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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. strata to pelure, n d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 % %ytt-»^ ^> #^/^ ^^/Ls£^ TRAVELS vst , NORTff AMERICA. 7 ^/lyTi mrn£^ & o/cyi,i^ *>►■ o J — ./x ;i *i^J 'm THE_.\UTHOR 13?^ HIS TliA-,-Ei.i.ii^-a T3]REr5 3 TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR INHABITED PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE TEARS 1791 and 179a. In which is given an account of the manners and customs of the Indians, and the present war between them and the Foederal States, the mode of life and system of farming a- niong the new settlers of both Canadas, New York, New England, New Brunswick, and Nova ^cetia ; interspersed with anecdotes of people, observation^ on the soil, natural productions, and political situation ted by e whe- tic and id pay- would ppinefs of the C 0NTEN7 >. m From Fort William in Scotland, to the city St John, New Brunswick. - - - - j St JoHNsRi VER and Town, to Frederick Town, i 9 From Frederick Town to the foot of the Merrimashee River and hack again, - ^c From Frederick Town to (^ebec, - - 35 iv-owz quEBEc /o Montreal, - - - - 125 From Montreal to Kingston, - _ . j^y iro/w Kingston ^0 Niagara, - - - - 163 From Niagara to the Grand -River and back again, ---_. --.. j«o From Niagara to the Genesee Country, - 2l5 The story of David Ramsay, - - _ _ 226 From the Genesee Country to New John- ston on the MoHAWKE River, - - . 248 Method of finding out Bees in the woods, ~ 258 From the Mohawke River to New York, -. 282 From New York to the Jersies and back «- gain, - - - _ _ ----- 291 From New York to Frederick Town, - 296 From Frederick Town to St John and the Kenebecasius, ---.. ^^^ ' - - - 310 . i . I ( o From St John to St Andrews. - - ^ 348 From St Andrews to Greenock in Scot- land, ---------- j68 Account of the Action between the Statis of America and the Confederate Indians on the 4/-& November 1 79 1, - - - 377 Reflections on the British Provinces in America, with regard to their throwing off their allegiance to the Mother Coun- try, and their falling into the hands of the FqEderal States. ----- 385 • - 348 SCOT- - - 368 lTIS of roiANs ■ - 377 CES in rowing CouN- nds of - - ^H n T R A V E L S X N NORTH AMERICA. From Fort William in Scotland, to the city St John's, N'c;w Brunswick. On the nth of June 1 791, 1 set out from Fort William, and by easy stages arrived at Greenock on the 1 8th. Agreed with Mr James Hart Junior, owner of the brig Argyle, William Willie, master, for my pafsage to New Bruns> wick, in North America, at L.18 for myself m the cabin, and L. 6 for my servant in the steerage ; to be found in provisions and li- quors. Here we were detained until the 2d of July, when we set sail, pnd found our- selves next Monday off the harbour of Lam- Jafh m i^rran. Pafsed by Ailsa, a high and stupendous piked rock ij, fhe sea, inhabited by Solan geese, and other sea fowl. Stretch^ [ 2 ] ; i ing along the North Channel, could see Ire- land on the south, and tht coast of Kintyre on the north ; and by the time we entered the strait between the Mull of Kintyre, and the island of Rath ring, the wind frefhened straight a-head of us; and about night-fall began to blow very hard. We continued to beat about all night ; the sea ran high, and the {hip pitched so as to have overturned every thing in the cabin. Our young pafsen- gers, and my servant, became very sick ; but I stood it out, which gave me good hopes of making out the voyage without being sea tick. The captain said he never saw a high- er sea in that channel. The storm continued all the night, and next morning we fell back, and attempted to make the harbour of Camp- belton, but could neither enter it nor any port in Ireland, After beating about the whole of that day, we returned and attempted to make the harbour of Lamlalh ; but with no better suc- cefs. During the third night we were tofsed backward and forward on a tempestuous sea, between the island of Arran and the coast of Galloway : anc- next morning, the wind being rather increased, we ran before it, under bare poles, and made for the Fairly roads, where we anchored about two o'clock, a. m, see Ire- ECintyre entered ^re, and efhened Lght-fall lued to gh, and rturned pafsen- :k; but lopes of ing sea a high- ntinued dl back, fCamp- my port of that lake the ter sue- e tofsed lous sea, coast of id being der bare s, where t 3 ] Here we lay until the 8th, when at four o'clock, p. m. we weighed anchor, and stood for the South Channel ; and stretching along the coast of Ireland, next morning we found ourselves off the harbour of Belfast. Conti- nued our course along that coast ; and leav- ing the Isle of Man on our left, had a fair view of the entrance to Newry, Dublin, and Waterford. On the 1 2th we pafsed Cape Clear, the most southerly point of Ireland, entered the Atlan- tic Ocean, and. bade adieu to all European prospects. Off this Cape were to be seen a good many Solan geese, which were mostly of a grey, and but few of the common white colour. After losing sight of land, the only birds we saw in the Atlantic, during our voyage till we came to the coast, were those called by mariners Sheer IVater, and Mother carriet Chickens. The former very much resemble and m my opinion are no other than a sort of sen gull, with a pretty long crooked bill ; and the latter a marine swallow. But so nume- rous are these two kinds of birds in the At- lantic Ocean, that there is scarce a part of it where they are not to be met with. It is somewhat singular that these birds fliould be fond of grease, a food they cannot be accustomed to ; yt>t wliea any of it i^ ; I 4 I thrown overboard, which the sailors sonic- times do to attract them, they comf close to the fliip to pick it up, and thereby become an easy prey to the sportsman. And as to the Backers and Porpoises, large scools of them would come around, and play their gambols, very frequently within a few yards, and sometimes under the bow of our {hip. On one of these occasions, the wind blow- ing very freih, and the fliip making great wav, one of our men, who had been formerly on board a New England whaler, seeing a scool of them coming about the fliip» seized a harpoon, ran up the bowsprit, and placing himself on the yard, struck one of them that pafsed below him. The Bucker gave but two or three plunges, when he got quit of the harpoon, bent as crooked as an S, and sprung away with redoubled fury. We could easily mark his coursfe as he went along, by the blood streaming down his sides, and the rest of the Buckers in full chace of him. What came of him afterwards I know not ; but the captain, and all the men on board, said, they would never give up the pursuit, until they would tear him in pieces. On my mentioning afterwards in company this circumstance, as very odd and singular, a gentleman then present corroborated what t 5 ] the seamen had affirmed, by telling me, that he himself had harpooned a Bucker, and be- fore they could 'get tackle about, and hawl him up the fhip's side, the one half of him was eaten by the rest. Some days after this, these Buckers were gamboling around us in the same manner, and our harponeer, from his former seat, struck another of them with a force that drove the harpoon pretty deep into the body of the animal. It appeared to be very large, and of great strength ; for with one spring he broke the harpoon, and made off, with the head fixed in his body, leaving us to regret the lofs of it ; which we did very sincerely, as we had no other on board. The principal amusement to be had in crofsing the Atlantic, is {hooting Sheer Water, and Mother carries Chickens, and fifhing the Buckefs with harpoons, which come often in great fhoals about the fhip, and frequently continue for some time, seemingly in the most sportive mood, and playing their gam- bols round about the fliip, particularly if there be a smart breeze, and a moderate swell of the sea. Any person fond of such sport oughtj to provide himself well wdth harpoons, gigs, or grains, and he may depend upon having many opportunities of using them .during the voyage. As to liilung lines and hooks, most t i H! [ 6 J Alps take care to be provided with them be- fore they fct out. I would also recommend fliark hooks and chains, as these ravenous fiihes are frequently to be met with; and /when you enter the American coast, it is rare you can mifs finding fifli of different kinds. NoTHiNo material happened till the 31st of July, when we came to the Azores, or Western Islands, subject to Portugal. These islands, according to the information I had, produce wine grapes, lemons, and oran- ges, with various other kinds of fruits. The island of Corva, in latitude 40° and longitude 31^, west from Greenwich, appeared to be a high bold mountain in the middle of the sea, with steep precipices, and of difficult accefs! The island of Flora, somewhat larger, but more accefsible, is distant from it about three or four leagues south east. Not far from the former we happened to be becalmed ; and a little alarmed at finding ourselves drawn towards its bold rocky coast by the force of the current; but a gentle breeze springing up in the evening] we got clear of it and of our fears together. After we had left, and before we came to these islands, we saw various kinds of sea fifhes besides the Buckers or Porpoises already mentioned ; such as Sharks, Bonettas, DoU j^^/7^s> Turtle s, and Flying Fifh. These last GSf sort of small fifh, They some- U«i«ti*»iiHft fi m I af'^ d Cidfoas ith them be^ ' recommend ese ravenous t with; and )ast, it is rare rent kinds. 11 the 31st of s, or Western information IS, and oran- fruits. The id longitude red to be a 3 of the sea, icult accefs, er, but more hree or four the former and a little L towards its he current; he evening-, together, we came to nds of sea ises already lettas, Dol- These last rhcy some- r 7 1 times spring out of the water Hke a flock of birds ; and if crofsing over a fhip, they chance to strike against the sails or rigging, they instantly fall down on deck, give one fliake, and then appear quite dead. As to their size, they are no larger than a Herring ; and the reason afsigned for their getting out of the water, and taking wing, is, that they may escape the Dolphin, who, (as an enemy,) pursues and devours them in great numbers, and being an eye witnefs to the following facts, I the more readily believe it, A Dolphin that kept company with our fhip for a considerable way, darted as quick as lightning through the water; and when my eye lost sight of him, I observed a Flying Fifh spring up, to avoid, as I supposed, the Polphin ; who finding himself disappointed, immediately came back to his former station; along side of us. At another time, being on deck, I saw a Dolphin spring nine or ten feet perpendicular above the the surface of the water, at one of these fiflies pafsing by on wing; he struck him with his head, and threw him down, but did not catch him. Afterwards, I saw ano- ther of these fifhes fly out of the side of a high sea in a straight Une acrofs the trough, and into the opposite ; but he was-hardly out* M t 8 ] of sight when a Dolphin appeared in full chac«! of him, springing out of that spot from whence he had come, and into that into which he went. As we did not see him (ly out again, we supposed he was taken. The Dolphin is said not only to be the swiftest, but also the n^ost beautiful of all liflies, so variegated, that whether in water, or out of it, he appears to the eye in a variety of of the most vivid and brilliant colours. There is another tilli in this ocean, which mariners call the Ba//och Fi/h, who has a natu- ral propensity, as they st;y, when he finds, a man naked in the water, to seize his posteri- ors, and no other part ; which is perhaps the reason for their giving him that name. As we were coming towards the Banks of Newfoundland, we saw the phenomenon which mariners so much dread, a water spout about a league distant from us. The day being cloudy and dark, prevented my making any other remarks on it, than that it had all the appearance of a thick dark cloud, of a cylindrical form, whose lower end, as it entered into the sea, terminated in a small or fliarp point, where it raiseii .< AUJ.e spray, which the wind drove to wiilAr. hah a njile of the stern of our fhip. This phenomenon had scarcely disappeared, 3vhea a scene more rare, though more natu- cared in full hat spot from ito that into )t see him fiy ilcen, ly to be the lutiful of all r in water, or 1 a variety of flours. ocean, which ) has a natu- n he finds a 2 his posteri- ; perhaps the lame. the Banks of )henomenon water spout- k:, prevented on it, than I thick dark e lower end, inated in a used a huge it:Jn hall" a iisappeared, more natu- ral, was presented to our view. A scr 61 df* Whales were observed a-head of us, and ma- king straight towards us ; immediately I load- ed my gun with ball, and placed myself be^ tween one of the cat-head; and anchor, where I was so firmly seated as to be in no danger of being capsized. Two of them came so near the fliip, that I had a distinct view of them un* der the water, and so close were they to one lanouier, that they seemed to touch. They observed the fhip, and pafsed her ; but imme- diately got up in her wake, having their heads and bodies down in tlie water, and their tails above the surface, adjoining so closely, as if they \vere chained ; so that they had every appearance of being then in the very act of copulation;. At the same time Ve had a vicNv full as dis^ tinfct of another 2:)air^ which came very near us. Though they were not in the same pos* ture as the former, yer thej' were in so spo'r- tive and amorous a mobd, as to be tumbling i^ound and over each other • and however un- couth their carefses iiiiglit be, no two lover^ could seem more fohdj They copulate like land dnimals, and bring forth in nine moriths^ sometimes two at a birth. Sorrie of the hlarinefs informed me^ that they have at diiTerent times seen an old WhuJe and two young ones, swimmiti^ cloii t TO ] 1 by her side ; whence they judged they were her own otTspring. We Hkewise saw a very large Turtle, appa- rently asleep on the surface of the water, where it lay motionlefs, and without any symptoms of life ; but on our approaching, was awaken- ed by the spray of the fliip. August 20. Being then in latitude 43^^ 23, longitude S9^ 25, was the most boiste- rous day we had since we left the Fairly roads, and what at sea thfey call a hard gale, but on land a real storm I STAYED on deck for a considerable time during the continuance of this storm, with a hold of the flu'ouds in each hand, admiring the great force and power the one eleiTient Imd over the other ; tremendous billows suc- ceeding and impelling each other, raised by the wind, and running, (according to the sea phrase) mountains high, with such awful rage and' impetuosity, as can hardly be con- ceived by any bi:t those only who are accus- tomed to the like sights. The same day, aixl prior to making the above remark, as I was sitting alone in the ca- bin, casting up this day's reckoning, I heard an unusual noise on the quarter deck ; and not knowing the cause or meaning of it, with some degree of emotion I looked up the com- iijanion door* which clianced to be or>en - -and ;:(■ vi ;d they were Furtle, appa- water, where y symptoms was awaken- [atitude 43^ most boiste- Fairly roads, jale, but on lerable time orm, with a :d, admiring )ne element billOAvs suc- :her, raised rding to the such awful 'dly be con- ) are accus- making the le in the ca- ng, I heard deck ; and g of it, with ap the com- nnpn : nnH. [ n ] in a moment, a high sea that rolled over the fhip, came tumbling down the gangway into the cabin, and involved me in darknefs. I immediately ran up upon deck, and found that the noise I had heard was occasioned by the men running away from the sea, to pre-^ serve themselves from getting wet, and not from any dread of danger. Towards evening the storm abated, and continued to do so more and more during the night. The next day moderately calm, se- rene, and warm. The pleasantnefs of the day induced the captain to order one of the crew to paye the fhip's sides ; that is, giving it a new coat of tar with a brufh. Whilst em.ployed in this bu- sinefs, he was suspended along the fhip's side, down to the water edge, by a small rope, fixed a-top to a tack's-pin on the rails ; the other end set round his posteriors so loosely, that a sudden jerk of the fliip, then under sail, might precipitate him in a moment into the regions below. Yet far from being the least concer- ned or afraid, he seemed as if he had been sit- ting at his greatest ease. I OBSERVED to him that I would not like to be in his situation. He damned his eyes if he had not rather be in that position, than on e'er a horse or cart on the best road in Europe ; that the fliarp back of the one, and ill il r 12 ] heaving of the other, was extremely distref, «ng; and if they came athwart a stone, and ne er a rope at hand to lay hold of, he might be capsized and his brains knocked out He sang and whistled alternately, and gave him- self no set' of trouble about it W«.N he had finifted the spot that he was working at, and wiihed to be removed to ano- ther, he called out, " Shift my iheets ;" and as there happened to "be none of the crew on deck at the time, but the man at the helm, he called out, " Hoa, there. Bill sings!" (which meant that BiU was calling.) This is owing to the peculiarity of their phrases 5 the words hallowing, or calling out, so common with landmen, are not knowiaor used among them. For instance, ifa man is sent to the topmast head to look out for Lmd, vefsels, or any thing they are m hopes of seeing at sea, he is desir, ed to smg out when any such thing is in view. ihifted Bill's Iheets, as he desired, but soloose- 'y, that, had he not been his brother, I would have been apt to suppose that he was indiffe- rent if Bill ftould fall into the sea : for which I rated him, and secured it properly with my own hands. "' - "^"7" 22' B'^ing in latitude 430 and longi- tude 64°, wc sounded, and found bottom fiffy- live lathoms T^io a^,. ,.._ i ^ -^ I itiely distref- a stone, and of, he might ed out. He i gave him- that he was oved to ano- ets ;" and as he crew on the helm, he ?s!" (which lis is owing ; the words nmon with mong them, the topmast )r any thing he is desir-p g is in view, fie up, and >ut soloose- "r, I would OS indifFe- for which, y with my and longi- >ttom fifty- ' for some I 13 ] hours, during which we fifhed and caught several Cod, some Tufk and Halibut. . August 23. We made land, Cape Sable, the most southern point of Nova Scotia, bearing N. W. in latitude 43*^ 3, longitude, 64Q 44. Here we fell in with some American filhing schooners, whom we saw catching filh as fast as they could hawl them in. One of them hailed us, and afked from whence f We an- swered from Glasgow. " Ay, ay, returned he, " that is from old Scotlai^d ; I have been there." In the afternoon, as we were entering the mouth of the Bay of Fundi, we observed a large Shark, seeipingly asleep, as he lay mo- tionlefs on the surface. We made for him with guns, and just as we were on the point of firing, he got under water and made off. The captain and crew judged him to be about se- venteen feet in length. Here we caught se- veral of the sort of fiihes called Pollacks. They are of the size of kn ordinary Salmon, and are the same with those we in Scotland call over- £rown Seys, We had not proceeded far, when we met with and spoke a fine large top-sail schooner^ going on an eastward course. The two mas- ters addrefsed one another with speaking trumpets, by the word Hoa ! Our friend allied what that islan4 was which he had p^fsed > ■ If i! |i ■ ( ^^^^^H i p;; 1;!! l: M i' m i:" i ' W 1 1 Iff ■^' ' ' 1,' f ^4 1 rhe other answered, « It isone to the southward of Penobscot Bay.on the coast of New England. T^ this, with surprise, we replied, that we sup- posed it to be one of the Seal islands in the entrance of the Bay of Fundi. "Ye are wrong,*' (said he;) and without taking any further uo- tice of us, scoured past us. The weather being very hazy and cloudy, we could not see the island but at times, and even then but very indistinctlv. As we sup. posed the captain of this schooner to be much better acquainted with the islands on these coasts than we, who were never there before and wholly trusted to our charts, we conclu- ded we had gone out of our course ; which threw us into a state of doubt and uncertain- ty, whether- we lliould proceed or go back. In this perplexity we remained for some mil liutes ; but at last, after mature deliberation we judgedit would be our safest course tofollow the schooner, in order to come to a farther ex- planation, which accordingly we did. The schooner, observing us bearing down on her with all the sail we could crowd, lay to till we came alongside of her. Then both the mas- ters entered again upon the same subject; and after several questions and answers, ^r. and con. It came. out in the end that they both were bound for the same port. Our captain told the other the information he got hut a few before Uom the iiihing schooner, at eh^ m hou I ] he southward ^ew England. , that we sup- lands in the » 2 are wrong, Y further do- and cloudy, : times, and As we sup- to be much ds on these lere before, we conclu- rse ; whicli uncertain- T go back, r some mi- eliberation, rse tofollow farther ex- did. The wn on her r to till we !i the mas- bject; and pro and con^ both were ptain told b-ut a few icr, at eh- w tering the mouth of the Bay, and urged it as an argument, to convince him of his mistake as to his reckoning. But the gentleman posi- tively insisted, saying, " I am sure I am right, and you, notwithstanding your information, are wrong in your reckoning." Whereupon the latter, finding the former incapable of convic- tion, says to him in broad Scotch, " Well, well, gaung ye your gate, and I'se gaung mine." And having said this, immediatelv Sang out, " Helm alee ! fore (heet and top bow- hne, jib and stay sail fheets let go ;" wheeled about, and continued his former course, due north, for the Bay ; which in the end proved we were right, and that at this time the mas- ter of the schooner had outrun his reckoning by tv/o or three degrees ; which was an unac- countable mistake, in a run of fourteen days, ©nly from the West Indies. Being becalmed and bewildered in fog the two following days, nothmg material hap- pened till the 26th, about noon. A fine clear day discovered to us that we had pafsed the. island of Grandaman, and several lefser ones, in the dark. This sound abounds with Whales. One of them got up in our wake, so close to our fhip, that all of us then standing on the quarter deck, were almost suflbcated with the filthy rotten stench of his breatlu t « J I Solan Geese, of a larger size than tliose of* Cape Clear, or the western coasts of Scotland are very numerous here, and of different co-* Jours ; some grey, and others white. About four o'clock p. m. we had a very sud^ den and unexpected change, fi-om very fair to very foul weather. As I was then sitting in the cabin on hearing, all of a sudden, the loud call, of" All hands on deck," I was struck with no httle surprise ; and ran up to inquire into the cause of It ; the mariners, pointing at a very dark lowering cloud, which appeared at some distance, said, it foreboded a storm, and would soon burst with violence ; and then each fal- ling to work in his proper department, with all the speed they could, handing the top gal. lant sails, and reeling the top sails, ^c. they put the Ihip in such trim as they thought ne- cefsary for preparing her to ride out the storm they dreaded. The men, after trimming their sails, were hardly come down on deck, when the heavens darkened so much, that day seemed almost as dark as night; and instantly the lightning began to flalli, the thunder to roar awfully, and the ram to pour like a torrem; but happily tor us the wind was moderate. August 27. About ten o'clock p. m. I hap. pened to be on the quarter deck, and beheld the most beautiful scener> that can be eon- 4 m han tliose of* i of Scotland, different co- te. d a very sud- i very fair to iitting in the the loudcall^ ick with no lire into the 5 at a very ed at some , and would n each fal- ment, with he top gaiu. , 'i^c. they lought ne- the storiii sails, w^ere le heavens ahnost as Hghtning 'fully, and t happily ..% I 17 ] ceived, appearing in the west ; flaflies of light- ning, so frequent as two or three in a minute, not accompanied with thunder or stof m ; and at so great a distance as not to be dreaded ; so that one could contemplate the scene with- out emotion. The firmament, illuminated by the frequent flafhes, appeared in all the variety and brillian- cy of colour imaginable. It was the grandest scene I ever beheld, and such as m.ay be more easily conceived than described ; but it was of no long duration ; for a thick fog coming on, veiled it from our sight. Much pleased with the singular grandeur of this phenomenon, we retired to rest, in full hope that the approaching morning sun would enable us to know where we were. But about three in the morning the scene changed ; we were suddenly awakened by the voice of the mate, -whose watch it was, singing out as loud as he could, " All hands on deck," We sprang out of bed, and were hardly on foot when we found the fhip strike. She struck again. All ran up to the deck except the captain and I, who waited to put on our clothes. It occurred to me that I heard of people suffering much by being naked on a similar occasion; I therefore resolved, whether we went to the bottom, or were cast on a rock or a desert n • )! Ill ill m [ i8 ] island, my clothes fliouldl go along with mc ; so I waited to put them on. When we got upon deck, the fog was so close and thick, that we could not see the fhip's length from us. Ker head had got on one of the rocks surrounding us, yet bore but lightly on it ; and all the rest of her was a-float. All hands set to work ; the sails handed ; the poles and oars on board instantly laid hold of We puflied so hard against the rock, that by the help of these, we kept her from striking with any force ; and our efforts were so far succefs- ful as to fhove her head off from the rock ; but her stern then was in danger of coming on another. We Ihifted immediately to it, and by similar efforts preserved it also. When we got clear of this bold rock, we sounded, and found fifteen fathoms water. We suffered no material damage, as the bow of the fliip was the only part that struck. It happened to be low water at the time, and fortunately for us, a perfect calm ; and the force of the tide, which drew us on the rock, was greatly abated ; yet not so much but there Avas still a current, which was pref- sing her on. But by the flivour of a gentle breeze springingup a-hcad,we got clear, though not of aildanger^ for the darkncfs of midnight, ng with mc; i fog was so : see the fhip's :ot on one of 'e but hglitly s a-float. All ^d; the poles lold of We that by the triking with o far succefs- le rock ; but F coming on id by similar >ld rock, we s water. We IS the bow itruck. at the time, calm ; and ^ us on the ot so much ;h was pref- of a gentle lear, though f midnight, t 19 ] and continued fog, kept us still under the dread of falling foul of another rock. We continued in this dismal situation till morning began to dawn, and the rising suu dispersed the fog. The breeze continuing ill our favour, we soon riiade out Partiridge island; a small clump, of about 1 00 yards over, lying in the offing of the harbour of St John's ; on which there is an elegant light-house, which fliows afar off, and directs mariners with safety into that port. Here a pilot came on board and took charge of our fhip. Betwixt the island and Ihore there is a bar, over which no vefsel can pafs but when it is high water ; and as it was low water then, we kept beating about till the tide made, in the dulk of the evening, when we had depth enough of water to carry us over this bar ; and after a fine pafsage, of fifty-six days from Greenock, but fifty only from the Fairly roads, entered "" the harbour with great safety. Si yohii^s River and Town. When } ou enter the Bay of Fundy, and as you proceed in it, your view on all sides is bounded by the horizon. Underneath "an endlefs space of forest, of miserable spruce, seemingly fit to be inhabited only by wild beasts ; the soil so thin and poor as not to pra ^ ■ f 20 ] duce any t ing else ; the coast rocky, and in appearance dangerous to a stranger ; but such as are acquainted, can be at no lofs for a secure harbour, with which the Bay abounds on all sides, until you come to the famous harbour of St John's, about 150 miles from the entrance of the Bay. This barrennefs of coast, 1 am in- formed, is not peculiar to thi. province alone, but prevails from the foot of the Mifsifsippi) overall the coast of America, to the gut of Canso on the east, end of Nova Scotia. The in- dustry, and the art of man, have given it a dif- ferent appearance in the cultivated parts, which in former times, when in the rude state of na- ture, and without an inhabitant, were as bar- ten as those we are describing ; and there is no doubt, but in procefs of time, the same attention and cultivation, will render itequally pleasing to the sight, and profitable to its in- habitants. The city of St John's lies on the east side of the grand river of that name, where it enters the Bay of Fundy, situated on a broad point, more than half surrounded by a Bay on the eastward. The town is well planned ; the streets cut at right angles ; but from the un- evcnnefs and ruggednefs of thesloping ground on which it is built, does not appear regular to the eye. It consists of about five hundred houses, all of timber, well painted. They have ■^ ^^ ocky, and in ^rj but such s for a secure •unds on all ous harbour the entrance )ast, lam in- vince alone, Mifsifsippi, the gut of tia. Thein- ven it a dif- parts, which state of na- ere as bar- nd there is e, the same ^r it equally e to its in- iast side of e it enters "oad point, ay on the med ; the n the un- ng ground ar regular " hundred rhey have E 21 ] a neat appearance, and some of them even ele- t^ gant; generally consisting of two stories high. The fliops, store, and wharfs, numerous and / commodious. They have two churches, also I of wood i the largest not yet finiflied ; but when it is, may contain a numerous congre- ^^ gation ; and so well painted on the outside is i this church, that, without a strict examination, ,. any spectator would conclude it to be built of ^ stone and lime. I Opposite to St John's lies the village of Cav- '^ leton, on the west side of the river, on the bor- ders of a beautiful bay, that ebbs dry at low water; in which is built a timber weir, or what in Scotland is called a yerr; wherein a great f deal of Herring, Gasparoes, Bafs, and Shed, ^ are caught, sometimes two or three hundred barrels at a time. All the property of the in- I habitants, conform to the number of souls in f a family, fhare and fhare alike. And on the ^ other, or St John's side, there is another large I weir, intersected with lefser ones within, of V which every inhabitant who takes the trouble ; of repairing and upholding it, has right to a fhare. And there are sometimes caught in this I weir, more than the whole town will con- I sume, and find caflcs and salt to cure. About a mile above the town, is a narrow strait of only sixty ) ards over, which hems this great body of water in between two high • (':. i a 'liv; t 22 ] rocks, and occasion^ a full of eight feet at lovv- water ; but when the tide is in, it rises h(jre to thirty-two feet, and admits vefscls almost of any burden to pals and repafs. At the foot of this fall, amazing quantities of Herrings or Gasparoes, are caught, with what they call scoop nets ; which are nothing but a sort of bag-net, tied to a hoop of the same circumference with that used by farmers fans in this country, for winnowing their corn, affixed to a long pole, which they dip in the water, and scoop up full of fifh, throw them a-fliore, and then fall to it again ; and so go on in this way, till either they tire of the work, or have the quantity they wifh. And at times are so succersful,that a man often cat- ches twenty barrels in a day. As this fifliing is free to every body, mrny idle people flock to it from a distance to make profit ; and even farmers to su]3ply their own families. They have cafl-:s and salt ready on ftiore, wherein they pack and cure the liih as they hawd them in. The Salmon iifhery at the town is ho lefs ex- tensive, and carried on with small nets twenty or thirty flithoms long, andtliirtyor forty mafti- es deep. Tiiis fifliery, which is solely the pro- perty of the town, is yearly let in lots; and freeholders only have a right to draw for one. These lots cost but two fliillings each, pay- able to the clerk for his trouble; and if one L- J Hm L^lit feet at loMr , it rises h^re vefscls almost ing quantities cauglit, with h are nothing a hoop of the ed by farmers nowing their lich they dip of tifh, throw- again ; and so :;y tire of the f wifh. And ian often cat- body, mrny ance to make )Iy their own salt ready on re the> filh as is no lefs ex- [ nets twenty >r forty mafh- )lely the pro- in lots; and Iraw for one. ^s each, pay- ; and if one happens to draw a good lot, he may either fifli it hinuclf, or let it to another. One lot, called Ibe Dc'vSs Hole, has been let this year at 4<;o Salmon ; and I have heard several gentlemen say, that they have known a net hold a hundred Sahnon of a day. The fifh here are not scringed nor dragged I ibr, as in other i)laces. The nets are set at low I water on the iliore ; both ends fixed ; that I without to a heavy stone or anchor, and the end |l within, a-ihore, chiefly in the eddies, in the '^ same way that small trammels are put on the sea fliores in Scotland for catching trout. When the tide makes, and these nets become U-float, the scools of fiili that pufh up the river Jstrike with such amazing force, and in such W/iumbers, as to raise a considerable part of it l^ut of the water. So numerous are Sal- I mon here, that three thousand, I have bebn itold, were cauglit in a day in this way; and I that the best M,, unM, of an extraordinary |,size, ^^rill fbtch in the market but a (hilling ; j-- the general run is but from ten to fifteen rounds weight, though there are some of be- tween twenty and thirty. ^ Besides these I have m.entioned, there are |two other sorts of fiili, called Shed and Bafs, ^caught here in vast numbers, generally weigh- f mg from three to five pounds. ■ [ 24 ] On the banks of the bay, are found abun-i dance of Cod and Ground Filh. The Salmon and Herring, though of a smaller size, are said to be as fat as those of Europe. The Gaspa- roes are a species of Herring, which pufli up the rivers in May, and spawn in frefh water ; are much larger, but of poorer quality. On the whole, there can be little doubt, that in course of time these fiflieries will be great articles of commercial intercourse, as they arc already of considerable magnitude. From this port they annually export be- tween two and three thousand barrels of Sal- mon, and as many Herring or Gasparoes. Furs, to the value of L. 4000, of which six thousand Moose Deer fkins make a part. Some of these animals are said to be fourteen or fifteen hands high. Masts and spars for the Britifh royal navy in the followmg pro- portions ; one inch thick in every three feet in length in masts ; one inch to every four . feet in spars or yards ; and one inch to two feet in bowsprits. " Last summer one spar was (hipped on board the Lord Mansfield ot Greenock, of thirty-two inches square, and 128 feet long. On hearing of this extraordi- nary stick, my curiosity prompted me to go , to the mast yard to look at it ; but it was put on board some days before ; so that I was sorry at being deprived of the pleasure I expected IL'ttll found abun-i The Salmon :r size, are said The Gaspa- rhich pufli up 1 frefh water ; juality. tie doubt, that will be great se, as they are le. ly export be- Darrels of Sal- Dr Gasparoes. of which six nake a part, o be fourteen and spars for allowing pro- ^ry three feet :o every four inch to two one spar was Mansfield oi ; square, and his extraordi- :ed me to go , tit was put on t I was sorry c I expected [ 25 3 rom the sight of such an uncommon stick* lowever, I saw several v»^li^h were^ ninety Ifeet long, and thick in pi*o|fc)rtion. In fhurt, ^here is no place uponjflie continent that Abounds more with thesfe arLicIes, so ne- ^efsary for our navy, nor where they are to be ^ad better in quality, or easier for transporir "tion, than at St John's. Lumber of various , kinds is to be got here. j Ships are built not only in this, but also in idifferent bays and creeks up the river, which are of two, three, or four hundred tons burden, carpenter's measurement, all of black birch. 1 HAVE been on board a ihip, then on the stocks, of three hundred tons, that had not a tick of any other wood in her whole hulk ; nd another brig of two hundred tons, just Allien launched, whose cabin and state rooms ;^were finilhed in the neatest manner I have seen, all of black birch, equal in beauty to .ginahogany. These vefsels, when fitted for sea, are loaded with lumber, and dispatched either to Britain or the Britifh West Indies. If to the former, often both fhip and cargo are sold ; but if to the latter, the cargo only. They take freight from thence for Britain, whence, if the fhip is not sold there, fhe returns to her own port I 4 , t i ii ;'! [ 26 1 again, laden with the various commodities of that country. . It is the most fortunate thing in the world for these new colcmies, that the old ones Oiook off their allegiance to the mother country, as they have a free trade with the Britifh West Indies, and supply them with lumber, which the others, in consequence of their indepen- dency, are debarred from. September i . Leaving St John's, I came to the Indian house a little above the falls, where I went on board a small schooner, bound to Frederick town, which lies about ninety miles up the river. ^ About a mile above this Indian house, the river is much narrower. A ridge of high and steep rocks of Hme stone, on each side, confine the waters ; though not so much but that vef- 'sels may pafs and repafs with great safety ei- ther at high or low water. OBSERVING a Httle hut in the face of the rock, I went a-fhore and took some refrefhment. I had a fhort conversation with the landlord, whose name is Lorine, a mason by trade, and originally from Dumfries in Scotland. Ad- joining to his house, (or rather cave,) in this romantic situation, he built a lime kiln and store house ; and having abundance of Hme stone, from the surrounding rocks, and large ' junts of wood, carried down the river to him commodities of ng in the world le old ones fhook ther country, as he Britifh West lumber, which •'their indepen- )hn's, I came to the falls, where oner, bound to •ut ninety miles lian house, the ige of high and :h side, confine h but that vef- great safety ei- be face of the le refrefhment. 1 the landlord, 1 by trade, and Icotland. Ad- ' cave,) in this Hme kiln and dance of lime cks, and large ' ; river to him t 27 ] Pit a small expence, he went on In burning jlime, by which, I was informed, he not ^niy made a good living, but also realized hat might be deemed for him a consider- ible fortune. A LITTLE above this place the river widens Tadually, till it becomes equally broad with fnany arms of the sea, or salt water lochs on the west coast of Scotland. We proceeded up |he river this day but twelve miles, when the ^Ips^ind died away into a perfect calm. \^ September 2. After we had pafsed major fcoffy's beautiful seat, pleasantly situated on a .Jpoint, on the west side of the river, we landed ^n a point of low land, where one man, and •Miree boys from eight to twelve years of age, were employed in mowing the rankest and j^rongest natural grafs I ever saw. Here I was informed, that two men coming lown the river, attacked an old Bear and two iroung ones swimming acrofs the river, which ley killed, Another man, in his boat alone, met a Bear imming acrofs, struck him with his axe, d wounded him ; but by the force of the :roke the axe fell overboard. The wound ^Sxasperated the Bear to such a degree, that it Iftv^as with the utmost difficulty the man could teep him from boarding him, and in the [ 28 ] struggle bit one of his fingers ; but at last, lit ihoved off his b^at and got quit of him. This day we landed and dined at an inn kept by one Roger, a Bostonian, who rents the place from a settler, at L. 27, los. currency. He raises a great deal of hay on this lot, which besides produces all sorts of grain. Mr Roge* told me, that rather than throw away his dung, he nieant to lay it out on his meadow ground -, though it yielded him al- ready two tonsper acre. He hoped by this im- provement to make it retura two and ODf^ half tons at a cutting. And when I recom- mended to him to lay his dung on his corn, rather than his grafs land, his answer was, that it was rich enough already, and that dung would spoil it. Every mile we advanced up the river, on this day's journey, the prospect was more ex- tended. The lands appeared better and closer inhabited ; tlie islands and flats on each yield- ing the most luxuriant and greatest quantities cf natural grafs I ever saw ; and the foggage, for the most part, rich clover. While dinner was getting ready, I took a' stroll along with the landlord to two neigh- bouring farms, situated on a brae above the flats. One of these settlers told me, that he had but one Cow when he came there, about lut at last, lie 3f him. t an inn kept mts the place rrency. He is lot, which r than throw ly it out on elded him al- d by this im- wo and op'^ lenl reconi- 3n his corn, wer was, that d that dung :he river, on vas more ex- er and closer ri each yield- :st quantities the foggagc, dy, I took a • two neigh- e above the ne, that he there, about ■ [ 29 ] six years ago, but that now he has twenty head of black cattle, besides horses, poultry, and hogs. The returns in their new cleared land, he said were not considerable, owing to weeds, which the soil throws up when unfliaded by woods, and exposed to the influence of the sun and air. They are much pestered with Squirrels, of which they have several k inds, and very de- structive to grain. Here I first saw the flying Squirrel, >vhich is a curious animal, whose wings pretty much resemble those, of a Bat, and are smoother than any velvet. Having viewed every thing that was to be seen around this place, we returned to the inn, and after dinner went on board the vefsel, where I slept that night. Next day we sailed up the river several miles, but the wind slackening, we came a- fliore. From thence I travelled by land, which I preferred to goin^ by vrater, as it gave me an opportunity of seeing and knowing more of the country. This morning, in a field of Indian corn, I fliot a bird, A^hose colour, {hape, bill, head, and cyc^, convinced me that he wavS as per- fect a Woodcock as was ever seen in JEurope, though somewhat smaller ; . owing, as I sup- posed, to his not being full grown. I fhowed him to several gentlemen, and inquired if r 30 ] they knew what sort of bird it was ; but none could tell me, or acknowledge that they had ever seen any of the kind; but colonel Ting, a good looking, jolly, hoary headed gentleman, who said it was a Woodcock; that he had ne^ ver seen any before in this country, though he often had in the province of New York ; and that he believed the- -ere tc be seen there in all seasons of ta^; v....r. Also (hot two other beautiful birds, called Hei-ho, whose plumage is beautifully variegated. They are about twice the size of a Thrufh, and much of that fhape. After leaving colonel Ting's place, I came to one Squire Peter's, who has an extensive plan- ti tion on the same side of the river. I afkcd several questions of this gentleman about farm^ ing, which he answered in a very satisfacto- ry manner ; among the rest, that they might cut two crops of hay in a season on the same spot ; but as one cutting afforded them plen- ty for their own use, it wa^ not worth any man's while to be at the trouble or expence of making hay for sale, as it would only fetch five dollars a-ton, making in sterling, about twenty-one lliillings; for a-ton of hay is 128 stone, of sixteen pounds, Dutch weight, each. At this rate, he would, after all his labour and expence, hardly get twopence />fr stone. A tx?n feeds a Cow for the season, M ■i\^. t 31 ] U this climate they have no more rairl than IS absolutely necefsary. A tradesman of Frederick Town told me, that he had wrought there thirty-four days last summer, and that of these he was only stopped from his work one day by rain. The islands and flats, which are numerous and extensive, on each side of the river yield great crops of grain and roots of various kmds; and an astonifliing quantity ofgrafi without any sort of manure. Some of the old settlements in Maugerville have been cropt annually for fifty years back, without so much as one handful of dung to help the vegetation- and are at this day, and will probably be tJ the end of time, as good as ever. This, no doubt, is principally owing to the nver overflowing and flooding the land, and enriching it in the spring; but the upper- lands on heights, such as are dry and un- flooded by any water, will, in course of lon<^ cultivation, require manure to make them produce rich and plentiful crops. iHz schooner in which I first embarked bound to Frederick Town, being detained for want of winds, and hkely to make a tedi- ous voyage of it, I fliified from her on board the post-boat, along with the other pafsengers. We were all very social and happy, xhev mostly continued on board; but I walked a [ 32 ] :l;'i'^. great part of the way, and when a-head of them, niude excursions into .the different plan^ tations in the neighbourhood ; and, when tired, returned to the boat. In one of these excursions, many stories were told me of the bears in this country j one of whicli, as being somewhat curious, I (hall relate. On an island, called Spoon island, which I had pafsed 'a day or two before, there \vere se- ven bears killed in one day. A gentleman and his son, near a house in which I then lodged, had been out working at hay, having pitchforks and rakes; and seeing a monstrous bear, quite close to the river, they prefsed so hard upon him as to drive him into the wa- ter. They then thought they had him se- cure, as there was a boat near them, to which they immediately ran ; and having pur- sued and comfe up with hhn, they struck aijd pelted him with the pitch forks and fliafts till they broke them to pieces. The exaspe- rated monster now, as they had no weapon to annoy him, turned the chace on his adversa- ries V and fixing his fore paws upon the gun- nel of the boat, attempted to get in. They did all they could to keep him out, but their efforts were in vain ; — he got in. So that at last they had nothing else for it, but either to jump out into the water, or stay in the •fmi I 33 1 boat and be torn to pieces. They chose the former, and sw^m a-fhore. The Bear, now- master of the boat, whence the enemy had bat- tered him, was so severely galled with the strokes and wounds he had received, that he made no attempt to follow, but continued in the boat ; otherwise he might have soon over- taken them, and have had ample revenge, as he could swim three times faster than they. They immediately ran to the house for guns, and when they came back, saw him sitting in the boat, and~ dipping one of his paws now and then in the water, and wafh- ing his wounds ; on which, levelling their pieces, they ihot him dead. The landlord of the house I put ud at, when this story was told, fliowed me one of the paws of this Bear, which, on account of its great size, Jie kept as a fhow ; and added, that he was as big as an yearling calf So that one may easily conceive the havock and destruction committed in a coun.try so much infested with such monstrous and ra- venous animals, especially on Sheep, the sim- plest and silHest of all creatures, w^hich fall an easy prey to beasts of far lefs strength and size. Many of these harmlefs, yet useful animals, were destroyed by Bears in this ve- ry neighbourhood, where one man sustain- I i I I C 34 I cd the lofs of thirty of his Sheep within a fhort space ; and even young cattle often were devoured, and carried olTby them : yet they prefer Swine, when they can get them, to any other meat. Going aloi ^ with my landlord to view his farm, and entering the Ikirts of the wood, he hollowed out pretty loudly, " Canaan ! Ca- naan !" and presently a parcel of Sheep came ikipping out from a remote corner, and sur rounding him, fawned upon him. He put his hand in his pocket to see if he had any salt to give them, but had none. ■ As I imagined it was queen Anne he called, I looked very attentively among the flock to see if I could discern the one he honoured with the royal title ; and when I could not see any one seemingly superior to the rest, I aflied him which of them he called queen Anne. At which he laughed impioderately, and told me, that I was led into the mistake by his manner of pronouncing the word Ca- naan ; which is universally used in this country when they call in their Sheep. This mjin had but few milk Cows, only six in number ; but of an exceeding good kind. I pointed out the one I thought best of them, and a/ked him what he valued her at. He said ten pounds ; but was sure he would not get near that money for her. t Canaan ! Ca- r 35 1 She would surely fetch it in any part of* x'hc world I have been in ; and might be deem- ed a good Cow in any part of England I have seen. This gave me an idea of the cattle of this country ; but I saw none that would equal them during my stay in it.

