEAIIANCE — FOR- TIFICATIONS CITADEL^CAPE DIAMOND — PUBLIC EDIFICES OF QUEBEC CASTLE OP ST. LOUIS ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL —PROTESTANT PLACES OF WORSHIP COURT HOUSE JESUIT'S COLLEGE — THE HOTEL DIEU — THE CONVENT OF THE URSU- LINES THE bishop's PALACE THE BARRACKS GENERAL Wolfe's statue — origin op the word quebec— population of that city. Quebec lies in 46 degrees 48 minutes North latitude, and in 71 degrees 11 minutes West longi- tude ; and is beautifully situated between the rivers St. Charles and St. Lawrence, immediately at the point of confluence. It is, as I have before ob- served, in the form of an amphitheatre gradually ascending; and exhibits such a fine appearance from the river, that a stranger, unacquainted with its interior, would imagine it to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The amazing eleva- tion, resplendent spires, and formidable outworks of the upper town, are all well-calculated to pre- possess the mind of a spectator ; but when he enters into the streets, squares, and alleys, especially of the lower town, and finds the whole to be con- 40 UPPKR AND LOWlift TOWN. ii!' fined, ill-constructed, and inelegant, nothing can equal his disappointment. Many of the streets are scarcely wide enough to admit of carriages passing each other, and all of them are void of beauty, taste, and regularity. Business is principally trans- acted in the lower town ; in consequence of which, and of its confined situation, it is in a perpetual bustle. The granaries, warehouses, and dwellings, though generally very lofly, are frowned upon by the impending rocky projections of Cape Diamond, which, in some directions, seem to threaten them with instant destruction. The ascent to the upper town, along the windings of Mountain-street, has been contrived with much art, but is, after all, exceedingly steep ; and, in certain parts on the right-hand side, is shaded by obtruding precipices. After gaining the summit, the aspect of the city becomes more attractive, and is in every respect preferable to that of the lower town. The public buildings, however, exhibit little that can mterest those who have been accustomed to view the more splendid and magnificent erections in European cities. Much attention is very properly bestowed on the improvement of the fortifications. They are kept in excellent repair, and new defences are added wherever they may be deemed necessary. When viewed from the opposite shore, or from any part of the surrounding country, they present a very noble appearance. The citadel stands on the highest point of Cape Diamond, which is no less rOHTIFICATIONS. 47 [d on are are Jsary. any tnt a the less than Three Hundred and Fifty feet above the level of the river. When Quebec became the capital of the French Colony, the citadel was built expressly for the protection of the approaches to the city on its Western side, towards the Plains of Abraham ; and, proudly frowning over the St. Lawrence, it now extends its immense walls and regular military out- works across the end of those Plains, down nearly to the banks of the river St. James. There are five gates into the city : Port St. Louis, which is the largest, opens to the West, and towards the Heights of Abraham, where the gallant Wolfe breathed his last. Port St. John opens towards St. Foix, which is the road to Montreal. Both these gates are strongly fortified ; and the walls, through which they serve as entrances, are there at least fifty feet in thickness. Palace and Hope gates, open to the North ; and Prebcott Gate, through which we pass to the lower town, opens towards the South. The approaches to all the gates are guarded by batteries and other defences. With its naturally commanding situation, therefore, and its immense fortifications, Quebec must be con- sidered as one of the strongest cities in the uni- verse. Every account of Quebec, how ample soever it may be, will be considered incomplete, unless it comprise a description of the celebrated Plains of Abraham, To gratify you, therefore, whom I know to feel interested about every circumstance con- nected with our national glory, I add a slight topo- 48 IIEIUIITS OF ABRAHAM. graphical sketch. Quebec is surrounded by water on three of its sides ; and the fourth is open towards the Plains. For the security of this side, on which the city is most vulnerable, the ample mili- tary defences have been erected to which I have already alluded. The approach to the Heights from the St. Lawrence, by whose banks they are skirted for several miles above Quebec, is precipi- tous and difficult ; and this was the only mode of access for the British troops under the intrepid Wolfe. A slight bend in the river, nearly two miles above the city, is pointed out to patriotic strangers as the spot where that skilful General landed his army ; as is also the narrow sheep-walk, by which they silently climbed up at midnight, in single column, or as they could, to the summit of the Plains, on which they next morning formed in battle array, and gained a victory over the French troops at the very threshold of their almost impregnable fortresses. From the airy ridges, which are on the rocky verge of the river, the Keights of Abraham gradually slope downwards to the less elevated banks of the river St. Charles. In the part nearest to the upper town, they are upwards of a mile in width ; and, at a greater distance from Quebec, their breadth increases, in proportion as the two rivers recede from each other and form the sides of a triangle nearly equilateral, of which the base will be an imaginary line drawn across the Plains about four miles from the citadel. This fruitful i ' <>< i ' i M'OLl'K'S STATUE. 49 tract of tablo-luiid presents no remarkable natural features to distin^uisii it from the bold scenery in its neij^hbourhood, but derives its chief attraction from havinj^ been the scene of action between the lamented Wolfe and the during Montcalm. A statue has been erected by the inhabitants of Quebec to the memory of General Wolfe, who, by his skill and valour, annexed the vast terri- tory of the Canadas to the British empire. It is u pitiful tribute of a country's jj^ratitide, if gratitude to a conqueror can be supposed to exist m the hearts of those whom he has subjugated: And indeed, if we may form our ideas of their feelings at tl r t period from the magnii icenck of this memento, we must conclude, that detestation and e(.i>tempt, rather than gratitude and respect, wero the prin- ciples by which they were actuated. The utmost stretch of human thought would be inadequate to the conception of any thing more beg-'arly and insignificant. Only picture to yourself a block of wood, about four feet and a half long, rudely cut and scraped with a view to make it convey some faint resemblance of a huma. body; and then imagine it to be painted in a xiianner the most fitted to represent a disbanded soldier, on his return from a seven years' -campaign to his native village, wasted by wounds and harassed with fatigue, — his clothes, the inseparable companions of his toils, just retaining a sufficient portion of red, white, and black, to convince the beholders, Vol. I E AO WOLFE'S STATUE. that they had once been a suit of British uniform. W hen you have depicted all this in your imagination, you will have a tolerably correct idea of the ludi- crous eflSgy. Still, however, you will not have a per- fect notion of it, unless I mention, that, to shield it from the inclement wind and scorching sun of Canada, — or to remove it as far as possible, with- out totally hiding it, from the public view, — the patriotic managers of this affair have judiciously planted it in a niche, not more than twelve feet from the ground, cut in the angle of a private house, and situate in a part of the city that is by no means the most public or best frequented. Thus partially concealed, the passing stranger would as soon imagine it to be the Ghost of Hamlet, — confessing, by the want of animation in his countenance, that he is forbid The secrets of his prison-house to tell,— Mi 1 1\ as he would suppose it to be the statue of the British General, if some cunning one had not most saga- ciously inscribed the words " James Wolfe" on the PEDESTAL, if I may apply such a term to the stone on which it stands. The man who wrote this inscription is particularly entitled to the gratitude of strangers, for the enlightening addition which he has thus made to the stock of public information ; and he reminds us of the judicious conduct of a wary but unskilful artist, who, after having painted WOLFE't; STATl'E. 51 what he meant to be the picture of a lion, to pre- vent mistakes, subjoined this needful inscription, *' Tnis IS A Lion." If I had not every reason to believe, from my personal knowledge of the Canadians, that they are a loyal people, and exceedingly well-pleased with the British Government, I should be ready to draw the inference, that, instead of erecting this memorial in honour of General Wolfe, they had employed some French puppet-carver to furnish them with such a caricature of the great and gal- lant conqueror, as might convince posterity, that the only sentiments which they felt towards him were those of supreme contempt and implacable abhorrence. But as I cannot entertain an opinion so derogatory from their character, I must conclude, that when this monument was erected they were in a rude and unpolished state, or that they were entirely destitute of eminent artists, — a class of men who are indeed of rare occurrence in a young colo- ny, in which the useful arts justly receive more sub- stantial patronage, than those which are merely ornamental. If either of these conclusions, — which are so nearly allied as, strictly speaking, to constitute but one, — be admissible, now that the age of igno- rance is passed, and artists of eminence are every where to be found, I think the inhabitants of Que- bec should either consign to the fiery element this wooden memento of the conquest of their country, or should make a liberal bequest of it to some sign- less tobacco- twister, and thus create a vacancy for e2 &2 WOLFE'S STATUE. ■ ;. »'; an erection more worthy of themselves, and of the hero whose fame they wish to perpetuate. That such a substitution would be agreeable to their feelings, I am well assured ; For they view the enjoyment of a free constitution, and the undis- turbed exercise of their religion, as valuable privi- leges which their British conquerors have bestowed upon them, and of which, it is allowed by all parties, they have rendered themselves worthy by the unbending loyalty of their principles, proved in very trying circumstances. The truth of the matter is, that, after all the jocose remarks which have been made upon this insignificant figure, the Canadians are not so much the objects of blame as many persons suppose. At the period when this wooden effigy was rudely carved, the Decorative Arts were not much in request even in Great Britain itself; and superb monuments, adorned by the chisel of the statuary, and commemorative of brave achievements or of scientific discoveries, were then neither so fre- quently awarded nor so skilfully executed as they have lately been. When we pass judgment, there- fore, upon Wolfe's statue, we must banish modern ideas in a great measure from our minds ; and those rustic tablets, or unpolished columns, hastily erected during the late war in Spain, by British survivors, near some of the fields of battle in which their brave and distinguished friends had fallen, will be more suitable objects of comparison with this rude piece of carved-work, than the elegant and expen- WOLFE'S STATUE. 53 sive designfi r^ jiich have been recently executed in England by superior artists, in honour of the cou- rage, the wisdom, or the virtues of '^ the great and good deceased." The benefit of this admission, how- ever, must not be claimed in behalf of the French colonists, who were then resident in Quebec, and who, not having had time for proving the advan- tages of the British laws and administration, could not be expected to be hasty in affording public tokens of their approbation on their change of mas- ters : But this is an argument in favour of the British conquerors themselves, without whose sanc- tion at least, the paltry statue could not have been formed and erected. The men at that period in official stations, and all those respectable persons connected with the government of the conquered Province, were natives of Great Britain ; to them alone, and not to the subjugated Canadians, the consequent honour or reproach of this erec- tion attaches. If it be objected, " that this frail monument is generally represented as a proof of the gratitude of the French Colonists to their British liberators and benefactors ;" a sufficient answer will be found in the fact, that this will not be the first instance on record of conquerors themselves erecting commemorative trophies, and afterwards pointing them out as grateful demon- strations of the people's affections. Palmam qui meruit feral. But whichever party may be con- sidered most blame-worthv, the memory of Wolfe e3 54 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 'Ji ■' : i' • il^i I! I f ' ' : deserves a more appropriate statue, and one better in accordance with the approved taste of the times, on the very scene of his death and triumph. The castle of St Louis, which is the residence of the Governor, occupies a very lofty and command- ing situation. It is built on the brink of an almost inaccessible precipice ; and is supported by counter- forts and strong mason-work raised to nearly half its height. Some of the apartments of the castle are occupied by the various civil and military offi- cers, acting under the immediate direction of the Governor. This edifice has nothing to recommend it, except its extent and situation ; for its exterior is plain and unassuming, yet constructed with great neatness and simplicity. The Roman Catholic Cathedral is a good-sized stone building, with a steeple disproportionately low, and whimsically placed on one side of it. The interior of this Church, like others belonging to this denomination, contains several rich and costly ornaments. A variety of fine scriptural repre- sentations, executed by the hand of a master, are placed against the walls ; and the altar is a grand yet fanciful piece of workmanship. The roof and steeple are covered with tin, according to the fashion observed in nearly all the churches through- out the province. The Protestai;it Episcopal Church is only of recent erection. It has been constructed with some regard to the rules of architecture, and is, upon the whole, a very neat and respectable edifice. i I'Ur.lilC BUILDINGS. There are also a Methodist Chapel, called " the Wesleyan Meeting House," and a Presbyterian Kirk, both of which are very neat and substantial buildings. The Court-House is by no means an inferior or contemptible building ; and its internal arrange- ments are said to be well-adapted to the purposes for which they were intended. — The Jesuits' Col- lege, the Seminary, the Hotel Dieu, the Convent of the Ursulines, the Bishop's Palace, and the Barracks, are the only other buildings of note in the city ; and their external appearance is little calcu- lated to attract particular attention. The Convent of the Ursulines was founded by Madame de la Peltree, in the year 1639, and is at present occupied by a Superior and thirty-six nuns, whose principal employment is the instruction of young females professing the Roman Catholic religion. The Hotel Dieu was founded in 1637, by the Duchess D' Anguillion, sister of Cardinal Richelieu, and intended for the reception of the poor, and the cure of the sick ; the establishment consists of a Kiuperior and thirty-six nuns. What was formerly the Bishop's Palace, is now converted into a House of Assembly for the Pro- vincial Parliament. The relative situation of the upper and lower town renders Quebec a most unpleasant residence to all persons whose business requires their attend- J^ 5G WAREHOUSES AND TAVERNS. ance in various parts of the city. They are obliged to ascend from one part to the other, by long flights of wooden steps; which, in the burning heat of summer, is a task of no easy or agrieeable perform- ance. The Mercantile houses of Quebec exhibit none of that taste and neatness which are so conspicuous in repositories of the same description in England. Their doors and windows are exactly similar to those of private houses ; and, in addition to their mean appearance, they are always dirty, and des- titute of any display of goods, except such trum- pery as would more readily convey the idea of a brandy-shop or barrack, than that of an extensive warehouse. There is a great variety of taverns, so called, in the city; but, I believe, the Union Hotel is almost the only one at which respectable and comfortable accommodations can be procured. That vanity, which, as Mr. Lambert justly observes, " is a particular trait in the character of all our Trans-atlantio brethren, from the con- fines of Florida to the shores of Labrador," has induced the inhabitants of Quebec, as well as all other people in America, to designate every filthy brandy-shop and beer-house by the name of tavern. As you travel through the country, you may con- stantly observe houses thus nick-named ; but scarcely once a week will you meet with one, whose appearance or accommodations give it any claim to the high-sounding appellation. f I , ! % DERIVATION OF QUEBEC. 57 '9 anv The origin of the word Quebec is uncertain. Some say, that it was derived from the Algonquin word quebeco or quebec, which signifies contracted ; because the St. Lawrence becomes contracted to lit- tle more than three quarters of a mile in breadth, immediately opposite the city. Others assert, that it is derived from the Norman language, and that one of the persons who accompanied M. De Champlain, in his expedition up the river, exclaimed, on arriv- ing at that part where the city now stands, *' Quel bee, What a point!" A third party are of opinion, that it was derived from the Abenaquis word quelibec, signifying " shut up." The Indians of this nation, who resided at Claudiere, about nine milos from the city, when coming thence, could see nothing of the two channels formed by the Island of Orleans, and therefore concluded, that the river was completely shut up by that island. The origin of the word Canada is equally invol- ved in uncertainty. It is said, that the Spaniards visited this country before the French ; but, finding it barren, and without gold — the grand object of their pursuit, in tones of disappointment they frequently exclaimed, on the eve of their departure and in the presence of the Indians, " Aca nada, — Here is nothing!" The Indians, on the arrival of the French, supposed them to be Spa- niards, and, wishing to get rid of them, continu- ally cried out, " Aca nada .'," which the French, ! ? '1;- 08 POPULATION OF THE CITY. not understanding, imagined to be the name of the place. In this trifling incident, the name of Ca- nada is generally supposed to have had its origin. The present population of Quebec amounts to 1 4,880 souls ; three fourths of whom are Roman Catholics of French descent. The remainder con- sist principally of English, Scotch, and Irish. if ' LETTER IV. DRPARTUnE FROM QUEBFX — ARUIVAL AT MONTREAL — INTERVIEW WITH THE DUKE OF RICHMOND — WITH COLONEL COCKBOURNE i^THE colonel's ADVICE OUR OBJECTIONS TO A RESIDENCE IN THE LOWER PROVINCE — CAPTAIN BLAKE THE COUNTRY BE- TWEEN QUEBEC AND MONTREAL— TROIS RIVIERES— LAKE ST. PETRE — WILLIAM HENRY — BERTHIER — MONTREAL ISLAND — DE- SCRIPTION OF THE CITY— EXTENT AND POPULATION — INFERIOR APPEARANCE OF ALL BUILDINGS ERECTED PREVIOUS TO THE LATE WAR — SHEET-IRON DOORS AND WINDOW SHUTTERS: — GLOOMY APPEARANCE OF THE CITY ON SUNDAYS AND OTHER HOLIDAYS PUBLIC BUILDINGS — MANNER IN WHICH THE CITY IS SUPPLIED WITH WATER. — BANKING-HOUSES PUBLIC LIBRARY CIRCULATING LIBRARY NEWSPAPERS MARKET-PLACES ITS COMMERCE — DEFENCELESS SITUATION— STEAM-BOATS AND THEIR ACCOMMODATIONS — SHALLOWNESS OF THE WATER BETWEEN QUEBEC AND MONTREAL — WRETCHED STATE OF THE QUAYS. On the 3d of August, 1818, five days after our arrival at Quebec, we embarked on board the steam-boat Telegraph for Montreal, and arrived there on the morning of the 6th ; thus performing a voyage of 180 miles, against a rapid current, in about 36 hours. Previous to our departure from Quebec, my father waited on the Duke of Richmond, and pre- sented to him an order from Lord Bathurst for the CO COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF land to which he was entitled, with various other letters of introduction. His Grace received him with great politeness, and told him, that he would be happy to render him any service in his power, referring him at the same time to Colonel Cock- hourne, the Deputy Quarter-master General, for such information as he might require with regard to the choice of a settlement. Colonel Cockbourne endeavoured to persuade my father to relinquish his intention of proceeding to Upper Canada, and to accept of a settlement in the Lower Province. He pointed out the great advantages, which, he alleged, would most deci- dedly result from a settlement in a thickly-inhabited country ; contrasted fruitful fields and populous towns, with uncultivated wildernesses and dreary forests ; painted in fascinating colours the pleasures of society, and drew a gloomy picture of the depri- vations attendant on a state of comparative soli- tude ; and magnified the obvious benefits of the one course of life, in exact proportion as he exag- gerated the untried difficulties of the other ; until he had nearly persuaded him to abandon all thoughts of gaining a residence in Upper Canada. When my father acquainted my brother and me with the Colonel's flattering proposals and advice, we declared our unchangeable determination, with his good leave, of going to the Upper Province ; and entreated him immediately to solicit the neces- sary directions for obtaining land there, and the pro- visions which had been put on board the Brunswick I ,1 THE TWO rnoviNCEs. ill t <*e> 1 ith 1 .0 ; j es- •o- CK by order of Lord Rathurst. He consented to do so; and, on statinof to his Grace of Richmond, the objections of his family to a residence in the Lower Province, and the necessity of procuring the p^overnment-rations, for the subsistence of the set- tlers whilst pursuing their journey to the West- ward, he obtained the requisite order for them, with about 170 pairs of blankets, which had also been put on board for their accommodation. We objected to Lower Canada, Fiu.s , On ac- count of the inferiority of its soil ond the severity of the climate. — Secondly. Inconsequence of its being almost wholly in the occupation of a people with whose customs, language, and religion, we were very imperfectly acquainted. I must not proceed further in my narrative, without acknowledging the kind attentions, which, during an acquaintance of Fifty-three days, we experienced from Captain Blake of the Brunswick. From the moment of our embarkation at Cork, to the night of our departure from his ship, his atten- tion, not only to the cabin- passengers, but also to the humblest individual in the steerage, evinced a disposition highly creditable to himself and honour- able to his profession. He exerted himself on all occasions, to render the situation of every one on board as agreeable as the nature of circumstances would admit. He was to all a friend, an attendant, and a physician ; and constantly solicitous for our health and comfort. To the inferior officers and crew of the Brunswick, we are also much indebt- (13 TIIHEK UIVKItS. ed, and cftnnot, I nm sure, avoid i •Iring u duo sense of their unremitting assiduity lo rendpr ua comfortable. We parted from the whole of them with regret, and hope they are fnllj'^ aware how sensible we are of their praise- worthy conduct. — This is a digression ; but it is one that speaks itti own apology. The country between Quebec and Montreal, although more advanced in cultivation than that immediately below Quebec, appears less diversified and not so thickly settled. Within a few miles of *^ the Three Rivers," the banks of the St. Law- rence lose' their steep and precipitous character, and become gently sloping and regular. The houses are of an inferior description, and the churches are less numerous ; but the farms are more extensive, more level, and better cultivated. Point aux Trembles, which is about 21 milea from Quebec, was the first village we observed after leaving that city. It contains a Cathedral C hurch and a Convent of Nuns, and has about 600 inhabitants, all of whom are of French extraction. The town of Trois Rivieres, or Three Rivers, about 90 miles from Quebec, is situated on a point of land on the North bank, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and the St. Maurice. At the mouth of this small river, stand two small islands, that divide it into three channels, from which the place derives the name of Three Rivers. This town, which is next in importance to Montreal, contains a French Parochial Church; an English E Hi LAKE SAINT PETKR. '\ duo Episcopal Church ; un Hospital, called the UrsuUne Conventy for the cure of the diseased and the inslruction of young persons of the Roman Cath- olic persuasion ; a Gaol and Court-house ; a small Barrack, and a Monastery of Recollects — an order which is now extinct in Canada. There is also an extensive Iron Foundry at Three Rivers: It is the property of Government, and is leased out to some merchants of Quebec, who manufacture on the spot a great quantity of cast and bar iron. The ore is said to be very rich, and the castings are of a superior description, particularly the stoves. Wrought iron, manufactured there, is preferable to English iron, though still inferior to Swedish. The number of the inhabitants is 2000, nearly five- sevenths of whom are of French descent. At this place the steam-boats, in passing to and from Mont- real, came to anchor, for the purpose of landing and taking in passengers and freight, and for receiv- ing fresh supplies of fire- wood. After leaving Three Rivers, we soon entered Lake St. Petre, which is only another of the numerous expansions of the St. Lawrence. It is about twenty miles long, and from eight to twelve wide, and is in general exceedingly shallow. Owing to some neglect on the part of our pilot, in not observing the proper channel, — the river being here intersected by a number of islands, — we were very near running aground in passing through this lake, having sailed for nearly an hour in water so 04 SORRELL. shallow, that each revolution of the wheels brout^ht up either mud or weeds from the bed of the stream. Forty-five miles from Three Rivers, and One Hundred and Thirty-five from Quebec, stands the neat little town of Sorrell, or William Henri/, in latitude 45 degrees 50 minutes, and longitude 73 degrees 20 minutes. It is situated at the con- fluence of the Chamblois with the St. Lawrence. The streets are handsomely laid out, but not yet completely filled up with buildings. It is provided with two good places of worship, — a Roman Cath- olic Chapel, and a Protestant Episcopal Church. Its appearance from the water is respectable. Sor- rell was first settled by a party of the Royalists, who quitted the Union at the period when the Independence of the States was recognized. It is a smaller town than Three Rivers, and contains only 1500 inhabitants, most of whom are English and Scotch. It is gradually on the increase ; and, on account of its salubrious situation, frequently becomes the residence of his Excellency the Governor of the Canadas, for a few months in the summer season. Between William Henry and Montreal, there are several small villages ; the principal of which is Berthier on the North Bank. Around this vil- lage there are several extensive and apparently rich settlements, some of which are still occupied by the descendants of the French Noblesse, by whom they were first cleared and inhabited. isl is ai MONTREAL. 65 1 Montreal Island, upon which the city stands^ is about 32 miles long and ten and a half broad. It is the property of the Seminary of St. Sulpruse, and certainly possesses the finest climate and the most luxuriant soil in the whole Province. The city is situated on the South side of the Island, in 45 deg. 31 min. North latitude, and in 73 deg. 35 min. West longitude. It is 45 miles from William Henry, 90 from the Three Rivers, and 180 from Quebec. Montreal is placed in the midst of the most picturesque scenery. It is at present very irregu- lar in its construction, being in length nearly two miles ; while its greatest breadth, — that is, from the banks of the St. Lawrence to the foot of an insu- lated mountain from which it derives its name, — is only three quarters of a mile. It contains 15,900 souls, more than one half of whom are Roman Catholics. The streets are in general very narrow ; and, to add to the inconvenience which this occa- sions, the side-paths or causeways are rendered almost impassable, by a barbarous practice which prevails in every part of the city, of erecting out- side the doors wooden steps which project from three to four feet into the streets. If onlv two persons meet opposite one of those cumbersome piles, they will inevitably be obliged either to retrace their steps, or out of hasty complaisance to descend into the channelj probably up to their krees in snow, or to their ancles in mud. It is also ini possible even for two persons to walk arm in Vol. I. F m JfONTRKAL. ■ \ arm, without separating every ten or twelve yards. The houses are generally built of a durable kind of lime-stone ; but those which were erected pre- vious to the late war, assume the most forbidding appearance, in consequence of the outer doors and window-shutters being made of strong sheet- iron. The use of these massive securities is now so general, and their value so highly appreciated, that scarcely a house can be found without them. They have been adopted to counteract the eifects of fire, which in this city frequently rages to the destruction of immense property. It is impos- sible to walk along the streets of Montreal on a Sunday or other holiday, when the shops are all closed, without receiving the most gloomy impres- sions. The whole city appears one vast prison ; and at every noise which salutes the ear of the pas- sing stranger, he imagines that he hears the clank- ings of a malefactor's chains, or the pitiful moan- ings of an incarcerated debtor. There are, however, several modern buildings in Montreal, that would be no disgrace to the finest squares in Europe. Indeed, all those which are of recent erection exhibit a superior style of execu- tion. Some spacious streets beyond the former boundaries of the city, and towards the mountain, are now laid out, and the new buildings in them are standing proofs of the improving taste of the people. The public edifices of this place are, the French Church, the English Church, the Methodist Chapel, MONTKEAL. «7 the Presbyterian Meetino;-hoase, the Court-house and Gaol, the Montreal Bank, the College, the Hospital, and the Barracks. The French Church, or Roman Catholic Chapel, called St. Maria and dedicated to the blessed Vir- gin, is an extensive old-fashioned building, the front of which is constructed of cut stone. It is situate in the middle of Notre Dame street, which is the principal one in the old part of the city, and runs parallel with the St. Lawrence. The steeple, which, before the erection of the English Church, was considered the finest in America, is now only regarded on account of its antiquity. The wh( le exterior of this huge building, except the roof and steeple, both of which are covered with tin, is plain and tasteless; but the interior is, after the manner of other Popish churches, most gorgeously decorated with every thing appertaining to a place of this description, which has a tendency to aifect the heart by means of impressions :>n the outward senses. The pews indeed are not remarkable kr any thing like variety in design or skill in ; justruc- tion ; but the cieling is adorned in a most ir.ngnifi- cent manner, and the altar is one on ^/hich, to use a heathen phrase, " the Gods themselves might sacrifice." The cieling is divided ii to conic sections by splendid gilt mouldings ; and, in*the vacant space between each of them, innumerable figure - fanci- fully gilt, occupy a place. In the centre of the cieling, is a circular painting of the Ascer^ion. This picture, though not of the first order, is said f2 cs iMONTRKAI- to have been the work of an eminent French artist, and certainly has a very fine effect, which, in my opinion, is produced more by its situation than by the excellence of the performance. It tends very powerfully to elevate the mind, and inspires a sort of reverence for the house of which it is an orna- ment. That part of the cieling which is imme- diately over the choir, is divided into small squares, the angles of which are studded with gilt stars. Towards the rear of the choir, a superb golden crown rests on four pillars which are painted pea-green, with gilt risings. This crown serves as a canopy to the altar, which is immediately under it. In an exposed situation behind the crown, a full-length statue of the Virgin Mary appears : It is sculptured out of a block of white marble. On each side of the choir, are five scriptural paint- ings ; and, immediately over the chancel, stands a large organ, above which a well-carved figure of the crucifixion occupies a prominent station. The ornaments of the altar are rich beyond conception : A great number of w^ax-candles, some of which are upwards of four feet long, are always burning during the performance of Divine service. These tapers, which serve as brilliaiit illuminations to the altar, and cast " a dim religious light" to the utmost verge of Ihe Church, impress the mind with a degree of awe, and seem calculated, particularly in the day-time, to raise and solemnize the affections. In fact, no individuals, except those who have visited Catholic countries, can form any just notion of sp acl thl Tl M| StJ MOXTRKAL. an of the extraordinary map^nificence and .solemn splendour of the whole building. It i* capable of accommodating 3000 worshippers ; and seldom on the Sabbath is a seat within its walls vacant. There are two or three other French Churches in Montreal; but they are much inferior to that of St. Maria. The English Episcopal Church is likewise situ- ated in Notre Dame street. The front of thia building is of cut stone and in the Doric order ; and the steeple, which is acknowledged to be superior to any thing of the kind in British North America, has a very light and elegant appearance. The spire, which is octagonal, seems well-propor- tioned, and is covered with tin. On its summit stands a good representation of a pine-apple, sur- mounted by a large vane elegantly gilt and fanci- fully ornamented. In the steeple there is a very fine clock with four dial plates, some one or other of which may be seen, and the hour of the day dis- tinctly told, from any part of the city or suburbs. The interior of this building exhibits much taste and neatness, and is painted in a chaste and appro- priate manner. Although this church is generally much crowded on the Sabbath, strangers never experience any difficulty in procuring seats. A man in livery stands at the door, and, on your entry, shews you to a pew of a class suited to the rank, to which, from your appearance, he may consider you entitled. The gal'ery is circular, and is sup- ported by Corirthian pillars; and the whole fabric I 3 rO MOXTREAI-, i i affords strong evidence of chasteness in design, and felicity of execution. It is one of the principal ornaments of the city, credituble alike to the plan of the judicious architect, and to the capabilities of the accomplished workmen. The Methodist Chapel, erected in 1820, is a very extensive and elegant building. The ground on which it stands, cost the Society no less a sum than £'1500. Its walls are all of cut stone, and its roof is covered with tin. The interior resembles that of the English Church, — with this difference, that the gallery of the chapel is circular instead of being square, and is supported hy plain instead of Corinth- ian pillars. It is a great embellishment to the city, and exhibits a finer outward appearance than any other building, except the Montreal Bank. There are two small Presbyterian Meeting- houses in the town, — one for persons in connection with the Kirk of Scotland, and the other for such as belong to the Presbytery of the United States. Both the Gaol and the Court-house are large and plain buildings, quite contiguous to each other, ^nd occupying a conspicuous station in an airy and f levated part of the city. A large space of ground in rear of them, called le Champ de Mars, is devoted, as its name imports, to a |fcirade for the Military, and is consequently a promenade much frequented by persons of all runks, especially after the hours of business are past, aiid when the mildness of the evening sun invites the inhabitants to enjoy a little relaxation in the open air. eil dl i MONTREAL n and 4 The Montreal Bank is by far the finest edifice, either public or private, in the Canadas, since the destruction of the Mansion House Hotel, which was burnt down in 1820, and which cost the pro- prietor, Mr. Molson, upwards of £30,000. The College, more generally called " the Semi- nary," is a good-sized, but plain and irregular structure, in which about 120 young men receive the rudiments of a liberal education. Their title to admission is exceedingly simple — they are only required to produce approved testimonials, that they profess the Roman Catholic religion. The lay-students wear long blue frocks, seamed with white cloth, and striped worsted sashes round the waist. Those who study Divinity, are distin- guished from the rest by black silk or bombazeen sashes. The Barracks is an inferior building, erected for the accommodation of a thousand troops. Nelson's monument, which stands at the head of the New Market, and nearly opposite the Gaol and Court-house, has quite a respectable appear- ance ; but, I think, a blunder was committed in placing his Lordship's back towards the St. Law- rence. The water was the theatre of all his actions, — the element on which he acquired his glory, fought all his battles, and at length triumphantly ended his mortal career, while the waves of the ocean chaunted forth his requiem. Why then should even the unconscious statue of such a great man be n MONTREAL. deprived of the pleasure, so to speak, of contem- plating a portion of that element which gave immortality to its prototype, and will transmit hia name with applause to future generations, so long as the waters of the Nile continue to inundate the plains of Egypt ? This statue, which was executed in Loi'ucn, at the cxpence of the citi- zens of Montreal, is placed upon a pyramidical column, which stands on a square pedestal. At the base of the column, on the different angles, are allegorical figures of superior workmanship, representing the chief attributes of the naval hero. Suitable inscriptions are placed on the sides of the column ; and, in compartments on each side of the pedestal, are bas-reliefs, representing the four prin- cipal achievements of the valiant Nelson. The monument is inclosed within an iron chain, which forms nearly a complete circle. The chain is attached, at regular distances, to several cannons, which are sunk into the ground to nearly half their height. This arrangement serves as a barrier, to protect the base of the pillar from the wheels of carriages and other vehicles. A Monastery was formerly attached to the Recollect Church; but as there is now only one person belonging to that Order alive in the Pro- vince, the Monastery and the ground upon which it stood have reverted to the crown, and it has occasionally been used as a watch-house or tempo- rary guard-room for the troops. . . ar^ Bl de as an| V( in^ M0NTR8AL. 7t Beside the buildings already enumerated, there are three Nunneries in Montreal, — that of the Black, the Grey, and the Congregational Orders, The Hotel Dieu, in St. Paul Street, is the resi- dence of the Black Nuns, and was founded so early as 1614, for the reception of the poor, the sick, and the maimed : It is still devoted to this bene- volent purpose ; and the nuns, belonging to the institution, are thirty-six in number. The Grey Nunnery was founded in the year 1753, for the reception of lunatics, foundlings, and other invalids. The establishment consists of twenty four sisters. The congregation of Notre Dame, or Our Lady, whose nunnery is in Notre Dame Street, was founded about the year 1660, for the education of young females professing the Roman Catholic religion. How much soever the secluded life of a nun may seem to be opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, — which enjoins those who profess it to " let their light so shine before men, that they, seeing their good works, may glorify their Father which is in heaven," — it is impossible to look upon them in this country with any other than charitable eyes* Their lives and fortunes are dedicated to the most useful and beneficent purposes ; and scandal her- self has never, I believe, been able to collect mate- rials of crimination, or with envenomed tongue to utter her spite against their characters. Their !:i ! f ' t ( ..i 74 mONTREAL. , :' lives are, as far as human scrutiny extends, with- out blemish. Their course of mercy and benevo- lence is like that of a deep river, noif;eless : They " do not their alms before men ;" and, i trust, not- withstanding the errors of judgment under which they may labour, ** their Father who has seen them in secret, will hereafter reward them openly." — Yet it must be regarded as a happy circumstance, that the partial seclusion from the world, which is effected by means of these establishments, modi- fied as they are in Quebec and Montreal, is not popular even in Lower Canada. It would cer- tainly be most preposterous to encourage the form- ation of additional insulated societies of females, under solemn vows of perpetual celibacy, in an infant colony which requires an increasing popu- lation to render it still more flourishing, and in v/hich, it will afterwards be shewn, the fair sex fall ranch below their due proportion in point of num- ber, and are therefore greatly enhanced in value. Besides, all the benefits accruing to the Roman Catholic community in these provinces, from the institution of nunneries, would be as fully realized, were none of the youthful and unthinking novices in them ever to take the veil or to utter rash vows before their Maker ; Their personal ser- vices in another sphere of life would in that case become available, whenever providential events might call them out of such a good school of disci- pline. Without the absurd vows into which the sis- •nds, with- id benevo- less: They trust, not- ider which seen them ly."— Yet ance, that which is nts, modi- eal, is not ^ould cer- the form- f females, 3y, in an ing popu- g, and in ir sex fall of num- in value. Roman rom the reah'zed, novices ter rash nal ser- hat case events of disci- the sis- MONTRKAL. 76 ters are required to enter, the experience which they p^enerally gain, by a long residence in a strictly religious society, would be made a great blessing to the public : For, on the marriage of the several accomplished individuals, and their removal to dis- tant parts of the country, the wisdom acquired in this way would be more extensively diffused ; and, under such restrictions, the establishment of Protestant nunneries, how tr 'fying soever the sound may be, would be a real 1 sing in many king- doms in which the Reformed religion is professed. — But in the present constitution of Catholic nun- neries, all these more diffusive advantages are lost, by the indelible disgrace which is studiously made to attach to the bare expression of a desire to quit what is usually called " a Religious House," and to abandon " the infallible guidance" of their ghostly superiors. Monreal now contains, as before observed, seve- ral private buildings, of a very respectable descrip- tion ; but, instead of improving the aspect of the city, they serve only to expose the older buildings, by a comparison which their present low condition cannot endure. The stars of the universe would be the objects of our highest admiration, if the superior radiance of the sun and moon did not incline us to look upon those twinkling orbs as the inferior works of the Deity : In like man- ner, the untravelled inhabitants of Montreal would still consider their ancient buildings as models of ■^%. ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I U^ |2£ 12.5 |io ^^" B^B u Ui |2.2 :^ b£ 12.0 I< IL25 III u I 1.6 6" Hiotographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716) •73-4503 ^^^ ^.^ GARRISON AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. After remaining a few days in Montreal, I returned to Quebec, in order to solicit his Excel- lency the Governor for boats to convey the settlers to Upper Canada. Lord Bathurst's letter to my father induced us to believe, that Government would provide us with a passage to the land upon which we were to be located. But, on our arrival at Montreal, we found, that no means had been provided for our further conveyance, and that we had to perform a journey of more than 500 miles at our own expence. There were at this time in La Chine, a village about nine miles from Mont- real, more than fifty boats belonging to the Go- vernment. The object of my second visit to Quebec, was to procure these boats from the I ] L.MUAUKATION. m ■'' Governor. Hi» Grace declared, that, as he had no orders on the subject from the Secretary of State's office, he could not g^rant the use of them, unless he were to man them himself, and repair any damap^es they might sustain at his own ex pence. As this excuse appeared plausible enough, I urged my request no further, and did not attempt to debate the matter, though I was fully convinced that we oughi to have been provided with some means of conveyance, at least to the nearest point of Upper Canada. I returned to Montreal seven days after my departure from it, and embarked at La Chine, with my father and his settlers, on the 18th day of August, twenty days after our arrival in Quebec. On account of the shallows immediately below this . village, goods and passengers intended for a higher destination up the river, are conveyed by land from Montreal. Previous to our leaving La Chine, thirty-one of the settlers, dreading the expense of transporting their families to the Upper P jvince, separated from us at the persuasion of (?olonel Cockbourne, and accepted of a settlement from hira at or near Perth, about 140 miles North West of Montreal. Owing to the rapidity of the St. Lawrence, immediately above Montreal, ship-navigation ter- minates at that city. Such is the vehemence of the current, in various places, that it is totally impossible to ascend the river in vessels of ordinary construction. Batteaux, or flat-bottomed boats, g2 84 KMHAftKATloM. uarruw at bow and stern, and made of pine boards, have therefore been invented, and are found much better adapted to the river than any othern. These boats are about forty feet long and six across the centre, and are navigated by four men and a pilot. Each boat carries about five tons, and is provided with a small mast and sails, — six setting-poles about nine feet long, shod at their lower extremities with iron which terminates in a sharp point, — an anchor, — and the necessary cooking apparatus. In these boats, all the merchandize destined for Upper Canada is conveyed ; and, fitted out in this style, they depart from La Chine, four or five of them generally forming one party. They quickly arrive in Lake St. Louis, which is formed by the junction of the Ottawais, or Grand River, with the St. Lawrence. If the wind happens to blow favour- . ably when they are passing through this Lake, they hawl up their sails until they arrive at the Cascades, which are about thirty miles from Mont- real. At the Cascades, a short canal has been cut and locks formed by Government, through which the vessels pass, till they attain the head of these rapids, after which they proceed without departing from the river before they arrive at the Cedars, where, again, by means of other locks, they ascend the most difficult part of th e rapids. The current between the Cascades and the Cedars is so very impetuous, that the boat-men are obliged to have recourse to their setting- poles, which they fix in the bed of the rurmn.T navioation. 8a river; tiiul, by the pressure of each lunii upon hU own instrument, they propel the lM)at upwards with astonishing celerity. The.se exertions, though fatiguing in the extreme, they are often obliged to continue for several hours,'-|' without intermii- us, to ihe t The Canadinns who navigate these Batteaux, have a favourite air, CAlled the Boat Song, which they always sing whilst rowing up and down the river. It commences : I)an» mnn chcinin j'ai rencontre ]>cux ravalien trci bicn inontot ; and the rtj'rain to every verse, is A Pombre il'un boiii jc in*cn vait jnuer, A I'nmbrc iriin bois jc ni'en vais joucr. Moore, on sailing up the St. Lawrence, endeavoured, m he says, tu harmonize this air, by writing the following stanzas : Faiktlv m tolla the evening chime, < )ur voices keep tune, and our oarii keep time ; Soon as the woods on shore look dim, We'll 8ing at St. Anne's our parting h]nnn. Row, brothers, row ! the stream nm» fast. The lapids arc near, and the day -light's past ! Why should we our sail unfurl ? There is not a breath the blue wave to curl ; Itut when the wind blows oif the shore, Oh ! sweetly we'll rest our weary oar. Blow, breezes, blow ! the stream runs fast, The rapids are near, and the day.light's past ! Ottawai's tide ! this trembling moon Shall see us float over thy surges soon. . Saint of this green isle ! hear our prayers ! Oh ! grant us cool heavens and favouring airs ! ninw, breezes, blow ! the stream runs fast, Tlic rapidi arc near, and the day>light'i past ! g3 i^ w Tin: HARDV II A HITS OF Bion ; and, not unfrcqucntly,cven thoir be»t endon- voira in this way prove abortive. When this is the case, they make a rope fast to the how of the boat; and, leaving only the pilot on board, they plunge into the water and tow her by main strength up the foaming cataracts. This is the manner in which they perform the arduous pas- sage, which, though only 120 miles, they seldom accomplish in less than ten days. How the men who are employed in this difficult navigation exist, without ruining their constitutions, is a mys- tery which I am utterly unable to explain. They are compelled, almost every hour, when actually melting with heat and fainting through fatigue, to jump into the water, frequently up to their arm-pits, and to remain in it towing the boats, until they are completely chilled. They then have recourse to the aid of ardent spirits, of which on all occasions they freely partake, and, in a few minutes, are once more bathed in perspiration. The author of these beautiful lines observes: ''Without that charm which association gives to every little memorial of scenes or feelings that are past, the melody may perhaps be thought common and tri- fling ; but I remember, when we have entered at sunset upon one of those beautiful lakes into which the St. Lawrence so gradually and unexpectedly opens, I have heard this simple air with a plea- sure which the finest compositions of the first masters have never given me ; and now, there is not a note of it which does not recal to my memory the dip of our oars in the St. Lawrence, the flight of our bout down the Rapids, and all those new and fanci- ful impressions to which my heart was alive, during the whole of this very interesting vovagc." ( ANAIHAN VOVAlii;ril:<. 87 The principal rupidd botwetMi MoutiTul and Pros- cott, are Iho CnuAUs and tlic Cascadkh already mentioned, the Cotkai; uv Lai;, and the Long Saui.t, the latter of which are about nine miles in extent ; and, though they are seldom ascended in less than a day, boats have been known to descend through their whole length in fifteen minutes. While about 1 10 of the settlers took their pas- sage from La Chine in what the Canadians call " Durham-boats," my father and his family, with the remainder of the settlers, embarked in a ves- sel of the same description. The accommoda- tions which this boat afforded were so poor, that our situation, during the thirteen days of our voyage from La Chine to Prescott, was in reality " b^jlow the reach of envy." To make room for my mother and the children, in the wretched little hole of a cabin, my brother and I were frequently oblig-ed to sleep on the shore in the open air, — the refreshing zephyrs being our only curtains, and the " spangled heavens, a shin- ing frame," our resplendent canopy. Taverns are undoubtedly found in many parts along the banks of the river ; but as the boats do not always stop in the neighbourhood of those refectories, w^e seldom had any other method of reposing our weary bodies, than the one to which I have now alluded. ^ One night in particular, when we felt the air rather too cool for sleeping on the ground, my brother and I, with three of the settlers, solicited A 9URLY FAHMER. permission of a Canadian farmer, to lie on the floor of his kitchen. This request, though humble and moderate, was peremptorily refused. We asked for neither bed nor blanket, meat nor drink, but barely for leave to stretch our fatigued limbs on the uncovered boards, yet 3Ven this was denied. We were in the act of quietly returning to the boat, when, on approaching the door of his stable, we found it open, entered, and had but just discovered some clean straw upon which we designed to recline our heads for the night, when, — " Tell it not in Gath ! Publish it not in Askelon .'" — the owner stalked in, and, on recognizing us, commanded our instant departure. Marchez done tout de suite ! was re-iterated half a dozen times in less than a minute, and Sacrez vovs, hommes Anglois ! rounded every period. We were therefore compelled to decamp, and to take our usual nightly station upon the shore. This little incident banished sleep from my eyes ; and I spent the greater part of the night in the in- dulgence of the most gloomy reflections. That fondly-beloved isle, where the genius of hospitality continually holds her court and freely spreads her social influence, again recurred to my memory : I thought of her humblest sons, " generous and humane, sons of benevolence and toil, whose hard labour just gives what life requires, but gives no more; yet, who, with the ever-ready smile of heart-felt sympathy, are willing to share that hard- earned little with the weary traveller whom chance IRISH HOSPITALITY. 80 directs to their threshold, or necessity throws upon their bounty." — ** Oh Erin !" I involuntarily exclaimed, " would the most depraved and aban- *' doned profligate that finds an asylum on thy " saint-trodden shore, drive from his door a man who " was consecrated by the sacred title of stranger ? '* Would he refuse him a night's lodging on the " litter of his horses ? Ah, no! though too frequently " himself lowered by his vices and his folly to the " level of a beast, — though apparently destitute of " every principle that ennobles humanity, or feeds " the inviolable flame of friendship, — yet would he " pause amid his wild career at the hallowed name " of stranger! and the first impulse of his heart. " would bring to light the latent spark of human " kindness : He would welcome him to his cottage, " and share with him his bed, his food, his rai- " ment, — nay, his last shilling, if necessity required " it, — ere he would spurn him from his door with " the sneer of imaginary superiority." We were from the 18th of August to the 1st of September, in accomplishing this voyage of only 120 miles. I think I may say, without any dan- ger of hyperbole, that, during this short period, each of us encountered greater difficulties, endured more privations, and submitted to stronger proofs of our fortitude, than had been our lot in all the preceding years of our lives. We were obliged by day, in consequence of the great weight of our luggage, to assist the sailors in towing the boat up the rapids, often up to our arm-pits in water ; and. fi 00 EXCURSION ON SHORE. I'-i by night, to rest our enervated and shivering limbs on the inhospitable shores of this river of cataracts. On the ninth day of our amphibious journey, my brother and I, with several of the settlers, for the sake of a little variety, left the boat and walked a few miles along the banks of the St. Lawrence. As we were entirely unacquainted with the coun- try, we resolved to keep as close as possible to the shore, which in this part is completely covered with thick woods. When we had walked about a mile, our progress was interrupted by a large tract of swampy land, which we found to be totally impassable. Before we had reached the head of the swamp, and once more gained the shore, the boat was out of sight. However, we purnued our route along the bank until night approached^ when we perceived a light, about two miles down the river, which we concluded to be that of the boat. This conjecture proved to be correct. It appear- ed, that, in our hurry to overtake her, we had over-reached the mark, and got too far a-head. As the night was dark, we whistled, halloed, and fired off our guns, hoping to induce them to pull up, and take us aboard. But all our efforts proved ineffectual : We could neither make them hear us nor understand our signals. At length, one of our party observed a house about half a mile above us, — a discovery which afforded no small degree of pleasure. We had walked nearly ten miles through a dismal forest, over swamps and marshes, and were hungry and fatigued. BAD ACCOMMODATIONS. 01 A few moments before, we had no prospect of discovering even a dry spot of land^ on which we might lay ourselves down to rest. Nothing appeared But matted woods, where birds forget to sing, And silent bats in drowsy clusters cling. Judge then, what must have been our feelings ori beholding a human habitation ! For a human one it was, though its title to humanity was founded solely on the fact of its being the abode of man, without the least reference to the gentleness of his nature. When we entered within the door, and informed the owner, who was an American, of the circumstances which obliged us to become intruders and to claim his hospitality, he mut- tered out a few words with unfeeling frigidity, the purport of which was, that we might lie upon the floor, if we pleased. It was then about nine o'clock; and from that hour, until eleven, when they retired to bed, I do not recollect that we had the pleasure of any further conversation either with our host or his lady. When they withdrew from the apartment, we were left sole monarchs of the kitchen ; but our throne was, in one respect, like that which the sycophantic courtiers of King Canute urged him to usurp, — it was covered with coarse sand, and presented no very agreeable aspect, as a resting-place, to us, who presumed to think that we had done sufficient ADDITIONAL PRIVATIONS. penance for our transgressions in this country, by the sufferings which we necessarily endured in the day, during the course of our unfortunate peram- bulations. It was some time before we could reconcile ourselves to the idea of lying down on the rough kitchen-floor ; but at length the god of dreams prevailed over all our apprehensive sensi- bilities, and compelled us to assume a recumbent posture. I converted my hat into a pillow, and my cravat into a cap or turban ; and, after pro- mising my companions in tribulation a glass of rum in the morning, by way of toasting American hospitality, I fell asleep, but awoke, some time before day-break, with sore sides and an aching head. From the perusal of such incidents as these, you will probably form a very low and indifferent opinion of Canadian hospitality ; justice, however, constrains me to remark, that the people who live on the shores of the St. Lawrence, have so fre- quently been imposed upon, plundered, and other- wise mal-treated by various evil-disposed emigrants in their progress to the Upper Province, that, if we had experienced even worse treatment than this which I have related, it ought not, under such provoking circumstances, to excite much astonishment. The country, on each side of the river between Prescott and Montreal, is similar in appearance to that between the latter city and Quebec, with -this difference, — that the houses above Montreal \ \. rUATURES OF TUB COUNTRY, 98 >wever. i are much inferior to those belov. For about sixty miles beyond Montreal, almost all the inha- bitants are of French extraction, and still speak the language of their ancestors. They scarcely under- stand a word of English, and seem to be of very humble origin. Their habitations are constructed in the style of cottages ; and, though they cer- tainly are not reproachable with any great degree of taste in design, or of elegance in their execution, they have a just claim to honourable mention for the compensating attributes of cleanliness ^ and of neatness^ if not of refinement, in the simple decor- ations of their interiors. The traveller who may have occasion to cross their thresholds, will seldom, witness the semblance of poverty or the shadow of discontent. Since my arrival in the country, I have not beheld a single trace of anxiety or care in the countenances of the people. In the city, the town, the village, and the open country, every eye sparkles with contentment, and every tongue speaks the language of independence. If the maxim of our ethic poet be correct, that Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, Lie in ihree words, health, peace, and competence. I do not wonder at beholding such an invariable picture of enjoyment in the looks of the Canadians ; for they certainly possess, to a perfection which cannot be surpassed, every one of those integral ingredients in the happiness of man, which the I 94 CONTENTED NATIVES. poet has thus tersely described. Alas ! how different the scene on your side of the Atlantic! How melancholy the contrast to an Irishman ! How delightfully, yet mournfully exhilarating to a Ca- nadian, if, from a knowledge of the unhappy con- dition of our unfortunate countrymen, he should make the comparison, and find in it an inducement to " bless his happier lot !'