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A DIGEST OF VOLUMI-: I. Ol' "I'«R()M IWDDLE 
 
 ^\ TO pr()pi:itt-:r." 
 
 Bv Aktiiuk AVkik, !'.. A. S( 
 
 - \ 
 
 9/)/ 
 
 (Kkom ihk Srii i.\i C(pMMF,kLiAi Tkam-.i 
 
 Tlie tourist tiavelliiiif tlnmiiili ( 'aiiadi 
 
 ill H Piillnifin expiL'ss or tlio isalcon of 
 
 some spieiidiil river stuamer is usually 
 
 content to take tlie journejas he linds it, 
 
 askin<f no ((Uestions as to iiow Iiis foru- 
 
 fathers would liav( travelled. Hut sliouiit 
 
 lie join some young Canadian, whose 
 
 superb muscles insist on working during;- 
 
 his short vacation, and set out u[)on the 
 
 <)tt(«.wa river with "Birch and Paddle," 
 
 ^lid task and toi', a si)a('i: 
 To (n-caiii on Xaturo'ss fate. 
 
 and he told, as he encoinil^ered rapid after 
 rapid and cataract on cataract, that such 
 was the hiiihway of travel and merchan- 
 dise to the Fai' West mitil half a cen- 
 tury ajjo, '•'■ Viiight marvel at the energy 
 and ent e of those who overcame 
 
 such oh. .v ami he pi-epared to admire 
 
 the men wlic h.ive replaced the catMn; by 
 the ciinal an*', the tiiiineau hy the tr.im. 
 TI;v; path l)y which he and his com- 
 rade porlaj^e theircanoe p.ast some tumult 
 of Waters l)ears. p(iha[)s, traces still of 
 iiaving been threaded years before. 'I'he 
 place wliere they landed, now thi' un- 
 disturbed haunt of Nature, to which ilie 
 deer comes down todriid< at dewy ii,otn,or 
 from which theloon,L(t!nius of tlie.-.olitude, 
 piped its eerie call ere, diving, it left 
 them in ])ossession, was once the scene 
 of noise and l)ustle, of cheery sound .•iiid 
 <|uick commands as some biii;ade of iioats 
 bound for tlie (Uvd Lakes pusiu'd their 
 prows ashore and stahvart, active, sun- 
 burned voya<_;eurs lea))in<>- out shouldered 
 their bales of niiu'ly pounds and threaued 
 the then well trodden path o\er lontort- 
 ed gneiss, or tiirnu'_;h the sylvan aisles. 
 to the ipiiet w.itei' alio' •. 
 
 Tt is, indeed, wonilerfnl to thiidc tluit, 
 with the very slightest engineering assist- 
 ance, the Freiieli. for o\or a century, 
 Civrried on a tralHc by no UiCius small 
 
 .I'.Ks \rMii];i< 1. 1- ■• Ihk Mi-.'vai.i>," igyj) 
 
 ;IirougIiour what is now tlie Dominion of 
 Caii.tda, and left to the IJrirish iiut 
 little in the way of geographical dis- 
 covery. Not even the Kocky Mountains 
 would have arrested the adventurous 
 foot of the coiiriei- des hois or the jiriest. 
 "M.iii is sto[iped by man alone," says tlie 
 adage, and so it was in Canada. La- 
 verendrye"s grand progress in search of 
 :he Western sea was stopped only by the 
 wild tiibes he encountered. During the 
 entire French regime the only improve- 
 ment in waterways was the ill-fated 
 Lachine canal begun in 17<10 by Catalogue 
 for T)e Casson, Superior of the Seminary. 
 Champlain, it is true, had erected crosses 
 on the Ottawa in lOl.'J, but more fiu- 
 devotional jiurposes ths'u as land- 
 marks. The St. liawrenco had been 
 charted, as well as the Gulf, between 
 iT2;{ and 17.57, and a few landm.irks made 
 on its banks for .seagoing vessils, for 
 whose guidance also the first lighthouse 
 in C.inada w;is erected at Louisburg in 
 IT.'W, being extinguished only with the 
 glory ot France in the New World. Be- 
 tween tjiieliee .ind iMontreal land coin- 
 iiiunicati'.)!! had lieeii established as early 
 as ITl.'i and 17^1 and a n.ad made, pa.ss- 
 ing through Three Flivers, which was 
 open for vehicles by I7.1(i and completed 
 by 2 7.'>H. This road, long the only post 
 road in (.'aiiada, w;is with that lH;tweeii 
 ALontreal and I.,acliine, and one in Acadia 
 froiii Ciimberl.-ind to Bale Verie, the only 
 ones in French Canada, e.\ce))t around 
 the towns and at a few portages. Talon, 
 the wise, had conleiii[)lated a road, to 
 Acadia, luit this was too great an ficcoin- 
 plishment m-en for the man who had 
 opened trade with tlie West Indies and 
 who had essayed to establish maniifac- 
 luies in Canada. 
 