i ! h I, Mi>, Ki . I. ; [ 40 ] consummate knave, I fell in with a captain Ag- new, son to the doctor of that name, who overheard the dispute with the Scotch Irifh- man, and told me he knew him to be a great rascal. This gentleman and his father bought se- veral large properties in this country; and though he had been over the different pro- vinces of North America, and had seen ma- ny parts of Europe, was bred in the south of Scotland, and mostly resided in England, yet he preferred this place to any he had ever been in. He gave a high account of the cli- mate and soil, and said the winter months, to him, were the most pleasant of the whole year ; particularly February and March. The serenity and clearnefs of the fky and air, and warmth of the sun, without a single cloud to obscure it, were really delightful. Indeed I have had the same account from almost every body ; but they all agree, that while the northwest winds continue, the cold is extreme- ly keen and penetrating ; an 1 if a person be not aware of it, he may get frost bitten. But when the wind fhifts to any other point of the compafs, they may work or walk out as lightly clad as we in Scotland do in the sum- mer month s . More agreeable weather I never saw, nor felt such warmth as 1 have done I 4i 1 This gentleman fhowcd me a dwelling, house he is just now building, directly, oppo- site to Frederick Town, most pleasantly situa- ted at the foot of the river where it enters in- to the river Nafhwack. The former is a pretty large river, navigable by canoes ; and has ma- ny pleasant settlements on both sides of it for forty miles up. After viewing this gentleman's rising man- sion house, which has every appearance of being a very handsome one, with under- ground cellars of stone, and the rest of wood, I went over his inclosures, and the low grounds of his farm, and saw the manner in which he carried on his improvements. Among other particulars, he told me that this country was very famous for Sheep. As they were a beneficial stock, he meant to I have a pretty large flock, at least three score ; I and as the Ewes in this province are so prolific, when well kept, as to bring forth two Lambs I at a time, his stock would soon increase. His property, which is very extensive, is I pleasantly situated, and at the same time vq- ry advantageously for disposing of all its pro- \i\uce. The wood he cuts down to clear his lands is purchased by the garrison for firing, whereby he has a double advantage ; and all the hay he can make, which in a little time -;^^i:i nmount to several hundred tons, will b^ -ill* i W'- I it 'mi L 42 J bought up by the town and garrison, where he also will find a ready market for many other articles his fiirm or estate may yield. After gratifying my curiosity, and viewing every thing that was to be seen in this place, the gentleman \ ery poUtely afked me to dine with him ; which, for want of time, I decli- ned ; and having thanked him for his civiHty and poHtenefs, I parted with him, and walked up a new road through a wildernefs of eleven miles extent, to see the Highland settlements on the river Nafhwack, and came to the house ^ of a captain Shaw a nati e of old Scotland J and county of In^erncfs, where I slept thati night. SEPTEriBSR 6. Captain Shaw, at whose house I was entertained very hospitably, is| married to a Yanky young lady, by whom he has four boys and two girls. The mother i. bare headed, and so blooming and well look- ing, that I supposed her to be a maiden, until I heard the children call her Mama. I fell into the like mistake often ; as all the married women here go bare headed, except when! drefsed. ^ The captain, who is an intelligent gentleman. ' bem- the preceding day employed with lii, men, clearing and burning wood off his lands,| came home in the evening as black as a col her. This, I find, is the general practice an^ li irrlson, where he I 43 1 employment of all the industrious gentlemen , formers in this part of the country ; and in^ deed the state of their lands, and the produce thereof fully evince their laudable attention. After breakfast, and captain Shaw's fhow- mg me how he carried on his improvements, ^ was conducted by him to another gentle- lan's house, two miles from thence up the river, a captain Symon's, where we were told several gentlemen were to dine that day, and miong the rest, my relation Dugald Campbell \s we were going along, we fhot a couple of Pheasants, beautiful birds, larger than a Moor- fowl, and nearly about the sizre of a Heath Hen. Wh£xn we arrived at captain Symon's a lew England loyaHst, we found my relation ^ere, who recollected me at first sight. Being very desirous to see his farm* which ;^as but five miles farther up the river, with very other settlement I could on the Nafh- kack, captain Symon said, he would give me L horse on condition of coming back by four I'clock to dine at his house ; to M^hich we greed. Accordingly we set out, and on our py, called at a captain Archibald M'Lean's Irigmally from Mull, a captain French's, tJ ^hose daughter Mr M'Lean was married, and Dr Drummond's, brother-in-law to the en- Imeer my relation. [ 44 J Here I met a lieutenant Dugald Campbell of the king's American Rangers, with several ' other gentlemen, settlers in this place. On our return, we found the above gentlemen, and three or four more at captain Symon*s ; dined, played cards, supped, and' smoaked to- bacco. We had a very plentiful and genteel dinner, but neither wine nor punch, as the produc-e of these new settlements cannot as yet afford this luxury. Our drink was grog, and rasp rum, served ■up in wine decanters, and drank out of glafs tumblers. I was afked several times if I chose to have sugar, which I declined, as eve- ry other person present did ; the rasps gave the rum siich an agreeable relifh, as to make it unnccefsary. We pafsed the evening very agreeably; three of the gentlemen and I slept here that night; the rest went to their own houses. Here I was told that the Highlanders settled up this river, were in many respects not a whit better than the real Indians ; that they w^ould set out in the dead of winter, with their guns and dogs; travel into the deep recefses of distant forests; continue there two or,,|tliree weeks at a time, sleeping at night in' the snow, and in the open air ; and return with sleas loaded with venison ; yet witha], were acknowledged to be the most )en air : and I 45 ] prudent and industrious farmers in all this province of New Brunswick, and lived most easy and independent. The Salmon fifhing on the river is very- useful ; and angling, and Trout fifliing is not only serviceable, but delightful and amusing. Captain Symon told me, that he knew two Frenchmen, in one canoe, in the month of July, to spear in one night ninety-six Salmon, with torch Hght. And one of these men told him this was nothing to what he had seen, viz, that three canoes, in one of which he himself wajr, had speared at the same season of the year, seven hundred Salmon in one night. So that it was an. easy matter for the first settlers here to catch, in the season, as many Salmon as would serve then- famihes, which every far- mer here has hitherto done; but since the country is settled, the Salmon fifliing on this river is much upon the dechne. The engineer to whom I told the French- man's story, hardly thought it credible that such a thing could happen on this river ; but had not the least doubt that it might on the Merrimafiiee, which probably was the one he meant. The lands on many parts of tins river, or, as they are called here, creeks, are rich and fertile; the flats extensive and easily improv- ed; but they were pestered wiih a small black ■'m' ii: ^nwm f 1 1 -VFT iiiifi r 46 ] fly, which tliey call the Hefsian fly, that to- tally destroyed their wheat, and hurt some . other gram for two or three years back; but this year they seem to think they are falHng ofF, and will soon be quit of them. This des- tructive insect has, by degrees, over-run all America, and but rarely continues above three years in one place. A MAN filhing in a canoe, is reckoned a wretched fiiherman, if, when he spears a Sal- mon, he wets himself, and goes alhore with the fifli. An expert hand pulls them into his canoe until it be brim full, and then paddles afliore to unload. When this is done, he falls to work again, and continues till dayhght, at- • tended with succefs. Neither Wolves nor Bears are numerous in this part of the country, and the Moose Deer are baniihed to some distL.ice ; but those fine birds which they very improperly call Par- tridges, being much more Hke Pheasants, or Heath Fowl, or rather a species between the two, are numerous here. Of Pigeons, in the season, may be seen fi-om any eminence ten thousand flocks, or as far as the sight can reach. They are smaller • than with us, and in some places caught with nets, in the same manner I have seen the Ger- mans catch Fieldfairs, who probably introdu- ced that custom into this country. r 47 ] The warmth of the sun, the serenity and mildnefs of the weather continue, and astonifli me, as I have never seen the hke in any coun- try I ever was in. It infeebles and enervates me much, and evinces that I am not lit for en- during a warmer cHmate ; yet the inhabitants by no means complain, and tell me they have often seen such weather for six weeks without intermifsion. But in such fine weather as this, a frost often sets in at night that often spoils their potatoe crops ; I mean so as to stop its growth, and hurt buck wheat and other grain. September 7. Captain Symon conducted me the length of captain Shaw's, where 1 part^ ed with him and lieutenant Dugald Campbell, one of the gentlemen who were with us last night. We proceeded to the Ferry, where I again met with captain Agnew and a Hefsian officer,- who, I was told, was married to his sister! The captain again allied Dugald and me to dme with him, before I fliould Icavr the coun. try. Having crofsed the Ferry and dined at M'Leod's, we proceeded up the river five miles to Dugald's house, and on our ^^-ay thither I waited on general Carleton the governor. As I had conceived a very good opinion of ^ Uiisprovince From the specimenl had seenof it 9 : ' . Ji; > ■»' [ 48 ] and that I knew a great many people from the Corner of Scotland 1 had come from, were in use for some years past of emigrating to the American states; that many more were prepa- ring to do the same ; that a Mr Simon Frazer, a young gentleman from Poictu, in Nova Sco- tia, told me at Fort William, a few days be- fore I set out from that place, on his way to Greenock, that he was employed to engage vefsels for sixteen hundred he had on his Hst, ready to embark for America ; and that eight hundred more were preparing to follow the next year, which I knew was not owing to wantonnefs or desire of change of situation on their part, but principally to the inhu- manity and opprelsion of their landlords, who either distrefsed them, or screwed up the rents to a pitch they could not pofsibly pay. Of this I could not be mistaken, as I knew many of the people in this predicament, and some of them I had seen wringing their hands, cry- ing most bitterly, deploring their miserable famihes, and the state they were reduced to. Humanity fliudders and fhrinks with horror 5it the recital of their sufferings; and as I judged they would be as well here as in any part of the States, I resolved to wait on his excellency, general Carleton, the governor, and know from him what encouragement these people might look for, did they come to iw r 49 ] this province, and prefer being under the Brl- tifli government, and king's dominions, to those of the United States ; and when I waited on him, and put that question, his^answer was, " That they fhould have every thing de- pendent on him, such as lands, gratis, in any one spot they would pitch upon, not occupied already, m quantities proportioned to their stock." He spoke of 500 acres to some, lefs or more, conform to their capital and rank ; that however desirous he would be of such a thmg, he would not keep it for them, but give It to the first settlers that offered. I told him that I by no means desired he Should as I could not say whether they would accept of It or not ; that all I could do was to acquaint such of them of it as intended to emigrate, on my return to Scotland, and let them jud^e for themselves; that as I liked the country and was partial to the Britifh government, I much wilhed that they would accept of his Excellen- cy's proj osal, rather than go to the States, as al- ready said; made my bows, and came away tor the engineer's house, where I remained some days, and visited several families in the neighbourhood; captain Lee, an Englilhman, Mr Gardener and Mr M'Gibbon, Scotchmen ; to all whom I was much obliged for their po- Jitenefs and atf-^r>^;^^ . „_j . ^ ''^^■-""vii -, iiiiu preparing ior my a m ill I H«M|u: p>\ ' 'ijii Nli m n [ so ] journey, to the foot of the Merimafhee river, o^ which I had heard so much, that, though dis- tant 150 miles, I determined to see it, and therefore engaged John and George McGre- gors, two smart young men, born in the forty-second regiment, whose father had been a serjeant in that corps, and killed last war, they being well acquainted with that river, and the course 1 was to take. SquiRELvMON, of whose politenefs and at- tention to me I cannot say enough, came here to wait on me, and he and the engineer were kind enough to agree to go along with me to see the settlements on the said river. We therefore set out, crofsed at Frederick Town, and proceeded up the river Nafhwack, to Squire Lymon's house, where we staid that night. This gentleman is of such rank, and so highly respected in these parts, that he is de^ legated a member to the Provincial Afsembly, and has the charge of carrying on the public roads on this river, and opening a communication between it and the Meri- malhee. From captain Lymon's we again visited captains French and M'Lean, and lodged at Dr Drummond's. Here we staid some days ; during which we dined in these ' families. Went over the Doctor's and engi- neer's farms, which are separated only by the ill r 51 J Tay. They have small river xay. iney nave a deal ot inter- val; deep, rich land, that never got, and I suppose never will require manure. I was astoniilied at the loftinefs of the timber grow- ing thereon ; and I am convmced many of the large pine trees would measure from threte to four feet diameter, of which they rarely make any other use than log canoes. On these intervals sometimes two crops of hay are cut in a season. Here I saw a Beaver dam ; and as my Dog made a great deal of work about it, we judged some of the family had been at home, but kept under large logs of trees that happened to be there ; so that we did not see them. In the pool, below these logs, were a good many fine large Trout, swimming about at their ease, and seemingly undisturbed, as if no creature molested them, which gave us reason to suppose, what has been often affirm- ed by many, that the Beaver does not eat filh, but wholly subsists on the bark of trees* Were it otherwise, the lifh would not live in the same pool with them. This is the only running stream of any magnitude I ever saw them settled in. Their general method, (which I have seen in several places down this creek,) is to dam up any low spot, through which a small brook of water w I 52 ] glides ; by which a pool, or small fheet of water may be formed. From this pool they make canals in different directions, by which they can lead considerable logs of trees to form their dam. The earth they take out of these they use as mortar to fill the crevices betwixt the logs, and stop the water. Their broad flat tail they use as a trowel to batter it up, as well as to form their habitations. The natural sagacity of this creature is so well known, and so fully described by other travellers, that it is unnecefsary to enlarge on it here. It is, however, worth remarking, that when a hunter falls in with any of those dams, and wifhes to know if any Beaverslive in them, he cuts down a small slap in the dike, and comes in a day or two to the same place ; if they are there, he will find the slap made up. An Indian who goes to look after Beavers, ties up his Dogs, and will not allow any of them to follow him, which if he did, and the Beaver got hold of any one of them, he would cut clear out whatever piece he got hold of, arid so disable the t)og, and perhaps render him uselefs ever after. A Beaver's tail, v/hich is about four or five inches broad, and between one and two thick, is reckoned by many a delicious morsel, and sells high to white people -, but, to me, it was too t 53 ] luclous, and appeared more of a gristly na- ture than real fat. It is said, that if one of them be caught in a steel trap by one of the feet, he will cut that off which is held, and thus get away. As the trap only spoils the animal, and is of no advantage to him that lays it, I find that this method of catching them is disconti- nued. I HAVE seen a tree cut by a Beaver, and was much surprised at the size of some of the chips about it, some of which I took up, and found them to be about half an inch broad, and two lines thick ; and, by way of curiosity, ihowed them to several persons in that coun- try, who said they had often seen many such before. They have four large broad fore teeth, two above and two below. The Hares in our country have teeth somewhat resembling them. In all parts of this creek are Pheasants and Hares innumerable. Wherever I went I fell in with them, and fliot some. In autumn they can kill as many as they please of the former. In this place where I am now writing, Dr Drummond tells me, iive or six broods of them were hatched last sum- mer, quite close to his house, and came mor- nings and evenings to feed through his fields I. tl hi ' t" i I I f pill '5!i r 54 ] and potatoe ground, of which he fhot froni day to day what se; ^ed his family A Gentleman in this neighbourhood also told me, that the preceding year, two gentle* men, from the river St John's, had been upon a visit to his family ; that next day being Sun- day, and consequently an idle day, he and they, to amuse themselves, went out with their guns, took different routs, and strove who (hould kill most Pheasants ; that when they returned in the evening, and count- ed their game, they had above forty of these fine birds. It is a practice, not uncommon in this country, to catch Hares by the .following con- trivance. In winter, when all kind of her- bage is buried under the snow, a tree is cut down, which, in the course of their perpetual ranging about all night for food, they find out, and feed upon the buds and small branch- es of it. When the sportsman finds this, he places a number of gins around the tree, on these branches ; by which it is no uncom- mon thing to find eight or ten of them caught against next morning. They are not so large as those of Britain, nor so small as Rabbits, but seem to be a species between the two, and are milk white in winter, but of a deep brov/n in summer. I V I * • From Frederick Town to the Foot of the Merima- SHCE River and back again, XIaving now got every thing ready for our journey to the Merimalhee, we proceeded up the river Naihwack, through the settlements of the forty-second regiment, which is close- ly inhabited on beautiful spacious flats on each side of the river. I FOUND them happily situated, each on' his own property, and glad to see one come so lately from their native country. Their grertest w^ant, and what they complained most of, was women for their young men ; they begged of me to recommend some hundreds cf them to come, and that they would engage that they fhould all get hus- band, or masters, before they Ihould be three weeks in the country, proportional to their rank and age. I MENTIONED to onc that I was told every winter they would set out to the distant fo- rests, and continue there for two or three weeks, and sleep on the snow in the same way the Indians do. He said it was very true, and that ne'er a winter since he set^fed oa , I IHI'I •!i. # II' ■•?!ii r s6 ] that river, but he had a thousand weight of Moose meat in his house, and that in general they all were so ; that a good Moose would weigh eight hundred weight, and a Kerra- boo about four hundred. I NOW found the information I had formerly- got of them to be well founded, as I could see; theyhad abundance of stock and crop to sup- ply their wants. Their habitations and inclo- sures neat, comfortable, and commodious. One of them told me, that one of his fields produced thirty bufhels of bear for every one sown, but that he had given it a little ma^- nure, as the soil is somewhat thin and sandy. I have seen other fields of oats, which, they afliirmed, would return twenty-fold, which I find to be the average increase on this, and St John's river, in wheat, oats, and bear, when no manure is given. We called at several places as we went along, and dined at Mr Angus Mackintofli's, the highest settler on this river. He is a very decent man, originally from' the coun- ty of Invernefs, and was a serjeant in the se- venty-first regiment. His wife told me, they had every necefsary of life in abundance on their own property, but there was one thing which file wiihed much to have; that was heather. And as ftie had heard there was an island in the crulf of St Laurence, onno.ute [ 57 1 to the mouth of the Merimafhee river, where it grew, and as fhe understood 1 was going that way, fhe earr^stly entreated I would bring her two or three stalks, or cows, as (he called it, which 11) e would plant on a barren brae behind her house, where Ihe supposed it would grow; that flie made the same request to severals going that way, but had not got any of it ; which fhe knew would greatly beautify the place ; for, said fhe, " This is an ugly country that has no heather ; I never yet saw any good or pleasant place without It." She was so decent a woman, and so earnest in this matter, that I would go many miles out of my way to procure it for her ; but as the island flie mentioned, which produced it, was several scores of miles from fhore, I had no chance of seeing it. After dinner, our hospitable landlady ha- ving furnifhed us with a parcel of fine frefh eggs for our journey, we set out, and encamp- ed at night about the middle of the portage. The men set to work, and in an instant hewed down wood, and set up a fire ; cut the crops of a species of ever green wood, which they call varr^ of a most agreeable and aromatic odour, of which our beds were made, and co- vered with our Bear fkins. On this we slept. We ranged upon the one side, with our soles H i, ; m i'i i 1 58 1 to a fire, kept up all night, and the men in the same situation on the gther. Got up very early next morning, and proceeded through a large tract of hard woodland of good quaUty, and easily cleared. Descending on the opposite side we enter- ed a valley, the immense pine trees of which were the loftiest I had ever seen, and so nu- merous, that I supposed the whole Britifli navy might be supplied with masts and spars from it. Many of the trees we supposed to be from seventy to eighty feet high to the first branches, and three feet diameter. One tree in particular, the engineer supposed to be four feet through. Crofsed two small ri- vers, the Nagudagunand Waametick, or Tax's river, which last takes its name from an In- dian chief of the Meekmack nation, called Pier Tax, who sometimes had resided on it, ^nd falls into the Merimafliee below the eas- tern portage. Between nine and ten o*clock a. m. we ar- rived on the banks of the Merimaihee, put up a fire and breakfasted. Coming through the wood this morning I fhot a fine large Polecat, or Martin, and a half dozen of Pheasants. While we were at breakfast, we saw many Salmon and Trouts jumping in the pool by us, and a fiock of large grey Ducks, resemblmg those called in Scotland Sheldrakes, [ 59 ] After breakfast we returned our horses, and embarked on board two canoes made of birqh bark, which is very common in this country, and proceeded down the river gn our voyage. The river as we went along is broad, fhoal, find of a clear gravelly bottom, and rare to find a pool deep enough to come over a man's head of six feet high ; so thai: we made very little use of our paddles, but poled as we went along. Pafsed many fine islands and large links of deep, rich, interval land. We made a considerable way this day and encamped at night on an island. Slept soundly at the root of a large tree till about one o'clock in the morning. A heavy fhower then fell and obliged us to put our Bear ikin over us to secure us from it. We continued our nap till an hour or two there- after, when I, happening to be awake, heard some strange animal call two or three times pretty close to us, and seemed coming to- wards us. I gently put at the engineer, awa- kened him, and alked him what creature it was. He, without giving an answer, instantly sprang up, seized upon his gun, awakened the men, and watched its coming ; but the night being very dark, could not see him pafjiing by, calling now and then as he went along. They said, the call was that of a Moose De: >G. i , r iff'! mB [ 60 J and resembled more the call of a young than an old one. From this place we set out very early next morning, and pafsing a small island, we heard a loud plunge in the water, which drew our attention to that place, and found it was occasioned by a Cow Moose, and Calf, crofsing from thence to the main land, with such expedition that I had not time to turn about in the canoe to fire at her befo: e flie got into the wood. I proposed to get afhore and follow her ; but they said it was in vain ; because being once started, Ihe would go a great way before Ihe would stop. We landed upon a point to take breakfast. Whilst the kettle was a-boiUng, Captain Ly- mon having hooks and lines in his pocket, lopped abranch ofFatree, with which he fifhed, and caught more fine Trouts than we could use. While he was at this work, I took a stroll into the wood, to see the soil and nature of it. And wherever the wood was any thing open, the grafs and weeds were breast high, and obstructed my pafsing through it; which made me return to our encampment sooner than I otherwise would have done. In these excursions I rarely ventured with- out my double barelled gun loaded, so as to- be prepared for any wild animal I mi^ht chance to fall in with. lii;. i I [ 6i 1 All along the banks of this river, are seen great quantities of hops growing spontaneous- ly, and as luxuriant as those cultivated in the most fertile part of England, and small onions, with which we used to season our fifh. In the evening we arrived at a house built by a set of wood cutters, employed by a Mr Fraser, merchant on this river, where the small river Kain falls into the Merimafhee. The two brothers, John and George McGre- gors, whom 1 employed to accompany me in this expedition, were well acquainted with the navigation and fifheries on this river. The for- mer was one of five filhermen, \vho, with the afsistance of a few Indians, caught seventy tierce of Salmon in the space of ten or twelve days -y they would have continued the fifhing longer, but rain came on and swelled the rivers, which induced them to give it up for that season. On the river Kain, the Salmon .are so plenty that many m.ay be caught in a few hours ; for the same young man afsured me, that he has known 300 taken thereon with a net in one day, by placing the net at the foot of a pool, and beating the fifli down the river into it. ' ' Whilst our things were a-carrying to this hut, v/here we encamped, I went a-fifhing, jmd was so succefsfiil as to catch many more i 'i 'rf ■I \ tl r 62 I fine large Troiits thr.n we had occasion for ; therefore left some on the fliorc, and threw several into the water again. I OBSERVED, that there is a great deal of interval aniJ eood lands on both sides of the river as we came along. Having here a dciA floor to lie on, we went to bed, and slept soundly and comfortably till morning. Then setting out pretty eariy, we set up sails in both canoes, and alternately sailed, po- led, and paddled, till we came to a place some miles below, where there were several vefsels, hogfheads, tubs, i^c. for curing Sal- mon, still uncarried away; here we stopt, boiled our kettles, and breakfasted. There- after proceeded on our voyage down the ri- ver, whose banks on each side are covered with woods, mostly evergreens, and some hard wood intermixed. Many parts are high, and in other places low, with some well lying interval; particularly the parts called the Sugaries, from a deal of sugar being made on them. Many more streams falling into this river below the Kain than above, heightened the prospect all along, till we ar- rived at the point where the river Renew falls into the Merimafhee on the north side. Here we saw an Indian and his Squa making some small, but very neat bafkets of Porcu- pine quills of various colours. Their method I- i I 63 ] of dying the quills is as follows ; They pick up small pieces of cloth of every colour they can find. These they scrape down as small as they can, and boil separately in kettles, till the dye is extracted from the wool ; then put in the quills in them. This dyes them, and gives them as tine colours as can be wiflied ; — indeed I never saw any more bril- ' liant. The river Renow is broad, but flioal at the foot, and seems to be a very beautiful Httlc one, where a neat and beneficial settlement for a filhery might ^bc made. Here we put up sails, and joined both canoes together for our greater security, and that there might be no danger of oversetting. From this place down to the island of Bar- naby, several miles below, the river is navi- gable for small craft ; and from thence to its entrance into the gnlph of St Laurence, for thirty miles, for Ihips of any burden. The late Mr Davidson, alias John Goodsman, ' havingobtainedlarge grants of lands here, bi It adwellinghouse,some offices,anda store house. The soil is rather thin and poor, as is common in this country < i the coast ; and the place seems more eligible fc carrying on the fiih- eries, than for cultivation; for which purpose he placed crofs nets on stakes fixed in tne channel of the river, to prevent the Salmon fl i H I i^iiftilijl 11 :;"" sia [ 64 ] from going up ; which occasioned many dis- putes and quarrels betwixt him and the In- dians. He also erected saw mills on the north east branch of the river, lor manufac- turing the woods; and from thence exported large quantities of fine planks, masts, spars, i^c. Besides the considerable trade he car- ried on in different articles of timber, he annually exported", caught on this branch of the river, from twelve to iifteen hundred tierce of Salmon. He was the first settler in this place, and to him it was owing, that many settlements there afterwards took place. He was a man of genius and great abi- lities ; and though his views, as a schemer, were said to be too extensive, yet he was in such high esteem, and so well beloved, that he was made a member of the House of Af- sembly, and deemed one of the ablest and • cleverest men in it. The surveyor of the customs told me, that in this river .were fhip- ped in one year 3800 tierce of Salmon. In the evening we arrived at the house of. Melsrs James Fraser, and John Tom, mer- chants on the island of Barnaby, where they kept stores and different kinds of merchan- dise proper for the country ; fhip masts and spars for government; deals and all other kind of wood for foreign market. The fhip Cochran, from Greenock, Robert Burn mas- igll [ 65 ] ter, and a brig from Shclburn, were just then taking in their lading. Mr Fraser is judge of the inferior court of common pleas ; and this being a court day, several of the neighbouring gentlemen were afsembled, and after the court businefs was over, dined at his house. Though dinner was over with them before we arrived, yet as they had not broke up, wc had the good fortune of falling into their company, and conversing with them on the state of this part of the province, respecting improvements in agriculture, fifheries, game, t^c. Uc. Besides Mr Fraser, and his partner Mr Tom, there were present on this occasion, Mr Nicol- son an Irifhman, coUecLor and deputy survey- or; Mr Reida Scotchman; Mr Robefhot a Frenchman; squire Taylor, squire Wilson, Americans; Mr Laurence, Mr Andrew, an Englifhman, a liner of masts and timber, for which he has L. 200 a-year from this compa- ny, besides bed and board ; captain Collick, a hearty jollyfatPensylvanian;andMrle Dernier, theiheriff, a Swifs; a smart, hvely, sensible little man, once superintendant of Indian affairs, who, having lived for seven years among the Indians, acquired their language, and spoke It with ease and fluency ; a great sportsman, and perfectly expert in their manner of fifli- ing, hunting, and calling in the game. 'i lilt 'li !'■• li r [ 66 ] We staid here all nighf ^nd next day- took a view of the compaiiy's mast yard, stores, and every thing to be seen about this place. Judge Lymon, after satisfying his ca- riosity, went to visit Mrs Davidson, and see the saw mills. The extent of this island is only 1 50 acres ; very flat, all simdy, having little of any other soil, and covered with young birch wood and pines. When the French pofsefsed this coun- try, it seemed to have been cleared land ; but being uninhabited, it fhot out in wood. It lies at the fork of the two branches of the Merimafhee, about thirty miles from where it enters into the gulph. The tide, which rises here about six feet, flows up to Renow river, fourteen or fifreen miles above it. The land on each side is level, or has a gradual and easy ascent; the wood mostly pine and birch ; though there are some spots of large and hard wood. The river here is about a quarter of a mile broad, of a muddy and san- dy bottom; and having neither stones nor rocks, seems to be as safe a navigation as is in the world. The settlements thereon are but few, and none as yet above twelve miles from the forks. Every one has a right to fifli on his own property to a certain extent of nets; and V' — «»-rp*' [ 6-7 ] J. 'ew or none exercise this right without vast advantage and profit. Mr le Dernier told me he had seventy- tierces of Salmon caught on his lot, wit-h only- ore set net of about thirty fathoms to the bsMc; and many others were nearly in that proportion; but that his was among the best stations on the river. Sweep nets have been tried, but did not (as they say,) repay them for the expence and trouble; so they gave them up, and continued that kind of nets which gave no other trouble than setting them at night, and taking the fifh out of them in the morning. These are set on poles, which are fixed in the bottom, and standing upright. And I am informed, that from this river 3000 tierces of Salmon, caught in this way,had been fhipped two years ago; but that last year and this have not answered so well; and that on the Restigulh river, which falls into the bay of Chaleur, forty miles to the northward of this, they catch a great ma- ny more, and these of a larger size ; for it takes only from twenty to twenty-five Sal- mon of the latter river to make a tierce ; whereas from thirty-six to forty of those of the former are required to make one. There are a great many streams of Icfser note in this part of the province, where a deal of Salmon are caught. The mouths of the ri- I I f I I H m ft ,!:■;:; [ 68 ] vers and all along the coast, abound with al- most all the varieties of filh in the sea ; and as for Lobsters and Oysters, they are so nume- rous, as to beco-ne a nuisance, destructive to the nets and the fifh therein. Wild Geese, Brants, Ducks, and all the variety of water fowl, are in such numbers, that a good sports- man in a few hours may load a canoe with them. Mr le Dernier the flieriff, who is as inde- fatigable and expert a sportsman as can be met with in any country, told me, that he himself annually lays up for winter store, two tierces of Brant and Wild Geese, as many of Salmon, and as many of Herring, besides other fifli, Moose, Keraboo, and other venison. The latter need not be salted, as they are killed in winter, and the frost preserves them; but the Brant, which is like a lump of butter for fat, and the Geese, are (hot in Sep- tember and October, and therefore require to be pickled to preserve them. When plucked they are spUt on the back, and barrelled up, and when they have occasion to use them, they are steeped in water for a night or two, to thaw and carry off the salt, when they becomt fi-efli, sweet, and as fit to be roasted or stewed as the day they -were caught. As the method of (hooting the Wild Geese, Brants, and other sea fowl in this place, is mle weight, is no lefs surpiising. The Indians in New Biunswick and Lower Canada call him the Black Devil \ and as an instance of their >wledge of his bad tricks, when a merchant cheats or circumvents them in a bargain, they call him a Carca* seu, I DO not suppose they a^ ^ numerous, as I have not seen above half a dozen of their ikins ; and as I have not heard of thci beins: in the south, I judge them to be inhabitants of a cold country only. Having set out on our way home from Mr Frazer's, who furniflied us very hospitably with some provisions and necefsaries, we arri- ved in the evening at a deserted house at the foot of the river Renow, whc j it empties it- self into the Merimafhee. "V\ e put up there that night, and as it rained a great deal, w^e deemed ourselves lucky to be under a dry roof. We proceeded up the river, and saw three Moose Deer crofsing it 3 a Cow and young, and a Bull Moose ; and though the water where they crofsed had been between three IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (Mf-S) /> SSSs >fc. 'links, rt <& :/. f/i f/. (.0 !|R llgi .5!^ ^ K' 1^ ^ 1 1.25 1.4 1.6 1 •• 6" J Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87^-4503 .^^ V :\ \ "^-./^ % '% ^^ v. '^ ^^ (..<;, r 78 ] and four feet deep, they treaded throtigh with as much ease as if it had been but as many inches; and as they had gone in some son of haste mto the wood, it was thought need- iels to follow them. On this day's course I observed a great ma- ny places where fiihing cruives or chests could be built with very little trouble or ex- pence, and with a certainty of succefs. The water spreads so wide as to be on many fords not above four inches in the deepest part ; we could not get the canoe up without touch- ing and dragging her along the bottom. « It ihould so happen, as no doubt it will when settlements take place in the country above, that cruivin*g the river will be opposed • yet if one man had a property of one of the' long islands on thi^ river, and the land on the opposite fliore„it is to be supposed he might cruive betwixt it and the fliore, while the channel on the other side of the island were left open, and permit the fiih to proceed up the stream. Many of these islands are so long, that if a chest were placed at the head, such fiih as chanced to come up that channel would be apt to pufh forward at any hazard, rather than return and attempt another course. The channel is smooth, and the gravel and beach so small, that pickets, or stakes of wood, might be driven endwise intp [ 19 J the bottom, and so close, that the lifli could not pafs. Many of the pickets, if not the whole, would readily stand from year to year. There is httle danger of their being carried away by speats during the fifhing season ; as generally the rains falling then seldom or never swell the river to such a height as would endanger them ; or supposing any brea- ches were then made they could be soon re- paired. And in the event the whole of these pickets fhould be driven away by the ice and trees floating down the river, in time of the freflies, the trouble and expence of replacing them would be but small ; as two men ha- ving wood at hand couid make up the whole in a few days. CoMiNG up this grand and beautnal' river, I observed several fine islands that escaped ray notice going down, where cruives might be made in the water in this way. Also large intervals ; and a vast extent of rich lands, admitting of easy improvement, where many hundreds, and even thousands of fa- milies might find comfortable settlements; so that, upon the whole, I think it as eli- gible a place for a settlement as any I have as yet seen in America. The great risque would be, and which has already hurt the lower settlements on this nver, that the vast abundance of fifli might t 80 ] induce the settlers to apply more to the fiih*. ing than to the cultivation of their lands. On the small rivers Kain and Renow, they filh in the following manner : At the foot of a certain pool they place a net acrofs; beat down the fifh for a number of miles from above, and then sweep the pool. And changing in this manner from one pool to another, they hardly leave a fifh in these smaU rivers, till the next speat bring up what will supply their place. The Rustiguich, which is a large stream, falling into the bay of Chaleur, as already observed, is filhed in a way that is a Httle more curious. As the Indians have no large nets of their owii, and claim an exclusive right to the filhing, they apply for the loan of one to some white man who has one, and for which he is to get a proportional ihare of the filh. When a proper net is obtained, they place it acrofs a certain large pool, near the foot of the river. Having done this, they go with a number of canoes up the river, sometimes eight or ten miles, each being provided with a boiled Salmon in it ; and when they get up as far as they intend, they range their canoes in proper order from side to side of the river, and crumble out the boiled Salmon as fast as they are able, till the 'Water appears white and muddy b/it. They tlien fall to work, and beat down the fiih with their poles and spear fhafts, keeping pace with the crumbled filh as they go along, until they come to the large pool, at the foot of which the net is set, and then they scringe the pool. George M'Gregor, on whose veracity I could depend, told me, that he himself had seen 900 Salmon taken out of that pool at one time in this manner, and that he got thirty or forty of them from the Indians for mending a few holes in the net. And his account is corroborated by another man, who told me, that upon another occasion, he had seen 11 00 taken out* of the -^ame place in the like manner. Having encamped and slept all night on the banks of the river, we set out pretty early nrxt morning, and IS we were going up, we made the same ob- servations as the day before, in regard to the soil and filhing. As I was travelling on the banks of the river, I observed two Wigwams ; I went in to see them, and found both of them without an inhabitant. The families had been then either fiihing or hunting. The furniture of these temporary habitations consisted of several difties made of birch bark, finely ornamented, and boxes of Por- cupine quills, as 1 supposed for sale. Besides these, I saw a root drying, which the Indi^ I'm t 82 ] ans use as a cure for many complaints, aiid took a piece of it alopg with me. The name they give it, I think, is Calomet*. It has a strong spicy taste, an aromatic scent, and heats the stomach almost as much as a dram. It is either the root of the sedge, or some- thing very hke it. We arrived at the Portage and dined. Left the canoes there, and proceeded on foot to the Nalhwack river. Shot three or four pheasants ; pad found a large Moose Deer's horn, lately dropped off, by the side of the path, which, I suppose, would weigh above a stone weight. Having met our hor- ses about midway, we mounted and arrived an hour or two after night fall at the house of our former landlord, Angus M'Intolh, with whom we staid that night. Next morning, beginning to breakfast, I was surprised to see him bring in a large kebuck, as I supposed of cheese, of about twenty pounds weight. I afked him, when did he make that cheese ? he an. ered, in | spring last. I observed to him that I had seen ■- many a farmer in my country who had three- ^' score of milk Cows, but never knew them to make a cheese of that size at that season of the year. He said it took more than that number of his Cows;- that he milked above an hundred to make that cheese. This I could * Calamus aromaticus, I suppose. '\m\ omplaints, aiid ne. The name let*. It has a tic scent, and uch as a dram, sdge, or some- id dined. Left] ;ded on footi Shot three or I large Moose f, by the side would weigh met our hor- l and arrived at the house JUS M'Intolh, ) breakfast, I g in a large se, of about i him, when anct /ered, in at I had seen lo had three- knew them : that season >re than that Jied above an rhis I could 'i I 83 ] not divine, as I knew he had only four milk Cows, which I saw that morning, until he began to slice it down, when, to my great surprise I found it to be a loaf of maple su- gar made.in the form, and of the colour of a cheese ; which proved what he had said to be true, as he had pierced that number of trees to make it. Her^ I saw the finest melafses 1 ever tasted extracted from the same tree, far superior' to that made of the sugar cane, and nigh- est to honey in taste of any thing I know. Continued our journey. Called on Dr Drum- mond, captain M'Lean, and captain French The latter told me, that some years he caught ten barrels of Salmon on a pool in the river before his house, besides what served his fa- mily, m one season ; but that yearly they are turning fewer, as the settlements increase ; and that the people destroy most of then, ia the spawning time, as there is no attcntioa paid to prevent it in this province. The gentlemen in this settlement have ve- ry fine spacious farms, which in a few years must turn out to a very great account. . Captain French, who holds one of these, rarely keeps a servant. He himself and son, who IS also a half pay oiBccr, manage and car- ry on the work without, while his wife and daughters do the dairy, and that within. By r 84 ] laudable attention and industry, he lives in affluence, and independent of the trouble and cxpence of servants, while many of his bro- ther officers who trust to them, get in debt, become poor, and the next thing to bank- ruptcy. In the neighbourhood of my good friend Captain M'Lean, was a farm to be disposed of, which, from the low price aiked for it, the quality of its soil, and its pleasant situation, I was very near induced to purchase. It be- longed then to a half pay officer, whose father died in the Vermount State, and left him a good pofsefsion, which he was obliged to oc- cupy or lose. His farm here consisted of 550 acres, twenty-five of which were clear, which could not be done but at a consider- able expence, though lefs to him than to others, as he wrought the greatest part of it with his own hands. There was an island in it on which he could annually cut twelve tons of hay. More of the island could \e cleared at a small cxpence ; so that triple the qnantity could be made on it. Besides this there was a pool in the river on which he usually caught a barrel of Salmon more than served his family. All this I could have had, and was offered to me for fifty pounds, Hali- fax currency ; which is five pounds lefs than Sterling, But as I was determined to engage [ 85 ] in nothing of the kind till I fliould return home, I declined it. The owner, whom I fell in with next year, told me he sold it for that money. I proceeded down the river, called on Captain Shaw, lieutenant Dugald Camp- bell, and in the evening arrived at Frede- rick Town ; and next day waited again on the governor, who confirmed what he had for- merly said in regard to lands, with the additi- on, that to some he would give even a thou- sand acres, if their stock was proportional to it. He said, he did not doubt but I would see finer lands on the lakes and southern parts of Canada, but it was much more out of the wox Id than any pare of this province, from whence every inhabitant had ^ccefs of seeing or hearing from the mother country almost every day. From the governor's I went to the engi- neer's house, where I staid for some days, pre- paring for my journey through the wilder- nefs and mountains to Lower Canada. i Il^ From Frederick Town to quEBEC. 1 WAS now to encounter a journey, the dangers and difficulties of which would stag- ger many, more accustomed than I was to travelling in this country, and in^.red to the ways necefsary, through impenetrable forest^, a savage wildernefs, and mountains covered with snow ; and what I deemed little better was, that I had to go from 270 to 300 miles, by water, through broad and rapid streams, broken with stones and rocks, which made It both unsafe and intricate to get up against them in a small birch canoe, that could hard- ly carry my Dog besides the poleman, or na- vigator, and myself Of all this I was inform- ed by others, as well as by my nephew, the engineer, who prefsed me much to wait un- til next May, when I might, without any dan- ger of being overtaken by snow in the moun- tains, get through with more safety ; and mentioned that lord Fitzgerald, who had un- dertaken such a journey ayear or two ago, from Frederick Town to Quebec, in the dead of winter, was well provided with a small par- ty, snow Ihoes, and every thing necefsary for 11 ley, the lid stag- was to i to the ; forest^, covered J better 5 miles, streams, I made against i hard- or na- nform- w, the lit un- y dan- moun- ; and id un- ►, from ead of II par- ry for la] . WalMMlMffmMHi^ 'ii_ r; lak 2. A Bur/i Cviof poddifd /y\' Squaws. S. A-Bahoost. I'^r tttdiflii dtild _ •4.A Zoo F^n.c' . 6 . T'o./t and Rail Fi'iut . 