* The line which divides the Upper from the Lower Province of Canada, intersects the St. Lawrence at about 66 miles West of Montreal. From this line as far as Prescott, you have Upper Canada on the North, and the State of New York oti the South shore. The only villages between Montreal and Pres- cott, are La Chine, and Point Clear ; the latter of which is 18 miles from Montreal. It has a Church and Parsonage-house ; contains about 100 inhabi- tants, all of whom are Roman Catholics ; and is the only dirty village in the Lower Province. The village of the Cedars consists of a few houses, inhabited chiefly by mechanics. CoTEAU DU Lac is equally small, but of more importance as a military post, a fort having been erected in its immediate vicinity for the pro- tection of the trade upon the river, and for the purpose of intercepting the passage of an enemy, whether ascending or descending. Cornwall, which is dignified with the appella- tion of a town, is more extensive than either of the two just mentioned. It is 86 miles from Montreal, LAKE OF Tlfli THOUSAND ISI.ES. 95 lifferent ! How ! How to a Ca- ipy con- should icement om the the St. ontreal. J Upper w York d P res- latter of Church inhabi- id is the a few f more ^ been le pro- for the enemy, ppella- of the >ntrealf I s and has a Gaol, a Court-house, a Roman Catholic Chapel, and a Presbyterian Meeting-house. It contains about 50 houses, and nearly 200 inhabit- ants, and is the town of Assize for the Eastern District. In Prescott, which contains about 160 inhabit- ants, there is a military fort, called " Fort Wel- lington." At this place ship-navigation re-com- mences, and continues as far as the Falls of Niagara. We remained two days at Prescott ; and, on the third of September, we embarked for York on board a small schooner, called " the Caledonia." We performed this voyage, which is a distance of 250 miles, in six days. The St. Lawrence between Prescott and Kings- ton presents an aspect the most wild and fanciful. The Lake of the thousand Isles, which is situate between them, exhibits a delightful combination of the varied scenery of nature. It has all the fea- tures of the placid, the picturesque, and the sub- lime, with a striking intermixture of the savage and the uncouth. While slowly gliding up the translucent stream, the stranger observes the Nor- thern shores thickly settled : The lowly cottage and the stately mansion alternately attract his notice. The bustle and activity of life are every where visible upon the land ; while, upon the lake, all is solemn stillness and cheerless solitude. Hun- dreds of little islands, assuming every variety of form, and covered with stunted trees of almost every species, are spread over the watery expanse, )\ 9G I.AKB OF THl^ THOUSAND ISLES. and alTord a finished dpeciinen of that peculiar sort of scenery, which is produced when the several principles and causes of vegetation are not consen- taneous, — when the seed is planted by the hand of nature in a sterile soil, and fertilizing rains, warm- ing suns, and fostering breezes severally contribute their appointed quota of natural assistance, but seem to lose much of their accustomed efficacy by having no suitable objects on which to operate. The rocky and barren soil of these islands invites not the hand of industry, to redeem them from their unproductiveness ; nor do their unfrequented retreats discover to the beholder even a solitary wig- warn. They are the abode of silence, and the resting-place of solitude. The contemplative ob- server cannot view them without some feelings of regret : While his eye roves with delight over spots of earth disposed into all imaginary shapes, in which matchless beauty and proofs of skilful de- sign are apparent in every direction ; his judgment detects the fallacy of his sight, and he laments to find these picturesque creations yielding nothing for supplying the wants of man, but such products only as serve to gratify his curious vision. Scarcely can he restrain the wish, presumptuous though it be, that Providence, in its wisdom, had distin- guished this portion of the universe by something of greater utility and of more substantial excel- lence. Immediately opposite the town of Prescott, on the shore of the United States is the town of I , i BHOCKVILLE. 97 iar sort several onsen- land of warm- tribute ce, but acy by perate. invites a from uented olitary ind the Ive ob- ings of over ihapes^ ul de- rment nts to ngfor oducts arcely igh it istin- thing xcel- tt, on vn of II I Ogdensburgh ; and 12 miles hipfher up, on the Cana- da shore, stands the delightful village of Brock- viLLE, so called in honour of the late lamented Sir Isaac Brock. This enchanting little spot unites in its situation every beauty of nature. In front of it flows the river St. Lawrence, interspersed with numerous islands, variously formed and thickly wooded: Behind it, is an assemblage of small hills, rising one above another in " gay theatric pride :" And, on each side, are a number of well- cleared farms in an advanced state of cultivation. Every thing combines to render it pre-eminently beautiful. The dwellings are built of wood, and tastefully painted; and the Court-house, on an elevated situation at the back of the village, seems, from its superior size, to be the guardian of the villagers, — an idea of my fancy, which I did not seek to confirm by entering within its doors. Brockville contains 450 souls : It has a Parsonage- house, but no Church has hitherto been erected. Sixty-seven miles from Prescott, and seventy- nine from Brockville, is the town of Kingston, in Jat. 44 deg. 8 min. North, and 76 deg. 40 min. West longitude. This town was built in 1784, and is now a place of great importance to the British Interests in Canada. It is the naval dep6t of the Upper Province, and is strongly protected by a fort called " Fort Frederick." In Kingston har- bour, which is deep and well-sheltered, there are several large ships, particularly the St. Lawrence of 102 guns, which is said to have cost the immense Vol. I. II 11 V 'i KINdSTdN. Hum of 300,000 poiinrb. Some of these veaselB were constructed in England, and sent to Quebec in frame; whence they were transported to Kingston at an enormous expence, on board of the various boats already described. The carriage of the Psyche frigate alone, from Quebec to Kings- ton, is said to have cost £12,000. What could induce government to build ships in England, where timber is so dear, for the service of Canada ? The policy of this arrangement, like the unprofitable speculation of " sending coals to Newcastle," is a mystery which could not be solved by the best- informed men in the Canadas. A sufficient number of mechanics, to construct every ship necessary for the lake-service might have been sent out, for one- fourth of the expence incurred by the bare trans- portation of a single frigate from Quebec to Kingston. Kingston, although the largest town in the Upper Province, contains only 2,336 inhabitants, most of whom are the descendants of those loyalists who sought an asylum in Canada after the revolutionary war. The rest are English, Irish and Scotch, with a few Germans and Frenchmen. The streets are laid out with considerable regularity; but the houses, like almost all others in the Canadas, are very irregularly built. In consequence of the neg- lected condition of the roads in this as well as in every other part of the Province, it is scarcely possible in wet weather to walk out without stick- ing fast in the mire. The public buildings of KINOSTON. y» Kin|>;ston are of hucIi uii inferior clcscription as scarcely to he worthy of notice ; They are, the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian MeetiM<»;-hou3e, the Methodist Chapel, the Roman Catholic Church, the Barracks, the Gaol, and the Court-house. Lake Ontario, to which Kingston serves as a kind of entrance, is situated between 43 and 44 deg. North hit. and between 76 and 83 deg. West longitude. Its length is 171 miles, its breadth 69 and a half, and its circumference 407. The depth of the water varies exceedingly, but is seldom less than three or more than 60 fathoms ; although in the centre of the lake, soundings have been made with a line of 350 fathoms, without finding a bot- tom. It is often visited with violent storms, which render its navigation peculiarly dangerous ; and though none except experienced seamen ought to be entrusted with the management of the craft which sail upon its wide but deceitful bosom, yet many fellows have obtained the command of ves- sels who are utterly ignorant of every thing con- nected with navigation. The waters of this lake, as well as those of Lakes Erie, Huron, and Supe- rior, rise to a considerable height in every 36 years. In 1816 Ontario was seven feet higher, than it is known to have been, for upwards of 30 years be- fore that time. Does not this form a very inter- esting subject for the speculations of the natural philosopher? While the waters of these lakes never rise or fall more than 8 or 10 inches above or belov\r H 2 / t , ( i. ... 100 YORK. their usual height, excepting «t the.^e stated periods, whut muse can be assigned for the pro- duction of such a body of water as is sufficient to effect this extraordinary change ? Between Kingston and York, there are two or three very small villages, the largest of which is Belleville, containing about One Hundred and Fifty inhabitants. YoKK is the seat of government for Upper Canada, and is situated on the North side of Lake Ontario, in 43 degrees 33 minutes North latitude, and 79 degrees 20 minutes West longitude. Its harbour, which is a very extensive one, is formed by a long narrow peninsula, commonly called Gibraltar Point. Though York is the capital of an extensive colony, it would in Europe be con- sidered but a village. Its defenceless situation, which cannot be much improved, renders it of little importance in time of war. It was captured by the Americans, on the 27th of April, 1813. They had not, however, held possession of it many days, when they evacuated it, having first de- stroyed all the public buildings. The Garrison is about a mile West of the town ; and consists of a barrack for the troops, a residence for the commanding officer, a battery and two block-houses, which are intended for the protection of the harbour. In the year 1793, there was only one wig-wara on the present site of this town. It now contains One Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty-six inhabitants, and about Two Hundred VOUK. 101 } (im\ Fifty houaoi«, many of whirh exhibit u verj neat appeanuice. Tlie puMic liuiMings are, a Proteatnnt Kpiscopal Churcii, a Roman Catholic Chapel, a Presbyterian and a Methodist Meetinp^- hou: great aceless receives But it le, even tuations ^ LETTER VI. CHOICE OF A SETTLEMENT— ADVICE OF COLONEL TlluMAS TALBOT — THE colonel's ECCENTniC HABITS n— PREFEUENCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF LONDON PROGRESS TOWARDS THIS POINT OF SETTLEMENT THE COUNTRY ON THE! RIVER OUSE VILLAGES UELONGING TO THE INDIANS OF THE SIX NATIONS INTERVIEW WITH ONE OK THE NATIVE CATECHISTS ARRIVAL AT PORT TALBOT— DISASTER WHICH BEFEL MV FATHER'S PARTY ON LAKE ERIE — JOYFUL MEETING — DEPARTURE FROM PORT TALBOT TO WESTMINSTER — SITUATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF LONDON— ITS DISTANCE FROM LAKE ERIE AND OTHER POINTS — ITS BOUNDA- RIES FORM AND EXTENT FIRST PAY AND NIGHT ON OUR AMERICAN ESTATE — WOLF-HUNT IN THE MORNING— OPERATIONS AND STAY IN THE WOODS PREVIOUS TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE FAMILY. When we arrived at York, my father waited on the Lieutenant Governor, and handed him the order for land which we had received from Earl Bathurst. His Excellency told him, that he might select his land from any township in the Province at that time open for location ; but assured him, that as he had himself been only a short time in the country, it was out of his power to recommend any particular division to his notice. He then referred my father to the Surveyor-general ; and also gave him a letter of introduction to that offi- ! i i ; 104 COL. THOMAS TALBOT. cer, directing him to afford us such information as might be required. We called upon the Surveyor- general accordingly, but obtained little satisfactory intelligence. A short time afterwards, my father met with Colonel Thomas Talbot, brother of Richard W. Talbot, Esq., of Malahide Castle, County of Dublin. The Colonel came to this country about thirty years ago, an officer, if I mistake not, in the Fifth regiment of foot. During the period of his being stationed here, he became so much attached to the woods and wilds of Canada, that, on his return home, he felt half dissatisfied with his native country, and seemed with the poet to exclaim, O for a lodge in some vast wilderness. Some boundless contiguity of shade ! He therefore sold his commission, and obtained a grant of 100,000 acres of land, under the con- dition, that he should place a settler upon every Two Hundred acres. He selected this extensive tract on the Northern borders of Lake Erie, about One Hundred and Fifty miles South West of York. In the year 1802, when there was not a single Christian habitation within forty miles of his own estate, the Colonel commenced a settlement under the most discouraging and inauspicious circum- stances imaginable. He called his domain Port Talbot, and, in eight or ten years, saw a thriving I.+, COL. THOMAS TALBOT. 105 settlement gradually rise up around him. But he has not yet been able to fulfil his engagement with the government ; nor is it likely that he will, if he continue to estimate his land at its present price, — three dollars per acre for 150 acres, and 50 acres gratis. The Colonel is perhaps one of the most eccentric characters on the whole continent. He not only lives a life of cheerless celibacy, but enjoys no human society whatever. So great was his aver- sion to the fair sex, that, for many years after his arrival at Port Talbot, he refused to hire a female servant, but milked his own cows, made his own butter, and performed every other function of kitchen-maid, house-maid, cook, and dairy-woman. Is it not rather strange, that a British oflRcer of such high rank in the army, and respectable con- nections in civil life, should be induced to settle in the pathless wilderness, where he is totally excluded from society, unless he should associate with a class of people whom he considers entirely beneath him, and with whom he has never yet in any respect confederated.^ Being a Member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada, he goes to York once or twice in the year : These visits, and an occasional one to England at intervals of five or six years, serve to rub oif the rust con- tracted in his lonely cottage and to remind him, that the world is still as merrv as it was when he. figured in its gayest circles. . I i 106 CHOICE OF From the Colonel's extensive knowledge of the country, my father considered him to be well qualified for giving advice respecting the choice of a settlement. He therefore made him acquainted with our circumstances, and want of information. The Colonel mentioned several settlements as eli- gible ; but particularly recommended the township of London, a tract of land surveyed many years ago by order of General Simcoe, the first Lieu- tenant Governor of Upper Canada. It was there- fore agreed, that we should immediately proceed to London; and, on the 11th of September, our whole party set off for Niagara, on board the same schooner that brought us from Prescott. Niagara is forty miles from York ; and, from Niagara, they proceeded to Queenstown, a distance of seven miles, by water. Thence to Fort Erie, thirty-six miles, by land ; thence to Port Talbot, One Hundred and Sixteen miles, by water ; and thence to London, thirty-four miles, by land ; — making in the whole, from York to London, Two Hundred and Thirty-three miles. It was after- wards discovered, that, by going to the head of Lake Ontario, and then travelling about ninety miles by land, they might have performed the journey in One Hundred and Thirty-five miles, at a much less expence, and with far greater expedi- tion. But as they were ignorant of the country, and trusted implicitly to the directions of others, they fell into a circuitous route. 1 A SETTLEMENT. 107 Weary of travelling by water, I separated from the party at York, and proceeded by land to Port Talbot, where I agreed to rejoin them. The road from York to Port Talbot, for the first fifty miles, iims nearly in a South West course, through a thickly-settled country, the soil of which is light and sandy, and therefore not susceptible of any great improvement. Several small rivers, whose banks are an immense height and nearly perpen- dicular, intersect this part of the country, and render travelling an undertaking of difficult and dangerous performance. Horses, in ascending and descending these steep banks, frequently take flight, and are sometimes dashed to pieces, in spite of the best exertions of their drivers. From the head of Lake Ontario to the Grand River Ouse, the road takes a Western direction ; and thence to the township of Woodhouse, its inclination is Southern : but from Woodhouse to Port Talbot, it preserves a South Western course. On the banks of the Grand River Ouse, twenty- one miles from Dundas, I passed through several villages, inhabited by the Six Nations of Indians. These villages, which, from their proximity to each other, appear to be comprised in one settle- ment, are composed of about Two Hundred houses, which contain nearly 1,600 inhabitants. The land upon which they reside, is some of the most fertile in the whole Province. It was given to the Indi- ans of the Five Nations,— who have since admitted another nation to participate in all their rights and ,1 -ill I ': I f 108 INTERVIEW WITH A immunities, — immediately after the revolutionary war, as a compensation for lands which they had forfeited in the United States, by their adher- ence to the Royal cause. Six miles on each side of the river, from its source to its mouth, origi- nally composed their grant ; but they have since sold several townships to different individuals. Still, however, they retain a quantity of land suffi- cient, under proper cultivation, for the mainte- nance of half a million of people. In one of the Indian villages, a very neat church has been erected at the expence of the supreme Government. It is greatly superior, in workmanship as well as in size, to many of the parish Churches in Great Britain and Ireland. The pulpit is situate at the upper extre- mity of the aisle ; and is surmounted with the Royal Arms of England, executed, if I rightly recollect, in bas-relief. On the right side of the pulpit, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed are tastefully gilt upon a ground of black timber, in the Indian language ; and, on the left, appears the Decalogue, in a similar style. A Clergyman of the Establishment occasionally per- forms divine service in the Church ; and when he is absent, his place in the pulpit is supplied by an Indian, whom his own countrymen dignify with the title of « Dr. John." This worthy Di-^au , in the absence of the English Clergyman, affords his brethren a specimen of his oratorical abilities ; but it is very evident, that the Gospel has not yet obtained much, influence in the hearts of these NATIVE PRRACHER. 109 Indians, or in that of the native preacher : It cannot therefore be supposed to exercise any great control over their conduct. As I happened to be at this village on the Sab- bath, and felt curious to see uncivilized men engaged in the worship of the Deity, I called upoln Dr. John, and requested to know, if there would be any service in the forenoon. He had little the appearance of a minister of that gospel, the principle of which is, " Peace upon earth, and good-will towards men ;" for he was busily engaged in whet- ting a tomahawk, and replied to my question with the utmost indifference : " I meant," said he, " to " have had a meeting to-day, but I lost my spec- " tacles in a frolic last night, and cannot, therefore, ** preach again, till Mr. Smith 'f gets his goods " from Montreal." — 1 asked him, if the eyes of his understanding were not sufficiently enlightened, to render him, in a great degree, independent of external aids. — " O yes," said he, " but we are " not Methodists ; we do not preach, like fools, " without a book. If that were our practice, we " think we could excel our extemporaneous breth- " ren as much in the art of true eloquence, as they '* excel us in self-confidence and vain-glory. But we are more enlightened than they are, and know how liable poor human nature is to err : We therefore study diligently what we have to say, before we attempt to promulgate our opi- « « rsing 1 that said, 19th Fort I " Erie for Port Talbot, on board a large schooner ; " and from the great number of passengers who ** embarked, and the indilferent quality of the ves- " sel, the people of Fort Erie entertained seri- " ous apprehensions for the safety of the travel- ** lers : The weather being very boisterous, and ** the captain of the schooner, an inefficient and " unexperienced man. In a few days afterwards, " news arrived at Fort Erie, that the vessel had " been v/recked in the morning of the 21st, on the " shore of the United States ; and that the few " young men who survived, were taken up by a " New York schooner, and landed in Canada." On hearing this doleful intelligence, I immedi- ately set off to meet my brother and his fortunate companions. Before I had proceeded more than half a dozen miles, I met the whole party ; and judged from their countenances, that the inform- ation I had received was not exactly correct. I told them what I had heard, and desired to know, whether or not I had been misinformed. My bro- ther replied, that my information was in the main correct ; that they had indeed been shipwrecked, but that no lives were lost, excepting that of a Mrs. Lewis, who died in consequence of severe cold and fatigue. I was also further given to under- stand, that my father and his family were all well, and in the United States, waiting only for a vessel to bring them over to the shores of Canada. It is impossible to describe the sudden transition of my feelings, on hearing these joyful tidings: A few Vol. I. I 114 TUB TOM'NSnri' momenta before, I had Iho strongest grounds for believing, that my nearest relations were lodged in a cold and watery grave, where No friend's complaint, no kind domestic tear, Pleas'd their pale ghosts, or grac'd their mournful bier. But now I could indulge the joyful anticipation of meeting them more on British ground, once restored, as it were, to life, and reprieved from appearing, in a manner which they did not expect and for which they might not be prepared, before Him who " is the Judge of quick and dead." In about a fortnight after this, they all arrived at Port Talbot, after having experienced much kindness from the inhabitants of the state of New York, during their continuance among them. In the latter part of October my father removed his family from Port Talbot to Westminster, where he procured lodgings for them until a house was erected on his own lands. The toWnship of West- minster is separated from that of London, only by the river Thames. London is situated about twenty-four miles North of Lake Erie. It is 927 miles from that part of the Atlantic Ocean which joins the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 607 miles from Quebec, 618 from the city of New York, and 126 from the seat of Government of Upper Canada. It has Oxford, a fine township, twenty-three years settled, on the East ; Westminster, twelve years settled, on the South ; Delaware, on the South West ; Lobo, i OF LONDON. 115 oil the West ; and unknown tmd uncultivated rejai;ions, on I lie North and North West. On the 1st of November, 1818, it was entirely unsettled, and its surface studded with the various trees which are to he found in Canada. The Northern branch of the river Thames runs across its Eastern aii^^le, and the Southern separates it from Westminster, while a great number of small rivulets pour their meandering streams through almost every allotment. The land is considered, if not superior to every township hitherto opened for location, at least inferior to none in the whole Province. The township forms a square, and is divided into sixteen concessions, in each of which are 6,400 acres. These concessions arc sub-divided into lots of 200 acres, of which there are thirty-two in each. Between every two concessions, there arc sixty-six feet set apart for roads, which are called concession lines. These, together with seven side-roads of equal width which intersect them at right angles, and are equi -distant from each other, comprise all the public roads in a township. On the 2Gth of October, my brother and I, with six men carrying provisions and felling-axes, took our departure from Westminster, and, having hired a guide, proceeded mto London, to fix upon the most desirable lot, for the erection of a house. Twelve hundred acres were assigned to my father for his own demesne, if I may so call it. W^e had therefore a large tract of land to explore, i2 na KNTRANCE ON OUR before we could decide on the most eligible site. After spending the greater part of the day in approving and disapproving of particular lots, we unanimously determined on making the second lot, in the sixth concession, the future asylum of our exiled family. When we had agreed on this point, our next consideration was, to procure shelter for the night ; for we were upwards of nine miles from the abodes of civilized beings^ and in the midst of desolate wilds, Where beasts with men divided empire claim, And the brown Indian marks with murd'rous aim. After walking about for some time, in quest of a suitable place for making a fire, we discovered an old Indian wig-wam, deserted by its inhabitants. In this little hut we resolved to continue during the night ; and, having a tinder-box, with all the other necessary materials, we speedily lighted an excellent fire. After we had taken supper on the trunk of a tree, we lay down to rest, each rolling himself up in a blanket, and each in his turn sup- plying fuel to the fire. Thus did we pass the first night on our American estate. In the morning, about sun-rise, we were suddenly awakened by the howling of a pack of wolves, which were in full cry after an unfortunate deer. The howl of these ferocious animals so nearly resembles the cry of fox-dogs, that, when I awoke and heard it, I fancied myself in the midst of the sporting wood^ of Erin. But the delusion was not of long m l\\ AMERICAN liSTATK. 117 continuance ; for I speedily discovered, that, instead of being in my native land, Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky, In colour though varied, in beauty may vie, I was in the midst of a dreary and unvaried wil- derness, Where crouching wolves await their hapless prey, And savage men, more murd'rous still than they. To increase our consternation, or, at least, to direct it into another charmel, the horses, which we brought with us to carry our bed-clothes and provisions, had broken from their tethers during the night and consumed every ounce of our bread. Calm is my soul, nor apt to rise in arms. Except when fast-approaching danger warns ; and yet I was on this occasion sufficiently pro- voked, to revenge our loss on the sides of the ill- natured brutes. We had brought our provender, with the utmost difficulty, a distance of nearly twelve miles through woods and swamps: And then, — to be deprived of it in this way, was too much for a man of my philosophy to bear without impatience ! We should have been under the dis- agreeable necessity of dispensing with a breakfast, if we had not had the consideration to bring some potatoes with us, which, happily for us, are not so well-suited to the appetite of an American horse, as they are to the palate of an Irishman : i3 I 1 J ilS REMOVAL OF THE FAMILY, For, if this had been the case, we should have been compelled to stay our hunger, till provisions could arrive from Westminster. We continued encamped in the woods from the 26th of October, until the 1st of December. During this period, we laid the foundation of a house, forty-six feet long, and twenty-one feet wide ; one half of which we finished firfit, for the accommo- dation of the family, who removed into it on the 2d of December, — five months and nineteen days after our embarkation for America. During; the thirty-five days which we spent in the woods pre- vious to the arrival of the family, our only lodging was the miserable wig-wam, which, like ancient Argos, had an hundred eyes, or rather eye-holes, through which, when lying awake at night, we could easily note every remarkable star that passed the meridian. Our only bed, all that time, was composed of a few withered leaves, while A log contriv'd a double debt to pay. By night a pillow, and a seat by day. These are only slight specimens of the hardships, which must be encountered by those who settle in a wilderness ; and yet, no small degree of fortitude is requisite, to support the mind of him who is obliged to submit to them. It is a grievance of no inconsiderable magnitude, to be compelled, after a day of severe labour, to stretch one's weary limbs on the bare ground in the cold month of Novem- ber, and to be protected from " the fierce North one orth FEELINGS OF A SETTLER. 110 wind with his airy forces,*' and from the chilling frost, only by a miserable hut, with a fire suflS- ciently near it to counteract in some degree their benumbing effects. But the hope of independence is sufficient to sustain the mind under privations still greater than these ; and he, — who can bring himself to think, when lying down to rest on the bare earth, that the day is not far distant when he may happily repose on a more inviting couch, without one anxious thought respecting the future prospects of himself and his family, — regards these transient sufferings with a kind of feeling nearly allied to actual pleasure. He sees the time fast approaching, when the wilderness to him shall be " a fruitful field, and the desert shall blossom as the rose ;" — when the produc- tive soil shall gratefully yield an ample reward to his toils ; — and when the hardships of his situation shall, by the blessing of heaven on his exertions, gradually disappear, and leave him in possession of health, plenty, and independence. While indulg- ing in such joyful and ecstatic visions, the wooden pillow of a new and industrious settler becomes softer than bolsters of down, and his solitary blan- ket feels more comfortable than sheets of Holland. LETTER VII. VILLACliC OF DITNDAS — ANCA8TER — CHEAT WESTERN nOAD — TALBOT-STREET — SITUATION OF THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT — NIAGARA, on FORT GEORGE, TAKEN BY THE AMERICANS RETALIATION OP THE BRITISH FALLS OF NIAGARA SUPPOSED TO BE ONCE AT QUEEN'sTOWN ^ANECDOTE OF AN INDIAN AND OF TWO WHITE MEN — NOISE OF THE FALLS — CHIPPAWA — LAKE ERIE, LONG POINT, AND TURKEY POINT — THE BONDEAU— • AMEH&BURO SANDWICH'-~>LAKES ST. CLAIR, MICHIGAN, HURON| SUPERIOR, AND LAKE OF THE WOODS. The traveller by land from York to Amersburgh, — which is the most We<3terly town in the Upper Province, and which is distant from York about 326 miles, — meets with few villages, and those few very inconsiderable in size. Dundas, fifty miles from York ; Ancaster, three miles from Dundas; and Burford, twenty-eight miles from Ancaster, are the only places, which, from the multitude of their inhabitants, bear the least resem- blance to villages ; and the whole population of the three together does not exceed 600 souls. The road, which nearly all the way preserves a South Western direction, lies through the richest and most fertile country in British North America. Thirty years ago, there was not a single human habitation 'il rORT fJKORGE. in between York and the French settlement* on th« Saint Clair, excepting the widely-scattered and then undisturbed retreats of numerous Indian tribes, most of whom have since retired to more remote regions. About forty miles Westward of Dundas, is the commencement of a great public road, fifty miles in length : It is called Talbot Street, and runs parallel to Lake Erie. This street passes through that extensive country designated '* the Talbot Settlement," which comprises an extent of terri- tory enclosing within its limits about one million five hundred thousand acres. It is situate be- tween 42 and 43 degrees North latitude, and between 80 and 81 degrees West longitude. From Dundas, the road branches off to Niagara, now called " Fort George," and runs along the river Niagara to Queenstown, and thence to Fort Erie, where it terminates. Its whole length is eighty- six miles. Niagara, or Fort George, is situated on the East side of the river Niagara. It was destroyed by the Americans in the month of December, 1813. At that time it consisted of nearly 200 houses, and contained upwards of 800 inhabitants. Immedi- ately after the American army had evacuated the scene of desolation, the British forces stationed in that part of the country crossed the lines ; and, to retaliate upon the enemy, demolished a number of the most flourishing villages on the Western fron- tiers. Since the destruction of the old town, more ;i 123 QUEENSTOWN. than 100 housed have been built upon its site, and it has now 558 inhabitants. Excepting Brockville, it is the neatest village in the Province ; and, on account of its healthy situation and proximity to the falls of Niagara, has beconi j a fashionable place of resort, during the Summer months. It contains a Protestant Episcopal Church, a Presbyterian Meeting-house, and a Methodist Chapel, with a Gaol and Court-house. The private houses are all built of wood, and the principal street is wide and airy. Between Fort George and Queenstown, is the most alluring portion of the Province, the neigh- bourhood of Sandwich and Amersburgh excepted ; and, with this exception, it is the only part which can, consistently with truth, be said to be much improved by cultivation, or to exhibit any striking display of natural scenery. Fine farms, flourishing orchards, and comfortable cottages, give it the air of an European landscape ; and if it were not for the rail-fences, which abound in this as well as in every other part of the Province, and which make the country appear naked and impoverished, it might fairly stand in competition with some of the most beautiful districts of the British Isles, I Where lawns extend^ that scorn the' Arcadian pride, And brighter streams than fam'd Hydaspes glide. QuEENSTowN is built at the base of a lofty hill, and is seven miles from Niagara. It contains about 60 houses and 300 inhabitants; and has ^i! FALLS OP NIAGARA. 123 a Church and a Court-house, with government- stores, and stores for the Indian department. On account of its flat and obscure situation, it has not by any means an * ^'Mting aspect. All merchandize, designed for the use of the Western country, is disembarked at this place, and conveyed by land to Fort Erie, where it is again embarked for its different destinations on the shores of Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Superior. The Falls of Niagara are about seven miles from Queenstown, and are situate on the strait which unites Lake Erie with Ontario. The feel- ings produced in the mind, on the first view of these stupendous cataracts, are such, it is said, as render it impossible for any man, who is at all affected with the " itch of scribbling," to avoid attempting some description of them : And yet, so often have they afforded, to those who, like Dr. Syntax, " travel in search of the Picturesque," an opportunity for the display of their descriptive powers, and so repeatedly have these cataracts been poured forth to the view of " fire-side travel- lers" in all the majesty of well-selected language, that to him who may now or henceforth visit their resounding solitudes, little more remains than an opportunity of relating " a thrice-told tale." On this ground, I might and certainly would decline the attempt, were I not confident, that no excuse, however plausible, would in your estimation be sufficient to vindicate an omission i '\n 1 5 , I I, M 124 FALLS OF NiAGAnA. which, I suppose, you would consider as unpar- donable. I first visited these celebrated Falls in the month of September, a season of the year, which, in America, is peculiarly pleasant. The violent heats have then considerably abated ; the Musquito, sati- ated with human blood, has given rest to his pro- boscis ; and man, free from the irritating bite of innumerable tormenting insects, and from the scorching heat of an almost insupportable sun, enjoys an agreeable respite, and ranges through the country in quiet and comfort. Until I arrived within a mile of the Falls, the sky was perfectly clear, the sun shone with his wonted splendour, and the atmosphere was remarkably dry and uncom- monly lucid. — But no sooner had I approached their immediate vicinity, than a sudden and singu- lar change took place in the whole aspect of nature : The earth, before parched and immovable, became damp and tremulous ; and the sky, till then unsullied by a single cloud, assumed a frowning, dark, and portentous appearance. The atmo- sphere, previously dry and rarefied, now presented a dense and humid visage ; and my fancy, unreined by my reason, transported me into a world essen- tially different from that in which a few minutes before I " lived, and moved, and had my being." Still, however, I pursued my course, and dt length gained the summit of the craggy hills which flank this noble river. My increased elevation did not FALLS OF NIAGARA. 125 contribute to dissipate the pre-conceived delusion ; and I still felt inclined to doubt of my own or of the world's identity. Mountains of water belching forth the most appalling sounds, — globes of foam, boiling with apparently accelerated rage, — rain- bows, embracing within their numerous and splen- did arches a surprising variety of newly-formed, impending clouds, — rocks fearlessly projecting over the tumultuous abyss, — and spray-covered forests, decorated with pearly drops, — now ren- dered more brilliant than chrystal, by the re- flected rays of the setting sun, — and now blown into " feathery streams" by sudden gusts of the impetuous wind : — These were some of the most striking features of the gorgeous scenery by which I was surrounded. Long did I luxuriate in pleasing contemplation, admiring its peculiar gran- deur ; and still did I find myself lingering with fond dalliance amidst these stupendous and matchless displays of creative excellence, until the sun of heaven, wearied with shedding his eifulgent beams on the Trans-atlantic wilds, had retired in all his glory from the enchanted scene, " to rove o'er other lands, and give to other men the kindest boon of heaven." For the first time in my life did I regret the shortness of a September day. But my regret soon ceased : For, ere night had completely drawn her sable mantle across the objects of my admir- ation, over which I still lingered, a glorious moon, enshrouded in golden robes of borrowed light, kindly i f' I i I t l t • i j .i ! i' i , ^ 1 St, t.-l 1 12(3 TALIS OF NIAGARA. lent me the aid of her beauteous lustre, and quickly diffused through every part of the landscape new features of loveliness, giving it a character far more soft and interesting than that with which proud day had invested it. The stupendous and magnificent machinery of nature which had recently bound me in a state of mental abstraction, was now divested of many of its peculiar charms. A perfect calm succeeded : The forests appeared " sunk in deep repose :" The winds had subsided : The green leaves, no longer agitated by the breeze, ceased their rustling : Not a cloud floated along the face of heaven: Every thing around and above, ani- mate and inanimate, seemed to have sought and found Tir'd nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep : All was still, except the wakeful cataracts, that roared with their wonted violence, and disturbed the basin which groaned beneath the undiminished burden. Never was there a finer contrast, than that between the noise of the water, and the stillness of the air ; — the golden effulgence of the rushing flood, and the impenetrable shades of the surrounding forests ; — the blackness of the frightful gulf down which the waves with unabating force are precipi- tated in crashing confusion, and the light and cheer- ing face of the spangled heavens over which the cres- cent moon was sailing with modest pride and con- scious dignity. Sick and insensible must be the soul, that could behold with indifference an exhi- FALLS OF NIAOAKA. 127 bition 90 fine, so varied, so replete with all that is calculated to please the eye, to arouse the mind, and, in a word, to raise the whole man above the common level of vulgar existence, and make him sensible that, while he thus contrasts the picturesque scenery of earth with the inimitable grandeur of the heavens, he is standing in the immediate pre- sence of that Deity, — " who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out the heavens with a span," — to whom he is indebted- for all he sees and all he feels, — by whose Almighty Power and Infinite Wisdom the rivers had their appointed sources and obtained leave to flow, — and from whose plastic hands the mountains first received ;heir appropriate bulk and due conforma- tion. I cannot convey to you any idea of the poverty of language that is felt, when one attempts to describe such a combination of grand and uncom- mon objects, — among which is found every thing essential to constitute the romantic, the terrific, the picturesque, and the sublime. Ail that is " awfully grand, or elegantly little," here occupies a prominent station ; and every part is so tastefully arranged as to make the deepest impression upon beholders, and to proclaim in language not less loud than '* the music of the spheres," The hand that made us is Divine. You are probably aware, that the circumjacent country in which Lake Erie lies, is elevated nearly 1 1 It' > i 128 FALLS OF NIAGARA. 300 feet above thftt which surroiinda Ontario. The extensive slope, or moiiniaiHf as it is called, which divides the lower country from the upper, is, in many places, nearly perpendicular. It commences on the Northern side of Lake Ontario, and runs thence round its North-western point, until it is intersected by the road which leads from York to Araersburgh : It afterwards pursues an Eastern direction, and finally embanks the strait, or river, of Niagara. Persons who visit the Falls, generally stop at an adjacent village, consisting of about a dozen houses, and two very excellent hotels, in which as good accommodation may be found as in any other part of the country. From the balcony of that which is styled the Niagara Falls' Pavilion^ there is a very fine view of " the Horse-shoe Fall," and of the island which bisects the river. From the same house there is also a difficult foot-path, which leads down a very steep bank to the edge of the river, immediately adjoining the place where the table-rock formerly stood. It must also be recol- lected, that the river issues from Lake Erie about 20 miles above the Falls, and, until it arrives within three miles of them, runs with a smooth current and an undisturbed surface. The bed of the stream then becomes rocky ; und the water is so violently agitated by passing down successive rapids, that a person of the strongest nerve, standing on the shore, cannot, without difficulty, refrain from shuddering at the sight. Notwithstanding the FALLS OF NIAUAUA. \'2i) mpidity ol' the current, its violence is displayed only on each aide of the river, the middle reniain- inii; sufliciontly smooth to admit of boats paaaing down to the island, that separates the river into two branches before the waters are dashed down the precipice which forms the Falls. As the cur- rent approaches this island, it seems to run with redoubled velocity : It is impossible to conceive any thing equal to the force and swiftness of its prof^ress to the ledge of rocks over which it is pro- pelled, till it impetuously tumbles into the bed of the river beneath, with a noise louder than that of thunder. When the waters fall into the deep basin, they rebound into the air in immense sphe- rical figures, white as snow, and sparkling as dia- monds. These figures, after rising and appa- rently remaining stationary for a moment, explode at the top and emit columns of spray to an aston- ishing height. They then subside, and are suc- ceeded by others which appear and disappear in the same manner. From that part of the table-rock which yet remains, and the path to which I have already described, the spectator commands one of the grandest and most romantic views in nature. The tremendous rapids above the Falls, — Goat Island in their midst, covered with trees, each of which seems at every moment about to be swept away, — the Horse-shoe Fall immediately below the Table- Rock,— Fort Schloper Fall, beyond Goat Island, — and the frightful gulf beneath, boiling with per- "■ I • Vol. I. K 130 FALLS OF NIAGARA. petual rage,+ and shooting upwards immense volumes of sparkling foam, smoking with the apparent intensity of furious heat, — are a few of the great objects which are forced upon his attention. + Since this chapter was put to press, I have obtained a copy of Professor Dwight's Travels, which are just published, and contain an excellent description of the Falls and their scenery. The "following passage explains very accurately, as well as philo- sophically, the peculiar sort of " boiling" described in the text : " You will easily believe, that by the falling of such a mass of water from such a height, the stream below must be intensely convulsed. The world, it is presumed, furnishes no example of similar agitation. The river does not, however, boil, in the com- mon acceptation of that word, at all. The whole surface, and probably all beneath it, is a body of foam, differing essentially from what I have seen produced elsewhere, and much more strongly indicating the immense force of the current. The bub- bles, of which it is universally composed, are extremely small ; and appear continually ascending, and spreading on the surface in millions of irregular circidar areas. These are all limited by lines, formed by chains of the larger bubbles, stretching between the several areas, so as to mark distinctly the extent of each. The lines themselves fluctuate unceasingly, and while they continually change their form, move along the surface, also, in every direc- tion. Thus the whole river appears in one common convulsion, as if affected with a deep paralytic tremor, reaching from shore to shore* as far down the stream as the eye can trace it, and apparently from the surface to the bottom. To give you the impression, which it made on my mind, I think ' of no better method, than to say, that it seemed as if a vast volcanic struggle had commenced beneath this world of waters, whose incumbent weight hitherto prevented the approaching explosion. ** The cause of this singular phenomenon may be thus under- stood. Immediately below the precipice, the bed of the river, where it receives the falling sheet, is of immense depth. Into this receptacle, the mass of descending water, plunging from I. FALLS OF NIAGARA. 131 Another place from which the Falls assume, if possible, a more striking and awful appearance, is at the bottom of the cataract, "f The precipice, such a height, forces its way to the bottom. Here, forming a curve, it begins to ascend. The current is, however, checked in every stage of its progress by the immeasurable weight of the superincumbent water. The motion upward must therefore become slow, divided, and irregular. In these circumstances, instead of a current, there must obviously be a general agitation, an universal heaving ; such as might be expected from the throes of an earthquake. As the ascending current is thus broken, and enervated, before it reaches the surface, the surface is not biU lowy, but comparatively level. The wavy, tossed aspect of other streams, immediately below their cataracts, is the result of a force, applied at the surface ; or of a current, descending only to a moderate depth. In the present case, as the ascending current comes from a depth so vast, it almost equally affects the whole mass, and cannot disturb the common level by the smallest fluc- tuations. The whole appearance, however, made an impression on the mind, of an agitation incalculably greater, and a force far more astonishing, than that, which produces the loftiest billows of the ocean. This was a scene, which I was unprepared to expect, and an exhibition of the force of water, which I had never before imagined. " Of the singular depth of the river at this place, no spectator will ask for proof. To others it may be alleged, that a deep stream, from two to three and a half miles wide, is here con- tracted at once to somewhat less than half a mile ; that logs, and other substances, after descending the precipice, continue buried a long time before they emerge ; and that this immense mass of water, plunging from such a height, has been so long and so unceasingly excavating the bed below." t I cannot describe the view from this point in more appropri- ate langvage, than in that of Doctor D wight : *' The emotions," says he, " excited by the view of this stu- pendous scene, are unutterable. When the spectator casts his k2 ; Hi » i III ! ' I' I'll !i? una FALLS OF NIAGARA. loading to this spot, is descended by means of a ladder, commonly called the Indian ladder, — a piece of mechanism simply consisting of a cedar-tree^ the boughs of which are lopped off at a sufficient distance from the trunk to make them answer all the purposes of irregular steps. After descending this ladder, the perpendicular height of which i» upwards of sixty feet, you proceed along the edge of the river, which is covered with broken rocks, the wrecks of boats, and other exumcc, until you arrive at the bottom of the Horse-shoe Fall. From this place, visitors frequently proceed on foot several hundred yards within a prodigious sheet of caverned water, which is formed by the overshoot- ing of the cataract. But they must be men of the firmest nerve, who venture on such a daring excursion: for the most undaunted resolution is eye over the long ranges of ragged r.liffs, which form the shores of this great river below the catai'act ; cliffs one hundred and fifty feet in height, bordering it with lonely gloom and grandeur, and shrouded every where by shaggy forests ; when he surveys the precipice above, stretching with so great an amplitude, rising to so great a height, and presenting in a single view its awful brow, with an impression not a little enhanced by the division, which the island forms between the two great branches of the river ; when he contemplates the enormous mass of water, pouring from this astonishing height in sheets so vast, and with a force so amaz-i ing ; when, turning his eye to the flood beneath, he beholds the immense convulsion of tlie mighty mass ; and listens to the majes- tic sound which fills thj heavens ; his mind is overwhelmed by thoughts too great, and by impressions too powerful, to permit the current of the intellect to flow with serenity." FALLS OF NIAGARA. idd in danger of being shaken, on looking upward at the impending rock, which continually seems to bend, and groan beneath the rolling flood to which it serves as a fearful support or aqueduct. From the projecting edge of this rock, the mass of waters is impelled forward, and leaves a large and smooth expanse, which reaches from the natural sheet of falling water to the very base of the gradually undermined mountain. If the atmosphere be dense, it is still more dangerous to engage in the bold attempt of exploring the stable foundations of the embedded river ; for people at such times not unr^quently lose the power of respiration in pro- ce». r far beneath the rocky ceiling. *f' Notwith- t Professor Dwight has satisfactorily accounted for the diffi- culty occasionally experienced by those pedestrians who try to get behind the screen of falling waters, by walking along the slippex'y banks of the river from the bottom of the ladder already described. He has proved, that the height of the river, both above and below the Falls, depends upon the quarter from which the wind blows. " Lake Erie," he says, " is regularly raised at the Eastern end (^where the Falls commence] by every wind, blowing between the North-west and the South-west. A strong Westerly wind elevates the surface six feet above its ordinary level. The I'iver must of course be proportionally elevated; and at the outlet must, when such a wind blows, be six feet higher than the general water-mark. Of this, also, the proof is sufficient, if it can need proof, in the appearance of the banks ; which bear evident marks of having been washed to a considerable height above the common surface of the stream. All parts of the river must of course partake of this elevation. At the cataract, and at the entrance into Lake Ontario, it must be higher than usual, as well as at its efflu.\ from Lake Eric Immediately below the cataract, the elc- k3 : I u ■ I 134 FALLS OF NIAGARA. standing this and various other dangers, to which all are equally exposed, who venture to sail any considerable distance under the rock, the native fishermen frequently continue there for hours together, apparently without any apprehension of danger. The river, immediately beneath the Falls, affords a greater quantity of fish than are to be found in any other piece of water of the same extent in the world. Snakes of different descrip- tions also abound upon the banks : These, when combined with the other terrors of the place, — the frightful roar of the cataract, and the troubled aspect of the river, — tend powerfully to augment the fearful propensities of the astonished visitor. The whole breadth of the precipice, or Falls, including the islands which intervene, is 1,335 yards. The greatest body of water falls on the Ca- nadian side of the river, and on account of the form assumed by the waters before they are dashed from the top of the rocks, is designated the Hokse-shok Fall. It extends from the shore to the interme- vation must, I think, be at least six feet; for the river, though more rapid, is scarcely half so wide as at the efflux. On the con- trary, whenever the wind blows from the North-east, the only easterly wind which in this region is of any importance, the waters of I. dee Erie must recede of course, and fall considerably below their usual level. Whenever this is the fact, the river also will be necessarily lower than at any other time." In the latter case, travellers may advance dry-shod along the banks behind the immense sheet of water ; but the attempt must be dangerous, whenever the wind blows from any point between the North-west and South-west. FALLS OF NIAGARA. 135 diate island, a distance of 600 yards. Fort Schlo- PBR Fall, which is on the American side, presents a sheet of water 350 yards in width ; and the Little Fall extends across a ledge of rocks for upwards of 140 yards. The quantity of water, which pours over all three, in every minute, is estimated at 169,344,000 gallons. Many stories are told of the melancholy fate of persons, who, at various times, have been carried down the rapids in attempting to sail across the river which flows above ; but, I believe, the only well-authenticated anecdote of this kind, relating to the disEisters of former days, is that of an In- dian. This unfortunate child of nature, having become intoxicated with liquor after a fishing excursion, made his canoe fast to a rock a few miles above the Falls ; and, reclining on the bow, fell asleep. By some unknown accident, the canoe was loosed from its moorings, and immediately floated down the current. While the surface of the water continued to be smooth, .the slumbers of the unconscious man were undisturbed ; but when his frail bark entered on the rapids, and became agitated by the eddies, he suddenly awoke as if from a frightful dream, terrified with the roaring of the cataracts, to which he was then fast approach- ing. On perceiving his perilous situation, and recovering a little from his first astonishment, he laid hold upon his paddle, and used the most vio- lent exertions to escape from the impending de- struction. When his repeated failures to avert th^ [ ; I 1 "J \' ' ■ ! ! 106 FALLS OF NIAGARA. swift course of the vessel had convinced him, that all endeavours on his part would be unavailing, ho laid aside his paddle, composedly rolled himself up in his blanket, and putting the whisky bottle for the last time to his lips, quietly lay down as if all danger was over. In a few moments, he and his bark were precipitated down the Falls, and no one ever more saw or heard of his remains, or those of his canoe. In the summer of 1822, a similar accident befe^ two unfortunate white men. It appears, that for some time past a part of Goat Island, which sepa- rates the Falls, has been inhabited and under culti- vation. Some of the residents who were on the point of quitting their perilous abode, were en- gaged in conveying their moveable effects to the Canada shore. The day was exceedingly boisterous, and the current of the river consequently more violent than usual. Four men, with two boats, were engaged in taking away the furniture ; and when the first trip had been accomplished, two of them, being apprehensive of danger from the fury with which the wind blew in the direction of the stream, resolved to venture no more until the storm should abate. They communicated this determin- ation to their companions, who, laughing them to scorn, boasted largely of their own freedom from fear, and returned to their hazardous employment : But, in a few moments afterwards, th'^y were carried down the cataracts, and dashed to pieces. A shoit time after this event, a table which hud been iu I ! 1 i ] ii-ALLS OF NIAGARA, 137 the same boat, was discovered in the river at the foot of the Falls, apparently uninjured. The noise of the Falls is said to be heard, on a calm evening, as far as Burlington Heights, -)- a dis- t This is given as a fact by Professor D wight : " The noise of this cataract," says he, " has often been the object of admiration, and the subject of loose and general descripti* n. Vc heard it distinctly when crossing the ferry at the distance of eighteen miles ; the wind blowing from the north-west almost at right angles •with the direction of the sound. Two gentlemen, who had lived some time at York, on the North side of Lake Ontario, and who were my companions in the stage, informed me, that it was not unfrequently heard there. The distance is fifty miles. " The note, or tone, if I may call it such, is the same with the hoarse roar of the ocean ; being much more grave, or less shrill, than that which proceeds from other oljjects of the same nature It is not only louder, but seems as if it were expanded to a singular extent ; as if it filled the atmosphere, and spread over all the sur- rounding country. The only variety, which attends it, is a cor. tinual undulation ; resembling that of long musical chords, when struck with a forcible impulse. These undulations succeed each other with great rapidity. When two persons stand very near to each other, they can mutually hear their ordinary conversation. When removed to a small distance, they are obliged to halloo ; and, when removed a little further, cinnot be heard at all. Every other sound is drowned in the tempest of noise, made by the water; and all else in the regions of nature appears to be dumb. This noise is a vast thunder, filling the heavens, shaking the earth, and leaving the mind, although perfectly conscious of safety, and affected with a sense of grandeur only, lost and aston- ished, swelling with emotions which engross all its faculties, and mock the power of utterance. " The strength of this sound may be illustrated in the follow- ing manner : The i-oar of the ocean on the beach, South of Long Island, is sometimes heard in New-Haven, at the distance of forty milca. The cataract of Niagara is heard ten miles iurliur." ! I ii: 138 FALLS OF NIAGARA. tance of nearly fifty miles. But I must confess, that I do not believe this assertion, unless the wind, which is an excellent transmitter of sound, blow exactly in that direction. The waters make a report which might be he d at a much greater distance, if,— instead of falling into a profound gulf, surrounded on every side with hills of at least 360 feet perpendicular height, which confine the sound, — they fell upon a horizontal plain, of suffi- cient altitude to allow the sound to pass without interruption into the circumjacent country. — As an illustration, consider these two facts : If a stone, of given dimensions, were let fal' from the surface of the earth into a well 100 feet deep, the noise would not be distinctly heard by a person standing twenty yards from its mouth ; but if the same stone were dropped from the apex of a steeple, of only half that height, into a cistern of water, the sur- face of which was on a level with the earth, the noise, occasioned by its splashing in the water, would be distinctly heard at above five times the former distance. The perpendicular height of the Horse-shoe Fall, — from the edge of the rock over which the water pours, to the surface of the basin below, — is 160 feet; and from the surface of the river to its bed, is 66 feet, making in the whole a depth of 216 feet ; which, added to 68 feet, — the difference of level in the stream for half a mile immediately above the Falls, — gives a descent of 273 feet, in this short distance. FALIiS OF NIAGARA. 