 When tJreat Britain secured control of 
 

 2 
 
 Canada prompt effor '\ were made to 
 establish communica. jti between the 
 various centres. The route to Acadia 
 was surveyed in 1701, as well as that of 
 historic memory to New England via the 
 Chaudiere and Kennebec. In 17«9 the 
 merchants of Quebec petitioned for a 
 road to Pert Halifax in New England. 
 The Riche'.ieu r(»ute, .316 miles from Lti- 
 chine to Albany, and the route by the St. 
 Lawrence, lake Ontario, Oswego, Onon- 
 daga, etc., 420 miles long, were other 
 routes in use. 
 
 The first roads under British rule seem 
 to have been to New England. By 1770 
 a portion from Gloucester Co., N.Y., to 
 Lake Champlahi, was begun by private 
 subscription, but it was not until 1790 
 that New York State opened a n-ul from 
 Lake George to the boundary. In the 
 winter of 1780 Capt. Rogers occupied 38 
 days in passing from New York to St. 
 John's, Que. The Chambly Canal ! d 
 been proposed by Silas Deano about 
 1785. His argument contains data 
 whereby it is found that no fewer than 
 2,000 waggon loads of merchandise passed 
 by this route annually. The proposal was 
 again brought forward in 1791 by Adam 
 Lymburner, and in 1796 hy Ira Allan . 
 It was not, however, until after the 
 union of the Canadas that the canals 
 were finished, although after the war of 
 1812 a company was ftirmed for the pur- 
 pose. A fine stage line for the times 
 was opened between Montreal and New 
 York by way of the Eastern Townships 
 in 1832, the route being through Hunt- 
 mgdon from Chateauguay Basin to Fort 
 Covington, where connection was made 
 with the stage for Ogdensburg. 
 
 While speaking of stage coaches, a few 
 words will not be out of place regarding 
 the stage between Montreal and Quebec, 
 Let us embark with Mr. J. M. LeMoine, 
 the genial historian and President of 
 Canada's Royal Society, upon one of 
 these coaches, red or blue, according to 
 the day and line, which is now drawn up 
 this winter dawn, say Anno Domini 1852, 
 before the Albion Hotel, Palace Street, 
 or Schleup's Hotel (now St. Louis), in 
 St. Louis Street, Quebec. The sleigh is 
 covered and has seats for four. If the 
 wind bites keenly as we pass the city 
 gates WG draw the curtains, but there is 
 st>mething exhilerating in the swift glide 
 of the runners, crisping the snow under 
 them, and in the jingle of the bells 
 
 which the two stout Canadian ponies 
 toss as they dash along on the first stage 
 to St. Augustin. But by the time Three 
 Rivers is reached, namely nine in the. 
 evening, we are quite ready for fire, hot 
 toddy and bed, and not sorry to i-eaoh 
 Montreal, weather permittnig, the next 
 night, having paid our ten dollars for the 
 journey and our extras for bed and 
 board. Next year we propose to go via 
 Grand Trunk, which will then be ouen. 
 The American revolution by compelling 
 British North America to depend on its 
 own routes, and also by sending large 
 numbers of Loyalists to settle Ontnrio 
 and New Brunswick, gave quite an im- 
 petus to the opening up of highways, and 
 the improvement of waterways. The 
 communication between Quebec and Hali- 
 fax via New York was supplimented by 
 one via the St. Lawrence in summer and 
 its south shore in winter. The route l»y 
 water to Kamouraska, thence inland ^o 
 Jake Temisquata, the Madawaska and St. 
 John was also followed in summer, and 
 a road was made at the Temisquata port- 
 age after the war. The couriers who 
 carried dispatches by this route before 
 the road was made received their hundred 
 dollars per tri]), and earned it well. 
 
 No royal authority could shorten the 
 weary stretch of miles between Quebec 
 •ind Kamouraska nor lift the chill fogs 
 which rolled their instantaneous curtain 
 along the almost uninhabited and always 
 perilous shores ; no " open sesame " 
 could procure a royal road through the 
 devious paths threading the wilderness, 
 over mountain peak, by sombre valleys, 
 strewn thick with fallen and decayed trees 
 and sown with almost impenetrable 
 thickets, by deep morass or barren tracts 
 of sand. The king's courier inspired no 
 awe in the wild beast whose eye fol- 
 lowed his solitary figure through the de- 
 solate forest ; and in winter hunger 
 dogged his footsteps, and the gaunt wolf 
 howled upon his track. The wind scream- 
 ed through the leafless boughs and the 
 snow lay treacherously deep, while the 
 only human being he was likely to meet 
 was the equally merciless Indian. Woe 
 to him if he lost his way in some blindin<,' 
 snowstorm, or if the breath of wiiiter 
 reached his marrow ; that snow would bo 
 liis wjudiiig sheet, the wind his only re- 
 quiem! 
 