7 ytivmia Rjtil /'nice, 1. ». Ihvei/in,j l[iui, dred pounds of tallow from an Ox fed in the woods. This gentleman's farm is situated on g broad point of land, where the river forms an obtuse angle, on which the French had a fort before the Britifli got pofsefsion of this province, and had cleared a considerable space about it. The remains of the pickets and ramparts are still to be easily discovered. The cause of the great rapids already men- tioned, I judged to be a rise of one foot in ten, for the space of a mile, which occasioned their immense velocity. In crofsing a large and deep pool at the foot of the rapids, we were very near being overset in the middle [ 94 ] of the stream, by inadvertency. In paddling through, I happened to lean too much to one side, which brought the water to edge with the. gunnel. My conductor aroused my attention, by hastily calling to me to take care, and very alertly laid his whole weight on the opposite side, otherwise we must have gone to the bottom. Such inadvertencies of- ten prove fatal in those miserable small vef- sels which float as light as a cork on the sur- face of the water. From captain Artwood's we set out by day- light, and had gone but a few miles when the country again became open, the mountains were spread out at a considerable distance, and the river widened. Several islands ap- peared. We put up and breakfasted at one Sheriff's who kept a public house. Here we were told that the preceding evening three men, crofsing the river in a canoe, were over- set and one of them drowned, one swam afhore, and the third held by the canoe, which kept afloat, until a son of Sheriff''s, who was the one that had swam afliore, returned with another canoe afid relieved hirti. The poor man that was drowned had left a wife and small family of children, who had not as yet heard of their misfortune, and whose distrefs the people here deplored very much ; but said, they had as much crop as would main- [ 95 1 tain them two years at least. This was a fa- vourable circumstance of a new and little cleared settlement, notwithstanding of its high situation. , This young man, the landlord's son, fhew- «d me the fkin of a young Bear which two hardy stout Dogs I had seen him have, had killed a few nights before. He said the Bear had come so close to the house that the Dogs smelled and pursued him ; that their barking had brought him, and another person, out with their guns ; that before they came up he had betaken to a tree, on which one of them went for an axe and cut it down ; that when the tree fell, he ran away and often beat off the Dogs in the chace ; that in this way they had continued for half a mile, and got into the woods before the Dogs fixed upon and held him ; that his cries, which the young man said he beheved could have been heard a mile off, brought him and the other man up ; that they stood with their guns cocked, expecting every moment to be attacked by the old Bears, who they were sure would come to the young Bear's relief^ were they within hearing j that while the two people facec^ and looked one way, they were in dread of being seized behind from the other; for this reason they continued facing from side to side, attentive to every r 9« 1 (Quarter, and in full afsurance of being attack- ed for half an hour, while the Dogs were kil- ling the Bear ; they could give no afsistance to the Dogs on account of the darknefs of the night. AFTfeR breakfast I proceeded by land a good way on the water side. The habitations continued close, the soil deep and fertile, and I have no doubt, in a httle' time, that this will become a plentiful and happy settlement, though rather far from market. They seem to regard good soil more than distance and extent in this part of the country. TowTARfed eveiling, while the engiheel" \^as aOiore buying some necefsary provisions, I landed on att opposite island where a num- ber of Indians were settled, and raised a con- siderable quantity of Indian corn. The day being cold, with a north west wind, I went into a Wigwam to warm me ; the Owner was a Canadian Indian, who had served under gene^ ral Burgoyne last war, and had' been wound^ ed in that service, but not disabled ; he spoke French and a little Englifli ; he was an inti- mate companion and very particular friend tof George McGregor's, they had been on ma- •ny hunting excursions together. George afk- ed hirfi where his daughter was, and launched out to me much in her praise. He said fhe was at school in the Kanabicaces and lived [ 97 ] in the schoolmaster's house ; that fhe was so saucy as not to speak to him when he went to see her, which is, no doubt, owing to the wretched masters, who teach them to despise their parents; whereas a different conduct might have induced them to send many more of their children to school than they do, which would be the means of civilizing them, and rendering them useful members of society. On my seeing the figures of a Bull and a Cow Moose Deer on the birch walls of his Wigwam, I requested the favour of him to draw the Luservi and Carcaseu. He looked for a bit of charcoal ; but on my gi- i^ing him my black lead pencil, he seemed to understand the use of it, and drew all these very neatly, on the blade of a new and well polifhed paddle, which I foutid by me, and reached to him for that purpose. The engineer once (howed me a drawing upon paper, made by an Indian, of two rivers run- ning in different directions, which, he said, he had afterwards found, on a survey he him- self had made of them, to be very exact. The genius and mental powers of these people are extremely lively and retentive. Having given two hearty bumpers of rum to this Indian, I left him, and we continued our route, and in the evening encamped in the woods. The night freezed pretty smartly. N f r 98 ] Next morning we set out early and pafsed seve- ral fine islands, on one of which I landed. It had been lately inhabited by Indians, but they had left it and gone to school. They had raised a considerable quantity of Indian corn on it, which they carried along with them. This island, like all the other places I have ever seen the Indians reside on for any time, was rich deep soil, and easily clear- cd. My servant, who had hitherto walked all along, had fhot several Pheasants; and havmg wounded a Mink, which is a black amphibious animal, ihaped hke a Martin, but much larger and as vicious, the Mink got out on the river, and my Bog pursued him ; when the Mink dived the Dog kept swim- ming about until he rose again to the surface ; they had several battles, and afforded us good sport. At length both were much spent, and my servant having compafsion on the Dog, Vho was smartly bitten in several places, fhot the Mink, which his antagonist brought in triumph afhore to his master. One of the Pheasants fliot this day was of the Spruce kind, none of which I had ever seen before, and it differs a good deal frm , the Birch species, and resembles much in Ihape and size, and in the roughnefs of its legs, a Grous or Moor Cock; but as they chiefly sub- sist on th^ buds of the spruce tree, their flefh t 99 I tastes very much of it, and does not cat so well as that of the birch Pheasant. My poor servant being now much fatigued with liard travelling through rugged coarse land for several days, I exchan^^ed situations with him, and walked on Ihore in my turn. In the evening we arrived at the military port of Preflceel. Lieutenant Thong, of the sixth re?;iment, who commanded at this port, and seems to be a genteel young man, came verv poUtely to wait on us, and afked us to spend the evening in his apartment. While the engineer was examining the barracks, and settUng some accounts with the workmen, I took a stroll around the place to see it. The country, as far as I could discern on both sides of the river, is covered with lofty spruce and pine trees ; the soil deep, but incorporated too. much with sand ; and yet it is cried up as wonderful in the production of pulse of al- most all kinds, and vegetables. For my owi^ part I could see nothing deserving such en- comiums. The gardens below the banks on which the barracks are built, seem to be deep rich soil, but no other part attracted my parti- cular attention. The troops have cleared a good deal of the ground about the barracks, by using the wood for firing ; but as the ground is not kept in tillage, the young growth fhoot up again, and will become a thicket. f 100 ] This fort is situated on a point of land, at the junction of the small but rugged river of Prefkeel with that great and spacious one of St John, famous for Trout fifhing. At this place we pafsed the evening, and breakfasted next morning with Lieutenant Thong and three other subaltern officers of the sixty-fifth regiment, who had come to relieve him. The engineer having some directions to give to the w6rkmen, and a report to make to the governor of the condition of the barracks, and the works going on at this place, he remained behind me, and I pro- ceeded, accompanied by my conductor George only, and my servant, who walked on ihore as formerly. Before our setting out, I was told that the river would become more and more rapid as we advanced ; th^t it was broken with stones and rocks ; and was of a wild and gloomy appearance, being hemmed in on both sides by the precipices ; that the way became more intricate, and was lefs known; and the next fort distant about eighty miles, and not a living soul to be seen in all that space, unlefs some few savages ihuuld be accidentally met with. This I thought bad enough, but deemed no trouble, fatigue, or even disaster, that could befal me, equal to the misfortune of being detained in this province till next May, I therefore r>ufhed [ rci 1 on, but promised to wait a day at the Grand Falls in hopes the engineer vfonld overtake me there. Towards noon some heavy fliowers of sleet and rain fell, that made us very wet and cold. We landed and struck afire to warm us. The evening having cleared up, we continued our journey, and encamped at night at the root of an old cedar tree. The wettest day that is, a large cedar tree will furnifh any expert hand with materials for putting up a fire ; its bark for hghting, and its decayed lower branches for fuel. The night freezed smart- ly, and though we had chosen a convenient spot to pafs the night in, we felt it extremely cold. In the morning of the preceding day, I had seen some appearance of good land, but much more of bad. October 13. A very cold blowing day. The river broken and rapid; the canoe almost constantly in danger of being driven on large stones, rocks, or into strong currents, by the high gusts of wind, and overset. I often ex- changed with my servant to ease him, and walked on land, and (hifted from the one side of the river to the other, for the more easy travelling. Towards evening I turned a point of land, and got considerably ^-head of the canoe, which at this time was nn thp nnnnsite side. I sat down to rest my- self, and to write my journal, and intended [ I02 ] to wait until the canoe came up. Having rested here for double the time I judged the canoe would have taken, I became very un- easy, lest it was overset, and both the men drowned ; but still I continued where I was m hopes that I might have mistaken the' distance and the difficulty of getting up the frequent and almost perpetual rapids ; until at length I concluaed, without a pofsibiUty of doubt, that some misfortune had befallen them, and that it could be no other than that they were for ever lost. I knew my own servant could not swim, nor did I believe George could. I NOW found myself in a very disagreeable situation indeed, without clothes to cover me at night, provisions or amunition but one fliot in my gun, hungry, and much fatigued, havmg travelled a good deal, and eaten nothing m the morning but one slice of cold frosty meat, and three days journey from any hu- man being or thing that could sustain life. In this desponding condition, I returned to make the best of my way to Prefkeel, and ivas m great doubt if ever I could reach it considering the frosty nights, ruggednefs of the woods, and every other impediment that was to fall in my way. I had not returned above half a mile, when, to my no small joy, I espi- ed the canoe coming along on the opposite side of the river. What had detained them X \ .\ v^ was, I was cut a it, bi me 1 with( spuni piece to ca walkc woulc ing ( settle] Wi campi in an floor to pui in th] morni to the as ice, ed a 1 put ba Nex sun w£ veiled throug plaina was, that the pole of the canoe broke just as I was getting out of sight. They had to land, cut another pole, put up a fire, toast and peel it, before it was fit for use. This induced me to resolve not to travel more by land without my gun, powder, and fhot, steel, spunge, and flint, for striking a fire, and a piece of bread in my pocket; and I determined to cause my servant have the same when he walked ; so that if the canoe fliould be lost, we would at least have some means of support- ing ourselves, be the next Indian or white settlement at what distance it would. We went some miles further on, and en- camped at a pretty little river called Tabick, in an old Wigwam, to which we retirecf. The floor being dry, I supposed it unnecefsary to put crops of trees as usual under me ; but m this I was mistaken, as I found in the morning my great coat frozen and sticking to the ground, and that side next to it cold as ice, and somewhat powerlefs until I walk- ed a little. I always afterwards took care to put bark, where I could find it, or crops of trees under me to prevent the Hke. Next day,^ though the frost continued, the sun was warm and revived our spirits. I tra- velled a good deal on land, and pafsed through an Indian settlement on a spacious plain at the foot of Salmon rivej. . Over ail this C 164 ] flat, the grafs, weeds, wild oats, bear or wheats (I could not say which of the two last,) were breast high, and rendered my pafsage through them very difficult; the Indians had consider- able plantations of Indian corn at this place. They Ihewed me the ^in of a large Moose Deer, a Buck, lately killed, which was then drying. They admired my double barrelled gun very much, and seemed to be quite un- acquainted with guns of that kind. Large logs of spruce, pine, and other timber, amounting to, I suppose, a thousand tons, stuck by some accident while floating in the middle of the river, and admitted of my crofsing over upon them dry. I PASSED several high mountains this day, and the banks of the river as we advanced, became more rugged, wild, and difficult. When night came on, we encamped as usual at the root of a large cedar, and cut down as much wood as kept up the fire all night. A quantity of snow fell, which covered the ground, and as we were under no sort of fhade, disturbed our rest a good deal, as we were unused to it. Next morning we saw the tracks of several wild animals on the snow, but could not say what they were ; these parts are so savage as to be fit for no other living creature. The way was so rug- ged that my servant was often obliged to walk 1 thicke pafsag was s looked we wi where was th had, ai my pa We Falls, a: the enj night. barracl above the poi river b it agair but th( erected directic neat an accomn The^ with fr usual. and sle By the r 105 ] walk up to the middle in the water to avoid thickets and fallen trees that obstructed his pafsage. As we came along, my poor Dog was so fatigued, cut, and bruised, that he looked no more for game than we did, and we wifhed for nothing more than to get on where we might obtain fhelter and rest. This was the severest day's journey we as yet had had, and a few more such would have cured my pafsion for traveUing in the wildernefs. We arrived in the evening at the Grand Falls, and carried up our canoe and baggage to the engineer's barracks, where we lodged that night. The height of the hill on which the barracks are erected is 1.30 feet perpendicular above the landing place, and the length of the portage from where you come out of the river below the Falls, to the place you enter it again above, is no more than half a mile, but the ascent is very steep. The barracks erected for the men and officers under the direction and inspection of my friend, are neat and commodious, and sufficient for the accommodation of two companies. The winter now seemed to be fairly set in with frost and snow, though sooner than usual. We kept on a rousing fire all night, and slept comfortably on a dry deal floor. By the neghgence of the engineer's servant ;4:4«* t io6 3 a Bog was allowed to carry away my ham and butter ; and had not my friend drawn a part of his own rations, and given me half of his pork, I fliould have been poor- ly provided in the mountains which I had to pafs. As I did not choose that my faithr ful servant ftiould suffer such distrefs herer after as he had hitherto done^ though with- put a murmur on his part, I made inquiry if a canoe could be procured, and had the good fortune to fall in with a little lively Frenchman who spoke some Enghfh, and imdertook to carry my servant in his canoe, and conduct me to Canada, at the rate of a dollar per day, and being found in provisi- ons. Having i^ow every thing ready for my jour- ney, I rose pretty early, and visited the Grand Falls. It is tremenduous to see an immense body of water falling eighty feet perpendicu- lar on rocks that make it rebound with a noise like thunder, and the spray rising high in the air like a cloud. The rocks all around this place are of lime stone. October i6. I set out from the Grand Falls of St John's river. The preceding ^ight and this day felt very cold ; much snow on the ground, and the frost keen ; the country level ; the hills at a great distance from the river, and the water smooth. Meet- ing V way. who h gay da genera seeing and tw Htely house, lodging much « accomr be ext fore I J tivated of the ; trast tc lifh-Am charact< nated, came ei every t smartly even foi else I r I bough it is the] venison a great farm coi ing with no interruption, we made great way. We put up at a Frenchman's house, who had a throng family, some Uvely and gay daughters, much better drelsed than the generaUty of the common people. On his seeing our canoes making for his port, he and two or three of his sons came very po- litely to receive us and welcome us to his house. I aiked if he would favour us with lodgings for that night ; he answered with much civiUty, if I could put up with such accommodation as his house afforded, I fhould be extremely welcome to it. Here there- fore I pafsed that night, and was much cap- tivated with the obliging turn ,and civility of the family, which formed a'perfect con- trast to those of the surly common Eng- lifh-Americans ; but the landlord, in perfect character of the stock from which he orio-i- nated, put no value on poUtenefs, which came easy and cost him nothing; but on every thing else he did, and charged me smartly for every article 1 had from him, even for lodging and potatoes, which no one else I met wi'h in that country ever did. I bought 20 lb. of Moose meat, and a Muffle, as it is there called ; in other words. Moose Deer venison and chops ; which last is accounted a great delicacy. I took a turn about the farm conducted by the oldest son, who, as is f loB 1 'ei" , common in this country, has a farm of his own, but lives with his father. He iliowed me one small plot of land on which they had sown a single bufhel of wheat last IVIay, and requested I would mark the stools and stubble on it, which I did, and found the increase to have exceeded auy thing of the kind I had any idea of He said they were of opinion they had reaped near fifty bufli- els from that one sown. After paying for my lodgings, and every thing I received, threefold, civility except- ed, I bade the family adieu ; and as the day was cold, and the road good by the river side, and the settlements close, I walked much on foot ; and as the wind blew smartly a-head, I could in many rapids keep up with the canoes. I put up that night at an old man's house, whose son was married ta a daughter of the family I had last left ; and from, the attention the young couple paid to each other I conceived they had not been long married, and on inquiry found it to be pnly ten days. Here I bought some loaves of bread; and what my entertainers fell Ihort of my former host in politenefs, was made up by a much more moderate charge. After leaving this, man's house, and pro- ceeding, as formerly, on foot by the river side, to where a few miles farther on it branches 'arm of :r. He which 2at last e stools md the of the Y were bufli- l every sxcept- he daj ; river walked martly p with an old . ta a : ; and )aid to been to be loaves I Ihort made I pro- r side, nches t 109 ] seemingly into equal streams ; the Madawas^ ker comes from the north west, and St John's .from the north east. The latter was our course which we followed. I HAD now pafsed all the settlements of the Madawafker river, extending I think about fifty miles. The land is deep interval, quite flat, but dry, and of as rich a quality as per- haps any in the world ; at least it is account- ed most so in this province. But the in- habitants labour under ma:.y disadvanta- ges that would be deemed by some unsur- mountable ; such as a high situation ; a dis- tance of one hundred miles from any o- ther settlement, and 200 from market ; and a six or seven months severe winter : yet they raise the strongest crops imaginable of wheat, barley, oats, and vegetables of most kinds, (ex- cept Indian corn,) in great plenty. Onions, turnip, cabbages, and other garden stuffs, grow here in high perfection in the fields without any manure, which I was told they do not use on any occasion. From the rapidity of the river in many parts, though it glides slowly along- in other }iarts, I fhould suppose this settlement lies two perpendicular miles above the level of the sea ; for I think there must be near one foot in every 100 of rise including the Falls; and - — ^.~^\i^.i.^^i^^ is tit^u-ut juQ ruii"C3 iiuiii Liic sea. If this in feet, there must be the same propor. t no j tion in miles. They have magistrates who de- cide all disputes among themselves. They have very neat plantations, and every thing but mo, ney; but where they could get that I am at a lols to know. We soon came up to a Fall which obliged us to land and drag our canoes on fhore on the rocks, and enter the river above it. We encamped in the evening in the woods, and lay under the canoes, to fhelter us from a considerable quantity of snow that feU through night. The river being now much narrower, smooth, and Ihelteied from the wind by the high wood on each side, we made great way. My Dog having got some days rest in one of the canoes, he went now by land, and seemed by his hard barking to have fallen in with a Bear, Luservi, or Carcaseu, which kept him far behind. I went into an Indian Wigwam to wait for him ; the master had been out hunting, and there were only two squaws at home. They had several fine large Trouts drying, which they had speared the pre- ceding night ; and they Ihowed me a turnip of uncommon size, which they had brought from the Madawafker settlements. My Dog having come up I set out. I REMARKED in this day's route the dreadful effects of the thunder on the woods. I had r III 1 seen in several other places plots of trees said to have been struck down, but at such a distance from me that I could not observe it accurately myself; but I was here within a few yards of the spot it had struck upon, which is a circular space of about twenty yards diameter, where the trees grew very strong, and as close as they well could, but not one was left standing. 'About two-thirds of them were torn up by the roots, the others broken to fhivers, the stumps 5plit down to the ground, and the splinters driven to a great distance. I fhould imagine the extraordinary force that occasioned this devastation to trees so strong, and to so many of them at once, would have even split rocks, had these coriie in its way. In pafsing up the river, we saw large fhoals Qf fine Trouts of about a pound weight each ; they did not seem to be fhy, as they would pafs up and down, quite c'o e to the canoes, without being in the least disturbed, and if we had had spears, or hooks and lines, I sup- pose we might have killed as many as we pleased. We now arrived at the lower end of the lake Tamisquata, which is supposed to be from thirty to forty iles long, and one ^road m the straitest part ; it is a spacious Iheet of water, of many broad and deep bays. 4s far as mv eye could re^rh f^r^ ^a^k . ,v^ t -".li t 112 1 could see nothing but forests of pines of the ' ioftiest kind, interspersed here and there with clumps of the stateliest birches imagi- nable, that might supply the Britifh navy for ever. Here I observed a great number of aspen trees, vulgarly called the quaking ajh, be- cause of the singular quality of theleaves keep- ing in almost perpetual motion. The Indian name of it is woman's tongue, for they say if one leaf be set in motion all the rest begin, and then there is no such tiling as stopping them. This province of New Brunswick is suppo- sed to be 300 miles square ; and if a bird's eje view were taken of it, it would be seCn that the thousandth part of it is not clear, but covered either with wood or water. At the end of this lake we threw away our poles and took to our paddles. We had fif- teen miles to go upon the lake' before we could get to the Grand Portage ; and to fhor- ten the way we had to crofs the lake twice, and to pafs from point to point, lest we fliould be overtaken by any gust of wind, as a gust would soon have overset us. We were all obliged to work hard, so that the paddle was scarcely out of my hand for these fifteen miles. Though v e puOied on for an hour or two of r»ip-}lt in }^'^rNi:lo ^C « _ U - -1 "r. v.- i.Ajjui, III iivj^vi^ci vi iciicriiiig tne i^ox*^ of the I there imagi- ivy for f aspen ^, be- s keep- Indian say if begin, )pping suppo- bird's e seen 5 not water. y our id fif- re we fhor- twice, St we nd, as were addle fteen ur or PoJT's [ 113 ] tage, we could not make it out, and the wind having got up we were obliged to land. We encamped on a very cold point, being so late that we could not see to choose a pro- per situation to pafs the night in. When day light appeared next morning we saw the Portage, which was not a mile off. Here we landed, drew up our canoes, breakfasted at a house which had been built by one Hegin- bottom, and in which he resided for the con- veniency of trading with the Indians ; but having left it some time ago, it is now in a decayed state. We struck up a fire, and af- ter refrelhing ourselves, and packing our provisions and little baggage, set out ; and on October 20th ascended the Magdalen moun- tains, which bound the provinces of Lower Canada and New Brunswick; and though they are by no means high from their base, are yet, by my calculation, three miles per- pendicular above the level of the sea ; and which great height occasions, at this early season of the year, more than their high lati- tude, their being covered with snow and frost. The distance from this, or the length of the Grand Portage to the foot of the sinull river De Cop, where it enters the great river St Laurence, is reckoned to be but forty miles; while that of the city St John, from r 114 ] vrhence I had come, is about 400 ; so that the declivity to the north must be ten to one steeper than the slope to the south, and the mountains on the St Laurence side must be piled one above another to this distance; which indeed I found to be the case on my travelHng through them. We had scarcely reached the top of the first mountain, when my Dog, who was not only a staunch and excellent pointer, but had been bred and accustomed to all the kinds of game found in the mountains and woods of Scotland, fell in with the track of some Deer, which he followed so far that he lost his way,' and detained us a considerable time wait- ing for him j but on my recollectmg that if he once found our footsteps he would soon overtake us, we proceeded, expecting he would come up with us, until we had gone too far to return for him ; especially as we did not know the spot from whence he went off from us, or what course he had taken, and that by that time he might perhaps be ten miles off My poor Dog, who had been my faithful com- panion and friend, if I may use the exprefsion, for years in all my hunting excursions and tra- vels, kept me from my usual rest, and when he did not a^^pear next morning I despaired of ever seeing him again. My servant, whose companion he was all that time, and to whom he afFor him. J ing tw( prefsibl of us f self We \ when t] sea!" \ when L exclaime and now for it, ai when w mile of at the sii land afte perfectly and as < tions h( could no having n walker s said, to stepped sat dow] plate th( view, wh being th and noth that the to one and the must be istance ; on my of the was not )ut had linds of oods of e Deer, lis way, 2 wait- that if i soon ng he me too lid not Ffrom lat by les off Icom- efsion, id tra- len he red of whose ^vhom r 115 3 he afforded much sport, was almost crying for him. But when he came up to us, after be^ ing twenty-four hours absent, with inex^ prefsible joy at finding us, I beheve each of us felt as much pleasure as the Dog him- self. We had gone but a fhort way from thence when the foremost called out, " The sea, the sea!" We all ran ^ith eagernefs to see it, when Duncan, which is my servant's name, exclaimed, " What a happy sight the sea is I and now that we know where it is we will make for it, and never part with it again ;" and yet when we were at sea he would not give one mile of land for the whole ocean. I rejoiced at the. sight as much as I had done at seeing land after being near two months on sea and perfectly unaccustomed to that mode of life ; and as our guide steered only by the direc- tions he had received at setting out, and could not tell us distinctly where we were, he having never been farther up than .he Mada- walker settlement, I resolved as my friend said, to lose sight of the sea no more. We stepped forward to the brow of a hill, and sat down, the men to rest, and I to contem- plate the grand scenes now opened to my view, which the situation I was in afforded ; being three miles above the level of the sea, and nothmg to obstruct the sight, r ij5 J Here the eye and imagination had full scope to roam undisturbed ; the bustling of sea port to^vns or crowded cities never was dreamed of here ; no roaring stream to dis- turb, or purling rills to divert the thought; no warbling of the songsters or feathered tribe, to take up the attention, but every thing still as night. I viewed with astonifli- ment the novelty and grandeur of the pros- pect before me, which pofsibly very few in the world could equal. The opposite coast of Labrador presented a long range oi mountains, the one raised on the other until their towering summits were lost in the clouds. The grand river St Laurence, with its nu- merous isles, are. no lefs striking ; whose breadth is said to be loo miles where it enters the gulf of that name, and its waters supplied along a space of above 200© miles by the greatest streams, lakes, and bodies of freih water ever known. Forests of the most stately kind, coeval perhaps with the world, and extensive as the great continent that sustains them, which have never suffered diminution since the creation, and fit to sup- ply the world with iTiip timber to the end of time; the gloomy wildernefs in which the traveller is often lost has no end, and is in- habited only by such of the savage tribe as prefer fhade to light. i had full ustling of lever was im to dis- thought ; feathered )ut every I astonifti- the pros- ;ry few in site coast range ol ler until le clouds, h its nu- ; whose it enters > supplied niles by odies of s of the ivith the ontinent suffered t to sup- the end hich the d is in- tribe as [ 117 J These and a thousand other objects that my pen cannot do justice to, were then un- der the eye from my commanding station, and such indeed as would give full scope to geni- us to exercise its descriptive powers, and pliilosophy grounds for the most profound reflections on the great works of nature, in its rude state, As the snow was not above a foot deep, and had fallen before the frost came on, we sunk through it in the mud often knee deep, so that we had very bad going, and made but little way. My foot once slipped between two logs ; and, but for a sudden jerk I gave round, when I found myself falling, it would have been snapped in two. My servant fell a- crofs the stump of a tree, and broke one of his ribs, and the little Cadian Frenchman met with the like accident. We however got through on the evening of the third day after entering the Portage; and though we slept on frost and snow every night, and walked through mud and bogs some part of every day knee deep, we found no bad ef- fects from it, nor did any of us catch the least cold. My servant, who always carried my gun, fhot as many Pheasants as we had occasion for ; I always preferred a stout stick or staff to help me through. The tracks of ■^liu animuiS were so numerous in the moun- r Its ] . tains, that at the root of almost every tree were to be seen the marks of Moose, Rynd, or Keraboo Deer; Wolves, Luservi.Carcaseus,' Foxes, Hares, and small vermin innume- rable, with which last kind the woods seemed to be swarming. At the foot of the mou-t^^ns, in :ieveral parts, are extensive Cedar sw , of a grea- ter growth of timber than any of the kind I had as yet seen, which no doubt was inten- ded by nature for some useful purpose, suitable to its magnitude, and to which it may be applied some time or other. Having now come to the foot of the Httle river De Cop, where it disembogues into the river St Laurence 1 20 miles below Quebec, I pufhed on to the first post house, where I dis- charged my attendants. They were to re- turn acrofs the Portage to New Brunswick, and I to proceed to Quebec. I paid the little French Cadian ten dollars, a^ d four gui- neas to George M'Gregor, who is one of the most obliging lads I ever was acquainted with. He offered to return me a guinea, but as I knew it was no more than he deserved I did not accept of it. The evening turned very windy, accompanied with cold heavy ihowers of snow. I blefsed my stars for ha- ving conducted me in safety out of the wil. dernefs, and over such tremenduous mounn f 119 ] tains ;_>fhook hands with my friend George, and wilhed him and his companion a safe re- turn ;— mounted the calafh, which had been provided, and drove on through the long but narrow district of the Camerascas on my way to Qiiebec. A CALASH is a two wheeled machine, with an open box, resembUng a cart, but having a seat in it Hke a chaise : it is supported on strong elastic leather straps, which give it a spring, and make it far from being a disa- greeable conveyance. The postmasters in general supply every calafh with what the French call a Wild Bull's ikin, and we a Buffalo hyde, which is large enough to co- ver the greatest part of the box, and keeps all the travellers surprisingly warm, even in the coldest weather. But for these Ikins, and the other furs used in this country, there would be no standing the winter's cold in these open carriages. They are drawn by one or two horses as there may be occasion; and as they are made very light, go at a great rate. The country is so closely inhabited, ihat I judge there is a house and family within twenty roods of each other ; so that there are from twelve to sixteen famiUes in the course of each mile. The post houses are placed at fhort stages, and obliged to pro- vide vehicles at a call; so that a traveller may post night and day, if he thinks proper, at the low rate of a pistarinc, or French ftiilling. per league; so cheap is travelling in this po- pulous country. In going through this district on a large meadow of some miles extent, 1 observed a method of securing the hay upon it, which I think might be used to advantage in Bri- tain in the case of meadows and corn fields subject to be flooded with water. Stakes were fixed in the ground in a circular, or rather an octogonal form, over which sticks were laid acrofs, and upon these the hay was made up in cocks, which raised it so high as to secure it from the spring tides which overdood these flat meadows. All along the coast, fifliing wears for catching Salmon were so close to each other, that every f^irmer' seemed to have one on his own property. The number of barrels which are annually exported from these fifh- ^ries I have not acquired a sufficient know- ledge of, but was told that it was very con- siderable. About these meadows were the greatest number of Wild Geese, Brants, and Ducks I ever saw; and the principal day of ■hunting them by the natives was Sunday, which they said was owing to their being idle from other works; and yet churches and mg. of [ wu'fliip 121 ] wire here very nume- places rous. Off the coast of the Camerafkas, about a mile's distance from ihore, Hes a long narrow island, where, as well as in several other parts in this river, a great many Porpulses or Backers are caught, which from what follows seem to be a timorous sort of animal, and as the manner in which they are caught is some- what curious, a description of it may here be attempted. At the head of, and adjoining to this island, IS a large bank of ,and, which ebbs dry at *ow water, but when the tide is in, is cover- ed to a considerable depth. On this bank a low circular wear of wattlings is made, the one end of which comes close to the land and at the other end a small space is left open so as not to obstruct the fifli at enter- ing. At considerable spaces or intervals all along this circle long wands are stuck, and so flexible and supple as to yield to the cur- rent, which is here so strong as to keep them always in motion. When the flood makes the Porpufses, which keep along the coast of the island, enter by the open space, and pufli dn-ectly forward towards the other end, when lo ! they see the wand, a long white thing lliakmg and bobbing in the water before' them, which frightens them much; they . [ 122 J turn about in haste, and iliift to a different quarter ; but a similar appearance is before them there also, fhaking and bobbing like the former; and on whatever side they turn, this strange apparit* n seems to place itself a-headofthem. They continue in fright and amazement^ going about within the circle, until at last the tide leaves them, so that they cannot get over the low wear, and the bank ebbs dry. In this manner a great many of them are caught, sometimes hundreds at a time, from which considerable quantities of oil are made and exported; and this forms no inconsiderable article of commerce. Besides these fifheries, there are others about the island of Anticosti, v/here the ri- ver is, from Cape Rosieres on the south,' to the coast of Labrador on the north, loo miles over. Near the middle lies that barren island, which is supposed to be 120 miles long, and thirty broad, inhabited by wild beasts only, chiefly Bears, of which there are a great many, some Foxes, Martins, and srnall vermin. The Canadians and Indians resort to this island in winter, to kill them for their /kins, and are in general very succefsful. From this place to Quebec the river gradually be- comes narrower, a distance of 300 miles, so that from that city to Point Levi it is hard- ly a mile broad. About the island of An- t 123 ] ticosti, and many other parts of this spaci- ous channel, are amazing fhoals of white Porpufses, glittering hke silver ; and lower down, a number of White Seals, and of the Manati or Sea Cow, in all which the fifher- ies might be carried on to any extent. When this country was first poAef-^ed by the French, the king granted away the land to the noblefse, in large tracts from three to twelve miles square, called Si^niories ; such of these as they were able to clear, were feued by the Signiors in perpetuity to small far- mers, at the rate of from 3d. to 2s. /»^r acre of quit rent conform to its quaUty. In all these pofsefsions given by the Signiors it was sti- pulated, that at whatever time the holders were to dispose of their lands, the givefs themselves were to have preference upon equal terms ; and were to be allowed a year and day to consider whether they fhould buy them or not, so that they had it in their power to keep the lands all that time in the market. The Signiors being poor and ex- travagant could clear but little land, of course the settlements were but narrow stripes all along the banks of the river; but since this country is become an ob- ject worthy the attention of the Britifh government, and that they give grants of the land, the settlements have become nu- [ 124 ] mcrous, and arc extending into the woods, which in some places appeared to me to bj at the distance of ten or twelve miles back from the banks of the river. I ARRIVED in two days and a half at Point Levi from the lower end of the Camerafkas a distance of 121 miles, which in this coun- try IS deemed but moderate travelling. Crof- sed the Ferry in a large log canoe, the com- mon Ferry boat to Quebec. Rcas om Quebec to Mo>^treai. Jul description of this city is here unne- cefsary, as it is already well known ; I will therefore only observe, that it consists of a liigher and lower town ; is ill looking, and ir- regularly built upon an uneven and rugged point of land, formed by the junction of the river St Charles with the great St Lau- rence. The fortifications, though sufficient to withstand the attack of an irregular ar- my, do not appear to me to be strong ; as the rock on the St Laurence side, which forms a part of the walls of the citadel, is easily scaled, and has neither guns or embrasures on it. At the foot of this rock, and between it and the river, is the narrow path, not two feet wide, where General Montgomery was killed last war ; and on the opposite and St Charles side was General Arnold v.ound- ed. On the latter occasion I was informed of the following circumstance: That a party of the Americans had entered the lower town, and taken pofsefsion of a street and some houses in it. How soon this was discover- ed, a Captain Law, with a motley party of [ 125 ] Britifli and Canadians, was ordered to at- tack them in thr rear.. After giving the ne- cefsary orders to his party, Captain Law marched to the attack; and having turned the corner of a street, came suddenly and unawares up to the breast of the Americans : on looking behind him for his men, he- found that they had stopped fliort, and that there were none in view ; as it was now too late to return, he stepped boldly on with- out seeming to be in the least dismayed, say- mg, « Gentleman, I have come to offer you terms," 'What terms?' replied the' others, " Terms, of surrender," said he, ' To whom ?* r To me," ' Why_to you ?' " Because my party IS just at hand, and I thought it a pity to cut you all to pieces without first oiFering you terms of surrender." * But we will not sur- render;' and after a good deal of altercation /r.'and con, he told them, as they would not be prevailed upon to accept of honourable terms, not to blame him for the fatal conse- quence that was waiting them,- made his bows, and offered to go away. * Oh ! ho \ (said they,) we are not to part with you so.^ " Why ?" said he, ' Because you are our pri- soner,' « That is against the articles of war " said he. • No', " Yes," * No,' " Yes." Here •another altercation ensued between them, and as neither side ron],] p^r^„;„^„ .i,„ _.l_* in this cans p] their c in one ledge ii fore th to the man er as it vfi and a i and the ing him er days ly of F: and has ment, s near the up to su; ed the h Law's b; which h maun, ar instantly threatene instant which thi whole pai The Ih of 200 y( as I am in [ 127 ] in this sort of minute warfare, the Ameri- cans proposed to put the question to one of their own party who happened to be then in one of the houses hard by, whose know^- ledge in these matters they deemed far be- fore those then present. On their going in to the house, Captain Law and that gentle, man entered on the subject m dispute, and as It was warmly supported on both, sides, and a man standing between captain Law and the door with a drawn sword, threaien- mg him, Major Nairn (known in his young- er days hy the name of Jack Nairn, former- ly of Eraser's first regiment of Highlanders, and has, since the reduction of that regiJ ment, settled in that country somewhe'^re near the Falls of Montmorency,) who came up to support Law with another party, enter- ed the house, and seeing the sword drawn to Law»s breast, called out in broad Scotch which he always spoke, « God's marcy maun, are yau gaun to kill the maun I" and mstantly ran him through the body. He then threatened to put them ail to the sword that mstant if they did not surrender, on which they threw down their arms, and the whole party were taken prisoners. The fhipping of this city, though almost ot 200 years standing, amounts at this day, as I am informed, to no more than three vef- [ 128 ] sels, whereas that of the city St John in New Brunswick, though but of eight years stand- ing, consists of above sixty square rigged vef- sels. Whether this is owing to the port of Que- bec being Ihut up with the ice for near six months in the year, and the dangerous navi- gation of the river St Laurence, and the port of St John's being open all the year through, and its vicinity to the West India islands,''or to the spirit of the inhabitants, I know not ; but so it is that this difference exists between them at this day. The trade of the city of qiiebec is carried on in Britiili bottoms. Their exports^ chiefly consist of wheat, Ikins or peltry, fifli,' oil, and some lumber. There is just now in the harbour two fhips loaded with fivins, bound for England, whose cargoes are s:iid to be worth L.ico,ooo each, belong- ing to the North West Fur Company of Mon- treal. The quantity of wheat annually fliip- ped for Britain is very considerable, and yet no sort of m.anure is ever used, as formerly observed. The dung is laid upon the ice so as to be carried olf by the floods in spring. The Canadians are perhaps the worst farmers in the world. If one of them happens to have a spot in a field that produces nothing-, and has industry enough to drop a few carts of dung on it, if the plough and harrow do not spread it, it may lie there for him ^ he has .-.■^-■;.ai«toi... w.-i«i6aa .* dofte his part when he took the trouble of ]putting it on the land ; spreading it is a la- bour no one would submit to undertake. Their horned cattle are perhaps the worst in the world, and their Horses the best ; the former are ill made, big bellied, thin quarter- ed, and poor as carrion, though at this season they ought to have looked best. While the latter are plump, round, well made, stout, and full of spirit. I have seen Horses of many nations, but none in my opinion for common service equal to those of the Cameralkas in I^ower Canada. They have great quantities of vegetables of most kinds. I have seen large ^strings of onions sold in the streets not far inferior in size to those of Spain or Portu- gal. In this town I fell in with a Mr Angus M'Donald who lives in the neighbourhood. This young gentleman seems to have had a chemical turn from his infancy, and by a procefs, the materials for which can be found in any country or. place, he informed me that he could make a composition for glafs or soap manufacture, equal to any barilla that ever came from the Mediterranean j that the operation is so simple that any one can make it, and that when he discovers the secret of it, our kelp in the west of Scotland would not r-^~ TTWiiu liic niiiKing i answered tiiat if Mil [ 130 3 his discovery would, on experience, turn out to his expectation, it would make his fortune, and be of the highest utiHty to Great Britain, as immense sums of money were annually sent from thence to America for pot and pearl afhes, and to the Mediterranean for ba- rilla ; but that I regretted the hurt it would do to many a worthy gentleman in the west of Scotland whose principal income was deri- ved from kelp. He said that was no object to him ; that these gentlemen were so opprefsive to their people that they yearly banhhed great numbers of them to American states, and that they deserved a check. He is a very intelli- gent young man, and is just now concerned in a patent obtained for the discovery of an improvement in the making of pot and pearl afhes. What may be the result of his chemi- cal experiments time only can tell. I HAVE been informed since I left than country that this gentleman was employed by Colonel Simcoe in making researches in Upper Canada, and that he discovered two fine salt springs fit to supply the whole pro- vince with that necefsary article, besides ano- ther mineral spring useful in manufacto- ries. Salt cost a dollar the bufiiel at Niagara when I was there, but now by this discovery it will become cheap and plenty. [ 131 ] As the winter was now fast approaching, and that I wifhed to pufh on to the south as far a& I could before it fhould set in, that I might be enabled to begiti my journey the earlier next spring, I staid no longer in this town than to see Wolfe's Cove where he landed, Abraham's Heights where the battle was fought, and every other thing I judged worth seeing about the place. October 28. I set out in a carriole. The post houses and stages from this city to Mon- treal, a distance of 2Q0 miles, the same as those in the Camerafkas, and by easy stages arrived at Trois Rivieres, or Three Rivers. On the 30th I set out again from the Three Rivers and arrived the ist of November- at Montreal. As I approached towards the lat- ter the land seemed better, and cleared to a greater extent; both sides of the river closely inhabited, so much so that the churches and grist mills were very numerous, which is. a sure indication of the population and fertihty of the soil. After leaving the Three Rivers I fell in with a Scotchman dignified with the title of Sieur Forbes, who kept one of the post houses, an old man, formerly a private soldier in the first seventy-first regiment, or -Fraser's Highlanders, married to a Highlard girl, who lately emigrated from Morar in In- vernefsfhire. Here I dined, and was much [ 132 ] piefsed to stay all night. She spoke French fluently, but very little Englifli, so that fhe and I conversed in Gaehc. Mrs Forbes, when fhe found I could not stay, directed me to the house of one Mackay, who I believe was also a soldier in the same regiment. There I pafsed that night. This man has three stout young fellows his sons, who had been for several years employed as clerks in the North West Company of Montreal, and settled at Detroit and Michilimakinac. It is necefsary for these clerks to acquire the Indian language as soon as they can ; the more in- telligent and expert they are at it, and the more of these languages they can speak, the fitter they are for their businefs ; for these reasons they afsociate much with the Indians, and often have the squaws in keeping. It would seem Mackay's sons were not wanting in that part of their duty, as there were three of their children then living in the house with their grandmother. When these chil-' dren grow up, and are instructed in . the French and Englifh languages, they become very useful to the Company, as the Indians look upon all the progeny of their women to be of the same tribe of which their mothers are ; and whatever the father may be, the he- ritage goes always in tlie female line, of r 133 ] course they are looked upon as one of them' selves and get preference in barter. The country on both sides of the river between Quebec and Montreal, a stretch of 200 miles as already observed, is flat, or so easy a rise as to be scarcely perceptible, and the hills at a greater distance than the eye will carry. The breadth of this spacious flat is ve- ry great even on the south side, and so much so on the north as to be unknown ; and were it cleared of wood, and cultivated in the way it will admit of, would maintain as many in- habitants as all Scotland. In the island of Montreal, of eighteen miles long, are many spacious and fine farms, somp of which are pofsefsed by EngHfhmen who cultivate and manure their land as is done in that country, and raise crops which astonifh the natives, who now begin to follow their example, and will soon, it is to be hoped, spread over all the populous and extensive province of Lower Canada. The price of wheat this year is 3s. 4d. Halifax currency, about 3s. sterling/)^;' bulhel; beef. ixd. per pound ; Turkies and Geese at from tenpence to one fhilling each ; and in the market at this season are to be found numbers of milk white Pheasants ; and it is somewhat singular that a white Pheasant never was seen in thi^ country nntil rhf! last flf. pf.t VT Ui.i.L V [ 134 ] years, and from whence they had come is not known, though now to be had in great plenty. On my arrival at- Montreal I waited on Mr Dunlop and Mefsrs Andrew and John M'Gee, brothers, to whom I had letters ofintroduc-^ tion, and committed a very uncommon blun- der indeed. The former of these gentlemen afked me to dine with him that same day, to which I agreed ; this being in the morning I returned home to my quarters to write let- ters to Scotland. When the hour of dinner came I set out, but in place of going to Mr Cunlop, where 1 ought to have gone, I dafhed in to Mr M'Gee's without any ceremony, and sat down in the parlour ; one of the Mr M'Gee's very politely sat along with me, while the other and some strangers were at dinner. After waiting in this wa; for about three quarters of an hour, I began to be a good deal surprised that we were not getting a call to dinner, ruminating on this in my own mind, I recollected that it was with Mr Dun- lop, and not with the Mefsrs M'Gee that I was to dine, and that the gentleman would sup- pose I meant to ^oarn upon him for a dinner. I started up on a sudden, struck my fore- head with my hand with such quick emo- tion and agitation that Mr M'Gee supposed I 'was out of my judgement, and aiked the cause of it seemingly with great concern i f ^35 3 jifter giving two or three starts on the floor, muttering curses all the while, and paying no regard, while the confusion I was in lasted, to Mr M'Gee's questions, I at last recollec- ted myself, aiked his forgivenefs, and frankly told him the whole story, at which he laugh- ed very heartily, and said I was not as yet too late for Mr Dunlop's dinner. I ran out of the house and* in to Mr Dunlop's as fast as I could, who had despaired of me, and was half over with his dinner. I made many aukward apologies and began to pick up the fragments of his dinner. Mr Dunlop very poUtely said there was nothing uncommon in the mistake, and begged I would think no more of it. Jn this town I fell in with Mr Alexander M'Donald, priest, formerly from Knodart, a Mr Finlay Fiflier", head schoolmas- ter, and a Mr John Fiflier merchant, frora Breadalbane, and was much obliged to these gentlemen for their friendfliip and atten- tion. The exports from this place in fur and grain are very considerable. The Fur North West Trading Company in this town have the most lucrative businefs known in the mer- cantile Hne belonging to Britain, and perhaps of any other country. This concern con- sists of twenty-two fliares, and it is said each fliare will draw this year between L'. 