139 confess, le wind, d, blow make a greater rofound at least fine the of suffi- without y.— As a stone, surface he noise tanding (le stone of only the sur- rth, the water, mes the oe Fall, water -is 160 its bed, of 216 nee of diately 'eet, in Previous to the settlement of the country along the banks of the Niagara river, great numbers of wild beasts, birds, and fishes, might be seen, dashed to pieces, at the bottom of the Falls ; and innu- merable birds of prey were continually hovering over their putrid carcases. But since this part of the country has been thickly settled, scarcely any thing is to be found in the bed of the river below the Falls, except fishes, and a few water-fowl, which, on alighting in the rapids, are unable to take wing again, and are soon hurried down the dreadful abyss. It is generally supposed, that the Falls were once as far down as Queenstown, and the suppo- sition seems to me very plausible. The appear- ance of the banks on each side of the river affords very strong presumptive evidence in favour of this notion ; and the fact of the constant recession of the Falls, observed by the people who reside in their vicinity, is no less confirmatory. That seven miles of lime-stone strata of such great depth should be worn away by nothing but water, will appear too preposterous for belief, by those who have never stooped to the drudgery of calculation ; but, if only the fiftieth part of a barley-corn was worn away in every hour since the creation, supposing the Falls to have then been at Queenstown, or a little above it, they would now be within a few perches of the place where they really are. These calcu- lations receive an air of great plausibility, at least, from the rugged features of the banks I 1 11 PI 1 !!■ < 4I| MO THK LAKES. between the Falls and Queenstown, whicli alTord numerous and strong indications of the convulsions to which nature has been subjected. Between the Falls and Fort Erie there is only one small village, containing about a dozen houses, with several military stores, and two or three taverns. It is situated on the Western bank of the river Welland ; and near it is n small military fort, called Fort Ciiippawa. Lake Erie is situated on elevated ground, on the bank of the Lake from which it derives its name. During the late war, this Fort was much improved, and connected, by a chain of tred works, extending about 1,100 yards to Snake Hill, on which there is a strong Battery. Lake Erie is situated between 41 and 43 deg. of North latitude, and between 79 and 82 of West longitude. It is 231 miles long, and 63 and a half wide. Its circumference is 658 miles, and its greatest depth 40 fathoms. The Northern banks aer little diversified, and exhibit an almost perfect sameness from one extremity to the other. The harbours are few and very unsafe. Long Point, or the North Foreland, is a nar- row strip of land projecting Eastward, from the township of Walsingham, little less than 20 miles, and not exceeding 180 yards in breadth. At Turkey Point, projecting from the main- land within the Foreland, a spot has been surveyed and laid out for a Dock Yard. From this spot to Amersburgh, nothing intervenes to break the uni- TflE LAKES. 14t t'ormity of the const ; if wo except the Rondeau, which is a small Lake of about 9 miles long, and 3 broad, connected with Lake Erie by a narrow passage or Strait. Amersbuugh is situated about 3 miles up the Eastern bank of the Detroit River, and contains nearly 100 houses. During the late war, it was a frontier post and naval depot ; but the military works, dock-yard, and stores, were destroyed by the English in 1813, when they were compelled to evacuate it by an overwhelming American force. Fourteen miles beyond Amersburgh, pursuing the course of the river, is the town of Sandwich, containing about GO houses, with a Church, Gaol, and Court House. It is situate in a very fine part of the country, immediately opposite the United States' town of Detroit. From Sandwich to Lake St. Clair, the country is said to be inferior to none in the Province. Be- yond this, there is no cultivated land, except a few small patches around the different stations of the North West Company, in the interior. Lake St. Clair forms nearly a circle, the diameter of which is 30 miles. Michigan, situated between 42 and 45 degrees of North latitude, and between 86 and 87 of West longitude, is 262 miles long, 65 broad, and 731 in circumference. Lake Huron, between 43 and 47 deg. North lat., and between 80 and 85 deg. West long., is 218 1 ' 1 I 1; ! TSP't 142 THE LAKE». miles lohp, andlOO miles broad, being 812 miles in circumference. Lake Superior, situated between 46 and 48 degrees of North latitude, and between 85 and 93 of West longitude, is the astonishing length of 381 miles by 161 ; the circumference of which is 1162 miles. ^ The Lake of the Woods is very small. Its North West angle is no less than 1826 miles from Quebec. m LETTER VIII. nEScniPTioN or the cANADAg — militia op tup. uppeii pro- vince — GENERAL ASPECT OF THE COUKTnV — PI 1LIC ROADS— - MODE OF RETTLINO THE LOWER PUOVINCK — FEW MOlNTAINi, AND NUMEROUS RIVERS, IN UPPER CANADA ^-THE Mv ?T 1*1- PROVED DISTRICTS— GREAT VARIETY OF SOIL — MODE OF IL- TURE AFTER FIRST CLEARANCE, AND OF ASCERTAINING THE QUALITY OF LAND. t Upper CANADA is situated between 42 an! :;i: il i\v 148 DESCRIPTION OF "ii ! T of his profession ; "I" and cannot, in that respebt, be better described than in the words of our admir- able lyric bard : No bright remembrance o'er the fancy plays ; No classic dream, no star of other days. Has left that visionary glory here. That relic of its light so soft and clear. Which gilds and hallows e'en the rudest scene. The humblest shed where genius once has been. , Upper Canada is a level country, and its general appearance is sombre and uninviting. From Kingston, as far as the Western extremity of the Province, one or two places excepted, you travel through a continued forest; the prospect is in consequence never extensive, but commonly confined within the limits of a single mile. But Time and Industry, the mighty two, Which bring our wishes nearer to our view, may very soon effect a considerable change,— t Though this is actually the case, yet after all my veneration Tor antiquity, I heartily accord with the following just sentiment' expressed in the Preface to Professor Dwight's Travels : — " A forest, — changed within a short period into fruitful fields, covered with houses, schools, and churches, and filled with inhabitants, possessing not only the necessaries and comforts, but also the conveniences of life, and devoted to the worship of Jehovah,— ;vhen seen only in prophetic vision, enraptured the mind even of Isaiah ; and, when realized, can hardly fail to delight that of a spectator. At least, it may compensate the want of ancient castles, ruined abbeys, and fine pictures." THE CANADAS. 140 although YEA us have rolled on and found it the same, and industry — Canadian industry ^ I mean — has in many instances left it so ; for no marked visible change has been effected in the aspect of this highly favoured Province. Blessed with the most fertile soil upon the face of the earth, its lazy occupants seem satisfied if they derive from its pro- ductiveness the mere necessaries of life, — the bare supports of animal existence. These, as well as the comforts of life, it yields them almost spon- taneously ; and, in the midst of this plenty, they never think of ornamenting, or even properly cul- tivating, their fertile estates. In many parts which I could point out, the soil is so exuberant, and the seasons so propitious, both to the growth and the preservation of crops, that the life of its inhabit- ants is literally that of Cowper's happy pair : They eat, and drink, and sleep, — what then ? Why, eat, and drink, and sleep again ! To the scientific traveller, however, this province can afford but little pleasure, if we except the Falls of Niagara, and a few other natural curiosities. It exhibits little but immeasurable forests, the dreary abodes of wolves and bears, — log-huts, which, though always clean and comfortable within, have a most gloomy and sepulchral appearance from without, — and wretchedly-cultivated fields, studded with the stumps of trees, and fenced round with split rails ; a mode of enclosure wUh which I l3 :« i u"" i h ' 150 DESCRIPTION or J ; j. ii- I can never associate any other idea, than that of sheep eating turnips. The roads, if roads they may be called, are yet so very bad, that any attempt to describe them to you would, I fear, be altogether fruitless. In a single day's journey of thirty or forty miles, you are generally necessitated to perform the greater part of it over miserable causeways, composed of the trunks of trees from nine inches to two feet in diameter. These logs are placed across the roads, in all moist and swampy places; and, with very few exceptions, they are the only materials which are used in the formation of our dangerous bridges. As these logs are neither square nor flattened, and not always even perfectly straight, they frequently lie so far apart, that horses, cows, and oxen are continually in danger of breaking their limbs in passing over. Fewer accidents, however, occur in this way, than might be expected. Cattle of all kinds in this country are so accustomed thus to dance upon beech and maple, that, before they attain their second year, they acquire such a proficiency in the art of log- walking, that I should not be at all surprised to hear of an American horse or bull becoming a rope-dancer. Nature has probably done more for Upper Ca- nada, than for any other tract of country of equal extent ; and art seems to conduct herself upon the modest principle, that it would be an act of unpar- donable presumption in her, to attempt the further improvement of a country so greatly indebted to 1? THE CAN ADAS. 161 that of Is they at any ear, be rney of ssitated liserable jes from logs are jwampy hey are rmation J neither ►erfectly ,rt, that I danger Fewer m might country lech and nd year, of log- )rised to oming a )per Ca- of equal upon the f unpar- i further ebted to I I ; ..1 the kind indulgence of her elder sisters Here is the finest field for the exercise of human industry and ingenuity ; — a soil not only capable of produc- ing in abundance all the necessaries of life, but equal to the culture of its greatest luxuries ; — a climate, not only favourable to the human consti- tution, but also eminently calculated for the culti- vation of every species of grain and fruit. And yet, so great is the delusion under which many Europeans still labour with respect to the real character of this fine country, that most of those who have not seen it compare it in imagination with the deserts of Siberia ; and receive all that travellers relate in *ts favour with no more can- dour than can be expected from persons who evince no wish to be undeceived. Its real advantages, how- ever, are now becoming so well appreciated by the inhabitants of Great Britain, that, on a mode- rate calculation, it annually receives an accession of 8,000 European settlers, in addition to those who pass over from the American confines. Lower Canada is not only a more picturesque country than the sister Province, but, having been much longer settled, the roads are greatly superior and the population more condensed. The princi- pal road runs along the North bank of the St. Lawrence, which, as well as the Southern bank, is thickly settled. The farm-houses stand very close to each other, — a circumstance from which the French writers, in their exaggerated accounts of the country, have derived the romantic idea t 1 1 iii: I ! 152 DESCRIPTION OF of villages 50 miles in extent. The land along the whole course of this noble river, from the point where it discharges itself into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to within about thirty miles above Mont- real, was divided, by order of the French King, into a certain number of Seigniories, or Lordships, which were granted to such enterprising characters as were desirous of seeking their fortunes in the Trans-atlantic forests. These Seigneurs, or Lords of Manor, were bound to concede their possessions, in lots of about 200 acres, to such of the peasantry in the country as might be able to back their appli- cations for land with respectable testimonials of their loyalty and good character. On obtaining farms, the peasantry were bound to become actual settlers, to clear, within a certain period, a specific portion of each lot, to keep open the public road, and to fulfil certain other conditions which will hereafter be detailed. Each of the lots runs along the course of the river about 38 English perches, and stretches backwards into the country about 1018. When the land which fronted the river was settled, the Seigneurs formed other concessions in the rear of the former, which, in their turn, also became settled : But as it is usual in every part of the Canadas, to clear only the front of each lot, leaving 40 or 50 acre^ of wood in the rear for fuel and other domestic purposes, a stranger would hardly suppose that any settlements existed beyond the visible boundaries of the cleared lands. This custom affords a good reason why the country still p. 5 [: THE CANADAS. 153 1 Hains the same wooded appearance which it had a few years after its first settlement ; and why, as I before observed, you can seldom extend your view beyond the limits of a mile. On the banks of all the minor rivers which communicate with the St. Lawrence, similar settlements have been formed, and of late years many townships have been surveyed and partially settled, which are far remote from navigable waters. The only picturesque scenery in the Province, is that which borders immediately on the rivers. The new town- ships of the Lower Province exhibit, in every thing" except the inferiority of the soil, an appear- ance very similar to those of Upper Canada: Gloomy forests, rail-fences, log-huts, and decayed stumps are all the inanimate objects which present themselves, in varying groups, to diversify the prospect; and though you, now and then, hear the hammering of the Wood-pecker, the growl of the Bear, the monotonous note of the Blue Jay, or some other equally attractive music, their uncheer- ing discord redoubles, instead of dispersing, the gloom which frequently arises within the minds of those who have been accustomed to more busy scenes and to more lively society. In Upper Canada there are no mountains, and but very few hills. The only one of any note, is that which extends from the head of Quinte Bay, along the North side of Lake Ontario to its Western extremity, whence it afterward pursues an Eastern direction until it embanks the river Niagara. The ! f I i 164 DS8CRIPTI0N OF \ i I Canadians call this *^ a mountain/' although its greatest altitude does not exceed 340 feet, and its general height not more than 85 or 100 feet. This hill, notwithstanding its great extent, tends very little to diversify the country. An Aero- naut, in his towering flight, might possibly derive some pleasure from the contemplation of it, and might, from his lofty balloon, perceive many pic- turesque and romantic spots along its ridge ; but many of these are concealed, by the intervention of imperviable forests, from the observation of pedestrian or equestrian travellers. If the banks of the navigable rivers in Upper Canada were settled like those of the sister Pro- vince, the newly-cleared farms would greatly add to the beauty of the country. The Ottawais or Grand River, which empties itself into the St. Lawrence about thirty miles West of Montreal, is a very extensive and beautiful river. It is navi- gable by boats, almost from its source to its mouth. The Trent rises in the neighbourhood of the River Lakes, and, after running a course of more than 100 miles, falls into the Bay of Quinte. The Grand River Ouse disembogues itself into Lake Erie, about 40 miles from its Eastern extre- mity. It is navigable by small craft for about 50 miles ; and some of the richest and most beautiful flats, or prairie lands, in the Province, border on its banks, and are occupied by the Indians of the Six Nations. >' !! TnS CANADAS. 155 iough its t, and its 100 feet, at, tends Ln Aero- ly derive if it, and lany ple- dge; but jrvention nation of n Upper ster Pro- eatly add l^awais or the St. ntreal, is is navi- e to its of the of more te. self into rn extre- aboiit 60 beautiful order on IS of the The river Thames rises in a part of the country yet unexplored; and, after winding along in a serpentine course of more than 200 miles, falls into Lake St. Clair. On the banks of this fine river, lie thousands of acres of flats, similar to those on the Grand River. This soil is formed by the annual overflowing of the river, and is not, I am confident, inferior in richness to any in the uni- verse, not even excepting the river-bo* ♦oros on the Ohio. It produces the most fruitful crops of Indian corn imaginable ; but is too rich for wheat, oats, or any common grain. Potatoes, turnips, and all kinds of culinary plants and vegetables, are cultivated on these flats with astonishing success. Beside these rivers^ there are innumerable fine brooks and rivulets, running through every town- ship. These are all called ** creeks," by the Ame- ricans ; for what reason, or by what authority, I have never been able to ascertain. The most improved parts of Upper Canada are, from the line which divides it from the Lower Pro- vince, to the head of the Bay of Quinte, a distance of nearly 150 miles ; from Fort George to Queens- town, for seven miles along the Niagara river ; and in the neighbourhood of Sandwich and Amersburgh. Every other part appears but in its infancy ; and yet, young as are the settlements, and great as were the difficulties with which the first inhabit- ants had to contend, in their efforts to redeem the wilderness from its sterility, you observe not a joy- less countenance among them : In the uninter- M ; 1 Wf ) 150 DESCRIPTION OF ruptod enjoyment of liberty, and the enlivening; anticipation of independence, these happy lords of the forest spend their days in toilsome pursuits, without a murmur. Every tree that falls by the force of their axe is, in reality, the removal of another obstacle to their increasing prosperity ; and never fails to occasion a delip^htful reflection, which softens toil and sweetens labour. The vista which the woodman's axo has gradually opened through the forest, and the extended view which it reveals to the beholder, prefigure the scenes of the future part of his life, through which he may see the probable issue of his diligent endeavours, and the independence of his successors. They toil for themselves, fearless of the oppressor's grasp, and unawed by the menaces of a lordly master, or the more unfeeling threats of his upstart hirelings. In several parts of the Midland District, and particularly about the Bay of Quinte, the quality of the soil is very good : but it is only in the Gore, Niagara, London, and the Western Districts, that every township is composed of first-rate land. From the Bay of Quinte, to York, along Dundas Street, there is a great deal of rather inferior land. Between York and the head of Lake Ontario, on each side of the Great Western road, the settle- ments are very numerous; and the soil, though not exceedingly prolific, seems to bo tolerably well- cultivated. Still pursuing the Western road, from the head of Lake Ontario to the reserves of the Six Nations, on the banks of the river Ouse, the land (( THE CANADAR. I6T vcniM^ )r(ls of iirsuits, by tlie aval ot* perity ; lection, 3 vista opened vhich it n of the nay see lis, and toil for sp, and or the ffS. :;t, and quality Gore, s, that land. Dundas jr land. rio, on settle- gh not ' well- l, from the Six is found to improve. In the neighbourhood of Ancaster, there are many extensive and well- cleared farms ; but the soil is light and sandy, and consequently wanting in durability. From the river Ouse, to Lake St. Clair, the land is allowed by all unprejudiced persons, acquainted with the country, to be generally not inferior to any tract* of equal extent on the American Continent. In most parts, a fine black vegetable mould, between six and nine inches in depth, covers a bed of deep grey clay, or sandy loom, entirely free from stones. In other parts, the vegetable mould is laid upon a substratum of yellow clay, which, if turned up in wet weather, is very liable to bake. Returning again to the head of Lake Ontario,; and following the road which leads to Fort George, and thence to Queenstown, the land will in gene- ral be found of a quality superior to that between York and Ancaster, but not so good as that of the Western country. In many of the new townships in the neighbourhood of Lake Simcoe, the land is of an excellent quality : It is indeed universally acknowledged, that all the new surveys are, in point of fitness for the purposes of agriculture, greatly superior to the old ones, offering to settlers every inducement, but the primary one of water- communication with the more distant parts of the country, — an advantage of which the majority of these townships are entirely destitute. , I have not a doubt, but that there are millions of acres in the Province, which, if cultivated accord-. lit. 1 I' I r,!-'-!'^ ' '!■ .- 158 DESCRIPTION OP ing to the system pursued by English agricul- turists, and committed to the care of skilful and industrious labourers, would produce crops as abundant as those of any other country in the world. But I have never observed a single acre of land, in either of the Canadas, that was so culti- vated as to produce more than two-thirds of the grain, which, under more judicious management, it would certainly have been found to yield. When the land is first cleared, it is either sov/n with wheat or planted with Indian corn. Crops of these descriptions succeed each other, without intermis- sion or ploughing, for three or four years together : At the expiration of this period, weeds have grown apace, and the farmer is at length compelled to introduce the plough-share, which, it is true, is rather an awkward instrument among the stumps. It is however of essential service : It turns up a part of the soil that aifords covering for another crop, which is always put in by the farmer without his bestowing a single thought concerning a sum- mer fallow, or Etny thing of that nature : The next year, the roots of the trees become more rotten, and the plough consequently more efficacious. Another crop is tried, and so on for 16 or 20 years, without any admixture of manure, or the slightest attention to a regular rotation of crops, until the soil becomes completely exhausted. In this manner, thousands of acres of excellent soil have been rendered incapable of producing the moat ordinary necessaries of life, — land which. THE CANADAS. mo ^ricul- ul and ops as in the acre of ) cuUi- of the rement, 'when n with of these itermis- ►gether : e grown lelled to true, is stumps, rns up a another without • a sum- he next rotten, cacious. or 20 or the f crops, ed. In ent soil pmg the which. instead of running out, would have become yet richer and more productive under a proper course of tillage. In every part of America, the quality of the soil is ascertained, more by the timber which it produces, than by the appearance of its surface or the nature of its substrata. Land, upon which black and white Walnut, Chesnut, Hiccory, and Basswood, grow, is esteemed the best on the con- tinent. That which is covered with Maple, Beech, mid Cherry, is reck-^ned as second-rate. Those parts which produce Oak, Elm, and Ash, are es- teemed excellent wheat-land, but inferior for all other agricultural purposes. Pine, Hemlock, and Cedar land is hardly worth accepting as a present. It is however difficult to select any considerable tract of land, which does not embrace a great variety of wood ; but, when a man perceives that Walnut, Chesnut, Hiccory, Basswood, and Maple, -\re promiscuously scattered over his estate, he need not be at all apprehensive of having to cultivate an unproductive soil. While on the other hand, he whose unlucky stars have set him down amid huge Pines, wide-spreading Hemlocks, slender Cedars, and stunted Oaks, will do well to accede to the advice of the poet. To-morrow to fresh fields and pastures new ! Along the banks of the St. Lawrence and on the shores of Lake Ontario, particularly, between York and the Western extremity of the Lake, 1 , ! iH: 1 ' : ^1 i i i 1 ' i i ! ^ I I ! ! 1 ■ IGO UPPER CANADA. the barren sort of soil preponderates. In the Lon- don and Western Districts, and in many of the new townships in the Gore, Home, and Newcas- tle Districts, there are not more Pines and Cedars than suffice for building materials and fencing timber for home-consumption. Indeed there are several townships in the Western Districts, entirely destitute of Pine timber, — a circumstance, which, though it argues much in favour of the soil, is nevertheless attended with many serious incon- veniences. i . LETTER IX. MORE PARTICULAR SKETCH OF TIIF, DIFFERENT DISTRICTS — EASTERN, INCLUDING JOHNSTOWN AND BATHURST ITS COMMER- CIAL AND AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES — MILITARY SETTLE- MENT—ATTENTION OF THE G0VP:RNMENT to ITS IMPROVEMENT AND PROSPERITY — VILLAGE OF PERTH —-< THE CHARACTER OF ITS POPULATION MIDLAND DISTRICT— NEWCASTLE DISTRICT- HOME DISTRICT — EXQUISING, CHINGUACOUSY, AND NASSAUCYA —INHABITANTS AND POPULATION GORE DISTRICT NIAGARA DISTRICT ITS PROXIMITY TO THE UNITED STATES — LONDON AND WESTERN DISTRICTS — UNTIMBERED LANDS, COMMONLY CALLED PLAINS — OPINIONS OF THE INDIANS ABOUT THEM, &C. 1 : ' 1 ' •I Ml i Having given you a slight sketch of the whole Province of Upper Canada, I sha!? row atiompt p. more particula' description, and ?p^Ak of oach District separately. This is the i.iore neces^^firy as they differ greatly in their soil and clJJBite, as well as in their commercial and agricultural advan- tages. In the Eastern Districts, including those of Ottawais, Johnstown, and Bathurst, the soi' is in general of an inferior quality : Yet those town- ships which are watered by the Grand Ri^/ei' and the St. Lawrence, are said to be exceedingly fer- tile. In many parts, however, the land is much Vol. I. M i f! jr. 163 THE EASTERX DISTRICTS. i I too swampy, and composed of a cold clayey loam, — circumstances which, in Canada, wholly pre- clude the possibility of making good roads. The proximity of these districts to the Montreal mar- ket, and the facilities which their direct water- communication with the Atlantic affords, would, in the eyes of a superficial observer, give them a decided preference to every other district in the Province ; but the severity of the climate more than counterbalances these great advantages, and renders them far less desirable, as places of resi- dence for agriculturists, than many of the more remote townships on the shores of Erie and St. Clair. It is of little advantage to a farmer to find a convenient market, if he has nothing to dispose of; and from the general character of the Eastern districts, there is no great probability that the inhabitants will ever have a surplus produce of any considerable amount. Winter-wheat is a very uncertain crop, ever in their best soils, and Indian- corn seldom arrives at maturity : Both these un- propitious results are owing to the severity of the climate. Early frosts in the Autumn, and late ones in the Spring, too frequently render abortive the exertions of persevering industry. I am inti- mately acquainted with a gentleman, who for more than 20 years resided in one of these Districts, and who is now in that of London. He has repeat- edly declared to me, that he would rather have 60 acres of land in either of the Western districts, than 500 in the mo»t productive townships in that MILITARY SETTLEMENTS. 1G3 Y loam, ly pre- 3. The al mar- water- would, them a t in the te more yes, and of resi- le more and St. to find a pose of; Eastern that the )duce of s a very Indian- hese un- ,y of the ind late abortive am inti- for more Districts, s repeat- ler have districts, s in that of Oitawais, Johnstown, or Bathurst. He says, few farmers in those districts, on an averag^e of ten years, succeed in raising a sufficient quantity of " bread-stuff" for their own consumption, and consequently never think about cultivating any for market. The Military Settlements of Perth, Rich- mond, and Lanark, comprising some of the best townships in the District of Bathurst, have been so fortunate as to engross the almost exclusive attention of Government. Assistance has, in va- rious ways, been afforded to the settlers, who are not subject to many of those enormous fees which are exacted from the inhabitants of other town- ships. The Government selected this spot as a settlement for several half-pay officers, and sol- diers discharged from the various regiments that had served in the Canadas. I dare say, they are sufficiently contented with the; allotments assigned ; and most heartily do I wish tiiem all the happiness which they can derive from contemplating poison- ous swLLiiips, blighted corn, and frozen cucumbers. Such sights are, to say the least, as well calculated to ch-eer and elevate th^ spirits of men, As stormy floods and carnage- cover'd fields: But the ameliorating effects which human industry gradually produces on the rugged face of nature, are beheld with satisfaction in several parts of this District. Already have Ibe fields begun to wear a more smiling aspect; the woods disappear, and m2 I {'- ' I- 'i; ! i h i I i'lti 1 1 1G4 PERTH. li ' some of the obstinate morasses have yielded to the arts and labour of the husbandman. The village of Perth, which is the only one of any consequence in the Military Settlements, is rapidly increasing both in extent and population. li now contains three places of worship, a gaol, court-house, and market-place, with a variety of decent-looking private buildings. Perth is the dep6t, from which such of the settlers as are fur- nished by Government with provisions and imple- ments of agriculture, obtain their supplier. And many of the officers, to whom I have alluded, reside in the village and its environs. Those of our settlers who separated from us at La Chine, 'f have taken up their abode in the vici- nity of Perth, — I think in the township of Goul- burn. I have seen letters from several of them, which speak of the soil being very rich, but rather swampy ; notwithstanding which, every one appears perfectly satisfied with his situation. These Districts are settled by men of different noUons. In the county of Glengary, the inhabitants ire almost exclusively Scotch : In the Military Set- tlements, the majV/iity are Irish, and the rest Scotch and English^ Along Vw banks of the St. Law- rence, from Glengary to the Eastern line of Plattsburgh, Americans, Hollanders, and Germans, are, for the most part, the owners of the soil. The three Districts comprise about 35,000 inhabitants. I t Sec page 83. NEW CANAL. IG5 I to the 7 one of lents, is (ulation. a gaol, riety of 1 is the are fur- :l imple- 3. And alluded, )m us at the vici- pf Goul- jf them, it rather appears different labitants ;ary Set- 3t Scotch St. Law- line of ermans, oil. The abitants. The communication between Upper and Lower Canada, from Montreal to Kingston, was till lately by the route of the St. Lawrence ; and as the opposite bank of this river was, for part of that distance, an enemy's country, during the late war, the transportation of stores, troops, or mer- chandize, along that line, was accomplished with much risk and inconvenience. The numerous straits and rapids in the river, between the two Provinces, afford an enemy good opportunities for intercepting supplies and injuring commerce. To obviate this difficulty, was an object which long occupied the attention of Government : After several schemes had been devised, it was at length resolved to improve the navigation of the Otta- wais, or Grand River, which flows into the St. Lawrence only a few miles above Montreal. For more than 120 miles from its junction up to Ne- pean, — the point at which land-communication is intended to begin, — the Ottawais is navigable, with the exception of one part, in w^hich a dan- gerous rapid occurs, called " the Long Sault :" This, however, will be avoided, by a canal of twelve miles, six or eight of which are now finished under the direction of Government. From Ne- pean, a grand military road has been commenced, which will soon be completed : It will then afford a good and uninterrupted line, upwards of 120 miles m extent, through a fine country ^ every part of which will soon be thickly settled and well cul- m3 \ '■ r 1 t ' i ; i I \m MIDLAND DISTKICT. |: tivated. By this route, — which will not be exposed in any part of it to the attack of the Americans, — produce and merchandize may, both in time of war and peace, be conveyed a distance of 240 miles, if not more quickly, yet with greater safety, than by the old course of the St. Lawrence. The inhabitants of the townships, through which this important road passes, have an additional stimulus given to their exertions, on account of the increas- ing facilities which will be thus afforded to the transportation of their imports and exports. The Midland Distkict, in which is the town of Kingston, enjoys a very favourable climate and a soil which is tolerably free from swamps. The land all round the Bay of Quinte is of an excellent quality, though rendered very unproductive by that indigenous weed, the Canadian thistle. All eiforts to extirpate this intruder have hitherto proved ineffectual, and it is vain to expect a good crop from those lands in which it has once made its appearance. This District was first settled by those persons who adhered to the royal cause during the revolutionary war, and were compelled on its termination to take refuge in the British ter- ritories. There are now a few European adven- turers amongst them ; but the majority of its inhabitants are the descendants of these Anti- republicans. The situation of this District is very favourable to the prosecution of commerce ; but it is the opinion of all men of extensive information, HOBIE DISTRICT. 1G7 3Xposed icans, — J of war [) miles, safety, B. The lich this stimulus increas- to the • town of te and a ^he land xcellent by that 1 efforts proved od crop lade its tied by cause mpelled iish ter- adven- of its 3 Anti- is very ; but it mation, ' that it presents very few advantages to agricul- turists. It contains 21,000 inhabitants. In most parts of the Newcastle District the soil is very good, but especially so in the townships of Cavan and Monaghan. It is well-watered by the river Trent and its tributary streams. On the whole, I think it greatly superior both to the East- ern and the Midland Districts. Its climate is much better ; its soil equally good ; and its population likely to become more numerous and condensed. It contains at present 10,000 souls. • The Home District, in which is York, the seat of government, has a great variety of soil ; some of which is very excellent, and some of an inferior description. All that part which lies on the shores of Ontario, is of a bad quality. The new town- ships in the neighbourhood of Lake Simcoe are much more productive ; but the climate in Winter is severe, and Indian corn affords a very precarious crop. The climate of Esquising, Chinguacousy, ^nd Nassaucya is still milder, and their soil more fertile. The township of Markham, which is situ- ated on the North East side of the road leading from York to Lake Erie, is the most improved part of this District. It is inhabited principally by the Dutch, whose industry is conspicuous in every part of the Province in which they are settled. The new townships of the Home District are almost wholly peopled by English, Scotch, and Irish ; and the old ones, which are those along the shores it : ! ill I I' ! I tl ■ i i ■ it l*v IG8 GORE DISTRICT. of Ontario, by Americans. The Holland, Credit, and Humber rivers, yield the inhabitants a plenti- ful supply of excellent water and an abundance of fish ; particularly salmon, thousands of which are annually speared in the river Credit, and trans- mitted to every part of the Western country. The inhabitants of this District are 14,000. The Go HE District is more hilly and broken than any other in the Province. It enjoys, how- ever, a more favourable climate than those already described, and the soil is by no means inferior. It is the first District in which peach-orchards are found of any considerable extent : Some peach-trees are to be seen in the Home District, but none at all in the lower Districts. — The inhabitants are chiefly Americans, and Pennsylvanian Dutch : I know of very fow European farmers in the Di.strict. There is, however, a reasonable number of Scotch Shop- keepers, and Irish " Itinerant Merchants ;" for the term " Pedlar' is too degrading to be used in this land of gentry. We have abundance of tinmen, coppermen, hired-men, and help-men, and a quan- tum sufficit of boot and shoe-men : But, — thanks to the extensive synonymes of the English language ! —we have in America no tinkers, servants, labour- ers, or coblers. I wonder that the sons of Crispin, in this refined part of the world, never adopt the more honourable titles of ** Translators" and " Cord- wainers," by which they are distinguished in some countries. — The population of the Gore District amounts to nearly 12,000 souls. NIAGARA DISTRICT. 109 , Credit, a plenti- dance of hich are id trans- try. The I broken y», how- 3 already ior. It is are found ■trees are ) at all in e chiefly know of t. There h Shop- for the 3d in this tinmen, 1 a quan- hanks to nguage ! , labour- Crispin, dopt the i" Cord- in some District I The Niagara Dintrict is more advantageously situated, both for commerce and agriculture, tluiii any other in the Province. It possesses an excel- lent climate and a luxuriant soil ; and is the wn and , that he *th, and, intain, — print of his bolts red, ex- forehead ell. At e, which enraged )ver the he Great st visited ■ge party ho were lickasaw 84 years authen- of these presents menting owess in his own hen lay tell him I was I passed Cataw- om was TllU MAMMOTU. 18a t u ti u a (( (4 i( it it i( (( (( it it ft i< « « tc « « iC t( i( i( t( (( a my own grandfather, then gave me the tradition handed down to us respecting those bones, the like of which are found in no other part of the country. After the Great Spirit firjjt formed the world, he made the various birds and beasts which now inhabit it. He also made man ; but, having formed him white and very imperfect and ill-tempered, he placed him on one side of it, where he now dwells, and whence he has lately found a passage across the great water, to be a plague to us. As the Great Spirit was not pleased with this his work, he took a piece of black clay, and made what white men call A NEGRO, with a woolly head. This black man was much better than the white man ; but he did not answer the wishes of the Great Spirit, that is, he was imperfect. At last the Great Spirit, having procured a piece of pure red clay, formed from it the red man, perfectly to his mind ; and he wa:j so well pleased with him, that he placed him on this great island, separate from the white and black men, and gave him rules for his con- duct, promising him happiness in proportion as they should be observed. He increased accord- ingly, and was quite happy for ages. But the foolish young people, at length forgetting those rules, became exceedingly ill-tempered and wicked. In consequence of this, the Great Spirit created the Great Buffalo, [meaning the Mam- moth,] the bones of which are now before us. These made war upon the human species alone. 184 THE MAiMMOTH. " and destroyed all, except a few, who repented " and promised the Great Spirit, that they would " live according to his laws, if he would restrain ** the devouring enemy : Whereupon he sent forth ** lightning and thunder, and destroyed the whole " race [of the Mammoth] on this spot, excepting ** two, a male and female, which he shut up in ** yonder mountain, ready to be let loose again, " if occasion "should require." Such are the ideas which the Indians entertain concerning those surprising animals ; and such is the only information that could ever be obtained respecting their existence. From the astonishing size of their bones, it is very evident, that nothing but a singular visitation of Providence could have caused their extirpation : For surely no animal, or herd of animals, at priesent in being, could have mustered sufficient courage to attack a monster, whose enormous tusks meas^ure upwards of six feet in length. If, however, they were carnivorous, — and, as I have before observed, it is generally concluded that they were, — their uncommon bulk might render them too inactive to give chace to animals of lighter, aind consequently, suppler limbs ; and thus,— as some persons have reasoned, — " for want of sufficient subsistence, the species has probably become extinct." But this opinion is so derogatory from the wisdom of God as displayed in the creation, that I dare not pre- sume to maintain it without good data. For it is quite improbable, that He, who, when he contem repented jy would restrain ent forth he whole ixcepting ut up in •se again, entertain d such is obtained itonishing t nothing 3uld have o animal, [)uld have monster, >f six feet vorous, — generally non bulk chace to suppler reasoned, le species opinion God as not pre- For it is I contem TUB BUFFALO. 185 plated all the creatures which He had made, and pronounced them ** very good," and consequently well adapted to the several purposes for which they were created, would have uttered such ap- proving expressions, if any single animal had been so formed as to incapacitate it from procuring a sufficient supply of that food which He had de- signed for its subsistence. It if> universally allowed, that, whether the Mammoth was carnivorous or graminivorous, he could easily procure an abun- dance of food, in any part of America, if he were capable of employing the necessary exertion for obtaining it ; and if the Indian story, about his leaping over the Lakes at a single bound, has the least shadow of truth, he could not be deficient in this qualification. Besides, an animal which existed so lately as the discovery of America by Colum- bus, a period of more than 6000 years after the creation, could not then be in danger of perishing for want of subsistence; for, at that time, the country swarmed with all kinds of wild animals, and abounded with inexhaustible supplies of muci- laginous shrubs and nutricious herbage. J The Buffalo, — Le Boeuf de Canada, — though now unknown in the settled parts of Upper and Lower Canada, is still very numerous in the North Western territory. He is much larger than the domestic bull, particularly about the head, neck, and shoulders. I measured the only one that I ever saw in Canada. He was nine feet six inches long, from the lower extremity of the horn to the I ' ! is 1S6 FALLOW DBER. J ■' insertion of the tail. The tip of his shoulder was seven feet four inches from the ground : and the circumference of his body, in the widest part, eight feet eleven inches. His head and neck were of a prodigious size, but his hinder limbs in parti- cular were very light and his tail short. The hair on his head, neck, and shoulders, was long and much curled, especially about the forehead. — Their skins are used by the Canadians to shield them from the inclemency of the weather while riding in sledges. They are commonly called " sleigl^ robes,'' and sell for about seven dollars each. A full-grown Buffalo will weigh 2,500 lbs. The Fallow Deer are exceedingly numerous, even in the most thickly- settled parts of the coun- try. They are much larger than animals of a similar species in Great Britain, weighing generally about 50 lbs. per quarter, and often a good deal more. In the months of June, July, August, and Septem- ber, they resort to the coves and rivers in the night, to escape from the virulent attacks of th^ flies, which, in the day-time, deprive them of rest and food. At that season of the year, they are in prime order, and are killed with little difficulty in the water. The method of shooting them is rather singular : Two persons, the one armed with a gun, the other provided with a paddle, proceed d9wn the river in a canoe, which has a dark lantern sus- pended at its bow. The canoe is kept in the middle of the river, and is allowed tp drop down with the current. The man who steers, takes care ij..' p.: THE iM006£ ELK. 187 ilder was and the est part, eck were I in parti- The hair long and i.—Their eld them lie riding I " sleigl^ each. A lumerous, the coun- lals of a generally leal more. Septem- rs in the ts of th^ m of rest ey are in Rculty in is rather h a gun, jed down tern sus- t in the op down kes care to make as little noise as possible with his paddle. On arriving within 200 or 300 yards of the deer, they hear him dabbling in the water, and thus ascertain as nearly as possible the spot in which he stands. The canoe is then immediately directed towards him, and, as soon as he perceives the light, he stands immovable, apparently admiring it with the utmost attention. His eyes glisten like balls of fire ; and, as the canoe approaches him, his eye- balls seem to increase in magnitude and splendour^ The gunnjer remains still, until the canoe approaches within five or six yards of the deer, when he dis- charges his rifle with the utmost certainty of suc- cess. He then bleeds his game, and, leaving hii^ on the banks of the river, proceeds down the stream, where, in this manner, he frequently shoots two or three more before morning ; at the approach of which, he tacks about, and as he returns home- ward, picks up his game, and floats it triumphantly along. This is the only kind of shooting which ever aiforded me any profit, or indeed, any plea- sure, in Canada ; and even this, to any but a stout healthy man, is a very dangerous recreation. You are always sure of getting wet early in the night, and of course you must continue in that plight till morning. The dews are also very heavy at that season of the year ; and a month's confinement with a chilling ague, often too heavily counter- balances a night's recreation. The Moose Elk, — Certm Alces, — is now sel- dom or never seen in Canada ; althoMgh, from the t . I I I ( M ( ! 188 THB REIN.DEER. [' .! It number of horns which are found in various parts of the country, it is evident, that these animals were once very numerous. Their horns are of an astonishing size, measuring upwards of five feet from one extremity to the other. The Elk moves very slowly, and is rather inactive, and therefore unable to traverse the woods with that ease and celerity peculiar to the Fallow Deer; in conse- quence of which, great numbers of them were destroyed in the early settlement of the country. The Cakibou, or Rein Deek, distinguished by his branching palmated horns and brow antlers, is found in those parts of Lower Canada which border on the District of Maine. These, as well as evfery other animal of the Deer kind, feed on wild grass, and the leaves of the most mucilaginous shrubs. In winter, they subsist on nuts and berries, which they obtain by rooting up the snow with their antlers. - ^ • The American Bears, — Ursus Niger, — differ very materially in their disposition from animals of the same kind on the old Continent. Unlike those ferocious monsters, they never attack man, unless when wounded, irritated by dogs, or in the protection of their young. They are, however, a great annoyance to the settlers in every part of Canada. In summer, they range along the edge of the woods, bordering on the settlements, for the purpose of watching the herds of swine, as they enter the forests in quest of nuts, and not unfrequently destroy great numbers of the THB BEAR. 189 ioiis parts e animals are of an ' five feet 51k moves therefore , ease and in conse- lem were country, guished by r antlers, is lich border >11 as ev6ry wild grass, shrubs. In ies, which with their er, — differ m animals t. Unlike tack man, , or in the lowever, a ry part of f the edge ments, for ■ swine, as nuts, and ers of the grunting race. When a herd of swine is attacked, all the members of it unite, and form a circle, of which their heads are the various and close points of the circumference. Thus they present a for- midable and compact frontier to their enemies the bears, which are frequently compelled to sound a temporary retreat from the field of action. But the assailants are generally successful, except when they have to encounter the tremendous tusks and Herculean jaws of aged hogs, which deal destruc- tion on the fiercest adversaries. Two bears are more than a match for a hundred young hogs; and, in a single night, they sometimes destroy a suffi- cient number to satisfy their desires for a month. It is natural to suppose that animals so injurious to the Canadian farmer, whose greatest source of wealth and comfort is chiefly derived from his flocks and herds, should become an object of pub- lic as well as private hostility. But there is ano- ther motive by which the Canadians are induced to exert themselves in the destruction of as many of these swine-devourers as they can. The value of their skins, which are worth from five to seven dollars each, and the excellent quality of their flesh, which is said to be superior to the finest pork, are inducements by which many a sportsman who has neither flocks nor herds to protect, is led to engage in the chace. The oil which the fat of the bear produces, is also very valuable, and accounted by the American Quacks, to be an infallible assau- ger of all pains, particularly such as are of a rheu- i i \96 THB BEAR. !! matio nature. A full grown bear often weighs 400 lbs., and is estimated, skin and oil included, to be worth at least 20 dollars. — In the early part of winter, these animals take up their abode in the trunks of large hollow trees, where they continue without nourishment of any kind until the suc- ceeding spring. If, in the beginning of the winter, snow falls previous to a severe frost, many of them are traced to their winter quarters, from which in such cases they seldom escape with life. This kind of hunting is, however, like every other in Ame- rica, a very dangerous and disagreeable employ- ment. The bears frequently run 40 or 60 miles into the interior, in quest of a suitable asylum for the winter ; and by this means their pursuers are led into the wilderness, where the snow sometimes leaves them before they have obtained the object of their pursuit. The weather, at that season of the year, is very much clouded, and liable to sud- den and unexpected changes ; and the huntsman, who leaves home with good tracing, intending to return upon his own track, is often compelled to find his way back as he can, without the possibility of retracing his steps. Pitiable, indeed, is the case of him who, in such circumstances, is without a compass by which to steer his course, or a sun to direct his path ! i i ; i ; '] »1 : i t ': \ ■■ ■ iu y 1 '■•1 . ir , 'I i t 't| I : LETTER XL THE TRACKS OF THREE BEARS— THE PLACE OP THEIR RETREAT —PRECAUTION IN FELLING THE TREE — DEATH OF ONE OF THE BEARS— FALL OF THE TREE IN WHICH THEY LAY— TWO SET- TLERS PROCEED IV PURSUIT OF THEM — THEIR AOYENTURE8 AND PRIVATIONS DURING THIRTEEN DAYS — THEIR SAFE RE- TURN, &C. A REMARKABLE instance of the disastrous sort of hunting, to which I have alluded in the preceding letter, occurred in the London District, in the winter of 1822. One of my father's settlers, of the name of Howay, discovered the tracks of three bears on the morning of the 11th December, and, after following them for about three miles, came to the tree in which they had taken up their quarters. Having his dog, his gun, and his axe with him, he began to cut down the tree, the trunk of which was at least 16 feet in circumference. Whilst engaged in this employment, he occasionally directed his eyes upward, to see if his motions disturbed the bears in the place of their retreat : He became at length weary of acting as sentry to the prisoners, and had nearly forgotten this needful precaution, when, in the midst of his hewing, a large piece of bark t Hi! M 192 THE DISASTERS struck him on the head. This aroused his atten- tion ; and, on looking again, he discovered, to his great consternation, one of the bears descending the tree, in the usual manner, — tail foremost. Ap- prehensive that he might be attacked by his black friend, which he perceived was coming down with every appearance of hostility, he laid down his axe, and, taking up his gun, resolved to discharge its contents in the body of Bruin. Upon reflec- tion, however, he desisted ; for he was afraid, if he should only wound the animal, his own life would be the forfeit of his eager temerity. While he was thus deliberating, his dog perceived the bear, then only a few yards from the ground, and by his bark- ing, alarmed the brute so much that he ran up the tree with inconceivable swiftness. On arriving at the opening into the trunk, he turned himself about, and, looking down attentively, surveyed the dog and his master. Ho way now regretted, that he had not called upon some of his neighbours to assist him ; but, being afraid that if he should then go for any one, the party would in the mean time effect their escape, he rallied his cou- rage, and, resuming his gun, lodged a ball in the bear's neck, which, fortunately, brought him life- less to the ground. Victory generally inspires the conqueror with fresh courage, and is seldom the fore-runner of caution. The conduct of Howay, however, afFords an exception to a rule so gene- rally acknowledged ; for, instead of being elated by his success, and stimulated to pursue his con- :if I-: OK A BEAR.rHACK. 1U3 lis atten- ed, to his jscending lost. Ap- his black [)wn with down his discharge on reflec- raid, if he life would lile he was )ear, then r his bark- 'an up the rriving at himself veyed the ted, that leighbours he should aid in the his cou- »all in the him life- spires the eldom the if Howay, so gene- ing elated his con- I quests, he reflected, that, although he had been thus far fortunate, the favourable issue was to be imputed, more to casualty, than to any particu- lar exertion of his own prowess, and concluded, that, if he continued to fell the tree, he might in his turn become the vanquished. He therefore very prudently determined to go home and bring some of his neighbours to his aid. Leaving the bear at the foot of the tree, he departed, and in a short time returned witli two men, three dogs, and an additional axe. They soon succeeded in cutting down the tree, which, when falling, struck against another, and broke oif about the middle, at the identical spot where the bears lodged. Stunned and confused, the affrighted animals ran so clove to one of the men, that he actually put the muzzle of his gun close to its shoulder, and shot two balls through its body. The other escaped unhurt, and the dogs pursued the wounded one, till he com- pelled them to return with their flesh badly lace- rated. > By this time the winter sun had ceased to shed his refulgent beams upon that portion of the globe, and the men deemed it imprudent to follow the tracks until the succeeding morning, when Howay, accompanied by a person of the name of Nowlan, an American by birth, and, of course, we\U acquainted with the woods, followed the tracks, having previously provided themselves with a rifle, an axe, about six charges of powder and shot, and bread and meat sufficient for their dinner. This Vol. I. d IU4 1 ,• i:i 1 M' TUB DISAiiTGRS was early in the morning of Thursday, the 12th of December. About two o'clock in the afternoon/they were observed by some persons crossing the river Thames, nearly seven miles from the place at which they set off. This was the only intelligence that we had of them for 13 days. After they had been absent for some time, their friends concluded that they must either have perished with hunger and cold, or have been destroyed by the wounded bear. I was strongly of opinion, that they had been frozen to death ; for the weather was excessively cold, and they very slightly clothed, without a tinder-box, and totally unprovided with any means of shielding themselves from the inclemency of the weather. I therefore assembled a large party of the settlers pertaining to the townships of Lon- don and Nassouri, and proposed that we should stock ourselves with provisions for a few days, and go in quest of the two unfortunate hunters. To this proposal they unanimously agreed ; and we set off on the following morning, provided with pocket- compasses and trumpets, a good supply of ammu- nition, and the necessary apparatus for lighting fires, taking with us some of the best dogs in the country. In the interval between their departure and ours, a partial thaw had taken place, which left not the slightest layer of snow upon the ground, except in low a^d swampy situations. We had therefore no tracks for our direction, nor any idea of the course which Howay and Nowlan had taken, except what we had obtained from the per- OK A UCAH.i ilA( E. IU5 ) 12th of )on,'lhey ;he river at which nee that had been ided that nger and ded bear, had been Lcessively i^ithout a ny means nency of rge party 9 of Lon- e should days, and ers. To nd we set I pocket - ■ ammu- lighting )g8 in the departure which e ground, We had any idea wlan had the per- je J I ;' i sons who aaw ihoin orosain^ the Thnme«on the day of their depa»'ture. We had no very sanguine hopes of finding iheni ; but continued for two days to explore thousands of acres of intermi- nable forests and desolate swamps, apparently untrodden by human foot, yet without the most distant prospect of success. We returned home, having given up all expectation of seeing them again, either living or dead. There was, however, one consideration which administered a portion of comfort to our anxiety : The objects of our search were men without families, — they were strangers in America. They had no parents here, to mourn over their untimely fate ; no wives, to lament the hour when they first met, or the moment when they last parted ; and no children, to deplore their early orphanage, or to call in vain for their fathers' return. In fact, they were mourned by none but ujiconnec ted neighbours. Thirteen days had now elapsed since the depar- ture of the two adventurous settlers, and all hope of their return had completely vanished. On the morning of Christmas-day, as I was in the act of sending messengers to some of Howay's most intimate acquaintance, to request them to take an inventory of his property, I was informed that he and his companion had returned a few hours be- fore, alive, but in a most wretched condition. When I had recovered in some measure from my surprise, I went to see them ; for I felt anxious to hear from themselves an account of their extra- o2 ' I , 19G THE DISASTERS It ■ •*!: H i," '",r Uv ordinary preservation. Never in my life did I behold such spectacles of woe, poverty and distress. Their emaciated countenances, wild and sunken eyes, withered limbs, and tattered garments, pro- duced such an extraordinary effect upon my ima- gination, that I approached them with a degree of timidity for which I was unable to account. I sat down beside them, and for some time fancied that I was holding converse with the ghosts of departed spirits ; nor could I entirely banish this idea from my mind during a conversation of several hours. Their preservation appeared to me as signal an interposition of Providence, as any of which I had before heard ; and, since it may not prove unin- teresting to you, who are unacquainted with the woods and wilds of America, I shall give you a particular account of it. I consider it the more likely to interest you, because it is none of those second-hand stories which usually, as they fly from cabin to cabin, increase prodigiously, until they swell beyond the reasonable bounds of probability, and fearfully invade those illimitable regions, Where human thought, like human sight, Fails to pursue their trackless flight. On the day of their departure, they pursued the bear, which took a North- Western course, for at least twenty miles, and at night stopped upon his track. With great difficulty they lit a fire, having contrived to produce a light by the application of a ipiece of dry linen to the pan of their gun whilst ,1 ) OV A BKAR.CHACfi. 