 Even after the road was made, a cor- 
 duroy which took hills as a jumper takes 
 
fences, wnd slid down into valleys like a 
 toboggp,n, the traveller had a pretty hard 
 time oi it, but the journey was reduced 
 front a month to a fortnight, and the 
 change was regarded as satisfactory. 
 
 It is true tliat a corduroy road is 
 somewhat jolty, true also that adverse 
 winds might detain the voyageur a few 
 days at Temisquata lake ; true that the 
 Madawaska is a stream with some impedi- 
 ments and that the St. Jolw, into which 
 it tiows, has impediments also ; it is true 
 tiiat it is not pleasant to float about the 
 Bay of Fundy in an open boat, surround- 
 ed by a fog and at tlie mercy of the fur- 
 ious tides between Fort Howe and Anna- 
 polis, but when Annapolis was reached 
 the traveller wa,^ within measurable dis- 
 tance of his destination and ran no risk 
 of losing his way since the road, though 
 confessedly bad, was the only ono in 
 Nova Scotia worthy of the name. Besides, 
 one always felt his scalp safe when Anna- 
 polis was gained, and it is a source of 
 discomfort to the most enthusiastic 
 traveller to think that he may be mur- 
 dered for his samples, as were poor 
 McNeil and his guide in 1784, about 
 thirty-six miles below Kamouraska. 
 
 The Kempt or Old Military road, so 
 called to distinguish it from the Meta- 
 {)ediac road was completed in 1832. It 
 struck across from Metis to Baie des 
 Chaleurs. It was neither macadamized 
 nor planked, and was traversed in winter 
 on sriowshoes or dog sleds, in which 
 primitive manner the mail service of tliat 
 [»art of Quebec was conducted for over 
 thirty years. 
 
 If Halifax a hundred years ago was 
 twice as far away as is London to-day, 
 how far off was Toronto, now readied in 
 a night from Montreal? It was in 1799 so 
 far away from every other part of Ontario 
 that the Legislature could not be con- 
 vened in winter. There was Yonge 
 Street, of course, begun in 1793, and ex- 
 tended to lake Huron in 1796. Dundas 
 Street had just been proposed by Asa. 
 Danforth and was to be completed in 
 1800. Lieut. -Gov. Hunter had been 
 able in 1799 to say that a "tolerable" 
 road had been completed to the Quebec 
 boundary, but it was not until 1801 that 
 t.te idea of a regular frequent mail be- 
 tween the two provinces coold be enter- 
 toined. In 1797 there was only one winter 
 express, going from Quebec and Montreal 
 to Detroit via Niagara. 
 
 Ther^ was, nevertheless, a large vol 
 ume of through trade in summer from 
 Montreal to the great lone land beyond 
 Ontario. Voyageurs of the North West 
 Conjpany were coming and going in their 
 bateaux between Montreal and Grand 
 Portage, at the head of Lake Superior, 
 sometimes by the St. Lawrence route, 
 but more frequently by way of the Ot- 
 tawa. The rapids in the St. Lawrence 
 were very troublesome, but those in the 
 Ottawa were even more so, and the 
 voyageurs who followed the latter route 
 were given double pay and the crews were 
 double in number. Benjamin Frobisher 
 said in 1785 that the <^)ttawa route was 
 "eminently dangerous lor the transport 
 of ;,'oods from the number of cataracts 
 and the length and rapidity of the river 
 not to mention the carrying places, which 
 from Montreal to lake Huron are up- 
 wards of forty in number, over which 
 the Canadians carry the goods and 
 canoes occasionally ; and it is to their 
 dexterity alone and the knowledge they 
 have of the management of canoes in 
 this particular branch of the inland busi- 
 ness, that so few accidents happen." The 
 (ntawa route, however, avoidid lakes 
 Erie and Ontario, debouching in Georg- 
 ian Bay, Lake Ontitrio. 
 
 The journey from Montreal to Grand 
 Portage lasted about two months, and 
 the costof transport averaged about $1,000 
 per batteau, the goods being worth about 
 $2,000 at Montreal, the charges of trans- 
 port from England being about fifty per 
 cent. also. Some ninety or ono hundred 
 canoes went west from Montreal each 
 season, and the furs brought down were 
 estimated to be worth £200,000 stg. or 
 about eight dollars per head of the popn- 
 lation. Four years were required to send 
 orders for goods to England, receive 
 them in Montreal, senu them west, ex- 
 change them for furs and sell the furs in 
 London. 
 