2000 and t 13^ 3 • L.300CJ clear gain. They employ a great number of clerks and domestics to attend and carry their goods to a great distance to trade or barter with the Indians. One of the clerks, a Mr M*Kenzie, who is now a partner, penetrated as far as the south seas where it ebbed and flowed, and from whence he had on- ly returned a few months ago. I wifhed much to have fallen in with this young gentleman, but he was on board a ihip on his way to England when I was in .Quebec. He had five Canadians and one IndiaA along with him, while on this arduous and persevering expedition, and which took him eighteen months to accompliih. He has gone to qualify himself in London in mathematics and in astronomical observations, and is to undertake the same journey again, and if he succeeds is to publifh his observations on his return. From Montreal to Kinostok. H- .AViNG got my little baggage on board one of two battoes going together with merchant goods to Kingston, I set out from Montreal on the 5 th of November in a carriole, and pafsed that night at the house of a Mr John Grant, a Scotchman, who has two large store- houses at that place ; and though this gentle- man, from the situatibn of his stores and house is under the necefsity of keeping a tavern, and though I dined, supped, and breakfasted, and sat up very late with a Mr Rofs, originally from Rofsfbire in Scotland, and one of the p'^rtnersdf the North West Fur Company of Montreal, and a lieutenant M'Donell from Knoidart, and drank a good deal of Port and Madeira wine, yet he would accept of no payment for either myself or servant, and procured a pafsage for us both gratis in these boats to Kingston, a distance of 220 miles,— a point of politenefs and atten- tion to a stranger I have not met with from any gentleman situated as he w^as, in the course of my travels in that country, and but rarely indeed that I remember in any other. • m [ 138 ] This gentleman I found to be universally known and well liked, has u most excellent character, and of so active and obliging a turn that it is said he is in a fair way of rea- lizing a fortune, an J is allowed on all hands to be deserving of it. The river from Montreal to Lafheen is so rapid and rugged with stones and sand banks, that the boats pafsing and repafsing betwixt It and Kingston are generally drawn up at La- ftieen, and all the goods stored there ; and as this large tract of country is fast settling above to a great extent, Mr Grant's large stores at this place cannot mifs to become a source of in- dependent fortune to him. All the goods that go up the rivers, and the produce that come down, are landed here and carted to and from Lallieen and Montreal ; so that it is already a very public station, and must become more and more so as the country advances in po- pulation. These large flat bottomed battoes carry in general from two to three tons bur- den, some more some lefs ; they employ five or six hands, and the charges amount to from 1. 1 2 to L. 1 3 each cargo. Opposite Lafheen is a large Indian village on the south side of ^he river that will turn out three score of warriors at a call; they are quite civilized, and carry on agriculture and trade in the .^'ame manner as the white people. On th( ly, I in niannec had ver ning foi ter. T( of the n rence, t appear i ning wa St Laur that thi thers sa Be this and the ried on have spc there, g£ added, tl which fa streams ] and pun ons ; th£ by watei small nc they car clerks an pany, an( the headi other's t( [ 139 ] On the 6th November we set out pretty ear- ly, I in one battoe and my servant in another, manned with six Canadians each boat. We had very bad poling, owing to the boat's run- ning foul of large stones and banks under wa- ter. Towards evening we crofsed the mouth of the north river which falls into the St Lau- rence, the opening of which is so broad as to appear more like a lake than a stream of run- ning water, and not inferior in width to the St Laurence itself I have been informed that this river runs out of Lake Superior; o- thers say that it pafses it to the northward. Be this as it will it has a vast body of water ; and the greatest part of the Fur Trade is car- ried on by it. Mr M'Kay's sens, of whom I have spoken already, and who had been often there, gave me the latter account of it ; and added, that it pafses the head of another river which falls into Hudson's Bay; that these two streams pafs within half a mile of each other, and pursue th^ir courses in opposite directi- ons ; that the traders could go from sen to sea by water in these two rivers, excepting in the small neck already mentioned, acrofs which they carry their canoes and goods; that the clerks and servants of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, and those of Montreal, often meet about the heads of these rivers, and encroach on each other's territories so much that it creates preat, If ri [ 140 ] disputes among them ; what is more, they en- courage the Indians to commit outrages on each other, and strive who buys best. To- wards the close of the evening we came up to a small canal cut in a narrow neck of land to avoid the opposite rapids that almost sur- round it. The boats stopt at the canal all night, and I and my servant pu(hed on for two miles further, and slept at the house of a Yanky loyalist, who had a fine large farm with a considerable deal of flat cleared land about it. I now pafsed all the French settlements, and entered that occupied by Britifh and Ameri- can loyalists ; and though it is but eight years since the first tree was cut down in this dis- trict, they do not fall much ftiort of having as much of the land cleared as the French who have been more than an hundred years in pofsefsion. The cause of this immense difference in the industry of the people, I sup- pose to be more owing to the tenure of the land, than to lazinefs on the part of the French and industry on that of the Britilh and Ame- rican loyalists. The former was given out, as already observed, in large districts, to French nobility, who feued out in small portions such as they could clear of it, and no other would be taken ; the latter on their own properties, who could, not subsist without [ 141 ] using every exertion of industry for the first years, were impelled by a necefsity which the others were not subjected to. Next morning I proceeded by the river side through a close inhabited country, until I came to a point of land where the boats were obliged to unload, and the goods carted for some miles, to avoid rapids, in which the bat- toes could not be towed when loaded. Here I found that the Canadians had made free with a bag of biscuit Mr John Fifher merchant in Montreal gave me, and a fine roasted Goose a Mr John M'Arthur had sent with me, so that I had to provide myself in provisions as I wei.t along for the future. I travelled all this day on foot, and slept at a lieutenant Fra- ser's, who had charge of another fhort canal cut tlirough a point of land like that formerly mentioned. Opposite to this place called the Cedars, is a large island in the river used &s a place of confinement for several American prisoners taken last war. From this island some of the prisoners were daring enough to swim down and acrofs this immense rapid to a point of land below it, at three-fourths of a mile's distance : some of them were ta- ken after landing, and others drowned in the attempt. From lieutenant Fraser's I proceeded to the foot of the river Raifson, where an Italiaa m t r42 J Count, on his return fr m Lake Superior, was encamped. He had three tents, some baggage provisions, and a crew often or twelve Cana- dians in one birch canoe, the largest I ever saw of the kind. This smrdl river is closely settled for the space of twenty miles, mostly by Highlanders ; and in many parts seven concef- sions deep, as they are called here; (/. e.) seven farms deep, the one behind the other. This is reckoned a very fine settlement ; the soil ex- tremely rich, and the average of the produce in grain twenty fold. Iput up at the house of a Mr M'Donald formerly from Ardnabee inGlengary. On the loth set out from the Raifson about two hours before day-light ; breakfasted ax the reverend Mr Beaton's, also a Scotchman, and from thence went to the house of a Captain John M'Donald who Was then fi- nishing a new house said to have cost him L. 130® SterHng. Here I fell in with a Cap- tain Archibald M'Donald of the Long Saut, Captain John McDonald prefsed me much to stay that night, but as the boats were Hkely to get a-head of me I could not. Captain Archibald M'Donald being upon his way home, he and I travelled in company. We put up that night in the house of Lieutenant Miles M'Donald, at a place formerly called New Johnston, but now Cornwallis. Here the stance of a town is lined out, and the place is f H3 ] very centrical for that purpose, being nearly midway between Kingston and Montreal, situated on a broad level point of land, where the river takes a sweep and forms a bend or an obtuse angle ; the country is closely in^ habited, and the farms to the eighth or ninth concefsions back ; the soil deep, fertile, and not difficult to clear. Mr Miles M'Donald- was from home at a new farm he was clear- ing, and Mrs McDonald, when I informed her who I was, recollected to have seen me in the house of Captain- M'Donald of Morar, her father, with whom and family I had the' honour to be on the most friencjly footing. This lady received me with every mark of poUtenefs and attention, which was the more gra ifying to me, as flie was the daughter of my particular friend, and universally allow- ed to be a most amiable as well as elegant woman. I was further told .llie was allowed to be the most elegant woman that appeared at the afsemblies in Montreal the preceding wmter. Mr Beaty, who was then but lately married to a sister-in-law ofher's, entertain- ed Captain McDonald and me with much hospitality with Port and Madeira wines, and kept us up very late or rather early. I have mtherto seen no punch drank in this country. Next morning we bad adieu to the fa- mily and proceeded on nnr .'o,,,^^,, 0,11 .j _. several houses on the way; the owner of one r.f>-4n ■ I [ H4- 1 of which. Captain M*Donald said would glear that fall L. 200 of his farm, mostly in wheat. This part of the country is improving very fast, and will soon be in a very flourifhing state. Dined at a Colonel Gray's, a Scotch- man, who had served in his younger days in the Dutch service,-^himself a hoary headed little man, and his wife a large fat Dutch American lady. Stopped and drank tea at Captain M'Donald's, who prefsed me much to stay that night, but having yet some hours of day-light I could not think of waiting ; on which he gave me a letter of introduction to a relation of his, a Mrs Huet, who lived four or fiv^ miles further on, where I palsed that night. When you come to that part of the river called the Lon^ Smtt^ opposite to Captain Archibald M'Donald's, the attention of the traveller must be particularly arrested by the immense body of water, and the awful rapidity of its current, which some people think nearly as novel and striking as the Great Falls of Niagara. In the middle is a long island, whose stately forests intercept the sight in many parts of the opposite fhore. On each side of this island the branches of the river are about half a mile broad, and that which is now in view tumbles down with a tremendous fury, that makes the surge rise SottieM^ Here tl and troi and lari of four which i it once vitable ; sunk in Stones a: told thai down tl which i that whi up the on that Huet wa surveyor a brbth< in the civihty, get a-he and call get brea man fan Englilh, Here th of use bfead fi t U5 ] someWhat like the sea in a gale of wiiid. Here the poor Canadians undergo vast rifk and trouble towing up their broad bottomed and large battoes, which require the strength of four or five men to haul on the painter, which if not sound and well secured, and if it once give way, the lofs of the boat is ine- vitable ; (he must be either filled with water, sunk in the stream, or daflied against the stones and rocks on the fhore. I have been, told that all boats and rafts of timber coming down the river hold by the south channel, which is not so rapid and more safe than that which is now described ; but in comins: up the river it is thought more tedious, and on that account they rarely go by it. Mr Huet \vas not at home ; he is one of the king's surveyors in the province. Mrs Huet and a brother of her's w^ho happened to be then in the house entertained me with much civihty, but as the boats were likely to get a-head of me, I set out by day-light, and called at a common farmer's house to get breakfast. They happened to be a Ger- man family who scarce understood a word of EngUlh, and were lately from the States. Here the little German I could speak was of use to me, and sufficed to procure me bfead from one house and milk in another. Th \ifi 4 i V s\,ai\,i.Lv ux »^icau IS OW to the water's [ 146 ] being so low that the mills could not grind the quantity required in the neighbourhood. Some miles further on, 1 was informed that a Lieutenant Malcolm M'Martin with whom I was formerly acquainted, lived in that neigh- bourhood. I sent an exprefs for him. He was good enough to come and conduct me to the house of a Captain James Munro who re- sided some miles farther on. We met Cap- tain Munro at a new grist and saw mill he was finiihing on a point of land that projects a little into the river> the water of which sup- plies the mill by a cut in that point, and one wheel sets two saws and the grist mill-stone a-going at once. These two mills were con- trived and finifhed by a common German ar- chitect who was never bred to it or to any mechanic trade whatever. Captain Munro is originally from the north of Scotland>hasbeen a long time in this coun- try, and joined government in the late rebel- lion. He now enjoys captain's half pay besides the office of fherifF; and is one of the Mem- bers of the Land Board, appointed by govern- ment for granting lands to such as he and his colleagues in office find deserving. Captain Munro conducted me to his house, and en- tertained me with a great deal of pohte- nefs, attention, and hospitality. We sat up pretty late j and his son-in-law Mr Allan Pa- terson, s many in riety of several 3 get mad arrow, a it obhqi] breast p] whole J low. It and ren ccfs on] light b portable, ous feath that froE twenty-s man and ny of M dred wei of the Cj carrying once, son When th a river o carriage, ter to a 1 which I part of large nlai U~ 1 — [ 147 ] terson, also a Scotchman, entertained us with many interesting stories and anecdotes of a va- riety of Indian nations he had traded with for several years. He fliowed me an Indian tar- get made of BufFaloe fkin, proof against dart, arrow, and even a mufket ball when it strikes it obHquely, made in the form of a cuirafse or breast plate, and large enough to cover the whole person when crouching or stooping low. It was tanned to an amazing thicknefs, and rendered tough and hard by some pro* cefs only known to Indians. It was of a light buff colour, very light, and quite portable, with a large plumage of curi- ous feathers on the middle of it. He said that from Lake Superior there is a portage of twenty-seven miles long, where every boat- man and servant of the Fur Trading Compa- ny of Montreal is obliged to carry two hun- dred weight of goods on his back ; that some of the Canadians were so remarkably good at carrying burdens as to take the whole at once, some at twice, and others at three times. When they crofs this portage they fall in with a river or lake, where they have again water carriage, and go on alternately from land to wa- ter to a vast distance. Mr Paterson said, and which I heard from several others, that part of this great continent abounds with laree nlainQ fnrfVi*»r th-j" t^v.^ ^:^t-^ — :ii [ H8 ] that one in particular will take a man fifteen days constant travelling to crofs ; and for length, neither end of it is known : that when a man enters this plain, he will find the Buf- faloes almost as numerous ^s the trees in the forest, feeding on rich grafs near breast high j and if the sight would carry the length, he believes 100,000 of them could be seen at once, The ground is so level, that, Uke the Qcean, the horizon bounds the sight. Eye y step you travel you meet with heads and carcases of dead Buffaloes. When an Indian has a mind to kill many of them, he mounts his Hors^, with his bow and a case containing several scores of arrows ; he thrown the reins loose about the Horse's neck, who knows by constant practice his rider's intention, and gal- lops with all his speed through the middle of the herd of Buffaloes. The Indian fhoots as he goes along until he expends his last arrow, then returns ^o pickup his prey, ^ndfrom sucli as he finds dead he cuts out the tongue and the lump on the back, which he carries away with him; the rest of the carcase he leaves to Wolves and other ravenous animals. A species of Wolves in these parts are milk white, and are larger than those of any other colour, or any Dog whatever that he had seen. The only fuel a traveller can have in these plains, and with which they drefs their victuals, is Buffi of wat path rr lake to sure tc that yc before, thing. An I ters in are cov until h about t ting or purpos pourse sprink] ens it; sportsr t^ted; fore hi on wh tomahi DUt,--t] proach same i zen ar Otter i no mo in Can [ 149 J is Buffaloe's dung ; and when he is in want of water he endeavqurs to fall in with a path made by Otters going from one small lake to another, by following which he i§ sure to find it. The ground is 30 level that you are just upon the brink of the lak^ before you see that there is any such thing. An Indian, when he goes in quest of Ot-r ters in winter, makes for these lakes, which are covered with ice and snow. He goes about until he finds out every hole they may have? about the lake, all of which he fills up except ting one, two, or three, most suitable for hi^ purpose. To these the Otters must have re-, pourse for air. When he has done this, he sprinkles a little snow on the water, which dark-r (ens it ; when the Otter is just coming, the sportsman finds the water and the snow agi- tated ; and the animal not seeing what is be- fore him, pops up his head through the snow, on which the Indian strikes him with his tomahawk,~puts down his hand,~pulls him Dut,~throws him aside, and watches the ap- proach of the next, and serves him in the same manner. In this way sometimes a do- zen are killed in one pond. The price of an Otter fkin is, like penny pies, a bottle of rum; no more is looked for or ever given j though in Canada they are a guinea, and in England [ 150 J two guineas each. The cxpence of bring- ing rum or any sort of merchandize two or three thousand miles back, besides the ri/k of it. must surely be very great ; but the pro- fits, now that rn Company are firmly esta- bliflied, are in proportion. Mr Paterson, and ft very smart young man his brother, lost, during the first three venrs they were employed in this trade L.3000, but in the course of two years cleared this and as much more real profit. But unfortunate- ly his brother and the ere- v of the boat, with its full loading of merchandize, were drov^-n- cd and lost on Lake Superior ; which indu- ced hini to give it up. When tv/o nations of Indians are at war with each other, the one to the southward burns large tracts of the grafs in these immense plains ; and when the Buffaloes, who annually emigrate from the south to the north, and return in winter, meet with th's burned land, they proceed no further, but return. The northern nations, who trust to the BufEiloe for food and winter stores, are thus depri- ved of the means of subsistence, and often perifli with hunger. Mr F terson, unfortu- nately happened to have resided one winter with a nation in this predicament ; so that he and those along with him were reduced to the nccefsity of eating their own mogazines, andl every H opened, a count visions. Befoi Munro of intro ra ; and there w membei married miles fi was to Captain below t the plai on my good h two stor racks, o regularit inclosure Geese, D no Highl the barra any Scot( therto se thing, — 2 lived in trLust be r 151 ] every fkin they could find, before the spring opened, and permitted them to proceed to u country where they could get game or pro- visions. Before I set out next morning, Captain Munro was good enough to give me a letter of introduction to Colonel Butler, at Niaga- ra; and Lieutenant M'Martin told me that there was a Glenlochy woman whom I re- membered to have seen a girl in that country, married to a Captain Thomas Fraser some miles farther up the river, on the way t was to hold. When I came opposite to Captain Fraser's house, which was a little way below the road, my servant said that was the place we had been directed to ; but on my looking about, and remarking the good house, but a still larger barn of two stories high, several office houses, bar- racks, or Dutch bams, the sufficiency and regularity of the rails, and extent of the inclosures, considerable flocks of Turkic s. Geese, Ducks, and Fowls, I said it could be no Highlander that owned that place,— that the barracks or D .tch barns were foreign to any Scotchman whatevc. ,— that I had not hi- therto seen any of them that had such a thing,— and that he must be a German who lived in that place. Still he affirmed this must be it, agreeable to the directions we [ 152 ] had ; but I could not be persuaded, and pufhed on to the next house, which was then in sight. When I came up I afked for Captain Fraser's, and was told 1 had left it behind ; I therefore had to return. When I came in, they took no sort of noticfe of me farther than desiring me to sit down. My trowsers being torn with the bufhcs, and the rest of my drefs being in the Uke situation, they supposed me to be a Yanky come from the States. After sitting a while in this way, nobody speaking to me or I to them, Mrs Ftaser happened to sit by me, I looked full in her face ; and clearly re- cognizing her features, I accosted her in Gaelic, and afked her if Ihe had ever seen me before. She could not say whether or not. This turned the eyes of every body, in the house * towards us : but on my afking if Ihe had heard of or known such a person, na- ming myself, fhe said fhe did, and knew him very well ; but could not suppose that I was him. On my saying I was, fhe turned about to her hufband ; " My dear, (said fhe,) this is the gentleman whom I often told you was so kind to Us when he was forester of Mam Lorn ; and whatever disputes we and our neighbours had when our cattle trespafsed up-* on the forest, he always favoured our family ; Captain Fraser on this instantly welcomed me to hi stakes tc dinner \s me nine dead on said the^ • two ^'it their m Fraser ti could dri stay that I could would b( to be sad I MEN' ception 1 to huma is to fore place or a human ted when with a fai Scotland, in Upper when I h rica with glad to h would gc She was by t 153 J me to his house, ordered dinner and venison stakes to be got ready immediately. While dinner was getting ready, Mrs Fraser fhowed me nine or ten large fat Hogs then lying dead on the floor of her keeping house, and said they, every fall, killed twenty such, and two l^At Oxen, besides other provisions, for their winter store. After dinner. Captain Fraser treated me with Port wine until we could drink no more, and prefsed me much to stay thai night ; but as the boats had pafsed I could not wait. When he found that I would be away, he ordered a couple of Horses to be saddled directly. I MENTION these circamstances and the re- ception I met in this place, as it does honour to human nature, and fliews how difficult it is to foresee, when, how, or in what remote place or period, one may meet the reward of a humane or generous action ; 1 little expec- ted when 1 befriended a poor widow woman, with a family of children, in the north west of Scotland, I fhould meet with any returns for it in Upper Canada. She was but a young girl when I had seen her, and emigrated to Ame- rica with a brother of her's, who, fhe said, was glad to hear of my being in this country, and would go some hundreds of miles to see me. She was but a fhort time in America wheji C 154 ] file turned out a tall well look^ .voman, and her present hulband became acquainted with and married her, of which I am convinced he has had no reason to repent. They have a fine family of children, and I have been told there is not a better mother, or more prudent house wife in the province. After bidding adieu to Mrs Fraser and fami- ly, Captain Fraser and I mounted his Horses. This was the first time I had crofsed a horse since I came to Canada, and the second or third time since I landed in America ;->Cal- led at a tavern, drank more wine, for which he would not allow me to pay one farthing. Arrived two hours after night fall at his bro- ther's house, Captain William Fraser. These two gentlemen, whose father was but poor, and they young, when he emigrated from Stra- herrick in Scotland, and unable to give them the necefsary education, after they landed in America entered into the Royal Cause, and that of their country, when the rebellion broke gue; and by their own activity, alertnefs, and merit, they raised themselves to the rank of Captains, got money and education by it, and are now in very high esteem among all their acquaintances. Captain Thomas said he had six score of acres of cleared laud. The soi,l a clay loam, with three or four inches of rich mol( average ] least; bu the blacl? and ihe s have stil^ liam said quality ai for some interprete ston, and on the N Next clear, anc nine or tc point of before th( cottage, ai they told would sei happened who had forty-seco American but the fa of Cows ' bin and b; of land, afked hin here. He r 155 ] rich mold, black as jet on the top ; that his average return of grain was twenty fold at least ; but said, when the clay underneath and the black mold were incorporated together, and ihe stumps out of the ground^ he would have still a greater encrease. Captain Wil- liam said that his farm was much of the same quality and extent. Thes€ two brothers were, for some years prior to the rebellion, Indian interpreters to the great Sir William John^ ston, and had fine farms in his neighbourhood on the Mchauke river. Next morning I set out before it was clear, and got a-head of the boats,_travelled nine or ten miles before breakfast,__came to a point of land where I was to go aboard, but before the boats had come I went into a little cottage, and enquired if I could get breakfast; they told me I ihouid, if bread and milk would serve me. The owner of this house happened to be one Fraser, a Highlander, who had been a long time a private in the forty-second regiment,— married to a young American woman,«.had come from Albany but the fall preceding,_had brought a couple of Cows with him, and put up a little ca- bin and barn in this place, where he got a lot of land. In the course of our conversation I afked him what he had done since he came kere. He said he had cleared nine or te^ r 15^ ] acres of land, but that the wood was not thick upon it ; and that he raised, (to be within the mark as he exprcfsed it,) ninety bufhels of wheat, between s'' :ty and seventy of Indian corn, besides potatoes, and other things on which he did not count. " And what afsistance had you to all that ?" said I ; * None (answer- ed he) but a hoe and axe, and what that woman could give me,' meaning his wife ; but ad- ded as he had not a boat to send it to market he could get no sale for it. On my afking him what I had to pay for my breakfast, he said nothing for the bread ; that he had more of it than would serve him for three years ; and that I might settle with the wife for the milk, as fhe and I pleased I gave her half a dollar, and but for the scarcity of money in the place, I am convinced none would have been accepted, The boats arriving, I stepped on board, and the water now becoming smooth, and more like a lake than a running stream, the; wind fa- vourable, we put up sails, and made great way, till late at night, when we put up at a poor lame ragged man*s house with a numerous fa- mily of small children ; but the wife buxom and well drefsed, I and my Canadian crew threw ourselves down upon the floor opposite to the fire, and slept soundly till four o'clock next morning, when we got up and set oflPin the us ual way. The wind still favoured us, an [ ^57 J we soon entered the thousand islands, which never were, nor do I suppose ever can be counted, by reason of their numbers, and for which reason they were formerly called by the French, and now by the Britifh the Mille isles. They are of very little value, and produce but scraggy wood of uselefs pine. Here are innu- merable flocks of water Fowl, mostly of the Teal kind. Such a diversity of creeks, bays, channels, and harbours, 1 suppose are to be rarely met with in the world ; and if a crew be not well acquainted with the direct course, and if they once mifs it, they may chance to be bewildered, md for days may not find it again. After pafsing these islands we entered upon the lower end of Lake Ontario, and about night fall arrived at Frontinac, or Ca- trauquey, now called Kingston and put up at the coffee house. On hearing that an Indian of considerable consequence lodged then in the house, whose name was Captain Thomas, I sent him my compliments, and if agreeable made offer to join him ; his answer was that he would be happy at it. After I joined him, he afked me very politely what I would choose to drink ; I answered whatever was agreeable to him. He then called for a small bowl of punch, of which he took but very excused hiuistlf by baying he had dined r ^58 I in a private family, and drank too freely af- ter dinner. We slept in the same room. He was a tall handsome man, extremely well drefsed in the EnghOi fafhion, and had no- thing particular about him but a string of small silver buckles hung down on his breast, fastened to his long lank black hair, from each side of his head. He spoke French fluently, but not Engliih enough to enable us to converse freely in that language ; how- ever he understood it better than he could speak, and enough to make me -enjoy his company very much ; his place of residence is eight or ten miles above Montreal, in the village already mentioned opposite Lalheen. In this village there are about 170 houses, and an elegant stone church. What is sin- gular in that place I am informed is that se- veral of these houses, covered with bark of water afh, and bafs wood, have stood so for three score of years, and are now so close covered with mofs as to be perfectly water tight. Captain Thomas is the principal man m that place,_has a fine house, and a squaw lEveiy day elegantly drefsed ; he deals much in the mercantile line, mostly in furs ; and can get on his credit nt a call in any of the principal mercantile houses at Montreal, two thousand pound's worth of goods. I saw him pick up all the fkins worth bLivInir from thr; mercl: there ikins he hai smugg they I White as wel goods I King land, t and a three is surrc the fooi and on ning to two or 1 stone, n ding to lies in < the groi ces, othf gons, an finest an world, ai the stro on the that if a ihovelled merchants in this place. I was informed there were twelve hundred pound's wor^h of ikms of his property seized last year, which he had hid in the woods, and meant to smuggle into the States dominions, where ^ey give a better price than at Montreal. White people practise smuggling of this kind as well as Indians, and when detected, the goods are confiscated in the same manner. Kingston is situated upon a broad point of land, the Grand Lake Ontario on the south, and a creek on the east and north east runs three or four miles into the country, so tHatit IS surrounded with water on three sides. At the foot of this creek is a fine safe anchorage, and on the fhore quays and wharfs are begin- nmg to be built. The whole point of about two or three miles broad is clay lyino- on lime, stone, not high, but with an easy slop descen- dmg to the water. The limestone in this place hes in curious strata level with the surface of the ground, and cut ihort; some in square pie- ces, others in pentagons, hexagons, and poly, gons, and many different flat sides ; and is the finest and most easily quarried perhaps in the ^ world, and so fit for building as not to requy-e the stroke of a hmumr. The very beach on the Ihore is Jiaif .one, and so pounded that if a kiln were made close by it might be ihovelled in and b -ixx-. ^iitv ii^i(; 'vvitnoiu anv tl6o ] further trouble ; yet notwithstanding the materials for building with stone are so easy to be had here, even on the very stance of the houses, they prefer building them all with timber. I never saw a prettier situation for an inland town than this place. The coun- try along the coast, and about the Bay of Kenty, for fifty or sixty miles is closely inha* bited, and in some parts three or four concef- sions deep. The timber on this flat, but not low point, is mostly of hard wood of a fine growth and very stately, and useful for most purposes. The town is in its infancy as yet, but fast encreasmg. It is well supplied with provisions of all kinds from the fertile coun- try behind it. It is a little surprising the stir of trade that is in it already. I have been told that above 6000 bulhels of wheat were bought up and stored here the preceding year, and that at least a fourth more would have been so this one ; and so on in proportion every succeeding year. This is a very extraordina- ry circumstance in a country not above eight years settled. I have been also informed that six score of Deer have been sold in this town liis same year. I see veniSon every day in the market and prefsed upon the in^ habitants to buy ; but the best only is bought. Here M'Kay, ( land, anc sixth reg Niagara, cy and fi ed in Ca companii kept for plying tl lakes ; tl tains Poi deal of both ; w the mefs and the merchan Here I wind to to Niaga NOVEI try alon eA me V We wen miles, p; in the which \^ nor roc quality. The wo [ i6i ] Here I fell in with Lieutenant William M'Kay, originally from the north of Scot- land, and Lieutenant Daniel of the twenty- sixth regiment, an Irifhman, both going for Niagara, with whom I lived in strict intima- cy and friendfliip afterwards while I continu- ed in Canada. In this town there are two companies of foQt and some artillery men, kept for guarding the king's stores for sup- plying the troops of the forts on the Upper lakes ; the troops were commanded by Cap- tains Porter and Ingram. I met with a great deal of politenefs and attention from them both ; with the latter I dined every day at the mefs, when I was not otherwise engaged ; and the like civility from Mr Joseph Forsyth, merchant, and Mr Neil M'Lean, commifsary. Here I staid for several days, waiting a fair wind to proceed in one of the king's sloops to Niagara, November 23. I took a ride into the coun- try along with Captain Ingram who tiirnilh- eA me with a Horse, and Lieutenant Daniel. We went through a thick wood for about six miles, pafsed several settlements newly begun in the middle of the wood, every one of which was on limestone : I saw neither stone nor rock in this neighbourhood of any other quaUty. We returned by another road. The wood mostly hickory, streight, and al- ii [ l62 ] most of equal thicknefi for fo„„ foet to th branches. The hickory „u.s are'very tlj and very. njuch resemble the waln'^b « 111 „ '"''' ''"' '""'^'^ 'hi. ker i^ the S^J^Tor^r ™r -^he..: *e Briti. ro^LLtt r f ^el;:?, of Sir rnK Tf "harming point, to the house the oit\itTr'"'^v^^"-^^^ ~nd^s :tart:^rpr:;ecr-^ r P- but, little more iLiro,th?o?na fix the sen^ .f ^ ^ residence and expended to a considerable empire. ^rom Kingston to Niagara^ JNI ovEMBER 24. We got on board the Co^ ville, sloop, mounting tM o six pounders and two swivels, Captain Baker, bound to Niaga- ra ; Lieutenant Daniel, Lieutenant M'Kay, and myself pafsengers. The day was hazy, the wind fair, but promised no continuance. We pafsed several large woody uninhabited islands. About nightfall the wind changed to streight a-head,— the captain, quite drunk, went to bed, the crew, httle better, went tj rest, and indeed were almost uselefs when sober, as they seemed to know scarce any thing at all of their businels ; no watch or reckoning kept, but by an ignorant wretch at the helm. The wind increased, and now be- came a storm. In this way, beating to wind- ward, the night dark, and surrounded by land fhoals and islands, our situation could not be very agreeable. None of us knew where we were, and in fear cf being a-ground every moment. A man was ordered to sound, and once suiig out of a sudden, " Five fathoms." I expected the next moment to hear her strike. [ i64 ] The fliip was put about, and ^he mistake in the sounding discovered to be owing to t)ie ignorance of the sailor, and the Hnes h;»ving been entangled in the rails, as at the next sounding no bottc m was found ; from these circumstances 1 clearly saw, that if we escaped being wrecked it would be a mere chance, and it appeared that there was at least t\ve to one against us. I could not help contras- ting this wretched drunken captain and his cfew, with the sober, cautious, and attentive Captain Wylie, who never went to bed any night that had the least appearance of a gale of wind. But drunk as this man was, before he went to bed he ordered the main-sail to be double reefed, and the fore-sail to be handed, a precaution I was very glad to see. About midnight a severe blast or hurricane was heard coming on. The man at the helm sung out, which brought the captain and all tlie crew on deck, who got all the sails handed, and we now w^ent under bare poles ; that done, he again returned to bed, eternally bawling out, " Oh ! my poor family !'» and with the next breath, " Let lis all go to hell together." Thus we continued till day-light. The surge ran very high, but not equal to that I have seen on sea ; and as the wind blew very frelh and hard against us, we had nothing for it but to return back, and anchored about two [ 165 1 o'clock p. m. at the head of Carleton island opposite ' Kingston ; but as several large islan' w ere between us nnd the town, they could oi see us, or k.no\\ what had become of us. 1 he 25th, 26th, :r ^ i. we lay here Wi hout stirring, the wmu continuing a-head, or calm. On the 2 8tli went on fhorc on Carleton island where the Britifh had a garrison last war ; the barracks, dry ditch, and rampart, are still remaining, but in a decayed state. A Serjeant and twelve men luc kept heic; to pre- serve the barracks from being burnt by ♦^he Indians, and the Americans from taking poC- sefsion of it, and the dismounted i^uns there- on. The cause afsigned for our forsaking this post, is said to be because it is doubtful whe- ther these islands be within the Britifli or American lines. Early in the morning of the 29th, a fine clear day, and a small breeze in our favour, we weighed anchor, hoisted sail, and steered for the lake ; but had gone but a iliort way when the wind again veering about a-head obliged us to return and anchor in our for- mer station. On the 30th, Lieutenant Daniel, myself, and some of the crew, went on fliore on the main and south side of the lake, part of the province of New York, to look for Deer, i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1// :/. f/j f/ ] gara, is a fine bay and safe anchorage, where some people suppose the seat of the new go- vernor will be erected. From thence, round about the head of the lake, westward to Nia- gara, is all settled, and in some parts several concefsions deep. The land low ;-the soil a deep sandy clay upon the coast, but farther back, clay and loam mixed, with a few inch- es of rich black mold a-top, owing to the fal- ling leaves enriching the soil annually since the creation. Th^ wood lofty, and chiefly oak of different kinds, interspersed with wild vines, walnut, chesnut, hickory, mapple or sugar tree, afh, pine, a few cedar, and a vari- ety of others. The point o.v which the fort of Niagara is built is between twenty and thirty feet deep solid earth and clay mixed, which is easily seen and ascertained from the perpendicular banks of th river and lake, adjoining to the fort, and for a considerable way along the coast on both sides of the ri- ver. No wonder then that such an amazing deepnefs of soil, when afsisted by the power- ful rays of a clear and unclouded sun in lati- tude 43^, Ihould bring to maturity every vegetable common to temperate climates, sown or planted therein which is really the case, not only htre, but in general all over this extensive tract of the country . Wheat is rarely left here above a day on ^he ground after reaping, and often carried [ 172 1 home to the bam on the very day it is cut j the ground is no sooner cleared of one crop, than it may be, and often is immediately plow- ed down and sown with another, and so on alternately without using any sort of manure. The richnefs of the soil and salubrity of the airi make all sort of stimulus totally unnecefsary. By arriving at this place I so far succeeded in fulfilling my original plan of exploring all I could of New Brunswick, Lower and Up- per Canada ; and when the traversed course I took, to and from the foot of the Merrima- fhee river, is taken in account, may be fairly reckoned 1400 miles. My further intention ^as to have gone from this place to Detroit, from thence to Fort Pitt down the Ohio, Ken- tucky, the back settlements of North Caroli- na, and fall down on the sea at Wilmington or Charlestown in South Carolina, and em- bark for Britain. But here my course was stopped. On Colonel Gordon's being told of my intention, he sent me notice that I would not be permitted to go from Detroit to the States, but might from this place; and if I wifhed to see Detroit, he would give me a pafs, but that I must come back here again. On hearing this, I thought it too much to tra- vel 300 miles, which distance Detroit is from this, and as many back again in the same course, which would make 600 miles in all, for the sake of seeing one settlement. I r 173 1 thought of continuing here all winter, and how soon the spring fhould open to go by the Genesee country, and from thence to proceed by the Monongohela river to Fort Pitt, and if that fhould be found too hazar- dous, to go from the Genesee by the Susque- hana river through Pensylvania to Philadel- phia, from whence there is a sort of post road on which I could ride to Fort Pitt. I soon found that there was no way of going from Detroit to Fort Pitt, or to any part of the States, but through the middle of the seat of war, where no white man or unknown Indian dared venture. Some time after this my good friend Captain Brant was kind enough to make me an offer of some of his people, acquainted with the way, to conduct me to Fort Pitt. Even this would be attended with fatigue, and too great a rifk, improper for me to take, on account of total ignorance of walking on snow (hoes, for above 300 miles of a wildernefs, through the ikirts of the seat of war, where I and my party might be. knocked on the head while asleep ;~the like had often happened before ; our track would discover us, and the course we must take would be suspicious. These and many such reasons against this expedition occur- red ; so that I had nothing now for it but to content myself in this place until the spring fhould open, and then pursue the course al- ii'! ,: ji' 1 1 lilln«i i ■ ipli \ i M , t m 1 i-eady mentioned ; and sure enough I coul d not have pafsed my time in a place more agreeable. I HAD hardly put up at the public house here, as already observed, when Captain Cohu M'Nab, and Captain Campbell of the twenty- sixth regiment, though unacquainted with either, came to call on me, and invited me to their respective houses, with whom, and their genteel families, I had the honour of being on an intimate footing durf.ig my stay at Niagara. Some fhort time thereafter Mr Ro- bert Hamilton, a gentleman of the first rank and property in this neighbourhood, and now one of the governor's council, came also to wait on me, and invite me to his house,— an honour I readily embraced. He and Mrs Ha- milton were so very obliging, as to go along with me in their own slea, to see the Grand Falls of Niagara. Mr Hamilton gave me the following statement of the Falls, made a year or two since by the geographers of the Fee- deral States, which I suppose to be exact, and now give to the public. Measurement of f i Falls of Niagara. The perpendicular height of the rapids a^ bove the Great Falls, with the height of the perpendicular Fall, is as follows, taken by the geographer of the United States afsistants. 57 II - H9 207 9 - - 50 C 175 ] Perpendicular height of the rapids above the Great Falls, Distance of the beginning of the rapids above the pitch, is, on the island side, 148 paces. Perpendicular height of the Great Falls is by true measurement, Total, Projection of the extreme part of the table rock is, - - - - Measured 8th December 1789, A DESCRIPTION of thcsc tremcndous Falls has been so often attempted by preceding travellers, without giving the least idea ade- quate to the grandeur of the scene, that, lest I split on the same rock, I will not efsay it here ; I fhall therefore only remark, that there is an island of a mile or two long, and a- bout a quarter broad, which divides the stream about two-thirds over. This island is clad with poor spruce pine, and so overrun with Rattlesnakes, that it was dangerous for any person to walk through it, until a par- cel of Swine were put on it, which nearly rooted them out. Hogs are so fond of Snakes, that if once they get a hold, fhoula they be s J hard bitten by a strong Rattlesnake as to make them squeel, which sometimes happens, yet r 176 ] they hold fast until the Snake is devoured. It is said a Hog sometimes swells when se- verely bitten by a Rattlesnake, but that a cre- vice bursts open between the hoofs, through which the venom is discharged, the swelUng subsides, and the Hog soon becomes as well as formerly. In this neighbourhood live a set of religi- onists called Moravians, with long beards, ori- ginally from Germany ; they emigrated to this place from Pensylvania. They are a ve- ry innocent, inoffensive, and industrious people, that have many peculiarities in their manner of worlhip and mode of living, though of the Lutheran persuasion. In one settlement in that province they have all sorts of trades and manufactures, and have every thing in common. There is a large house or hall for the young women, apart, in which they work, and another for the young men in which they do the same. The sexes are never allowed to see one another. When a young man signifies a desire to mar- ry, he and the first girl on the list are pur in- to a private room together, and continue in it for an hour. If he agrees to marry her af- ter this meeting, good and well ; if not, he will not get another, and flie is put the last on the list ; so that all before her must go off before {he gets any other offer. And though the parties had never seen one another be- [ 177 ] fore this meeting, which is rarely otherwise, they have no alter tive, and must make up their minds and acquaintances in that fhorc intercourse. If the parties are satisfied, and they marry, a house is built for them in the village where they live, and carry on bu- sinefs for the good of the community at large. There are as yet not above a score of them in this neighbourhood, but many more are expected; I have heard several people say that they would like them well as neighbours, and the Quakers are particularly fond of them, on account of their mild and inoffensive dispositions. •/. i>ew Niagara to t^>e Grand River and back again. "^CJn the 9th of February I set out with a party of gentlemen in two sleas, on an ex- cursion to the Grand River. Put up the first night at Squire M'Nab's, and next day dined at the house of one Henry, who had only been here for six years; and though he had no subject* to begin with, by great ..ttention and industry has acquired a consi- derable property^ and now afsociates with the first people in the district. He has cleared se- venty-five acres of land of the first quaHty, and has stock and cattle in proportion. Put up at night in the house of one Smith, who came from the colonies two years ago, from whence he brought a good stock of cattle, which all perifhed the following winter for want of provender, the general scarcity thatpre- vailed all over America that year having affect- ed this quarter, though one of the most fertile in it. He told me that he regretted the lofs of his team of Oxen, and two fine breeding Mares, more than all the rest of his stock; and said, that poor us he was, he hoped to becoi perty, of an* nies ] whicli L.3 ta two y remo\ heavy, out iQ with 1 we car vy tin nut, h\ afli, pi tlieir k lies be called This s and fr Niagari deep c some i top of Mountai with sa but pro below, marked make g [ ^9 ] become richer and happier on his own pro - perty, than ever he was or could be on that of anothtir. When he reside'd in the colo- nies he pofsefsed 200 acres, twenty-five of which only were cleared, at L. 1 1 rent, and L.3 taxes, and could only procure a lease of two years endurance, which obHged him to remove every third year; this, joined with the heavy rent and taxation, induced him to look out for lands where he knew he would meet with no 5uch incumbrances. The lands as wc came along, seemed extremely good, hea- vy timbered, consisting of oak, walnut, ches- nut, buttnut, hickory, mapple or sugar wood, afli, pine, and a variety of others, all lofty of tlieir kind, particularly in that space which lies between the long stretch of precipices, called the Mountain, and the Side of the Lake This space is from one to four miles broad, and from fifty to sixty miles long, from Niagara to Lake Geneva ; it is in general a deep clay soil, with black and fat mold of some inches on the top. The lands on the top of the stretch of precipices called the Mountain, is of a much lighter soil, intermixed with sand, thinly timbered, and all of oak, but produces heartier wheat than the lands below, though not in such quantities. I re- marked that the top of the Mountain would ipake good pasture for cattle i» its t>resent [ i8o ] state, particularly for Sheep, could they be preserved from the Wolves. The Foxes here are of various colours, black, red, and grey ; I have seen fkins of each kind. They are caught in traps, and I have been told of one man wha since last fall had taken about six- ty in that manner. This Mountain begins in the Genesee country, and stretches along until it crofses the river Niagara at the Grand Falls; from thence in a serpentine foVm to the head of the small lake, called by the Indians, Ouilqtietoti^ and known to the "white people by that of Geneva, and from thence to the Bay of Torento, opposite to the Fort of Niagara, on the north side of Lake Ontario, a stretch of between two and three ' hundred tniles long. Though it is called the Mountain it is no more than a ridge of ris- ing ground about 300 feet higher than the flat lands below it. The lands on the Mountain appear to me to be the fittest I have as yet seen for a poor man to begin up- on, as it requires sqarce any clearing, there bein^ no more wood upon it than a suffici- ency for rails, inclosures, and the necefsary purposes of farming ; so that if he chooses he may plough down the land the moment he ac- quires pofsefsion of it. Clearing land of hea- vy timber is both expensive and tedious ; but if one has snflRripnt- cfrkoir nr\A •t-.ot-ia^^^ 4.