1»7 fe did I I distress. I sunken >nts, pro- my ima- iegree of it. I sat cied that departed dea from ral hours, signal an ich I had )ve unin- with the ve you a the more of those fly from ntil they abability, ons. •sued the •se, for at upon his e, having ition of a iin whilst flashing it. Thus, before a good fire, they spent the first night, which was exceedingly cold, both supperless and sleepless. In the morning they continued the chace, as soon as they had eaten a small piece of bread, the crumb or fragments of their dinner on the pre- ceding day : This was equally divided between themselves and their dog. About noon when they had travelled on the track through all its windings and doublings for at least twenty miles, they were unable to distinguish the North from the South, and of course considered themselves lost in the boundless immensity of immeasurable forests. They resolved to pursue the bear no longer, con- scious that it would lead them still further into the wilderness, from which they apprehended they could not without difficulty extricate themselves ; for the snow was disappearing fast, and the rain continuing to increase. They now recollected, that, in the early part of the day, they had crossed over the track of another bear which they fancied would lead them to the settlements. This they unwisely resolved to follow, consoling themselves with the thought, that if it should not conduct them to the abodes of man, it might lead them to the bear's retreat ; and that if they should succeed in killing him in a spot even remote from any settle- ment, his flesh would afford them nourishment, and his skin a more comfortable couch than the snow- covered deserts on which they had hivouaced the o3 i I M 198 THE DISASTERS I III' .if I ' !i I 1.3'^'li If: preceding night. Hope, which, — though it often bids desponding thoughts depart, and sometimes cheers us in the darkest hour, — is too frequently the cause of our expecting where expectation is vain and disappointment ruinous, had, in the present instance, nearly precipitated its unfortunate vo- taries into the vortex of irretrievable misery. They followed on the track, until the snow completely disappeared, and the sky became so dreadfully overcast, that they were compelled to relinquish all ideas of hunting, and to think only of escaping from solitude and starvation. They were by this time on the banks of a small rivulet, the course of which they resolved to pursue, expecting that it would eventually lead them to the Thames, into which they calculated, as a matter of un-- doubted certainty, it emptied itself. On the banks of this rivulet they passed the second night, but were not able to" get any sleep. It rained inces- santly, and they suffered much from their exposed situation; for they were only partially covered with a few strips of bark. The wolves howled around them, and the tempest " fiercely blew." The trees bent their proud crests even with the ground ; and many, torn up by the roots through the violence of the wind, fell to rise no more, near the very spot on which our travellers vainly sought repose. On the third day they continued their journey down the brook, which, growing wider and wider, inclined them to think it was the head of some 1 ■ ,' OF A BBAR.CHACE. 199 it often metimes 5ntly the 1 is vain present late vo- misery. le snow 3ame so ►elled to : only of ley were ilet, the cpecting Thames, of un^ le banks ^ht, but d inces- exposed covered howled blew." nth the through re, near sought journey I wider, >f some extensive river, and they hoped, it would prove to be that of the Thames. The violence of the storm began to subside about noon, but without any abatement of the cold, or cessation of the rain, which continued to fall during the whole of the day. A little before sunset they fired at a par- tridge, but unfortunately missed it. Three charges of powder and shot were now all that remained : Still hope, with its sustaining influence, prevented their hearts from sinking within them, and still did they expect a speedy termination of their toils and sufferings. But another joyless night found them waking in all its watches, and another sunless morning saluted them, — the victims of despair. On the fourth day, they felt excessively hungry and weak ; their thirst also was insatiable, being compelled every five or six minutes to drink. In the afternoon, their hunger increased to such a degree, that they could have eaten any thing except human flesh. Sixty hours had now elapsed without their having tasted food of any kind ; and the appalling idea of suffering by starvation, for the first time, obtruded itself. Before the close of the day, however, they succeeded in shooting a partridge, one half of which they imprudently ate as their supper, and feasted on the remainder at breakfast the ensuing morning, — thus fulfilling the scriptural injunction in a sense in which it was not conveyed, " Take no thought for the morrow." They declared, their hunger was no more appeased by eating this bird, than it would have been at a I — ■ -t??SS"' 200 THK DISA»T£R» ,;::a Ifi I i( swallowing more fortunate period of their livest, a cherry ! Little more than one charge of powder was now left ; and this they resolved to preserve for lighting fires, knowing, as the frost had again set in, that if they were exposed for a single night to the weather, without the protection of a fire, they must inevitably perish. The fifth night proved extremely cold, and Nowlan perceived in the morning that his feet were badly frozen. Pitiable as their situation was before this heart-rending event, it then became still more wretched. This unfortunate man had now to endure a complication of unprecedented sufferings. To the imperative hankerings of hunger which he could not satisfy, a continual thirst which he could not appease, a violent fever which seemed not to abate, and the '*• pelting of the pitiless storm" from which he had no shelter, there was added a spe- cies of torment the most excruciating that human nature is doomed to suffer. Until this deplorable event, they had travelled at least fifty miles a day, — walking, or, as they expressed it, running from before sun-rise until after sun-set. They were now unable to perform more than half their accus- tomed journey, and even that with the utmost difficulty. On the afternoon of the sixth day, the sun ap- peared for a few moments, and convinced them that they were not on the banks of the Thames. The knowledge of this gave them much uneasi- ness, from a conviction which it impressed on their OF A BEAR.CHACE. 901 illowing ' powder preserve id again r\e night >f a fire, )W, and feet were as before itill more now to offerings, which he he could d not to m" from I a spe- human plorable es a day, ing from ey were ir accus- } utmost sun ap- ed them Thames. I uneasi- on their minds, that they were on the banks of a river which might lead them to the desolate and uninhabited shores of Lake Huron or Lake St. Clair. Still they preferred following its course, hoping to discover some Indian settlement, which they could have no expectation of finding if they departed from its margin. Immediately after the sun had disap- peared, they discovered a boat on the opposite side of the river, and, a little further down, a canoe. The appearance of these vessels induced them to think, that a new settlement could not be far distant ; but, when they had travelled several miles further, and had not met with any other traces of inhabitants, thev concluded that the ves- sels had been driven down the river by the ice during the late thaw, and had been stopped at the point where they were first noticed. They were just about to cut down some timber for the night, when they observed a stack of hay a few perches before them, and on their side of the river. The hay appeared to have been mowed on the flats, or shallows, where it grows spontaneously beneath the gloomy shades of the overhanging forest : This circumstance, when coupled with their recent discovery of the boat and canoe, convinced them, that they were in the immediate neighbour- hood of some settlement. The hay-stack afforded them a comfortable asylum for the night, and appeared to them the most enviable bed on which they had ever reclined. IH' 202 THB DISASTERS M H¥ ■■f f''^ On the morning of the seventh day, they rose much refreshed, having enjoyed, for the first time since they left home, a few hours of sound sleep. They were confirmed afresh, ly the incident of the stack, in their resolution to keep close to the river, being elated with the idea that it would cer- tainly lead them to some inhabited place. But their dog, the faithful companion of their dangers and partaker in their sufferings, was that morning unable to proceed any farther. When he attempted to follow them, he staggered a few paces, and then fell, but had not power to rise again. The hun- ger of the men had, by this time, increased to such a degree, that they could have eaten the most loathsome food ; yet they desisted from killing the dog; — they left him to die a lingering death, rather than imbrue their hands in the blood of a fellow-sufferer. Scarcely had they proceeded a mile beyond the hay-stack, when they were inter- cepted by an impassable swamp, which compelled them to leave the direction of the river. Diffi- culties seemed to surround them on every hand, and success appeared to smile on them for a mo- ment but to add to their other sufferings the pangs of blighted hope and bitter disappointment. They were compelled to wander once more into the pathless desert, with very faint expectations of regaining the river. They walked a considerable distance on the eighth day ; and at four o^clock on the ninth, dis- it OF A BHAR-CHACE. 303 cerned the tracks of two men and a dog. They now imagined the long-wished-for settlement at hand : With renewed spirit and alacrity, therefore, they pushed onward, indulging by the way the pleasing reflection, that the issue of the newly dis- covered track would erelong terminate their woes, and bring them to enjoy once more the unspeakable pleasure of human society. Judge then what must have been their feelings, when, towards evening, they were brought to the very spot on which they had lain five nights before ! Hope now no longer shed her delusive rays into their hearts ; and they neither had a thought, nor felt a desire, to prolong a miserable existence. They sat down, therefore, without making a fire, and formed a resolution, that night, to end both their miseries and their lives. The tears trickled down their haggard cheeks, as they gazed upon each others altered countenance ; and the chief dread which both felt, was, that the one should die before his companion, and lieave the survivor to expire unpitied and unseen. Another reflection added poignancy to their suifer- ings ; and that was, the idea of being devoured, after death, by the ravenous monsters of the wil- derness. Howay, however, with some degree of fortitude endeavoured to compose himself, trusting, that " though, after his skin, wolves should de- stroy his mortal body, yet in his flesh should he see God ; whom he should see for himself, and his eyes should behold, and not another." But Nowlan, though sixty-four winters had furrowed hisoh^ks. i M [( S04 THE DISASTERS ii m\ had very little notion of a future state, — his perish- able body alone engrossed his attention. Educated, or rather reared, in this land of impiety and infi- delity, his ideas of the Deity and of his attributes were little calculated to elevate his views from the miseries of this world, to the felicities of another and a better. He had scarcely ever heard the sound of the Gospel, and knew nothing of its offers of mercy. In this world he had no longer any interest ; and about the eternal concerns of the next, he was wholly ignorant and seemed utterly unconcerned. How deplorable the situation of such a being ! Better for him had he never been born ! With bright and well-founded prospects of a blissful immortality, a man may rejoice in the midst of tribulations, if possible, still more acute ; but, without these powerful consolations in a dying hour, he must sink in despair beneath the accumu- lated weight of misery and remorse. After indulging in the gloomiest reflections for nearly an hour. — during which time they both declared, that if a tree had then been in the act of falling on them, they would not have made any exertion to escape from its destructive stroke, — they began to look upon it as their duty to employ the means, which Providence had placed within their reach, for the preservation of that life which He who gave possessed the sole right of taking away, and they resolved once more to light a fire. This, with the utmost difficulty, they accom- plished, for they were so much debilitated as to be OF A BEAR CHACE. 205 scarcely able to exert themselves in cOi.ecting a sufficient quantity of fuel : As they consumed the last grain of their powder in this operation, they became susceptible but of one emotion, — that of indescribable horror, at the idea of being com- pelled, ere another night should elapse, to pay the debt of nature in a manner the most abhor- rent to their feelings. They now conversed freely, but in a melancholy strain, on the method in which it was most likely that the frost would accomplish their destruction, and agreed in the opinion, that it would first attack the extremities of their bodies, and gradually proceed up towards the vitals, until their hearts'-blood should become congealed to ice. After this discourse, they lay down, almost unmindful of the past, and careless about the future, endeavouring to resign themselves to the fate which awaited them, whatever that might be. On the morning of the ninth day of their deplorable wanderings, they arose in a state of perfect apathy, and began to traverse the same lands which they had so reluctantly trodden six days before. In the evening they arrived at the hay-stack, where they left the dog : They found him still living, but unable to get up on his feet. He was reduced to a mere skeleton, and appeared to be in the agonies of death. The desire of life once more took its seat in their hearts, and they resolved to seek diligently for some sort of food. Their appetites were now so unconquerably ravenous, that they stripped the bark off an elm-tree, and ii son - TH£ DLSA8TKRS devoured large quantities of its inner rind. Scarcely had they eaten it, however, when they became exceedingly delirious, and were forced to lie down among the hay, where they remained until morning in an agony of despair. By daylight, on the 10th morning, they were much better, and would have arisen, but, recollect- ing that they now possessed no materials for light- ing a fire, they resolved to roll themselves up in the hay again, and quietly await the hour of dis- solution, whenever it should arrive, Their reso- lution had but just been formed, when they heard the joyful sound of a cow-bell, "-(- which seemed to proceed from the opposite shore of the river. They arose immediately, and, on looking over the water, perceived, to their infinite satisfaction, a log-house recently erected, but yet without any appearance of inhabitants. For some time they felt inclined to distrust the evidence of their senses, and to con- sider the log-house as a creature of their disturbed imaginations. They recollected passing that way before, without observing any building; but, on calling to mind the circumstance of seeing the boat and the canoe, they were convinced that all was reality — delightful, heart-cheering reality! They therefore resolved, by some means or other to ford the river; and, walking with feeble steps but i ■ ■ f 1 t The sound of a cow-bell is always considered a joyful sound, by persons who are lost in the woods ; for when they meet with domestic animals of any kind, they are generally sure of soon discovering a settlement. OF A DGAK.CHAGB. 807 Scarcely became lie down morning ley were ecollect- for light- es up in ir of dis- leir reso- ey heard eemed to er. They he water, og-house »pearance ; inclined i to con- disturbed that way but, on the boat all was ! They r to ford eps but yful sound, meet with re of soon bounding hearts along the bank, they soon dis- covered a crossing-place. On arriving at the opposite shore, they were met by a white man and two Indians, who took them to the house of one Townsend, with whom they were well acquainted, and from whom they experienced every mark of attention which their wretched condition required. The heart of sensibility, if conversant with afflic- tion, may form some estimate of their feelings at that moment. Every tender emotion, of which the soul of unlettered man is susceptible, may be supposed to have been in full exercise at that exhi- larating interview : And if a single feeling had then any marked preponderance over another, it must have been that of gratitude — boundless, unspeakable gratitude, to the Protecting Power of an Almighty and Gracious Deliverer. A few months previous to this event, Townsend had discovered a salt-spring on the banks of the river Sauble ; and was at this time preparing to commence a manufactory of that article, at a dis- tance of nearly twenty miles from any human habitation. This embryo salt- manufactory was the building which Howay and Nowlan discovered after they heard the ringing of the cow-bell : It was a fortunate circumstance for them ; for, if this spot had been uninhabited, as it was a short time before, they must unquestionably have breathed their last on the banks of that unexplored river^ which flows into Lake Huron, at a point which is nearly 100 miles from any settlement. They were i I j i ff/ 208 A DGAR.CIIAC»:. only 30 miles from the* Lake, when interrupted by the swamp, in avoiding which they had inadvert- ently wandered back into the woods, and, on dis- covering their own tracks, returned unconsciously to the place where they had lain five nights before, -'-a catastrophe which, at the time, they lamented as a dire misfortune, but which afterwards, as you have seen, was the cause of their final deliver- ance. At Townsend's house, they were fifty miles from home; every yard of which they had to travel through the wilderness, but not without the aid of a blazed line -|- to direct them. Nowlan*s feet were by this time in a very bad condition, and as he could not procure at that lonely dwelling the materials necessary to prevent mortification, which, he was apprehensive, would very soon take place, he and his companion set off early on the following morn- ing. Mrs. Townsend kindly furnished them with provisions, and every thing necessary for their journey ; and, on the eve of the thirteenth day after their departure from the Talbot Settlement, they had once more the happiness of enjoying the comforts of their own fire-sides. So much for the enviable pleasures of the American bear-chase ! t When the Canadians enter the forests to form a settlement or for any other purpose^ they mark the route which they take, by cutting off the bark from the trees with an axe as they go along; and the paths, thus marked, are called " blazed lines.'' LETTER XII THE WOLF— THE WOLVERINE— THE FOX'— THE CATAMOUNT — THE WILD CAT— THE LYNX, OR LOUP-CERVIER — THE KINCAJEW —THE WEASEL — THE ERMINE— 'THE MARTIN— THE MINK— THE OTTER— THE SKUNK— THE OPOSSUM— THE WOOD-CHUCK— THE HARE— 'THE RACOON — THE GREY, BLACK, RED, STRIPED, AND FLYINO SQUIRREL— THE BEAVER— THE MUSK RAT— THE MOUSE —THE MOLE— THE SEAL — THE 8RA>H0RSE AND SEA-COW. Guthrie, in his " Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar," has the following strange passage respecting an animal, too well known in America : " Wolves are scarce in Canada ; but " they afford the finest furs in all the country. " Their flesh is white, and good to eat ; and they " pursue their prey to the tops of the tallest trees." This sentence contains no less than five positive assertions, every one of which is diametrically opposite to the truth. The learned Geographer, while writing this singular passage, must either have been under the influence of an evil genius, or must have resolved to exercise his talents for fabri- cation with a view to convince the public of their potency, or to satisfy himself respecting their ex- tent. For he certainly could find no authority in Vol. I. P 310 THE WOLF. N^ m 4 1 : \i in. I# 1 i '. i the annals of American History, for declarations so utterly unfounded. Wolves are very numerous in every part of Canada : They produce no fur at all : Their skins are, if possible, inferior to that of a dog, and of so little value, that, when the animals are killed, they are seldom deprived of their pelts. Their flesh is black, and so wretchedly bad, that the most savage inhabitant or wild animal of the wilderness would not attempt to touch or taste it. They are also unable to climb the lowest tree ; and, when they are pursuing any other animal, they give up the chace the moment that their prey takes refuge in a tree. — There is no part of Canada in which horses, cows, sheep, and hogs, are exempt from the rava- ges of these desperate animals ; but they seldom attack a man, unless they are greatly oppressed with hunger. In the United States, a premium of 20, and, in some parts, of 30 dollars, is given to any person who produces a wolf's head before th« nearest resident magistrate. By this means, the Americans may expect to see them soon extirpated from that country. In certain Districts of Canada also, four dollars are offered for every wolf's head, provided it be taken by a white man. Small as this sum is, yet if they would extend the same bounty to the Indians, more of these ravenous be&sts would be destroyed in one month, than are now killed in half a century. The natives, justly offended thai the bounty is not extended to them, would not THE WOLVERINE. 211 jlarations part of heir skins and of so lied, they ir flesh is 3st savage 3SS would y are also hen they re up the sfuge in a ch horses, the rava- y seldom oppressed ), and, in y person e nearest Lmericans rom that also, four provided is sum is, ty to the would be killed in ded that ould not sacrifice a charge of powder and ball, if they were confident of shooting half a dozen wolves ; for their skins are of no value, their flesh is never eaten, and all who are acquainted with the Indian cha- racter know, that they have no uncommon predi- lection for unprofitable recreation, and will there- fore pass by a wolf with the utmost unconcern. A full-grown wolf is as large as an English mastiff, which he resembles in every part except the breast, where he is more strongly built than a dog. Their howl is much like that of blood-hounds ; which, when heard in the night-time, strikes terror into the hearts of Europeans, who are unaccustomed to such nocturnal music. The WoLVEUiiNE or Carcajew, sometimes called " the Beaver-eater," is not unlike a badger. He is about two feet four inches long, with a gross body, short thick legs, and large paws. His tail is nearly eight inches long, and very bushy. His head is grey, his back black; and his abdomen, a reddish brown. He lives in holes, and is carnivo- rous, subsisting on such of the inferior animals as he is able to overcome. Pennant says, he is capa- ble of destroying a deer by fastening on its body, and continuing there until the animal becomes exhausted by its exertions to extricate itself: But I am inclined to doubt the correctness of this remark. Foxes are very numerous, and are as trouble- some to the fowl-houses, as the wolves are to the sheep-pens. There is a great variety of them in P 2 212 THE CATAMOUNT. fM- the country, although they are not often seen in the day-time. The skin of the Black Fox is much esteemed, and is worth about four dollars: Those of the grey and of the red fox are commonly sold for about six shillings. - The Catamount is an animal of the cat kind. It has not been often seen in Canada of late years. It is somewhat longer than a wolf, and has a tail which measures nearly three feet, with short legs and a stout body. The Catamount is said to feed on blood, which it drinks from the jugular vein of such animals as it is able to subdue. The Wild Cat is a most formidable-looking animal. He has an enormous head, is about three feet long, with remarkably large pawa and strong limbs. He is exceedingly fierce, but will never attack a man, except when provoked by wounds which he has received. His colour is a sallow-grey, with dark spots and stripes. The Lynx, or Loup-cervier, is not often seen in the settled parts of Canada; although, to judge from the number of skins which I have seen in Montreal, they must still be very numerous in the North-west territory. The Lynx is larger than a common-sized cat, and is covered with long fine hair, under which is a quantity of thick fur. His colour is a mottled grey, except his tail, which is black. The King A JEW, sometimes improperly called the Carcajew, is about the same size as a Lynx. His shape is very handsome, and his limbs formed for activity and speed. His tail is nearly 3 feet long. •J' en seen m >x is much s : Those Qonly sold cat kind, ate years, has a tail short legs lid to feed lar vein of le-looking bout three ind strong will never y wounds low-grey, sn seen in to judge re seen in ous in the rer than a long fine fur. His , which is called the mx. His jrmed for it long. THE VVEASKL. 213 The Weasel, — Mustela Nivalis, — is exactly similar in Summer to animals of the same species in England. Like the hare, he turns white in Winter, when his fur is remarkably fine and very beautiful. The Ekminc, — Mnstela Candida, — differs very little from the weasel in srze, form, and habits. In Summer, there is a black spot on the end of his tail, and the edges of his ears are of a light grey. In Winter he is entirely white. The Martin, — Maries guiture luteo, — is more than double the size of a weasel. His colour is a kind of sable-white, which is never changed by the weather. These animals are carnivorous, live on squirrels j and are numerous in every part of the country. The Mink is about the size of a martin, but dif- ferent in his colour and habits, being black and amphibious. The Otters of Canada do not differ from those of England, except that they are clothed with a thicker and finer coat of fur. The Skunk, or American Pole-cat, — Mustela Americana Foetida, or " Child of the Devil," En- fant du Diahle, — is nearly two feet long and pro- portionally thick. His tail is long and bushy, and his hair nearly all black, with a few white spots irregularly interspersed over the whole body. He sees badly in the day-time, and is therefore seldom observed abroad but in the evenings, when he makes his appearance in search of food. The Cana - p3 314 THE OPOSSl'M. .'.,!l dians eat his flesh ; and his oil is used to reduce swellings which proceed from any kind of bruises. He is furnished with organs for secreting and retain- ing a volatile foetid sort of liquor, which he has also the power of ejecting to the distance of 15 or 20 yards. When attacked, he never fails to discharge a volley of this offensive ammunition at his pur- suers ; and seldom gives up the contest, until his whole stock is exhausted. The OposrsuM, — Didelphis Marsupealis, — is about 20 inches long. His tail is destitute of hair, and covered with scales, which give it the appearance of a snake's body. His feet and ears are also naked; and he makes use of his fore-ptiws like a monkey. His hair is long and coarse ; and his colour, a grey of various hues. The female is furnished with a pouch under the abdomen, in which she secretes her young, whenever attacked either by man or beast, and which she has the power of opening and shutting at pleasure. When the young are first brought forth, they are concealed in this pouch, until they are able to run about. The Wood-Chuck, or Ground-Hog, is an in- offensive animal. His body resembles that of an English pig, but his legs are like those of a bear, and his head exactly similar to that of a lap-dog. He is about eighteen inches long and very thick, burrows like the rabbit, and continues in his d«n the greater part of the winter. He is grami- nivorous, and his flesh is said to be quite as good as mutton : In appearance it is equal to the finest THK RACOON. 215 lamb. The skin of this animal is used for vrhip- thongs, and is esteemed greatly superior to any other leather for this purpose. The Canadian Hare, — Lepm hieme aibus, — is very small, always poor, and never worth a charge of powder and shot. In winter it is perfectly white. There are no Rabbits in Canada, except such as have been imported. The Racoon, — Ursus Lotor, — in 'form and size, resembles the fox. His head, feet and body are grey ; and his tail, which is long and bushy, is encircled with alternate rings of grey and black. In his habits he bears a striking resemblance to the squirrel. Like him, he scales the loftiest trees, and sports among their branches, leaping from one to another, with a dexterity almost incredible. His food consists of nuts and maize. His flesh is much esteemed by the Canadians, and his fur is used in the manufacture of hats. In Winter he takes up his abode in the trunk of a hollow tree, where, having secured a sufficient stock of provisions, he continues till the disappearing of the snow. He is easily domesticated, and in this state becomes as sportive and mischievous as a monkey. The GttEY Squirrel, — Sciurus Cinerius, — is not very common in Canada ; a few, however, may be ^ound in every part of the country. . This animal is nearly as large as a cat, and, like all others of the squirrel kind, is excessively proud. He is indefati- gably employed during summer, in laying up his provisions for the winter, which be always de- 1 > ' I I 210 THB SQUIRREL. m posits in some hollow tree as near as possible to the corn-fields. It is a singular circumstance, that five out of six of these animals are castrated ; and it is still more singular, that this operation is performed by the black squirrels, which appear to be in a state of perpetual warfare with their grey brethren. The Black Squirrel, — Sciurus mger, — is a very beautiful animal. His body is about twelve inches long, and his tail, which is remarkably elegant in its shape, is nearly the same length. The flesh of this animal is highly esteemed by Canadian epi- cures, and his skin is of some value. He and his aids-de-camp, the red and striped squirrels, are the cause of more injury to the farmer, than are all the other animals in America together, the wolf alone excepted. They not unfrequently destroy whole fields of corn in a single day. It is with the utmost difficulty and the greatest vigilance, that a crop of corn, which is contiguous to the woods, can be preserved from these and other marauders, till it has attained even the height of six inches. As soon as the blade appears above ground, the striped squirrel commences his pernicious attacks. He is followed by the black-birds, the red-breasts and the caterpillars; and when the little which they leave begins to ripen, the red and black squirrels complete the work of destruction, and finis coronal opus. I believe, there were upwards of one thou- sand acres of corn, destroyed by the squirrels alone, within the township of London, in the summer of 1820; and I have every year seen many families^ ll TJIE SQUIRREL. 217 le to the that five and it is jrformed in a state ren. is a very 'e inches egant in ) flesh of lian epi- } and his I, are the 1 are all the wolf I destroy with the e, that a lods^ can ders, till les. As J striped . He is ists and oh they iquirrels coronal le thou- s alone, imer of Suuilies^ who were nearly, and some entirely, reduced to a state of actual want, by these and other mis- chievous quadrupeds and insects. The R " Squirrel is smaller than the black one, and, if possible, more beautiful. He is, like all others of the squirrel species, fond of migrating from place to place ; and possesses a singular address in crossing brooks, rivers, and small lakes. On arriving at a piece of water, which they wish to cross, a large party of red squirrels assemble together, and constructing a raft of sufficient size, which they launch without any difficulty, embark, fearless of shipwreck; and turning up their spread- ing tails to the propitious breeze, are speedily wafted across to the opposite shore. The Striped SQUiRREii is still smaller than the red, and subsists on nuts, fruit, maize and other grain. He can ascend the loftiest trees, and spring from bough to bough with the activity of a bird. It is the custom of the striped squirrel to burrow in the ground ; and he is seldom seen during Winter. Animals of this kind are so numerous in every part of Canada, that a single man might easily kill a hundred of them in a few hours. The Flying Squirrel — Sciurus Americcctms Vo- lans — is the smallest and most singular animal of the class of squirrels. The fore and hind legs are connected together, and to the belly, by a duplicature of the skin. By extending this membrane, it is able to leap from tree to tree with great facilty * I ! i \ I I 318 THB BEAVER. i Its tail, which is flat, serves as a rudder to direct its course. Its food is nuts and fruit. The Beaver, — Castor castanei coloria cauda ho- rizontaliter plana, — of all the brute creation, is endowed with an instinct the most powerful, and bearing the nearest resemblance to intellectual capacity. He is a perfect architect, and a wonder- fully practical advocate for maintaining the bonds of society. It is difficult for a person who is unacquainted with those countries of which the beaver is an inhabitant, to form any just conception of his inimitable skill in architecture, and of his laborious endeavours to render society truly valu- able, by the mutual exertion of combined force in producing individual comfort and collective happiness. It is absolutely necessary to view the admirably constructed mansions of these animals, before their skill and industry can be properly appreciated. The beaver, when full grown, seldom weighs more than 50 lbs ; and is only two feet nine inches long, Irom the snout to the insertion of the tail. The circumference of the body scarcely exceeds twenty-seven inches. He possesses no greater strength or power of instinct, considered individually, than any other animal of equal size and similar construction. But when viewed in the light of his gregarious propensities, he yields to none but man in the attributes of reason, reflection, foresight and design. He contemplates, foresees, designs and executes, with a facility and exactness that seem more than instinctive. They can impede : ;t THE BEAVBR. 310 direct its Cauda ho- eation, is erful, and itellectual * wonder- the bonds n who is vhich the onception md of his ruly valu- ned force collective view the animals, properly n, seldom feet nine on of the scarcely sesses no onsidered qual size red in the yields to eflection, foresees, exactness m impede the course of the most rapid rivers, and direct the waters into new channels. They can lay prostrate the loftiest trees, and are at once labourers, masons, carpenters^ and architects; displaying in each of these capacities a readiness and skill, which have been fondly supposed to belong to lordly man alone, and which are scarcely inferior to those that are derived from theknowledge acquired by human experience. Providence, as though it designed this animal to be distinguished from every other, as well by the singularity of its own conformation, as by that of its abode, seems to have formed it on a plan in many in- stances different from other quadrupeds. Its tail is flat and oval, and covered with scales, like that of a fish : With this it steers its course in the most rapid currents, and directs all its other motions in the water. It has membranes between the toes of its hind feet, but none between those of the fore ones. Its fore part in every respect resembles that of a terrene animal, its hinder part has all the characteristics that distinguish an aquatic being. It has four teeth, which serve occasionally as an axe, a saw, and an adze. The curious collocation of these teeth is, when duly applied, perfectly ade- quate to the prompt discharge of their various and important functions. When beavers are deprived of their habitations by the lawless treachery of man, they assemble in the early part of Summer to erect others in a new, ^nd, if possible, in a more secure situation. For I 1 I ! 320 THE BEAVER. 1 ;i w il ill 1 'M ' ' I'f m ■•^'' i! ,^M ■i i. this purpose, they select some part of a hike or river, on the banks of which they can easily pro- cure a sufficient supply of timber as well for their personal sustenance, as for the erection of their dams. Having fixed on the most eligible situation, they begin to gnaw down one of the largest trees they can find, — taking especial care, that, if on the bank of a river, it shall fall directly athwart the stream. As many as can conveniently sit around this tree, which is generally six feet in cir- cumference, continue to gnaw it about eighteen inches from the ground, until it "bows obedience" to their indefatigable exertions. While one party is thus employed, another is exercising its skill in cutting down smaller trees, and a third in making mortar and drawing it to the edge of the contem- plated dam. This part of their labour is performed in the most laughable manner. After they have reduced the mortar, or clay, to a state of sufficient consistency and adhesiveness, one of the largest beavers lies down upon his back, and suflTers his co-adjutors to heap up a prodigious quantity of the prepared cement on his belly. When he is thus laden, two carriers seize hold of him by the ears, and drag the passive creature, groaning beneath the oppression of his burden, to the water's edge : Then, entering the river, they float him along to that part of the dam which more immediately requires the aid of their cargo. Their dams are often from 160 to 200 feet long, and when this is the case, they fell a tree on each THE REAYEn. 221 aide of the river, in such a manner, that their tops unite in the middle. They afterwards gnaw off the branches which prevent the trees from lying close to the bed of the river, and then they float down a quantity of the smaller timber, in the cutting and preparing of which one party continues sedulously engaged. These sticks, which are usually four inches in diameter, they cut into lengths of about six feet; and, pointing them at one extremity, make them fast in the bed of the river, placing them a short distance apart, and uniting them in the same way as men do the ribs of a basket. This may be called the frame of the v/ork, or rather the skele- ton of the dam-wall. Their next employment, after they have made the dam tight with clay, is the division of the river below into equal rectangular compartments. The division-walls of these compartments are raised to the surface of the water : They are composed entirely of clay, and uniformly two feet in thick- ness. Over thtse, they build arches ; and begin the erection of their attic apartments, which are inva- riably of a circular form, and can only be entered from the water beneath. These are also arched and plastered so neatly, and with such durable materials, that they resist the force of the most violent and protracted rains, and are impenetrable to any but the ruthless hands of man. The tails of these animals answer the two-fold purpose of a spade and a trowel. They use them in the mixture of their mortar, and in plastering their walls ; which ! ' 222 THE BEAVER. ■S I m is accomplished in a style of neatness scarcely infe- rior to the handy-work of the most eminent stucco- artists. The lower apartments are never made use of, but as a refuge in the time of invasion, and for aquatic recreations. Those of the second story are divided into dwelling-houses, breeding-apartments, and provision-stores; the two first of which are always tastefully strewed over with leaves and herbage of various kinds. The provision-stores are the common property of all ; but each of the families has its own distinct apartment, to which its members never admit strangers, except in the capacity of visitors. Their store-rooms are con- stantly supplied with an abundance of young and tender trees, of which they are particularly fond, and on which they at all times subsist. The num- ber of beavers composing a community of this na- ture, is indeterminate ; they are seldom, however;, more than 200, or less than 30. Every family con* sists of four or six members ; and, notwithstanding the condensed state of their society, and the num- ber of animals of which it is composed, peace and unanimity are the constant companions of their lives, and the inmates of their abodes. They have no domestic broils, no political quarrels, no com- mercial disputes, no separate interests, no indivi- dual pursuits. They labour not for the particular aggrandizement of a few, but for the common benefit of all. The instinct of each is the same ; and the leadings of that instinct directing them to the trial and accomplishment of an object which THE nEAVKR. 228 joly infe- itHtucco- macle use , and for story are artments, ^hich are aves and on-8tores ;h of the to which [)t in the are con- oung and irly fond, rhe num- this na- howeverj nily con- istanding he num- )eace and of their ley have no com- o indivi- >articular common He same ; them to ct which the individual lal>ours of one could never oonipas», they are thus indissolubly bound together; and, like a chain, the separation of whose links would frus- trate its intended use, they could not instinctively yield obedience to the dictates of their nature in a state of dispersion or separation. In this manner, their collective safety and enjoyment are made to depend upon individual exertion and personal happiness. Beside the worth of his fur, the beaver afTorde another valuable commodity, which holds out a powerful inducement to the labours of the hunter, and one which of itself would be sufficient to ren- der these animals the objects of profitable pursuit. I allude to the Castorium, which is found in a membrane behind the kidneys. The value of this article is well known, even to the Indians. It is in Winter, when the rivers and the lakes are frozen over,, that these animals are destroyed in the greatest numbers. The hunter, on approach- ing the dam, cuts various holes in the ice, at a considerable distance below their habitations. Then, by breaking open the upper apartments, he suc- ceeds in driving them under the ice; but, as they cannot exist in the water without frequent opportunities of breathing, they resort to the open- ings which are nrade in the ice, and, on putting their h^ads above the water, are immediately speared by persons who are waiting for the pur- pose. In this manner, hundreds of them are often destroyed in a single hour ; and it is by no means 824 THE BEAVER. improbable, that, before the lapse of another cen- tury, very few will be left on the North American Continent. When any person approaches their dams in the Summer, the beavers give warning to each other by striking their tails against the water, with such force, that the noise occasioned by this singular process may be heard distinctly at the distance of several miles. It is said, that they might easily be domesti- cated. Mr. Fothergale, the editor of the Upper Canada Gazette, seems, from his observations on the subject, to be of opinion, that, if proper enclo- sures were made for them, they would yield the enterprising farmer a more extensiv^e and a more certain profit, than any other animal with which we are acquainted. A large capital would, how- ever, be required, to make proper inclosures, and other arrangements necessary for their reception. The skill of a beaver is in Canada now worth about 12 shillings and 6 pence, which is at least a dollar and a half less than the value of a full-grown otter's skin. The Musk Rat has been said, by some writers, to be a diminutive kind of beaver. But, if I know any thing about these animals, — and I have seen several hundreds of them, — they are totally differ- ent. The only similarity which exists between the two, is in their mode of life. They build a rude kind of habitation in still shallow water, and sub- sist on vegetables. Their heads and tails resemble those of the common rat ; but their fur is much THE URCHIN. 22S longer and of a darker colour. They derive the name of " Musk Rats" from their being furnished with glands, that separate a substance which emits a very strong odour. They are at least four times the size of a common rat, an animal entirely unknown in Upper Canada. There are several kinds of Mice in Canada, with the names of many of which I am little acquainted. Field-mice and Shrew-mice are exceedingly nu- merous ; and I have seen black mice, nearly as large as a common rat. The shrew-mouse is the smallest of all quadrupeds, and feeds upon insects. Moles are quite common in Canada, and, I believe, of various species ; with the distinctions of which, I am entirely unacquainted. The Urchin, or Hedge-hog, is about eighteen inches long, and proportionally thick. In these Provinces, he is called *' the Porcupine ;" but he does not resemble that animal in any thing except his quills, which are only four inches long, nearly as thick as those of a duck, and so extremely hard and well- furnished with innumerable barbs, that they frequently prove fatal to dogs which have the hardihood to attack the urchins. It is impossible to extricate them, when once they have penetrated the skin ; but they always work a way out, through some other part of the body. Very few dogs can be prevailed on to engage them ; and such as do attempt it, are frequently vanquished, and always severely injured. The Canadians consider the flesh of this animal a most delicious morsel ; but they Vol. I. Q S26 THE SEAL. will eat any creature whatever, from the frog to the buffalo; whether it be carnivorous, gramini- vorous, or amphibious. Yet, for aught that I know to the contrary, the Urchin's flesh may be very savoury and excellent. In its habits of life, it resembles the Wood-chuck, whose flesh is greatly superior to Canadian mutton. The Seal has been frequently seen in Lake On- tario ; although its existence in this country was for a long time a matter of doubt. In February, 1821, one of them wa<3 caught upon 4he ice, in the neighbourhood of Kingston, and was exhibited in that town as a great curiosity. The Sf A- HORSE and Sea-cow are said still to exist in the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence. Ji i frog to gramini- t that I 1 may be ts of life, is greatly [iake On- mtry was February, ce, in the hibited in id still to nee. LETTER XIII. VARIOUS KINDS OF BIRDS AND AQUATIC FOWL THAT VISIT THE CANADAS— THB SWAN OOOSE — LOON — HERON — CRANE; — RED- SHANK — WILD-TURKEY QUAIL — PIGEON — MOCK-BIRD — THE BLUE JAY — WHIP-POOR-WILL, AND WHET-SAW— KINO-BIRD/ AND RED-BIRD •-^ THK WAR-BIRD, YELLOW-BIRD, AND SNOW-BIRD -^ THE HUMMING-BIBD, THE RAVEN, OWL, EAGLE, &C. In Summer there is a great variety of birds in Canada ; but from the beginning of Winter to the opening of Spring, the forest is almost wholly deserted by the feathered tribe. The Pheasant, Blue Jay, Snow-bird and Wood-pecker, with one or two smaller birds the names of which I do not recollect to have ever heard, are all that appear sufficiently attached to Canada, to try the severity of its Winter climate. - It is remarkable, that, among this immense assem- blage of "winged fowl" that frequent Canada during the Summer, there are no singing birds. Though this is undoubtedly the case, the Canadians do not think so; for, being ignorant of those countries in which every tree is vocal, and "• every bush with nature's music rings," they imagine that all- birds which q2 td8 DUCKS. i ' ' can chirrup and chatter, like a sparrow or a jay, are entitled to the appellation of " singing birds.'' I once heard an English gentleman, who was greatly prejudiced against the Canadas, assert, that, in his opinion, the country bore evident marks of having incurred a particular degree of the Divine displeasure ; and, for the enforcement of this eccen- tric notion, he urged, that the birds of Canada could not sing, the flowers emitted no scent, the men had no hearts, and the women no virtue. Water-fowJs are very numerous on the lakes .find large rivers. The Swan and Canadian Goose are constant frequenters of the lakes. Ducks of various kinds are to be found in every part of the country. There are, I am confident, more than fifteen different species of these birds in the Upper Province. Many of them have a dis- agreeable fishy flavour ; and some are entirely unfit for use. The quality of the Grey Duck's flesh is much superior to any other which I have tasted. The Wood Duck breeds in the tops of the highest trees. Herons, Bitterns, Cranes, and Redshanks, though not very numerous, are frequently seen in Lower Canada ; But in the Upper Province I have only observed the Crane and Redshank, and even these but very seldom. Woodcocks, which are not much larger than the Snipe, are very numerous in the Western parts of Upper Canada. WILD TURKEV. nhzt or a jay, ig birds," who was sert, that, marks of he Divine his eccen- f Canada scent, the rtue. the lakes [AN GoosK d in every confident, ^se birds in ave a dis- e entirely ey Duck's ich I have ops of the [edshanks, tly seen in ice I have and even irger than item parts The Wild Turkey is a very fine bird, and often weighs 40 lbs. and upwards. They are frequently seen in large flocks in various parts of the Upper Province ; but I have never observed more than eight or ten of them together. In the Winter they sometimes light in the farm-yards in quest of food, which they fearlessly pick up, in partnership with the poultry. The Pheasant, or " Partridge," as it is some- times called, is, I believe, a bird peculiar to the American Continent. It is, however, quite differ- ent from the English Pheasant and Partridge. Its flesh is as white and as tender as that of a chicken ; and it is at all times in excellent condition and well-flavoured. In colour, it bears a greater resem- blance to a Partridge, than to a Pheasant ; but it has a long tail, which it elevates and spreads like" the Peacock. It never appears in the corn-fields, but delights to pick about in the wilderness, out of whose precincts it seldom wanders. In Winter, it subsists on the buds of trees; and, in Summer, on fruits and nuts. When sprung, it always flies up into a tree; where it remains for a considerable time, unless it be brought down by the gun. During the months of April, September, and Oc- tober, the cock spends at least two-thirds of the day in drumming on some decayed log: This he does by striking his wings against his sides, which produces a noise similar to that of distant thunder,— a peculiarity, affording to me strong q3 ' li J. ■ " : 990 PIGEONS. presumptive evidence, that he is of the Pheasant kind. Quails are common in the old settlements, and are exactly similar to birds of the same name in England. In the Spring of the year, Pigeons arrive in vast flocks from the Southern country. They continue here all the Summer, and are taken in great num- bers in nets similar to plover-nets. Five hundred are sometimes taken at a spring, and 30 or 35 are frequently killed by a single shot. The Canadians salt and barrel the breasts of these birds, reserving the other parts for immediate use. Wilson's Ornitho- logy contains a calculation relative to the flocks of these birds which annually move Northward from the back of the central and Southern States : It appears incredible, but my own personal, observa- tions have satisfied me of its correctness. He says, he observed a flock passing between Frankfort and the Indian territory, one mile at least in breadth : It took up four hours in passing, which, at the rate of one mile per minute, gives a length of 240 miles ; and supposing three pigeons to each square yard, — which is certainly an exceedingly moderate sup- position, — there must have been the immense num- ber of 2,230,272,000 in that single flock. ' TuRTLE-DovES, whosc bcautiful plumage, deli- cate shape, and innocent looks, are well calculated to attract attention, are also very numerous. There are five different kinds of Wood-peckers in Canada ; two of which are very beautiful both in Pheasant ants, and name in ^e in vast continue eat num- hundred or 35 are /anadians reserving Ornitho- flocks of 'ard from ates : It observa- He says, (fort and breadth : the rate 40 miles ; are yard, rate sup- nse num- ige, deli- loulated ■PECKERS i\ both in MOCK.BIRD. 331 i regard to shape and colour. The largest, — Picus erythrocephalus, — which is commonly called by the Canadians, " Cock of the Wood," has a crimson poll, with a large tuft of the same colour projecting horizontally over his neck. His back and wings are beautifully mottled with black and white ; and his tail is a dark green. The W.., i-peckers are all furnished with very hard sharp angular bills. With these they penetrate the hardest trees in quest of insects, on which they subsist. Their tongues are nearly three times the length of their bills, being pointed and dentated on each side. They always attack dead trees, and make a noise in the application of their bills, while boring them, full as loud as, and somewhat similar to, the noise pro- duced by a joiner^s hammer when rapidly applied to the head of a nail. v ,.. The Mock-Bird is nearly as large as a thrush. It makes a noise like the m.ewing of a cat, and is said, to possess not only its own natural notes^ which, Buifon says, " are musical and solemn," but also the faculty of imitating every bird in the forest. The author just quoted informs his readers, *^ that it frequently sits all night upon the chim- nies of the American Planters' houses, pouring out the sweetest and most varied notes of any bird whatever." All this sounds very well three or four thousand miles from America, where all are willing to believe and few are able to contradict the assertion. But, I can assure you, like many other tales that are told about America, it has its 232 MOCK.BIKD. source in misrepresentation, l^tiough I have been an American planter for many years, my " chim- ney" has never been honoured with music so enchanting, nor my ears deliglited with the Mock- bird's " varied notes, ' either natural or imitative ; neither have I heard, at any time, since my arrival in the country, of its possessing those extraordinary powers. It has one or two notes not unlike those of a tiu'ush, and of these it seems very sparing ; for it seldom uses them for more than a minute at any one time, and always begins and con- cludes with an inharmonious scream. But if the Mock-bird were possessed of the power of *^ imitating every other bird in the American forest," his musical excellence, and capabili- ties, as exhibited in his practice, would neither render him a more celebrated songster, nor enable him to give more satisfaction to the lovers of true harmony than he does at present. The united ejcertions of any number of unskilful voices would^ I suppose, be inadequate to the production of a melodious gamut ; for, numbers in music, whatever may be their potent charms in poetry, have, I pre- sume, no inseparable connection with harmony: This question therefore must be left to be solved by the philosophers, " If all the notes, produced by the lirds of Canada, were sounded forth indi- vidually by the little throats to which they pecu- liarly belong, or collectively by the ci-devant far-famed songster the Mock-bird, would they be found alike unmusical and inharmonious ?" Com- THRUSH. 233 ave been ' " chim- (nusic so le Mook- mitative ; ly arrival lordinary ike those sparing ; a minute and eon- But if power of American capabili- d neither or enable s of true e united s would, ion of a hatever e, I pre- armony: le solved Toduced th indi- pecu- i-devant they be ' Com- moti sense and experience have already determined this problem. The Canadian Thrush, in shape and size, \n exactly like that of Ireland ; but its plumage is more beautiful. The Canadians aver, that they frequently hear it sing in the morning during the months of Spring; but, I suppose, it must be before Europeans usually awake, —for I never met with any one, except a native, who had heard the song of the Thrush. Though I myself am not a late riser, its notes have never reached my ears. I have, it is true, heard one note, which was given without any variation ; and I consider its tiresome monotony just as much entitled to the name of " singing," as the shrill whistle, which, after much labour and expence of breath, a child is enabled to elicit from a flute, is, in technical language, entitled to be called ** playing on the flute." Indeed, the Canadian Thrush always appears to me, as if attempting to learn a song, which, for want of instruction, it is not able to acquire. The American Robin, or the bird bearing that name, is in reality the Field-fake, which visits England in Winter. - The Blue Jay is larger than a thrush; and continues in Canada throughout the year. Its plumage is very beautiful ; but the harsh and dis- cordant sounds of its croaking voice are exceedingly oifensive to the ear. A bird, called the KiNg-fisher, and somewhat larger than a snipe, but entirely different from the I i S34 BLUE BIRD. European King-fisher, frequents the rivers and brooks of Canada. The colour of its coat is blue ; and its head, which is out of all proportion with its body, is frightfully ugly. '•; ' Immense flocks of birds, resembling the Black- birds of England, and so called here, assemble iii the Spring, and continue in the country during the Summer. They are the most destructive crea- tures on the globe,* and have a particular predilec- tion for the corn-crops, which they frequently destroy with a vengeance scarcely conceivable. They appear to me to be a species of the stair or starling, being like them noisy and gregarious, r. The Blue-bird is somewhat larger than a sparrow. Its plumage is most exquisitely beautiful. A deep sky-blue is the colour of its back and wings; and its breast and head, which are of the same colour but lighter, are elegantly interspersed with shades of scarlet and green. The Lark in appearance is very much like the sky-lark of your country : but it never attempts to sing. It is a stupid inactive bird, and unwilling to get upon the wing ; seemingly as ignorant of the art of flying, as it is of the science of music. ' The King-bird of Canada, resembles the red- wing, and is probably the same. A bird like the Bull-finch in size and shape, but greatly superior in the richness of its plumage, appeared, it is said, in Canada, for the first time, during the late war. It still continues to pay an annual visit to the country, and is now familiarly IIUMMINQ BIRD. 335 ivei'3 and a,t M blue ; m with its 'i ■ r ■' ■■ he Blaok- semble iii ry during itive crea- predilec- Vequently nceivable. tie stair or rious. : * than a beautiful, nd wings ; the same rsed with like the tempts to villing to it of the c. the red- hape, but )lumage, •st time, pay an imiliarly styled *'the War-bird." It wants only a know- ledge of singing to render it the most delightful of the feathered tribe. Yellow Birds, which are very much like Canaries, may be seen in flocks in any part of the country. They call exactly as Canaries, but do not sing; and yet I am inclined to think that they are a variety of the same genus. The HuMMiNG-BiUD, the least and most delightful of the fowls of the air, is an annual visitant of the Canadas; there are various sizes of this diminutive bird, from that of a wren to an humble bee. The splendour and variety of their plumage is beyond all description. The smallest is, I think, the most beautiful ; its colours are more numerous and varied than the others. On its head is a tuft of feathers or more properly of down, as black as jet; its breast is scarlet; its belly, a pale blue; its back and wings the most brilliant green ; and its tail, a golden green, edged off with some of the most splendid tints in nature. The whole of its plumage is interspersed with spots of gold. During Sum- mer, the humming-bird may be seen in all the gardens in the country, sporting its inimitable figure in unnumbered gambols, flirting from place to place, and busily extracting the sweetness from the flowers. There sits the bird that speaks ; there, quivering, rise Wings that reflect the glow of evening skies ! Half-bird, half-fly, the fairy King of flowers. Reigns there, and revels thro' the fragrant hours,— Gem full of life, and joy, and song divine! 1 n 236 BALD BAOLfi. When iti fluttering wings are in motion^ it makes a noise like that of a gpinning-wheel, which is the reason why it is called " the humming-bird/* Notwithstanding the diminutive size and fragile appearance of this beautiful creature, it is one of the irriiahile genus, and a most fatal enemy to birds of a superior size. It will not scruple, when pro- voked, to attack even a raven ; it darts, with the speed of lightning, its slender bill, into the body of its sable antagonist, and makes him fall lifeless to the ground. ' • " Crows, Sparrows and Wrens are rarely seen in the Western parts of Upper Canada : But in the Eastern Districts, and in the Lower Province, they are common, though by no means numerous. Eagles, Ravens, Owls, Kites, Falcons, Bitterns and Hawks are common in both Upper ani Lower Canada. The Bald Eagle, — Falco Leucocephalus, — is by far the largest bird which I have seen in this coun- try. Some of them measure seven feet from the extremity of one wing to that of the other. Dr. Dwight says, a bird of this kind was killed in Brookfield, Vermont, whic)i measured nearly nine feet. hi.; * LETTER XIV. INSECTS OF VAniOCS KINDS — BUTTERFLY — ORASS-IIOPkRR AND LOCUST THE HORSE-FLY, MUSQUITO, SANU-FLY AND BLACK- FLV— THE SHAD-FLY, SNOW-FLY, AND FIR».-FLY THE ULACK BEETLE — THE BED BUG, HIVE BEE AND YfASC, &C. Snakes of every description are much d euded by the Irish on their first arrival in i'ai> country. But, before they have spent a single bummer in it, they meet with enemies of whose existence they had never heard, which are far more obnoxiou* and much more to be dreaded: I allude tt the numer- ous and teasing insects with which Canada abounds. A man may reside in any part of America for half a century, without sustaining the slightest injury from a snake of any description, though he may daily behold hundreds of them. But it is impos- sible to remain a single summer in the country, without experiencing the most unpleasant effects from a variety of insects, many of which are suffi- ciently virulent and painful in their attacks, to embitter one's life during the only season of the year, which possesses attractions sufficient to allure one from the threshold. To give you a systematic entomological description of the insects of Canada^ 238 BUTTERFIJES. it is a task which I am little inclined, and less quali- fied, to undertake. You must therefore be content with a cursory notice of such as are the most remarkable. These are the Butterfly, the Grass- hopper, and the Locust ; the Horse-fly, the Mus- quito, the Sand-fly and the Black-fly ; the Shad- fly, the Snow-fly, and the Fire-fly; the Black Beetle, the Horse-fly, and the Bed-bug ; the Hive- bee, the Field-bee, the Hornet and the Wasp ; the Tick, the Ant, the Spider, i&c. Some of the Canadian Butterflies are very large, and all of them exquisitely beautiful. When Nature was employed to give them existence, one would think, she determined to exhibit on their wings all the brilliant colours and finely- contrasted shades, which her incomparable skill alone could produce. If the grades of distinction among butterflies, are regulated according to their different degrees of beauty, Sir Joseph Banks, had he lived in America, would have enjoyed many a fine chace, and have had numerous occasions of exclaiming, " An Emperor ! an Emperor ! by all that's lucky !" without any danger of that grum- bling reprobation, from botanical enthusiasts, to which he was liable in his own country, for his want of respect to their variegated beds of tulips or gay parterres of pinks and auriculas, when he dashed through every intervening obstacle in pursuit of the vagrant, yet fascinating insects. Many of the Canadian butterflies, appear, when flying, as large as a bat ; but the largest species are, I think, the most beautiful. liOCUSTS. 