 Partly to accommodate this trade and 
 largely to facilitate transport of nmnitions 
 of war during the revolution, Capt. 
 Twiss, between 1779 and 1783, construct- 
 ed four canals at the rapids between 
 Lakes St. Louis and St. Francis, which 
 were enlarged and altered at the sugges- 
 tion of Col. Mann bet ween 1800 and 1»06, 
 and afterwards still further enlarged by 
 the Royal Staff Corps in 1817 to accom- 
 modate batteaux carrying from 80 to 1^ 
 barrels of flour. The Beaah^irnuis CaMd, 
 
to ovcrcoi.io the siime mpitls, whs ii..t 
 built until 1845. Pii„r to IHOO tlu! Loii..,^ 
 Siiult, nt Cornwall, was aseondud hy 
 luoansof two small lockH. Tp i„ the 
 I'nion, tmvolloi's for thu WoHt ascendeil 
 m stoiiinl)i)ats, takMng stagos to ])ass the 
 vnpids, whoro othur vessels awaited 
 theju. The cost of frei,;,dit from ^Montreal 
 to Prescott before the St. Lawrence can il 
 • system was )?l«i i)er ton, and !«!8 a<l(li- 
 tional to Niay,„.a. In spring as much as 
 WoO has been paid befoie the raHw.iy eni 
 f«jr the transport of a sin^lc ton bet'ween 
 Montreal anil Toronto. Freight ivites 
 seem also to have been based fre(jiiently 
 on the cost of transporting a keg of rum. 
 ^ hhortly after the war of 18l:i-l4 the 
 Candias began jointly and .severally to 
 consider the advisability of improving' 
 thier channels of intercomnui.ucatioir 
 VV liile (jrreat Uritain urged ihe eniploy- 
 inent of the historic (Jttawa, the pn.v- 
 ances favored the St. Lawrence, and En-'- 
 iand was left to complete tiie J{ide,ui 
 Nysteinat her own cost. The Lachine 
 Canal was (opened by Lower Canada in 
 182o, being followed in 182n by a i)rivate 
 company with the Welland. Thesecanals 
 were respectively 4.V and 8 feet deep 
 while the Rideau system, completed be- 
 fore the Union, varied from 5 to (iit feet 
 in depth. As Mr. Keefer says, ""The 
 Lachme Canal was a barge canal, used 
 in connection with the military canals of 
 theOttawa and Rideau route and the 
 VV elland a ship canal connecting Lakes 
 ilne and Ontario. Between these there 
 oxisted on the St. Lawrence no advance 
 111 heavy freight transi.ortation over that 
 of the batte.iu and Durham boat of 1804. 
 • . . All the heavy freight was sent 
 by the Ottawa fvud Rideau route to 
 Kingston. 
 
 iQAnT'" ."'^^'K'^*^!^" was introduced in 
 18Uy by the launching of the Accommo- 
 dation at Moncroal, to ply between that 
 city and Quebec. She was followed by 
 other steamboats, of which Hon. John 
 M'il.so>i had secured a 15 year monopoly 
 yntil cm the route were vessels liner than 
 in any other p.irt of America, althouWi 
 It was considered "famous" pro'^ress if 
 the ships made 21 miles in nine hours up 
 stream, with a wind astern. Thev 
 anchored each night, and were assisted 
 up St. Mary's current, by oxen. At 
 «r"n*''*^'^^ ''*'*" was engined the Royal 
 Wilham, built at Quebec, the first 
 vqssel to cross the Atlantic entire- 
 
 (li<l tvom 
 seventeen 
 
 ly l)y steam, which she 
 Halifax to (irave.send in 
 days in !8;{1. Steam had also been an"- 
 plied to land cirriage, and in 18.% the' 
 tirst railroad in Canada was opened from 
 Laprairie to St. Jolinv., Que., a route 
 over which in 1781 no one could be got 
 t(j carry the mails excei)t three tavern 
 keepers of the former place, who de- 
 manded in return the monopoly of li(jum. 
 selling in their town. The railway shut 
 down in winter, there being no traffic. A 
 horse railway from Queenston to Chip- 
 jiewa, 17 miles long ha<l been opened in 
 
 Canada bef )re the Union has been 
 taken for the sniiject of this article, be- 
 cause by 1841 almost the whole of Can- 
 ada's system of intercomnmnicatioii wa.s 
 outlined, that through the northwest ex- 
 -■epted. The Lachine and Welland canals 
 were opened and the Cornwall canal 
 partly huilt. The Richelieu Navigation 
 was also ))egun, and the Ottawa and 
 Rideau route completed. 
 
 Seventeen vessels were wrecked in the 
 lower St. Lawrence in 1840 and eighteen 
 m 1841, which shows how dangerous was 
 the route; but that some progress was 
 made in ocean shipping is shown by the 
 fact that while in 1764 the arrivals at 
 Quebec were 67 ships of 5,496 tons 
 aggregate and 568 men, the arrivals in 
 1841 were 1,221 ships, of 425,118 tons 
 and 1(5,443 men, the Unicorn plying be- 
 tween Quebec aud Nova Scotia was^ the 
 only steamer on that route. 
 