^ ^_ g.idaM-iHm.<.i^^:^«affi»a^-i-^-i'.^, .,..„■„.„ • r i8i 1 through with it, he may } fsured of being amply repaid in the end. On the loth we set out early from Smith's house, and pafsed through many fine farms and rich land, keeping all along close by the foot of the Mountain; the timber the same as the day before, extremely lofty and of e- qual variety. A little before we came to the head of the Grand Lake, we met a man with a slea and team of Oxen. I alked him if he had come from the head of the Lake ; he an- swered in a twang pecuUar to the New Eng- landers, " I viow niew you may depen I's just a-comin ;" * And what distance may it be from hence ?' said I ; " I viow niew I guefs I do'no,— I guefs niew I do'no,~I swear niew I guefs it is three miles ;" he swore, vowed, and guef- sed alternately, and was never like to come to the point, though he had but that instant come from it. Mr M'Nab damned him for an old Yanky rascal, that never gave a direct answer in his lifetime, and was sure he had only come from New England but that or the preceding year at farthest. They rarely answer in aiiy other way. We proceeded on our journey, and in about half an hour- we fell down on the Grand Lake, and drove along a fine beach until we came to the neck of land which separates the two lakes, the Grand Ontario from the Geneva. I 1^2 J This neck is a fine dry beach, five miles long, and from two to three hundred yards broad ; on this neck there grows very long grafs, which the neighbouring inhabitants cut down for hay, arid it is extremely useful to them. We now entered upon the Lake Geneva, and drove along it on the ice. This lake is a fine small fheet of water, of a trian- gular form, six miles one way and five the o- ther. The snow was about ten inches deep on the ice. Here I saw several Indians of the Mefsefsagoe nation fifhing for Pickerel, Malkanongy, Pike, and other kinds of fiih, inha:bitants of, and peculiar to this and other Clanadian waters. The Mefsefsagoe nation of Indians rarely cultivate any land, and whol- ly subsist by fifhing and hunting, at which they are more expert than their neighbours, with whom they frequently, as well as with tlie white inhabitants, barter fifh and veni- son for other provisions. How soon I saw them I requested of Mr M*Nab, in whose slea I was, to drive towards them. Their manner of fiftiing appeared to me somewhat curious. The Indian provides himself with a small spear, of two prongs each prong about six in- ches long, with a fhaft of light wood, about ten feet long. A little false or artificial fifh made of wood, so exactly formed and colour- ed, that it is impofsible to conceive it to be any otl ling it : not to into th a hole fifhermi small p] two Ion to mai flat on ] as well J so close holding in the c make hi ter, whi he make are not it is ihi and pla swimmii tunity t( strike ti they catc I saw o] the side bartered of bread to eight ] taste and any otfier thing than a real fifh, without hand- ling it ; whcii in the water the deception is not to be discovered. A little lead is put mto the body of this image to make it sink 5 a hole is made in the ice, into which the fifherman drops the image, suspended by a small piece of twine, of about a fathom op two long, so exactly fitted in the middle as to make it balance; he then lays himself flat on his face at the side of the hole, which, as well as himself, he covers with his blanket so close that no hght can get in from above ; holding the twine in one hand and his speai* in the other he tugs and works the thread to make his little fiih play, as if ahve in the wa- ter, which being observed by a ravenous fifh, he makes at it to snap it up, and the others who are not so, come from curiosity to see what it is that makes this Httle fifh so sportive and playful, and continue for some time swimming about, which gives a fair oppor- tunity to the Indian, who is ever watchful, to strike them with his spear. In this way they catch a great many fifh of different kinds. I saw one man with about a score lying by the side of his hole, of whom we bought or bartered a few of the largest kind for a loaf of bread ; they seemed to weigh from two to eight pounds each, and v. ere as delicious in taste and flavour as any I have met with. I I ! r 184 1 looked through one of these holes, and when closely covered with tlie blanket could easily perceive the bottom, where I supposed it to be twenty feet deep. On the borders of Lake Ontario, and I suppose on all the other great lakes in Canada, a great deal of different kinds of fifh are caught in frelhets in the spring of the year, which the frost in winter confine to the bo- dy of the lake, and from which they seem anxious to be relieved : how soon the small brooks are open from ice for their reception, they pufh out in such numbers that one would be apt to suppose, that i;ione of certain kinds stay behind, the one striving to get ,a-head of the other. The inhabitants in the neighbourhood are provided with small nets, such as we call in Scotland hag or hose nets, with three or four hoops in the body of each to keep them open; the small end, w^hich is close, is fixed to a stake uppermost in the middle of the stream, the wider end, stretched down in the water, is open with a wing extended from each side to the opposite banks, which pre- vents the fiih from pafsing any w:ay but through the hoops and body of the net ; a contrivance is made within that allows the fifli to pafs easily through to the upper end, out of which they cannot find their w^ay back. Tlie nets arc frenerjillv sr^t nf nielli- a ray [ 185 ] and raised in the morning often full of fiih. I am of opinion that nets of the same con- struction, but on a larger scale, might be used to advantage in Scotland for catching Salmon on small rivers. How soon the Indian got the loaf of bread, as before mentioned, he sliced the greatest part of it down with his knife, and fhared it with his neighbours. Here for the first time, I tried on snow ftioes, and found I could walk on them with great ease, so much so that I am determined to have them, if ever I live in a country subject to deep snow. After sa- tisfying myself with every thing worth re- marking of this Indian method of fifliing, we mounted our sleas and drove on to the house of a Mr Baisley, who keeps a fhop at the head of the Lake Geneva, and trades much with the Indians in peltry. He fhowed me a great many fkins of different kinds, among the rf^st that of a black Fox whose fur was extremely soft and beautiful, and of high va- lue, supposed to be worth five guineas. The Foxes in Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, are chiefly red, few black or grey to be found among them ; but in this part of the country they are of all these colours. I have seen some speckled red and grey. The real black is very rare. We staid that night with Mr Baisley who entertained us with A A inM* II mi [ 185 ] the highest hospitality. Here I was told of a phenomenon that surprises every body m that ne-.ghbourhood supposed to be a vulcano, which makes at certain times a loud report, resembling that of a great gun at a distance. The Indians only know the spot in which It IS, and from a foolifli notion or tradition among them will not discover it ; they sup- pose it is occasioned by the great spirit, and how soon the white people find it out, that they are to be extirpated the land, if not from the face of the earth, and an end put to their race. As this opinion prevails among them, no inducement will make them discover it. ' Dr Kerr of the Indian department, told me he meant to search for it next summer, and flat- tered himself he would find it out. What- ever is the cause of this singular phenome- non, it must be very deep in the bowels of the earth, as no smoke ifsues from it," or any crevice or opening to be seen about it. February ii. We set out from Mr Bais- ley's. For several miles on the way towards the Grand River, the lands are so open as to have scarce a sufficiency of wood for inclosures and the necefsary purposes of farming ; but towards the mountain, the wood becomes thick and lofty, as is common in this coun- r 187 ] try, for several miles along the mountain. The wood again thinned like that which we entered in the morning. I however obser- ved by the girding of the trees in several parts as we went along, that the land was granted away, though few settlements were to be seen, and as we had plenty of provisi- ons along with us, we stopped and dined at a mill, the water of which was supplied from a fountain in the hill, its source but a fliort space from thence. This mill was built at the foot of a small precipice, over which the wa- ter poured on the head of the wheel, which was greatly admired by my fellow travellers, who protested it ^o be one of the finest contri- vances they had ever seen, and worth going 100 miles to see it, requested I fhould take particular notice of it in my journal, but I told them it was not new to me, though so to them, as scarce a mill in my country but was served with water in the same way. Here we saw a beautiful young woman seemingly of ex- quisite fhape and form, going on crutches, occasioned by rheumatic pains in her haunch- es. After refrelhing ourselves and horses we proceeded on our journey through the mountam. The snow was deep and no beaten tract ; our carriages dragged heavily on. To- , — '-^ evening we fell down on a gentleman's where we stopped to warm ourselves, farm, Hi JIm! C i88 ] and bait our Horses. The weather being windy, accompanied with cold fhowers of snow, we no sooner entered the house and standing by the fire side, than our travelUng companion, a Uttle French captain looked up and swore it was the finest place for smoked meat he had ever seen in all his life, and that he was sure that piece which he now held in his hand must eat very well, at the same time he handled several pieces which hung near it. Our honest landlord instantly took the hint, and told us if we would have a Httle patience he would order venison stakes, (of which he and every body in that neighbourhood had plenty). We apologized for what our friend said, to no purpose, the hint was too broad to be parried. The stakes came, on which we feasted most sumptuously, and dined for the second time that day. No sooner our repast was over than we bade adieu to the family, mounted our sleas, and • drove on to the Indian village, alighted about nightfall at the house, of the famous Indian cheif and warrior. Captain Joseph Brant. This renowned warrior is not of any royal or conspicuous progenitors, but by his abili- ty in war, and political conduct in peace, has raised himself to the highest dignity of his nation, and his alliance and friendfhip is now . courted by sovereign and foreign states. Of [ 189 1 this there are recent instances, as he has had within the last three weeks seVeral private letters and public dispatches from Congrefs, soUciting his attendance at Philadelphia on matters of high importance ; but after con- sulting Colonel Gordon, commandant of the . Britifh troops in this place, and all Upper Ca- nada, he excused himself and dechned to ac- cept of the invitation. He just now enjoys a pension and captain's half pay, from the Britiih government, and seems to keep quite staunch by it ; but a person of his great po- litical talents ought to be cautiously looked after ; at the same time I am convinced he bears no good will to the American States, and seems to be much rejoiced at the drub- bing their troops got from the Indians on the 4th of last November, when, by the In- dian account, 1 300 of them were killed on the spot, but by the American, only 800 in- cluding the wounded ; the former is nearest the truth, and gains most credit here. By comparing the numbers brought to the field, with those that remained after the action, which is the surest way to judge, their lofs rnust have exceeded 1 600 ; I saw a mus- .ter roll and returns of some of the compa- nies, and examined if there were any Scotch names among them, and could find none but one CamnbelL which it would nnn/^ur hv 'im •11— ar liini I their Orderly Book was among those that deserted, of whom there were a great many. My reason for examining this so particularly was, that I was informed the American army were mostly made up of Scotch and Irifh emigrants, to whom Congrefs promised free lands at the close of the Indian war, in the event they would engage in it. Captain Green of the twenty-sixth regiment, who held the Orderly Book, made the same .re^ mark m regard to names, so that I am hap- py that report was ill founded. Captain Brant who is well acquainted with European manners, received us with much politenefs and hospitality. Here we found two young married ladies, with their hufbands, on a visit to the family, both of them very fair complexioned and well looking women. But when Mrs Brant ap- peared superbly drefsed in the Indian fafhion, the elegance of her person, grandeur of her looks and deportment, her large mild black eyes, symmetry and harmony of her expref- sive features, though much darker -n the complexion, so far surpafsed them, rs ,, > admit of the smallest comparison oetween the Indian and the fair European ladies ; I could not in her presence so much as look at the-P vithout marking the ditference. Her bhu.t -:is made up of silk, and the finest C »9i ] Englifh doth, bordered with a narrow stri.«e of embroidered laee, her sort „f jacket and scanty petticoat of the sa.ne stuff, which came down onjy to her knees; her gaiters or leggans of the finest »carlet, fitted close as a stockmg, which fliowed to advantage her stout but remarkably well formed limbs ; her mo- gazmes [Indian flioes] ornamented with silk ribbons and beads. Her person about five feet nine or ten inches high, as streight and proportionable as can be, but inclined to be JoUy or lusty. She understands, but does not speak Engli/h. I have often addreised lier m that language, but flie always answered in the Indian tongue Thkv have a fine family of children; I re- marked of one fine looking boy, about eight years old, that he was very like his mother ; his father said he was so, and that he was glad ot It ; that he was a good scholar and a good hunter ; that he had already fliot several Phea sants and other birds ; that he and two other boys of the same age had been lately in the woods with their guns, that thty supposed they ' had found the track of a Deer, which thev fol- lowed too far, got wet and turned cold ;"that however, young as they were, they put up a fire' ana warmed themselves, and returned home ; that before they arrived their toes were fros •^"ten, ot which he was not then quite re- [ 192 ] — ^ covered. I mention this circumstance to fhow how early the young Indians are bred to the chace. Another instance of their being early bred to war is, that I myself saw a riffled barrelled gun taken by an Indian boy from an American whom he fhot dead in the action of the 4th of November last, and allowed to keep on account of his gal- lant behaviour. Tea was on the table when we came in, served up in the handsomest China plate and every other furniture in pro^ portion. After tea was over, we were enter- tained with the music of an elegant hand or- gan, on which a young Indian gentleman and Mr Clinch played alternately. Supper was served up in the same genteel stile. . Our beverage, rum, brandy. Port and Madeira wines. Captain ^rant made several apologies for his not being able to sit up with us so long as he wilhed, being a Httle out of order, and we being fatigued after our journey went timeously to rest; our beds, fheets, and Englifli blankets, equally fine and comfortable. Next day bein|> Sunday, we the visitors went to church. The service was given out by an Indian in the absence of the minister, who was indisposed, and I never saw more decorunj or attention paid in any church in all my life. The Indian squaws sung most' charmingly. trrit i< I 193 ] themselves; After sermon I \^ent to tlie school house to converse with the master, an old Yanky. As it was Sunday, the scholars were not convened, so that I had not the pleasure of seeing them. He teaches Englilh and arithmetic only. He told me he had six- ty-six on his list, some of whom had excel- lent capacities for learning, and read distinct- ly and fluently. After this I visited several houses in the village, and found the inhabi- tants had abundance of the necefsaries of life to supply their wants, and are better and more comfortably lodged than the generali- ty of the poor farmers in my country. Few of the houses I saw but had two apartments, deal floors, and glafs windows. They have a deal of crop, and excellent cattle^ inferior to none I have seen in the province. The old people attend flu'ming, while the young men range the woods for different sorts of game, and supply the family with venison, of which they generally have more than suffices ; the overplus they sell to the white inhabitants in the neighbourhood. I have seen many loads of venison come in to the market of Niagara, and it is rare to find in the season a house without some. Here I fell in with Mr Aaron Hill, a young Indian gentleman, of very agreeable looks and mild manners ; he __ _-> ,.,,,„ V* Y^-^ ^'-'Sv-TTiiVvi i^iiici, v^upiuilA B J3 t 194 ] , David, whom every one that knew him al» Jowed to be the handsomest and most agree- able Indian they had ever seen ; he died about two years ago, and, what would be deemed very hard by many, the son does not succeed to the honours and titles of the family, but they go in the female line to his aunt's son. Captain Brant did all he eould to get the son, who seems worthy of his gal- lant and amiable father, to enjoy the titles, but it would not do; the ancient laws,' customs, and manners of the nation could not be departed from. This young Indian was the best scholar at the university of Cambridge, in New' England^ when he was there. He writes a remarkably fine hand, both in the Roman characters and Ger- man text, a specimen of which he gave me, and I now have in my custody. I remarked of the Indians in this part of the Continent, that they never speak in a hasty or rapid manner, but in a soft, mu- sical, and harmonious voice. I am charmed with the mildnefs of their manners when friendly, but when enemies their ferocity has no bounds. Dinner was just goii.g on the table in the same elegant stile as the prece- ding night, when I returned to Captain Brant's house, the servants drefsed in their b^t apparel. Two slaves attended the table. the i cloth( rufflej rel i: ly aft( alread more King, royal brave the 41 landlo] Aft not b of his to afse me the about the Ir their r ver, in their 6 ance ; t thers, -equally war da soundir held th in the 1 they ke I IPS J the one in scarlet, the other in coloured clothes, with silver buckles in their ihoes, and ruffles, and every other part of their appa- rel m proportion. We drank pretty free, 'y after dinner. Port and Ma-leira wines, as already observed ; but were not prefsed to more than we chose. Our first toasts were, King, queen, Prince of Wales, and all the royal family of England ; and ne^t, to the brave fellows who drubbed the Yankies on the 4th of last November; all given by the landlord in regular progrefsion. Aftm dinner Captain Brant, that he might not be wanting in doing me the honours ot his nation, directed all the young warriors to afsemble in a certain large house, to ihow me the war dance, to which we all adjourned about nightfall. Such as were at home of the Indians appeared superbly drefsed in their most Ihowy apparel, glittering with sil- ver, in all the variety, (hapes, and forms, of their fancies, which made a dazzhng appear- ance; the pipe of peace with long white fea- thers and that of war with red feathers, equally long, were exhibited in their first war dance, with Ihouts and war hoops re- sounding to the Ikies. The chief himself held the drum, beat time, and often joined m the song, with a rprrain r^H- -- ■ • • they kept time. The variety of forms int<4 t Vi 111!' I "'ill I >l! which they put their bodies, and agility with which they changed from one strange posture to another, was really curious to an European eye not accustomed to such a sight. Several warlike dances were performed, which the chief was at particular pains to explain to me ; but still I could not understand or see any affinity, excepting in the eagle attack, which indeed had some resemblance. After the war dances were over, which took up about two hours, as the whole exhibition was performed in honour of me, being the only stranger, who they were told by my fel- low travellers meant to publifh my travels on my return home, which they judged of by the notes I took of every thing I saw, though in reality I had no such thing then in view, I was desired by Mr Clinch to make a speech, and thank them for their handsome performances. As this could not be declined without giving offence, I was obliged to get up, and told them that I would addrefs them in the Indian language of my country, and said in Gaelic, ** That I had fought in many f parts of Europe, killed many men, and be- '" ing now in America, I did not doubt but I " would fight with them yet, particularly if *' the Yankies attacked us," My worthy friend Captain M'Nab explained in Englifh fn^ speech, as did Captain Clinch in the In-. [ 197 -V dian tongue; at which they laughed very heartily. No sooner the war dances were over, than they began their own native and civil ones, in which Captain Brant and I joined; he placed me between two handsome young squaws, and himself between other two ; in this way we continued for two hours more, without coming off the floor, dancing and singing. He himself sang to keep time all along, which all the rest followed in the same cadence. The serpentine dance is admirably curious : one takes the lead representing the head, and the others follow, one after another, joined hand in hand, and before the close of the dance we were put in all the folds and forms a Serpent can be in. After this, and every other dance peculiar to their nation was over, we began to Scotch' ree^s, and I was much sur- prised to see how neatly they danced them. Their persons are perfectly formed for such exercise. The men, from the severity of their hunting excursions, are rather thin, but tall, streight, and well proportioned, extremely agile and supple. The women much' fairer in the complexion, plump, and inclined to be lusty. Here we continued until near day-light. I ^old Captain Brant that in my country at all countfy weddings and frolics, it was custo- mary to kifs both before an'd afte every dance He said it was a strange though agreeable custom, but that it woulf never do ftere; I suppose owing to the jealousy of the men. I had brought two gallons of'^rumto entertam them, and he had ordered si^ ^tles of Madeira wine from his own house. ent an the least affected. As for the squaws I could hardly get them to taste, howevTr warm they might be with dancing Whenever Captain Brant observed the young Indian affected witl, what he had drank, he requested I fhould give him no more taxed him with being 'drunk,™and said he must turn out of the company if he on r t?rr ^^^ °^-'^«'>e 'asabout On the whole, I do not remember I ever paf- ed a n^ht .nail my life I enjoyed mo'e; every thing was new to me and strijcing i„ us n^anner; the old chief entered into all the frohcs of the young people, in which I was also obhged to join ; but the other gentle- men, to whom none of these thin^, w.r- new, looked on, and only engaged now and then in the reels. After pafsing the night in this agreeable manner, and I being a good ded fatigued with drinking and dancing, we retired to. rest. Captain Brant fhowed me a brace of double barrelled pistols, a curious gun, and a silver hiked dagger, he had got in presents from noblemen and gentlemen in England, when he was in that country on an embafsy from his own and other Indian nations. Each of the double barrelled pistols had but one lock, the hammer of which was so broad as to cover the two pans and two touch holes, so that both fhots would go off at once ; and when he had a mind to fire but one barrel at a time, there was a slip of iron which by a slight touch covered one of the pans, so as that one only which was not covered would go off. The gun, being once sufficiently charged, would fire fifteen fiiots in the space of half a minute. The construction of this curiou? piece was,.as nearly as I can describe it, as fol- lows. There was a powder chamber, or ma-" gazine, adjoining to the lock, which would hold fifteen charges, another cavity for as ma- ny balls, and a third for the priming, and by giving one twist round to a sort of handle on the left hand side, opposite the lock, the eun !!;i!!il"f [ 200 J would be loaded from these magazines, primed, and cocked ; so that the fifteen char- ges could be fired one after another in the space of half a minute, at the same time he might fire but one or two fhots, lefs or more of them as he chose. He said that there was something of the work within wrong, so that he could not get it to fire more than eight fhots without stopping. He tried it at a mark, and said it fliot very well. Of the dagger, he said it was the most useful weapon in action he knew ; that it was far better than a tomahawk; that he was once obliged to strike a man four or five times with a toma- hawk before he killed him, owing to hurry, and not striking him with a fair edge, where- as he never mifsed a stroke with the dagger. Others told me that they knew him to be not over scrupulous or sparing on these occasions. Another instance, he said, was, that he had seen two Indians with spears or lances attack a man, one on each side ; that just as they pufhed to pierce him through the body, he seized on the spears, one in each h^nd ; they tugged and pulled to no purpose, until a third person came and dispatched him. This could not be done to a dagger, of course it was by odds the better weapon. Mr Clinch, who is a young man of liberal education, had served all last war in the Ii pediti put o adven ving ( wome served in war consec rape c tiers oj for he been k he was casion been I ken pr: way, h on wh dians. I CA] can wa childre] to men Captain he. Cap expediti and nej ing the V [ 201 ] the Indian department, and was on many ex- peditions along with Captain Brant ; they put one another in mind of many strange adventures, among others that of their ha- vmg once brought boys, and a number of women and girls, prisoners to Detroit, and so served the whole settlement, which was much m want of females. Their description of the consequences gave me a Hvely idea of the rape of the Sabine women by the first set- tlers of Rome ; but the difference was great, for here the former huibands and lovers had been killed. A taylor in this place told me he was one of the boys captured on that oc- casion ; that his eldest brother and father had; been killed ; the latter after he had been ta- ken prisoner and brought a great part of the way, had got fatigued and could not travel-, on which he was tomahawked by the Inl dians. I CANNOT see how the necefsities of war can warrant such barbarity to women and children, independent of the cruelty fhown to men and prisoners. Another story of Captain Brant's relating to hunting was, that, he. Captain Brant, and another, being on an expedition with a 'large party to the south, and nearly run out of provisions, and dread- mg the consequences, had gone a-hunting i.«......D..vx^ , inat uicy prererred small to, c c ii ''I m m |i III [ 202 ] large game, as the small would be the exclu- sive property of him who killed it, whereas the great game must be equally divided among the party. That they rode on through the woods, and at last fell in with a large flock of Turkies, and galloped after them as hard as they could, until they obliged the Turkies to take wing anu get upon trees, when the party alighted off' their horses, and fhot seventeen fine TurkieS, with which they re- turned to camp. They all ihot with rifles. Lieutenant Turner, of the first regiment of Continental troops, was the only officer taken prisoner by the Indians in the action of the 4th November 1791, who survived the slaughter of his countrymen. He told me that when he was prisoner among the Indi- ans, he was one day permitted to go along with them to thewoodsonaftiootingparty ; that how soon they fell in with Turkies, ^he In- dians pursued on foot as fast as they could run, bawling and hallowing all the time to frighten the birds, and when they had thus got them upon trees, that they flipt many of them. Several other persons told me that this was the surest way to get them. They ^re so tame or stupid when they are in the trees, as to stand perhaps till the last of them \)e killed ; whereas, on the ground, they are §0 quick-sighted and fleet, that in an instant they a can 01 ther r them roost the sp in the Wit upon ] and nc every < go to the mi never 1 so, and very f priests - would were im did not doubt b lieved it ther rel; a matter eye of t he was v or on S; the gra be recei^ olTering t 203 ] they are out of sight. An old Turkey Cock can outrun any man on the ground. Ano- ther method practised, is that of watching them on the ground until thev get up to roost in the trees in the evening, when the sportsmen may fhoot on until the last m the flock be killed. With Captain Brant I liad a conversation upon religion, introduced by him, indeed, and not by me. He said, that we were told every one that was not a Christian woul^ go to hell ; if so, what would become of the miserable souls of many Indians who never heard of Christ ? a/ked if I believed so, and what I thought of it ? I told hira very frankly, that if all the saints and priests on earth were to tell me so, t would not believe them. With such' as were instructed in the Christian religion, and did not conform to its precepts, I did not doubt but it would fare the worse; that I be- heved it might be so with those of every 0-^ ther religion ; but that I supposed it was a matter of no moment in the omnipotent eye of the Creator of the universe, whether he was worlhipped on Sundays in the church, or on Saturdays in the mosque j and that the grateful tribute of every one would be received, however different the mode of offering might be ; that every man has i I I'll S''i'' III t i [ 204 ] only to account for those actions which he knew to be wrong at the time of committing them j but for these, that surely a time of reckoning would come. He spoke of the Virgin Mary, and her huihand Joseph, and even of our Saviour, in a way that induced me to wave the subject. It however fhowed the difficulty of coijverting these people from the early prejudice of education ; but his discourses brought to mind a conversation on traditionary record, that pafsed between Ofsian the son of Fingal,and Patrick, the first Chris- tian mifsionaryhe had seen. In regard to this Patrick, I suspect the literary world are in a mistake, as they suppose he could be no other than the saint of that name 'vhoflourifhed a cen- tury or more later than Ofsian, of course what is said to have pafsed between them must be considered as fictitious and false, whereas nei- ther Ofsian himself, nor any Gaehc tradition or poem on record, ever yet hinted at his being the Patrick who converted Ireland, or the saint of that name. I therefore see no impro- babiHty in supposing that a Culdee, named Patrick, might have known a Uttle of Chris- tianity, and have preceded the saint, and fallen in with Ofsian. The very expref- sions that are said to have pafsed between them are obsolete, and evidently belong to a very remote period. The auestions t 205 J put by Ofslan were natural for a deist, and are quite in his own stile. I myself can repeat • them in the original language, and I never yet heard a translation of them into any o- ther. Since I am upon this subject, I cannot help saying a word or two on that of Ofsian's poems, which has given such subject matter of controversy to the literary world. The re- proach, malice, and envy, they brought on Mr M'Pherson on the one hand, and the lau- rels with which he was crowned on the o-^ ther, are both unmerited. To say that he was the sole fabricator and author of these poems is grofs calumny, and a glaring falsehood. That Mr MTherson has a deal of merit in the translation, every one must acknowledge ; but that he has done it such justice as to equal the original, I flatly deny ; and if it is true what I have heard afserted of Pope's Homer, that the translation exceeds the origi- nal, the Greek will not, as a poet, come up to the Celtic Bard, no more than M'Pherson does to Pope in their translations of the same Greek author. Of the two translators M'Pher- son surely had the hardest tafk. To follow Of- sian in the sublimity of his style ; his beauti- ful rounded periods on the one hand, his plaintive melancholy strains, and the smooth- nefs of his poetic language for the lofs of his iilH I I t 206 ] have been in the power of the first genius ever the world produced, unlefs his heart felt (like Ofsian himself.) as he went along. These poems are repeated with a plaintive wr peculiar to themselves, that cannot be transfused into the Engliih tongue ; and I can most solemnly say. that I never was in all my life so charmed as with hearing them repeat- ed with a musical tone. To suppose that these poems were wholly fabricated by MPherson.and that he was indebted to his own gemus alone, as many pretend to do is strange scepticism indeed, wheii the contrary - .has been so often affirmed by gentlemen of the first respectability, not only in this nation, but m all corners of the world that under- stand that language. It would suppose a man to have the front of the very devil himself, to say what I am now about to afsert, were it not a fact, when thousands and thousands are still extant to confront him with falsehood. From my ear^ hest youth I remember to have heard these poems repeated in their original language, and I vow to God and the world, that I ne- ver saw or heard a retranslatlon of any one of them from M'Pherson's into Gaelic, to my knowledge; and I am fully persuaded there *as no such thing transpired in the world. *t was custon .ry in the corner of the coun- % I 207 y ^ry where I was born, when 'fee people af- sembled on any public occasion, particularly at late-wakes, to place their best historian in some conspicuous and centrical place, where he could best be heard in the house, but more frequently in a bam, where the corpse was kept ; and after they were tired playing games and tricks peculiar to that country, in which all the strength, agility, alertnefs, and dexterity, were exerted to their Utmost, the best orator began and continued till day-light, repeating Ofsian's poems, and recounting the atchievements of his race, which exalted their minds and ideas to per- fect enthusiasm. I myself, when a boy, was present on many of these occasions, and I well remember that I never observed a ser- mon by the greatest devotee, or any other discourse, picked up with half the avidity that the young people did these poems ; and I have different times gone on a Saturday evening from school eight or ten miles off, to a friend's house to hear them repeated, and to learn them. Not many years ago I sent a ser- vant of my own forty miles to learn them, from a man, who, for all I know, never spoke a word of Englifh in his life ; at least my servant did not. That in this way, I am fully persuaded, these poems were handed down from a very remote period, and from gene- r 208 ] ration to generation, till the present time. And with the gradual decline of these manly exercises and heroic poems, so did the spirit of the people, which the rebellion in the year 1745 much abated, and now the opprefsion of their landlords and chiefs has crowned, and put beyond all pofsibility of recover^ excepting by leaving the country to their opprefsors, lords, and masters, and setting out for the Britilh dominions in America, where alone they will find an asylum, free lands, a fine climate, and the best government in the world, superior to that of Old England, on which the new Canadian law is bunded, and an amendment. ^* What may we not live to see!** The man to whom I sent my servant to Jearn Ofsian's Poems, as already mentioned, ' whose name was John M'Nicol, lived in Glen- orchy, the property of the earl of Breadal^ bane, was the most conversant on that sub- ject I ever met with, told me that there were two Fingals, and gave a long string of patro- nimics to each of them. But that the son of Comhall, and father of Ofsian, and grand- father of Oscar, was by far the most renown- ed, which partly accounts for a Fingal being claimed by both the Scotch and Irifli, as the hero of their respective countries. And as the Caledonian FinrralmaH^ c*iT7»..n] ri„^„^„: :„..^ [ 2Cy ] Ireland, it is very pofsible that the Irilh bards might . have blended the mild actions and heroic deeds of that prince with those of their own nation, and ascribe them to the latter. I the more readily fall into this opi- nion, as I have heard poems in imitation of Of- sian's in the Irifh dialogue, but they were more full of bombast than those of the Gaelic. Whether Mr M'Pherson fell in with this man in the course of his researches in the High- lands, I know not ; but I am convinced he could not find a greater antiquarian in the langudge, traditional history, and poems of those times. I appeal to the reverend Mr M'Nicol, the opponent of the northern lumi- nary, called the Bear, of whose partiality and prejudice, now that he has dropt into the grave, we Ihall take no farther notice, for this afsertipn of his namesake's knowledge and information, with whom he was well acquaint- ed. But before I take leave of this charming country, and the honours done by this re- nowned chief, and his warlike tribe of hand- some young \^arriors, all of the Mohawke nation, I must not omit saying, that it ap- pears to me to be the finest country I have as yet seen ; and by every information I have had, none are more so in all America. The plains are very extensive^ with a few trees D D thinly [ 2IO ] Iiere and there interspersed, and i scattered as not to require any cleaxmg, ana hardly sufficient for the necefsaries of the farmer ;— the soil rich, and a deep clay mold. The river is about loo yards broad, and navi- gable for large battoes to Lake Erie, a space of sixty miles, excepting for about two miles of what is called here rapids, but in Scotland would be termed fords, and in \vliich the battoes are easily poled up against any little stream there may be. Abundance ot lilTi are caught here in certain seasons, particularly in spring; such as Sturgeon, like,* Pickerel, Maikanongy, and others peculiar to this country ; and the woods abound with game. The habitations of the Indians are pretty close on each side of the river as far as 1 could see, with a very few white people interspersed among them, married to squaws and others of half blood, their offspring. Toe church in the village is elegant, the. school house commodious, both built by the" Britifn government, who annually order a great many presents to be distributed among the natives ; ammunition and warlike stores of all the necefsary kinds ; saddles, bridles, ket- tles, cloth, blankets, tomahawks, with tobac- co pipes in the end of them ; other things, and trinkets innumerable, provisions and stores ; so that they may hve, and Ycally be, I 211 1 «^ as the saying is, as happy as the day is long. February 13. When Captain- Brant found that we would be away, he ordered his slea to be got ready, and after breakfast he and Mrs Brant accompanied us the length of ten or twelve miles, to the house of an Indian, who had a kitchen and stove room, deal floors, and glafs windows, crop and cattle in propor- tion, where we put up to warm ourselves. Captain Brant brought some wine,' rum, and cx)ld meat for the company ; after refrefhing ourselves, we bade adieu to our hospitable and renowned host, and elegant squaw, and pro- ceeded on our journey along the banks of the Grand River. The land seemed extreme- ly good as we came along, — the first village of Indians, the next of white people, and so on, alternately, as far as I have been, and, for all I know, to the side of the Lake. The In- dians in this part of the country, seem to be of different nations, Mohawkes, Cherokees, Tufkaroras, and Mefsefsagoes. I CALLED at different villages or castles, as they are called here, and saw the inhabitants have large quantities of Indian corn in eve- ry house a-drying, and suspended in the roofs, and every corner of them. We put up at; the house of a Mr Ellis, who treated us very ' FEBRUAfiY 14. We went a visiting fpr se- veral miles down the river side, and dined at the house of .a half-pay officer, a Mr Young, who had ?erved last war as a lieutenant in the Indian department, married to a squaw, sis- ter to one of the chiefs of the Mohawke nation who succeede 1 Captain David. This gentleman, of DutC'i —action, used me with marked attention n, nospitality. Mefsrs Clinch, Forsyth and I, staid with him that night, playing whist, cribbage, and other games. Here I for the first time played cards with a squaw. Next morning he conducted us in his pwn slea the length of Mr Allises. He told us that a few days ago a Wolf killed a Beer on the ice near his house, and fliowed us the remains of a tree, which before it was burnt measured twenty-eight feet in cir- cumference. February 15. We set out from Mr Young's; crofsed a f.rest of about twenty miles without any settlements, fell in with Mr and Mrs Andrew Butler, a Mr Henry and his wife, and some sleas loaded with grain going to mills. Here we all stopped to bait Qur Horses at the side of a- stream or creek, put up a fire, and dined on such victuals as we brought along with us, in a fhade put up by some travelling Indians. I saw the track t 213 ] of Deer as we came along, and where one of them was dragged in a hand slea, or tobagan, on the snow. Mr and Mrs Butler invited our company to their house, to which we chearfuUy agreed. Mrs Butler is a very well looking agreeable young lady, and he himself a good plain sort of man. We arrived about nightfall, and after re- frefhing ourselves with some tea, and some glafses of Port and Madeira wines, two card tables were produced, on which we played till supper time. In this, as indeed in every place we had been in, we were very genteelly and hospitably entertained. The woods through which we pafsed for the last three days, much the same with that formerly described, thick and lofty in the valleys, but thin, fhort, and scattered, along the mountain. The land also the same, clay, with a black mold on the surface. The only way to judge of the land in snow, and the surest without any snow, is by looking at the soil that sticks to the roots of new fal- len trees, which can be seen every where, and will clearly discover the quality. This gentleman's farm lies on a spacious broad point, bordering on the Grand Lake, a- bout thirty miles from Niagara. A creek runs along one $ide of it, which in the spring and MIC C\V^'«''T^«''^f*" ■^HT-lf-Tl IHTllrl frsTirlc Clc^c^cc^ Tn'^ r 214 ] Ducks innumerable. The wood Duck, which IS the most beautiful of the aquatic kind, is frequently to be met with here ; they are so called from their perching on trees. My friend Captain Colin M'Nab, on whose veracity I can depend, told me that he and others had once in the spring of the year gone a-lhooting to this creek and the head of the lake, where they staid ten or fourteen days; that notwithstanding their Imng mostly on wild fowl, they brought home about loo; each of them had two fowlmg pieces, which they fired away as fast as they could be charged. February i 6. After breakfast, we set out from Mr AndrewButler's, and bade adieu to him and his amiable wife. Called at major Tinbrook's and dined at Squire John M'Nab's. Here we' were told that a party of pleasure had gone from Niagara and the barracks to meet us on our return from the Grand River, at a place called the Cheapway, three miles above the Grand Falls, and have a dance there that night, which would disappoint them much in the event we did not appear. Captain M'Nab insisted on my being there in parti- cular, for reasons, he said, I could not well dis- pense with. I therefore agreed, and my par- ticular friend, the Squire, was good enough to furnifli me with his carriole, and a couple of r 215 J good horses. This Mr John M'Nub is a gentle .nan of genteel and independent pro- perty, — is a Justice of the Peace, which gives him the title of Squire, and a Member of the Land Board. After dinner we all set out, I with Mr Johnston Butler, called at his fa- ther's the Colonel of that name, from thence to Gaptain CHnch's on Mefsefsagoe Point, op- posite Niagara fort, from thence again in one carriage^to the Cheapway, where we arrived about eight o'clock at night, two or three and twenty i^iles from the place we had dined in. Here we drank tea, supped, played cards, and danced until day-light. In the morn- ing 1 took Mr Forsyth, Lieutenants Daniel and M'Kenzie, of the twenty-sixth regiment, into my slea. Breakfasted at a Mr Birch's house, who has some saw and grist mills on a small stream cut out from the side of the great ri- ver. Stopped at the Grand Falls, and saw them for the second time. Called at Mr Ha- milton's, and arrived in the evening at Nia- gara. V From ISi.ACARA to the Genesee Country. JVIarch 4. 