239^ less quali- be content the most the Grass- the Mus- the Shad- the Black the Hive- Yasp; the \ are very ful. When existence, bo exhibit md finely- rable skill distinction ig to their ianks, had d many a casions of )r! by all at grum- siasts, to r his want ps or gay dashed mrsuit of Vlany of lying, as I think. Locusts and Grasshoppers infest the whole country, and are often as destructive to the corn- crops in Canada, as Sampson's foxes were to the standing wheat of the Philistines. Some of the Grasshoppers in these Provinces are as large as » field-mouse ; and all of them are much larger than any I ever saw in Europe. They seldom appear before the end of July, when they assem- ble in such multitudes, that a single person with a waggoner's whip might drive ten thousand of them before him, with as great ease as a shep- herd can drive a flock of sheep. The whole face of the earth appears so thickly covered with them, that crops of every description seem des- tined to immediate destruction. Mr. Lambert gives an account of their ravages for two succes- sive seasons, on the Island of Orleans. He says, their numbers were so great, that, after destroy- ing every vegetable production on the island, they were forced to leave it for feai* of starva- tion; and, having assembled in bodies upon the water, they floated over with the flood-tide to Quebec, passed through the town, stripped the ramparts of the grass as they went along, and then proceeded in separate columns through the coun-t try to the Southward. In Upper Canada, they sometimes destroy whole fields of grain and mea- dow-grass ; but I never heard of ravages so exten- sive as those which they commit in the Lower Province. — Dr. Dwight asserts, that the Locusts make their appearance in New England, only^ t> 240 HORSE-FLY. every seventh year : If this be really the case with regard to that part of North America, we must presume, that they come to spend their long vacation in Canada; for I have seen them in this country for six successive years. The Horse-fly is larger than an humble-bee, and is the most formidable and relentless foe to whose cruel inflictions the poor quadrupeds of Canada are doomed to submit. His bite is nearly as severe as the sting of a wasp ; and he never ceases, from June to September, from tormenting every animal of the brute creation. The Horse, the Ox, and the Deer, are, however, the objects of his greatest longings, upon which he exercises his most refined cruelties. In vain do they seek the breezy plain, the woody shade, or the purling brook : He follows them to every retreat, and is their implacable enemy every summer's day, from sun-rise, till evening kindly comes to grant them a few hours' respite. I have frequently observed horses turned out to pasture of excellent qua- lity, in the month of June, in good condition ; and have seen them brought back in October, greatly reduced in flesh : And no wonder ; for, instead of b' ing permitted quietly to feed, they are every moment employed in defending themselves against the unceasing attacks of Horse-flies, and other vex- atious insects. But of all the creatures that disturb the peace of man and beast, the Musquitoes are the most insup- portable. They are <* your days' companions and THE MUSQUITO. 241 your evrnings* guests," for at least four months in the year; during which time, an inhabitant of Canada might as well hope to reverse the current of the St. Lawrence, as to secure himself a mo- ment's relief from the insatiable stings of these unwearied tormentors.")- No spot, however sacred to repose, can fix a barrier to their entrance ; and the reign of disquietude and pain is, during sum- mer, absolute and universal. The Wolf, the Bear, and the Rattle-snake, — names which are sufficient to intimidate the stoutest European heart, — are gentle and innoxious when compared with the Musquito. If you never walk the woods with- out company, you will avoid all danger from the two former ; and, by remaining within doors, will sufficiently secure yourself from the deadly sting of the latter. But neither your house nor your bed affords you any refuge from those long-legged destroyers of your comfort, the Mus- quitoes. Go where you will, they will find you t In Moore's song of The Evil Spint of the Woods, in which the poet shews his very accurate knowledge of Canadian local- ities,— the Bull- frog and Musquito are thus associated together as insupportable plagues : There let every noxious thing Trail its filth and fix its sting ; Let the BulUtoad taint him over. Round him let Musquitoes hover, In his cars and eye-balls tingling. With his blood their poison mingling. Till, beneath the solar fires. Rankling all, the wretch expires I Vol. I. 11 ■ ' ~ ^42 THE MU8QUIT0. !!f but ; and, by continually darting theif vein- piercing proboscis into your legs, face, and hands, they will render your existence a burden as long as you are thus infested. You will therefore pray for the speedy removal of these mischievous insects, as for a blessing of no ordinary magnitude. In the Autumn of 1818, an Irish gentleman of respectability, who, from various disappointments in life, had contracted a fixed dislike to his native country, arrived in Canada, and settled in the Lon- don District. He was such a passionate lover of solitude, that he actually became charmed with the? wilds of America. He and I were in the habit of taking a walk together, once or twice a week, on the banks of the river Thames. On these little excursions, he never failed to discover some ro- mantic spot, and in its praise would exhaust all the eloquence of which he was possessed — always taking special care to conclude his observations with some choice reflections on " the pleasures of retirement in this enchanting quarter of the globe." As solitude had few charms for me, I only nodded my assent, and smiled. When Spring arrived, my friend was greatly offended by the croaking of th^ frogs, which caused him to relax considerably in his premature praises of the country. But when the Horse-fly, the Musquito, and the Sand-fly made their appearance, Othello's occupation was entirely gone. Instead of spending his time, as he had formerly l THK MU8QUITO. 243 I done, in magnifying the delights of solitude and retirement as found in the wilds of America, " he went upon the other tack," and was continually reprobating the country, and denouncing the most impassioned, — but alas ! ineffectual, — anathemas upon its insect-inhabitants. Before the expiration of his first Sum *iier in the Province, he considered the plagues of Egypt as gentle chastisements, when compared with the plagues of Canada. I have often laughed most heartily when I have seen him rubbing his fingers, and scratching his legs, though at the time I was myself enduring* as much pain as it was possible for poisonous insects to inflict. I certainly did experience a mitigation of my own suiFerings whenever I could spend an hour or two in the company of my friend, listening to his exe- crations of a country in the praise of which he had, a short time before, been so extravagantly lavish. Though I must confess, this mitigation was n ot on account of any particular sympathy which I felt for the tortures he endured, but it had its origin in the ludicrous contrast between his pre- sent just vituperations and his past unwarrantable encomiums. Children suffer more, if possible, than adults, from the Musquito and Black-fly. Their heads and necks swell to such a degree, as to render them not only the greatest sufferers, but the most wretched spectacles of aflfticted humanity. ' , Though the sting of the Bl^ck fly, at the mo- r2 944 THE BLACK.FLV.' Mli I : ment of infliction, produces little pain, it is never- theless equally as poisonous as that of the Mus- quito, and of the two, is rather more to be dreaded. The Musquito, like a true warrior, disdaining assassin- like attempts, does not seek concealment for the accomplishment of his designs, but makes an open and an honourable attack at the peril of his own life, and leaves you every opportunity of self-defence : While the Black-fly, like the mid- night murderer, lies in wait all day, and as the night draws near steals from his hiding-place : But still afraid to m^et you face to face, he seeks an ambush in your hair, and executes his dark designs in perfect safety;, for you seldom feel his bite, until after he decamps satiated with your blood. From the bite of the Musquito, a white swelling, not unlike that caused by the sting of a nettle, is immediately produced : In a short time, it becomes exceedingly painful and itching, notwithstanding which, if you had only to endure a single or a dozen bites, it would signify very little. But when your hands and arms, your face and neck, your legs and thighs, are literally covered with bites, — and that not only once a week or once a day, but every minute of your life during the months of June, July, August, and September, — it signifies more than words can express. I once read the Travels of a Frenchman, — I do not now recollect his name, — who resided sometime in America. His sole objection to the IS never- he M US- dreaded, isdaining cealment it makes peril of tunity of the mid- id as the ace: But seeks an k designs his bite, iir blood, swelling, nettle, is becomes standing gle or a ut when ck, your bites, — day, but onths of signifies I man, — I resided In to the THE SHAD-FLY. 245 troTintry was derived from the musquito and other insects, which he thought sufficient to drive any man away. This, I think, was proceeding rather too far, although I consider them a perpetual tor- ment, and perhaps have suiTered as much from their malignity as the annoyed Frenchman, — for they respect neither particular nations nor persons, — I believe I should never think of leaving the country against which I had no greater objection, than its harbouring musquitoes, if in other respects it an- swered the expectations which I had previously formed. At the same time, I am free to confess, that if I knew the Deity designed to employ mus- quitoes, as the only instruments in the execution of his revealed threatenings on the unrighteous, I should almost dread the idea of eternal punishment as much as I do at this moment : And, therefore, if the Frenchman had not been induced, either by necessity or expediency, to leave his native coun- try for the Canadas, but had left it only for the sake of his own pleasure, I should deem the oper- ation of that motive which he mentions sufficiently powerful to make him measure back his steps again. The Shad-fly makes its appearance about the beginning of June, but disappears in less than a fortnight. These insects bear a very close resem- blance to moths, and have little tendency during their brief stay, to increase the stranger's attach- ment to the country. The first Canadians, how- Rd ! d46 THB SNOW.FLEA. i\ ever, hailed these insects with joyful acclamations, from a notion which they entertained, that they came to acquaint them with the arrival of the Shad- fish in the river. It is singular enough, that these insects are never observed in the country a single day before the arrival of that fish, or after its departure. The Shad-fly is most common about the towns and villages on the banks of the St. Law- rence, and is seldom observed in Upper Canada. I ht.ve seen them so numerous in the environs of Montreal, that at the distance of five yards I pould not have distinguished an elephant from a mouse. . ■ • ' • : 1 Snow-fleas are a species of insects of which I have not seen any notice taken either by French pr English writers. Previous to a thaw, they are observed upon the snow in great multitudes. I once counted upwards of 1,296,000 upon a single square yard ; and I think it is probable, that every yard of woodland in the province v^rould average at least an equal number. This calculation may appear singular, but it was very easily effected : I selected a square yard, every part of which appeared to be equally covered with these insects, and then out out with my penknife a square inch of the snow, which of course retained its due portion of fleas. Depositing the whole upoh a plate, I allowed the snow to thaw, and the water thus produced to run off. The insects remained on the plate, deprived of life, which afforded me an opportunity for ascer mations, lat they he Shad- hat these ' a single after its )ii about St. Law- Canada, srirons of yards I it from a f which I y French they are tudes. I a single lat every average ion may ected : I appeared and then le snow, of fleas. 3wed the ;d to run deprived or ascer TUfi FIKE.FLY. 247 taining their number with accuracy : and I found it to be 1,000. I multiplied the number of insects found upon one square inch by the number of inches in a square yard, and the result was the number of insects contained on the surface of a square yard. The Snow-flea is perfectly black, and about the size of a grain of the finest gun -powder. But I had at the time no microscope, by which to examine its peculiar conformation. The Fire-fly, of all nocturnal insects, exhibits an appearance the most pleasing to the curious and contemplative mind. In the functions of this little being, we behold a wonderful example of creative skill. At one moment, its body is dark and opaque ; and, the next, it is brilliantly illuminated, as if by material fire. In the Summer nights they enlighten the whole country, and seem like a galaxy of sub- ordinate stars, intended to point out the path of safety • " . ! ____________ tQ jjjg luckless wight Whose lot is cast to travel in the night. They are so numerous in every part of Lower and Upper Canada, that a person not aware of the unin- flammable nature of their blaze, would imagine the woods and fields to be in danger of immediate con- flagration. The Fire-fly belongs, if I mistake not, to the class of beetles ; it is of a very dark brown, with a straw-coloured abdomen, from which it emits the luminous appearance I have just described. ; 1 i i 248 THE H01J8B.FLV. — To this little insect we are indebted for the beau- tiful lines of Moore : This morning, when the earth and sky Were burning with the blush of Spring, I siw thee not, tliou humble fly, Nor thought upon thy gleaming wing. But now the skies have lost their hue, And sunny lights no longer play, I see thee, and I bless thee too For sparkling o'er the dreary way. O let me hope, that thus for me. When life and love shall lose their bloom. Some milder joys may come, like thee. To light, if not to warm, the gloom. Beetles, in Canada, are very common, and per- fectly inoffensive ; but there is an insect very simi- lar in appearance, called by the Canadians the HouN-BUG, which is rather dangerous. He is fur- nished with a horn exceedingly sharp and hard, which projects horizontally from his head about a quarter of an inch. As he flies very swiftly, and without any apparent regard to the direction which he takes, he sometimes comes in contact with men, horses, and other aniaials; on whose flesh, although he seems to entertain no hostile intentions against them, he sometimes involuntarily tries the temper of his instrument. House-flies are an overwhelming plague in every part of the country. I think I may safely say, that a single Canadian cabin contains a ho beau- and per- ry simi- lans the e is fur- id hard, id about ■tly, and n which th men, Ithough against temper ague in y safely itains SI THE BEE. 240 greater number of these insects than could be col- lected in a whole English parish. As well might a Canadian hope to prevent the clouds from ob- scuring the sun, as to preserve his goods and chat- tels, doors and windows, from the filth of these troublesome creatures. In city, town, and country, windows of every description are rendered so dirty by these pests, that a person, unacquainted with the cause, would not hesitate :o pronounce the people shamefully inattentive to external ap- pearances; but this state of things is, in truth, unavoidable. I have known persons, who made a constant practice of washing their windows every morning ; and, on looking at those very windows in the evening, one would not suppose, that they had been touched by water since the day when Noah's ark rested on Mount Ararat. Fly-traps are as common in Canada, as rat-traps in St. He- lena : But, notwithstanding all the means which are resorted to for reducing their numbers, they are still so abundant that a child can scarcely open its mouth, without running the ri&k of being suffo- cated by the quantity that eagerly try to descend down its throat. Bees, which are now very plentiful in every part of North America, were, it is said, never seen in the country before the arrival of Euro- peans. The Indians, who, have no name for them in their own language, call them " English flies." Honey is very cheap in all the old settlements ; 960 THB DBS. and many of the farmeri have from 20 U) 30 hivei; independently of which, trees are discovered in the forests from whose hollow trunks between 70 and 150 lbs of honey are frequently extracted. These trees are found out in a very singular man- ner : Persons who are deputed to seek them, col- lect a number of beos from the flowers bordering on the forests, and confine them in a small box, in the bottom of which is a piece of honey-comb, and in the lid a square of glass, large enough to admit the light into every part. When the bees are supposed to have satisfied themselves with honey, two or three are allowed to escape, and the direction which they take in flying away is atten- tively observed, until they become lost in the dis- tance. The hunter, as the bee-catcher is called, then proceeds towards the spot where his view became obscured ; and, releasing one or two more of his prisoners, he marks their course as he did that of their precursors. This process is fepeated until the bees which are let fly, instead of following in the same direction as their pre- decessors, fly in that which is directly opposite. When this occurs, the hunter is convinced that he tnust have passed the object of his pursuit. For it is a fact universally received, that if you take a bee from a flower situate at any given distance South of the tree to which that bee belongs, and carry it in the closest confinement to an equal distance on the North side of the tree, he will, when allowed to escape, after flying in a circle for a moment. THB BEB. 35t 10 hivei; vered in ween 70 ttraoted. lar man- em, col- ordering 11 box, in ■jy-comb, lough to the bees res with , and the is atten- the dis- is called, his view wo more le as he rocess is instead eir pre- opposite. that he For it ake a bee ce South carry it ;ance on allowed moment, make his course directly to his dulce domum, with- out inclining in the least to the right hand or the left. The hunter, who has patience, intelligence, and perseverance on his side, is therefore certain of ultimate success: For the direction which the first bee takes, is infallibly that in which the neat-tree lies ; so that when the bees which are subsequently released reverse their flight and seem to go back to the place from which the first flew, the sports- man knows that he has passed by the destined tree. His next great object is, to distinguish the tree which contains the bees, from others which stand in the same direction. This would of course be a difficult task to an uninitiated person ; but the ingenuity of the American hunter has supplied him with means, by which he can allure the bees from the tree where they have deposited their honey, when it is not remotely situated. This is effected by placing a piece of honey-comb upon a heated brick, the odour of which, while in the act of melt- ing, is so strong and alluring as to induce the whole tribe to come down from their citadel, in quest of honey, of which the fragrant smell had been the herald. Nothing then remains but to cut down the tree ; and the quantity of honey found in its excavated trunk, seldom fails to compensate very amply the perseverance of the huntsman. I have been thus particular in my description of the manner in which honey is discovered and taken, because I thought it would amuse you to hear any thing new, upon a subject the most distantly con- 1852 THE BE&. necled with the operations and habits of the bee: You know how much both ancient historians and poets have been concerned to convey to their readers correct information regarding their civil, political, and domestic economy. I have refrained from giving any account of their internal arrange- ments, because I conceive the descriptions of these to be sufficiently rife : But I think I have made you acquainted with a mode of carrying the siege more easily than you imagine, and with quite as much effect as that described by Virgil : When of its sweets the dome thou would'st deprive. Diffuse warm spirted water through the hive. Or noxious smoke thro' all their dwellings drive. An extraordinary instance of the fatal effects which frequently result from the combined forces of the weakest enemies, occurred recently in the district of Gore. In the Summer of 1820, the Rev. Kalph Leeming, of Ancaster, was possessed of a fine horse: The animal was sent out to grass, at a neighbouring farmer's, who kept about twenty stocks of bees. By some means or other, he got into the lawn where the hives were placed, and while indulging his curiosity, accidentally over- turned one of them. The bees, finding themselves disturbed, singled out the horse as the object of their wrath, and attacked him with great virulence. This made the persecuted animal begin to kick: In his agony he overthrew another hive, which only doubled the number of the assailants. The WASPS. 25J? the bee: rians and to their leir civil, refrained arrang^e- s of these ive made the siege 1 quite as rive. al effects ed forces ly in the the Rev. d of a fine rass, at a twenty , he got |ced, and ly over- emselves bject of irulence. o kick : which Its. The last hive was falling to the ground, when the horse fell too ; and in less than five minutes from the commencement of the affray, the poor animal was literally stung to death by his enraged adversaries. Wasps are not more common than in England, but hornets and yellow-jackets are very numerous. Nor are fleas more generally found in Canada, than in other parts of the world. A comfortable house, occupied by a cleanly family, is seldom troubled with them ; but bed-bugs are the inmates of every dwelling, from the castle of St. Louis, on the elevated promontory of Quebec, to the humblest log-hut on the shores of Lake St. Clair. If these offensive creatures, with the musquilo, black-fly, and house-fly, were to continue their attacks throughout the year, they would certainly render the Canadian's existence a heavy curse, rather than a blessing. Indeed, it appears wonder- ful to me, that man can at all subsist in a land, in which the insects alone appear sufficiently numerous to destroy every production of the earth. I have mentioned only the most remarkable among the different tribes of poisonous and destructive insects in the country: There are many more, whose names I cannot recollect ; but whose opera- tions are not so easily forgotten. On reviewing the preceding pages of this letter, I have been forcibly struck with the idea, that yoii, who are happily free from such tormenting plagues as those wliich I have recounted, will prabablv suspect me of exaggeration. I know that nothing 254 IN8ECTS. is more common . than for men to magnify an evil at the time when they themselves are enduring it ; and with regard to my own case, as few writers have entered deeply into the subject, I shall more readily be charged with hyperbolical minuteness, if with nothing more. But if I were disposed to swell my letter with quotations from the few travellers who have touched on the subject, I think I should be able to avert the particular charge, and to shew that I agree with them in the main of my remarks upon Canadian insects. I have, however, no desire to lengthen my correspondence by the labours of other men, and shall therefore content myself with two quotations, — the one from Mr. Lambert's Travels in Canada, and the other from Stuart's Emigrants' Guide, by which, in your eyes and in the eyes of every candid person, I think I shall be amply justified. Mr. Lambert, in speaking of the months of May, J une, July, August and September, observes : "The Spring, Summer and Autumn of Canada, are all comprised in these five months. The rest of the year may be said to consist wholly of Winter. The month of October is sometimes agreeable ; but nature has then put on her gloomy mantle, and tlio chilling blasts from the North- West remind the Canadians of the approach of snow and ice. November and April are the two most dis- agreeable months. In the one, the snow is falling ; and in the other it is going away. Both of them confine the people to their houses; and render INSECTS. 255 fy an evil luring it ; w writers lall more iteness, if sposed to the few it, I think arge, and tin of my however, ce by the 3 content rom Mr. ther from in your n, I think of May, observes : Canada, The rest lolly of jmetimes gloomy th-West mow and most dis- falling ; of them render travelling uncomfortable and even dangerous. Nop can the inhabitants enjoy the Summer months with that comfort and pleasure experienced in Europe. One of the greatest plagues to which they are sub- ject is, in my opinion, the common house-fly. It is not decided, whether they are natives of the country, or imported. I think, however, that their boldness and assurance grea'^y exceed their European brethren, and their number is beyond all conception. Your room must be entirely darkened, or it will be impossible to remain in it undisturbed. The warmer and lighter it k, the more numerous and active the flies will be, and the greater will be your sufferings. The stoves keep them alive in Winter, but the sun restores them to their full vigour and power of annoyance. In Summer, I have sat down to write, and have been obliged to throw my pen aside, in consequence of their irri- tating bite, which compelled me ijvery moment lo raise my hand to my eyes, tiosp, OiOuLh, and ears, in constant succession. W^her) V ooi hi no longer write, I began to read, ahd was always obliged to keep one hand constantly on the move, to- wards my head. Sometimes in the coarse of a few minutes, I could lake half a dozen of my tormentors from my lips, between which I caught them just as they had perched. In short, while sitting quiet in the cnair, I was continually worried by them ; and, a?; it has been observed of the same insects in Russia, none but those who have suffered could believe them I, 256 INSECTS. capable of inflicting so much torment. At length* when my patience was exhausted within doors, I would put on my hat and walk out, thinking to enjoy the delightful breezes, that frolic in the atmosphere at this season of the year. But, in les*: than live minutes, I was oppressed by the scorching beams of the meridian sun. To avoid a coup de soleil I retreated to a thick shady grove, which seemed inviting me to take shelter under its um- brageous foliage ; but, as if to bring my sufferings to a climax, I was immediately surrounded by myriads of musquitoes, sand-flies and other veno- mous insects, whose repeated attacks upon my face, hands, and legs, compelled me reluctantly to return to my old tormentors at home, which, though equally teazing, are certainly not so veno- mous as their long-legged brethren." He adds, " the sting of the musquito is trifling at first, but the next day it is extremely painful, and sometimes dangerous if violently rubbed. The best remedy is to wash the part with some powerful acid : Lemon-juice and vinegar have frequently relieved me from the painful irritation which its venom excites. The blue-lots, or sand-flies, are so very small, as to be hardly perceptible in their attacks : and your forehead will be streaming with blood, before you are sensible of being among them." So much for the statement of Mr. Lambert. Now for Mr. Stuart : In page 298 of his Emi- granfs Guide to Upper Canada, he says, " The Lt length* doors, I nking to c in the lit, in les^ scorching \, coup de e, which ;r its urn- sufferings mded by tier veno- upon my 3tantly to ;, which, - so veno- rifling at nful, and The best powerful I'equently hich its )s, are so in their |ing with among of Mr. lis Emi- " The INSECTS. 937 insects during the Summer months, are the greatest natural nuisance in the country : After a hard day's toil, the wearied labourer often seeks for rest in vain. The musquito wanders round him with its perpetual alarum of attack, and, by assailing him at every unguarded moment, invests that alarum with almo 300 BULL-FROGS. they never cease night or day, during the whole Summer, to send forth their hideous yells, with such force and effect, that it is difficult to hear any thing hut frog-music, from the beginning of May to the close of September. The forests in all moist and swampy places are literally covered over with them. It is impossible to conceive any thing equal to the noise and variety of their notes. The loud bellowing of some, which, from their superior size and strength of lungs, appear to be chiefs, the quacking of others of a less size, the melancholy groanings of a few scattered up and down as if to mingle sorrow with rejoicings ; and the harsh screeches of a fourth party, — produce altogether such a singular combination of sounds as beggars all description. Some of them roar as loudly as a lion, and appear to lead the concert; for the moment they commence, you hear every incon- gruity of sound, from the harsh lowing of an ox, to the almost inaudible chirrup of a humming-bird. A person listening to this music, without knowing by what instruments it was produced, would feel inclined to suppose, that all the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air had assembled together, and were tuning their voices preparatory to the commencement of a grand chorus in celebration of the grata vice Veris et Favoni^ — the release of nature from the cold grasp of Winter, by the grateful return of Spring. Irishmen who arrive in Canada, late in the fall of the year or in Winter, and who are uuacquainted BULL.FROO?. set he whole bIIs, with hear any r of May [ all moist 3ver with ing equal The loud lerior size liiefs, the elancholy n as if to he harsh Itogether i beggars •udly as a for the •y incon- )f an ox, ling-bird, knowing ould feel the field together, y to the lebration release of by the the fall squainted with the cause of the uproar with which they are greeted, may frequently be seen, in the succeeding Spring, stealing to these frog-orchestras with guns well-loaded and ready-cocked, their hearts bounding at the idea of bringing to the earth a buiTalo, bear, or wolf. When they arrive at the spot from which the sounds seemed to issue, and perceive no animals larger than vast frogs upon the ground, they direct their attention upwards and reluctantly relinquish all present ideas of a buffalo, for a shot at a wild turkey, a racoon, or an opossum. On discovering that neither birds nor beasts are to be found, they imagine that there must be a subterraneous cavern in the neighbourhood, in which such animals as lie torpid during the Winter, having just become roused from their lethargy, are busily debating some important points concerning their Summer excursions. Impressed with this idea, or with some other equally plausible and strange, they return to their wives, and, in communicating the history of their disappointment, forget not to in- clude an authentic report of the cave which their own imaginations have created, under the misguid ing influence and ventriloquistic deception of the noisy frogs. The largest bull-frogs weigh about five pounds each, and are able to destroy a gosling of a month old : There is every variety of the frog-genus in Canada, from this size down to that of a wren's egg. Toads are also very numerous ; and although s3 > 't V\2 MUU TORTOrsB; vulgar prejudice considers them as enemies trt niah< and capable of emitting some poisonous matter from their bodies, the commun? ation of which would prove injurious to human health, they are perfectly harmless and inoffensive. Their general contour is not very pleasing ; and perhaps that is partly the reason why they arc killed, whenever they make their appearance. The Mud Tortoisc, or Turtle, when full-grown, is about two feet in diameter. Its flesh is said to equal in flavour that of the West India Turtle. But as it is one of those delicacies which my palate is not so far refined as to appreciate, I leave the determination of its true taste and flavour to city Aldermen : The appearance of the flesh, when dressed, is quite sufficient to satisfy my appetite. These animals will live ten days after having their heads cut off. This I could scarcely believe, when I first arrived in the country ; but I have since had ocular demonstration of the fact. They lay their eggs in the sand to the number of fifty, which are round, and about the size of a large crab : The Canadians eat them, and ccmsider them superior in quality to those of domestic fowls. A large turtle is capable of moving with a man upon its back ; and some persons assert, that it is equal to the task of carrying two men, without manifesting the least symptom of being over-loaded. In Lower Canada^, there are now very few Snakes, but in the Upper Provitice there is a great variety. . . RATTLK-SNAKK. VHa mies to mah, nous niatter 3h of which 1th, they are ^heir general rhaps that is ed, whenever n full-grown, le.sh is said to [ndia Turtle, ich my palate , I leave the ivour to city flesh, when my appetite. ' having their believe, when ave since had hey lay their y, which are crab : The m superior in K large turtle Don its back ; equal to the anifesting the w very few ere is a great ' The Rattle-snake, though not the largest, is cer-. tainly the most formidable of the serpent kind. The longest of them measure about five feet, and are as thick as a man's leg ; but the general size is three feet and a half. The appearance of these reptiles is far more calculated to excite admiration, than to create alarm. They are said to possess such a power of fascination, as to be able at any time to arrest the attention of bi frogs, squirrels, and other small animals, in a manner that completely deprives them of the power of motion, and com- pels them to stand in some degree rivetted to the spot, apparently admiring the brilliant eyes and many-coloured scales of their deadly foe. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the rattle-snake, or the splendour of his eyes. His rattle consists of seve- ral distinct crustaceous bags attached to the extre- mity of his tail. The number of these bags serves to ascertain the age of the reptile : The first bag becomes visible when the snake is three years old, and one is afterwards annually added. It is commonly believed, on your side of the Atlantic, that the Rattle-snake always gives warning, when about to attack either man or beast : But this is not the case. I have killed several myself, and have likewise seen not a few destroyed by other persons; and I am convinced, from experi- ence and observation, that they very seldom rattle when attacked. Although they possess the power of inflicting almost instantaneous death, they seem unwilling to attack man, except in their I I ,."8^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4^. 1.0 I.I 12.2 L25 III 1.4 I 1.6 6" V] ^J^ 7; /A V PhotDgrapnic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO (716) 872-4503 Z "^ ^ Sn dr>4 ItATTLE-SNAKE. own defence. When one of them is about to liite' either man or beast, his eyes sparkle like lire, his whole body becomes bloated with rage, and his bead and neck alternately flatten, distend, and swell. His lips contract and expand, disclosing at intervals his frightful forked tongue, and those fatal receptacles of deadly poison with which he prepares to inflict the most cruel death. He sel- dom, however, succeeds in accomplishing his dreadful purpose ; for if observed before he makes the last fatal spring or dart, he may be readily avoided and quickly dispatched. A single stroke of a stick not thicker than a cutting whip, is suffi- cient to disable him, though it is not easy wholly to deprive him of life. "-I- The most eflfectual ilPl^ f Dr. Dwight says, " This reptile is clumsy, and avoided "without xlifficulty." — In another part of these voUimes I have shewn the curious acceptations given by the Americans, botli in Canada and the United States, to several well-defined English ■words : Clumsy, therefore, may in their strange vocabulary sig- nify SLENDER. But if the term is to convey the common English signification, the Doctor miglit as truly affirm, " that the tusk of a Mammoth would make a most delicate tooth-pic k," as " that this snake is a clutnsy creature." Nor can I comprehend Dr. Dwight's meaning, when he says, ** The Rattle-snake has no motion, except that which is produced by coiling himself up, and then stretching himself out at full length." If he had said, " that when this reptile intends to bite man or beast, he coils himself up, and then springs from his coil," 1 could have readily subscribed to his assertion. But if the idea which lie wishes to convey, be, that in its ordinary perambulations from place to place, the snake proceeds by alternately coiling up and stretching itself out,— the Doctor has certainly never behckl RATTLB-SNAKj:. 203 to lo'iie ire, his [ind his id, and tsing at i those lieh he He sel- ng his I makes readily stroke is suffi- wholly ffectual avoided s I have both in English ilary sig- i English le tusk of aa " that he says, )rotluced at full Is to bite his coil," the idea julations )iling up r beheld method of destroying these envenomed creatures, is, to attack them at the mouths of their caves, in the Spring of the year, when they have not entirely recovered from the debilitating effects of their Winter confinement. At this season, they are found in a very feeble condition, basking in the sunshine at the entrance of their caves. Per- sons who come out purposely for their destruction, wear large boots which reach above the knee. They make a sudden rush among the reptiles, and fre- quently kill several hundreds before they have time to regain their retreats. The effluvia arising from their dead bodies, produces immediate sick- ness, and compels the assailants to make a speedy retreat from the scene of action. W. H , Esq., a gentleman who resides at Dundas, in the Gore District, when on a hunting- party of this nature a few years ago, received a bite from a large snake in rather a singular manner. He observed its tail in the cleft of a rock, and very imprudently laid hold of it, with the intention of dragging it forth to light, and dashing its head against the rock in which it was lodged. The snake happened to be coiled ; and, on feeling that its tail was touched, darted at the intruder's hand, it in the act of regular loco-motion, nor obtained the substance of his account from such persons as were capable of communi- cating correct information. The fact is, the Rattle-snake moves on the surface of the earth with as much ease and quickness, and exactly in the same manner, as an eel wriggles along the slimy bottom of a river. mm 2G6 RATTLE-SNAKE. and inflicted a small wound. Mr. H. immediately took his pen-knife, and cut out the wounded flesh ; but, though this was accomplished without a mo- ment's delay, it proved too late. In a short time, his hand and arm began to swell and assume the colour of a snake. His whole body presently became affected with the spreading con agion, and in less than an hour, he exhibited the most melan- choly bpectaclo of human wretchedness. He was taken home, and every remedy provided for him, whichthe skill or experience of his attendants could suggest. Great quantities of Snake-root and White Ash-l)ark, boiled up in milk, were given him to drink, but they did not appear to aiford him any immediate relief. For the space of eight or ten -days, he endured the most poignant sufferings ; but at the expiration of this period, he experienced fl, considerable abatement of his former pains, and 4iis spotted skin began to resume its natural colour. He was, however, unable to rise for six months from his bed, and not until the lapse of a year did he find himself capable of engaging in his former occupations. The Indians eat the rattle-snakes, and consider their flesh superior to that of eels. It is something remarkable, that hogs devour them without sus- taining any injury : All other quadrupeds are afraid of them, and carefully avoid the place where they have been once observed. r^ A serpent, not unlike the Rattle-snake, and called " the Pilot'' on account of its propensity to DLACK-SiNAKK. SJli7 lediately id flesh ; ut a mo- )rt time, lume the iresently ion, and t melan- He was for him, its could d White him to him any t or ten Ferings ; jrienced ins, and colour. months ^ear did former consider nething out sus- eds are B where nd :e, a tisity to precede that creature, is equally venomous and equally dreaded both by man and beast. There is another reptile of a similar description, which, on account of its diminutive size, is entituled " the Bastard Rattle-snake:" It is only 18 inches in length, and is considered even more venomous than either of those already mentioned. It has, how- ever, been allowed, that a bite from any of the gracelem trio will be followed with immediate death, unless the proper remedy is instantly admi- nistered. If this be really the case, — and I pre- sume there is no reason to doubt it, — I cannot conceive how one of them can be more venomous than the others. The Black Snakh is found in every part of the •country; his bite is poisonous, but seldom produc- tive of any fatal effects. He is from five to six foet long : his back and sides are a jet black, exceed- ingly brilliant and smooth ; and his belly a silver grey, which is, by the finest shades, imperceptibly united with the black. This animal possesses the power of fascination in a more eminent degree than the rattle-snake. He hns, besides, a trait pecu- liar to himself, a singular faculty of flagellation, which he sometimes exercises in a very affection^ .ate manner on his luckless brother : For when he has embraced the rattle-'snake within his ample coil, he whips him to death with his tail. He will also .entwine himself round a child, or the leg of a man, land never disengages himself till he is absolutely cut to pieces. 2G8 SALMON. w^ ^ m The Water-snake, in his appearance, resemble.«¥ the rattle-snake ; but seldom exceeds three feet and a half in length. His bite is also poisonous, and perhaps more to be dreaded than that of the rattle-snake ; for he may be found on the banks of every river and brook in the Upper Province. Small green snakes, the most beautiful of the serpent kind, are very numerous in many parts of Upper Canada. I have a tillage field, which is about 40 acres in extent, and I am confident that there are 3000 of these animals within it at this moment. The rivers and lakes of Canada are supplied with the greatest variety of fine fish. Salmov are taken in large quantities as high up the country as the Falls of Niagara ; but neither salmon nor eels are found in any of the upper lakes or rivers. On account of the remoteness of Lake Ontario from the sea, the salmon which it contains are of an inferior quality. But the upper lakes and rivers abound with almost every kind of fish, some of which are equal to any in the world. Sturgeons of an immense size are caught in great numbers, in many of the large rivers, and particularly in the Thames. Fishes of this description frequently weigh 160 lbs, and measure seven feet in length. In the Spring of the year, they, like every other fish in America except the Salmon, come up the rivers from the large lakes, to deposit their spawn. They return in about three weeks, and leave the STURGEON. S(») rivers almost entirely destitute of fish for the remainder of the year. A few trouts only remain, and even these retire to the small brooks and rivu- lets, whose waters seem more congenial to their tastes or habits. The Sturgeons are killed with a gaff, or spear, as they swim slowly up the currents. As soon as they are stricken, they whirl themselves round, and dart, with astonishing swiftness, down the stream, carrying the spear or gaff along with them, until, becoming exhausted through loss of blood, they are easily dragged on shore. —In the Spring of 1821, an intimate acquaintance of mincf was one day fishing on the Canadian Thames, accompanied by his son, a young man about twenty-two years of age. Observing an uncommonly large Sturgeon sailing up the river, the son immediately pierced it with his spear, and, retaining a firm hold of his weapon, was dragged into the water. For some time he floated on the stream, behind the Sturgeon, by the aid of his instrument ; but, at length becom- ing weary of this disagreeable mode of proceeding, like another Aristus, he got astride of the fish, and converting his spear into a bridle-rein, rode him for nearly a mile down the river, which is in that part broad, deep, irregular, and rapid ; when the unfortunate animal, unable to exert himself on account of the loss of blood, yielded up his life to the prowess of his rider. The equestrian exploits of John Gilpin have been amply immortalized in t Major Schofield, of London^ Upper Canada. 270 fillAD-FISH. the well-known bnllacl which beara his name. Thoy ' furnished materials every way worthy of the face- tious pen of its elephant author ; but I think an equally instructive and amusing poem might be written on the adventure I have just related. I have heard of a pair of mice drawing a chariot, and of a venerable rat becoming a Jehu ; but, I believe, with the exception of Aristus's Dolphin, there is no instance upon record of any of the finny tribe administering to the comfort of either men or fairies, in any other way, than that by which the strict and conscientious observers of Lent are preserved from starving, through the oppor- tune relief which they derive from the nice dif- ference existing between fish and flesh. The MusKiNUNCK is a very excellent fish, from three to four feet long. Both in its appearance, and in the quality of its flesh, it has a striking resemblance to the Pike. Next in size to the Muskinunge is the Shad- fisH, which is found in the St. Lawrence, and in those rivers which empty themselves into it. It is a very coarse, soft fish ; and, from the quantities in which it is taken, affords the French Canadians a great supply of food, during the early part of Summer. In New York, the Shad is esteemed a fish of first-rate quality ; but in Montreal, it is ieaten only by the lower orders of the people. Cat-fish, Pike, Pickerel, Mullet, and Dog- fish, with the Sucker and the Black and Wiiitb li!l FISHES. 271 '. Thoy tie face- link an ight be ted. I chariot, but, I dolphin, of the f either that by of Lent oppor- ice dif- , from arance, itriking Shad- and in It is antities nadians )art of emed a tl, it is % / • [ DOG- Dank, abound in all the rivers and lakes. Fresh- water Hi:k KINGS are taken in great quantities on the shores of Lake Ontario ; but they are much inferior to those which are found in salt-water, although equally esteemed by the Canadians. Trout are scarce and very small : But they are in appearance uncommonly beautiful, far surpass- ing those of England in the variety and brilliancy of their colours. At the Western extremity of Lake Erie, great quantities of White-fish are annually taken. They are somewhat larger than a mackerel, and are esteemed the most delicious fish in the coun- try. They are also found at the mouth of the Niagara river, and, I believe, in one or two places along the North-western shore of Ontario. The Sword-fish is found in many of the Lakes and in the River St. Lawrence. Eels, which fare said to be of an excellent qua- lity, are taken in great nuabers, in Lake Ontario, and the rivers Niagara and M. Lawrence. Fishes of every description in Canada, are either speared; or taken with nets. There is no such thing as angling in the country : The musquitoes and sand-flies render it impossible for any but an Indian to continue for a single hour on the banks of either lake or river. These insects, as you have already heard, are troublesome enough in the woods ; but it is impossible to endure the severity of their attacks in the vicinity of water, where they seem 372 KISIIRS. to increase both in strength and malignity, and where. •'tis nought But restless hurry through the busy air Beat by unnumbered wings. Emigrants need not, therefore, be solicitous about bringing to Canada a very extensive assortment of fishing apparatus : Rods, wheels, lines, hooks, and flies, (leaving out the horse-flies and others of their race,) may be purchased here from disappointed anglers for at least 75 per cent under prime cost. LETTER XVI. TIIKBS POfJNn IV THE CANADAS — If ARD AND SOFT MAPLR — ItEW, WHITE, AND BLUE DERril — UI.ACK, REn, AND WHITE OAK -— BLACK AND WHITE ABH — IlED AND WHITE ELM — IRON-WOOD AND DIRCH — UASStening." ;o bo of ire suflfi- lufacturo lorve an r." But to Mr. ler knew idTWO wilfully S. It 19 all men iple-tree i of the lustrioiis ilone, if mnually 1 quality at India ore than e manu- vious to maple is uUurist. If there were no nmniifactorv of Ihix nutnre in (-a- nada, au^ar oould not be purrhascd, in the remote townships of tho Hpper Provinrr, for \vm than one HhiilinjT and sixpenoo per ])oun(l; whereas, in the present state of thin^.-*, it can be had in sufficient quantities for one-fifth part of that sum. At thi^i time, 700 lbs. of HUfrav are worth X'll 13«. 4d., which, thouju^h at the rale of only four pence a pound, alTords an ample compensation to the farmer for little more than half a month's labour, at a sea- son of the year when he could not otherwise pro- fitably employ himself. So larpe a quantity as this, it is true, is not always ma as by the most eminent sugar-reliner in Jamaica. The manufacture of this sugar is generally com- menced early in the month of April, when the sap of the tree is first put into motion at the return of Spring, and when no other agricultural operation can be carried on to good purpose by the farmer, on account of the unpleasant weather which occurs at that period. A part of the estate is selected which contains the largest quantity of flourishing Maple-trees nearly contiguous to each other ; and a temporary hut is erected for the accommodation of the operators, not more than two or three being required for the management of a hundred trees, from every one of which the sap is oozing out at the same time. In rainy weather, the trees yield their valuable juice rather tardily ; and, during the whole month which is sometimes devoted to this employment, it often happens that only eight or nin& days are propitious to this part of the settler^s labours. The best weather for the purpose is that in which the night is frosty, and the day cheered by the rays of a warm sun. If the process of boil- ing were not continued both day and night, the sap would accumulate too rapidly in the reservoir, and soon evince symptoms of vinous ferment- ation, which would change its quality and render it useless for the manufacture of sugar. The first thing necessary for commencing the manufacture of this article, is a metal boiler. OF MAPLE.SUOAR. 277 as by the illy com- n the sap return of operation e farmer, ch occurs i selected iourishin^ her ; and modation iree being red trees, ng out at irees yield luring the ed to this y eight or e settler's >se is that y cheered ss of boil- light, the reservoir, ferment- id render icing the il boiler. which costs in Upper Canada about £2 10s. ster- ling. This holds nearly thirty gallons, and, with a small cooking-pot, is sufficient, in a prosperous season, to boil down 600 lbs. One hundred and fifty troughs, eight reservoirs, and four hand- buckets, will be necessary for the regular supply of this boiler. The troughs cost about 16s. 3d. per hundred ; the reservoirs, which are barrels, with out heads, about 4 shillings each ; and the buokets, 2s. 6d. each. These are the only utensils which an emigrant will need : The troughs may be made by himself, if he has acquired any skill in the use of his axe during the preceding winter. An expert hand can make 30 or 35 troughs in a day ; which, though formed only with the axe, will last for oiany years, if carefully placed under cover during Sum- mer. The trees are tapped either by means of an incision made by an axe, or the perforation of an auger. But the latter mode is considered the less injurious to the growth of the tree, and is there- fore the more approved plan. A small shoot about nine inches long is made the conductor of the sap, from each incision to its respective trough ; from which, when nearly full, it is conveyed in buckets to the reservoirs, and there allowed to subside* When the grosser particles of the sediment have been left to sink to the bottom, the sap is drawn off into the boilers, and reduced to molasses by the simple process of evaporation. The liquid in this purer state is then drawn from the boilers and placed in the reservoirs, or coolers, until it becomes t3 Iii I ■ fr 278 MAPLE.S(^(JAR. nearly cold ; when it is strained through a woollen cloth into a smaller boiler, and, after being clarified with eggs, milk, or bullock's blood, is boiled down to the consistence of sugar, and poured into moulds of the particular shape which it is intended to assume as a sort of candy. But, if to be used as soft sugar, the syrup in its last stage of purification Is left in a sugar-cask, which is perforated, to allow the moist particles, in the form of molasses, to ooze through the bottom. Many people neither clear nor strain the molasses, and consequently make very coarse and dirty sugar ; but by a strict adherence to the simple directions which I have given, the most ignorant novice in the art might manufacture sugar equal to any that is imported into England. Some of it, indeed, has what is called " a smack," or peculiar taste, derived often from the kind of wood of which the troughs are made, and sometimes from being neglected while in the act of boiling, and suffered to burn. Every tree, on an average, will from a single wound yield about twenty gallons of sap, and a porportionate quantity from any number of inci- sions not exceeding four. Five gallons of sap con- tain at least one pound of sugar. ^ Beside the saccharine qualities of the maple-tree, it possesses many others, which render it increas- edly valuable. Numbers of them are so fine and so beautifully curled in the grain, that, when t Dr. Dwi'ght says, he has known a single Maple-tree pro- duce 14 lbs. of pure sugar in a single season. RED AND M'HlTfi KLM. 27f» I woollen ^ clarified led down moulds ended to B used as lification , to allow s, to ooze her clear tly make a strict h I have rt might imported 1 what is derived > troughs leglected to burn. a single p, and a ' of inci- sap con- iple-tree, ; increas- • fine and it, when le-tree pro- worked into furniture of various sorts, the wood has a much more elegant appearance than maho- gany. The Sugar-maple also affords the best fire- wood or fuel in North America. There is another species called " the soft Maple'* — Acer Riibrtim — , which contains only a small por- tion of sap of an acidulating nature. The White Beech, — Fagus Ferruginea, — is sel- dom or never used for any thing but fuel, and plane stocks. But " the Red Beech" is a very lasting timber, and much esteemed for fencing. " The Blue Beech" is a kind of shrub. The White Oak, — Quercits Alba, — though greatly inferior to that of England, is the most useful tim- ber in the country for general purposes ; but " the Black, the Yellow, and the Red Oaks," are of very little value. The White species is distin- guished into the Shaggy and the Smooth. Black and White Ash, neither of which bears much resemblance to English Ash, are used prin- cipally for hoops, rails, and flooring. Red and White Elm grow to a most astonish- ing size. The former is generally found hollow and of little value ; but the latter is very durable and in much request among joiners and cabinet- makers. There is another species of Elm, called " the Water-Elm :" When this is accidentally pierced by the blow of an axe, an astonishing quan- tity of foetid liquor, of an amber colour, and a most offensive flavour exudes from the wound. Several gallons of this fluid are often taken from a single 280 IRON WOOD. w tree, the timber of which is of no value what- ever. Iron Wood, when seasoned, is exceedingly hard and close grained; but, as it never grows more than 40 or 50 feet in height and a foot in diameter, little use is made of it in Canada. The common BiRrn-TUEB, — Betula Alhay — is often found 16 feet in circumference and 120 feet in height ; but, like almost all other trees in the country, it is committed to the flames by the set- tlers when in the act of clearing the land. The Indians make excellent canoes of the bark; and this, I believe, is the only useful purpose to which any part of the tree is appropriated. Bass WOOD is a very soft white timber, difficult to be burned, and of little value in Upper Canada. But in Montreal, it sells for 600 per cent, higher than the best Pine. It is used for the pannels of sleighs, calashes, &c., for which purpose it is con- sidered superior even to mahogany, on account of being lighter, closer, and more finely grained. It also bends well, and never splits while in the act of being pierced. Black and White Walnut grow only in the richest soils. They produce an abundant supply of very excellent nuts, which are larger than those of Europe, and possiess an exceedingly fine flavour. ; The White Walnut is called in Canada, " the Butter-nut." The bark of this tree possesses some very extraordinary medicinal properties : If it be stripped from the root upwards, and administered CHESNUT.TRfiE. 281 tue what- ngly hard 3WS more diameter, Alba^ — is I 120 feet ;es in the / the set- nd.' The tark; and to which ifficult to Canada, it. higher annels of t is con- ccount of ined. It he act of in the upply of those of ivour. la, " the ses some If it be inistered to a patient, t will operate as an emetic ; but if it be stripped from the boughs downwards, its medi- cinal properties are changed, and it becomes a strong purgative. Observe how remarkably the modus operandi accords with the manner of decor- tication ! This appears marvellous enough ; but it is nevertheless strictly true. The wood of this tree is also used in dying, — a purpose to which it seems as well adapted as log- wood. , , Chesnut, — Castanea Vesca, — and Hiccory, (or Heckarry,) produce a profusion of very fine nuts. The Hiccory-nut adheres closely to the shell, and is the best-flavoured nut in America. It must, however, be rather injurious to the health, as it contains a great quantity of unctuous matter, from which a fine oil may be expressed. I have myself procured 10 drops from a single nut, the kernel of which was not as large as that of a walnut. Button-wood, considered by some to be a spe- cies of Sycamore, grows to a prodigious size on the banks of brooks and rivers. It is a beautiful- looking timber, when worked up into articles of furniture. Its fine grain bears a striking resem- blance to salmon-coloured silk velvet* .... 