 In 1764 the Quebec Gazette's European 
 news was seventy days old, and it was 
 only ill 1787 that a monthly mail was 
 established between London and Halifax. 
 The fleet for Canada usually left London 
 towards the end of March or early in 
 April, a second fleet following in July, 
 ihe Quebec seoson apparently opened Ist 
 July and closed 1st October, a term of 
 three months, now greatly extended by 
 the excellent lighthouse and buoy .system 
 and improved slaps. 
 
 Thoso who have, like the writer, made 
 a. special study of the history of trans- 
 port facilities in Canada, will note many 
 omissions in the present article, as for 
 example, the early projicsals for the lake 
 St. Peter channel, harbor improvements, 
 proposeu canals, and an account of the 
 long struggle between the merchants and 
 the King's vessels for the right to navi- 
 gate the great lakes, a right denied tu 
 
 i|V| 
 
 • i 
 
 I 
 
flid fioiii 
 nbvoiitoen 
 I) l)oen iip- 
 i 18.% Mie 
 )uiio(l from 
 I., ft route 
 Lild be got 
 reo tiivern 
 , wlio de- 
 y of liciuor 
 ilvvfiy shut 
 > trnttic. A 
 » to Cliij)- 
 opoiied ill 
 
 liJvs been 
 rticlo, be- 
 lo of Ciiu- 
 ;atioii WHS 
 rhwest ex- 
 uid ciinals 
 mil c.'inal 
 'J^aviojition 
 ttiwii iind 
 
 :ed iu the 
 I eighteen 
 erous was 
 i;ress was 
 i^n by tlie 
 rrivals at 
 496 tons 
 rrivals in 
 ,118 tons 
 ilying be- 
 i was the 
 
 European 
 id it was 
 nail was 
 [Halifax. 
 t London 
 early in 
 ; in July. 
 *ened 1st 
 I term of 
 Mided by 
 ' system, 
 
 3r, made 
 of trans- 
 te many 
 e, as for 
 the lake 
 ements, 
 it of the 
 ints and 
 to navi- 
 snied tu 
 
 ^1 
 
 merchants durin-^ the trouble of the Re- 
 volution and which Government would 
 gladly have withheld after the separation, 
 on the plea that private vessels would in- 
 dulge in smuggling. Canada's trade was 
 chiefly with (Jreat Britain, the North 
 American coast, the West Indies and 
 Gibraltar, and strange to say, a trade 
 was being developed witii China, by fast 
 sailing vessels fiom what is now British 
 Columbia. 
 
 Tiie greatness of ancient Rome de- 
 liended on the fact that all roads led to 
 the Capital. Canada early set herself the 
 ide.il of physical union. The Grand Trunk 
 and the canals united the Caiiadas, the 
 Interc(jlonial bound the Maritime Pro- 
 vinces to the Dominion, and the Cana- 
 dian Pacific completes the union to the 
 Pacific coast. Man, like the rest of 
 nature, follows the line of least resist- 
 ance, and with the improvement of our 
 
 inghways t'ne tide of immigration aug- 
 inented in voluiiio, new territory was 
 ooened, tourists came and went, and now 
 commerce, in ever increasing strength 
 unites the whole Dominiou by bonds 
 that neither race nor politic?^ can loosen. 
 The commercial traveller is not merely 
 under the same flag at Vimeouver and 
 Halifax, but 0(|uaily at home. He is the 
 missionary of peace, the apostle of fra- 
 ternity, and his mi.ssion will continue 
 from province t<« province until their 
 boundaries shall l)e merely an illusion ; 
 and with the harmony of commercial lawi^,' 
 that must inevitably come, shall come 
 also !v homogeneity of manners and 
 customs which will cement the Great 
 Dominion into one vast entity, instinct 
 with a national life, that shall owe its 
 being to the grand arteries of trade and 
 travel which place Caiifida even now iu 
 the forefront of the nations. 
 
'^^ii^ 
 
 I 
 
 THELyxyRyOfTRWELONOEBFeEIICIIflULE 
 
 IvVTKACT FROM MU. WKIR-s R;KTIIC0MIN(; wokk •■ K 
 
 TO I'KOI'KLLKR." 
 
 KOM fADDLI.; 
 
 VVhou B.g„Mnivellecl. ir wa„ i„ tmly 
 I'yHl state HHcl «H illuHtmiing M.oyl.,,,.;. 
 Imt was tl.nnvn ,.vm- oourtl.rog.^.HH i, 
 U.m(aHHco,n|m.o.l with ti.e li.mlships 
 
 of • B.got et sa C..,u-. l,y M,. Mannothe! 
 