1792. The weather now be- coming fine, and the snow fast wearing away by the heat of the sun, in all exposed places, and the fields and open ground tots^ly clear of it, I prepared for my journey through the Genesee country, bought a couple of Horses, and every thing I judged necefsary for the occasion. , On the loth of March, I set out from this place, after bidding farewell, and thank- ing my good friends on each side of the ri- ver. Before I take leave of Niagara, I must not omit to cxprefs my obligations and acknow- ledgements to my very particular friends, the Mefsrs M'Nab ; Mr Plamilton and family ; Mr Dickson, merchant ; DrsMore and Kerr; Mefsrs Crookes and Forsyth ; Mr Clerk, storekeeper ; Mr Farquarson, commifsary ; Mr Johnston, In- dian interpreter; Mr Clinch, Captain Law, and his son, and young Mr Alexander M'Nab. Did I particularize every mark of atten- tion and hospitality of these gentlemen to [ 217 ] strangers, which I myself experienced to a very high degree, and how many happy nights I spent with them in that place, at afsemblies, entertainments, and card parties, I fhould make a diffuse narration of it ; let it therefore suffice to say, that I am extremely sensible of their politenefs, and will always make grateful acknowledgements. ? I MUST also exprefs my obligations to Cap- tain Campbell of the twenty-sixth regiment and family, Colonel Gordon, Captains Bygrave and Hope, Lieutenants Daniel, Doyres, Duke, and to my travelling companion, and fellow sufferer on the Lakes, Lieutenant WiUiam M'Kay. I ARRIVED at an Indian village after night fall, and put up at the house of one Hoff, who (as the people here exprefs it,) keeps a tavern, which is no more than what we call in other places, a dram house ; he lives with a squaw, who it is said a little time before then had on a quarrel between them wounded him with a k^^ife The nth, set out from Hoffs house; my guide one David Ramsay, a native of Scot- land» who was well acquainted with the way wc were to hold ; and as the thaw had come on some days before we set out, the brooks and creeks were full of water, we had very bad e^oinff. and nftfin simlc in wafpr mud nr\r^ snow, knee deep. Pafsed through two Indiaix EE m • [ 2l8 ] villages, about four miles irom that which we had left. After pafsing the last of these villages the snow was very deep.. We mifs "U our way, and had to return two miles before we came on the right line, and from the faintnefs of the few prints of footsteps, \v<; had the utmost difficulty to make it out. When night came on, we stopped, put up afire, and slept on the snow. Next day proceed- ing on our journey, the thaw stopped, and some frost had come on, a good deal of snow had fallen the preceding night, so that our going was as bad as formerly, We crofse;4 several bad creeks, ourselves and Horses up to the middle in water, in all muddy bottoms, were obliged to wade through, as the Worses *unk in it. Towards evening we carne opposite to the Indian village of Tonowanto. inhabited by the Senekees. I meant to put up at this village, but the creek was so high that we could not crofs it. It is a considerable broad stream, which discharges itself into Lake Erie above the Grand Falls. The land on the banks of this river, seemed very good- and from the appearance of the houses in the village, the inhabitants seem to live comfortably. We had the utmost difficulty in making out the way as we camp along, but here met two men driving a parcel of oxen to Niagara, which marked the way, s.q 1 t ilp 1 tliat we were no longer at a lofs for the course we were to hold; also met a Dr Allan, whom 1 had seen at Niagara, going with a letter from Congrels to captain firant, re- questing him to go to Philadelphia on mat- ters of considerable importance regarding the Indian war. It freezed now very hard, and being wet up to the haunches, we were much afraid of being frost bitten, and as wo could not crofs to the village. We found our- selves much at a lofs where to encamp at night. Going on in this way for an hour or two of night, looking for sotnc place of fhel- ter, we saw a spark of fire before us, at which* M'e rejoiced very much indeed. We made for it, and found a small fliade of bark, and two squaws and a boy, who had put up the fire, and taketi pofsefsion of the best side of the ihade. Ramsay Suid, that we could not dis- pute it with them, first come first served ; so that we were obliged to put up with the win- dy side, which was then really cold. But as the squaws were better lodged, and had more room, 1 was permitted to join them, and slept along with them that night, they rolled up in their blankets, and 1 in my great coat ; and as we kept on a rousing fire, and had some bafs wood bark betwixt us and the snow, we slept very soundly, j offer- I' !i [ 220 ] Ramsay said the women of several Indian nations would not taste spirits; though there are other .lations that will, and even get drunk, but this does not in general prevail among them. The night freezed very hard, and a deal of snow fell. Next morning, af- ter boiling a kettle of water, and infusing some tea and sugar in it, we drank it out of the kettle, and proceeded on our journey. The frost and snow that came on the preced- ing day and night, dried up the brooks and creeks, and made them more pafsable. We had gone but a few miles on, when we entered a plain of considerable extent, the trees so thin and distant from each other, that we could see hidf a mile on all sides! Driving the Horses before us on this plain, the one that had the bag of corn on, having taken some fright, ran oft, tore the bag, and before we got hold of him, the greatest part of the corn was lost, so that we had now to keep them upon half allowance. Proceeding on our journey, we came up to an Indian hunting wigv/am. A deal of Deer and Ra- coon venison a-drying,and hanging about this hi)use. It continued to lay on snow most of the day. Crofsing a deep swamp, ourselves on Racoon bridges*, the portmantua Horse, on wading through, fell acrofs a log, tumbled en his back, ajid wet all our provisions and * Trees fallen acrofi the stream. t 221 J of doth^s. We puflied on to a ihade that \v«r were told was about eight miles a-head of us ; but before we reached it, an hour or two of night had come on, which fatigued us very much, and me in particular, as I had walked almost the whole way. The Horse could not carry me except in very hard dry ground ; through swamps and bogs I was obliged to \valk. We at length made out the Ihade, put up a fire, and got our clothes and provi- sions dried ; cut crops of trees for the Horses to brouse on, and slept soundly. We set out next morning after boiling our kettle as usu- al, came to the banks of a large creek, called the Butter Milk FaUsy where we had to unsaddle our Horses, crofsed ourselves on the ice, and made the Horses ford it. Continued our route to the il^irts of the thick wood in the Genesee country ; stopped at an Indian wig- wam, who had killed a Deer the preced- ing day, the ikin of which he had then stretched to dry upon the side of his wig- wam. Here I got a little corn for my Horses, which I had bartered for a loaf of bread, be- ing wholly run out of that article, and the Horses almost laid up. We now entered what is called here, a plain, of six miles ex- tent ; that is, where the wpod is so thin that you can see half a mile through it. We came to a village of the S^nekee Indians. Hanisay could not make himself intelligible to them, as he only spoke the Mefsefsagoe tongue, which they did not understand. It is rare, that the one nation understand the language of the other. After pafsing this vil- lage, we came down on a perfect flat, cover- ed with rank natural grafs, and not a tree on it. In a link of the Genesee river at the end of this plain, when we came to the side of the river, my baggage Horse being well ac- quainted, entered the river, to swim acrofs, when fortunately old Ramsay got hold of him- and turned him back, otherwise he and my whole baggage would have been totally lost^ which would have distrefsed me very much. We crofsed the river in a canoe, and swam the Horses. In the evening arrived at the house of Gilbert Berry, an Indian trader, who keeps the tavern at Cananagas ; here I stayed that night and next day to refrefh myself and Horses. On my arrival here,l found that the course I meant to have gone up this river, and acrofs the mountains, and down the Susquehana to Philadelphia, impracticable thus early in the season, on account of the snow in the mountains, and the overflowing of the rivers and creeks ; or to go by the Mongahela river to Fort Pitt, as the Indians at war would be out in scouts scouring the country the way I 2 [ 223 ] fliould hold ; and to wait here for two or three weeks, until the snow fhould be off the mountains and the rivers subside, I thought too much, and therefore resolved to proceed by the Mohawke, Albany, and New York. This was unfortunately the worst time bf the year for travelling. Had I set out from Niagara ten days sooner, before the snow began to difsolve, or two weeks later, when it would have been totally off the ground, I would have found the matter much easier. By the round about way I took from Niagara to avoid swamps, I am convinced it could be no lefs than loo miles, yet were there a streight road made, it is believed it would not exceed sixty miles : the country flat, and fit to be inhabited all the way. This large tract of country extends to some hundred miles on each side the Genesee river, and belonged to several nations of Indians, until of late that they sold all that lies on the east side of the river to the Ho- nourable Mr Robert Morris, and other mer- chants, in Philadelphia. Mr Morris sold about a million and a half of acres of it to Mr Pultney of London at, it is said, 72C00I profit. Mr Pultney committed the sale and management of it to a Captain Williamson, a Scotchman, and the latter has advertised the sale of it in lotr and townfhips. Hundreds flock from the New England States and difte- *ii r 224 J rent parts of the coast to see it and purchase parts of it, so that it is now fast settHng. Some of those that purchased lands here last year are now desirous to sell them again and go for Canada, totally owing to its great dis- tance from -.arket. Captain Williamson hearing that I had come to Niagara with a view of purchasing a large tract of lands, wrote me a letter from the Genesee, acquaint- ing me that he had such a quantity of land to dispose of, and launched out very much in praise of the country ; but I wrote him back, that if I fhould be inclined to buy lands I would have no occasion to purchase from him, while I could get lands from the Britiib Government in Canada for nothing. The west side of the river Genesee is still pofsefsed by the Indians, so that the wa- ter only divides them and Mr Pultney's set- tlers. Being desirous of seeing this country, Mr Ber- ry was good enough to take a ride with me for a considerable way up the country. We caK led at several houses as we went along, and at one in particular, where there was a distillery, at w4iich was made the worst spirits I ever tast- ed. Here are large stocks of cattle, and many iarmers of considerable property ; and on each side of the river large and extensive ilat}> without ^ tree or Ihrub upcr 4.1. 1 -T^'L^ ricliest soil I think I ever saw, but is every spring flooded by the frefhes. The up land on each side of these flats is thinly timbered, with small crabs c^ black and Y'hite oak, chesnut, and poplar ; the soil thin and san** dy. ■ ;Fi^oM a hill which cornm^nded ,a great prospect as far as my sight could g^rry 9n the Indian side pf the river, the l^nds wpre flat, and Bot so much ^s a hillpck in the whole view, all covered with stately hiird,^^'Opd. For some days that I staid at Mr Berry's house, and while I was exploring the country above, Da-r yid Ramsay gave me the following Sketches of his life, which I here offer to the public. F F The Story p/ David Ramsay. D. ■avid Ramsay was a native of Scotland, bbrri inthetownofleveninFife. He wa^ rtiy guide thi-ough the \vildernefs, from Upper Canada through the Genesee country to the settled parts of the province of New York. His sto- ty, as given me by himself, was nearly in the following words. It was and authenticated and cbnfii'med by numbers of people of my acquaintance in Canada, Ne^ York, and most other parts of America through which I tra- velled. "I LEFT my native country in the early part of my life, and entered on board a transport bound for Quebec in the capacity of a fhip's boy, and served the Britifli till the close of the French war in 1763, when I settled upon the Mohawke River, in the province of New York ; I afterwards engaged with the Fur North West Company of Montreal, to trade with the Indians upon the upper lakes of Ca- nada. After serving them for some time I returned to the Mohawke country, where I resided until a boy, a brother of mike, named George, arrived from Scotland; and having the a'^5fnnr*» nf f-Viio lr,r1 T 4.1 -L^ ^^.. j« . fc«*_ a. ..^^ ^.^ «.iii3 law, X inuugiic 01 trading with the Indians on my own account, and [ 227 1 /or that purpose purchased a large battoe at Skennecktity, and procured credit to the amount of 150I. York currency's worth of goods, and proceeded with these up the Mo- hawke river to Fort Stanix. Crofsed the por-r tage down Wood Creek, to Lake Canowagas, from thence down the river that empties it- self into Lake Ontario, at Oswego ; and pro- ceeded up that lake, the river Niagara, to the; Falls of that jiame. Carried my battoe and goods acrofs the portage to Lake Erie ; .fram thence to the river Sold Year, or Kettel Creek, and proceeded up that river for sixty miles, where we met tribes of different nations of Indians encamped for the purpose of hunting, and informed them of my intention of resi- ding among them during the winter, and erected a sufficient house of logs which I di-i vided in the middle by a partition ; the one. end I used as a kitchen, or place for drefsing- our victuals, and iii the other I kept my: goods, and placed aur bed. I continued bar^ tering my goods for furs till towards January 1772, when two Ibawa Indians came down exprefs from Detroit to Niagara, carrying with them a war belt, and publifliing, as they went along, that it was the intention of the Ibawas, Otowas, Potervatomies, and other western In- dians, next spring to wage war against the- Bri^'ifh af»d tVtf* Siv "NrQi-ioic T'ViAr** \xroQ nn I 228 ] Otowa Indian from Detroit that hunted close by the place where I hved./ind upon the re- turn of the Ibawa men from Niagara, they rehiained two or three days with me. They all visited me frequently, and behaved to m^ with the greatest civility. Upon the depair-i- ture of the Ibawa men, the Otowa Indiiirt came often to my house and boasted of th^ great feats he had performed, particulai'ly of his having killed' three Englifhmen like me-^ and said he would think nothing of killing me aftd my brother dlso, I tdd him that if any Indian fhould offer to ti^ouble me, I would kill one and hurt another. The Otow^ Indian came frequently to my house f6r rum, which he as frequently received, I always re- peating my former threat to hirti of killiug one and hurting another, fhould I be molksted. About the 20th r.' February some families of Ibawa Indians, and one family of the MeA sefsagoe Indians, came and resided ih the neighbourhood of my house. The Otowa Indian formerly mentioned, accompanied by the other Indians, used to come to my house and demand rum, ammunition, clothes, l^c. fefoxrir«fp /'ancp tn cnsppct thcv would makc an M f ^30 ] •attempt upon him that night, carried with him two Deerfkins, his gun, and ammunition and placed himself upon the road which led to his dwelling, so as to intercept them if they iliould come. He did not continue long m this situation when he feU asleep, and the ether Indians coming upon him, took his gun from him, and demanded the cause of his being there. The Mefsefsagoe, afraid tq acknowledge the truth, pretended that he had dreamed that the Senekee nation of Indians that night were to kill all the Indians that werej there hunting, and that he had placed him. self where they found him to intercept them. Soon afterwards the old Mefsefsagoe, his fa- mdy, and all the families of the Ibawa In- dians, left the place ; there only remained the Otowa Indian, his companion, a woman, and two children, the one of whom wa& nine, and the Gcher thirteen years of age. And being tired of giving away my goods and rum for nothmg, and being also much exasperated with the many insults I met with, resolved to refuse them every thing they demanded, and to repel force by force, while I was able, whatever the consequences might be. " Upon the night of the 15th of February, the Otawa Indian came to my house, and easiJ ly entered the outer apartment, where he a-n lighted a fire with straw, and as I knew tha ' [ 23i 3 ' he could come with no other intention at ihat time of night than to kill me, for which cause alone he and the others staid behind the rest, I stood with my spear ready to re- ceive him. The Indian sought admittance into the inner apartment, where I slept and kept my goods, which being refused him, he broke in the door with an axe, and on his en- tering, I who was ready waiting for him, struck him v^ith a spear on the breast, and follow- ing my blow from the inner to the outer apart- ment, threw him down on the floor, and ram-^ med him through; onthishe called out thathd was killed. At this iiistant I received a violent blow from behind, which nearly brought me to the ground, on which I turned about, and struck that person with the fhaft of my spear. fiy the light of the moon which flione bright, I saw another Indian coming to the door'\«ith a long knife drawn in his hand. I sprung out and struck him with my spear in the breast, and killed him alSo, I then re- turned and killed the ohe who struck me in the dark. After this, I waited in expe{;tation that the whole tribe had returned, but after some time, and seeing none , come, I under- stood that it was only the family that staid behind, who had a design upon me, that I had then killed. These I scalped according to the Indian custom, and having dug u t 232 1 gfave for them in the snow at the gable of my house, put them all in together ; at the $ame time repeating, that they (hould never more quarrel with me nor any other person. The Indian children still remained, and be- ing from their youth unable to provide for themselves, would have inevitably perilhed, liad not I sent for them*. " I still dreading that the Indians who were formerly encamped in the neighbourhood might return, and being unwilling that my brother (hould be hurt, and being also afsur- ed, that if any Indians discovered the chil- dren with him, that they would conclude what really had happened, I therefore removed them and my brother to a small valley, a- about a mile distant from the house, where I erected a sort of fhade for them, and carried provisions to them as they required. From the top of one of the hills that formed the valley, my brother could easily see my house, and from its smoking, or otherwise, discover whether or not I was in life ; and if I happen- ed to be killed, I gave him directions to pro- * Had not David been humane and generous enough to send his brother for them to his own house, his conduct and behaviour to the children, clearly erince, that in killing the Indians he was actuated by motives of self defence, and n6% from a thirst of blood. r 233 ] aetd with the children to Detroit, a distance of 150 miles*. In about twenty days, the ice in the river broke up, and I judging it high time for me to leave my present comfortlefs situation, went for my brother and the children, and ha- ving put my furs and other goods, consisting of five Christian packs, chiefly Deer fkins 1f Hiirincr tViP HaV- G G i I they answered none but them, and pointed to a large pine tree, upon a height, nine ot ten miles off, and that there they resided. Af- ter giving them a little rum, they went off, saying they would return next day to trade with me. The wind blew very hard at south west, which scattered all the icenn the bay, and the day following 1 went out in the morning to fhoot I>ucks. WhenI came a-{hore, bemg wet, I stripped all off excepting my fhirt and breech cloth, and hung them up to dry. After breakfast my brothet- and the two children went to gather juniper berries ; I desired my brother to take his gun, and to allow no Indian to come nigh him, but to stand behind a tree, and fhoot any one that ^Tould offer to approach him ; for that there was no dependance to be placed in an Indian. In his absence, about eleven o^clock, came the two foi^ementi'oned Indians, and sate down m the Wigwam with me, (the Wigwam, or encampment, was a few poles set up and covered with matts of flags, which the Indi- ans in that country make, and carry about with them in winter.) They afked me for rum, I told them that it belonged to my co- merade, and that I could not give any till he came. I observed two canoes coming along the lake, and alked to whom they belonged, they said that they were Milechiwack and I Renauge's canoes, (tl^e i>aTTVes of two Indi- ans.) I then ^(ked thpm yrl^y ^hey told xne tl^e day before tl^^t ^here were noi^e but them in the neighl^ourhood ; they answered that the woods were full pf them. The ca- noes la^4e4; %^^ two men came into the Wigwam, sat dowi^, and afked for rum, I an- swered as before. The two women, ^s custo- mary, went intp the wood and put up a fire, cut some wopd, and G^rrie4 up their things to thp fire, ^n4 laid their canoes bottom up- wards. Then they pame into my Wigwam, and the young chief of o|:;e of the tribes, took my pot, that w^s boiling for dinner, off the fire, and gave it to the women tp take to their fire an4 e^t. I begged of him to leave some fpr the children that werp wijth me against they came home, b]ijt in an angry manner he told me that I had victuals enongh, and might cook more. I |then judged what they would be at, and put on my leggans and mogazines, and other clothing* and took the large knife, I had formerjly taken froni the Indians 1 killed, and put it in my girdle. They afl^ed me what I me^t by th^t, I told them I al- ways wore it among Indians. Soon after my brothjcr and the tyro c^ig,dren came home, I Itook them to the ^oat, and gave them some biscuit a,nd dried yenison, and alked them if t;hey wiihqd to se,e ^vhat ,tjiey fead seen thre^ r 236 r weeks befor . They afked me what that was. I answered, " Blood." They said, ♦ No.' Then I told them not to tell that I had killed their people. They said they would not. My bro- ther gave the Indians some rum, and I return- ed with the children. The chief afkcd whos6 children they were. I answered, that they were the children of white people* going to Niagara with me. He aiked- 'fli^ they were again; then I stood- ujr. i«f pulled out the knife and struck it into one of the poles of the house, Mid told them how I had been used, and what I had done, and afked them if they were angry. They said they were not ; that those I had killed were not Ibawas, biit that they were Pannees, i. e. pri- soner slaves, taken from other nations. They then aiked for more rum, which I gave them ; then two of them went over to their own fire, and two of them staid by me, and in a fhort time the other two come back, and these that were with me went over to the fire in the wood, and carried the children with them, by which fhifting, it would ap- pear they were laying the plot they after- wards very nearly effected. They demand- ed my arms, and said that I had been drunk and mad all winter. I told them that I thought myself always fit to take care of my own arms, and putting mvself in a oosture of pri- r 237 1 defence, laid hold of my gun, ammunition,and hatchet. After "killing the first Indians, I cut lead, and chewed above thirty balls, and a- bove three pound of Goose ihot, for I thought it a pity to fhoot an Indian with a jsmoothball. I then desired my brotherto carry the things down to the water side, to be put into the boat ; but he being but twelvemonths from his father's house in Scotland, but se- venteen years of age, and unacquainted with the manners of Indians was dilatory. I went toafsist him, and the Indians, under pretence of taking leave of, and fhaking hands with me, seized upon me, threw me down, and tied me neck and heels. One of them took up my hatchet, and would have killed me with it, had he not been prevented by ano- ther of them. He then struck me with his fist upon the face, which hurt me much, and put ah end to my great talking. They then set ine up, pinioned my arms behind me, and cau- sed me go and sit down by the fire. One of them watched, and took care of me, and drank only one dram during the night, it being customary among Indians, that one of a party fhall always refrain from drinking, to take care of the rest. My brother coming to look for me, they seized upon him also; and I fearing they would kill him, called out, ** That he was a boy ; that it was me killed the r 238 1 Otawas, and that they might alk the children if it was not so." They only tied him, and placed him upon the other side of the fire, under the care of another of them who did not drink any. They used frequently to uii^. tie my brother, and send him and the Indian who had him in charge, for rum, which they brought in a brafs kettle that would contain about three Englifh gallons. The chief and his companion drank freely, and also made me drink some out of a large wooden spooiii that would hold a pint. As I sat by the fire tied, having only the Indian drefs on, I com^^ plained much of cold, my fhirt being tore down, and laid open ', my leggans were also tore in the struggle, and my blood ran dowri my belly and thighs from the stroke I recei^ ved from the Indian on the face, I therefore requested of them to put a pair of my own blankets about my fhoulders to keep me warm ; but the Indian that had the care of me did not approve of this measure, Re- nauge's wife used to pafs by me, and raise the blanket upon my flioulders to keep me warm. She also gave me a drink of watef when I was first tied; and if the Indian that had the care of me happened to be out of the way, fhe used to touch me on the back with her knee, and tell me to • that my time was Ihort, She and t 239 1 all the children went to sleep under the tree where all the guns, hatchets, and other things stood. Nican, Equom's wife, kept walking about all night. They had tied my hands up to my neck, as well as pinioned my arms behind me, and some of them accused me of things I knew nothing of. I always appeal- fed to one or other of themselves, that what they alleged was not true. As my hands were tied to my neck, it gave me great pain, and I requested to loose them, saying, that while my arms were pinioned behind, I could make no use of them. Though I was sure they were to kill me, I did not think much ^bout it, as I behcved it was as good for me to be dead as alive. What I regretted mo^t was, that I could not be revenged of them. I then desired my brother in broad Scotch, so as not to be understood by one of the Indi- ans who could talk a little Englifli, to bring me 6ne of the clasp knives from the boat, and drop it by me, in order that I might get the cordscut ; but Nican,Equom's wife, seeing him go off for the boat, called out, ** To kill me di- rectly, that my companion -had gone for arms to the boat." On this I called him back, so that I did not get the knife. The Indian who had charge of me, told me, that John- ston, meaning Sir William Johnston, superin- i f HI r 240 ] Indian for IciUing a white man ; but not me far kilhng an Indian. He then drew out the big loiife, and turning up the coals of the fire aiked me how I fhould Hke to be roasted there to-morrow. I answered, " Very weU." They then gave me the spoon half full of rum, of which I drank a little. The Indian puttmg the knife to my breast, aiked, " If i wilhed to see vermilion ?" (meaning blood';) which was saying as much, as that he meant to kill me unlefs I drunk it off, which I there- fore did. He made me drink two spoonfuls more m a very fhort space, but it did not ai.ect me. This rum was one-third watfer, mix- ed for trading with. The Indian who hid me in charge and I, entered on a hot argument • upon which I stood up, and as I would not yield, he seized me, and threw me down In the struggle, I grappled him by the breast, so that he fell upon me ; I made a grasp at the large knife, which he held drawn in his hand, and by a sudden jerk wrested it from him, gave him a brog, and wounded him in the head and breast, upon which he ran off, as I did also. Another Indian pursued me' seized and threw me down. I called to my brother, who struck the Indian that was up- on me, relieved me, and cut the cord that pinioned my arms behind me, The Indian was foundered by the stroke h^ received, and not m6 for )ut the big •f the fire, be roasted ^ery well." alf full of he Indian ^ed, " If I ig blood*;) he meant ;h I there- spoonfuls did not itfer, mix- o had me gument ; ould not lown. In e breast; grasp at n in his it from him in ran off, led me, i to my was up- rd that Indian ed, and disabled from running off. I killed him r^- turned, and killed the other two, one by one as they were coming to his afsistance. At •this tnne the women and children ran away excepting one boy, who seized upon a gun to Aoot me. I struck and killed him also. What I drank did not disable me, but rather made me. more furious and alert than I other- wise would have been. Mv left hand be- ing severely ^vounded in wresting the knife trom the Indian, my brother bound it up ^ith a rag ; and on our way to the boat I broke the canoes to pieces, to put it out of their power to follow me. 1 looked about (the moon was just then descending down over the wood,) and I saw the wounded Indian coming as hard as he could in quest of me. I sculked by the canoe, and just as he was running by, I sprung up, grappled him, threw him down, and put my knee upon ins breast. He then begged his life ; but I re- membering what he told me a ihort time be- fore, that he would roast me upon the fire, struck him with the knife, and killed him upon the spot. I proposed to return to car- ry the few things we had afliore with us but my brother opposed it, as I was W Ice w T'' r^ ^"^^'^^^^'^ ^^^ -^-- ^ ^ce. We therefore made for the boat. ^-a.n was apiece otF the land, and wading ■'.■S(*»i£.»-i*.-' ■"' ■■-'■,"11,- E 843 ] through the water ta it, I fell and wet all my clothes ; when I got into the boat. I wraiv ed myself in a Bear /kin. Then, and not tiU then, did the rum I had drank operate up- on me. I feU asleep, and when I awoke I was aU over ice. We rowed till we got out of sight of land, and then put up sail, and made for Niagara ; but the wind having got up a-head, drove us back. I then steered for the south Ihore of Lake Erie. judg.ng it safest, and that the Indians on that side would not hear what I had done, till the lake would open, and be free of ice. The wind drove us upon a bank, and the sea walhed over us imd wet every thing in the boat excepting the guns and ammunition, which I took care to preserve dry. Next day we got the things alhore unpacked, to dry them, but not so much so as not to serve as ballast for the boat Here we made a Wigwam, to serve us until such time as th. lake fliould be totally tree of ice, in a place where we supposed the remotest from such as the Indians frequent and were m hopes they would not find us out •' and if any of them came near us we deter- mined to kill them. I however was here but a few days when two Indians came; and as I supposed they had not heard of what had happened on the other side of the lake I treated them in a friendly manner. Theya/k- v^et ^U my t, I wrap- nd not till aerate up- awoke I egot out sail, and aving got teered fox 5 it safest, ould not e would id drove over us, xcepting ook care le things : not so for the serve us ! totally osed the •equent, us out ; J deter- as here le ; and f what lake, I ley afk- f H3 ] ed me if I had rum and ammunition ; and \ehen I answered that I , had, they said they would come next day, bring fkins, and trade with me. I told them not to let any other body know that I was there ; and that if any more than them two were to come, that I would not deal with or allow them to come near me. They solemnly promised that they would not, and that they would come alone. However, as I did not choose to trust them, I got every thing on board, and kept at some distance from the fhore. The two Indians accordingly came, and requested I would land and trade with them ; but upon obser- ving other Indians sculking in the wood, I re- fused to comply. On this the whole party appeared, and threatened to fire at me in the event I did not trade with them. By this time I was pretty much out of reach of their fhot, and proceeded down the lake, and some days thereafter reached Fort Erie. I told the conimanding officer of the Indians I had kil- led ; upon which he confined me, and sent me with a party prisoner to Niagara, where I was again imprisoned." Here ends the information given me by David in writing, our time not allowing him to •proceed any farther. My information from others was, that though my friend David ac- *inovf]' dged to have killed but eiHlu Indians, r 244 ] yet that he really killed eleven; but as I S.ve a^ple faith to his own narrative ll as he .„ every other respect seemed to be a n,an ,. . .^^^ honesty, and integri- Zl'^p-ri -h.t others say, and tnJto h t ZiH ""'■ .''" ""^ ^"''-"^ hearing tha Davtd was at N.agara, they afs.„,bled .n Sven u™ t"' ""' '"^"^'^'' "P°" Ws being fal n ^ T ' ''"'^ "■' "^^ Governor's refu! f' ""•«t«=ned to set fire to the fort. They became at last so clamorous, that the Gover- nor sent a party, unknown to the Indians to Montreal w.th David, where he was fifln brru:r7-'""i-='"'^^'^°p-°f-w"e ttt tlrv'rr r '" ' ^^s"'--"- '™'' -d nat eve y body knew he acted in self de- fence only, he was liberated. And what is ^tjge, and what the like never was known before ts. that he now lives in intimacy and fncndflnp wtth that very tribe, and the sons and daughters of the , ery people he had kil- cd. They gave h.m a grant, regularly ex- tended upon stamped paper, of four miles square of as good lands as any in Upper Ca- I.-' the Genesee cuntry, when with me I saw him w„te a letter ia the Indian tongt^e to some chiefs then .ftembled in Philadel-' .* ,!; , "'' '■'^"^^' °*" Congrefs, directing "'em Lo„- to act in the matter under delibe- t bufhels knocked nd bad- 1, I gave 1 them. out with Colonel Campbell, who was good enough to go along with me to see the salt works at the head of the Unindagoe Lake. There are many salt springs at the head and round about this lake, whicb is a beautiful flieet of brakifh water, of about six miles long and two broad. The land all around this lake lies well, with an easy slope towards the water ; the soil rich and productive. A- bout three hundred yards from the head of it, the salt springs, of which the salt is made, if! sues out of the foot of a steep bank thirty feet high. Here are several other springs whose waters are said to be twice as salt as that of the ocean. Here are twelve kettles, of forty gaUons each, constantly kept boiling' and make at the rate of twenty bufhels a day of beautiful small white salt. The water is pumped out of the well, and conveyed by. a trough into the works and kettles ; and I sup- pose there is water in one well sufficient to supply 100 kettles. There was 200 cord of wood lying by the works ; and yet one of the managers told me, it would not last them a- bove six weeks, so that they mus\ consume much ivood, and clear a deal of land in the course of time. As the country is fast setthng this will become a considerable work, and can easily supply the whole back settlements of the extensive province of New York. r ^56 r When the spring opens, and the ice off'thC' lake, it swarms with Geese, Brants, and Wild Ducks and Swans, which the inhabitants kill in great numbers. A SOR.T of Salmon Trout, Pickerel, and Mafkanongy, are so numerous, that with a spear and torch in a canoe at night, they sometimes catch a barrel of fifh in one night. The woods on the banks of the lake abound with Deer and other sorts of game ; so that this part would make one of the most agree-* able places I have seen in this country for a settlement. On the Unindagoe river, a great many SslU mon are speared in the fall of the year, and the cedar swamps abound with Pheasants. I this morning heard them drumming on old logs. The manner this is done is a little cu^ rious, and pecuUar to that beautiful bird. When the cock Pheasant happens by any ac^ cident to separate from the Hen, and wifhes to call her to him, he perches on a large hollow log of wood, of which there are many every where lying on the ground ; he then beats a ruiT with his wings, resembhng that of a drum, which is heard at a considerable dis- tance, and apprises the hen of the place of his abode, to which Ihe presently resorts. Thii they practise in the spring and fall of the year, and is called drumming. e off' the* nd Wild lilts kill el, and with a lit, they e night, abound so that t agree-* ry for a ny Sal- -ar, and mts. I on old ttle cu^ 1 bird, any ac-^ ifhes to hollow every beats a t of a ble dis- ; of his This le year, [ 257 J We staid that night at the salt works, in the house of one of the managers. The water of these springs is perfectly clear, and only discoverable from any other by the taste. While boiling the water, they hold a pretty long iron ladle in the bottom of each kettle, into which all the sediments fall, which they now and then throw out, other- wise, if left in the kettle, it would discolour the salt, and make it look brownifh, and not so fair as when it is turned out. By con- stant use, the ladle gets a hard crust of this stuff* on it, which will require to be burnt out every twelfth day, by putting the ladle in the fire, and when properly heated the crust falls off* in scales, and leaves the iron as clear as ever. The 24th, returned from the salt pans with Colonel Campbell, to my former quarters at Brown's house, where 1 had left my Horses. The Colonel paid for our night's quarters at the salt springs, and would not allow me to be a sixpence out of pocket, and treated me while I staid with him at Brown's ; so that I had only to pay for my Horses. This gentleman seetns not to be a niggard of any thing he has, and treated me with much ci* vility and friendfhip. I^Iethod of finding out Bees in the IVoods, In autumn, a man sets out to a distance from any habitations, takes with him his Dog for a companion, and his gun, as no man is safe in the woods without both; a blanket to lie on at night, a tomahawk. Bees wax, vermi- lion, a pocket compafs, a watch, and a little honey. He proceeds in the woods until he comes to the largest growth of timber he can find ; there he stops and puts up a httle fire ; on a flat stone in this fire, he puts a little Bees wax, and on another stone hard by, he drops a Httle honey; around this honey he sprinkles ver- mihon ; he then takes his stand at a httle distance, and is sure if there are any Bees in the neigh- bourhood, the smell of burnt Bees wax will at- tract them. As soon as they come, they begin to drink of the honey, and on their approach, they unavoidably tinge themselves with some' particles of the vermilion, which adheres a long time to their bodies and wings. He next fixe, his compafs to find out their course, which they keep invariably streight when .lUtilll! e Woods. istance from his Dog for man is safe mket to lie A^ax, vermi- and a little is until he iber he can I little fire ; a little Bees , he drops a rinklesver- tle distance, the neigh- i^ax will at- they begin approach, with some adheres a mgs. He ;ir course, ght when r 259 ] they are returning home loaded. By the afsistance of his watch, he observes how long those who are mar ed with vermilion are of X eturning. Thu^ t^ofsefsed of the course, and in some measui. ne distance, which he can easily guefs ar he then follows the first that comes, ai seldom fails of coming to the tree where they are lodged ; this he marks, and takes his own time to cut it down. It is as-, tonifhing what a quantity of honey some of those trees will con. ^in. By this patient method, near n dozen of hives have been discovered .a a bcason by one person. It is said, Bec^ never cast or swarm until there be not room enough for them in the bodj of the tree. Bears are very destruc- tive to the hives, where they can come at them. The trees are for the most part cut down with a saw, to prevent the Bees from being disturbed by the chopping of the axe. In the house in which I now am, there is a large trunk of a tree, said to contain as much as half a dozen of ordinary hives, stand- ing Ly the side of the wall within. The 25th, I set out from Onandago. Crofsed this fine valley of about a mile broad, and fell in with a man going the same route all the way to Albany, who was somewhat acquainted in the way. Ascended a hil^ .0^.. *^.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) «»*% i' (.0 I.I |50 "" ^ ^ 1^ 22 2.0 IL25 nil 1.4 lU 1.6 Pnoiographic Sciences Corporation \ «v ^ k-^ \ \ 1>. V .. <\\ '^\ A >^>, ^\. <».^^> 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87^-4503 ^^^^" ^^ ^ <^^- l^\^ . thinly clad with wood, mostly white oak, which I observed is light timber, and thin- ly scattered every where. It grows on light soils. There were some new habitations here and there in the hill as we came along; and for the first eighteen miles, I hardly saw a stone that was not of the Ume kind. Here for the first eight miles, fine grazing farms could be made at very little expence, as the wood IS so thiji as to require very little clear-, mg. In the remainder of the way to Cano. waga, the wood was close, abounding with mapje. Stopped at the house of an Indi- an who keeps a tavern. This man, how soo^ he understood I had come from Canada, made no hesitation, when the American, my travelling companion, was not present, to dis^ close his mind to me. Mgde many inqui- ries about the Canadian Indians ; and if any of them were going to the southward next summer ; meaning if they were going to war, along with the southern Indians, against the Americans ; and added, whether they did or not, that many Indians from thi« part of the country would ; which fhows how iU disposed they are towards the Americans, notwith-^ standmg of their living in their territories, and their attachment and good wiihes to- wards the Briufh. This Indian was a smart I handsome fellow, spoke good Engliih, kept a y white oak, iber, and thin- It grows on £w habitations e came along ; , I hardly saw i kind. Here grazing farms pence, as the ry little clear- way to Cano-T mnding with • of an Indi- lan, how sooi^ ■rom Canada, meric'an, my resent, to dis- nwny inqui* I ; and if any ithward next going to war, , against the r they did or 15 part of the V ill disposed US, notwith-T r territories, I wiihes to- was a smart jliih, kept a C 261 ] good house and accommodation for the pub- he. With an Indian in this village I saw a beautiful Peacock. Proceeded on ourjoUr. ney,-^rofsed the Onido river, and arrived af- ter nightfaU at the Indian village of that name, situated on a spacious flat plain, and put up at the house of an Indian who kept a tavern. Here there was a beautiful young woman, half blood. Her hair, eyes, and eyet brows jet black, and Ikin milk white. She and her hufband slept in tl^e far end of the house. An old squaw slept in a bed near the fire, where I an' my servant were stretched on the bare floor, with our soles to the fire. After we had lain down to r ^, a driinken Indian came m, made a hideous noise, leaping and capermg about, which made me fear he would fall down or trample on my head. After continuing a while in this way, he sprung into bed with the old squaw, who did not seem to feel so warm as he did j made a noise, got out of bed, and sat by us at the fire side. Her gallant soon followed; on which flie returned to bed, where he still pur- sued her ; and in this way the farce was kept up for some time, alternately leaping in and put of bed, until the Indian in the other end of the house got up and turned him cut of the house, and freed us all of this dis- agreeable guest, t 2(J2 J Here I got good hay for my Horses. A little Canadian Frenchman, who lives always with this family, served as an interpreter. March 25. Set out from Onido; breakfast- ed at Whitestown, a new settlement ; from thence to Fort Scouler; from that to German Flats town, where we put up that night. In the country about Fort Scouler and German Flats town, the Mohawkes and six Indian na- tions lived prior to the last war. The 26th, after riding a few miles farther on, I came up to the head of the German Flats, a spacious plain, of a triangular form, two miles broad, through which the Mohawke river slowly glides, principally inhabited by Germans, who still retain their primitive lan- guage. I heard a great deal of the industry of these people, but saw little of it, as the plains and flats on each side of the river are only cultivated, and not an acre of the rising ground adjoining these flats to be seen clear ; whereas, with a little attention, the woods be- hind their houses, if cleared, would make good pasture for their cattle; but they seem- ed to be contented with what their grandfathers had done, and will not be at the trouble to clear more. And yet their stock is but small ; I have not seen above half a dozen of milk Cows about any one house as I came along. [ 263 ] I CAWED at Colonel Campbell's house, and delivered my letters, and understood that if 1 was to stay a week, 1 Ihould have free quar- W '. H?^'i "^ P""y '"^'y '" *^ ■"Own- ing, and I did not choose to lose time, set out on my journey. Lodged that night at a terry. The .ce came so thick down the river, that u could not be crofsed. The land thin and^stony, particularly on the east side of the The 27th, crofsed the river early in the Miormng. Breakfasted at Captain -1 -, house, who kept a tavern, and where I got re- markably fine oats for m. Horses ;-l do not know that ever I saw any .0 exceed, and rare- fy to equal them. He said the seed was but twice sown smce it came from England, and that when standing it was about six feet high that, but for a storm that happened two or three weeks before it was cut, which battered u to the ground, he supposed he would have forty bufhels for every one sown j and no7 withstanding of that, ana what it s;fferfd?h; hoped It would turn out twenty fold. The plains on each side of the river are but small and the land back from that thin, stony, and mountainous. The thaw having come on with a httle ram and south wind, the ice gave way m some parts of the river; in other par^h stopped and dammed up the water,Wh B.4PUI 1 ^f [ 264 ] overflowed the whole flats, and when it Sub- sided, left the lands covered with large junks and flakes of ice, which obstructed our way, and made it tedious and disagreeable to get through. My fellow traveller said that the road led through a certain field, then covered with water ; and as we supposed it not deep, we pufhed on to the far end of it, when we found a creek in front which we could not get over j but befjre we got back to where we entered the field, the flood made so fast that my Horse had to Swim two or three strokes before we got to dry land ; and af- ter getting through a rugged woody preci- pice, we made out a public house, kept by a German, where we put up to refrefli our- selves and feed our Horses. The landlady, a young, chearful, well looking woman, hear- ing from my fellow traveller, and judging by mine and servant*s language, that we were Scotch, accosted me in Gaelic, and afked if 1 understood that language ; when I inswered in the affirmative, flie seemed very happy. The whole family and other strangers that were there, all Dutch, looked with amazement on hearing her and me converse in an un- known language. Sm£ was born in this country, of Scotch Highland parents, of the name of Fraser, from Straherrick. 1 knew two uncles of her's I 265 1 Captains of that name in Canada who were extremely obliging to me when there. After leaving this place, I encountered still greater riiks, crofsing small log bridges over ditches, that were afloat with the flood. In one of these my horse fell twice through, and I had to wade up to the middle, alter- nately in snow and water ; and endeavouring to return, night came on before we could extricate oursjilves out of this difficulty ; and had not a farmeiT seen us, who Uved hard by, and had the humanity to come down to the water side to direct us what way to hold, it is hard to say how we mi^?