1 White-wood grows principally in moist soils. It is excellent timber for flooring ; not so lasting as Pine, but greatly superior in appearance. Balm of Gilead and Poplar, — Pcpulus Alba, — are seldom applied to purposes of utility in America by any except the Indians, who form the wood ' ' 282 WHITE PINE. into bowlii, dishes, ladles and other domestic utensils. Red and White Pine, — Pitrns Scholeus, — fre- quently attain the astonishing height of 250 feet, but they seldom exceed 18 feet in circumference. They tower above every other tree in the forest, and exhibit a most magnificent appearance. It is only, however, in the Western Districts of Upper Canada, where they grow to such an immense height. The White Pines are all reserved by his Britannic Majesty for the use of the Navy, and are therefore not allowed to be cut down by private individuals. The Fir-tree is found principally on the plains of Upper Canada, where it seldom attains to a greater height than 60 or 60 feet. In Winter, when the earth is covered with snow, and almost every other plant stripped of its foliage, the fine deep green and conical top of this singularly beau- tiful tree is seen to peculiar advantage. The White Spruce grows to a good size. I have seen many of them ninety feet high. The Black Spruce is another species. Hemlock, — Pinus Canadensis, — very much re- sembles the Yew in its foliage ; but the timber is essentially different. The Canadians use the hemlock boughs as a substitute for tea ; and although it has a very disagreeable flavour, they frequently drink great quantities of it, without either cream or sugar. domestic )leus, — fre- f 250 feet, I inference, the forest, nee. It is of Upper immense 'ed by his iJ'avy, and by private the plains tains to a i Winter, id almost , the fine irly beau- l size. I ?h. The nuch re- timber is J hemlock igh it has tly drink ream or M'HITK CEDAR, 283 Larch, — Pinus Larix, or as it is commonly called, *'Tamerack," grows only in swamps, and is chiefly used in fencing. White Cedak is esteemed the most durable timber on the whole continent. The Canadians have a common saying, that " the White Cedar " will last for ever, and will then serve for window- " sashes." — ^" Red Cedar" is found only in some particular parts of the country. Aspen, Weeping Willow, and Lombardy Poplar, are but rarely seen ; and yet they are the only trees in the country which contribute in the slightest degree to its ornament. All others fur- nish no better display than their bare trunks, for nearly 100 feet from the ground ; and, even above that height, we seek in vain for thick-spreading^ foliage. The branches shoot directly upwards, and are so very few and so poorly supplied with smaller boughs, that they present a shorn and destitute appearance. The mode pursued by English nursery-men in the management of young woods and plantations, will serve in some degree to explain the cause of this nakedness : In order to promote the quick shooting of such timber as is naturally of slow growth, they place the plants in the midst of young trees, which are more rapid in their rise and increase : The scions of both kinds shoot up together, equall)' lofty and leafless, till the more valuable trees have attained such a gracile height as accords with the views of the planter, and as will not attenuate them too much, or prevent S84 TREES AROUND their future extension in bulk or girth. That which in England is purposely effected by Art, is in America produced by Nature's unassisted efforts. The thickly-planted forest affords the representa- tion of a quick and upward race ; and till a single tree has overtopped all its surrounding competitors* it has no room for the free circulation of air, and consequently none for protruding its branches and foliage. This, I believe, is the principal reason why the immense trees in the woods of America display neither branches nor leaves, except at a towering elevation. . When I first visited this country, I waa much surprised to find all the farm-houses situated in the midst of bleak fields, unshaded by a single tree or shrub of any description. I then imputed it to want of taste in the inhabitants ; but I soon dis- covered this naked appearance to be in a great measure unavoidable. Allowing the possibility of selecting a few ornamental trees from the forest before it is first cleared by the settlers, it would not be found practicable to preserve them without endangering the lives of those whom they were designed to over-shadow ; for here, as well as in other parts of the world, The umbrageous oak, in pomp outspread , Full oft when storms the welkin rend. Destructive falls upon the head It promised to defend. In America, the roots of all trees run almost horizontally along the surface of the earth and i 1 SETTLERS' DWKMilNOS. 885 ["hat which ^RT, is in ed efforts, epresenta- 11 a single mpetitors^ f air, and nches and >al reason f America cept at a vas much led in the le tree or ted it to soon dia- a great ability of he forest 'ould not without ey were ell as in almost rth and very close to it ; they consequently have littlt» hold, or depth of root, in the untrodden soil by which they are supported. A tree, therefore, which is spared from the woodman's axe, while those by which it was formerly surrounded and compacted are cut down, has no rea!«on to congra- tulate itself on the prolongation of its existence, or its escape from destruction ; for the stormy wind no sooner " passeth over it, than it is gon? ;" it cannot " with Boreal rigours strive," except in the midst of the impervious phalanx which once were its firm supporters, and, standing by itself, is speedily torn up by the roots. This is the main cause why American farms are not ornamented with trees; to this circumstance, their total absence from almost every farm in the country may be fairly traced, and not, as has been frequently supposed, to any aversion which the farmers have to such embellishments. It may, however, be inquired, "Why then do they " not plant young trees, which would doubtless be " proof against the wind as well as in Europe ?" This apparent neglect may be easily accounted for ; by observing, that one of the principal occupations in which a Canadian farmer engages, is, that of felling the timber on his land, to enable him to pro- cure the necessaries of life for himself and his family. The timber is found to be of little or no value, and he is therefore compelled to destroy it by fire, but sometimes derives a small profit from the ashes which remain after the skilful conila- 28(J POT.ASII. 1 I' ;.i I* I i p^ration.-j-^ By fonviiiifr planiaiionsof trees on the land whicli ho ha»l already cleared, or on any part of it, the fanner, so far as he did this, would only defeat his original purpose, and would be prosecuting a labour from which neither himself nor his poste- rity could derive any benefit. Centuries have, in my opinion, yet to elapse, before timber in Canada will repay the labour of planting and cultivation, or compensate the owner for the quantity of ground t Some skill is requiretl in the mode of con bustion, in order to render the nshes of the burnt wood the more profitable. Instan- ces are not wanting, in which the bunving of the heavy tim1)er on a well-M'ooded estate has produced a sufficient quantity of ashes to defray the expenccs of clearing the land. Good ashes are generally purchased, by the manufacturers of the article, at seven-pence per bushel. The method of converting the ashes into Alkali is this : Several vessels, called " leeches," open at the top and with a few small aper- tures at the bottom, are fixed on an elevated platform. Under each leech is placed a large board or plank, in a sloping position ; one end of it communicates with the holes in the bottom of the leech, and the other, after having served as a conduit or gutter for the ley, terminates in a large wooden trough, which stands on the ground as a common receptacle for all the leeches. The ley is madc; by pouring water upon the dry ashes with which the leeches are filled : This profuse application of water is repeated as often as occasion requires, till the Alkali in the ashes is completely dis- solved, when tlie leeches are replenished with a fresh quantity. The ley contained in the large trough is afterwards boiled down in capacious iron pans, till it is quite destitute of moisture. When dried, it is of a dark colour, and on this account called " Black Salts." A high degree of heat is then applied to these salts : After being kept some time in a state of fusion, they are freed from all remaining impurities ; and, when left to cool, become perfectly white,— in which state they are a marketable commodity. LANDSCAPKS. 587 ees on tlie 11 any pnrt /oultl only trosecuting ' Ins poste- rs have, in in Canada ultivalion, of ground Ion, in order table, Instan- heavy timl)er t quantity of Good ashes he article, at this : Several Mr small aper- Undereach losition ; one of the leech, p gutter for stands on the J ley is made; ( leeches are d as often as ipletely dis- 'sh quantity, boiled down iture. When lied " Black salts : After •ed from all le perfectly ity. which it would occupy on hia newly-cleared estate. Besides, an American farmer, especially on fresh land, has really no time to spend in improving the scenery of his estate. We judge of scenery by different rules. The Englishman admires the undulating hill and dale, and cannot be over- stocked with wood and water : Barrenness and fertility, vigour and decay, with all their interme- diate varieties, must crowd into the coup d ail of a picture that would please him. On the other hand, an inhabitant of Canada has generally much more wood and water than he desires, and would gladly accommodate his Trans-atlantic brethren with a goodly portion of either : The landscape which he loves to contemplate may partake of vigour and fertility as largely as it pleases, but with no inter- mixture of barrenness and decay ; for he is not by any means wishful of producing an effect by con- trast. Nothing is more admirable in his eyes, than the plain and substantial appearance of corn-fields, pastures, and meadows, interspersed and divided by the leafless fence, with here and there a Maple- tree or other useful plant, like honest men, or telegraphic station?, just within sight of each other. However classical the taste of a Canadian farmer may naturally be, — and many of them are alive to all the beauties of nature, — the circumstances in which he is placed prevent him from indulging that taste so far only as its gratification seems com- patible with utility and profit. — The clearing and JW8 LAHOE TIMRRR. I ' cultivation of his pround, nml the erection of suit- able and necessary buildings, are generally his exclusive occupations, and engross nearly the whole of his time, from the hour when he first wields the axe, until his head becomes " silvered o'er with age,'* and he is obliged to lay aside the implements of husbandry. For, as labourers arc not only difficult to be procured, but are remune- rated with wages from which prudence shrinks, — too often with an empty pocket, — the farmer remains satisfied with the assistance derivable from the members of his own family, — assistance, by the frequent inefficiency of which his life becomes one continued series of toil and fatigue. A man who can sit down every day to a leg of mutton and tur- nips, without a frill to his shirt or a velvet collar to his coat, will not readily relinquish that sub- stantial fare, for the sake of so useless though fanciful a decoration of his person. He wisely pre- fers solid internal sustenance to external embel- lishment; and, in like manner, the American husbandman would hardly be persuaded to dispense with pork and pumpkin pie, merely to afford the passing stranger occasion for applauding the diver- sified and tasteful aspect of his estate. ' Of the trees which I have enumerated, the Pine, the Black and White Oak, Button-wood and the Black Walnut, attain to the greatest size, and exhibit the most formidable appearance. Many of them are not unfrequently found to measure thirty feet in circumference, and some even more. I DM of auit- erally his etirly the n he first " silvered J aside the ourers arc e remune- shrinks, — he farmer liable from ice, by the comes one man who n and tur- vet collar that sub- ss though k'iaely pre- lal embel- American o dispense afford the he diver- the Pine, and the size, and Many measure ■Ten more. IlEDOK.VIIRrnS. 2H» Hut it is almost impossible to ascertain their ap^e with exact itude; for they are generally hollow or dei ayed at heart, I once counted the growth of an Ash-tree, by the usual method of the number of circles which the yearly rise of the sap had formed ; and though it was only three feet in diameter, I found that it had braved the storms of 312 winters: From this circumstance, I think it probable, that trees of ten feet diameter must have bowed their heads in obeisance to the Ruling Power for at least 1,100 years. This, though scarcely credible to short-lived mortals, is certainly the fact ; for, upon inspecting the annual growth of some of these enormous trees, I have observed that it did not exceed that of the small ones. The only hedge-shrubs which I have ever seen in Canada,, are a kind of Hawtuoun of a coarse growth and large leaf, and several species of Bui a r» and DoG-uosEs. Holly, Box, Laburnum, Lo- RESTiNA, Lilac, and many other beautiful shrubs, which please the eye and scent the air of other countries, are vainly looked for in Canada: Ivv and Laurel are likewise strangers to this country. A shrub resembling the Honey Suckle, but entirely drfferent from that of England, is found in various parts of Upper Canada ; but, when in full flower, it emits very little of that odour for which it rs distinguished in my native country. Dr. Dwight says, the same shrub is found in New England, " and is still more beautiful, and more grateful to the smell, than that of Great Britain." Vol. L U I 1 i 390 UNADORNBD COTTAGES. iii 51 i ' ' i I 1 But, unfortunately foir the amiable Doctor, his testimony on this point is of little importance, he having never seen a British Woodbine, except in the hedge of some landscape-painting, where, how- ever faithfully its appearance might have been represented, its odotir could not on canvas be either retained or transmitted. Dr. Howison, in his Sketches of Upper Canada, says, ''The peasantry evince the utmost indiffer- ence about every thing that is not absolutely necessary to support existence. They raise wheat, Indian corn, and potatoes enough to place them- selves beyond the reach of want; but rarely en- deavour to increase their comforts by making gardens, or adorning the sites of their rude abodes with those rural improvements which so often grace the cottages of the British peasantry. Among the humble dwellings of Upper Canada No roses wreathing. Or woodbines breathing. Around the lattice their tendrils spread. Nqr does the bee, in the stillness of the Summer's day, hum among the honey-suckles, and, weighing down the flowers, rob them of their luscious treasure for the benefit of him who reared and watered the parent plant." He then adds the fol- lowing remark : *' The love of rural economy and improvement among the lower classes, is a tolerably sure indication that they have virtuous dispositions." The Doctor appears to have anticipated much plea- ►ctor, his tance, he except in ere, how- lave been mnvas be r Canada, t indiffer- absolutely ise wheat, ace them- parelv en- Y making de abodes so often Among Summer's weighing ' luscious eared and ds the fol- nomy and I tolerably positions." luch plea- IN UPPEH CANADA. 291 sure from the idea of becoming an eye-witness of that neatness, taste, and simplicity which, he had been told, characterized the people of Upper Ca- nada, and proved them to be, what they really are, the happiest people on the face of the earth. — " But,-' says he, " I felt disappointed, when, even in the oldest settlements, I saw every thing in a state of primitive rudeness and barbarism." The disappointments of which Dr. Howison com- plains, are experienced, in some degree, by every person who visits the country. I came to Upper Canada with the strongest prepossessions in its favour : It was represented to me, as scarcely infe- rior to the Garden of Eden, and as inhabited by a virtuous, industrious, and hospitable people. But when I landed on its wooded shores, and explored its immeasurable forests, I found the original to have very little agreement with the picture which my fancy had drawn, or the pens of my informants had sketched. Nature has unquestionably done much for the country. The soil is very luxuriant nearly in all places; and the trees every where stretch out their boughs majestically towards the clouds: Bui/ delightful cottages, hospitable a/nd in- dustrious men, and women beautiful and virtuous, on my first arrival were all either enshrouded in the impenetrable shades of the interminable woods, or had emigrated, like myself, in quest of more indul- gent skies and better fortunes : For no traces of them could be observed. "|- t The general remarks are here applied only to Upper Canada. u 2 ■ 1 i !? s ! i. ; \ i S^Jte^''^ .( Pi 11^^" ' mil Hil S93 APPLES. Orchards, which in the old settlements are very numerous, are the only plantations of which the country can boast ; and even they are little in- debted to the cultivator's toil, although the apple* which they produce, are not inferior to any ir^ the^ world. Those of the Western Districts iri particular are of a most excellent description and fine flavour. The cider is remarkably good, notwithstanding it is always drunk fresh. It is generally used in the Winter, and seldom or never allowed to attain the age of six months. It sells for about ten shillings per barrel of tbirty-tWo gallons, and is retailed by the tavern-keepers at seven pence halfpenny per quart, leaving them the astonishing profit of seven hundred per cent. Apples are generally sold for one shilling and threepence per bushel, of sixty lbs. In order to preserve them through the Winter, they are peeled and cut into slices ; a piece of fine twine is then passed through the centre of each slice, until the whole length of the string is occu- pied, when both the ends are united. They are afterwards hung up near the fire until they become perfectly dry, when they are barrelled and closed up until wanted. This is said to be the only method of preserving them in so cold a climate. But I am inclined to think, that if they were care- fully plucked off" the trees at a proper season, and placed in a room of moderate temperature, either in well-seasoned hay or ferns, they might be pre- served entire through the Winter. Peaches grow only in the Gore, Niagara, PEACHES. S93 are very ^hich the little in- le APPLE* ny in the particular e flavour, anding it sed in the attain the 1 shillings ^tailed by )enny per of seven y sold for I sixty lbs. ! Winter, ee of fine 3 of each is oceu- They are y become nd closed the only . climate, ^ere care- ason, and re, either ; be pre- Niagara, fiondon and Western Districts. The severity of the frosts in the Eastern Districts, as well as in Lower Canada, destroys the trees when they are young, and thus precludes the possibility of culti- vating this delicious fruit in those regions. The best peaches are those which may be seen upon the banks of the river St. Clair, and at the Western extremity of Lake Erie. They are produced in great profusion in these places, as well as along the South-western shores of Ontario and the river Niagara. The price at which they are sold, is one shilling and sixpence per bushel ; and the same method is taken to preserve them, as in the case of apples. Pears are very rarely to be met with. I cannot say any thing about their quality, because I have never seen one since my arrival in the country ; but I have no doubt, that if a proper kind wer© introduced into Upper Canada, it would thrive exceedingly well. Red Cherries are very plentiful, and, though small, are well-flavoured and juicy. Wild cherries, both black and red, abound in the woods ; but as they always grow on the tops of trees which are often nine feet in circumference and one hundred and twenty in height, they can never be obtained without felling the tree. They are generally con- sumed by the vast flocks of pigeons that visit this country in the Summer ; and it is somewhat remarkable, that these birds never touch them till they are perfectly ripe. u3 "•, •' j; 394 PlilJJWBS. i:i- ! ■ \ i i Plumb-Ouchards are very common in Lowef Canada; and several trees of this kind, grow in the apple-orchards of the Upper Province. In many parts of the London and Western Districts, and perhaps in other places, plumb-trees may be found growing in a wild state, and bearing a profusion of fruit, of a quality little, if at all, inferior to those which are cultivated in gardens. — The Green and Black Plumbs, are, I believe, entirely unknown in either province of Canada; at least, I have never seen them. A kind of Crab, called by the inhabitants " Crab- apple," is produced in great quantities in Upper Canada. It is exceedingly sour and juicy ; but is much esteemed, when preserved in the way in which we preserve gooseberries. Gooseberries, which are indigenous, grow all over the forests : The berry is so thickly covered with long sharp thorns, hard and bearded, that one might as well attempt to swallow a flax-dresser's heckle, as to eat one of these gooseberries in a raw state. But when they are scalded and intermixed with a reasonable portion of cream and sugar, they become exceedingly palatable. Black and Red Currants are also indigenous, but greatly superior to the gooseberry ; if carefully cultivated, they would prove excellent in their quality. Cranberries, and Bill, Bar, Huckle and Anna-berries, are very plentiful, and much esteemed by the Canadians. The Huckle-berries ^■it STRAWBERRIES. 296 n Lowef grow in ince. In Districts, ? may be profusion r to tho»& reen and inown in IV e never i " Crab- n Upper y; but is way in ^row all covered that one dresser's in a raw ermixed :ar, they resemble Bill-berries, but they are not the same. Strawberries, though they grow wild in tho forests, are nearly as good as your finest garden- strawberries. They are very plentiful in all the old settlements, and appear to thrive better in cultivated lands, than in those that are wooded. Black-berries, which seem to be of a superior quality to the same fruit in Europe, are highly relished by the Canadians, who eat them with cream and sugar, as you do strawberries. Raspberries are scarce, and of a very inferior description. The Grape, in its natural state, is a production of the Canadian forest : The fruit is small and tart, but would doubtless be much improved by cultivation. igenous, arefully in their lLe and much i-berries ii!i m 11'' hi LETTER XVII. HOnTICULTURAL PHODUCTIONS — MELONS, CUCUMBERS, GOURDS, roMEORANATES, AND SQUASHES — RED PEPPER, BEET-ROOT, AND RADISHES — CARROTS AND PARSNIPS — CABBAGES^ BEANS AND PEAS — CELERY, A&PARAOUS, SPINAGE AND SEA-KAIL WHEAT, MAIZE OR INDIAN CORN, RYE, BARLEY AND OATS — POTATOES, TURNIPS AND PUMPKINS— TOBACCO, HEMP AND FLAX. Although the people of Canada pay little atten- tion to horticultural pursuits, there are many fruits and vegetables found in their gardens, superior to the finest productions of our expensive hot-beds and flashy green-houses. Melons, the seeds of which are carelessly strewed over the ground, and covered without any atten- tion to system or neatness, attain a degree of per- fection, both as to size and flavour, that the North- ern fruits of Great Britain can never acquire after all the artificial aid which they obtain. In Upper Canada they generally weigh 20 lbs., and the largest 50 lbs., affording one of the greatest lux- uries, without labour or expence of any kind, to a people who are little capable of duly appreciating the delicacies which their indulgent skies scatter i'ouud them with the most profuse liberality. If CUCUMBERS. 207 RS, GOURDS, IT-ROOT, AND BEANS AND L — WHEAT, — POTATOES, \X. ttle atten- any fruits iperior to hot-beds Y strewed ny atten- e of per- le North- uire after n Upper and the test lux- ind, to a reciating s scatter ility. If the climate of Canada were as unfavourable to the growth of fruits and vegetables, as that of Great Britain and Ireland, its inhabitants would live and die without ever partaking of either : For they are too indolent and careless to put forth those exertions which would then be necessary to pro- cure them. If Manna were showered down from heaven into their mouths, I dare say they would swallow it ; but if it fell upon the ground, they would 'submit to a degree of partial starvation before they would take the trouble of collecting it. Cucumbers, Gourds, Pomegranates and Squashes, also attain the highest perfection of which they are capable, without any, the most trivial attention or expence. Red Pepper is also produced in the Canadian gardens. When ripe, the pods are of the finest scarlet colour ; and the pepper-corns, if ground with them, are not at all inferior to the best Cayenne, Beet, the root of which, though very insipid, aifords the Canadians a favourite pickle, may be found in great plenty. " Radishes, Carrots, and Parsnips, although they are cultivated in the same careless manner as every other vegetable, grow to the most astonishing size. They are often found 18 inches in length, and nearly two feet in circumference. Cabbages are generally injured by insects ; and few of them can be found excellent in quality, or of anagreeable flavour. The Common White or Windsor Bean never 298 ASPARAGUS. ) > J ' comes to perfection ; but French Beans of various kinds, and peas, thrive extremely well, and are cul- tivated on a very extensive scale. Celery, Asparagus, Spinage, and Sea-kail, or Colewort, though little cultivated, appear to flourish wherever they are tried. In fact, Dr. Goldsmith's lines on the fine productions of Italy, with a little alteration, would apply as well to Canada. Whatever fruits in different climes are found. That proudly rise, or humbly court the ground ; Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear. Whose bright succession decks the varied year ; Whatever sweets salute the Northern sky. With vernal leaves, that blossom but to die ; These, here disporting, own the kindred soil; Nor ask luxuriance from the planter's toil ; In nature's beauty groves and woods appear, Man seems the only growth that dwindles here. It is true there are many *' fruits found in different climes^" which are unknown in Canada ; but it is at the same time generally allowed, that there are very few which might not be cultivated with suc- cess in the South Western parts of Upper Canada. There, the summers are very long and exceedingly hot ; the usual range of the thermometer being, in the shade, from 70 deg. to 105 deg. of Fahrenheit. Grain of every description also succeeds well in Canada, and may be cultivated well to any extent. Rice has never yet become an object of atten- tion to the Canadian farmer ; though, there can be I RIC£ AND INDIAN CORN. 200 of various nd are cul- 3a-kail, or ippear to fact. Dr. s of Italy, as well to Id; re. i different but it is there are n^ith suc- r Canada, ceedingly being, in irenheit. Is well in y extent, of atten- re can be no doubt, from the overflowh s to which several of the smaller rivers are subject, that it might be rendered a very profitable production. It grows in a wild state on marshy grounds in various parts of the Upper Province, but particularly in the vicinity of (he Rice Lakes in the Newcastle District. Wild fowl feed and fatten on this grain ; and the Indians are very expert in gathering it on the sedgy margins of the lakes : They paddle into a growing mass, and thresh, in their own way, the grain from the stalk while it overhangs the sides of their canoes. They frequently obtain as much rice as serves for their own consumption, and the remainder is sold with a good profit to the Euro- pean settlers, who use it for various domestic pur- poses. This rice is of a large kind, and has a brown husk. Maize, or Indian corn, four quarts of which are sufficient to plant an acre, averages about 25 bushels in the Western Districts of Upper Canada, but not more than 16 in the Eastern Districts, or in any part of Lower Canada. It is sometimes planted in drills, and, during its quick growth, is carefully weeded, hoe-ed, and pruned. As the interstices betv/een each plant are considerable, pumpkins are sown at vari- ous distances, and spread themselves in great per- fection among the Indian corn. Twelve hundred large pumpkins are often thus raised on a single acre, and afford a very important article of home consumption to a settler's family, as well as excel- lent provender for his cattle in Autumn. ?)00 WHEAT AND HVE. PAiiii or WiNTKR Wheat is generally sowti be- tween the Ist of August and the middle of Sep- tember, and sometimes even later. Spring Wheat is put into the ground about the 20th of April, and is ripe for the sickle by the latter days of August, which is from three weeks to a month after the Winter wheat is harvested. The average crop of Winter wheat is about 26 bushels to an acre. The Spring wheat is equal in quality to the Winter wheat ; but it is neither so productive, nor as safe a crop : $ Sixty pounds only are sown upon an acre, and sometimes not more than forty-five. Rye is much cultivated, particularly in the Upper Province, where it is principally used for distillation. It averages about twenty bushels an acre, and sells for twenty-five per cent, less than wheat. . Oats, which are generally of a miserable descrip- tion, appear to be the most unprofitable crop in the country. I have never seen an acre of even j: This is partly owing to the diminutive size of the grain^ and partly to the influence of the climate, which causes it to plant more extensively than it can in colder climates. The Hessian Fly, also, though not so destructive to the wheat-crops of Canada, as it is to tho^ of the United States, has this season (1823) done much injury in many parts of the Upper Province. When a chrym salts, it is about the size and exactly in the shape of a grain of flax-seed. Its form, as an eruca, is that of a very small white maggot ; and, in its perfect state, it is not much larger than a gnat. It deposits its eggs in the Autumn, above the first joint of the wheat : The embryo fly perforates the stalk, and in some instances cuts it entirely away. ly sown bc- dle of Sep* iiNG Wheat f April, and I of August, th after the •age crop of acre. The the Winter nor as safe a on an acre, rly in the lly used for ^ bushels an it. less than 3le descrip- ble crop in jre of even the grain, and es it to plant ! Hessian Fly, of Canada, as (1823) done When a chri/~ of a grain of y small white larger than a e first joint of and in some BARLEY AND MILLET. 301 fourth-rate quality : But this result, I am co ident . is to be attributed to the kind of seed employed, rather than to any unproductive quality in the soil. , , Barley averages about twenty bushels per acre ; but it is little cultivated in Upper Canada, beer being almost wholly unknown, except in Fort George, York, and Kingston ; in each of which there is a brewery. Millet is also cultivated in some parts of the Province ; though far less attention is bestowed on this very useful grain than it deserves. Three quarts of seed are sufficient for an acre : the pro- duce of which, on good land, will be eighty bushels. . . ( Of the various native Grasses, White Clover springs up spontaneously, as soon as the land is cleared of the wood with which it had been incum- bered. Timothy, or " Fox-tail Grass," is a very useful species, and, having immense roots, is bet- ter able to endure the heats of Summer than any of the other grasses. But Red Clover, Lucerne, Herds-grass, and some of the most common kinds, must be sown, when they will produce abundant crops. ' ; r' The Canadians consider Potatoes, which are always watery and badly flavoured, to be a very unprofitable production. They calculate, that more labour is required to cultivate and save a sin- gle acre of them, than would be necessary in rais- ing five acres of wheat. The price, however. .il 902 POTATOES AND TURNIPS. which is sometimes obtained for them, would he fully sufficient to compensate the cultivator for his loss of time, were the demand sufficiently exten- sive or at all certain, — neither of which is the case, nor ever can be in a country where all are agricul- turists, and for whose surplus produce there is no no foreign demand or consumption. One hundred and seventy bushels, or about twenty-one barrels, are not far from the average crop ; but, I am con- fident, that if they were sown in drills, or planted in ridges, as in Ireland, the produce would be more than quadruple what it now is. According to the method which has been adopted, 480 lbs., or 20 stones, are considered a sufficient quantity to plant an acre. Four cuts are placed in the angles of a square, each of whose sides is about six inches ; and a pyramidical hill, of about a foot in height, and four feet in circumference, is raised over them. When they appear above ground, this hillock is increased in height with a hoe ; and the potatoes, when ripe, are taken out of the ground with the same instrument. In Winter, they are preserved in cellars, but are scarcely eatable when the snow has disappeared. Turnips, which are sown about the 25th of July, seem to grow very well ; but I have never seen more than an acre in the possession of any single farmer. The difficulty of preserving them from the severity of the frost, is, I suppose, one great cause, why few of them are cultivated ; and another eause is, the scarcity of sheep in every part of the TOBACCO. SOS , would be itor for his itly exten- is the case, re agricul- there is no le hundred tne barrels, I am Con- or planted Id be more ing to the ibs., or 20 ^y to plant ngles of a ches ; and eight, and ver them. hillock is potatoes, I with the preserved the snow 1 of July, ever seen ny single lem from one great i another rt of the country, few farmers having more than fifty or sixty, and none, I believe, more than a hundred. Four hundred bushels are sometimes raised from an acre, but I suspect that two hundred is nearer the customary crop. Tobacco, though very little cultivated in either of the provinces, seems to thrive well wherever it is tried : But, I think, it could not be planted to such an extent as would render it profitable as an article of commerce, except in the London and Western Districts of the Upper Province. The soil and climate of these districts are so very favourable to its growth, that some samples have been recently exhibited in the Western District, not at all inferior in quality to any ever produced in the United States. If the attention of the farmer in these two Districts were almost exclusively directed to the production of Tobacco and Hemp, they would undoubtedly return a profit sufficient to compensate him for his labour and to stimulate his exertions, which, however trifling it might be, would be more than he can now derive from the cultivation of any kind of grain. For it is a fact universally acknowledged in Canada, that a bushel of wheat, in the present depressed state of affairs, costs the farmer thirty per cent, more than he can obtain f o • it, if his time be estimated at the common price of a day-labourer. There is, however, no spirit for enterprize in the country ; and as it has been well observed by a late writer " all plans for " its improvement, however rational or practicable. . i 4 304 HBMP \ ■ i " are doomed to linger for want of supporters/^ The Colonial Government seems so little concerned about the prosperity of the country, that no en- couragement to agriculture, or to any thing else, can be expected from that quarter. It seems to be a matter of perfect indifference to the existing au- thorities of the country, whether its inhabitants dwindle out their lives in penury and toil, or enjoy the comfortable independence which might certainly be the lot of every industrious Canadian, if those measures were adopted by their rulers which appear to every unprejudiced mind as practicable, as they are indispensible to happiness and comfort: But more of this hereafter. Hemp is another article, the cultivation of which, though now totally neglected, would be much more likelv to enrich the Provinces and benefit the parent State, than any other article of commerce with which we are acquainted. * The soil and climate of Canada are allowed to be quite as favourable to its growth as those of Poland and Russia ; and, although it is admitted by all persons of agricultural knowledge to be a most profitable plant, and productive of much wealth wherever it is exclusively cultivated, the two Canadas cannot at present afford a sufficient quantity to hang their own malefactors. Government, in its wisdom, has recently proposed to purchase the naval supplies of this article from the Canadians, provided they can furnish them at as cheap a rate as they are obtained in Russia. This surely, at first sight, is a generous HEMP. 305 tT- pporters. eoneerned at no en- g else, can IS to be a isting au- ihabitants , or enjoy ; certainly , if those ch appear e, as they )rt : But of which, be much enefit the ommerce soil and quite as land and 1 persons profitable erever it s cannot mg their dom, has pplies of they can obtained renerous offer from a government, whose liberality to its subjects is without a parallel in the annals of the world ! Would not a wealthy and independent father pay his needy mercantile sons a never-to-be- forgotten compliment, if, in the plenitude of his wisdom and affection, he were to inform them, " that if they would supply him with groceries and " other articles of domestic consumption, at as " cheap a rate as he could purchase them from a " perfect stranger, he would be graciously pleased '' to deal with them, but not otherwise !" If government entertained any doubt, that the C anadians could not supply the Navy with a suffi- cient quantity of hemp, it would perhaps be bad policy to offer them any competent encouragement for cultivating it extensively, as ministers might thereby incur the displeasure of Russia, who, to retaliate, would very probably, in the event of their want of success in the Canada market, refuse to afford Great Britain the usual sup- plies. But, as it has been ascertained by actual experiments, that these fruitful provinces are capa- ble, and the colonists willing, to supply the navy, if suitable encouragement be given them, the go- vernment has no just reason for indulging in these fearful apprehensions. It is impossible, however, while the price of labour continues high, and while the navigation of the country remains in its present unimproved condition, that the Canadians, espe- cially those of the Upper Province, should be able Vol. I. X ao6 HfiSfP. to grow hemp and transport it for sale to the Qiie-^ beo market at a cheap rate, unless some efficient aid be rendered by the parent country. If his Majesty's ministers were to take into consideration the depressed state of agriculture in Canada, and would offer a small premium to such persons as should raise a given quantity of hemp annually, and if they would engage besides to purchase at the Russian price, the (|uantity produced, they would very soon find themselves independent of a foreign power. The Russian price would fully compen- sate the farmer^ ibr the trouble and expence incur- red in raising and preparing the hemp ; and the premium, however trifling in amount, would, if paid in cash, operate as a powerful stimulus to his exertions; but, without this encouragement or something equivalent to it, the Canadians never can inpply the British navy. It has been suggested, by a respectable writer,* that, if the government would appoint agents in different parts of the pro- vinces to purchase the article when prepared for sale, and to pay for it in specie, very favour- able consequences would probably result. In sup- port of this statement, it is argued with great just- ness, that if no such persons are appointed, the profit of this article^ as well as of every other, will be entirely engrossed by a few speculating charac- ters, who, like the merchants at present, would ntonopolize the whole trade with government. * Mr. Lambert. !(! I^EMP. 807 > the Que- Ecient aid Majesty's ition the ind would as should ty, and if ise at the ley would ■ a foreign f compen- nce incur- ; and the would, if ulus to his ^cment or I never can suggested, >vernment F the pro- pared for favour- In sup- rreat just- nted, the )ther, will g charac- t, would ernment. The Canadian farmers are actually too poor to purchase the machinery necessary for the proper manufacture of hemp, or to send it to any distant market ; but if an agent were appointed in each district, with authority not only to buy the hemp, but also to advance small sums for the purchase of machinery, to such persons as could give good security for its repayment in hemp, all difficulty would very shortly be obviated, and the farmers of each township would in a few years be enabled to transport the produce to the Kingston market, and eventually to that of Quebec ; when the coun- try agents, if not instantly dispensed with, might be gradually reduced. After the temporary reward had imparted a strong impulse to agriculture, had given a fresh and salutary direction to industry, nnd had opened a new and profitable market for this sort of produce, it might be discontinued; and regular commercial enterprise would then achieve all that remained to be done for the encouragement of the farmer, by making its way to the best mart for the purchase of hemp, and by discovering the cheapest and readiest mode of conveyance. In the year 1822, the provincial parliament of Upper Canada voted the sum of £300, for the purchase of machinery to manufacture hemp, and £60 a year for three years to keep it in repair. The machinery was to be purchased by the Lieut. Governor, by and with the advice of the execu- tive council, and placed in that part of the pro- vince in which his Excellency might think it was x2 . ! ; i ■ 906 HEMP. more immediately required. Since the votings of the money, I have not heard any thing of the ma- chinery ; but, as yet, there has been no need of it. The writer to whom I have just alluded, observes: It is very extraordinary, that, although the British government has several times, since the commence- ment of the present century, exerted itself in some degree to promote the culture of hemp, not only in Canada but in the East Indies, those exertions have been hitherto utterly fruitless : It is said, that the East India climate is too hot, and consequently that the hemp produced there is too fine for large cordage. This may probably be the cause of fai- lure in that quarter ; but no such deteriorating effects are produced by the heat of the Canadian climate. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts say, in the Preface to the 21st volume of their Transactions, that they have ascertained by actual experiment, that Canada can furnish hemp for the use of the navy, equal in quality to that which is imported from the Baltic. Monsieur Vondervel- den, in a letter to the Society, attributes the bad success in Canada to the attachment which the Canadians have always evinced to old customs, and to the opposition and prejudice of their priests, who would derive no advantage from the cultiva- tion of hemp, as it is not, agreeably to the existing laws, a tytheable article. The seigneurs and mer- chants also gave it considerable opposition ; the one, from a conviction that it would destroy the profits of their wheat-mills, from which their great- votings of »f ihe ma- eed of it. , observes : he British ommence- f in some , not only exertions saidj that sequently I for large ise of fai- eriorating Canadian ^ement of e of their by actual p for the which is ondervel- the bad rhich the oms, and priests, cultiva- existing and mer- lon ; the stroy the ir great- FLAX. 309 est revenues are derived ; — and the other, because they were apprehensive, it would have a powerful tendency to set aside that system of barter which they had long found to be more profitable than a ready-money trade. Only some of these difficulties exist at present in the Lower Province; and, I think, the prin- cipal among thorn might be obviated by making hemp a tytheable article. But in Upper Canada, which, on account of the superiority of its soil and climate, is much better adapted to the growth of hemp, a still smaller number of obstacles would be experienced, than in the Lower Province ; and it is the opinion of the best-informed men in the coun- try, that if a plan like that which I have now described were pursued, a sufficient quantity of hemp might be reared, in less than five years, to render the British Government completely inde- pendent of foreign supplies, and to save us from the humiliating necessity of annually paying the sum of a million and a half to a foreign power, for an article, which, by a little encouragement on one hand, and by industry and perseverance on the other, we might raise in our own colonies, to the great benefit of Canadian settlers. Flax is cultivated for domestic use by almost every farmer in the Canadas; but few, if any, have attempted its cultivation as an article of com- merce. Some hogsheads of flax-seed are annually imported from Quebec, the greatest part of which is purchased, I believe, from the inhabitants of the x3 ,'1 ■ i) J:i 310 FLAX. i|!! 1 United States. Nine thousand six hundred and one bushels were exported in 1820 •,'f from 1800 to f Dr. Dwight observes, " In America, the stalk of this plant " is large and branchy, the bark or coat rigid and dark-coloured, " and therefore, in the several processes of curing, dressing and '^ bleaching, more liable to fret or break, than that of Ireland or " Germany."— This circumstance is easily accounted for, and as easily prevented. In Ireland^ 4 bushels of seed are so>vn to the acre, whilst in most parts of America, two bushels are deemed quite fiuflicient The consequence of this difference in the quantity sown, is,— in the former country the stem has not room to extend itself laterally or to thoot out boughs, and therefore, in common with the stalks of many esculent herbs cultivated in gardens, it becomes the better blanched the more closely it is planted ; — and in the latter, the thinly- scattered stems stand so far apart from each other, that in a fertile soil aided, as that of America is, by a most genial climate, innumerable branches shoot out from each Btalk as if inclined to fill up the spaces which have been left vacant tlurough want of seed, and the sun and atmospheric changes have thus abundant opportunities afforded of darkening the rising plant. I have satisfied myself of the correctness of these facts by actual experiment : I sowed, on two portions of land, equal in fertility and extent, different quantities of flax-seed. That spot which had received four bushels to the acre, produced a large crop of as fine fiax as any raised in Ireland ; whilst that on which only two bushels per acre had been sown, yielded exactly such spreading and discoloured flax as Dr. Dwight describes. But the good Doctor, though exceedingly well-informed on almost every subject which he professes to discuss, has furnished evident proofs to all practical men, that the province, in which he shone with most distinguished lustre, was that of Theology and not Agriculture. Besides, his infcKrmants had most probably con- cealed from him the important fact— that the Americans generally cultivate Flax more for the sake of raising seed for the Irish mar- ket, than of producing a finie sort of fiax for the use of the manu- factuter. TLAX. 311 ndred and )m 1800 to of this plant ark-colouredj dressing and of Ireland or d for, and as vn to the acre, deemed quite the quantity torn to extend e, in common n gardens, it lanted ;— and ir apart from lerica is, by a )ut from each ave been left heric changes ing the rising lese facts by and, equal in That spot uced a large lat on which exactly such icribes. But d on almost shed evident ich he shone OGY and not fobably con- ins generally e Irish mar- xfthemany- 1805, the average quantity per year, was 6676 l)ushels. It appears, therefore, that the quantity exported augments very slowly, if we consider the great increase of population and the consequent improvement of the country. It is now, however, pretty generally understood, that the people of Upper Canada, at least, mu^tt either cultivate flax on a more extensive scale than they have hitherto done, or dispense with the use of lin«n for three- fourths of the year. Formerly, the great majority of the farmers purchased every article of clothing from the merchants, and paid for them in grain and pork. But the prices of these articles are now so much reduced, that they must either be content to go naked, like their Indian nei^hours, or ma- nufacture their own clothing of every description : For it is now admitted, however extraordinary the fact may appear to you, that the produce of ^fty acres of land, in the present day, would not, after deducting the expences of cultivation and of taking it to market, purchase a second-hand bormet Touge'f of third-rate quality. t A kind of wooll^i cap, worn botli day and night by the Canadians. , .. , I I ; ^1'- Hi i : I •/'•: ) / > LETTER XVIII. ' \ ", V MEDICINAL HERBS AND SHRUBS— nstant ex- forgot the »gulate the md instead way, dried ) render it people on rom them, themselves )e deceived others. It o the cha- jss among uct, if not id honour, that international barter and commercial transac- tions should in former ages have had such a large mixture of trickery and imposition. But the result will, on examination, be found, like the instance now adduced, to have been ultimately disastrous to those who practised these arts of deception. Gen- sing still grows in great quantities, particularly in Upper Canada, but it is no longer in estima- tion as an article of commerce. Capillaire, or the Maid£N Hair, which, when flowing on a beautiful head in graceful ringlet«i> is in your part of the world the cause of so many raging fevers, is in this country found to possess opposite qualities, and to be very efficacious as a febrifuge. The Running Sarsaparilla and Bitter-sweet, used by the Canadians in cases of general debility, are famous in purifying the blood. The Alcm Root and Crow's-foot are said to constitute a very powerful astringent, and to be salutary medicines in cases of dysentery. The Wild Horehound is used as a remedy for agues, and is an active emetic. ' . The White Coatli and Gentian Root are esteemed excellent for rheumatic complaints. The Seneca Snake-root is a medicine of very general use, particularly in cases of fever, cold, and pain in the bones. It is of a pungent taste, and its effects are stimulant and sudorific. The Roots of the Thimble-be ury, with the Seneca Snake Root, and tall Blackberry Root, are .016 TIIK 8U3IACM. ?P! 1 used ns ronicdies for cancer, tho rash, sore throaiii and sore mouths. Spear-mint, Hyssop, Worm wood, Water-cresses, Plantain, Marsh-mallows, Penny-royal, and other aromatic plants, whose uses are well known in the Materia Medica, seem, from the profusion in which they are spread about, to be indigenous. The Blood-root, so called on account of its emitting, when broken, a fluid of a sanguine colour in considerable quantities, is considered an infallible cure for rheumatism, and is administered for that purpose after being infused in whisky. The Sumach, in Upper Canada, grows to the height of ten feet, and produces a multitude of deep crim- son berries. It is a well-known dye-stuif in Eng- land ; but the Canadians esteem the berries alone, of which they make their vinegar. Another species of the Sumach, called by the Americans " the Poison-tree," is found in low swampy lands in Upper Canada and in the United States. The effluvia of this noxious shrub affect some people to such a degree, that they cannot approach towards the place in which it grows, without sustaining a very sensible injury from its poisonous exhalations. On touching it, and even when they are not in immediate contact with it, their hands, face, and legs become swelled to an alarming extent, and are soon covered over with blisters. Their eyes also suffer very materially from the violent humours which it creates. Bui W IIKUni:: AIJX FUCKS. 'M7 ro throat* er-cresaes, and other wn in the 1 in which ant of its ine colour n infallible id for that the height leep crim- ff in Eng- ries alone, ed by the id in low le United rub affect jy cannot it grows, from its and even t with it, ed to an over with naterially ;es. But what makes the matter still more wonderful, is the fact, that, while these singular effects are produced on some persons, there are others who can handle the branches of the tree with perfect impunity, and may even rub it over their bodies without enduring the slightest visible inconvenience. A creeping shrub, called by the Canadians " The Poison Ivy," although it resembles the Ivy only in its parasitical character, is also a very offensive plant. It is called by the French Herbe aux Puces, (Flea-bane,) and possesses nearly the same delete- rious qualities as the poisonous Sumach Mr. Lambert says, that wherever this plant is found, there is always a great number of Lady-flies, which, as long as they continue on the leaves, are covered with a brilliant gold ; but when taken from the tree, they lose this brilliant hue, and become exactly similar to the insect which is known by that appellation in England. Whe- ther the name which the French have confer- red on the plant has any relation to this circum- stance, I know not ; but there appears to be some affinity between them. I have seen several per- sons who were poisoned by the herbe aux puces : They suffered the most excruciating pains, until relieved by the internal application of turpentine, or some other strong spirit. Soap and sour cream are also said to be very efficacious^ in expelling the poison and reducing the swellings. . . ,, The Red-topped Sorrel, the Colt's Tail, ^iNTER Green, and the Catanup, are also ai8 THE COTTON-PLANT. ! 1 found in every part of Upper and Lower Ca- nada. The DoG-wooD and Puickly-ash are very com- mon shrubs in the Western Districts. The bark of both, as well as that of the Wild Cherry, is used as a substitute for Peruvian Bark. Dog-wood bears some resemblance to Box-wood, but differs from it greatly in several of its properties. Spice-wood, Gold-thread, Elecampane, Lo- belia, and Sassafras, are also natives of the Canadas. . The Cotton-plant, or Cotonnier, grows abun- dantly in both Provinces : It produces a pod of .an oval shape, about six inches long, which contains a fine white silky substance resembling very fine cotton. It is an excellent substitute for feathers, but is, I think, capable of being appropriated to more important purposes. The plant, when young, is sold by the French Canadians in the Quebec and Montreal markets, and is esteemed little inferior to Asparagus. In the month of August, there is an abundant dew upon its leaves, which, when shaken off and boiled down, is said to make a kind of sugar resembling honey. It must, however, be as tedious a mode of procuring honey as that which, it is averred, was pursued by a London citizen, when he retired to the country to enjoy the fortune acquired by his skill, and, among others of his novel rustic experiments, wished to establish a number of bee-communities, or hives. He would not listen to a single word from his more intelligerit ONION.TREE. 311> ower Ca- 7ery com- ie bark of y, is used [)og-wood )ut differs s. PANE, Lo- es of the 3WS abun- . pod of. an sh contains very fine ir feathers, priated to len young, uebec and inferior there is ch, when ake a kind wever, be hat which, )n citizen, le fortune ers of his stablish a He would ntelligerkt under-steward, about the ordinary method of ac- complishing such an object; but, giving him a fierce reprimand for the extravagance of his pro- posal, he asked, " how he could be so thoughtless as to recommend a purchase of what might so easily be procured on the Downs?" — He was ordered to hire ten women to go in quest of bees the next morning, and to prepare hives for the reception of the captives. " Early in the next day the detach- ment started for the Downs, each furnished with a tin canister to contain the spoil ; and after running about for hours, stunning the bees with blows from their straw bonnets, and encountering stings with- out number, secured about thirty prisoners, who were safely lodged in a hive. But, as has been the fate of many arduous campaigns, little advantage accrued from all this fatigue and danger. Next morning the Squire sallied forth to visit his new colony. As he approached, a loud humming assured him they were hard at work, when to his infinite disappointment, it was found that the bees had made their escape through a small hole in the hive, leaving behind them only an unfortunate humble- bee, whose bulk prevented his squeezing himself through the aperture, and whose loud complaints had been mistaken for the busy hum of industry."* The Onion-tree, or, as the Canadians call it, ** the Top Onion," is found in many of the gardens in both Provinces. It grows to the height of three or four feet. At or near the extremity of each * London Literary Gazette. 320 . GARLIC. i;!!i- 1 J 1 !(! . M plant, grows a cluster of moderate-sized onions, which, if not plucked before they are perfectly ripe, will put forth buds, and indue season produce another cluster of a smaller size. One of these plants frequently produces twenty or thirty onions, of the size of a walnut. They are esteemed equal in quality to the root-onion, and are of course more productive. It is very remarkable, that if one of the small onions which grow upon the tree, be taken from the plant in Autumn and preserved from the frost till Spring, it will, if planted, not only put forth luxuriant shoots, but its bulb will also considerably increase in size, in the sa u. man- ner as a root-onion. It does not however ji i ie any top-onions the first year ; but if taken up and preserved, in the same way as before, until the following Spring, and then re-planted, it will yield an abundant supply of generic fruit. The lirst herb which appears above ground, on the return of the Canadian Spring, is a species of Garlic. If not really indigenous, Garlic, which among the French is a favourite kind of seasoning, must have been imported into this country by them, when they came to colonize these Provinces. The wonderful process by which, in the economy of nature, every species of vegetable is propagated, will easily account for Garlic being found in a wild state ; its seeds might have either been wafted by the winds out of the inclosures in which the plants were growing, or have been conveyed into the distant woods by the ordure of birds that fed upon WILD TUANIPS. 321 d onions, perfectly 1 produce of these ty onions, aed equal jf course e, that if L the tree, preserved tnted, not bulb will an^ man- r }j J 3e )n up and until the will yield round, on species of lie, which seasoning, ^'^ by them, ces. The onomy of opagated, I in a wild ftedbythe the plants into the tfed upon them. As soon as the snow disappears?, the'ground in the woods is literally covered with herbage of this kind. The fetid smell, arising from such a great quantity of strongly-scented vegetables, is so very overpowering, that you cannot walk in the open air in the Spring-time of the year for many minutes without inhaling a sufficient portion of garlic to sicken a pole- cat. Cattle of all kinds are however partial to this offensive herb, and devour it with such appetite, that in a month or five weeks from the disappearing of the snow, they become sleek and in excellent condition. During this penod milk and butter are of little value to any man, except he be fortunate enough to have lost his palate, and to be in possession of an unconquerable stomach. You might as well drink water strongly impregnated with assafoetida as attempt to force milk and butter of this description on the delicate organs of deglutition. When allowed to arrive at maturity, the garlic produces a variety of little flowers, very beautiful in appearance, and of a much more agreeable odour than the leaves of the parent stem. A herb, called by the name of Wild Turnip, is very common in Canada. The root of this herl> is not much unlike that of the common white turnip; but the stalk which grows two or three feet high, and the leaves which are beautifully- variegated, have not the slightest resemblance to" those of any turnip with which I a«i acquainted - Vol. I. Y i -I 322 JUNIPER. I J ■ ! Um ^ The stalk of this singular plant terminates in a flower somewhat like a tulip ; and its root is con- sidered an excellent remedy for the colic. But it is almost impossible to taste it without one's mouth being set on fire, for it is much more pungent than Cayenne pepper. The Juniper tree is an ever-green, which, pro- duces an abundant supply of berries ; but they are seldom collected in Canada, though they might prove a good article for exportation to England or Holland, where they are employed in the manufac- ture of Gin, to which they are said to commu- nicate a fine flavour, and to impart a diuretic quality. The Rein-deer Moss, a species of Wild Oats, and a coarse kind of River Grass, grow in the swamps and small lakes. The Sea Rye, the Seaside Plaintain, the Sea Rocket, the Laurier, and the Seaside Peas, are also natives of Canada, and are used by the Indians for a variety of purposes. . An aromatic herb, called Indian Grass, is used as a substitute for Lavender; it retains its odour for a length of time, and communicates a very agree- able scent to clothes. A herb, called Indian Tea, is employed as a sub- stitute for that of China, and is considered by some of the Canadians to be little inferior to the best Congo. But they use any thing and every ^thing in lieu of that incomparable plant. Hemlock ■li'i INDIAN TEA. 323 ites in a )t is con- But it is 's mouth ;ent than ioh,pro- they are y might igland or nanufac- commu- diuretic ild Oats, V in the the Sea eas, are Indians , is used dour for y agree- boughs, beechen chips, strawberry, blackberry, and currant leaves, with spice wood, spear-mint, peppermint, maple-buds, catenup, sarsaparilla, and birch bark, are more commonly found at a Cana- dian tea-table, if I may so call it, than Souchong, Hyson, or Congo. They also use peas, wheat, rye, Indian corn, burnt flour, and toasted barley, as substitutes for coflfee. ' ^ - .: AS a sub- by some the best ry^thing lemlock ,>i.'' y2 I '! i :' LETTER XIX. ! ' i I I ' NATURAL CURIOSITIES IN THE UPPER PROVINCE — WHIRLPOOi;. NEAR QUEENSTOWN — RASH ADVENTURE OF A BRITISH SOLDIER THE FALLS OF WEST-FLAMBOROUGH MINERAL SPRINGS i^SALINE SPRINGS— • WANT OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE MA- NUFACTURE OF SALT — CONDUCT OF THE PROVINCIAL LEGIS- LATURE— GVPSUM— MARL AND BLACK LEAD — IRON FOUNDERY. Beside the herbs mentioned in the preceding chapter, there are many others with which I am wholly unacquainted. Indeed, the country affords a vast field for the researches of the naturalist, the botanist, the mineralogist, and the chymist. It abounds with a variety of herbs and plants, whose qualities have never been fully ascertained, and whose very names are yet undetermined. Various kinds of mines have also been discovered in many places ; and mineral-springsj some of which are of a most interesting nature, may be met with in almost every district. There are, besides, many striking natural curio- sities, the principal of which are the Falls of Nia- gara already mentioned ; the Whirlpool in the Niagara River; the Great and Little Falls of West Flambro' ; and the several saline, mineral, and bitu- minous springs. n 1, 1 WHIRLPOOli. 