 Ws.ant Arc nv.«t „f Ca.wuU may aci: 
 
 Mntagtv.usly |,e c..i:„.,Ito.l. It may l,o 
 
 p easant t,. do.so tl.o hist.ny of tivel 
 
 Una.ia duim^ the French re^i.ne a.ui.l 
 
 tl»e i.,.mi. ami luxury „f a hrillinnt, if 
 
 oorrupfc. court, especially as the study 
 
 will bring out several characteristics of 
 
 the people, notably their open-hamled 
 
 o«I>itHhty, which went f,..r to reu.ove 
 
 bstaclesand nntigate the tribulations 
 
 of travel along inhabited routes. 
 
 llie Sieur Franquet was com- 
 missioned from France in 1751 
 
 <'l,..r''''f . ^!'^' fortifications of 
 Caiuda and Acadia and, among other 
 incidents, his journal contains an account 
 o his journey frou, Quebec to Montreal 
 hadnlfo'T f 'f rfe'^^hich the Intendant 
 vessel of about four tons burden was 
 
 i.'<b n of about hve or six feet siuiare 
 made by an awning like a carriage-top 
 with curtains at the side. Li this the 
 tx.ve lers eould seek shelter from the 
 heat of the sun, or the rain, while round 
 t were numerous benches cushioned 
 in blue, for use when the party remained 
 outdoors. The boat was propelled either 
 by oars or wind, there being a mast to 
 
 desired. It Was, in fact, a private yacht, 
 twenty-hve persons. 
 
 Fr!y,''^". ^^ became known that 
 iiranquet was going to Montreal in 
 
 no lack of applicants to share 
 his good fortune. His own immediate 
 party comprised himself. M. do nou-^uo 
 sub-engineer of Quebec who waslnst'ruct! 
 ed to accompany hiui and defray ex- 
 penses, and two servants. He had, how- 
 
 ever, accepted the companionship of 
 i^a li.,r Jiomface, superior ot the House 
 of Chanty at Louisburg, M. de Maizieres, 
 lieutenant, and Messrs de t'harly and 
 l-)epliss.s, ensigns, all three of the Regi- 
 "'oi.t o Capo Breton (Isle Royale,) who 
 with their servants swelled the list of 
 passengers to ten. The crew numbered 
 tinrtoen, and the captnin cf.nsidered the 
 vessel to be overloaded. 
 
 Framiuet and his companions left 
 Quebec 24th July 1752 in the face of ad- 
 verse wind and tide, and after three days 
 ot towing and rowing arrived at Three 
 Kiveis where they were cordially re- 
 ceived by the Governor, Rigaud de Vuud- 
 leml. Ihis hospitable gentleman le- 
 ceivod only a thousand livres annually, 
 and although he lived rent freoina house 
 which had belonged to the king, his in- 
 come seldom or never equalled his ex- 
 penditure, as his house, situated about 
 iiaitway between Quebec and Montreal 
 was the rendezvous for travellers upon' 
 tins route, and he is credited with accord- 
 iii,i< the san.e hospitality to the small as 
 to the great. Franquet dined with him 
 and Madam de Vaudreuil. The table was 
 •set for twenty, and the meal prodi- 
 ga in abundance as well as exquisite 
 witli imp'Hted wines and luxuries. A 
 (luadrille followed. 
 
 At four o'clock in the morning «f the 
 twenty-ninth the party resumed their 
 route, the sailors stimulated by aifts of 
 tobacco, hquor, bread and bacon accord- 
 ing to custom, under the inriuence of 
 which they pron.ised to cast anchor at 
 Monti-eal in another three days. Each 
 
 fi ll^.P'"'^^ ^"'^^^• ''*^^^"S the right 
 to billet theniselves at any homestead, 
 but tliey wisely selected the best and 
 most frequented houses. «'It is usual " 
 «ays Franquet, "to pay twelve livres fit 
 the accomodation of a whole p;irty in 
 addition to such expenses as they miaht 
 choose to incur." The Sunday experi- 
 ence of this merry party was not calcu- 
 lated to excite religious fervor, except 
 
I 
 
 perlmpH hy Hfloidiny nu example of tlio 
 iiiutiiliility of torreHtriHl tliinj^Hdiid touch- 
 ing tho virtue of luHignatioii. Tlieir 
 bioiikfiwt, whicli proiniHod to be excol- 
 loiit, WHS iiit«nin)te(l by ii iiieHMMiKur 
 fioiii the ciiro «ho infoniH'd ihem that 
 the service was boiiig .Ichiyeil fur tiioir 
 coining. ,111(1 after uttuiuling "a uiasH 
 longer then tlioy had desired" tho purty 
 returned with keener apj.e'.ites tliaii ever 
 to tind their host in desjiair, and llieir 
 breakfafit cariied off by a liun<,'ry dog 
 Bread and butter was their hist resort, 
 and they were able to ( oiisole tlieiiiselves 
 only by the reflection tliat if by goinj,r t,, 
 church they liad h)st their ham they"had 
 by the same act saved tiieir bacon This 
 little iiiischaiice was forgotten amid the 
 hospitality of Montreal which was 
 reached the following day. 
 