^ht have fared. We at length made out this man's house, where we staid that night. He entertained us very hospitably, and with much civility, and char- ged but moderately, though he was a Dutch- man. He said he had only come two years ago from the Jersies,-held his farm on Ihares, that is to give the landlord half the produce,' deliverable on the ground where it grew. The landlord is obliged to furnifh half the seed, and to manufacture his own quota, viz. the one half He told me he sowed about forty bufhels of wheat and rye last year, and that the return would be about fifteen seeds. The up-land in this neighbourhood is poor, ^nd but from the great salubrity of the climate r [ 266 ] the produce must be in proportion. It is but drofs in comparison to the soil of Cana- da. Here the land, both high and low, is thin soil, sandy, stony, and hilly. March 29. Set out from the farmer's house who relieved us the preceding night from the swamps and creeks, occasioned by the overflowing of the river, and breakfas- ted at a miller's house, a jolly Dutchman, who directed me to Albany-Bulh, near New Johnstone, where many of my coun- trymen resided, eight miles north of the Mohawke river. I was sorry I could not con- veniently go to Cherry Valley, but was fhown where it lies, twelve miles south of the Mo- hawke ; which I could easily see from a rising ground as 1 went along to New Johnstone. In this village I dined and baited my Horses, and called on a Mr John Grant, who keeps a store, and has a potalh work, and explained the whole apparatus of it. From this place I proceeded to the house of a John M'Vean, with whom I had been well acquainted in Scotland before he left that country, and was much trusted and employed by myself; at first sight he thought he knew me, but I addrefsed him in the German language, which if not spoken, is partly understood by every one in this neighbourhood ; this disconcerted him much, and made him suppose that he It is but of Cana- id low, is farmer's ng night ioned by breakfas- utchman, Ih, near ny coun- L of the not con- i^as fhown the Mo- n a rising )hnstone. y Horses, ho keeps explained lis place M'Vean, tinted in try, and lyself ; at le, but I ;e, which >y every oncerted that he [ ^^7 -1 had been mistaken ; I afked him in that Ian* guage if his name was M'Vean, and if he understood German; he answered in En- giifh, that his name was M'Vean, but the devil a word of German he could speak. I then aiked him in the same language, if Mr M'Vean could speak GaeUc, he understood me well, and said he could speak GaeUc ; and instantly turned about to his wife, and said in that tongue, seemingly with a great deal of surprise in his countenance, that he never saw any one so like the head forester of Mamlorn, (by which appellation I was well known in that country,) as that Dutchman was. At length, after some conversation in this way, with a great deal of surprise on his part, and 'amusement on mine, I discovered my- self, by alking " What would you say if it was the forester himself?" » In troth I believe it is,' ^aid he ; of which discovery we were both e- qually happy. I staid that night with my friend M'Vean ; and next morning, his wife often reminded the children, to look after the Cows, and take care they fhould not steal into the bulh ; even the endlefs forests are here termed the buih. I alked why fhe was so anxious about the Cows getting into the bufh ; and if fhe was afraid they would stray and could not be got. " By no means, (said Ihe,) but they are so fond of the sf»p of the sugar tree, t 268 ] that one drunk out of the trough that held it, until fhe died of it. March 30. Healing that a daughter of my friend Mr Mlntyrc of Glenoe, the chief of that name, resided in the neighbourhood, I directed my course towards her house, and found that fhe and her hufband, a smart de- cent young man of the same name, lived ve- ry happily on a fine farM he had lately pur- chased. Here I took up my head quarters while I staid in these parts, and was enter- tained with a great deal of friendfhip and hospitality by both. Mr M'Intyre is to erect a grist mill, on a creek well adapted for that purpose, that intersects his farm. He has entered into partnerftiip with a merchant of New York, by whose afsistance he is also to commence a potafh work. Great quantities of pot and pearl afties are made in this dis- trict, much to the advantage both of the far- mer and manufacturer, as it pays the farmer the whole expence of cutting, gathering, clearing, and burning the woods, in his land, and the latter has the profit of the making and the sale. These are advantages they do not enjoy in upper Canada, as the merchants do not deal in that article ; so that the farmers get no sale for their aflies, of course tliey gather none excepting for mak- ing 5;oap for family use. Among my country- that held Iter of my ; chief of urhood, I ouse, and smart de- , lived ve- ately pur- l quarters ras enter- iihip and is to erect d for that He has Tchant of is also to quantities this dis- 3f the far- le farmer gathering, J, in his fit of the dvantages la, as the ; ; so that afties, of for mak- r country- t 269 1 men here, I have seen many acres of newly cleared land, of which they told me the alhes paid the whole expences. The soil is pretty good, but stony, the situation high, and the ground uneven, full of knolls, with very few level spots to be found in it. The fai ners seem to be at more pains to clear and cul- tivate the knolls, than the dales, the former being more productive for the first years, whereas the latter are too rich, and fhoot out more rank in straw than in grain j but in progrefs of time, there is little doubt but they will change their system of farming, and give a preference to the latter. The knolls, they say, are better adapted for wheat, peas, and potatoes ; the dales for Indian corn, hemp, and hay. They scarce make any use of dung, but leave it in heaps about their doors. Barn, stable, and Cow house are under the same roof. The wood is neither thick nor leafy, and chiefly consists of maple, pine, hemlock, and beech. The Wolves were here very trouble- some, but now that the inhabitants have got Slow Hounds, the Wolves are banifh- €d. The Scotch inhabitants in this neighbour- hood ^ hearing that I had ':ome to Mr M'ln- tyre's house, came from all quarters to Wel- come me, and invite me to their houses. I ac- cepted many of their invitations, and found r 270 ] the people in general well lodged and pofsefs*. cd of eve*-/ necefsary accommodation. They live in intimacy and friendfhip with each o- ther ; and in every political afsembly carry any poinf they can agree about, and elect one of their own number to afsefs them with the taxes necefsary for supporting the State. The manner of raising these taxes is as equitable as can be. Congrefs afsefses every province with a proportional quantum ; the legislative council of the province lays a stated propor- tion on every district ; the people of the dis- trict on d certain day afsemble, and one man, well acquainted with the ability of every in- habitant, is elected to subdivide the quota among them; these afsefsors are put upon oath to do justice between man and man,'and to proportion the burden according to their abiUties and stock. Tax gatherers are next appointed to collect the money, who are accountable to the Treasury of the province for their intromifsions. I was present at one of their meetings ; their proceedings were re- gular, but took up more time than was ne- cefsary. Near the village of New Johnstone is the seat of the late famous Sir W^illiam Johnstone, Baronet, of whom the inhabitants speak to this day with the highest gratitude and respect. He died a year or two before the breaking out of the war. He was a man of pbfsefs* They each o- ^ carry lect one i^ith the . The [uitablc rovince ;islativc propor- :he dis- le man, sry in- quota upon m/and ng to :;rs are ^ho are ovince at one ere re- as ne- nstone |[!illiam Ditants ititude before aan of unbounded p- . er in this part of the country. Affability and generosity were his distinguifli- ed quaUties. He had a large property ia land, and was to the Indians, as well as to the Scotch inhabitants, a father and a ifriend» To him they looked up for relief in all their distrefses and wants. He kept a squaw *, sis- ter to the famous Captain Joseph Brant, by ■whom he had several children, male and fe- ' male, now in life, to each of whom he bequeathed at his death 1500I. besides leav- ing a large sum to the mother, who now lives at Niagara. It is said the sons are somewhat wild, savour a little of the Indians, but that the daughters have the mild dispositions and man- ners of the Europeans. One of them is well married. I have often been in her house, and very genteelly entertained. She is the best dancer I think I have ever seen perform. Her hulband, a particular friend and coun- tryman of my own, is surgeon to the Indiau Department in the district of Nafsa, with a sa- lary of about 200I. a-year from Government, To crofs the breed of every species of crea- tures is deemed an advantage, but I am con- vinced it can be to none more than to the human species ; as I do not remember to have seen an instance where a white man and an jlndian woman did not produce handsome * Now called old Mifs Molly. [ 272 ] and well looking children : thousands of ex- amples of this kind might be given. The fa- mous and handsome Captain David, and the present Mr Brant, afford striking instances of this kind, and of whom I have spoken al- ready in another place*. They retain the exprefsive features, the fine large black eyes, hair, and eyebrows of the Indian, with a much fairer tint of Ikin, which are easily discernible to the third genera- tion, it not longer. Sir William Uved in great splendour in this pl^ce. In his family were slaughtered loo fat Hogs and twenty-four Oxen annually, and every thing else was in proportion. Sir William was wont to say that he was born in Ireland, but that his father, when a boy, came from Glencoe, in Scotland ; and that he deemed himself of that country, The Johnstones, or as they are called in the Gaelic language, the M'lans of Glencoe, now M'Do- nalds, were anciently a very warlike race, and in times of barbarism not the least so of their neighbours; but it, is somewhat singular that scarce a one of them who left their country early in life, and ifsued out into the world to pulh their fortunes, but made a distingaifhed figure in it. Their vein of poetry was such ■ • The greatest vvprriors, and most conspicuous characters 3,„on,^ the southern Indians, now at war with the Americans, :ire half blood. s of ex- The fa- and the ances of oken al- the fine rs of the n, which genera - cidour in :ered lOO lally, and at he was r, when a , and that •y, The he Gaelic )w M'Do- race, and o of their jular that r country : world to :ingaiihed was such lus characters e Americans^ t 275 1 that any one of them who could not Com- pose extempore in rhyme, was deemed a bye leap; but that practice, which was then much in use, and flione very conspicuous in them, is now discontinued, and their genius in that line is no better than others. Sir William had the distribution of the king's gratuities and stores to the Indians, and his manner of ifsuing them was very different from what is now practised. "When an Indian came for his presents, he was carried into the store, and allowed to choose for himself, which pleased him mighti- ly, and he often went off with a few trinkets of little value. At present I have seen saddles, bridles, ^c. giveii to Indians, who never had crofsed a Horse, and many other things gi- ven in the same way of as little utility to them; and the first use the pofsefsers made of them, was to dispose of them to the first bidder at half value. Sir William was so remarkably beloved, that if he had been in life when the war broke out, it was supposed the whole inhabi- tants of the back parts of the province of isNew York would have risen in arms along with him. IIis son, Sir John, was more distant, and not so affable in his manners, and of coutse w-iq nnt en wpII llVpfl : however, the greatest M M L 274 ] part of the young Scotch settlers, besides some Irifh and Germans, adhered to his for- tunes ; and he raised a corps of the smartest, liveUest, and most useful troops in the Britifh service. Their sufferings were very great : they were often obliged to eat Horses, Dogs; and Cats, and yet were never heard to com- plain, if they could distrefs their enemies. They and the Indians went hand in hand ; the former led on by a son of Colonel But- lei*, a gallant young officer, who was killed in the war ; and the latter, by the intrepid Captain Brant» This chosen corps, — this band of brothers, was rarely known to be worsted in any fl^ir- miih or action, though often obliged to re- tire, and betake themselves to the wildernefs, when superior force came against them. Sir John's corps and Butler's rangers were very distrefsing to the back settlers : their advances and retreats were equally sudden and astonifliing ; and to this day the Ameri- cans say, they might as easily have found out a parcel of Wolves in the woods, as them, if they once entered it. That the first notice of their approach, was them in sight ; and of their retreat, their being out of reach. These two bodies were chiefly made up of Indians and Scotch Highlanders, who adher- ed closely to their country's cause, and such " ^ 1, besides o his for- smartest, tie Britifh :y great : ses, Dogs; i to corn- enemies, in hand; onel But- ras killed : intrepid brothers, any flcir- ^ed to re- i^ildernefs, lem. jers were ;rs : their ly sudden le Ameri- found out as them, irst notice ght ; and dF reach, de up of ho adher- id such t 275 them as survived the wai , are now settled in Upper Canada. I have known many of them, both officers and soMiersL ; and the account they gave of the fatigue and sufferings they underwent, is hardly credible, \yere it not confirmed by one and all of them. . March 31. Here I was informed that my old friend Angus Cameron, who had ser- ved me fcr several years in the capacity of under forester, wl^gn I had the charge of the fine Deer forest of Mamlorn, was' living in that neighbourhood. He was a very smart lively young fellow when with me, and foe whom I had a particular regard ^ and I well knew that he always entertained the same sentiments for me ; I therefore resolved to set out for his house before he fhould hear of my being in this country, in order to en- joy the pleasure of taking him by surprise. As he had not seen me for near twenty years, I judged he would not know me at first sight. ' He pofsefses a farm of about 150 acres of very good land, all his own property, with grain, utensils, and cattle in proportion. Mr M'Intyre was good enough to go along with me, and to tell Cameron that I was a Dutch- man from the Mohawke Flats, come to in- <|uire if he had any Oxen to dispose of. I! A LARGE fur cap I had brought from Ca- nada, and had on at the time, disguised me so much in the eyes of my friend, that he supposed me to be a Frenchman or a Dutch- man. I accosted him in German, and alked him if he had any oxen to dispose pf He said, that I must change my tongue, and speak to him in EngUfh or Lochaber German, otherwise he would give me no answer. Mr M'lntyre afked him in Gaelic, if he^knew me , he an- swered, not ; " Why then, (says the other,) he says he knows you," * The fellow is a d d Har, (says Cameron,) he never saw me in his life ; but let him be what he will, he speaks more languages than one/ On saying thisjhe put on such a curious inquiring face, that I could not help smiling, which he observed, and then came up to me and examined my clothes and took off my cap, and knew me ; a discovery at which we both exprefsed equal pleasure. HERS/ I staid that night, and talked over our adventures in the forest of Mamlorn, and how many fatiguing days and nights we had spent in the bare mountains and fhealings of Scotland, where we slept wrapped up in our plaids ; the chaces we had with two fine large Deer Gray Hounds I kept, and the Deer we had killed ; at which my friend sighed deeply, and said, he wifhed he had been still in these from Ca- juised me I, that he a Dutch- and alked , He said, speak to otherwise M'Intyre ; , he an- other,) he ;ad d me in his he speaks ng thisjhe ice, that I observed, lined my knew me ; fsed equal Iked over nlorn, and us we had fheaUngs up in our fine large : Deer we ed deeply, 11 in these t 277 3 hills. It is not a little singular that this man, who, while in Scotland, never handled an axe, spade, plough, or had done any sort of work, but go about with his gun, fhould to- tally lay it aside, and betake himself to the necefsary occupations of a farmer when he came to this country ; and notwithstanding game being plenty about him, never fired a fhot at a Deer but one since he came to Ame- rica. Very fortunate for him he did so ; for he now makes out very well, and enjoys abun- dance of the comforts of life on his own pro- perty, from which, he says, no other can dispofsefs him. His wife and children told me, that he often cursed the country, be- cause there was no rain in it ; that when a plump fhower happened to fall, he would run put of the house, stand under it until he would get drenched to the fkin, and say what a pleasant thing rain was. Among other old stories, he reminded me of a time v/c had been in the forest, and night coming on, we retired to an uninhabited hut, where we were in use of keeping a small chest of provisions, for the benefit of such of us as fhould be un- der the necefsity of pafsing the night in the mountains, and rising before day, to inter- cept the Deer bei jre they fhould get into the nursery or sanctuary, to which they al- ways retired early every morning the • i himting season. At this time there happened to be no provision in our little magazine, ex- cepting a small portion of oat meal ; and as we had not (hot any thing that day, we had recourse to it. I desired Cameron to bake a couple of oaten cakes for us to eat ; he swote he never baked one in his life, notwith- standing his being bred from his cradle in the wildest forest and mountains of Lochaber. I insisted on his trying it, as otherwise we must fast. He at length with much reluctance did, but to no purpose ; he went so aukwardly to work, that I thought I could do better myself; I therefore begun, but could not make it out. We alternately set to work, but Mith no better succefs ; so that we were, after all our endeavours, obliged to eat cur meal in dough, without ever being put to afire. It however served us for the time, and when our repast was over, we threw ourselves down on a sort of bed of heath, and slept as soundly as if on down. Got up by the dawn, ascend- ed ihe hills before it was clear day, and at sun rise each had fliot a fine Hart ; Cameron wound- ed another, which our Gray Hounds run down and caught. The best of these was sent to ray constituent, the Lord of the Manor, the second to his factor or steward, and the third I re- served for m-yself In this fi%ny I spent seven years of my youth, and prime of my Ute, I • 5ened e, ex- md as e had ake a swote twith- in the haber. Lse we ctance wardly better d not work, e were, eat our a fire. 1 when s down oundly ascerid- i at sun wound- nt down t to my ; second rd I re- it seven my life, r 279 ] Void of all care but. that of my charge, wlrich indeed was more a pleasure than a trouble to me. On the eighth I gave it up, on a slight misunderstanding with the factor, who I am very far from suggesting was more to blame than myself; and from his high honour and worth, great understanding and personal qualifications, I have been always more apt to think the fault must have been more on mine than his side of the question ; but a few years thereafter, the same thing happened to himself, on some misunderstanding with his noble constituent, of whose ancestors he was lineally descended, and whose family he had served through a long period of fifty years in the same station, with equal honour to him- self and benefit to his employers, and to the regret of his numerous acquaintances, many of v^iom were of the first rank and cliarac- ter, excepting one lady, which tempts me to use the words of the poet*. It, however, was fortunate for me that I re- moved. The change of situation made me al- ter my idle mode of life. I betook myself to farming, traded a Uttle by sea and land, by which I made out so well as now to be ena- bled to give up all businefs, and gratify a pafsion for travelling, and seeing as much of the world as my little finances will admit of. * Mankind, since Adam, have been won^an^s tools-, VNomen, since Kve, are slill the devil's tooJs. !'1 ('.'-i? ■l April 2. This being the day appointed for electing their afsefsors and tax gatherers. I .rent along with them to New Johnstone, where I saw between fifty and sixty Scotch- men afsembled there on that occasion. They were happy to see one so lately come from their native country ; brought me along with them to a public house, where we spent the evening. Some were drefsed in their High- land plaids and bonnets. They were much surprised at the account they heard of the rise of rents in their mother country ; and afked why the people had not come over here rather than submit to be over-rated. They blefeed their stars that they had left Scotland, while they had something left to pay their way. Even my friend Cameron, who was with us, regretted only that he wanted the beautiful sight of the Highland hills, considering the happy days he had spent among them in his youth There was scarcely any one of them who did not invite me to their houses, to some of which I went and spent five or six days among them very agreeably. Tiiey in general polsefs lands of their own, and live comfortably and happy. As the soil is inferior to that of Upper Canada, I recommended to them to go to that country, and told them they would be mucn happier there under the Britiih government ■---■ pointed therers, m stone, Scotch- . They ne from ng with )ent the ir High- ■e much i of the ry ; and le over er-rated. had left r left to :;ameron, that he Highland he had 'here was lot invite 1 I went lem very 1 lands of d happy. ;r Canada, t country, h happier I. [ 28l ] of them said they had heard so from almost every person ; and that they had a mind to go and see it, as they could get their farms here disposed of, and could get lands there for nothing. Some of them had very fine or- chards, and made a great deal of cyder. Here it was that I first sa,\9 a cyder mill in this country. N M> ir»ft 'v..'' From the Mohawke River to New York. I ' xjLpril 6. I set out from Mr M'lntyre's house in Albany-Bufh, within two miles of New Johnstone, and proceeded by the north side of the Mohawke river, through much barren, sandy, and stony soil, in which, how- ever, there were many orchards. I saw one large spot of about six acres, planted with young fruit trees, so sandy and barren to ap- pearance, that I was surprised it could answer the purpose. I put up at a house on that side the river, about twenty-five miles from that I had left in the morning. The coun- try here is hilly on both sides, a little way out from the river. April 7. Crofsed the river in a flat bot- tomed boat to Skenectedy, a small town built on the south banks of the Mohawke river, seventeen miles higher up than Albany. The town consists of several hundred houses, some of wood, and others of brick, with some regular streets, merchants and tradesmens fhops, and but little trade. The country 5fORK, rintyre's miles of he north h much ch, how- saw one ted with en to ap- d answer on that liles from 'he coun- ittle way- flat bot- )wn built ke river, ny. The ises, some ith some adesmens country t 283 ] close to it as barren as can well be, and pro^ ducing little besides a few stinted fir and pine trees. From this town to the half way house, a stretch of ten miles, all a poor san-» dy bottom. Here I fell in with General Peter Ganswarth, and rode in company with'him to Albany ; a stout handsome man, who is High Sheriff of the place. He told me that the land on each side the sandy ridge we had come along from Skenectedy is good, and the country- well settled. I put up at the city tavern, the sign of the Arms of the United States. I STAID here two days. The city of Albany is about a mile long, stretched on the west side of Hudson's river, a few miles below where the Mohawke falls into it. The hous- es are mostly of brick, many of them very neat, but not high built. They have a new built goal, that is handsome, and even elegant; and strong ; it is the most fhowy building about the place. From this city are exported to New York, annually, a great deal of grain, lumber, pot, and pearl alhes. The flats on the banks of the river are a- bout a mile over, and are now overflowed with frefhets, which is the case ^very spring. They have about thirty sloops belonging to the town, and some scows with sails» that \m r i84 1 will darry dach two thousand biifliels of trhcat. On the river side, there are srre- ral wharfs, where vefscJs of upwards of loo tons may load and unloid. The whole inhabitants of the back parts of the wide and extensive province of New York, and part of the new State of Vermont, send the pro* duce of their land to this town, where the j arc supplied with merchant goods, and all ihe necefsarics they want -, and as these countries are fast settling, this city in a little time must be a place of considerable export and import. The city is built very irregularly on the side of a sloping hill, in some parts steep, and full of gullets. It has one fine broad street w^ll paved, that runs about halfway through the middle of the town, but the buildings on each side have not the least uniformity. The soil sandy, and thinly timbered with poor pine and miserable odk. At the city tavern I fcU in with a Mr John M'f ntyre, a Scotchman, lately married to the daughter of a rich merchant in New York, who owns some salt springs, and a large tr^cr of land in the Genesee country. This gentlemaii invited mc to nis house. tvhich was on my way to- New York, and I chcarfully accepted of his invitation, biifhels of ' are sctc- irds of loo 'he \7hok the rfidt ky and part d the pro* 'here they ind all ihe r countries time, must id import, ly on the steep, and street w^ll rough the Idings on lity. ered with the city 'fntyre, a wghter of vha owns >f land in fis house, k, an4 I C 385 1 April 9. I went along with Mr M'lntyre from Albany to his house, tweuty-tive miles belorw that place. The land as we came along tvas in most parts barren, thin, and sandy, ei- ccpting one small valley, through which a small river ghded slowly along, like whaC we c^ll the strath of a glen in Scotland, with low hills on ejich side. This is a beautiful spot, and abounds with fruit trees and orchards. After pafsing this valley, we ascended a high hill, of a thin and stony soil, partly clear and in- habited, and which commands a fine pro- spect of the country all around. Near thd summit of this hill, where four roads meet, is Mr M'Intyre's house, with his store and pot-' afh work. The farmers carry their aflies to the ^tore, for which they are paid at the rate of one Ihilling, York currency, /^f- bufhel. Here I staid two or three days, and Mr M'ln- tyre was good enough to go along with me to the town of Hudson. On^ our way thither, I tvas surprised to see a good deal of new cleared land, so thin of soil, stony, and bar- ten, as not to seem worth the clearing, and yet he said it would yield good crops for the first years. It however fhowed, that all the good land in the neighbourhood had been formerly taken up, and that none now re- mained but this kind, which in any other place J had been in, wpuld not have fetched one r 286 J Iflll i 1 jiHB 1 ihilling the hundred acres for cultivation ; but here land is not to be got without purchase, at a pretty smart rate. Came through one beauti- ful valley of old cleared land, mostly laid out for hay. From this valley to the river side, op- posite to the town of Hudson, is all grafs land, cleared for some time back. Crossed the Ferry to Hudson ; this town is now inhabited mostly by New England- men. The Catikill mountains were in view to the westward all this day. They appeared to be high and rugged, and covered to the top with wood. In the town there are some good new brick and timber houses, and se- veral wharfs ; and some vefsels of conside- rable burden are built here annually. The plains on the river side are narrow, being little more than half a mile over, and are just now overflowed by the frefhets. I put up at the principal inn kept by one Gordon. There are numbers of Quakers in this neighbourhood. The ^'.vomen of this religion can be easily discovered by the plainnefs of their drefs, — much the same as in Britain. They use nothing gaudy, such as ribbons, lace, %^c. to ornament their persons, whereas those of any other persuasion drefs very gay. If a Quaker contracts debt that he is unable to pay, if he is a liar, a drunka -d, a cheat, ot on; but tiase, at a e beauti- laid out side, op- afs land, lis town Lngland- w to the ed to be the top re some and se- conside- y. The Vf being are just put up ion. in this religion inefs of Britain, ribbons, whereas ■ry gay. unable heat, ot [ 287 j guilty of any midsemeanour whatever, he is turned out of the community, and xio longer deemed a brother, which he considers as the highest punifliment that could have been in- flicted on him. A merchant here told me if a Quaker took goods on credit, and did not pay them about the time he promised, that by a complaint to the Rector, Intendant, or Head of the Society at the place, he would be forced to pay, if it Ihould be with his last penny, and that he would be turned out of the commu- nity in the event he did not. I suppose their religious tenets, in point of morality and decency, to be the best in the world, and they in that respect come nearer the Scotch Pres- byterians, than any other clafs of men what- ever. , As my Horses were much fatigued, I a- greed with Captain Hatchway, master of the packet to New York, a distance of 1 30 miles, to carry myself, my servant, and Horses, at a dollar for each Horse, another dollar for my- self, and half a one for my servant, I find ing forage and provisions. And as the vefsel was not to set off till next day, I took a walk to a neighbouring hill, from whence I had a prospect of the country around me, as far as my eye could carry. On the east side I could see the country to be pretty closely inhabi- tedj each farm having a clump of v/ood by it for fuel. The wood appeared to me to take t ««8 1 ^ lip three-fourths ^f the ground, though it is aa old settled country ^ and I could discover ten times a$ mmk wood 0n the w«st side, towa^rds th^ Cat^iU ^Quot^iis. They have a comi^ derafelp fiftery here, of a sort of Herring, cair kd -Ei^i tpes, for t>vo or three weeks in May or Jvne, and they ejcprted this last year to th^ West Jndies, 4009 barrels, all caught in seines. This Uttle town flourifhes fast ; and fhough h^t pf eight years standing, they have re^ gular streets and some genteel houses ; and be* longing to the place there are four ftiips, fif;- teen brigantines, and twelve sloops. I could not find that New York had double that number of square rigged vefsels. The trade of this little town to the West Indies is con* siderable; they export lumber. Horses, hay, and grain ; and import molafses, of which they make a good irql fhirxj nr ]f»f tV»fm rnf in their docks, and there will be an end, in all pro- 'il ii i r 300 ] bability, of ever America having a navy. It .vill be extremely difficult to enact a law- congenial to the whole, or strike a medium between them; so that it is probable, ere long, this great empire will be divided into two se- parate Governments and Independent States. If Britain lliould foment a misunderstanding of this sort, then would fhe be umpire be- tween them, and have no cause to regret the lofs of her American colonies ; and be soon reimbursed by their commerce, in the treasure file expended in attempting to subdue them ; each state w^ould then court her alliance and friendfhip, and be emulous w^ho fhould enjoy it most. - This matter is not so difficult to bring a- bout as some may suppose. If Britain but gives the proper encouragement to the settle- ment in Upper Canada, by cutting a canal, to avoid the rapids of the river St Laurence, from Montreal to Segotchy, and the lower end of the Thousand Islands, the navigation to and from that city may become easy and unexpen- sive ; the settlements would increase with such amazing rapidity, as in a few^ years to cope with the one half of America, and make it even difficult for the whole to gain any ad- vantage over it. The situation of Canada is such, s^' etched along the back parts of almost (jvcrv province in America, as makes it easy a navy. ,ct a law medium ere long, two se- it States, standing ipire be- :gret the be soon J treasure le them ; alliance lo fhould bring a- itain but he settle- a canal, Laurence, ower end on to and unexpen- with such J to cope make it any ad- Canada is of almost €s it easv [ 301 ] to give afsistance from Detroit, Niagara, Kingston, and Montreal, to whatever corner of the States they choose ; and one or two hundred thousand pounds, I have been well afsured, would mould that venal court of le- gislators to any fhape fhe pleased. Nor is it easy to foresee the lofs on the part of America, to be thus divided; the contrary seems evident, as it would make the diversity of interests, and the present unweildy mafs, more compact and reconcileable ; unlefs they may think it would make them weaker and more dependent on their. old friends of Great Britain; who it may be presumed, would feel her interest in giving them every advantage in trade they pofsibly could expect, more than Ihe gives even to Portugal, the most favoured nation, which, it is well known, would have been converted into a province of Spain, but for the protection of Great Britain, which might form an interest and friendfhip, that nothing Ihort of a miracle could difsolve, and by a treaty of offensive and defensive alli- ance, procure independence for, and a free trade to South America ; and thus both coun- tries together, might be enabled to give com- mercial laws to all Europe, " and confident against the world in arms." There is not an intelligent man in America, nor do I suppose in Britain, but knows this tg be 11 !«' [ 302 3 the interest of both nations ; and nothing but inattention in the ministry of the latter power, and the biindnefs which the late suc- cefs and independency of the former, keeps them from bringing it about. Though several Members of the States, have large personal properties, in negroes, stock, and crops, few have any considerable indepen- dent fortunes, and few, very few indeed, if any, can boast of having a loool. sterling per anmm, of landed property, payable in cafh. The rents are paid mostly in stock and pro- duce ; so that one and all of th jm must sell, truck, or barter, and become partly brokers or merchants. The laws of the country make it improbable that ever there fhould be men of considerable landed property a- mong them, as the whole estate, both real and personal, of every individual, is at his death divided among the children, fhare and fhare alike : when thus parcelled out into small portions, none can be of great extent, excep- ting when a family are few in number, which rarely happens. The virtues and enthusiasm they exhibited in acquiring their independence, have totally subsided, and given way to interest ; perso- nal! lies, and a taste for graiiileur and ihow now prevail ; and Esquire, and Honourable, have taken place of the humble citizen and [ 303 J virtuous farmer ; so that they must have calh to support their dignities and new acquired honours in some fhape or other. If the Britifh ministry had paid half the at- tention to this quarter of the world,and expend- ed the one-third of what they have done in their mocked pretensions to maintain the balance of power, by supporting the Turks in Europe against Rufsia, they would in all probability have succeeded better, and the public would have been no losers by it ; and if such a sum as 10,3291: 15s. Sterling, voted by Parliament for the purchase of merchandise to be given in presents to the inhabitants of Nootka Sound, were to be laid out, and conti- nued annually for a few years, in cutting a canal in Upper Canada, to facilitate the na- vigation of that charming country, the public would soon by its commerce feel the good effects of it in a tenfold degree, com- pared to that for which the above sum was intended. The forces in Canada are at present as fol- lows, viz. Six battalions of regulars. Ten ditto, Canadian MiHtia. Twelve ditto, Britifh and American loy- alists. A Corps of Artillery, C 304 1 Five hundred workmen and artificers, re^ gularly officered, under military laws and re- gulations, to work at roads, bridges, l^c. brought lately there by Colonel Simcoe, the Governor of the new province of Upper Cana- da ; so that the two provinces will turn out above twenty thousand men in arms on Ihort warning, and double that number in cases of emergency. If any disturbances arose in the United S'^ates in which Britain fliould take a part, and that fhe would as liberally reward such as would join her, as flie had done on the last occasion, thousands would flock to her stan- dard who were against her before. The Britifh dominions in America exceed in extent, the fifteen United States collective- ly, and enjoy almost every climate, but that of the torrid zone. The superior fifheries, furs, mast and spar trades of Britifh America, if hands e- nough were in the country to make the proper use of them, might be put in ba- lance with the rice, indigo, and every luxuri- ous article of the States. They have wheat and grain of all kinds, staves, lumber, pot and pearl alhes, hemp, flax, maple sugar, and soap in common with the colonies. The great superiority the colonies have, and will to the end of time, is their tern- rs, re- nd re- ;, i^c. le, the Cana- rn out a Ihort ases of [Jnited rt, nnd uch as he last ;r Stan- exceed [ective- at that St and inds e- ke the in ba- luxuri- wheat ler, pot ; sugar, olonies. s have, r tem- [ 305 1 perate sea coast, and population, which the northern parts and frozen sea coast of the Britifh States, though much more ex- tensive, never can admit of. But strange as it may appear, yet true it is, that Nova Sco- tia and New Brunswick have built more square rigged vefsels within these seven years, and have now nearly as many as all the Uni- ted States together, and will soon be the car- riers of all America, especially to Britain and the Britifh West Indies, in the event that the old navigation -act is continued in force. There is as much oak in Upper Canada, were there an easy communication by canals to convey it to sea, and as much black birch in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, not inferior to the oak in quality, as would supply all the dock yards in Europe with fhip timber, for 100 years, if not for ever. There is jiist now finifhing, within a few yards of where i write, a pine log canoe, three feet broad within the gunnel, and from twen- ty-six to twenty-seven feet long; and this log is by no means to be compared in bulk with those of soUd oak trees I liave seen in Canada. The gentleman that owns this canoe has another of about eighteen feet long, made out of the same trde ; the former will carry at least a ton and an half weight, and the latter in proportion. The common fer- I i \ [ 306 ] . ry-boat from Point Levi to Quebec, is a log, which carries twenty people at once ; I and my servant sat with ease side by side on the seat within her. The bird's eye maple, the curled maple, and black clouded birch of New Brunswick, and ])lack v/alnut of Un^er Canada, will admit of as fine a polifh ax. Is, and is equal for household finifliing and furniture, to any per- haps in the world; and were they generally known in Europe, there is little doubt of their soon becoming articles of commercial intercourse. In the Governor's house, the Chief Judge's house, in Colonel Allan's house, and other gentlemen's houses in New Brun- swick, I have seen most beautiful specimens of each kind peculiar to that country. I have seen gun stocks in Upper Canada of the clouded maple, whose light and deep ftiades were so variegated, as to exceed the roots of any heather I ever saw in Scot- land ; and yet so prevalent is custom, and the desire of emulation, the bane of all society, that many of the gentlemen here, who can- not well afford it, have mahogany furniture in abundance, and despise what can be got at their doors, and at no expence but the workmanfliip. The Chief Justice of New Brunswick is an exception to this, as I have not seen a bit of mahogany in his elegant IS a log, e ; I and I on the aple, and I'ick, and admit of jqual for any per- 2jenerally doubt of nmercial Duse, the I's house, ;w Brun- ^ecimens mtry. I mada of nd deep ceed the in Scot- , and the [ society, rho can- iirniture n be got but the of New ; I have ; elegant C 307 I and commodious new house ; but he is a man of a very enlightened understanding and the best informed 1 met with in my travels in that country ; and Mrs Ludlow, his lady, seems to be among the mildest and most ami- able of her sex. The Chief Judge, an Ame- rican bred and born, was high in the law de- partment at New York, and a staunch friend to the Britifh government, is now justly re- warded for his loyalty by his present office, worth 700I. Sterling per annum^ besides a fine form, to which he^has considerably added by purchases ; and though the farm is not above six years standing from the first trees being cut down on it, he can raise from seventy to eighty tons of hay annually, and live on it ; and his present salary equal to as many half thousands in other parts of the world. With Colonel Allan I went to see a fine island of 230 acres, which he rents from the Marichet Indians for 1 00 dollars per annum, on a lease ot 999 years, on which he has carried on some improvements. On one plot of seventeen acres he had nine in rye, and eight in winter wheat, the rankest and finest crop I ever saw in any country I ever was in. The former was the seventh succefsive crop, and the latter the third, without his ever laying on a single fliovelful of manure; and yet the rye was at that time, .20th June, near six feet high, and r 308 J the wheat above half that height. Captain Lee was along with us, and understands faim- ing inferior to none I have met with in this province. He was partly bred in that Une in England, and much so in America, before and after the late rebelUon. He said he had not seen any thing like it, and does not doubt but it would return at the rate of thirty fold at least, in the event the wheat was to stand till ripe, but that it ran a great rifk of lodging from the weight of the crop. This island in the river St John's, is loo miles from sea. We saw another plot, of about twelve acres, of spring wheat, on the main land, raised also without manure, which Captain Lee suppos- ed would nearly equal that of the island. This may stagger the belief of farmers in Great Britain, but it is far from being very uncommon in this country. I was at a French farmer's house, in a settlement called Madawq/kas, near 200 miles still higher up this river, who told me that he was convinced that he had then in his barn forty-five bufhels of wheat from one bufliel sown, but as it was not then threfhed out he would not say with certainty. These people never make use of any manure, not even to their gardens, though they produce cabbages, onions, beets, pompions, and quafhes. to [ 309 1 great perfection; and yet I am convinced this settlement is two miles perpendicular a- - bove the level of the sea, as has been already observed on my going up that riv^r the preceding year. The time being now drawing near, that the vefsel I meant to take my paisage in for Scot- land, was to sail from St Andrews, I pre- pared for returning to that place by the way of St John ; and after bidding adieu, and thanking the engineer and family, whose house was my home while I resided in this part of the country, the Chief Judge and la- dy. Captain Lee, and his amiable family, Mefsrs M'Gibbon and Garden, on the river St John, Dr Drummond, Captains M'Lean, Lymon, and French, and Lieutenant Dugald Campbell on the river Nafhwack, all of whom have a claim to my respects, and best thanks for their hospitality, attention, and poUte- ncfs to myself, while I had the pleasure of being in their respective parts of the pro- vince. Wi M Fro?n Frederick Town to St John and the Kennebeckasius. 1 SET out from Frederick Town on foot ; and walking through Maugerville along the river side, I fell in with a gentleman travelling the same way. As we were conversing along,I heard a great noise in a house at some distance, on which I stopped to listen, and told the gentle- man that there were some people fighting in that house ; at which he smiled and answered, " That he knew^ the place well; that it was a house of worfhip, where a number of reli- gious fanatics afsembled at all hours of the night and day ; that no body preached, eve- ry one prayed for himself, and the louder they roared, the more sincere and devout they were supposed to be ; so that the one vied with the other who fhould ba^vl out loudest." When we had come nearer, I was struck with amazement at the hideous noise they made, and which could be heard at a considerable distance ; I alked him if he supposed they would permit me to go in to 1"^ t.iem; he said I rai^lit, provided I bcha- [ 3JI ] ved properly, and did not laugh, or offei' to ridicule them in any ftiape ; that they would not prevent me, or give me the least trouble; thus encouraged, I went in, and found they consisted of about three score persons, of both sexes, all on their knees, and in tears, every one praying for himself, as already said, and bawling out, O Lord ! O Lord ! which were the only exprefsions I understood of what they said. After standing for a few mi- nutes in the house, my hair almost standing on end at the horror of the scene these miserable people exhibited,! returned, and just as I was pafsing the window of their apart- ment, some one called out, that the devil was among them; upon which they all gave a yell, louder and more horrible than any Indian war hoop I had ever heard ; and if the devil himself was to fhow his physiognomy in all the frightful grimaces ascribed to him in the middle of them, every door bolted, so that none pofsibly could escape his clutches, their screaming could not have been louder or more horrible. I returned to the the road with deep imprefsions of the deplorable effects of fanaticism on the human mind, where it gets a hold, and found the gentleman there waiting for me. and proceeded on my jour- ney, and arrived in a few days at the city St Johns. [ 312 ] It however revived in my mind a story 1 •was told that happened in the Jersies, much about the time 1 was there, and seemed well authenticated, of a set of religious en- thusiasts, who were' in use of afsembling in a certain house of worQiip, in the neigh- bourhood of Elizabeth Town, and whose tenets run much on the notion of the de- vil being fond of money. This article in their creed was admited by all, as also that he made much more use of money to bribe Christians, than Indians, which was clear from the former being greater worshippers of the Golden Calf, than the latter, wholly owing to his machinations. A wiser head than the rest suggested the idea of bribing the de- vil himself with money, to prevent his work- ing on the pafsions of any of their sect. The scheme was highly applauded, and approved of as the best that could be devised, and the projector of it, himself, requested to set a- bout collecting sums of money, adequate to the businefs, which he had the humanity to do without losing much time, lest the de- vil fliould be at work on them in the interim ; snd to inforce his arguments, he told them, that each man's fhare w^ould be placed to his •own account ; and as they all knew the devil was not to be put off with a trifle, he hoped they would contribute accordingly. story 1 , much seemed )us en- ling in neigh- whose he de- :icle in so that bribe s clear )pers of owing lan the the de- s work- :. . The jproved id, and :o set a- [uate to nity to :he de- iterim ; 1 them, 1 to his le devil ; hoped t 313 ] Contributions went on liberally, and no inconsiderable sum was collected, with which he went off, with the consent and approbati- on of all concerned, to bribe the devil, as al- ready said; but whether he found him worse to please than he expected, and did not get his businefs effected, was not known when I was there, but so it was, that he had not returned, though he had then been two or three months away upon that businefs. It was affirmed that some respectable people were concerned in this- plan, though they are now afhamed to acknowledge it, and deny their having contributed any money tow^ards it. The diversity of principles, and religious opinions in this country, is great. But when they give no disturbance to the state, the legislature takes no notice of them ; and in the course of time the most fantastical of them generally falls into disuse, and goes to pieces of itself. Being informed by several respectable people in this place, who launched out in great encomiums on a tract of land called the Kenebecasius, that it was among the best parts in the province, and fittest for new- settlers, the easiest land to clear, and for raising stock with least trouble, I thereupon [ 314 ] resolved to go and see it, and accordingly set out, in comnany with a Mr Thomson, mer- chant here. The first sixteen miles of the way to the French village, is timbered with pine and spruce, the land uneven, knoUy, bar- ren, and interspersed with many small lakes, in which however are abundance of Trout ; yet there are several new settlers stretched along the sides of the road, who have a year or two ago begun to clear this poor and forbidding soil, which had no- thing to recommend it but its vicinity to the city of St John, and to a large meadow, consisting of some thousand acres, formerly overflowed by the sea, but now barricadoed out, the joint property of Mefsrs Reason, White, and Symons, who got grants of it before there were any thoughts of set- tUng the country with loyalists. This im- mense tract of meadow produces such a quantity of hay, that the city and all the neighbourhood consume only a small portion of its produce, and it is sufficient to supply ten times tne demand. The remainder of it is pastured, or the grafs allowed to decay up- on the sward. The French village is so called from some of that nation being settled there previous to the close of last war, and who removed from diiba loyal coun Uttle Ihallc a nai whici The small mostl thin, so in parts Af: on fo] of om we CI Darlir farm, of bet den. mudd; mon s inquir spa^m Herrin Salmo] iramm long, a dingly set ison, mer-^ les of the ered with noUy, bar- nall lakes, of Trout ; stretched 'ho have :lear this had no- Lcinity to meadow, formerly Tricadoed s Heason, nts of it 5 of set- This im- such a d all the ill portion to supply ider of it decay up- rom some previous removed \ r 315 ] from it to Madawafkar, when a part of the diibanded Britifh army and of the American loyalists entered and took pofsefsion of this country. It is situated on the banks of the little river Hammond, a beautiful broad, Ihallow, and smooth stream, gliding through a narrow valley in the form of a glen, in which a good many Salmon are speared. The flats on each side of this river are but small, the hills well timbered with hard wood, mostly beech, birch, and maple. The soil thm, dry, and in many parts stony, and not so inviting for cultivation as many other parts of the country. After dining at this village we proceeded on for about eight miles further, to the house of one Thene, a Scotchman. From this place we crofsed a* broad sound to the island of Darling, on which Mr Thomson has a good farm, and where he was then building a fliip of between two and three hundred tons bur- den. Pafsing this sound I observed the water muddy, and intermixed with some imcom- mon substance, that floated along with it. I inquired the cause, and was told it was the spawn offifli, and that here a great deal of Herrings or Gasparoes, Bafs, Shed, and some Salmon, were annually caught in seizes and trammels. This island, of six or seven miles long, abounds with timber for fliip building, t 316 ] and as I am informed, could be bought, ex- cepting this farm of Mr Thomson's, for 500I. The soil good, fharp, and fit for cultivation ; the wood of the hard kind, thin, but strong and lofty, and from its vicinity to the city of St John, and the easy conveyance by wa- ter, could be transported thither, and sold to good advantage for fuel and fhip timber. It is customary in this province, at least in such parts as I have seen of it, to permit a fhip builder to enter the woods, cut down and carry off whatever parts suit him, on his paying ' the land owner at the rate of a Ihilling, or quarter dollar, per ton, and these lakes, and the different arms and creeks of this fine ri- ver, are quite adapted for navigation. Many fhips and vefsels are annually built on its borders, at the above rate for the timber. A Captain Smith of this town, lately launched a brig of 200 tons, the cabin of which is fi- nilhecl with black birch ; equal to any maho- gany in appearance : he has two fhips on the stocks, one of which is of 400 tons burden, all bui It of black birch ; indeed there is no other timber used in this province in fhip- ping o f any kind. The durabiUty of this timber is such, that in clearing lands, logs have h sen found of it in the woods, over whiVb < ri-pc nf rnnsiderable size had grown, and th.ough the outside was rotten, and ught, ex- , for 500I. Itivation ; ut strong the city ;e by wa- id sold to mber. It St in such lit a fhip and carry lis paying | hiUing, or lakes, and is fine ri- Dn. Many ilt on its mber. A aunched a liich is fi- my maho- ips on the Ls burden, here is no e in fhip- ty of this lands, logs Dods, over ad grown, >tten, and t 317 1 crumbled away into dust at the first touch, yet in the heart it was found to be sound, and hard as ever, which leads some people to suppose, that its decay is almost proof against time itself At the head of this lake, there are large intervals of land, and spacious mea- dow^s, that produce more natural grafs for hay than the inhabitants can make use of; but such as they do cut, and win in the sea- son, they only carry off when frozen, and on the ice. In time of frefhets, it is flooded over, and appears as one large Iheet of water; at this time, and in the fall of the year, large flocks of Wild Geese, Brants, and Ducks, re- sort to it, and aitbrd to such as live in the neighbourhood, a great deal of sport. After Mr Thomson had set. led hisbusinefs with the ftiip carpenters, and I had taken a cursory view ofhisfarm, we returned with Mr Thene a- crofs the lake, (at least a mile over,) in the same log canoe in which we ha4 gone to his house, and we were treated with every at- tention and great hospitahty. Next day, Mr Thene \vas good enough to mount his Horse, (though very unwell at the time,) and go along with me until he delive- red me over to another Scotchman, who li- ved about ten miles farther up the river Ke- nebecasius. Heie I was treated with equal at- tention and hospitality, as in that which I had f 3r8 ] left. On our way to this gentleman's house, whose name is Guthrie, Mr Thene fhowed me some grist and saw mills of his, and a farm he had lately bought. That on which he lives, seems to b^ a very good and extensive one ; it Hes on the side of a hill, descending with an easy slope to the side of the lake. The situation, soil, meadows, filh, and fowls, hills, and dales, navigation, and timber for fhip building, make the neighbourhood of this lake pretty eligible for a settlement, and there is little doubt in a few years but they will make out pretty well, and be in a flourifhing way. We crofsed the river Kenebecasius in a ca- noe, swam our Horses, as the scow was out of order, and could not ferry them. Mr Guth- rie brought me through his farm, of which I did not think much, being too dry, and partly on the side of a mountain of too steep an as- cent, and rather over stony ; but Mr Guthrie told me the stones were all on the surface, and that none were to be met with below it. He having a very mechanical turn, fhowed me a grist mill he mostly built with his own hands. He lived near twenty years in the West Indies, made money, retired here, mar- ried, and settled on this farm. After dinner, he was good enough to go along with me to the house of a Mr Symon Baxter, a few miles [ 3^9 ] farther up the river, and prefsed me much to ,pafs a night with him on my return. As the story of Mr Baxter is not very common, I cannot help being somewhat par- ticular. He is a Yanky, bred and born in the heart of New England, and as he says himself, of Scotch extraction, his grandfather having emigrated from that country, after the rebellion in 171 5, in which he had been engaged. It would seem attachment to the old sovereign, and loyal blood of the family, ran in the grandson's veins, and made him em- bark early in the late troubles on the king's side. He was taken in arms with Burgoyne's army, and permitted by a pafs of the Commif- sary of prisoners to go to see his family ; he had not been two hours at home when his house was surrounded by several scores of the enemy, on which he immediately flew to arms, bolted his doors, and being strong in body and mind, enterprising and bold, dared any soul of them on their peril to set fire to the house, which they threatened, and would not surrender but on promise of good usage, and being delivered to those from whom he came ; this being promised him, he gave himself up, but he no sooner was in their power, than some of them flew at him with drawn swords and bayonets, prick- ed hira in the breast in several places, of which t 320 1 he still retains the scars, with threats to run him through the body, put a rope about his neck to hang him, and if any of them could be got to undertake the office of hangman, would be instantly tucked up, but as one of this stamp could not then be procured, he was carried along, and permitted to ride one of his own horses. He had gone but a fhort way when he was dismounted, and another put in his place, and the rope, which was still about his neck, tied to the Horse's tail, and in this way dragged along. From the Horse's tail he was fhifted and fastened to that of a cart, into which he was not allowed to enter. In this way he continued for three day's march, and when they came to the end of their journey, and that none could be got to hang him, they fell foul of him with sticks, clubs, and butt end of mufkets, until he was almost killed. He was then thrown into prison, where he was confined for eighteen months, and, when relieved, made off for this country, and the place he now lives in. His two eldest sons, who staid at hom.e, and did not tread in the footsteps of the father, now enjoy his old pro- perty, and live comfortably on it in New England. Mr Baxter is the most succefsful farmer in raising stock and clearing land in this province ; this I have heard from others, before ever I saw him. He told me that t 321 ] when he landed in St John he had but two dollars of cafli in the world ; got a large grant of land from government, on which he now sits in ease and affluence, has about 150 acres of cleared land, twenty milk Cows, with their followers, Oxen, Horses, breeding Mares, and a stock of 1 00 Sheep. In one clear field of interval, in the front of tiis house, he cuts a- bout 100 tons of rank grafs, called here Ty- motbyy or Engli/h bay J Vit the rate of two ton'& per acre ; he has 200 acres more of the same kind of interval, besides a deal of up-land that is not as yet cleared. Of his fheep he gave the following account ; that in spring 1786, which is now six years ago, he bought four Ewes in Lamb, and states the produce as under, viz. Sheep, Sold, ^ --•-.