335 WHinLPaoi:^ SH SOLDIER SPRINGS— iR THE MA- HAL LEGI8- FOUNDERY. ^receding lich I am 'y affords ralist, the nist. It ;s, whose led, and Various in many ich are of ; with in •al curio- s of Nia- >1 in the 5 of West and bitu- The Whirlpool between the Falls of Niagara, and the village of Queenstown, is a very great though not inexplicable curiosity. It is situate in a part of the Niagara river where the banks are nearly 200 feet high, and almost perpendi- cular. Immense trees extend their ample foliage over the awful o^nlf on every side, and are affected with a trtumlous motion, proceeding from the violent circulation of the water. The river above the whirlpool is deep and rapid, and flows within a contracted channel only 160 yards wide, which suddenly expands to at least 600, forming an oval interfluent basin, of at least 6000 feet in cir- cumference. On approaching this basin, the stream redoubles in velocity, as if eager to free itself from the narrow boundaries within which it had been previously confined, and, passing over a slope, 60 feet in descent, enters into the basin with a tremendous roar : Then diverging to the north of the direct channel, it rushes impetuously round the surrounding cliffs, until it seems at length to Tegain its proper course, which begins at the angle 'of a rocky and impending promontory, whose dark and thickly-wooded summit frowns in terrific ma- jesty upon the vast profound. This curious whirl- ing course of the water creates a great eddy or whirlpool, which, by revolving quickly every 6 or 6 minutes, as if upon its own axis, forms a strong tide, that, at intervals of half an hour, alternate- ly rises and falls about 80 inches. All floating matter that is driven down the Falls, is attracted y3 ^330 WHIRLPOOfc. hi ' II ■ i', ■ within the range of this ample vortex, where it frequently remains for several days, twisted about by every rapid evolution of the whirlpool, until, apparently by me: a chance, it is violently expelled from tho extreme verge, or is drawn out by the impetuosity of the contending current. It differs from many other whirlpools, in possessing none of that absorbing power which is generally felt at their centres. A few years ago, a British soldier, stationed at Queenstown, went to see the Whirlpool : Several of his regimental comrades, and a few other per- sons, accompanied him on the excursion. In the course of conversation on the subject, one of the Canadians expressed his conviction of the impossi- bility of any man^s sailing across the basin without being driven along by the current of the tremendous vortex. The soldier heard the remark, and seemed rather sceptical, — probably supposing, that it was spoken for the purpose of imposing on his English credulity, by an endeavour to make the phenomenon appear more marvellous. When he had for some time attentively surveyed the river, he offered to wager a certain sum, that he would sail across the basin on a bare pine- plank. His bet was immedi- ately taken, and a plank prepared for his embark- ation. Like a true son of Neptune, disdaining all apprehensions, he proceeded down the banks with the plank on his shoulder, and a paddle in his hand ; and, on approaching the edge of the water, embarked with a hearty cheer from bis companions. Si; ' DAIIINO ADVENTURE. 327 where it ed about ol, until, expelled t by the It differs none of y felt at ioned at Several her per- In the le of the impossi- without mendous 1 seemed it it was English lomenon for some ffered to 3ross the immedi- embark- ining all iks with i in his e water, panions. In the twinkling of an eye, he was hurried into the middle of the raging basin, being compelled by the uncontrollable force of the current to abandon the channel and take the rapid circuit of the vast pond. He used the most strenuous exertion? to regain the course of the river, but without being able to effect his purpose. At length, convinced of the utter impossibility of saving himself, he began to cry out loudly to his comrades for assistance. Ropes were procured with the utmost dispatch ; but, before they could be properly arranged fo^* effecting his rescue, he had become so completely vertiginous and inebriated by the whirling motion, as scarcely to be able to preserve his equilibrium on his frail seat, which, though of great length, was twisted round as rapidly as the radii or spokes of a large water-wheel. Five minutes' longer delay on the part of his friends, would^have cost him his life ; and his name would then have been immor- talized, as that of a daring but unfortunate indi- vidual, who was literally entitled, in its most select signification, to the epithet of " an expert circum- navigator." He was, however, speedily extricated from his very dangerous situation ; and his adven- ture serves now as a beacon to warn others from engaging in such a hazardous enterprize. The Falls of West Flaraborough, in the District of Gore, though little known, rank among the greatest curiosities of Upper Canada. They are situated in a retired and unfrequented part of the country, in the midst of precipitous hills covered I^^( W:m :m THE FALLS OF il h with their native forests. But since the Canadiund seldom talk of the curiosities of their country, nor even appear to derive the least satisfaction from hearing strangers speak of them as grand, roman- tic, and picturesque, it is probable that few, if any, preceding writers, ever heard of these Falls. My attention was first directed to them by Colonel Simons, of the Gore Militia. They are situated, within half a mile of each other, on two small rivers that unite a little below the lower Fall, and, after passing through the village of Coote's Para- dise, disembogue themselves into Burlington Bay. These Falls have not yet been distinguished by any more particular appellation, than those of the Oreat and Little Fall. The Great or principal Fall is over a superin- cumbent rock, between whose brow, and the bed of the river which it overshadows, is a distance of more than 130 feet. The bottom of the stream that receives the falling waters, is composed of a ledge of broken rocks, whose unequal points, split- ting as it were the tremendous sheets on their descent, produce an immense mass of foam and a sort of boiling agitation, which emits, at intervals of two or three seconds, immense columns of dense vapour. Below the Fall, the river runs in a ser- pentine course, through one of the wildest and most gloomy vallies that I ever beheld. / , The situation of the Little Fall is still more romantic than the other. Until you arrive within two or three yards of this cataract, it is impossible WEST FliAMnOROUOH. 329 anailiund ntry, nor ion from , roman- iv, if any, ills. My Colonel .situated, wo small ^all, and, e's Para- ^ton Bay. lished by [)se of the superin- [ the bed stance of te stream »osed of a ats, split- on their am and a intervals I of dense in a ser- iest and till more ve within mpossible to obtain even the most indistinct view of it. Loud and appalling sounds strike the ear, splendid rain- bows attract the eye ; but you look around in vain for the concealed cause, and cannot discover the place from which they proceed. You must, ia fact, attain the very brink of the precipice, before you can perceive a single gleam of the descending torrents : And even that is diilicult ; for the pass- age to its edge is rendered almost impervious both to force and sight, by the abundance of underwood, and the number of prodigious trees whose over- hanging boughs are partially immersed in the rolling current, and betray their impotence in attempting to resist its impetuous fury. Before its arrival at the Falls, the brook, or small river, flows gently along a narrow channel worn in the extended summit of a rocky hill, which is elevated 200 feet above the subjacent country. In consequence of this peculiarity, the hill, when viewed at a certain distance below the Falls, pre- sents the appearance of having been split asunder, and completely separated from the surrounding parts of the landscape, by some violent convulsion of nature. The opening, or valley, exhibits an exceedingly terrific aspect. Immense trees, torn up by the roots, and huge fragments of rocks which appear to have wandered by some means from their original destination, lie in mingled confusion on its sides, as if reserved to hurl destruction on some future navigator of the interfluent stream below. This Fall, though formed by a less col- d.30 MiNBRAfi 8PRIN09. '! lection of waters than the other, descends from a more lofty elevation: For there is a distance of 150 feet between the edge of the rook over which the water pours, and the bed of the river below. Tn Winter, these Falls appear still grander and more imposing, than in Summer. The spray, in its upward flight, becomes frozen into icicles, which are as clear and transparent as crystal; and the surrounding trees, gorgeously apparelled in white, bend under the weight of their hoary locks and pendent concretions, which reach from their sum- mits to the surface of the water, and are occasion- ally waved to and fro by the contending currents of air, to the instant destruction of many of their branches, that snap, like brittle glass, when in this state of congelation. Within half a mile of these Falls, and situated in a valley between Flambro', West, and Ancaster, there is a mineral spring, the waters of which are so strongly impregnated with a solution of brim- stone, that the woods, for a considerable distance around, are scented with its odour. Cattle of all kinds are so fond of this water, that they instinct- ively come, from places several miles remote, for the purpose of drinking it. In the vicinity of Long Point, there is another spring of a similar description. The water is stronger; and the stones which surround it, are incrustcd with pure sulphur. ^ At a short distance from the Falls of Niagara, is B still more curious spring. It emits sulphurated niTUMINOUS SPRING. 381 ids from a istanoe of ver which rer below, ^nder and spray, in lies, which ; and the in white, locks and heir sum- occasion - ^ currents f of their len in this 1 situated Ancaster, iivhich are of brim- distance tie of all instinct- note, for another water is d it, are agara, is phu rated hydrogen gas so pure, that, by the application of a torch, it will instantly ignite. It is visited by many persona, who are desirous of witnessing its inflammable properties ; but I have not heard, that any attempts have been made to analyze it, by gentlemen possessed of the requisite chemical attainments. The waters are, hov/ever, said to be very efficacious in the cure of cutaneous dis- orders. A more remarkable spring than any of those which I have now enumerated, has been discovered in the middle of the River Thar -^s, not far from Delaware. From this curious spring, or rather from the surface of the r-'ver immediact^iy over it, several quarts of mineral ijil may daily be colleoit'»d. It has a very disagreeable smell, and a great simi- larity in colour to British Oils. It is considered, by those who have tried it, to be an effectual remedy for the rheumatism. It is applied both internally and externally; and, though often administered very incautiously and immoderately, has never been known to j.o'^uce any injurious consequences. Saline springs abound in almost every part of the Upper Province; but only a very few have hitherto been devoted to the manufacture of salt. The Canadians prefer purchasing this necessary article from the Americans, to manufacturing it for themselves. " Want of capital" is said to be the cause of this reluctance on the part of the Canadians ; but I very much doubt it, although I amr well aware that in commencing a manufactory S32 SALT-SPRINOS. M of salt on an extensive scale, which alone could could make it of public utility as well as an ade quate source of private emolument, a considerable capital would be required. The few persons, how- ever, who are possessed of a sum sufficient for such an undertaking, invariably employ it in other lines of commerce, which are likely to yield them a greater and more immediate, though not a more certain profit. Individuals in most countries, acting as if they were not members of a collective body, consult only their own interests without regard to that of the community^ But Canada has been more unfortunate in ,this respect than its neighbours; for it has not yet given birth to a body of public- spirited persons. The Provincial Government of Upper Canada, apparently unconcerned about the colonists on every point, excepting that of their settlement and the clearance of their lots, deigns not to lend its aid ox to shed the light of its coun- tenance on any plans that have for their object the benefit and future exaltation of the province as a British dependency. If the Lieutenant Oovernour and Council receive fifty dollars, from every un- fortunate emigrant who comes to obtain 100 acres land, — which he was taught to believe his Majesty would be graciously pleased to grant him, — they will sleep as soundly, and eat with as good an appetite, as if the Province under their adminis- tration, instead of falling into a state of absolute insolvency, were about to rival the parent Country in arts, agriculture and manufactures. While the SALT-SPRINGS. a3J? one could as an ade msiderable sons, how- it for such other lines id them a ot a more countries, collective out regard I has been eighbours; of public- rnment of about the i of their its, deigns ■ its coun- )bject the ince as a overnour every un- 100 acres Majesty m, — they good an adminis- ' absolute Country iThile the inhabitants of the United States, alive as well tf> their own private interests as to those of the repub- lic of which they form a constituent portion, are exerting every nerve for the internal improvement of the Union, and em ploying all means in their power to render themselves, as far as they practically can, independent of other nations, — the people of Upper Canada, with a country much more favoured by nature, totally disregard every measure which might have a tendency to render it an equally desirable asylum as well for the unfortunate as for the enterprizing. During the late war between Great Britain and the United States, salt sold in Canada for no less a sum than fifty dollars per barrel, or fifteen shillings per stone ; and should another war take place, the Canadians in all probability would be compelled to purchase it at a more extravagant price : For the population of the two provinces is now nearly double what it then was; and the quantity of salt at this day manufactured, is little more than it was in 1811. From the line of conduct pursued by the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, in some instances, it would appear, that they are not only resolved to promote no measure for the good of the colony, but also to counteract any exertions which may be made by private individuals for the advancement of its interests. Mr. Merrit of the Twelve-Mile- Creek near Niagara, some years ago discovered a salt-spring on his estate, and although possessed Il I d34 MANUFACTURE: only of a small capital, he established works upon a corresponding scale. In a short time he found himself able to make about fifty stones of salt per diem ; but, being confident that his springs would niford a sufficient supply of water to make a much greater quantity, he applied to the Legislature for assistance. At that time, American»manufactured salt paid a duty of five shillings per bushel; but in a short time afterwards, for the special encourage- ment of Mr. Merrit and all other enterprising men, the Legislature in its wisdom reduced the duty on imported salt to three shillings and nine pence ! In the last Session of the Provincial Parlia- ment, a bill was introduced by one of the mem- bers, (Mr. Wilson of Wentworth,) the object of which was to encourage the manufacture of salt in Upper Canada. Previous to the introduction of this Bill, the sense of the House was taken respect- ing the expediency of encouraging this manu- facture ; and, if I mistake not, it was unanimously resolved, that such encouragement ought to be extended. Yet, — strange inconsistency ! — the very ^ame gentlemen who, a few hours before, had so rea- dily agreed to the necessity of doing this, refused, when the formal propositioti came before them, to vote the sum of £1000 for the promotion of an object so desirable ! It was proposed by the mover of the Bill, that, in the event of their voting the sum already specified, a clause should be inserted in it to provide for the money being loaned, tPtthout interest J in sums not exceeding £150, to OF SALT. 385 rks upon a he found jf salt per ngs would ke a much slature for lufactured lel; but in mcourage- ising men, le duty on pence ! al Parlia- the mem- object of I of salt in tuction of 1 respect- is manu- mimously ht to be -the very ad so rea- refused, them, to on of an by the of their should be g loaned, £160, to such persons as, on making application, could pro- duce satisfactory evidence, that they were in the possession of a salt-spring sufficiently extensive to supply a Manufactory. Adequate security would also be required for the repayment of the loan within five years* It was further argued, that even this small sum would enable an active and industrious man to commence a manufactory of this nature, with reasonable prospects of success ; since every necessary article, excepting boilers, could be procured without cash, and the sum of £150 would furnish a sufficient number of these utensils for a moderate concern. I was at the bar of the House, at the time when this question was debated ; and was much surprised to hear almost every one of the Government-members oppose the Bill, with all the eloquence which they severally possessed. It has been computed, that the people of Canada annually pay to the Republican Ameri- cans upwards of 100,000 dollars in specie for salt alone, - -every shilling of which might be kept in the Province ; where it is more needful, I believe, than in any other part of the World. Salt is at present manufactured, on a small scale, at the twelve, fifteen, and thirty Mile Creeks near Niagara : at Salt Fleet, and Barton ; at the Head of Lake Ontario, and at the Bay of Quinte in the Midland District. But the quantity made at all those places is so trifling, that, were the Americans to lay an embargo upon this article, it would rise 600 per cent, in value, within a single 83G GYPSUM AND MARL. :'« ,i month. The usual method of obtaining^ a suffi- cient supply of water impregnated with saline matter, is, by boring for it in the immediate vici- nity of a salt-spring. Some people are compelled to bore down two or three hundred feet, before they can obtain an adequate supply ; but though they are generally obliged to perforate a solid rocky the expence of boring is not so great as may be imagined. With a drill or auger of about six inches in diameter, three men will bore, through before of re- «^eather altered, at this dually, ade by ntieths THE CLIMATE. 841 of the lands in Upper Canada are luxuriant forests, and in an uncleared condition ; and those alone who have had an opportunity of observing with atten- tion the salutary change produced on the remaining twentieth part, after it has had some culture bestowed upon it, are capable of forming an adequate judgment about the grand effects which may confidently be expected as soon as the whole shall be cleared. I will not now particularly allude to the alteration perceptible on all large clearances that are under skilful management, — such as the diminution of vermin and of poisonous insects, — the disappearance of large marshes, — the superior bulk attained by all vegetable productions, wherever the sun is al- lowed the unrestricted exercise of his vivifying influence, — and the visible increase of comfort experienced by the settler, his family, and "the cattle that is within his gate," during the depth of Winter, and the extreme heats of Summer, in all situations in which the forests are compelled by the efforts of human industry to retreat from the im- proving settlement. These immediate good effects of culture, as well as many others which might be particularized, are very apparent in all the cleared parts of Lower Canada. But they may be seen in greater perfection, though on a smaller scale, in the newly-formed settlements of the Upper Province, which is a higher and more Southerly region. That this anticipated amelioration of climate is not merely hypothetical, may be proved, from the single circumstance of the complete z3 ai2 THE CLIMATE. i -1 desiccation of many " creeks'* or rivulet!=», which formerly poured their rippling streams into some contiguous lake or river, but which have entirely disappeared since the trees in their vicinity have been felled. Of streams thus dried up, when their chief sources were cut off, I have known several instances in the clearing of that extensive tract called the " Talbot Settlement ;" and such instances are familiar to all persons who are mi- nutely acquainted with American agriculture, and who have examined some of its multifarious results in different situations. Natural philosophers inform us of the vast powers which trees on the Old Con- tinent possess, in contributing to the moisture of the surrounding country : But how much greater must these effects be in America where the wonderful process of distillation and irrigation is in constant exercise, by means of millions of large trees, whose tops tower to a height of two hundred feet above the surface of the earth ; — and this too in a region, like Upper Canada, which increases in elevation the farther it recedes from the level of the ocean ! These stately living columns of wood must be powerful conductors of atmospheric moisture ; and when their trunks are cut down, the supply of much humidity is at once destroyed. I leave others to trace the consequences of similar remarkable changes, introduced by the arts of civilization. In Lower Canada, the winter sets in about the 20th of October ; at tvhich time the snow begins ■\ ; THE (LI MATE. 34a to fall, and continues on the ground until about the 16th of April following, which two months, as I have stated in page 254, are the moat unpleasant for travellers. During this period, the cold is intense, the general range of the thermometer being from 10 above, to 30 degrees below Zero. In the Upper Province, particularly in the Wes- tern parts, the winter seldom sets in till the middle of December, and the snow usually disappears about the latter end of March. The difference in climate between the two Provinces is, however, much greater in the duration than in the degree of heat or cold. In Upper Canada, the summers are longer and equally as hot as those of the Sister Province; but the winters, though shorter, are nearly as severe in proportion to their continuance. The cold of winter, however severe, produces no unfavourablje effects on the human constitution, except such as may be avoided by a little care ; but a variety of diseases are often engendered in the Upper Province by the oppressive heat of Sum- mer, which annually lay a great portion of the inhabitants prostrate on the bed of sickness for many months. Notwithstanding this, I do not think the climate is a very unfavourable one. Dis- eases of a contagious and dangerous description, are little known in the country ; and, I believe, few persons object to either Province on account of its climate. It cannot be denied, that many fatal consequences result from the sharp frosts; but I really think, that nine out of ten of those 344 UAI'.*-. ROrS EPFi:( fS m pornons who are dttiiia^erouiily frozen, liavo only to impute their misfortune to their own imprudence or inattention. If a man becomes so much intox- icated at a tavern, as on his return home to be compelled to lie dow^n and fall asleep by the way, he cannot, with any propriety, attribute the loss of his legs or arms to the severity of the climate. It is true, that individuals are frequently frozen while soberly pursuing their lawful avocations ; but I have seldom seen people of this description mate- rially injured. There is, however, a young man now sitting by me, who, during the late winter, suffered most acutely from the intensity of the frost. Having been commissioned by the sub-sheriff of the Home district to summon some persons resident in the new townships North of York, he proceeded on foot to accomplish his mission. Being an English emi- grant and having resided only a short time in Ca- nada, he was not well acquainted with the woods, and missed his way in the early part of the after- noon of the day upon which he commenced the journey. He wandered about the forest until the approach of night, without being able to regain the path ; and finding his feet excessively cold, he sat down upon a log, took off his shoes and stock- ings, and by rubbing his feet with snow, soon re- stored the blood to its accustomed circulation. As the shoes and stockings were wet when he took them off, they became so completely frozen that he could not put them on again. Knowing it to in " ;, I J ft!" I OF bBVERlb FROST. :)45 Lvo only to irudence or uch intox- onie to be y the way, ie the Iors le climate, itly frozen itions; but tion mate- sitting by ered most . Having the Home ent in the led on foot glish emi- me in Ca- he woods, the after- enced the until the to regain r cold, he nd stock- soon re- tion. As he took )zen that ving it to be impossible for him to walk without some cover- ing for his limbs, he perceived his only alternative was to take off his vest, and by tearing it in pieces to convert it into wrappers for his feet. This con- trivance answered very well for an hour or two, after which the cloth wore away so fast, that he was reduced to the dreadful necessity of traversing the snow-mantled wilderness with feet uncovered. It is scarcely necessary to say, that, when unpro- tected by covering of any sort, they became almost instantaneously frozen. After having wandered about the woods all night, he met a man in the morning who took him to a settlement, and who unfortunately recommended him to put his feet into warm water, in ordsr to expel the frost. He tried this expedient, the most dreadful and mistaken one to which he could have possibly resorted. It pro- duced such excruciating pain, that he soon fell into a swoon, from which he did not perfectly recover for eight and forty hours; at the expiration of that time, a mortification had taken place, which termi- nated in the loss of both his feet."!* To shew the real difference of climate in the two Provinces, I append to these remarks the following Comparative View, being the substance of two Meteorological Journals for twelve months; the one kept in Upper Canada, lat. 42 deg., and the other in Lower Canada, lat. 45 deg. f When any part of the body is attacked with frost, cold spring water or snow is the only remedy which can be applied, with any prospect of success. YoL. I. Z * i 346 C03IPARATIVE VIEW OF THE ( UPPER CANADA. . 1820. JANUARY. i FEBRUARY. •* ( • 7 1 6 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 10 — 14 clear. 1 31 35 28 clear. 2 9 6 — snow. 2 31 48 29 do. 3 °4 14 15 clear. 3 16 26 23 cloudy. 4 14 22 11 do. 4 23 25 24 snow. 5 6 26 12 do. 5 21 32 26 cloudy. 6 8 U 16 cloudy. 6 23 32 29 do. 7 6 16 18 clear. 7 28 34 29 snow. 8 16 28 26 snow. 8 26 31 28 clear. 9 28 27 22 sleet. 9 26 35 36 snow and rain. 10 16 28 15 clear. 10 32 40 —clear. 11 12 28 22 cloudy. 11 30 33 34 rain. 12 21 31 24 do. 12 36 50 — cloudy. 13 22 23 18 do. snon r at night. 13 31 40 — clear 14 8 18 14 clear. 14 33 38 34 snow and rain. 16 °6 10 1 do. ^_ 15 26 34 28 clear. 16 8 21 8 snow. 16 26 31 28 snow. 17 8 15 8 snow. 17 28 33 — cloudy. 18 5 18 14 cloudy. 18 19 38 — clear. 19 16 26 20 snow. 19 30 36 85 rain. 20 10 23 19 cloudy. 20 38 42 30 cloudy. -- . . 21 16 25 20 snow. 21 26 38 31 clear. 22 1— 32 28 clear. 22 18 26 29 do. 23 24 11 2 snow. 23 12 24 18 snow. 24!°20°ll°l6 clear. 24 26 22 17 cloudy. 25 °7 10 9 do. 25 12 30 28 clear. - 26 9 22 24 do. 26 16 42 33 cloudy. 27 32 40 29 snow. 27 8 21 — clear. 28 26 34 29 cloudy. 28 28 32 33 rain. 29 10 35 33 clear, rain p.m. 29 24 40 36 do. 30 35 48 33 cloudy. 21 43 48 45 do. ^ Below Zero. CLIMATE IN BOTH PROVINCES. 347 LOWER CANADA. 1820. JANUARY. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 12 19 13 snow. 2 10 17 16 clear. 3M7 5°12do. 4 °9 °1 °8do. 5 "2 — 1 do. 6 7 13 6 do. 7 5 14 9 do. 8 15 23 14, do. 9 20 22 27 do. 10 13 19 15 do. 11 9 11 8 cloudy. 12 8 10 12 clear. 13 12 16 13 do. 14 7 10 5 do. 15°10 °2°11 do. 16 2 7 3 cloudy. 17 10 12 9 snow. 18 3 7 2 clear. 19 10 21 15 do. . 20 9 16 13 cloi'dy. 21 13 24 21 snow. 22 7 10 3 clear. 23°16 °5°17do. 24°22°l6°23do. 25 "15 °6°10do. 26 3 18 27 do. 27 29 33 29 cloudy. 28 26 31 22 snow. 29 7 14 28 dear. 30 14 31 29 do. 31 27 32 26 do. ° Below Z?ro. FEBRUARY. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 53 36 32 clear. 2 29 40 29 do. 3 25 33 14 do. 4 18 21 17 cloudy. 5 10 15 9 snow. 6, 25 32 28 clear. 7 14 17 13 do. 8 13 19 11 do. 9 10 21 19 do. 10 13 17 14 do. 11 26 33 25 snow. 12 23 27 21 clear. 13 27 30 16 do. 14 16 19 15 do. 15 11 21 8 cloudy. 16 "5 7 3 clear. 17 °4 °3 °2do. 18°10 <'l°J3do. 19*'21'>ll°23do. 20°27°20''29do. 21«18 2 11 cloudy. 22 °1 7 6 snow. 23 10 8 clear. 24 9 16 8 do. 25 11 21 13 do. 26 14 25 20 do. 27 7 10 5 do. 28 02 4 °7 cloudy, 29 "S "l 05 tij, 22 34B 4 i i COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE UPPER CANADA. 1820. MARCH, 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 36 48 14 rain at mght. 2 24 40 32 clear. 3 31 34 — do. 4 22 30 26 do. 5 8 18 12 do. 6 5 22 18 do. 7 10 28 24 do. 8 10 36 31 do. 9 26 42 34 do. 10 21 44 34 do. rain at night. 11 30 46 clear. 12 SO 45 40 do. 13 S3 52 42 rain. 14 20 33 33 clear, sleet at night 15 35 48 36 snow and thunder. 16 18 18 26 cloudy. 17 8 4 14 clear. 18 4 14 5 do. 19 2 26 20 do. 20 21 28 32 snow and sleet. 21 22 34 28 clear. 22 32 45 33 snow. 23 28 42 33 clear. 24 36 47 37 lain. 25 39 39 24 clear. 26 12 26 20 cloudy. 27 8 26 16 clear. 28 14 30 28 do. 29 11 41 34 do. SO 33 42 37 snow, 31 39 47 —clear. APRIL. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 40 50 40 clear. 2 48 56 53 do. 3 53 57 50 do. 4 60 63 51 do. 5 48 65 50 do. 6 59 65 58 rain. 7 63 69 62 clear. 8 64 69 65 do. 9 67 68 66 do. 10 40 44 40 cloudy. 11 45 60 50 do. 12 60 65 67 clear. 13 66 69 62 do. 14 70 73 67 do. 16 68 70 71 do. 16 69 72 63 do. 17 59 66 60 rain. 18 60 73 66 clear. 19 66 71 60 do. 20 58 73 61 do. 21 56 70 63 do. 22 71 76 70 do. 23 69 75 71 rain at night. 24 66 70 65 cloudy. 25 67 73 63 clear. 26 40 45 44 cloudy. 27 57 70 63 clear. 28 71 78 76 do. 29 72 79 70 do. 30 75 83 72 do. w. 5 1 1 s, ■ CLIMATE IN BOTH PROVINCES. 340 LOWER CANADA. 1820. it ARCH. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 20 36 21 snow. 2 16 17 13 clear. 3 °3 6 °2 do. 4 05 01 10 do. 5°15 °2 08 do. 6 11 21 14 snow. 7 16 18 15 clear. 8 7 21 28 do. 9 21 30 S6 do. 10 28 47 38 cloudy. 11 13 17 16 clear. 12 10 15 8 do. 13 «3 6 04 do. 14 07 °3 °6 do. 15 1 5 7 do. 16 10 17 18 cloudy. 17 9 13 5 clear. 18 14 17 20 do, 19 3 21 18 do, 20 5 10 4 io- 21 16 21 27 do. 22 34 45 34 snow and 23 26 29 21 clear. 24 32 41 28 do. 25 16 28 14 do. 26 13 20 11 do. 27 5 10 7 cloudy. 28°13°10<'17 clear. 29 "26 "13 20 do. 30 "11 °5°10do. 31«13 «3 7 do. >ieet. APRIL. 716 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 33 41 16 snow. 2 25 39 27 clear. 3 31 29 21 do. 4 14 16 13 do. 5 27 41 29 do. 6 33 46 18 do. 7 21 32 17 do. 8 10 15 9 cloudy. 9 26 41 25 clear. 10 33 46 29 do. 11 40 50 40 do. 12 43 52 41 do. 13 48 57 50 do. 14 49 56 53 do. 15 48 59 51 do. 16 53 57 50 do. 17 60 63 51 do. 18 4R ^)5 51 do. '9 60 66 59 do. 20 63 69 62 do. 21 6^ 69 65 do. 22 57 68 66 do. 23 40 45 41 cloudy. 24 59 63 58 rain. 25 60 65 67 clear. 26 66 69 61 do. 2'. 70 73 64 do. 28 68 70 65 do. 20 73 81 72 do. 30 69 77 63 do. ° Below Zero. 850 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE UPPER CANADA. 1820. H MAY. JUNE. 7 16 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 63 70 65 clear. 1 76 88 70 clear. 2 49 69 56 cloudy. , 2 80 89 73 do. 3 55 13 61 clear. 3 77 85 71 do. ' 4 48 6q 55 rain at night. 4 69 73 81 do. 5 56 70 62 do. 5 76 — 75 do. 6 69 73 68 do. 6 73 84 — do. 7 67 73 63 do. 7 69 80 72 do. 8 40 47 49 cloudy. 8 84 88 73 do. 9 60 71 62 clear. 9 79 83 76 do. 10 53 77 70 do. 10 76 88 81 do. 11 70 75 64 do. 11 76 83 69 do. 12 71 75 68 do. 12 80 88 77 do. ; 13 79 84 76 do. 13 87 95 83 do. 14 83 89 80 do. 14 80 89 86 rain at night 15 85 87 80 do. 15 69 80 71 clear. 16 — 90 — do. 16 65 72 62 do. 17 77 89 80 rain at night. 17 89 93 71 do. 18 76 82 70 clear. 18 82 90 81 do. v"~ 19 67 76 70 do. 19 78 89 82 do. i 20 59 67 63 do. 20 83 87 85 do. '. 21 49 57 55 do. 21 88 97 73 do. 22 57 67 65 do. 22 77 88 76 do. 23 70 73 64 do. 23 — 70 — do. 24 88 92 77 do. 24 57 88 67 rain. '1 25 74 85 79 do. 25 80 89 80 do. • 26 67 80 70 do. 26 75 88 79 do. .:>' 27 82 90 80 do. 27 72 87 86 do. V 28 57 68 50 cloudy. 28 89 93 82 do. ,1 29 49 52 63 do. 29 75 82 70 do. 30 74 81 70 clear. 30 70 SO 70 do. f 31 73 80 70 do. CLIMATE IN BOTH PROVINCES. 351 MAY. 7 1 6 A.m.tM. P.M. 1 60 73 66 clear. 2 66 71 60 do. S 58 73 61 do. 4 49 69 56 do. 5 56 70 65 da 6 71 76 70 rain all night. 7 69 75 71 clear. 8 66 70 65 do. 9 67 73 63 do. 10 40 45 44 cloudy. li 30 47 49 do. 12 57 70 60 rain. 13 70 75 63 clear. 14 71 78 67 do. 15 79 83 76 do. 16 81 87 80 rain at night. 17 86 89 80 dear. IS 77 88 7.9 do. 19 76 82 73 do. 20 50 57 55 cloudy. 21 66 73 69 clear. 22 74 31 76 do. 23 80 87 79 do. . 24 70 80 71 do. , 25 87 89 81 do. , 26 88 92 77 do. 27 70 73 64 cloudy. 28 57 67 57 clear. 29 49 57 55 rain. 30 59 67 63 clear. Jl 67 1^ 70 do. LOWER CANADA. 1820. JVNB. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. PJW. 1 80 89 "0 clear. S 77 83 69 do. 3 60 66 61 do. 4 57 59 55 do. 5 70 80 77 do. 6 76 88 81 rain at night. 7 79 83 76 clear. 8 84 88 73 do. 9 69 80 72 do. 10 73 84 — do. 11 76 — 75 do. 12 59 63 55 cloudy. 13 73 88 75 clear. 14 79 87 78 do. 15 75 88 79 do. 16 80 89 80 do. 17 _ 88 76 do. 18 57 88 69 do. 19 69 77 73 do. 20 81 85 80 do. 21 78 89 80 do. . 22 82 90 81 do. 23 85 89 72 rain at night. 24 57 63 58 cloudy. 25 63 71 62 clear, 26 69 80 73 do. 27 80 89 86 do. 28 87 95 83 do. 29 80 88 77 do. 30 76 83 69 do. 852 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE ifi-'^^. 'I Ji- ' UPPER CANADA. 1820. JULY. AUGUST. 716 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. 1 73 80 71 clear. 1 66 76 72 clear. 2 72 80 70 do. 2 70 75 72 do. 3 69 79 73 do. 3 50 80 73 do. rain at night. 4 80 88 81 do. 4 68 83 66 rain. 5 89 90 77 do. 5 68 71 68 clear. 6 90 98 90 do. 6 67 78 69 do. 7 93 100 91 do. 7 66 81 67 do. 8 95 103 96 do. 8 68 82 71 do. 9 88 97 87 do. 9 74 88 78 do. 10 86 88 87 do. 10 75 84 7.^ r«:- 1 1 77 80 70 iain at night 11 74 89 78 clear, rain at night. 12 do 70 60 cloudy. 12 76 91 74 clear. 13 70 80 70 do. 13 72 80 74 do. ' . 14. 88 93 87 clear. 14 68 79 70 heavy rain at night 15 86 91 85 do. 15 67 78 74 clear. 16 77 79 70 do. 16 65 80 63 do. rain all night. 17 83 90 91 do. 17 61 77 65 rain. 18 70 73 72 do. ' 18 61 82 69 clear. 19 60 65 62 cloudy. 19 61 89 69 do. 20 75 78 73 clear. 20 68 78 — showers. 21 70 78 70 do. 21 61 83 65 clear. 22 — 67 — rain. 22 76 99 97 do. '^3 85 93 89 clear. 23 61 82 68 do. 24 76 87 -" do. 24 65 87 75 do. 25 77 88 79 rain. 25 70 82 73 do, rain at night. 26 75 85 76 clear. 26 70 82 66 do. 27 70 75 71 do. 27 64 72 62 do. 28 88 90 80 do.. 28 55 81 71 do. 29 99 93 87 do. 29 67 84 73 do. 30 92 100 90 o'o. 30 67 83 69 do. ' 31 86 95 88 do. 31 67 80 66 rain. mm at night. lin at night. lin at night all night. CLIMATE IN BOTH PROVINCES. 05:3 at night. LOWER CANADA. 1820. JULY. AUGUST. 7 1 6 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 69 77 71 clear. 1 —100 79 clear. 2 73 81 70 do. 2 70 83 76 cloudy. 3 67 7.9 73 do. 3 70 73 71 do. 4 76 82 75 do. 4 58 82 70 rain. 5 79 86 74 do. 5 60 77 72 clear. 6 77 87 78 do. 6 65 75 70 do. 7 80 89 85 rain at night. 7 69 73 71 do. 8 82 89 87 clear. 8 73 80 72 do. 9 88 9S 91 do. 9 77 9S 78 do. 10 90 99 95 do. 10 71 87 79 do. 11 95 103 96 do. 1 1 74 83 72 do. 12 90 93 86 do. 12 76 89 75 do. 13 87 89 85 do. 13 77 93 15 rain at night. 14 80 88 81 do. 14 77 93 79 do. 15 70 73 72 rain. 15 84 88 78 do. 16 60 65 62 cloudy. 16 64 79 62 do. 17 75 78 73 do. 17 65 83 70 slight showers 18 70 78 — clear. 18 63 89 72 clear. 19 _ 87 — do. 19 76 90 77 do. 20 77 83 75 do. 20 79 88 75 do. 21 80 89 85 do. 21 61 82 66 do. 22 88 93 87 do. 22 77 93 72 do. 23 90 99 95 do. 23 61 82 63 showery. 24 9210095 do. 24 70 89 77 do. 25 88 93 95 do. 25 73 84 75 do. 26 70 75''77 rain. 26 72 86 71 do. 27 73 85 76 clear. 27 73 89 83 do. 28 77 88 79 do. 28 84 98 87 do. 29 76 87 83 do. 29 70 77 70 rain all night. 30 85 93 89 do. 30 66 73 71 clear. 31 88 100 87 do. 31 70 87 72 ^0. Vol I. Aa 354 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE $EPTEMBBR. UPPER CANADA. 1820. OCTOBER. M' 716 A.M P.M. P.M. 1 66 72 62 cloudy. 2 56 74 67 clear. 3 60 88 76 do. 4 6*8 91 74 do. 5 71 86 75 do. 6 — 88 72 do. 7 70 88 74 do. 8 73 92 77 slight showers. 9 76 86 76 clear. 10 76 — 77 do. 11 78 89 66 rahi. 12 63 76 60 showery. 13 59 71 61 clear. 14 64 66 64 cloudy. 15 76 71 64 clear. 16 64 68 62 cloudy. 17 64 76 66 clear. 18 56 65 56 showery. 19 52 68 51 clear. 20 46 62 48 do. . 21 40 58 50 do. 22 33 60 57 do. 23 56 60 55 rain. 24 45 63 58 cloudy. 25 43 52 48 clear. 26 33 53 48 do. 27 43 64 54 do. 28 54 62 50 do. 29 53 66 55 do. 30 43 72 64 do. 716 A.M. P.M. P.M ' 1 __ 71 63 clear. 2 49 69 59 do. 3 58 69 66 cloudy. 4 62 74 61 do. 5 51 67 60 rain. 6 46 51 50 clear. 7 41 55 46 do. 8 -_ 56 57 cloudy. 9 57 66 52 rain. 10 53 52 55 do. 11 44 51 44 cloudy. 12 88 54 39 clear. 13 56 57 51 cloudy. 14 75 53 47 showe»y. 15 47 48 42 cloudy. 16 31 48 49 clear. 17 29 46 29 do. 18 42 do. 19 36 50 44 do. 20 32 48 41 cloudy. 21 30 48 40 clear. 22 — 48 46 do. 23 37 55 48 rain. 24 35 46 32 snow and rain. 25 36 39 31 snow. 26 29 40 36 cloudy. 27 32 40 35 snow. 28 31 40 32 clear. 29 31 44 33 do. 30 28 — 49 cloudy. 31 47 56 48 rain in the morning. riilMATE IN BOTH PROVINCKS, 355 LOWER CANADA 1820. SEPTEMBEtl. le morning. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 5.9 73 58 rain. 2 63 77 71 clear. 3 6S 71 73 do. 4 68 77 70 do. 5 73 80 75 do. 6 80 87 82 do. - 7 70 73 71 do. 8 ^^ 69 — rain. 9 77 87 75 clear. 10 79 — 77 do. 11 76 90 — do. 12 73 79 72 rain. IS 60 71 62 clear. 14 63 70 6S do. 15 62 70 59 do. 16 58 69 67 cloudy. 17 57 63 60 clear. 18 50 59 48 do. . 19 54 57 49 rain. 20 40 49 41 clear. 21 33 50 32 do. 22 40 50 41 do. 23 35 46 37 do. 24 46 53 54 cloudy. 25 37 50 32 do. 26 33 54 30 do. 27 41 57 50 do. 28 44 63 43 rain all night. 29 i?7 50 45 do. ii 30 38 52 39 do. 31 29 48 33 do. nCTOBElU 7 16 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 33 — 29 cloudy. 2 SO 50 — do. 3 36 50 44 do. 4 32 48 41 do. "Tain at night. 5 30 48 40 cloudy. 6 29 44 33 clear. 7 37 55 48 do. '. 8 35 46 32 do. 9 36 39 31 cloudy. 10 29 40 36 clear. 11 32 — 35 do. 12 31 40 32 cloudy. 13 28 41 40 rain. 14 18 32 31 do. 15 20 23 21 frost. 16 10 27 15 clear. . 17 15 29 13 do. 18 22 40 37 showery- 19 27 40 38 clear. . . 20 29 40 30 do. V 21 27 40 21 do. 22 20 35 25 sleet. 23 21 40 30 cloudy. 24 — 35 ~ do. . ^5 32 40 37 clean 26 33 49 46 do. 27 32 31 33 do. ■ • 28 32 40 29 do. 29 10 15 9 snow and frost. . SO 31 33 29 clear. - - — , 31 17 27 29 do. AA 2 356 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE NOVBMBKIi. 7 16 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 30 52 49 clear. 2 36 54 40 rain at night. 3 32 46 48 rain. 4 40 39 37 snow and rain. 5 36 41 S3 rain. 6 30 48 — snow. 7 28 38 38 rain. 8 42 46 47 do. 9 32 34 24 cloudy. 10 45 32 24 do. 11 18 32 31 do. 12 20 23 21 snow storm. 13 10 27 15 clear. 14 27 43 37 cloudy. 15 22 42 37 clear. 16 37 47 38 do. 17 29 45 34 do. 18 27 44 42 showery. 19 32 48 37 clear. 20 21 43 36 clear. 51 — 42 32 rain. 52 30 42 42 clear. 23 32 27 42 do. 24 33 49 46 do. 25 45 51 50 rain. 26 32 31 'ZH snow. 27 21 «1 21 cloudy. 28 32 36 34 do. 29 34 31 25 snow. 30 36 14 — clear. ■Ih-i ■'■ UPPEft CANADA. 1820. DECE^fBKR. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 10 31 25 dear. 2 30 37 — do. 3 31 — 32 cloudy. 4 38 39 32 rain and sleet. 5 32 36 32 snow. 6 28 36 *-• cloudy. 7 36 39 40 rain. 8 32 38 37 cloudy. 9 30 32 26 snow. 10 16 26 18 do. 11 10 15 11 clear. 12 12 l6 11 do. 13 12 22 18 snow. 14 20 29 24 clear. 15 19 23 19 cloudy. 16 °2 14 14 do. 17 18 31 24 do. 18 27 36 32 do. 19 19 34 36 rain. 20 30 41 33 cloudy. 21 28 32 28 snow. 22 6 13 9 clear. 23 12 23 — snow. 24 10 17 9 clear. 25 °1 l6 —do. 26 16 24 10 snow storm. 27 °2 20 19 clear. 28 26 30 31 snow. 29 12 26 — rain and sleet. 30 14 19 12 clear. 31 °2 22 17 do. ' Below Zero. CLIMATJ5 IN BOTH PROrus'CES. a57 LOWER CANADA. 1820. NOFEMBBn. 7 1 6 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 1 1 30 2.5 snow. 2 27 — 25 clear. 3 31 40 33 cloudy. 4 32 39 32 snow. 5 30 32 26 do. 6 16 26 18 do. 7 10 15 11 clear. 8 12 16 11 do. 9 12 22 18 do. 10 20 25 21 snow. 11 19 20 18 clear. 12 "5 "13 °2do. 13 10 27 12 cloudy. 14 27 36 — do. 15 -^ 30 — do. 16 27 36 32 do. 17 19 34 36 do. 18 SO 40 30 clear. 19 6 12 8 do. 20 — 23 — snow. 21 °10 "1 "5 clear. 22 — 20 — do. 23 °7 21 °5 do. 24 12 26 —cloudy. 25 °1 13 — do. 26 10 21 5 do. 27 °9 °3 °5 clear. 28 °7 °5 13 do. 29 — 15 12 do. 30 13 20 10 cloudy. DECEMBEIl. 7 16 A.M. P.M. P.M. 1 7 12 13 clear. 2 8 16 7 do. 3 "3 16 13 do. 4 13 27 11 do. 5 5 25 13 do. 6 9 15 16 cloudy. 7 7 13 18 do. 8 16 28 26 snow. 9 29 32 21 cloudy. 10 16 18 15 clear. 11 °6 10 1 do. 12 °8 3 5 do. 13 7 20 8 do. ,14 8 15 8 do. 15 5 18 13 do. 16 10 23 19 do. 17 16 27 20 snow. 18 — 11 02 clear. 19 "10 "5 "11 do. 20°21"'13°19do. 21 "11 10 °2do. 22 9 18 24 do. 23 32 43 29 do. 24 26 34 29 cloudy. 25 10 35 33 clear. 26 9 22 25 do. 27 5 18 14 cloudy. 28 8 15 8 clear. 29 7 13 3 do. 30°10 7 "6 do. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ^ V^^ 1.0 I.I |jo ^^" IIII^H ■^ 122 12.2 >U 136 lili 1.8 1.25 II U ,,.6 < 6" ► V] /: ^^^e-^ ^ /A 7 Hiotographic Sciences Cbrporation 23 WEST MAIN STREfT WEBSTER, N.Y. M5S0 (716)»73-4S03 % ^0 1 d5lif THE CLIMATE. 1 -1 iiij In Upper Canada, snow seldom falls sooner than the latter part of November, and the cold is never intense till the middle of December, when the most rapid rivers ai*e completely frozen over, and the whole face of the earth is shrouded in a mantle of white. This state of the weather generally con- tinues through January and February, with an occasional short thaw intervening, which for a few days gives a new aspect to nature. But the cold soon resumes its Minted empire ; and these changes are often sudden, in the very depth of Winter. The snow seldom lies more than two feet deep ; and notwithstanding the severity of the frost, it remains perfectly soft during the whole sea- son. As the roads are exceedingly bad in the Sum- mer, the time for travelling ia Canada is the Winter. On this account, the cold weather is greeted by the Canadians as the delightful period when they can proceed without difficulty to see their friends at a distance, when corn and other produce can be conveyed to market, when annual sup- plies from the store-keepers in remote towns can be brought home, and when other domestic affairs, of importance can be arranged. As long as the snow lies deep, and the roads are well-beaten, a Cana- dian ** sleigh" passes smoothly along them with great facility and swiftness ; and a pair of horses can easily perform a journey of 40 or 60 miles with a load of a ton weight, over roads that are almost impassable in Summer. In new ettlements, the stumps of trees standing above the snow render THU CLIMATIv. 3.i9 ooner than >ld is never n the most r, and the mantle of jrally con- , with an li for a few it the cold )se changes ►f Winter, feet deep; the frost, whole sea- i the Sum- ida is the p is greeted piod when » see their jr produce mual sup- owns can stic affairs. s the snow 1, a Cana- hem with lorses can es with a re almost lents, the w render travelling more unpleasant than in the old sellle- ments, in which no such inequalities of surface occur. Sleigh-riding is a favourite amusement of the Canadians. They consider it the most agreeable method of travelling that can be invented. This absurd supposition originates in the wretched nature of their roads, by which travelling in wheel-car- riages is rendered a severe penance, sufficient, one would think, to expiate, on the principles of the Roman Catholic Church, a tolerable portion of their iniqiiii3% The body of a sleigh resembles that of a c'i >* ^-»d the runners are shaped exactly like the keel of a skate. On taking an excursion in this vehicle, the Canadians are very warmly clothed ; for they wrap themselves up in bear and buifalo f I linn. Persons of both sexes draw coarse yarn hose Ovxr their shoes and stockings, and cover their ha-ifl.' v^'ith doe-skin gloves, lined with wool. Tlicy al^o wear fur-caps and top-coats. The b. c:: of the sleigh is generally lined with bear skin.^ ; and a buffalo hide, retaining its fur, covers the tr.. ellers from their feet to their waists. Thus equipped, they bid defiance to the most severe weather, and often travel ten or fifteen miles without a stoppage for refreshment or any other pui]:c;5e. In the early part of April, the snow begins gra- dually to disappear: The roads then become * See the frontispiece to this vohirae. .i«o AGUES AND impassable, and travelling of every description is entirely sui^pended. On the first of April, plough- ing is commenced by the farmers : On the 20th, Spring- wheat is sown ; and, about the end of May, corn and potatoes are planted. In the early part of June, the weather becomes very warm, and agues and intermittent fevers begin to prevail. The prevalcncy of these dis- orders in Canada, has been attributed to various causes. Some think they are produced by the effluvia arijsing from putrid vegetables and from stagnant waters. But this theory, though plau- sible, and supported by many powerful argu- ments, is nevertheless erroneous. In Lower Ca- nada, the quantity of putrid vegetables is as great, as in the Upper Province, and that of moist and marshy lands much greater; and yet, in the former, agues and intermittent fevers are wholly unknown. ^ In the Eastern parts of the : 1 1^ f I know, it is a generally-received theory, that stagnant waters are the causes of the diseases here enumerated : But on this subject I entertain an opinion decidedly diflferent ; and am glad to find myself supported by the high authority of Dr. Dwight, who very properly observes respecting the New England States, which are almost wholly exempt from these disorders : " It has been commonly supposed, that standing waters are insalubrious in countries subjected to such intense heat at that of a New England summer. The supposition, however, is almost, if not quite, absolutely erroneous, so far as New England is con- cerned. There is, probably, as great a number of small lakes and ponds in this country, as in any of the same extent on the globe. After very extensive inquiries, I have been unable to find one, INTKKMITTENT FEVERS. 3(>1 ?ription is I, plough- the 20th, d of May, r becomes ?nt fevers these dis- to various d by the and from ugh plau- ful arg'u- iower Ca- bles is as d that of and yet, fevers are rts of the lat stagnant ed : But on ent ; and atn ority of Dr. ew England isorders : waters are ^at at that of r^ is almost, ;1and is con- all lakes and m the globe, to find one. Upper Province also, where marshes abound, the inhabitants are only partially afflicted with these disorders ; while, in the Western Dis^tricis, few persons attain the age of twenty years, without having many times experienced their unpleasant the margin of which is not healthy ground. I speak not here of artificial ponds ; these are often unhealthy. 1 speak of those which nature has formed ; and all these appear to be perfectly salubrious. Within the township of Plymouth, which is very large, the number is uncommonly great ; but they have never been known to produce any disagreeable effects. " Decayed vegetables have been imagined to furnish an expla- nation of the insalubrity of stagnant waters. To some extent this opinion may be just. They cannot, I think, be ordinarily concerned in producing the fever and ague, because this disease is almost always experienced, originally in the spring. Besides, vegetables decay in New England, as well as elsewhere ; and yet, eastward of the western ridge of the Green Mountains, the ^ever and ague, so far as I have been able to learn, is absolutely unknown, except in solitary instances, in the neighbourhood of two or three marshes, within the township of Guildford. But I suppose vegetable putrefaction to be especially considered as the cause of autumnal diseases. That vegetable putrefaction may be an auxiliary cause of these evils, may, I think, be rationally ad« mitted. But that it is the sole, or even the principal cause, may be fairly questioned. This putrefaction exists regularly every year ; the diseases, in any given place, rarely. The putrefaction exists throughout the v/hole country; the diseases, whenever they exist, are confined to a few particular spots. Should it be said, that stagnant waters are necessary to this effect, I answer, that in the large tract of country which I have specified, no such effect is produced by these waters ; and that the diseases here prevail, as often where no such waters exist, as in their neigh- bourhood ; that they are found on plains, in vallics, on hills, and even on the highest inhabited mountains." im A(;i'i:js and effects. I have conversed with several physicians on the subject, but have never been able to obtain any satisfactory account of the origin of these dis- eases. In the Summer of 1819, agues and fevers prevailed to an alarming extent, in almost every purt of the Upper Province, but particularly in the Western Districts. The season was very dry, excessively hot, and, I believe, scarcely one family out of ten enjoyed their accustomed health. Not- withstanding this. Upper Canada might even that year be considered healthy, in comparison with those countries which lie under corresponding latitudes in the United States. For, while the Canadians laboured under a disorder which was distressing, without being dangerous; the Ameri- cans were carried off in thousands, by that dfead- ful depopulator of cities, the Yellow Fever ! On the whole, I do not think that the climate, either during the severity of the Winter, or the excessive heat of the Summer, in relation to its influence on human health and vegetable produc- tions, constitutes a sufficient objection to the coun- try. It is a matter of doubt in my mind, whe- ther, after taking all things into consideration, Upper Canada is not a more healthy region than either England or Ireland. That Lower Canada is, in this respect, greatly superior to both, is a matter of indubitable certainty. Dr. Dwight is of opinion, that the diseases to which I have alluded, are produced more by animalcular putrefaction, than by standing waters and marsh miasmata : lie says, INTERMITTENT FEVERS. .3(» physicians } to obtain f these dis- and fevers nost every icularly in very dry, sne family th. Not- even that fison with esponding while the /hich was le Ameri- lat dfead- ' Fever ! B climate, ', or the ion to its produc- the coun- nd, whe- deration, region Lower Derior to seases to nore by ir waters " A number of years since I put a quantity of ground pepper into a tumbler of water ; and, a few days afterwards, found a thin scum spread over the surface. Within a few days more, I perceived, on examining this scum with a microscope, that it exhibited an immense number of living animal- cules. Two or three days after, examining the same scum again, I found not the least appearance of life. After another short period, the scum v/as replenished with living beings again ; and, after another, became totally destitute of them. This alternate process continued, until the w^ater became so foetid as to forbid a further examination. The conclusion which I drew from these facts was, that the first race of animalcules, having laid their eggs, died ; and were succeeded in a short time by a second, and these by a third. '* The foe tor, which arose from the putrefaction of these ephemeral beings, differed in one respect from that which is produced by the decay of larger animals. Although it was perceptible at a small distance oiily, and perhaps less loathsome than the smell of a corinipted carcase, it was far more suffocating. When the effluvia were received into the lungs, it seemed as if nature gave way, and was preparing to sink under the impression. A pungency, entirely peculiar, accompanied the smell, and appeared to lessen the vis vitce in a man- ner different from any thing which I had ever experienced before. " The scum, which covered this pepper-water, .'}64 THE CLIMATE. N 1 '] was in appearance the same with that which in hot seasons is sometimes seen on standing waters, and abounds on those marshes exposed to the sun. To the production, and still more to the sustenance of animalcules, vegetable putrefaction seems to be necessary, or at least concomitant ; the nidus, per- haps, in which the animalculine existence is formed, or the pabulum by which it is supported. " Whatever instrumentality vegetable putrefac- tion may have, I am inclined to suspect, for several reasons, that animalculine putrefaction is the imme- diate cause of those diseases, whatever they are, which are justly attributed to standing waters. It will, I believe, be found universally, that no such disease is ever derived from any standing waters, which are not to a considerable extent covered with a scum ; and perhaps most, if not all of those which have this covering, will be found unhealthy. The New England lakes, as far as I have observed, are universally free, even from the thinnest pellicle of this nature ; are pure potable water ; are sup- plied almost wholly by subjacent springs; and are, therefore, too cool, as well as too much agitated by winds, to permit, ordinarily^ the existence of ani- malcules." This idea, however plausible it may appear, is, like many other theories that are raised, un- able to stand the test of strict examination. Now, in the "Western part of Upper Canada, where these diseases are rather prevalent, there are very few lakes or ponds of standing water, ! ! SPLKNDID WhNTKK SCJiNERV 305 ich in hot lierfl, and 8un. To istenanco sms to be dus, per- is formed, putrefac- or several he imme- they are, iters. It b no such g waters, covered 1 of those nhealthy. observed, it pellicle are sup- and are, ;itated by e of ani- appear, sed, un- nination. Canada, it, there water, and these few are all composed of pure potable water, as free from scum as any water in the same situation can possibly be. They have, in fact, their source of supply in springs, which in the hottest part of the Summer season remain per- fectly cold, and of course free from animalcuhir putrefaction. The very reverse of this is the case in the Eastern parts of Upper Canada, and through- out the greater part of the Lower Province, where these disorders are wholly unknown. In Canada, the weather is always coldest when the sky is bright and clear, and the wind in the North West quarter. Snow seldom falls while the mercury remains below Zero. Some idea may also be formed of the severity of the frost, from the fact, that water thrown to any considerable height into the air, becomes completely chr^^stalized before it returns to the ground. In Upper Canada we seldom have any rain dur'iig the Winter ; but, when it does fall, it is invariably accompanied by a keen frost. Nothing can exceed th, beauty of the forests on these occasions. As the rain falls upon the trees, it becomes immediately congealed ; and, when a shower continues for any considerable length of time, the trunks, limbs, and boughs of the trees, are so completely covered with ice and hung about with icicles, that the forest seems to be transformed into an innumerable assemblage of glass chandeliers, reflecting in their beautifully cut pendants and festoons the rays of light, with every colour of the rainbow. At night, when the moon- f.l 2CM AURORA nORKALlS. Ijoanis descend mi the Hcene, and illnminate it with her broad sheet of silver lij^ht, another transform- ation may be witnessed. The tops of the trees appear to be embossed with pure i2;old ; pearls and amethysts seem strewed about in the greatest pro- fusion; the green-sward, with the skill of a came- leon, is arrayed in virgin whiteness, and, when contrasted with the sober gloom of the shadow of the trees, and associated with the other beauties which surround it, produces one of the most delightful specimens of Winter-scenery that imagination can conceive. In Summer the Meteorological phenomena of this country are no less brilliant and wonderful. During the months of June, July and August, the Aurora Borealis illumines our skies, our woods, our fields, our dwellings, — and, 1 think I might say, our very souls : For no man, who is not insensible to the last degree, can possibly resist the influence which such a phenomenon is calculated to exercise over the mind of the enchanted spectator. We are ge- nerally apprised of its appearance by the crackling, hissing noise which it makes. The clouds which rest on the Eastern horizon, begin to explode, first from the North and then from the South; they flash from one extremity of the heavens to the other ; and, spreading wide their blazes, meet in the centre, where they appear to rest for a moment, and then suddenly dart from each other with the swiftness of lightning. They exhibit every variety of shade, from the deepest crimson to the palest yellow. AUUUHA UOKfe^A !.(.<«. :M;r te it with unsforin- the trees oarls nnd itest pro- f a carne- nd, when low of the iea which delightful ation can omena of wonderful. jgust, the roods, our it say, our le to the ce which oise over e are ge- ruckling, ids which ode, first hey flash he other ; le centre, and then swiftness of shade, yellow. Altlioni>;h the fla-shos have at lirat a trifling a|)]>ear- aiu'c, llicv irt'iionillv increase in size till the whoK* sky from the North, Knst and Sotitli, to the vertical centre of the concave, is covered as with the blaze of tire-works. I have frequently sat in the open ilelds, to watch the ever-varying motions of this singular phenomenon. Its appearance is grandly sublime; and, in the absence of the diflerent orbs of light which hang in the flrmament of Heaven, conveys to my imagination some fuint idea of the glory that shall be revealed, when Sun, and moon, and st.irs decay, And time this earth itself removes ; and when those who, by the mercy of God, have escaped from destruction, shall live in that place of which St. John has given this beautiful description : ** And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine on it ; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the light thereof." The remarkable meteorological phenomena, of which I subjoin an interesting account from the Montreal Herald, occurred at a period when I did not reside in that city : " The astonishing appearances which the past week has exhibited, will make it long remem- bered by the inhabitants of this district ; and Tuesday last will be classed by after ages with the celebrated dark Sunday which happened in 1785. A series of awful events have occur- red, equally impressive to the mind of the illi- arw ATMO^PllHRrCAI, IMIKNO.MKNON. lerale and the Iciiriied. While the former viewed theflo events u» they puHsed, and with a mixture of drend and veneration, saw in them the immediate interposition of * Hin> who rides on the whirlwind and directs the storm ;^ the latter felt his mind recoil back in itself, and tremble at its own nothinjQfness. All his best-established facts, his first principles, and his long train of causes and effects were totally inadequate to explain the aberrations from the usual course of nature which he saw passing before him. "The first unusual appearance which attracted genei'al notice, happened on Sunday last. The morning was remarkably dark for the season ; and about eight o'clock a. m. the whole atmosphere appeared covered with a thick cloud or haze of a dingy orange colour. The wind was light from N. N. W. and seemed incapable of dispelling the heavy vapour which floated in the sky. A little before nine o'clock, a shower of rain fell, of a dark inky colour, and apparently much impregnated with some black substance resembling soot or fine ashes. This, for the time, seemed to account for the singular appearance of the heavens. It was con- jectured, a volcano had broke out in in some distant quarter, and the ashes from the eruption floating in the cloud gave it the unnatural colour. During the day the weather cleared, the sky assumed its natural aspect, and the afternoon became season- ably pleasant. " Tuesday was a day that set anxiety on the rack, lor vicwod mixture of iiiiuiediute whirlwind hh mind b its own ts, his first ftnd effects Etberrations jh he saw ti attracted last. The jason ; and ttmosphere • haze of a light from jelling the A little of a dark pregnated )ot or fine int for the was con- me distant floating in During itsumed its le season- the rack, ATMOSIMIKKK-AI. IMIKNO.MKNON. 