 Such was Huminer travel at its best 
 between the two towns. It roniHins to 
 describe tho acme of winter travel upon 
 the i-aiiM' route, as exempliKed liy tho 
 journeys of the Governor and IJigot in 
 1<63, in which also Francpiet had a part, 
 and the excellent study of Mr. Marinette 
 will now be followed more closely than 
 ever. 
 
 It was customary fr)r the (ioveriior 
 >') spend several months each year on 
 ofMcial business at Montreal, leaving 
 Quebec sometime in January and return" 
 ing in August. In 175:i tho date of de- 
 parture from tho cajjital had been set by 
 puquesne for I4th January, and Bigot 
 had ottered to bear him company as far 
 on his roau as Point-aux-Trembles, above 
 Quebec. Tiie otter included :i supper and 
 an early breakfast, aud was accepted as 
 gracefully as offered. Bigot's hospitality 
 being such as few would willingly forego. 
 Both governor and intendant %vere sur- 
 rounded with a numerous suite, the 
 former being accompanied by Mr. Ducli- 
 esnay, his captain of the guard, Mr. 
 MeroUe, his private secretary. Captain.s 
 bamt-Ours, la Martinicre, Hlorin and 
 Pean, and tho lieutenants de U Roche 
 and le Mercier. As Bigot's guests were 
 FraiKjuet, CaptainsSaintVincent,Dumont 
 and do Lanandiere, with Lieutenant do 
 Kepentii^ny. 
 
 But it must not bo supposed that 
 Bigot's court was con ituted solely of 
 ttie sterner sex. Although he was a 
 bachelor, or perhaps on that account, he 
 seldom moved without a galaxy of beauty 
 in his train, chief among which was 
 
 Madam Pean, wife of tho captain alM)ve- 
 mentWme.l. Scarcely behind, however 
 were the ladies de Lotliiniere, Morin do 
 Repentigny and dii Linoii, all of whom 
 accompanied him on this r>ccasion. 
 
 At ten in the ruing there was a 
 
 brilhant scene on the Place d'Armes of 
 Quebec. M.ire than thirty h..rses champ- 
 ed their bits and pawed the ground, their 
 bells jmglinjr at every impatient move- 
 ment. The horses were harnessed in 
 pans to the carioles, and at that hour 
 the party set out. the governor in the van. 
 each cariole cniiiaining (ho mystic ami 
 MUisfactory number, I wo. Passing through 
 the St. Louis (Jate, amid salvos of artil- 
 h'ly, the party entered the champaign 
 with a powdery snow blowing into their 
 faces uiton the southwest wind, which 
 augmented the intense cold of the wintry 
 day, and made tho arrival at Pointo-aux- 
 Tremblos in the afternoon a very wel- 
 come event. 
 
 The village was in a furore of excite- 
 ment. Bigot's cooks, sent on ahead, 
 wore working liko beavers. The chim- 
 neys of the .;onveiit where tho General 
 was to lodge, poured forth volunibs of 
 smoke. A military detachment, also sent 
 on in advance, was on the (pii vivo to re 
 ceiye its general and the inhabitants were 
 waiting in anxious expectation to add 
 their (juota to the welcome. 
 
 The supper sustained Bigot's reputa- 
 tion as a boil vivant, and the party, whose 
 appetites had tRien sharpened by the long, 
 cold drive, did full justice to it. Gaming, 
 for which tho century was distingnisliod! 
 followed, hut by ten o'clock < , . vone had 
 retired to his (piarters. 
 
 The Governor resumed his route at 
 nine the following morning, half-a-dozen 
 carioles having preceded him to beat the 
 road. Bigot and his companions remained 
 the day at Puinto-aux-Tremblos and re- 
 turned to Quebec on the KJth. leaving at 
 two in the afternoon and arriving at. five 
 o'clock, having made a slnn-t halt at Cap 
 Rouge to permit the ladies to warm them- 
 selves. The excursion was terminated 
 by supper and play at the house of Ma- 
 dam Pean. 
 
 The Intendant usually followed the 
 Governor to Montreal in March, liut on 
 tills occasion he ft)!!ow,vl in fise middle of 
 Felnuary. His progress was even more 
 s{)lendid than that of the Governor. Six 
 days before his departure all was bustle, 
 the baggage of his guests being sent for- 
 
w.inl 111 iidvuiici,' wi,I, H,o kitchen wiuip- 
 !M.>iit, liiioii Hi.d .'-...lyUiinK nocosH/iry for 
 thecuMMueiifo of Hiyut hihI liin party 
 Hiul Hiu oiiloitHiiiuieiit lit Ills tdhio of 
 tw.'iity or tW(!iity.tiv«( yiiestH. 
 
 On thooiKhfliof FtibruHiy tl.o uuestN 
 
 of ho Intondm.t, tifto.-n in nun.hor, in- 
 
 duthng MX IndiuN, dinod at lli«ot'N mUvn 
 
 with HH niuc'i luxury und order as tlioui/h 
 
 tliey were not .il.out I .. leave the place for 
 
 "lonthH. After the meal each Kentlenian 
 
 conducted the lady aNsi^ned to Iiiin. to 
 
 then- CHiiole, and in a few inoinentN the 
 
 joyous party, Bigot in the van, were 
 
 Hpeedmy throu-h St. Valier Street 
 
 towards the roa.l to Lorette. The horses 
 
 surfeited with oats, hounded eagerly 
 
 over the tirni snow, nianes stroaniiii.' in 
 
 he wind with tossing heads, their blood 
 
 lusty with the c.l.l air of a clear winter 
 
 day, through which their l.reath drifted 
 
 in wiaithsofiuist, while the foau, from 
 
 their bits froze as it fell. 
 
 Tiii! first stop was at P(.inte-Hux- 
 ireiubles where they pas,sed the night. 
 Cards whiled away the hours before din- 
 ner, and two hours were devoted to 
 the rl3past. The cabmen were paid, and 
 returned to Quebec, while orders were 
 issued to the captain of the cote to sup- 
 ply Ht seven next niorning the h.uws 
 required to continue the journey. Re- 
 freshments of tea, coffee and chocolate 
 were served at an early hour next day, 
 Hiul the drive was resumed. The church 
 ot La|)e .Nmte was passed and the "cote 
 'I lai;e descended, where relays were 
 had and tw(. hours devoted to breakfast, 
 or rather luncheon as the route was not 
 resumed until after midday. 
 
 At four in the afternoon the steaiuinc/ 
 horses were drawn up at Ste. Anne de la 
 f arade, the j)arty was billeted and the 
 evenuij,' again passed in eating and 
 «ivmn.g. Ihe next day found them has- 
 tening still forward. They changed 
 horses, but did not stop l.mg at Cap de 
 la Magdeleine, and drove through Three 
 Kivers shortly before noon, being saluted 
 by cannon. They halted at Yamachiche 
 for the night, and the next day. bein.. 
 .Sunday, they atttmded Mass and did not 
 consequently set out until ten o'clock. 
 
 At Beaver Island, which they reached 
 about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 Big..t, and hm coM.paiiioiH were agreeably 
 surprised by the arrival of the GovernoV 
 trom Montreal, welcome additions to the 
 card party that was already assembled 
 
 8 
 
 Tlut following day Du.piesne hhhuiiio.I the 
 jM.st of honor in the lend, the otlieiH fob 
 lowing, and the route was resumed to 
 lointe-aux-Trembles, .,n the island of 
 >Ionireal, whore they halted for the 
 night, and played faro, 
 
 An incident, which might have been an 
 nccident, omirred during the j.nirney of 
 that day. The horses drawing Framiuot, 
 who WIS alone, took fright. The driver 
 dismounted to stop them, when he re- 
 ceived a kick in the face and the team 
 swent across the ice towards an opening 
 m the river. With Fran.|uet, who found 
 his steeds entirely beyond control, it wax 
 a question of jumping out or drowning 
 HI the icy waters, and he chose the 
 tormer course. 
 
 Montreal was entered by the lieanlmr- 
 Hois gate next day, the l.'Jth, the journey 
 hHVing extended over about five days 
 According to Fram.uet, the cost of each 
 cariole between Montreal and (Juebec 
 was from 70 tu 75 livres, while the 
 vliaige for each horse was twenty sols 
 per league, or counting tifty-seven 
 leagues between the two towns the 
 charge for a horse vehicle amounted to 
 184 or 190 lures. Add to these charges 
 the cost of feeding the ptrty and its 
 mimeious retinue, and 7 livres 10 sols 
 per diem to the grand voyer or road sur- 
 veyor who i)receded the Intendant by 
 Home days to put the roads in proper 
 condition, and it will be seen that the 
 cost of "doing" the nip i„ regal style 
 was very considerable. 
 
 Furthermore, every league of the road 
 l)etween Montreal and Quebec was cov- 
 ered with a small army of habitants in 
 advance, who, lacking the mirth of fur- 
 clad exquisites and the encouragement of 
 bright eyes and fair faces near at hand 
 drove up and down, hour after hour, in 
 their sleighs, beating down the snow, 
 that the vice-regal party might urge for- 
 ward from stage to stage at a gallop, 
 without impediment. Whenever the 
 chiefs of the colony moved, the whole 
 country moved also. Exclude the court 
 brilliancy and the lavish expenditure, 
 deprive the roads of the special super- 
 vision of the grand voyer and the lalK)r8 
 of the habitant, and it is not difficult to 
 realize the hardships and actual danijers 
 vvJiich had to be faced by unofficial per- 
 sons whom necessity compelled to travel 
 on this route in inid-winter ; and neces- 
 sity aloue could hivve led to such a course.