30f) and put conjecture at defiance. The morning opened with a clear serene sky ; a gentlehreeze from the North-west, and a smart frost during the night, led us to anticipate a day fitted for business or amusement. About ten o'clock a. m. the wind be- came varialde, veering round to the Westward, and again becoming more Northerly. A heavy damp vapour seemed to envelope the whole city, and the appearance of the atmosphere indicated rain. As the forenoon advanced, the sky became more and more surcharged with dense clouds : the darkness increased to such a degree, that by twelve and one o'clock it became necessary to light candles in all the public olTices in town; and even in the butchers' stalls in the market-place, they were found indis))ensably necessary. The darkness still con- tinued to increase, and, with it, there appeared a general dread, as to what might be the result, per- vading every countenance. But although the darkness went on augmenting, it was not uniform in its progress. At times a white silver-coloured stream of light seemed for the moment to penetrate the dense atmosphere, and for a few seconds appeared as if clearing away. " It was during these periods, the aspect of the heavens was most striking to an attentive observer. The deadly pale light which came for the instant, as if to cheat our hopes and mock our feelings, seemed, by being refracted through the cloud, to proceed from a stratum between it and the earth ; and the blackened colour of the air, viewed through Vol. I. B b »70 ATMOSPHERICAL PHfiNOMGNA. this luminous sub-stratum presented a spectacle awful and grand in the extreme. The general dread seemed now to have reached its climax ; all viewed the phenomenon as connected with some great convulsion of nature, — but whether the pre- cursor or follower of such an event, none could tell. A little before two o'clock there was a slight shock of an earthquake distinctly felt in different parts of the city, accompanied with a noise resembling the discharge of a distant piece of artillery. As the attention of all classes was closely rivetted on the more impressive aspect of the sky, but little notice was paid to the shock. The increasing gloom en- grossed the attention of all, and every thing else gave way to the awful expectation of what might be the conclusion. About twenty minutes past three o'clock, after the darkness had gradually increased and seemed at that moment to have at- tained its greatest depth, the whole city was instantaneously illuminated by one of the most vivid flashes of lightning ever witnessed in Montreal. This was suddenly followed by an awful peal of thunder, so loud and near as to shake the strongest buildings to their foundation. " The proximity of the thunder, and the violence of the concussion, impressed many people with the belief that a second earthquake had happened. If this was the case, it must have been at the same instant with the thunder and not distinguishable from it ; but we are of opinion that the vibratory motion felt was altogether owing to the vicinity of ATMOSPHERICAL PHENOMENA. 071 i spectacle he general limax ; ali with some r the pre- could tell, ight shock rent parts resembling y. As the ied on the ttle notice gloom en- thing else ^hat might iiites past gradually have at- city was the most Montreal, il peal of strongest e violence 3 with the ened. If the same guishable vibratory icinity of the cloud, at the time it discharged its electric con- tents. The first peal was followed by a few others, and accompanied with a heavy shower of rain, similar to what had fallen on Sunday, but of a darker hue and apparently more charged with black sooty matter. " After the thunder and rain had subsided, the darkness did not entirely disappear as might haver been expected, had it proceeded from a thunder- cloud as usual. On the contrary, it still continued and seemed to increase till about four o'clock. The general anxiety however became somewhat appeased, as the cause of the unusual appearance had been in part explained. To describe the general feeling during the forenoon of this day, is a task to which few pens are adequate. Although the first peal of thunder gave relief to many as being explanatory of the cause, it came at such a time, and v/hen the minds of all were prepared to expect some dreadful catastrophe, ' that the boldest held his breath for a time.' " As * the murky hour of night' approached, men became less sensible of the continued darkness ; they had become in some measure reconciled to the appearance, and were talking over the occurrence with comparatively more composure. But the events of this day were not yet closed. Between four and five o'clock, it was discovered that the lightning had struck the spire of the French Church in Notre Dame-street ; and the first inti- mation of this was the flames issuing from the top BB 2 372 ATMOSPHERICAL PHENOMENA. of the spire at the place where the iron crucifix joins the wooden part of the steeple. The appear- ance through the cloudy dense atmosphere, showed like a distant light-house seen far at sea. The fire- engines were procured with all possible dispatch, but none of them were of a sufficient power to throw the water to such a height. With great exertion a small garden engine was procured, and got up to the highest belfry. From this position they kept playing on the inside of the spires, by which means the progress of the flames was checked ; but not before the timber which sup- ported the crucifix was consumed, as well as the ball at the bottom of it. About eight o'clock the iron crucifix fell with a tremendous crash, and broke in several pieces. Fortunately it came down in Notre Dame-street, near the corner of a house occupied by Mrs. Barnard, milliner, and no farther accident occurred from its descent : Soon after it fell, the fire was extinguished without destroying the spire, or communicating with any of the adja- cent buildings. ** The Bonsecours Church was also struck by the lightning. To those who were near it at the time, the appearance was like a large rocket falling on the top of the conductor, by which it descended instantly with a whizzing noise, resembling a shell, but much louder. The concussion was so violent as to shake the whole building. It is rather sin- gular, that no farther damage happened on this pccasion. The method by which the conducting •n crucifix he appear- [•e, showed The fire- • dispatch, power to t^'ith great iuped, and s position he spire», lames was hich sup- 'ell as the 'clock the irash, and ame down »f a house no farther m after it lestroying the adja- ATMOSPHERICAL PHENOMENA. 3^3 rod is attached to the church, is contrary to every principle with which we are acquainted. It pro- jects above the spire, it is true; but in its descent, instead of running along by the nearest rout on the outside, and avoiding coming in contact with any other substance of an equal conducting power, it descends immediately under the tin covering of the roof, and runs along it until it reaches the top of the wall, where it emerges and goes down by the wall, to which it is affixed by iron hooks. By this improper method, should a larger quantity of elec- tric fluid than the size of the rod can easily contain ever happen to strike it, there is a great part of the iron surrounded yith other metallic substances which will serve as conductors for the remainder and convey it along the roof to the eminent danjrep of the building." ^ ick by the ; the time, falling on lescended ig a shell, so violent ather sin- 1 on this mducting BB 3 LETTER XXI. THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA — VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS TO CANADA FROM FRANCE AND ENGLAND — THE FOUNDATION OF QUEBEC — THE FINAL CONQUEST OF THE COUNTRY BY GENERAL WOLFE. From the want of an adventurous disposition in the primitive inhabitants of the earth, and from other causes, the early history of almost every country in the world is involved in obscurity ; and of America, especially, so little was known before its discovery by Columbus in 1492, that it was emphatically called " the New World." Seven years after this important event, Cabot, an Italian, •was commissioned by Henry the Seventh of Eng- land to attempt further discoveries on the new ^continent. He was placed in command of a squad- ron of six ships ; and, being furnished with every ;article which was deemed necessary for such an important undertaking, embarked early in the Spring of 1497, and, in June following, discovered Newfoundland. He afterwards saw and named the island of St. John, and still pursuing a wes- terly course, arrived in a short time at the Con- tinent, along the coast of which he sailed as far H I EXPEDITION OF M. DENYS. 375 S TO CANADA. OF QUEBEC- BRA L WOLFE. Dosition in and from lost every urity ; and wn before lat it was " Seven an Italian, h of Eng- i the new f asquad- vith every )r such an ly in the discovered ind named ng a wes- the Con- led as far as 67 and a half degrees of N. latitude. He returned without making any attempt towards effecting a settlement in the New World : And what is still more remarkable, after fitting out an expedition at such an immense expence, the English gave up the further pursuit of discovery for half a century. But the report of Cabot's successful enterprise must have been extensively circulated; for, in 1606, Denys, a Frenchman, sailed from Honfleur to Newfoundland, and thence proceeded down the Gulph of St. Lawrence. He drew a map of the Gulph and of the adjacent coast, took some fish on the Great Fishing-Bank, and returned to France the same season. Two years afterwards, Thomas Aubert departed from Dieppe, and was the first who had the courage to sail up the St. Lawrence. He forcibly carried oif some of the natives, and exhibited them as curiosities in all the principal towns of France. In 1617, no less than 60 Spanish, French and Por- tuguese ships appear to have been employed in the fishery of Newfoundland. , The Spanish conquests in South America made a great noise over all Europe, and the facilities which the mines of those immense regions afforded of rapidly acquiring fortunes, produced a great degree of carelessness in the public mind about those countries which could open a field only for the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and the gradual advancement of commerce. On this account, we find very little attention was paid to North Ame- 37G JACgUKS CAKTIKK. rica for a number of years. Newfoundland, it is true, attracted .some small share of attention ; and individuals of various nations commenced settle- ments upon it, nearly a century before any attempts at colonization were made on the Northern Conti- nent : In 1522, there were fifty houses erected on different parts of the island. In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a native of St. Malo, sailed up the St. Law^rence, to the distance of 900 miles, till his passage was intercepted by an immense cataract, probably the Falls of Niagara. He took possession of the territory, in the name of " his most Christian Majesty ;" formed alliances with the in- habitants ; built a fort, and wintered in the country, which he called " NuwFranck." In the course of his return down the river, he visited a large Indian settlement, called " Hochelaga :" It occupied the ground on which the city of Montreal now stands ; which is a corruption from Mount Royal, the name originally conferred on it by Cartier. He also gave the name of St. Lawrence to the River of Canada, from the circumstance of his having entered it on the festival of that Saint. The natives, whenever he met with them, treated him with the greatest hospitality, and their intercourse was tolerably free : For having taken a voyage the pre- ceding year to the coast of America, he observed the precaution of bringing two of the natives back with him to France ; who, having by the time of his second voyage obtained a considerable know- ledge of the French language, were now able to aiONSIEUR KOBERVAL. 377 [and, it is ion ; and ?d settle- attempts rn Conti- lected on St. Mulo, ce of 900 immense He took * his most h the in- country, course of je Indian ipied the ^ stands; YAL, the tier. He le River s having i natives, with the irse was the pre- observed ves back time of ) know- able to serve as interpreters between him and their coun- trymen. On this occasion, he formed an intimacy with one of their Chiefs, called Donnaconna, from whom he experienced much kindness and attention ; in return for which, Cartier was cruel enough to carry him to France against his inclinations. It would seem, that his expedition brought him neither honour nor advantage ; for when he arrived in his native country, his discoveries were deemed of little importance and his services very sparingly remunerated. He was so much reduced in his cir- cumstances, that, only five years after his return from that country, he accompanied, in the humble capacity of Pilot, Monsieur Roberval, who was appointed the Viceroy of Canada in 1640. On the arrival of the Viceroy in the River of St. Law- rence, he built a Fort ; and, after he had wintered about four leagues above the Island of Orleans, returned to France, leaving the command of the garrison to Cartier. In two years he came back to Canada, with a large re-inforcement, and attempted to find out a North West passage to the East Indies. In 1549, he again returned to France, and, after a short stay, sailed a third time for America, accompanied by his brother and a nume- rous train of adventurers. This voyage, however, did not terminate so successfully as those by which it was preceded. No tidings were ever heard either of the Viceroy or his companions, and they were supposed to have perished on their way. The French Government were so much discouraged by 378 GUORUK DRAKE. this disastrous event, that, for nearly fifty years afterwards, they used no further exertions to pro- mote emigration to Canada. Indeed, the forcible abduction of Donnaconna exasperated the natives of the country to such a degree, that they studi- ously avoided all familiar intercourse with the French, from the time of this shameful transaction till the year 1681, when the recollection of it had in a great measure subsided, and their former friendly communication was renewed. This recon- ciliation N^ith the aborigines of Canada proved so advantageous to the French, that, in 1684, three ships, each of 180 tons, were employed in trading to that country. In 1591 a fleet of ships was fitted out at the port of St. Malo, for the purpose of hunting the Walrus, in the river St. Lawrence. The teeth of these ani- mals were valued more highly than ivory, and sold at a much greater price. It is recorded, that 1600 of these creatures were killed this year, by the crew of one small bark, at Ramea, an island within the straits of St. Petre. The Walruses, in addition to the value of their teeth, produce a prodigious quantity of oil; and, with such results, this expedition greatly surpassed the expectations of those with whom it had originated. In the same year, George Drake, an Englishman, made a voyage up the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to the Isle of Ramea, and having acquainted himself with the nature and extent of the trade carried on by the French, returned home and gave such a MARQUIS ni: LA ROCIIK. 071) fty years ris to pro- e forcible le natives ey studi- with the ansae tion of it had ir former his recon- )roved so 84, three a trading k the port > Walrus, ;hese ani- and sold hat 1500 by the id within addition rodigious Its, this Eitions of lishman, pence, to I himself irried on i such a favourable account both of it and of the country, that the French became alarmed with the fear of their craft being in danger, and the Marquis de la Roche was deputed by the King of France, to set sail for Canada, and conquer the country. The Marquis failed however in his expedition, and landed on the Isle of Sable, about one hundred and fifty miles South-east of Cape Breton, and one hundred and' five Eastward of Canso. On this island he erected a fort, absurdly supposing it an eligible spot for effecting a settlement. He then cruised for some time along the coast of Nova Scotia, and returned to France, leaving his unfor- tunate companions on the isle of Sable, where they must certainly have perished for want of subsist- ence, had not a French ship been wrecked upon the Island. In this wreck they found some provisions, and with the boards which it afforded erected huts to shield them from the inclemency of the weather. When their other provisions were ex- hausted, they subsisted entirely upon fish, and when their clothes were worn out, they substituted seal- skins, and continued to live in this deplorable condition for seven years ; at the end of which time, Henry the Fourth of France sent Chitodel, who had acted as pilot to La Roche, to bring them back to tjieir native country. On their arrival in France, the generous monarch had the curiosity to see them in their seal-skin dresses, and was so affected by iheir miserable oQndition that he gave them each I' 380 MONSIEUR DE CIIAUVIN. fifty crowns, with which they might begin the world again. La Roche had, long before thi.s, fallen a victim to the corroding feelings produced by the ill success of his American expedition and his con- sequent disgrace at Court. Notwithstanding the exclusive nature of La Roche's patent, private adventurers still continued to carry on a profitable trade with Canada, without being noticed by the French Government. Soon after the death of the Marquis, his patent was re- newed in favour of M. De Chauvin, a commander in the French navy ; and in 1600 he made a voyage up the St. Lawrence as far as Tadousac, where he left some of his people ; and returned to France, with a cargo of furs. This adventure proved so profitable, that he was induced to make a second voyage in the ensuing year for the same purpose. He was equally successful in this; but, while pre- paring for a third voyage, was summoned to leave the work of exploration in this world, for making those discoveries in the next, which are to be made by all alike. Chauvin was succeeded by De Chatte, Governor of Dieppe, who resolved to carry on the trade with France through a company of Rouen merchants and adventurers. He survived his pre- decessor but a short time, and at his death was succeeded by Pierre du Gast, Sieur de Monts, a a gentleman of the Bed-chamber to the King of France, who, in 1603, obtained a patent of that vast territory extending from the fortieth to the forty- sixth degree of North Latitude, constituting him 5IEi;U DK MONTg. 881 5gin the lis, fallen d by the his con- of La ontinued , without t. Soon was re- mmander a voyage where he ) France, roved so second purpose. hile pre- to leave * making be made i Chatte, y on the Rouen his pre- th was onts, a ing of hat vast e forty- ng him Lieutenant-Oeneral of the country, and investing him with authority to colonize it and convert the natives to Christianity. The trade of the Canadas had by this time risen to such importance that Do Monts formed a company, and resolved to avail himself of the great advantages which wore afforded by his exclusive patent. To carry his purpose into effect, he fitted up four ships and took the command of two upon himself. In this expedition he was accompanied by Samuel Champlain, of Brouage, a few miles from Rochelle, and a gentleman of the name of Pontrincourt. One of the other two ships was intended to carry on the fur-trade at Tadousac, and Pontgrave was appointed to the couimand of the fourth. His orders were to touch at Canso, in Nova Scotia, and thence to proceed to Capo Breton for the purpose of clearing the sea be- tween that and the island of St. John, from all vessels sailing there without the authority of Do Monts. On the 17th of March, 1604, Do Monts himself, took his departure from Havre-de- Grace, and touching at Acadia, — which received the pedan- tic name of Nova Sco ia, from the greatest pedant that ever lived, our First James, — confiscated a ship which he found trading with the natives with- out his consent. He next arrived at a small haven, to which he gave the sheepish appellation of Mutton, Haven, While cruising in this way from place to place, Champlain, who spent the greatest part of his time in the long-boat, directed his attention towards the discovery of some eligible situation for I' U43 L'ISLE DK ST. CROIX. a settlement, and ultimately resolved on foundln^^ one on a littlo island which he designated, Iji»le de St. Croix ; this little spot, is only one mile and a half in circumference, and is situated about sixty miles West of St. John's. It soon appeared that he had made a very inju- dicious selection ; for, although the soil was so fertile that the corn which was sown produced an abundant crop, yet on the approach of win- ter, the poor settlers found themselves entirely destitute of fresh water and fire-wood. To avoid the labour of fetching water from the Continent, they resorted to the expedient of melting anow ; and, having no fresh provisions, they were compelled to drink snowwater in such large quantities, that in a short time every person in the colony became afflicted with vari- ous diseases, the most fatal of which was the scurvy. From a consideration of the unfitness of this island for a settlement, on the return of Pont- grave from France, the inhabitants were removed to Port Royal. Soon after this occurrence, De Monts made over Port Royal to Pontrincourt, who appeared to be much enamoured with its situation. On the return of De Monts to France, his patent was revoked, although ten years of it had yet to expire. This, however, did not damp the enter- prising ardour of his spirit : For we find him soon after entering into new engagements with Pontrin- court, and chiefly directing his attention to the fur- trade at Tadousac. • I ! ' I < rOlJNL»\TION OF gUEnK(. 38.-7 LUsle de le and a ut sixty ory injii- l was so produced of win- entirely od. To from the edient of )rovisions, rwater in me every svith vari- was the Infitness of of Pont- removed [rence, De lourt, who situation, lis patent |ad yet to ,he enter- him soon [i Pontr in- to the fur- The colony at Port Royftl encountered many dif- ficultie. I'RSULINK CONVENT. capital of New France subdued by the arms of England, just one hundred and thirty years before its final conquest by the celebrated Wolfe. — It did not however remain long in the hands of the English ; for at the treaty of St. Germains in 1632, not only Canada, but also Acadia and Capo Breton were resigned to the French King, by his royal brother-in-law King Charles the First. In 1633, the company of New France was re^ instated in all its rights, and Champlain again assumed the reins of government. He met with hiuch difficulty, in carrying many of his plans into execution ; in consequence of the opposition of Some tribes of Indians, which arose from his im- prudent alliances against the Iroquois. In 1635 Champlain died at Quebec, a city of which he might justly be called the father, as he was the founder ; and whose inhabitants mourned for his loss with a truly filial affection. He is called by the French Historian Charlevoix, "a true and faithful historian, an observant traveller, a judicious writer, an excellent geometrician, and a skilful mariner." Champlain was succeeded in the govern- ment of New France by M. De Montmagny. In 1639, Madame De la Peltrie, a pious Catholic lady of fortune, went to Quebec, accompanied by three Ursulines and la Jeune Superieure of the Jesuit mission into Canada. This good lady founded the Ursuline Convent at Quebec, and is said to have had such a zeal for the comfort and conversion of the native Canadians, that she actu- the arms of years before o'lfe. — It did ands of the Germains in la and Capo King, by his First. ance was re- iplain again le met with lis plans into pposition of mm his im- s. In 1635 'f which he he was the ned for his s called by 1 true and , a judicious d a skilful the govern- agny. »us Catholic npanied by ure of the good lady )ec, and is )mfort and t she actu- OENERAL WOLFE, 3S7 ally cultivated the earth with her own hands, to increase her means of doing good. In 1640, Maisonneuve, a gentleman of Cham- paigne, brought over several families to Montreal, the French King having vested the property of the whole island in thirty-five associates, of whom Maisonneuve was the chief. No event of any im- portance, relative to the settlement of Canada, took place from 1640 to 1685, at which period the whole white population of the country amounted only to 17,000 souls. In 1709, a plan was formed by Lord Sunder- land, then Secretary of State, for the subversion of the French power in Canada, Acadia, and New- foundland, but it either did not succeed, or was not carried into eifect. In the following year. Colonel Schugler sailed from New York to Eng- land, w^th a view to impress, on the minds of the British ministry, the necessity of adopting some vigorous measures for reducing Canada to the crown of Great Britain. He was accompanied by five Indian Chiefs, who gave assurances of their fidelity to Queen Anne, and earnestly solicited her assistance against their common enemies, the French. In 1759, the gallant Wolfe effected the conquest of Quebec; but it was not until the close of 1760, that Canada became entirely subject to the British arms. In 1763, a proclamation w-as issued by the King of Great Britain, declaring and describing the cc2 088 POPULATION, Ac. boundaries of the Province of Quebec ; and, im- mediately after, " in testimony of the royal sense and approbation of the conduct and bravery of the officers and soldiers of the army, and to reward the same," the Governors were empowered to grant lands, without fee or reward, to such re- duced officers and disbanded soldiers as had served in America during the late war. To a Field-officer ... 5,000 acres Captain 3,000 ditto. Subaltern or Staff-Officer ... 2,000 do. Non-commissioned officer ... 200 do. Private 50 do. On the subjugation of Canada, the whole popu- lation amounted to 60,000 souls^ In 1763, only four years after the reduction of Quebec, the exports from Great Britain to Canada amounted to £8,623 15c<;. lid. In 1776, Montgomery and Arnold, the Ameri- can Generals, made their unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. In 1783, the year in which the Revolutionary War terminated, Lower Canada contained a population of 113,000 souls, and Upper Canada 10,000. lii^ ?c; and, im- J royal sense aveiy of the 1 to reward powered to to such re- i had served )0 acres. »0 ditto. >0 do. >0 do. !0 do. v^hole popu- •eduction of 1 to Canada the Ameri- ittack upon /^olutionary )ntained a >er Canada LETTER XXII. LAWS AND CONSTITUTION OF THE TWO PROVINCES — OOTEANOR, LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS, AND HOUSE OF ASSEM- BLY IN LOWER CANADA — COURT OF APPEAL — DESCRIPTION OF THE BARRISTERS>— COMPLICATED NATURE OF THE LAWS OF THE LOWER PROVINCE— * THE VARIOUS TENURES BY WHICH LANDS ARE HELD IN CANADA— MANNER IN WHICH THE COUNTRY WAS FIRST SETTLED, AND THE CONDITIONS OF THE GRANTS BAIL AMPHITEOTIQUE, OR LONG LEASE— 'CENSIVE — LODS ST VENTES, OR FINES OF ALIENATION — FIEFS — QUINT ET RELI£F—- COM- MUNITE DE BIEN, OR CO-PARTNERSHIP IN MARRIAGE. Previous to the year I66O, although more than half a century had then elapsed since the settle- ment of Canada, the influence of law was entirely unknown in the country. The military authority was all which at that time existed, and even this was administered by the French governor or his lieutenant. The power of trying and condemning all persons, whatever their rank or condition in life might be, was his ; and his decisions, as might be expected, were not always favourable to the innocent, nor merciful to the guilty. His most arbitrary and extravagant commands were obeyed, without any question of their expediency, validity, or justice. In this deplorable situation of affairs^ cc3 390 COURTS OF JUSTICE. individuals were frequently imprisoned without even a shadow of delinquency, and were sen- tenced to some ignominious punishment without being permitted to rebut the accusations of their enemies. In 1660, a tribunal was appointed for the trial of all civil actions, and the costume de Paris formed the code by which its judgments were to be di- rected. This tribunal was in existence in 1769, when the country fell into the hands of the Eng- lish. From that period until 1774, the English laws, both in civil and criminal cases, were the only ones that were administered by the new government. It was, however, a cause of great dissatisfaction to the people, that they were go- verned by laws with which they were utterly unac- quainted; and no wonder, for they were admi- nistered by men aa familiar with English jurispru- dence as the Canadians themgelves! At Quebec and Three Rivers, officers of the army, whose education and previous habits had made them much more intimate with Champagne and Burgundy^ than with Coke and Blackstone, were appointed judges both in civil and in criminal affairs. In Montreal, the judges were selected from among the most respectable of the British population, — a race of men whom general Murray, in a letter to the Lords of Trade and Plantation, describes aa ** of mean education, who, having their fortunes to make, were not over solicitous about the means^ BO the end might b- secured ; in a word, as the most LAM'S AND GOVERNMENT. 391 d without were sen- it without IS of their the trial of ris formed to be di- 3 in 1769, ' the Eng- le English ,were the the new 3 of great were go- ierly unac- ere admi- jurispru- Lt Quebec y, whose lem much urgundyj appointed airs. In n among ation, — a I letter to ^eribes as fortunes he mean.s^ the most immoral set of men he ever knew." The French noblesse, who were numerous, and who piqued themselves on the antiquity of their families, on their own military glory, and on that of their ances- tors, were justly offended at having such persons deputed to govern them. They complained of injustice and oppression; and, for a long time, nothing but disorder and animosity reigned in the Province. In the year 1774, the British Parliament look the matter into serious consideration, and passed an Act, declaring all former provisions relating to the Province null and void, and directing that all future disputes about puopekty should be settled by the original laws of Canada, but that the laws of England should still be enforced in cuiminal CASES. This new act was productive of very favour- able consequences. The restoration of the costume cfe Paris, of ecclesiastical dixmes, and feudal obli- gations, satisfied the Canadians, and established the tranquillity of the country. ' '^'-4 Until 1791, the whole of the immense territory now comprised in Upper and Lower Canada, remained in this manner, under the designation of "the Province of Quebec." In 1791, the Quebec bill of 1774 was repealed, and another bill passed, declaring that the Colony should be divided into two dis- tinct governments ; and that separate legislatures^ formed on the principles of the British Constitu- tion, should be assigned to each of them. .^'i 392 OOVERN»fENT OF LOWER CANADA. The Government of Lower Canada is adminis- tered by a Governor, a Lieutenant-Governor, a Legislative and an Executive Council, and a House of Assembly. The Legislative Council consists of 26 mem- bers, who are appointed by a writ of Mandamus from the King. They must be natural-born sub- jects, persons naturalized, or such persons as have become subjects by the conquest and cession of the country. The members hold their seats for life, unless they remain absent from the country foi' more than four years, w^ithout having obtained the permission of his Majesty. The Executive Council consists of 13 mem- bers, who are also appointed by his Majesty. They exercise an authority over the aiTairs of the Province, exactly similar to that which is exer- cised by the Privy Council over the affairs of Great Britain. The House of Assembly at present consists of fifty members, who are chosen every four years by persons who are possessed of property to the clear yearly value of forty shillings. In cities or towns, the members are elected either by persons who pos- sess a tract of land therein of the clear yearly value of £5. ; or by those who have resided in the place twelve months previous to the issuing of a writ of summons. The criminal code of England extends to the Lower, as well as to the Upper Province. The laws s adminis- nvernor, a id a House 26 mem- Mandamus •])orn sub- H» as have don of the ,s for life, )untry foi' tained the 13 niera- Majesty. lira of the I is exer- s of Great consists of r years by the clear or towns, who pos- rly value the place a writ of Is to the I The laws JUDGES AND DARRISTERS. 393 are administered by two Chief Justices, a..d six puisne Judges, and an Attorney and Solicitor Ge- neral: Beside these, a provincial Judge is appointed for the District of Three Rivers; another, for the Inferior District of Gaspe ; and a Judge of the Vice-admiralty Court, who resides at Quebec. There is also A Couht of Appeal, in which the Governor presides, with the assistance of his Lieutenant, not less than five members of the Exe- cutive Council, and such of the law-officers as have had no cognizance of the previous trial. From the decision of this tribunal there is still an appeal to his Majesty in Council. So complicated are the laws, so indifferently understood, and so ill-defined, that law-suits are as numerous in every part of the country, as excom- munications and indulgences were in England in the early days of Henry the Eighth. The Judges, who are, for aught I know, well-meaning men and upright in their profession, do not appear to possess much of that extensive knowledge and profound erudition, which so eminently distinguish such cha- racters in England. The Barristers are not deeply read in the laws ; for they have but few opportu- nities of improving themselves, being either natives of the country, or enterprizing young men from Gneat Britain and Ireland, who, finding it impossible to procure a respectable livelihood in any other way, have embraced the profession of the law without any previous course of study to qualify them for such an important employment, except 394 LA M'.bTU DENTS. I:i what is barely sufficient to oniiilo them in Canada to the appellation of ** professional men," which would be more descriptive if reversed into " men of profession." The forms of proceeding are so vague and undefined, that it is very difficult, and particularly for strangers, to obtain advice which may be confided in, ever, from the most eminent amongst them ; — a state of things in which various suits have their origin, and are followed by their consequent evils. To say the truth, the study of the law in Canada is exceedingly perpleiing; and the want of a regular University, or some other kind of Seminary, in which the mind might be early familiarized with the first broad principles of juris- prudence, renders it a very hard matter for young men, however industrious and clever, to arrive at eminence in the profession, I^; acquiring a com- petent knowledge of all the codes, ordinances^ statutes, and declarations, by which the Province is governed, such intense application would be re- quired as few persons are able or willing to bestow, at an advanced period of life, and after their atten- tion has for many years been engrossed by perhaps equally laborious pursuits ; and to this cause, pro- bably, more than to any want of natural talent in the Canadian lawyers of British origin, may their general incompetency be imputed. The laws by which Lower Canada is governed, are the Costume de Paris, or " Custom of Paris," as it existed in France in the year 1666, — the " Civil or Roman Law," in cases where the Custom ?' I i f ! CANADIAN JURISPRUDENCE. .•ws in Canada n," which tito " men ing are so Roult, and rice which it eminent ich various d by their le study of >j:;ng; and ?oaie other rht be early es of juris- ' for young arrive at ing a com- srdinances, Province )uld be re- to bestow, leir atten- )y perhaps sause, pro- 1 talent in may their governed, of Paris," 666,— the e Custom of Paris is silent, — the edicts, declarations and or- dinances of the French Governors of Canada, — the Acts of the British Parliament passed concerning Canada, — and by the English Criminal Law intoto. This complication of laws is at present absolutely necessary for the peaceable government of the country : But how much better would it have been, for the present and future inhabitants of Canada, if the English Law, in civil as well as in criminal cases, had been continued in force from its first introduction into the Province ! The laws, as they are now administered, may be classed under four distinct heads, — the Criminal, Civil, Commer- cialand Maritime. The Criminal Law, to which both the French and the British are subject, is wholly English. " The Civil Law, or compound of laws regarding property, is taken from the Costume de Parisy from the civil law of the Romans, and from such edicts, declarations and ordinances as were at any time made by the French Governors of Canada. These laws embrace a great variety of subjects, particu- larly the feudal tenures, seignories, feifs and estates, held nobly or by villanage, moveable or immove- able property, marriage-dowers, and community of property between man and wife." The Commercial Law relates only to mercantile transactions, and is regulated nearly in. the same manner as in England, except that in such cases there is no trial by jury. The Maritime Law, or court of Vice Admiralty, is wholly English. 8fH) TUB TliNLHi; OF LAND. ■ III Upper Canada, all lands obtained from tho crown are held in free and common soccage ; but, in the Lower Province, all lands granted by the French Kings are held under the feudal tenures. When the colony was first settled, extensive grants of land, called " seigniories,'* were made to officers of tho army, or to such other influential characters as possessed sufficient interest to procure them. The Seigneurs were generally noblesse of small fortune ; and, being unacquainted with agri- culture, and not very partial to its calm pursuits, were never much disposed to undertake the culti- vation of their extensive Canadian estates. They therefore assigned a great portion of their seigni- ories to those soldiers who evinced a disposition to continue in the country, and to such other emigrants as w^ere favourably recommended to them. The quantity of land ceded to each of these persons, amounted to about 240 acres, commencing at the banks of the St. Lawrence, with a front of three nacres in breadth, and running back into the coun- try to a length of about eighty acres. The con- ditions upon which these grants were made, were, that the Seigneur should receive a quit-rent for ever, together with a small annual rent, usually between 2s. 6d. and 5s., and certain trifling articles of domestic consumption, such as a pair of fowls, a goose, or a bushel of wheat. The grantees were also bound to grind their corn at the Moulin Ban- nal, or the Lord's Mill, where a fourteenth is taken for the Lord's use, as mouline, or payment for grinding. In this manner, the great mass of TIfB TENUKK OF LAND. 3J>7 from tho cage ; but, ted by the tenures. extensive vero made influential to procure noblesse of with agri- m pursuits, J the culti- tes. They tieir seigni- sposition to |r emigrants lem. The se persons, 3ing at the nt of three the coun- The con- ade, were, t-rent for t, usually ng articles r of fowls, tees were ulin Ban- Irteenth is payment It mass of the Canadians hold their land ; but many farms are held by various other tenures, particularly by that of bail amphiteotiqvey or long lease of 20, 30, 40, or an) number of years, subject also to a small annual rent. But the most grievous restriction, under which the Canadians labour with respect to the tenure of their lands, is that which compels them to pay to the Seigneur what are termed " lods el ventes,^^ or fines of alienation on all mutations of property enroture. By this law, if an estate changes its proprietors half a dozen times in a year, the Seigneur is entitled on every mutation to receive one-twelfth of the whole purchase-money; which one-twelfth, be it remembered, must be paid by the new purchaser, and is exclusive of the sum agreed to be given to the actual proprietor. To preclude the possibility of practising any fraud upon the Seigneur, he has the privilege of purchasing the property himself, for the price stipulated between the parties, if he be of opinion, that it is less than the actual value of the property, and choose to exercise this prero- gative within forty days from the announcement of sale. Fief is an estate held on conditions of fealty and homage, and certain rights payable by the grantee to the Lord cf whom the fief is held. These rights are quinle and relief: The former is the fifth part of the purchase-money, and must be paid on every transfer of the property by sale, or what may be esteemed equivalent to sale. The only property which is exempt from the payment 3i)8 TIIK TENURE OF LAND. of this charge, is that which changes its proprietors in the line of hereditary succession. If the quinU is paid immediately by the purchaser, it entitles him to the rehat, or a reduction of two-thirds of the quinte. " Iielief\%i\\e revenue of one year due to the Lord for certain mutations ; — thus, if a fief comes to a vassal by succession in the direct line, there is nothing due to the Seigneur, except fealty and homage ; — but if in the collateral line, then a fine is paid to the Lord by the new proprietor, on his taking up the estate so lapsed, or fallen, by the death of the late tenant. To prevent any fraud, the feudal Lord has also the power of taking the property to himself for the sum for which it is alleged to be sold." The succession to fiefs is different from that of property held en roture or by villenage. Under the former tenure, the oldest son, if there are more than two, is entitled to the chateau, or principal mansion- house, with an acre of the garden adjoining there- unto, and half the real estate, with all mills, presses, or ovens erected on the whole of the premises. The remaining property is equally divided among the heirs, if they exceed two ; but if there are only two, the elder has a right to twq- thirds of the fief, the mansion-house, &c, ; and the younger, to the remaining third. If the oldest son dies without issue, the next does not succeed to his part of the estate ; but it is equally divided among the surviving heirs. t .f COALMUNITY OF PROPERTV. 3J)9 roprictors the quintt it entitles i-thirds of o the Lord lomes to a , there is fealty and hen a fine ;or, on his en, by the any fraud, taking the i^hich it is m that of Under the more than l1 mansion- lin^ there-' all mills, le of the s equally two ; but it to twp- and the I oldest son leed to his led among In Canada, a married man cannot dispose of his estate, without the consent of his wife ; for she is entitled by her marriage-rights to one half of the property possessed by her husband, and also to a similar division of all property which may subse- quently become his in the direct line of inheritance. This is called " the customary dower," to distin- guish it from the stipulated dower, which is a sum of money sometimes laid apart for the wife in lieu of the customary dower. If the wife outlives her husband, she has no power to will or otherwise to dispose of her dower, as it falls to the children of her first husband. This community of property between man and wife, is often a source of very bad consequences. When the wife dies without a will, her children have the power of claiming their mother's division of the family-estates; however expedient it may be for the father to hold it, that the younger branches of the family may be suitably maintained and educated. It not unfrequently happens, that tradesmen, finding it convenient to balance their creditors' accounts, by an entry on the friendly side oi profit and loss, afterwards carry on business in the name of their wives, but not without strong suspicion that a community of property still exists between them. It is very unsafe to purchase property in Canada, unless the sale is effected by the agency of a sheriff, whose notification of sale clears it from all incum- brances and uncertainty. r ..' LETTER XXIII. LAWS AND GOVERNMENT OF UPPER CANADA — DESCRIPTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES —. ELECTIONS — ANECDOTE— THE PROVINCIAL fPARLIAMENT MORE RESPECTABLE THAN IN FORMER DAYS COURT OF KIN.G's BENCH— DISTRICT COURTS—* COURTS OF REQUEST —< GENERAL CHARACTER OF JURORS-— JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. M. In Upper Canada the form of government is exactly similar to that of the sister Province. The Legislative Council at present consists of seventeen members, appointed, as in Lower Canada, by Mandamus from the King, according, I presume, to the recommendation of the Lieutenant- Governor. The members of this assembly are the most respectable persons in the Province, the members of the Executive Council excepted, who are men of exactly the same rank in life. All these are dignified with the title of " Honourable," and are perhaps the only body of men in the country that would not disgrace the appellation. They are not only men of moderate property and respect- able literary acquirements, in the American accep- tation of these terms, but also men who can boast of as much integrity as is commonly the lot of ** American Nobility," if the term maybe allowed. i. > -: i HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. 401 SCniPTION OP - ANECDOTE BLE THAN IN ICT COURTS— JF JURORS — eminent is rince. nt consists in Lower ccording, I jieutenant- sembly are )vince, the jpted, who All these able," and he country They are d respect- can accep- ) can boast the lot of )e allowed. The Executive Couxcil consists of only six members, the majority of whom are likewise mem- bers of the Legislative Council. The House OF Representatives, or Commons, is composed of forty members, who are a " motley crew" of all nations, trades, and professions, from the dusky blacksmith to the plodding lawyer. To an European, accustomed to consider " members of Parliament" as men of distinguished rank, eminent abilities, and splendid fortune, a Canadian " House of Assembly" exhibits a most ludicrous appearance, and awakens in the mind none of those dignified and patriotic feelings which the consciousness of living under an enlightened legislature cannot fail to inspire. In Canada, instead of men of rank, fortune, and talents, you behold blacksmiths, tailors, tavern-keepers, and lawyers, debating the grave and important matters of State, in lan- guage graced with all the technicalities of their various professions, from which also they gene- rally borrow apt and edifying illustrations. Their discussions are very seldom interesting; bui if they fail to please by the want of variety in mat- ter or of elegance of diction, that is partly counter- balanced by the diversity of sounds, and the sin- gularity of the sentiments which they convey. At one time the bold and masculine eloquence. The long majestic march, and energy divine of Vulcan; falls like a train of thunder-claps upon the ear. At another time you have the effeminate Vol I. Dd 402 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. oratory of an humble tailor, which so nearly resembles Dying winds and waters when they gently meet, that strangers have to regret the circumstance of Mr. Snip's being " frequently inaudible below the bar," in consequence of which they lose the thread of his discourse. — The debate is continued by " mine host of the Garter," or of some other tavern, whose obsequious rhetoric, and well-fed countenance, can- not fail to point him out to the spectators, as ** Mr. Boniface," who half an hour before appeared at " the bar," — but not oithe House, — The insinuating lawyer appears at intervals, and being accustomed to play with considerable felicity upon words, as a good musician with a bad instrument, he con- trives, with the bass of the blacksmith, the tenor of the tailor, and the counter of the shop-keeper, to produce something like music from these jarring strings, and to give a sort of harmonious consist- ency to the otherwise rugged debate. He is very diligent in maintaining the forms and privileges of the House, and is the " Te Duce*^ of the assembl} . In Great Britain and Ireland, literary talents, family influence, and government interest, are the only things which afford a man any well-founded hopes of being selected to represent his country- men in that honourable House,^ — the British Senate. But in the Canadas, literary talents are rarely to be found ; and, if found, are seldom properly appre- ciated^ or regarded as qualifications essential to the HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. 403 so nearly meet, cumstance ! below the the thread [ by " mine em, whose lance, can- 's, as (( Mr. ppeared at insinuating iccustomed I words, as it, he con- the tenor keeper, to |ese jarring us consist- He is very |rivileges of assembly. . ,ry talents, |st, are the ill-founded |s country- ish Senate. |arely to be rly appre- tial to the discharge of public duties : And as to famihj infiu- encBf or government interest^ in a country where few can trace their genealogy farther back than to their own birth-place, and in which there is little for the government to give and less to take away, I do not imagine that much can be done by virtue of either. It may then be asked, " By what means *' do gentlemen in Canada obtain a seat in the repre- ** sentative body of the country ?" This is a ques- tion, which I once put to a gentleman well ac- quainted with Canada; and his reply, though laugh- able, was certainly not without some foundation in truth. He said, ** It generally happens, that in *' every county four or five persons at least become " candidates for this honour. These persons are *' usually country-shopkeepers, village-lawyers, " and upstart tavern-keepers : If a shop-keeper, " who gives liberal credit, appears on the hustings, he is sure to be elected ; but if no such person presents himself, the freeholders invariably select the greatest fool in the lot, consoling themselves " with the idea, that though he may do but little ** good, he can do no harm." — This answer, how singular soever it may appear, is probably the best that could be returned to such a question ; for if the freholders of both Upper and Lower Canada were not influenced by some extraordinary ideas on the subject of legislation, most of the members who now compose the representative body of these Provinces, would have been left at home to sell their brandy, to measure the corporations of their dd2 it i( ti 404 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. I • I customerH, or to learn their alphabets, — pursuits far more congenial to their previous habits, and better fitted for the display of their capabilities, than the exalted station of profound legislators. There are, however, S3veral members in the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, whose learning and eloquence would not disgrace even the British Parliament. The Attorney General and Dr. Baldwin, — the one, member for the town and the other for the county of York, — are men of very respectable talents. Dr. Baldwin is an Irishman by birth, and a Lawyer by profession ; notwithstanding which, I have frequently heard him named as the only honest man in the Province ; and he is familiarly, and, I believe, justly, styled, "the upright Lawyer." Colonel Sherwood, Mr. J. Wilson, Mr. Hagerman, Mr. Jones Jones, and Colonel Nichols, are members of considerable abilities ; although, of these, Messrs. Sherwood, Hagerman, and Jones only, are men of education. All three are eminent Lawyers, and Mr. Hagerman undoubtedly possesses many of the qualities which belong to a distinguished orator. The other members, with one or two exceptions, are destitute both of natural and acquired talents, and, in my judgment, are much better adapted to dig canals for the benefit and improvement of the Province, than to frame laws for its government. Nature certainly never designed them for the latter high occupation, but has admirably fitted them for the former. What a pity they should counteract ! .i POPULAR ELECTIONS. 4(>5 — pursuits labits, and ilitiesjlhan rs. ers in the ia, whose grace even )y General p the town , — are men dwin is an profession ; ntly heard lan in the I believe, Colonel rman, Mr. [embers of ise, Messrs. are men of [wyers, and lany of the [led orator, xceptions, ed talents, adapted to ent of the (vernment. the latter Id them for counteract her wise provisions! Yet it may be gratifying to those who rejoice in the progressive improvement of our colonies, to learn, that, notwithstanding the almosv lotal absence of literary information, the great majority of the House of Assembly are now able to read the bills which come before them, with tolerable ease, — particularly when they are printed in a large type. Many also, who cannot yet write their own names, are advancing in their knowledge of penmanship, and have acquired con- siderable skill in making their significant y^ marks. It is, moreover, confidently expected, that, as night-schools are becoming common in every part of the country, those members who have hitherto received no education will avail themselves of the opportunities which now exist, and will be able by the next or following session to read for their own information the written journals of the House. The elections in the Upper Province are very laughably conducted. I have attended one or two, and was much entertained with the variety of sub- jects which occupied the attention of the candi- dates, each of whom is expected to afford a speci- men of his oratorical powers, before the opening of tJie poll. By listening to these inaugural orations, a stranger becomes intimately convers- ant with the circumstances and dispositions of the respective competitors. The first person who stands up to speak, usually gives a brief outline of the most striking features in the lives and characters of his antagonists ; and if their fathers have been DDd ■ li: \ 40G POPULAR ELECTIONS. false in their loyalty, or their mothers " frail in virtue," this foremost orator never fails to inform his constituents of the circumstance, in the most good-natured manner imaginable, but in language the most obnoxious and undisguised. His antago- nists in their turn retaliate, and discharge, with all the skill of moral artillery- men, whole vollies of scandal, not only against him who had the auda- city to draw the first trigger, but also against every unoffending individual, either absent or pre- sent, who has the misfortune to be ever so remotely allied to the first speaker. In the afternoon, they drink whisky and dine together, without any allu- sion being made to the transactions of the morn- ing; and the evening is generally spent, as the newspapers say, " in the utmost hilarity and good- humour." It is said to be a prevailing custom, with candi- dates for a seat in the Provincial Parliament, to study their addresses for several days previous to the election, with much attention to the language as well as to the gesticulation. To acquire a greater proficiency in both, and that they may enjoy a wider scope for exercise, they not unfre- quently stroll out into some of the fields which are strewed over with decaying stumps ; and, assuming an elevated situation amongst them, address these venerable trunks on the important s objects of Free Election and Parliamentary Reform. It is greatly to be regretted, that these gentlemen do not pos- sess the power of fascination to an equal extent 1 1 ; ( I AN ELECTION STORY. 407 " frail in I to inform . the most n language lis antago- arge, with [lole vollies d the auda- Iso against lent or pre- !o remotely noon, they at any allu- the morn- )ent, as the f and good- with candi- iiament, to previous to e language acquire a they may not unfre- |s which are , assuming idress these cts of Free i is greatly |do not pos- ual extent with the Thracian bard ; for it would be an easy mode of clearing the forest land, if half a dozen of these embryo parliament-men, on rehearsing their intended addresses in the solitary wilds, were, at the same time, like Orpheus, to march towards the sea or the river, followed by all the leafy tribe within hearing, and Charm'd with the music of their notes mellifluous. A few days previous to the election which took place on the demise of his late Majesty, a tavern-keeper in the county of W h, who intended to offer himself as a candidate for its representation, was observed to walk up and down his house in a very unusual manner, alternately extending his arms, and uttering a number of incoherent expressions. After this singular de- portment had been observed for some time, a gentleman who was a boarder in the house, and from whom I received my information, began to entertain a fear lest his host was fast approaching to a state of mental derangement. Full of this notion, he determined to watch him attentively. One day perceiving the landlord walk out into the fields, and supposingfromthetenour of his beha'>.'?.our that he might have some fatal design upon himself, my informant very humanely followed him at a distance, taking care however to conceal himself as much as possible by keeping close to the edge of the woods. The young man felt considerable anxiety, which was continually heightened by the strange 408 AN ELECTION ISTOUV. gealiculatiuns of hia host, who, as he pussecl slowly onward, assumed a thousand ridiculous attitudes, and employed an equal variety of the most laugh- able expressions. He resolved, therefore, to make as near an approach to him as he could without being espied, that he might be ready, if occasion required, to prevent the commission of any rash act which, from the increasing violence of the symptoms, he thought he had substantial reasons to apprehend. After some time he succeeded in hiding himself behind a hay-stack, where he could distinctly hear tKe oration of this modern Demos- thenes, who, when he had gained a sufficient emi- nence to enable him to overlook the heads of his numerous and respectable audience, began with most stupendous eloquence to address the stumps. In language peculiarly adapted to the subject, he commenced his oration, by entreating them to divest themselves of all prejudices, and to think only of electing from the various candidates an honest, in- dependent patriot to represent them in the House of Assembly. He alluded in terms the most pathetic to the lamented death of their late glorious, pious and immortal sovereign; which mournful event had given them once more an opportunity of ex- ercising their elective franchise ; and was in the act of telling them how necessary it was for them, in the sober exercise of this their distinguished privilege, to lay aside the rancour of party-feeling and all cor- rupt views, — when his guest, no longer able to suppress a hearty laugh, rushed from behind the ' t PAHLIAMENTARY SALARIES. 400 (\ slowly ■iltitudes, st laugh- , to make [ without occasion any rash le of the il reasons ceeded in he could 1 Demos- jient emi- ids of his gan with e stumps, ubject, he 1 to divest t only of lonest, in- 3 House of t pathetic ous, pious ful event ity of ex- in the act them, in privilege, d all cor- V able to ehiud the hay-stack, and declared to the astonished tavern- keeper and orator, that the lifeless stumps had heard him with fixed attention, and had not raised a single dissentient voice. " Judging, therefore," he said, " according to the rule, that silence gives " consent^ you may rest satisfied that, from the ** maple to the poplar, all the trees of the wood " entertain a very high sense of your fitness to be " their representative, and Vvill certainly support " you to the utmost of their power." — The effect which this unexpected intrusion had upon the diligent candidate, may be easily imagined: No doubt, it answered all the purposes of an elecric shock, and effectually cured him of his Parliamen- taiy mania. The Parliament of Upper Canada is, however, much more respectable now, than it was twenty or even ten years ago : But much is still wanting to render a seat in it an enviable distinction. Each of the members receives two dollars per diem during his attendance in the House, — beside a certain allowance for travelling expences, amounting, I believe, to ten shillings for every twenty miles. This expence is defrayed by direct taxation ; and though it does not amount to more than sixpence from each freeholder, it is accounted by mcny a grievance of no small magnitude. But it is in some sort unavoidable ; for if there were no such allowance, I am inclined to think there could not be a dozen persons found in the Province, who would undertake the duties of a representative. 410 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. The people are all too actively employed in ordi- nary life, to spend both their time and money in legislating for their neighbours, without receiving an equivalent. Indeed, if they were not allowed this little pittance, many of the members would not be able to muster cash enough for the purchase of a sufficient quantity of Day and Martin, for the polish of their boots during the shortest session. Until 1820, the debates were not published ; but since that period, two Irishmen, Carey and Col- lins, who are excellent stenographers, have been employed at an annual salary, to report, revise, correct, and publish the speeches. When they are thus skilfully got up and prepared, a man of a gentle, patient, and long-suffering disposition, if he were anxious for information on any of the sub- jects of debate, might perhaps joert^e them without doing any great violence to his feelings : But to be doomed to listen to the delivery of them during a whole session, would be a much severer punish- ment, to a man of good taste and cultivated mind, than seven years' transportation to Van Dieman's Land. For the administration of civil justice in Upper Canada, there is a Court of King's Bench, with a Chief Justice and two puisne Judges, an Attorney and Solicitor-Genera?, a District Court with a Judge for every District, and a Court of Requests over which the Magistrates preside unassisted by any professional characters. The District Court is held quarterly in the THE DISTRICT COURT. 411 1 in ordi- money in receiving t allowed rs would purchase n, for the ession. hed ; but and Col- ^ave been t, revise, hen they man of a osition, if f the sub- i without But to be during a punish' ed mind, iDieman's in Upper I, with a ittorney with a [Requests iisted by in the Assize Town of each District ; and the Court of Re