--- 27 Killed, -------.-72 Given to his daughter, - - - - 3 Killed by accident, - - • r * 3 Remaining on the farm. - - - 102 In all, 207 He says his Sheep have annually twins, and can rear them well ; of this I had ocular de-r monstration, as I could hardly point out one Ewe in his flock that had not two good Lambs by her side ; that such as he sold, Alia Pai^itui wad aiv/ajS i.\Y\i;Ili.jr jLtiAliill^a ^yj\ S. S each Ewe, in the event fhe was to have two Lambs at once ; but if only one, to give back five (hillings of that price ; but that he never yet was required to return any of it. After we had returned to the house from viewing his meadow grounds, and some improvements he was carrying on in his farm, he alked me if I would drink tea, and said that he was ve- ry fond of a kind of tea he found on his pof- sefsion. He then brought a small bafketful to fhow me, and. Mrs Baxter being present, he added, that his wife could not drink of it because it was found at home ; but if it had cost two dollars the pound, fhe would be very fond of it ; that his reason for preferring it to any other, was her's for hating it. Though this was apparently in joke, it had in some measure some reality in it. I requested the home-got tea to be made fo^ him and me, but fhe and her daughters drank souchong. Ladies here, as well as in other parts of the world, are taxed with being governed by a pafsion for trifles of this kind, more than by reason ; and to be in the fafhion, and supposed to be pofsefsed of a good taste, is with them an object of the first magnitude, to which the good of their families, and all other considerations whatever, must give way. Unfortunate the man who is chained to a wife of this description, and ve two ve back 2 never After i^iewing Tments ked me was ve- his pof- alketful present, k of it fit had be very ngit to igh this neasure )me-got fhe and here, as •e taxed >r trifles id to be ofsefsed t of the Df their tiatever, m who on, and [ 323 ] boiihd to such thraldom, as to be obliged to put up with it ; he may truly say with the poet : ' " The world is a cheat, all things (how it, ** I thought so once, but now I know it." ' Next to Mr Baxter's is a Captain Smith, a sea-faring gentleman, on whose farm a very genteel new house was then finifhing. A few miles farther on than Captain Smith's, I entered on the burnt land, which extended as far as I could see on each side of the river. It would appear the wcod in this part of the country had caught fire a few years ago, and burnt to the ground, as many of the burnt stumps are still standing, and logs, in a decayed state, lying on the ground ; the young ilioots in some parts still thin, and so weak and slender that any ordinary workman could clear an acre of it in two days. The soil fharp, but thin and light, and I have no doubt productive enough. For the space of seven miles I could see no inhabitant. The cattle ranged at laige through this young wood, in wild grafs, up to their horns, which would afford summer pasturage for many hundreds, free of all charges but the herding. Next to this uninhabited tract is Major Stud- holm's, who holds a large tract of land. I called at this gentleman's house, but he being unwell at the time, could not fhow me any thing but such as was about his house which I b ««>. .<-'' t 324 ] is situited on the side of a barren hill, \vith i. large mill stream hard by it ; he has, however, a deal of interval land on the banks of the river, which seems to be of middling good quality j his whole farm is of the burnt land, and easily cleared. From Major Studholm's I proceeded to Pleasant Valley, up the same river, from thir- ty to forty miles up from the lake Kenebicasi- us» This valley justly deserves its name, and consists of 24,000 acres, surrounded by high hills, or rather low mountains, with two beautiful small streams, abounding with Trout and some Salmon, ghding through it, which meet at a point of land formed by the junction of these two small rivers at the west end of this spacious flat. Having a letter of introd miction to Mr Lenard, who purchased a large tract of land in this valley, I directed niy course towards his new and genteel house, and was received with much politenefs and hospitality. Here I staid that night, went over a Con* siderable part of his farm, which is situated on an interval point of land, where these two small rivers meet, and is navigable for flat bottomed boats to his door, excepting when the waters are very low in the heat of summer. In the front of the house is one clear field of sown grafs, consisting of about t 325 ] sixty acres, free of stumps, which most of the fields I have seen in this Pleasant Valley are* Mr Lenard told me that he had a natural meadow of wild hay of vast extent, about two miles, of which he permitted the neigh- bouring inhabitants to carry off as much as they pleased ; that he had pasture enough in his woods for several hundred head of cattle, of which he made no use whatever ; that he had 200 Sheep, twenty Milk Cows with their followers, some Mares, Oxen, and Horses, and that he thought these enough on one farm. This fine farm, and large stock of cattle, he would give on {hares to any good man that would take it. What is meant by a farm given out on fhares, which is customary all over America, is. The proprietor gives over a farm, stocked with all sorts of cattle, seed com, and farming utensils, for a certain term of years agreed upon, generally three years ; every thing given out in this way, is num- bered and valued much in the form of stil- bcws in Scotland. At the end of the three years, or lease, of whatever endurance it may be, the tenant returns to the proprietor the same number and kinds of cjKtie, farming utensils, and quantum of sown land, with the buildings and fences in proper order. The produce of the farm, during that period, is equiiliy divided between them ; that is, the 1 i t 326 ] one half of the butter, cheese, wool, gralrt, poultry, Pigs, Sheep, Horses, and black cattle, belongs to the tenant, the other half to the proprietor, which is all he has in lieu of rent and interest of money ; yet it general* ly turns out to good account to him. If the pasture is tolerably good, he gets at the rate of about forty pounds of butter, (sixteen ounces to the pound,) for each Cow, as his proportion) during the season, and one Lamb from every Sheep ; the produce of the Sheep, grain, and small articles, are divided annually, and that of the breeding Cows and Mares once in the three years. They have many other v/ays of letting land here, but rarely for a money rent. Sometimes a proprietor has a farm with a little cabin, barn, and some small portion of cleared land on it, which he lets to a tenant for a term of years, on condition of his clear- ing and sowing two or three acres annually on it, and frequently gives a yoke of Oxen to enable him to carry on the work; this is continued from time to time, until the farm becomes large enough to be stocked with cattle, and given out on fhares ; but more frequently given over to one of his sons. If he has only daughters, the property is to be divided among them at his death, but never before it. There is no such thing as tocher, I gralfi, :k. cattle, ' to the lieu of general- Ifthe le rate of 1 ounces )portion> m every ain, and md that e in the v;ays of ley rent. with a rtion of I tenant lis clear- annually Oxen to ; this, is the farm ed with ut more ions. If is to be Lit never s tocher, t ■»»▼»♦■ |-» rt r 327 1 wife here, during her father's lifetime, (ex- cepting in very rare instances. A good farmer makes up a farm for every son he has in this way, or by purchase, and often sees them all settled around him on their own properties in his lifetime. Children deem themselves bound to work to their fathers like indented servants, until they attain the age, the sons of twenty-one years, and the daughters eighteen, at which periods they are free, and may act for themselves. This practice prevails ; but whether by law or custom, 1 know not. As every farmer wao emigrates to Ameri- ca goes there with a view of bettering his own condition, or that of his posterity, I would recommend to all such as have but small pro- perty, to engage in a farm on fhares, before he undertakes to sit down and clear land of his own ; he will thereby be furniflied with as much clear land as will support his family, will become acquainted with the manage- ment of Oxen, handling the axe and imple- ments of farming used in that country ; and if he has industry, and tolerable management, he can raise stock enough from his proporti- on of the produce of the farm, to enable him to occupy lands of his own, on which he and his posterity may sit in ease and af- fluence to the end of time ; and if he fixes in either New Brunswick or Upper Canada, SiE'ii 1 1 !" . 1^^ I 32i 1. he may depend on meeting with thousands who will be glad to employ him on these, or such hke terms ; but if he fliould prefer any part of the States' territories, which I am sorry to find many of my countrymen do for want of information, he will find the mat- ter not 80 easy. The United States are so crowded with inhabitants for several hundred miles from the coast, that a great many of them emigrate to the Britifh colonies, the same as those of Britain and Ireland do to theirs ; so that a new comer may wander about a long time, and spend a great deal of money, be- fore he gets a place to sit down on, without paying too dear for it ; and his ignorance of their mode of working or farming, is such as will deter them from employing him; whereas it is quite the reverse in the two prot vinces already mentioned. Any person that a{ks for land, will be supplied gratis by go^ vernment ; and thousands, were they to ar- rive at once, might depend on findiiig em- ployment in the manner above set forth, from the inhabitants, who are greatly at a lofs for hands to work their farms and give near double wages to that which is given in the States. This is not all ; by an act lately canvafsed, and much contested in Congrefs, winter 1791—1792, regarding whether the whole militia of the United States fhould be hiade subject to military laws, and put utideit the immediate command of the Presidei t. It pafsed in the affirmative, 28 against 27, carried only by the casting vote of the Presi- dent himself; so that he may order the whole or any part of them to any corner of the United States, on whatever service he pleases. Every new comer is immediately enrolled in the militia, and if called on service must turn out ; the Committee will no doubt take care, that in the event there fhould be but a few wanted, that the lot fhall fall o the stran- gers, rather than on any of their own connec- tions ; if he refuses, he is instantly laid up in prison, or tarred, feathered, and driven out of the country. A gentleman afsured me, that he knew a man whose son was a militia man, called out last April, to , go against the Indians, who offered lOoL and a good Horse to any one that would go in his place, yet could not get one, so disagreeable was that service to the people ; if thus to them that are well acquainted with Indian wars and manners, it must be much more so to the natives of Britain and Ireland ; and no lefs so to be compelled to turn out against their own countrymen, friends, and relations, which they will, in the rvent any dispute Ihall ever arise between the S aces, and the Britifh subjects m America ; and of the T T C 33^ 1 two, I Ihould . ippose any man of spirit, and not lost to all sense of honour, gratitude to the country that gave him birth, besides his finding it to his account to be the friend of his friend, rather than his enemy, would of course choose to be a Britifh subject, where he will get lands for nothing, be among his countrymen, and run no rifk of being ever molested by the Indians, tarred, or feathered. The American land of Canaan, to which they emigrate in great numbers yearly from the coast, is supposed to be in the South Kentuc- ky, in the middle provinces, the Genesee country, and in the tiorth, the river St John in New Brunswick ; and from all these, ex- cepting Kentucky, which is at too great a distance, they fly to Upper Canada, which is now deemed the paradise of the new world. The soil is clay and loam intermixed, seem- ingly in equal proportions, and generally from ten to thirty feet deep. The way to observe this is by paying attention to the banks wafhed by the lakes and rivers, and to those of the creeks and brooks in the more remote and inland parts. After all, though these be no doubt very great advantages, and what are not to be had in any other part of the world I ever heard of, yet the farmer who can live com- fortably in his own country, and can rear t 331 3 his family as becomes his rank in life, would do wrong to leave it for any other country in the world. But such farmers as are so distrefsed by their landlords with over rack- ed rents, and other opprefsions, as Kkely to be brought to beggary and ruin, these, and these only, ought to try such justified expe* riments as may better their conditions. Mr Lenard is an American loyalist, who had served last war in the Commifsary Depart- mant, and is now well rewarded for his loyal- ty, by a yearly salary, besides his being paid, in common with other loyalists, for the lofs of his former propCity. Mr Lenard told me of a curious mound of the plaister of Paris that was in the neigh- bourhood, and as I signified a great desire to see it, he was good enough to conduct me to a gentleman's house who lived near the place, whose son went along with me to Ihew it. This mound, which appeared to me very singular, is in several pyramidal or spiral forms of various dimensions, some high and some low, such indeed as excite curiosity,* and almost defy conjecture ; I ihall however ha-r zard one, that it was occasioned by a volcanic eruption, from a neighbouring bank, thrown up in small particles, little larger than the culm of pit coal, or the drofs of charcoal, and lighted close to the place from whence it :lin> [ 332 ] came, among large trees, which had been af-. terwards burnt at the conflagration that hap^ pened to the other woods in that corner of the country, as large burnt logs and stumps are in great numbers to be seen rotting about it. In these pyramids are deep cavities or chasms, perpendicular from the top to the bottom, formed as if trees had been stand- ing in the place when that eruption hap- pened. I AM informed the plaister of Paris is to I e found in several other places of this pleasant valley, and if ever any manure is to be used, which no d^oubt will through time, it must turn out to great account to the inhabitants for that purpose, exclusive of the use they make of it at present in finifhing^and whitening' their dwelling houses ', but as the Bay of Fundi abounds with the plaister of Paris, it can never become an article of commerce in this place, so remote from sea. The Agricultural Society of Philadelphia, who have got several (hip loads of the plaister of Paris from Nova Scotia, have publifhed in their Transactions, that it is equal to that im- ported from France ; and as this is of the same quahty with that, it must be of the like utility to such as use it. This pleasant valley has advantages not common to be met with in other place;?,, [ 333 ] from the salt springs, and the above mention- ed plaister of Paris, which is deemed to be among the first stimulants to vegetation. It is a centrical situation between the city St John and the fine grazing country of Cum- berland ; yet the salt springs can be of little advantage, as, from St Jonm, salt imported there from the West Indies can be bought at an easier rate than I suppose it can be made here ; yet some of the inhabitants, I am told, when it happens to be scarce, boil a little for their own immediate use, rather than be at the trouble of going for it to St John : so that this appears to me to be as eligible a si- tuation for a settlement as I have met with in this province, and perhaps as much so as any in North America. In the counties of Cumberland, Northum- berland, Westmoreland, Windsor, and Corn- wallis, round the head of the Bay of Fundi, are large dairies, kept on the plan of those of the counties of the same names in Old Eng- land, from whence the inhabitants came at the close of the war before last. I have been told that several farmers there have three or four score of Milk Cows, and some many more, and sell annually as many firkins of butter. The salt marthes, level as the sea, on which the cattle pasture, and which supply the hay r 534 1 for winter, are of considerable extent. i„ some parts two miles broad and thirty miles ong. From these fine grazing counties, the towns of Halifax, Port Campbell or Rosivay! Annapohs, Royal, and Dzgby, in Nova Scotia and city St John, New Brunswick, are chiefly' supplied with beef, butter, cheese, and pork m great abundance, the former sometimes so low as three coppers a pound; and from thence cargoes are now sent to the New- foundland Bank filheries, at as easy a rate as It can be brought from the New England J>tates, the cheapest and most plentiful in A- merica^ The up-lands from these spacious flats and salt marfljes, are timbered with spruce and pine, and so poor, thin, and barren, as to produce very Httle grain. From the produce of their dairies alone, the inhabitants hve in greataffluence; butas I neverwas there I speak only from information: however, one thing I t7 "'u^T ' ^"""'^ °^ '»'»«• ™-r'=hant in §t John, had been through these countries ast summer, buying the above articles for the Newfoundland market, in preference to procurmg them from Boston, or any part of the New England States; and as merchants rarely mifs to find out the cheapest and fit- test commodities for the markets to which they are boimd, is a proof of their being t 335 ] both plentiful and reasonable in that quar* ter. After satisfying myself with every thing worth seeing in this place, I took a stroll with this young gentleman through several fields, some of which had been succefsively cropped for six years, without any manure ever being used, and free of stumps, and le- vel almost as a bowHng green ; the former is an advantage rarely to be met with in new lands, and the latter but on intervals. These plaguy stumps are a great nuisance, and oc- casion much inconveniency ; and yet many good farmers told me they were more an eye- sore than any thing else ; but one thing I know, is that once they are rotten, and turn- ed off the land, no part of the ground pro- duces better crop than where they stood. Large stumps of oak, pitch pine, hemlock, and black birch, will stand twenty years be- fore they are quite rotten; whereas white pine, spruce, beech, white birch, poplar, and several other kinds, decay in from six to ten years ; and young wood, such as is to be met with in this deUghtful valley, and over all the burnt land, may be turned out in a year, or in two or three at most, which is the cause of the fields being so clear of them. I re- turned to Mr Lenard's house, and dined in f 33^ ] tlie usual genteel Jtnd hospitable stile of thai- amiable family. After dinner, the conversation turned on sea-faring matters, which introduced the high comphment paid by Admiral Don Langara to the Britifh nation, on his getting ready to leave Admiral Rodney's fhip : it happened to be the duke of Clarance's duty, who was then on board as a midlhipman, to get a boat and hands ready for his departurj; when Prince William Henry came up, drefsed in his midfhipman's uniform, and told Don Langara that his boat was ready, he exclaimed, " No wonder Great Britain fhould have dominion of the sea, they deserve it, when so high a character would serve in so low a station." Mrs Lenurd afked what station the prince was then in ; I answered, in that which her two sons now were, which must have been very gratifying to any lady whatever, but to none more so than to an American loya'ist. Being nowprepared to return to St John, and as I wifhed to go by a different route from that by which I had ( ome, Mr Lenard directed me by a fhorter road, lately lined out through the wildernefs, unfrequented, and uninhabi- ted but by one man, who lived about ten or twelve miles from hence, and the next set- tlement from that man's house, was above twenty miles farther on, and by the direction [ 337 T he gave me, I made no doubt of making it out, trusting at the same time a good deal to my pocket compafs. I therefore mounted my Httle Horse, ascended the first mountain that bounds this pleasant valley, crofsed it, descended to a solitary glen, that falls down on the opposite side, about five miles from that which I had left. The unfrequented path was difficult to make out, and so boggy that I had to aUght and lead my Horse through. The place was truly romantic, and still as night, rarely the chirping of a bird to be heard, and finding myself in a very defence- lefs state, I began to be apprehensive lest some savage man or beast lliould find me in this forlorn situation, and take advantage of it ; and wifhed I had brought my servant, gun, dog, or pistol along with me, which I left at St John. I now began to reflect how un- guarded men in general are when no danger is in view, and how Httle they think of it until it is past recovery. I cut a stout stick with my knife, und being thus fortified, 1 proceeded on with great coniidence. I w^alk- ed the greatest part of the way up one hill and down another, and came through several of the most romantic glens I had ever seen. The evening was still and soft, and the Mos- quetoes so troublesome, that I was under the uecefsity of holding a buOi in my hand tQ u u r 338 1 beat them off fro .n my own and Horse's eyes* yet these plaguy insects did not prevent me from admiring the scenes which were beau- tiful and delightful. From the summit of a moui c J* . ould see a long way round. The tirt; liaa not consumed the wood on the top of the mountains, which now appeared like stately old planting, while that which was burnt in the t-J'?^ s:, was wholly a young growth, and had 4 pretty effect on the sight. The sun being now nearly set, and de- scending a mountain, I saw on the face of an opposite hill something like as if it had been inhabited ; here the path became more dif- ficult to make out than formerly, owing to very rank ferns and underwood, through which it led. It was with a good deal of difficulty 1 made out the place, and when I came up to it, I found only a small Cow and Hog pen, but no appearance of a house ; from this I judged that it was the place I had been directed to, but that the man had left it and gone to some other place, J could not tell where. Here I hallowed out, but no- body answered ; I proceeded, and had gone but a (hort way when I found the path di- vide ; one led straight forward, while the o- ther descended to a valley which I could see for about a mile below ; this last happening t 339 3 to be the most frequented, 1 kept by it until I came to the links of a small stream that glided slowly through, and on the banks of which some natural hay had been cut and car- ried off to some other place. Here the path failed, cind did not appear to go any farther ; I therefore alighted, and left my Horse feed- ing along with a Mare and Foal I found there, — crofsed the river on logs, traversed the opposite side, found where some ground had been cleared, and a little buck wheat, Indian corn, and potatoes had been sown and planted ; but no house or habitation was to be seen. Here I hallowed out again, but to as little purpose,~nobody answered. I return- ed acrofs the same logs, — got to my Horse, — mounted him, and meant to make the best way I could, while the least light remained, along the road I had lately struck off from. I now saw that I was to be out that night, and not a little dreaded being attacked by a Bear, Lucervi, or Carcaseu, in the event I was to fall asleep ; and if the road I vvas to follow fhould fail, as that in w^hich I now was did, tha I would be obliged to leave my Horse in the wo< Is, and make for the next inhabited place, by the help of my pocket compafs. While I was wholly occup ed with these thoughts, I heard the jingling of a Gow bell, in a bulh hard by ; I ahghted, and [ 340 ] •went to see if any of them had the appearance of having milk ; two of them liad. 1 now judged that it was probable somebody would come to look for them, however late it might be. It was now turned dark ; I went to the highest knoll in the neighbourhood, and hal- lowed out again as loud as I could, and, to my no lefs surprise than joy, I was answered by a human voice at some distance ; we soon drew nigh each other, and when we met, 1 found that it was the landhird of the house I had been directed to coming to look after the Milk Cows, as I had conjectured. With him I staid that night, and was very civilly treated. His house was a miserable little hovel, covered with bark, and so low that I could not stand upright in it. I slept on the floor, and was much troubled with Mosquetoes. He told me he had come to live here at the desire of Mr Lenard, for the accommodation of any pafsenger that might be going that way ; that he was pro- mised a large tract of land, nnd expected 1000 acres; and though he had been there very little more than a year, he would not sell his land for lefs than fifty pounds ; but in a little time afterwards he came down to lOO dollars, which is no more than twenty-five pounds Halifax currency ; and though it was [ 34» ] tation at the time, it was a great bargain at that price, as it was well adapted by its situation for a considerable settlement. The land is good, lies well tor cultivation, and is easily cleared. He said he could easily clear an acre of it in two days, and in some parts in one ; the wood was very young, mostly of the burnt kind. I aOvcd him about game; he said Bears were not troublesome; that the great game, such as Moose and Kerraboo Deer, had been totally baniftied ; that he had fhot but one of the for- mer all last winter, but that he might kill in the fall of the year as many Pheasants and Hares in snow as he chose. The numbfT and diversity of objects which presented themselves to the eye in the pre- ceding day's excursion, as well as in many- others, must have naturally created a very ra- pid succefsion of ideas, more indeed than my memory can retain or pen describe ; I fhall therefore only say on the whole, that not- withstanding the trouble, ri(k, and charges, unavoidably attendant on such a ramble as mine, through rapid streams, lakes, and wil- dernefses, the pleasure of having seen them, and so much of nature in its rude state, re- pays them all. A certain portion of hardfliips and difficulties are necefsary for giving zest to enjoyments. Without them life is apt to be- come insipid ; and we see those, who, indepen- ,<>'' t 542 J dent of any effort of their o.vn, have every efi. joyment at their commar,^, are perhaps of all mankind those who have the least. The Indian prayer often recurred to my mmd m these excursions, i. e. To pray to the Great Spirit to protect me in my travels,-to give •ne a bright sun, a blue iky, clear untroubled waters, lakes, and rivers ; and I doubt not it was as well heard from the deepest recefs- es of the wildernefs here, as if I was kneeling before the altar in St Peter's church in Rome! or that of our Lady at Loretto. I SET out from this man's house, whose name was Smith, early after breakfest, that I might have plenty of day before me to make out the next settlement, which I suppose was at least twenty miles off; and took hi, direc- tions tor finding the road. The path was much better and more easily made out than the preceding day. I crofsed several high mountains anc deep valleys, some of which were so remarkably gloomy and so- l7' M u'' ' "°"''" '^^^^^'^ apprehensive I ftould be attacked by some wild creature ; J alighted and cut a stout stick, with which I thought myself so secure, that I went on chearfully, without the least concern, and towards evening came down on the banks of the beautiful small river that runs through the French village. Here I dined and L, jny litt] ed with of the I rived ai Here I coffee ] son, ori Perth, i used, ar and afsc men thi B£FOf my ver derman from \ friendili also me mariner characti In x\ but fert coumrj well, ex who, it industr their ca granted a gente ;ain tl j:)efore I 343 3 jTiy little Horse, who was a good deal fatigUr, ed with the up and down hills, and the badnefs of the road ; I set out from this place, and ar-r rived at the city St John about nightfall. Here I staid for about three weeks, in the coffee house kept by one Charles Macpher- son, originally from Athol, in the fhire of Perth, in Scotland, where I was very well used, and had an opportunity of conversing and afsociating with the strangers and gentle- men that frequented it every night. Before I leave St John I must acknowledge my very particular obligations to Mefsrs Al- derman, Campbell, and Stewart, merchants, from whom I had the highest marks of friendlhip and hospitality, Mr Williatn Pagan, also merchant, and Captain Charles M'Lean, mariner. These gentlemen are of the first character and respectability in the place. In this province and wintry cold climate, but fertile soil of New Brunswick, I found the country flomifh, and the inhabitants do very well, excepting the Britiili half pny ofBcers ; who, it would seem, had neither foresight, industry, nor prudence. The first object of their care when they entered on the lands granted them by government, was to build a genteel house, in wliich they could enter- l:ain their friends in a becoming stile ; f)efore that conveniericy was finifhed, and *^< C 344 ] a small garden cleared, their money was expended, and now, as the only expedient, recourse must be had to the merchant for credit, to whose Ihop they then became thralled, uniil the next term's half pay fell due. The debt always increasing, and no pofsibility of paying it, a moon-light flitting is thought of, put in execution, and away they set to Great Britain or Ireland, damn- ing the country, and in vindication of them- selves, giving out that the devil could not live in it. Others of theni judged the best thing they could do, was to take to themselves a wife ; never considering how they and their children were to be maintained ; there- fore the most delicate 'American ladies were singled out as the only mates, and fit compa- nions for their beds, to pafs the long winter nights with. For that purpose, a gentleman drefsed himself out in his regimentals, pow- dered from the eyes to the rump. With such a figure, genteel addrefs, and profefsions of eternal love, no lady of the least tender feel- ings could withstand his solicitations, or re- fuse his hand ; a cottage with such a dear creature was preferable to a palace with one not pofeTsed of such accompUfhments. A match was thus made up ; the lady brought home, did the honours of the table w th a becoming grace, and fliowed away while the t 345 ] credit lasted ; when that failed, the miserable property, or rather wildernefs, as there was no- thing done on it of value, but a house built, is mortgaged to the merchant : Away they set to the States, saying, hke those single men who went for Britain or Ireland, that the devil could not live in it. It is said if you take a wife from hell, Ihe will bring you back if ihe can ; the case is here in point with the ladies in question, as it must be a hell on earth to any man of spirit to hear his party, and the side he espoused, king and country, almost daily abused ; and there is little doubt if there were any disturbances to arise between Great Britain and the States, but fhe would prevail t)n him to engage in the service of her country, in preference of his own. This had been too much the case last war, and may be so again. Some of the gentlemen of the last descrip- tion, who still continue on their farms, and have had industry enough to make out two or three Milk Cows, have now to milk them with their own hands, lay by the milk, make the churn, muck the byre, sweep the kit- chen, and do every menial but requisite of- fice that the family require. My lady was not brought up to such drudgery, and her nerves are too weak to milk the two or three Cows, which ever of them it may happen to be, -V A r 34^ 1 but rarely more ; it is enough for her to take up cream for the tea, rock the cradl«, and look after the children ; and as he can- not get himself out of debt, so as to afford to keep a single servant, male or female, old or young, he must do all the drudgery him- self, or let it alone. To this humiUating state, these dear creatures have brought themselves; whereas the poor soldiers, that had not a Ihilling in the world when they entered on their lands, have now in general from four to eight Milk Cows, with their followers, and supply the markets with the produce of their farms, live more comforta- bly than their officers, and as happy aS they can wifh. The gewlemen of the American loyalists are of a very different description. They are all men brought up either to the law, or to some mercantile or mechanic businefs, or farming, to which they severally applied on their entering into this country, and make out in general very well ; yet there are even some exceptions among them ; some of them made money, cleared a deal of land, sold it after being pretty well improved, went off for the States, and spent their all there; a few have returned back again, and declare this to be the most productive soil, and bes*- place for a settlement they have seen in Amerit [ 347 ] ca. It is clear to myself from what I have seen of it, that it is not owing to the land, soil, or climate, that any resident in it does not do well, but totally to their own mis- management. Trom St John to St Andrews. JDeing desirous of seeing St Andrews, Pas- maquady, and Charlotte County on the west borders of this province, which bounds it and the New England States, I set out in the packet sloop, Captain Magiston ; and though the distance from thence to St Andrews be but seventy miles, the calms were so fre- quent, and the little wind there was so much a-head, that we were four nights on the way. This coast is intersected with deep and small bays, and excellent harbours. In the Bay of Pasmaquady and offing, are said to be as ma- ny islands as there are days in the year ; Grand Monnan is from eight to ten miles' long, and from two to three miles broad; Deer Island about four miles every way; and others of every degree and proportion lefs. On the Deer Island 500 Deer had been killed in one winter, but now there are none. Moose Island, which is also pretty large, and supposed to be within the Britilh hnes, has been taken pofsefsion of by the Americans. Though this has been represented to the Bri- tifh ministry they deem it as nothing,* and * But if this had betn done by the French to the Dutch, our miaistxv \Yould have roused heaven and earth with theiy I 349 ] will give themselves no trouble about it. It is inhabited by a band of Yanky smugglers, that carry on a contraband traffic with the colonies on each side. The Bay of Pasmaquady, betwixt these islands and St Andrews, is from seven to eight miles one way, and from ten to twelve the other. In the islands are many inhabi- tants, that live mostly on fifliing ; they bait their hooks with small Eerrings, and their method of catching them is somewhat curi- the darkest nights are best for their pur- ous ■3 5 pose : The fifhers place a torch of Hghted birch bark, fixed iti a cloven stick, in the bow of the canoe or small boat, and row backwards and forwards through wherever they suppose the fifti to be, who, upon seeing the hght, spring up to the surface, break and play about the light ; a man is then ready with a bag or scoop net, and scoops them up until he fills his canoe, or has as many to bait his hooks as he chooses. I ONCE alked a parcel of these islanders that came into St Andrews to sell fifh, if they were then getting any : they said not ; that the moon was so bright they could get no bait, so that they are only got in dark nights, as already said. From St Andrews 1 went in a boat with some ladies and gentlemen of that town, to complaints, and would go to war directly to revenge such an (nsult to our alliss; [ 350 3 • an Indian sacrament held within the New England States ; the service was given out by a French priest, lately arrived in Boston from South America, where he officiated a- mong the natives of that part of this great continent, which it was supposed qualified him for the office he now undertook. He was a decent looking middle aged man, and spoke Enghfh pretty well, but not the Indian tongue of this part of the continent. The Indians built a large hall for the occasion, from fifty to sixty feet long, neatly enough made up and covered with bark. In one end of it he had an altaf and an Host, and used an uncommon deal of forms and cere- monies, no doubt intended to strike these sa- vages with the more awe in the exhibition of the scene. The Indians were bred by the French in the faith of the church of Rome, when they were ih pofsefsion of the greatest part of Nova Scotia, and still continue in the exercise of that rehgion, and much attach- ed to that nation. To this place the Mara- jQiet Indians of the river St John, and those thar inhabit the northern and back parts of the New England States resorted, drefsed in their most fhowy apparel, but made a mise- rable appearance in comparison to the warv like tribes in Upper Canada. The hoods and caps of the squaws were however among the I 35^ 1 finest I have seen, made much in the form of a grenadier's cap, ornamented with silver, and beads of various colours. The priest himself had on the most {howy garment I ever saw, embroidered and inwrought with gold and silver, from the crown of the head to his heels, in a vast variety of forms and figures ; but whether he is a man whose propensity for travelling and for seeing the world had made his profefsion the instrument of indul- ging it, or whether he was one who had committed some crime in his own country, which banifhed or made him forsake it, is not known here ; but so it is, that the French Consul at Boston would not see him, proba- bly on account of his not being satisfied in these points. This priest and Indians put me in mind of a story I have been told which seemed to be well authenticated of the Micmac Indians, who inhabit the Bay of Chaleur, and the ri- ver Merimafhee in the Gulf of St Laurence. These Indians were, like their neighbours the Maralhets, instructed by the French in the Romifli religion, and much attached to that nation. On hearing that the French had taken part with the Americans in the late war against the Englifli, and judging thereby that they would invade and endeavour to recover their lost pofsefsion in Canada, and ,t! t 352 ] this part of the coimtrv, they formt & i/.x [ 354 ] made my head quarters while I staid in this part of the country, and received much at- tention and hospitality from my count;ry- man and his wife. Next day after my arrival, I went to see what is called tl\e Falls of the Scudiac, but they are no more than rapids, the water be- ing hemmed in between rocks into a narrow space, which turns it into froth. In these whirlpools a considerable deal of Salmon, Herring, or Gasparoes, are caught in the sea- son with scoop nets, which the fifher dips in- to the body of the eddies and caves of the rocks, where the water is in such a froth as to prevent the filh From seeing it ; here he ranges it a- bout until he feels a filh touch either the hoop, bag, or pole, and scoops it up. I saw one Salmon caught in this way j the water was too low for the fifli to get up to the place fittest for the purpose, I returned to Mr M'CoU's that night, and ne:!ft morning en- gaged an Indian with a birch canoe to pro- ceed along with me up the river through the wildernefs. There are no settlers above the Falls on the New England side, but two fa- milies, and these are twelve or fifteen miles up ; nor on the Britifh side, but four or five, and these near at hand. We had gone but a ilicrt way past the Britiih settlements, when paddling up by the side of long reeds ancl [ 355 ] ' buflies, I heard an Indian hoop some space a-head of us. I answered, by making a like hoop, which is customary when one party hears another, or wifties to be heard in the wildernefs ; that instant some wild animal made a plunge in the water among the reeds quite close to us; the Indian immediately stopped, and made a sign for my gun, which I had in my hand ; and though I wifhed to have taken a (hot myself, the canoe was so small, and my back being towards the place the animal was in, I could not turn about on my l;reech or knees, without endangering our oversetting, so thai I handed my gun be- hind me to him : he no sooner got it than he made the ter Call, and had not repeated it but two or three times when an Otter answered by a Uke call. In this way they continued for a few minutes, calling and answering,but the Ot- ter found out his companion, and had the pre- caution not to come out from among the reeds; while the Indian stood ready with the gun cocked to his eye, and though he never had a double barrelled gun in his hand before, he understood at first sight how to handle it. The Indian was so attentive that they could not stir a reed which he would not observe. At length he got sight of one of them, and fired, but the powder having got damp it hung fire j [ 35^ .1 he however hit the Otter, but after searching for it a long time with my Dog among the buihes, we could not find it. I afked him whether it was an Otter or Beaver ; he said there were two of them, an Otter and his squaw. We proceeded up the river, and came to a small lake. After pafsing this lake, the river became fhoal, full of large stones and rocks. The Indian was obliged to pole up by the sides, and the current was so rapid that the water sometimes came in over the bow and gunntl of the canoe. We pafsed an Indi- an encampment, and seyeral islands, two or three of which seemed to be pretty good land and fit for cultivation. The water now became so flioal and rapid that in several places we were obliged to land, and carry the canoe over rocks. Having proceeded in this way, for J suppose fifteen miles, through ugly streams and glooniy wildernefses, and rain having come on, I got myself wet; and sitting in a small canoe, in which I could not stir, or even look about me without the rifle of oversetting, I turned tired; and finding by my compafs that the course I, steered was 'u.'sstward, and having thus attained the prin- cipal object of my voyage, I resolved to go no farther than the first Falls, which were but t 357 3 a few miles a-head. We came to a landing place where there was a birch canoe an4 some lumber on the river side y here I landi- ed, got under a large tree to fhun a fhower of rain, and having found a path, and been told by the Indian that there was a house iiji the wood a fhort way above, I followed th? path, and about a mile farther on I came up to a house, around which there was a considi rable quantity of new cleared ground. O^ my pntering this house, I found it inhabited by one Baillie and his family, a man of grea^ activity and industry. After partaking of this man's dinner, which was a small piece of porlc, and a arge parcel of kidney bes^ns, of which I eat pretty heartily, and going through his extensive farm, I returned to our canoe, and continued our course back again, Baillie told me that a surveyor, by order of Congrefs, had been lately there, exploring and ascertaining the course of that river, whicl^ they deemed to be the boundary Une ; that a few miles above his hov^se the river divides into twc branches, the one comes from thes north west, and the other from the soutl^ west ; that the former is the largest stream^ but that as far qs I went, he gave the same account of its course as I did ; that is, that it comes in general from the southward of t 358 ] %est ; so that by this surveyor's report, and by my own observation, I find the account I in general had in St John, totally erro- neous, as well as a map I have of the United States, lately nublifhed in Boston ; and though this map is deemed the best made out of the States* territories, nothing can be more false than its representation of the Britifh Hnes. If the south west branch of the Scudiac is to be the boundary, the Britifh Hnes run far down on the back of the northern parts of the New England States, towards the head of the Penobscote river. But it appears to me to be no object to either Britain or Ame- rica, which of Scudiac branches are to be held as the boundary line, the intermediate space, and the neighbourhood of that river, being so barren that no use will be made of it, at least for some centuries to come, if ever. Being not prepared to stay out a night in the woods, and now so late as to have scarcely time to be V ,k with day-light, I returned through the islands, in some places by a dif- ferent channel from that in which I went up. Proceeding along, the Indian observed a Mufk Rat filhing among some reeds, which he pointed out to me, and desired I Ihould be ready to fire at him, but the Muik Rat ha- ving seen us, dived and disappeared j and not- [ 359 1 withstanding the Indian having often re- peated his call, we never saw him more. Having now come to the place from whence we set out, and paid a dollar to the Indian for his trouble, agreeably to promise, J travelled for two miles farther on, on foot, to Mr M'CoU's house. In this neighbourhood I found a great many settlers, who had sold their lands in the United States and come here to live, where they were in a very thriving <:ondition. Next morning I set off, and arrived in the evening at St Andrews, where I stopped but a few days, when I set out with Lieutenants M'Dougall and M'Kay, to see their settle- ments on the Macadevi river, from thence to Captain James Campbell, at Harbour le Tongue. With these gentlemen I pafsed eight days, principally with Lieutenant M'Dougall, who was so obliging as to go from thence along with me to see the settle- ments on the Digidequafti river, where we resided some days with Captain James M'Do- nald, originally from Uist, but now an Ameri- can loyaUst. Here, as well as in every place we had been in, we were treated with mark- ed attention and hospitality. The plantations on this creek are the neat- est I have seen in this country ; the inhabi- tants, mostly difbanded soldiers from Hi^h- t 360 ] land regiments, have cleared a good deal of land, and have stock and cro{)8 in proportion, And in a fair way of being in flourifliing cir- cumstances. In this place, as well as in eve- ry other part of America I have either seen or heard of, every year old Quey takes the Bull, and brings forth young when two years old ; so that their stock increases with a rapi- dity unknown in many other parts of the world, particularly in that coriier I had come from. After bidding adieu to our kind host and re^J)ectable family, my gbod friend Lieute- iiaht M'Dotigall, to whose civility and friend- ihijj> I was much indebted, parted from me, went home, and I proceeded to th6 house of a Captain Alexander M'Crae, who resides a- oout a mile from St Andrews. Captain M'Crae was Originally from Kintail in Rofs- fliire, but now, like Captain McDonald, an A- rtierican loyalist. They both emigrated with their families from Scotland some years prior to the breaking out of the late American war in North Carolina, but at the commencement of the war they both embarked in it, and raised each a company of their namesakes and followers for the Britifh government. Captain M'Crae was so active in procuring men, and ulseful in other lines, that he was offered a Majority all at once ; but as he was totally un- t 361 ] aequainted with military matters, and sup- posed the duty of a Major to be so intricate that none but such as were bred early and long in the army were fit to discharge, he for the present declined it, and said he would in the mean time be contented with a Captain's csmmifsion* and when his services merited promotion, he made no doubt of obtaining it ; the company was instantly given him, but in respect to promotion he was mistaken, and without regard to merit cr sufferings, people of superior interest were on all occa- sions preferred to him. Captain M'Crae now entered on his new profefsion in the Light Horse, and was en-' gaged in all the broils, succefses, and disasters, that happened during the war in the sou- thern provinces ; and he being a bold, daring, intrepid man, at the head of a small band of chosen friends and faithful followers, rufhed into the heat of every action or ikirmilh ; but had the misfortune of never escaping out of anyone of them unhurt, and now bears the marks of sa- bres, sv/ords, balls, and bayonets. His left arm having been broken in two or three places, he has totally lost the use of it, and it now hangs powerlefe by his side. He told me that once he was taken prisoner in Georgia, and his life despaired of through the severity of his wounds J that Sir Archibald Campbell, then z z J [ 362 ] commanding the King's forces in that pro- vince, wrote such strong letters in his fa- vour to the commanding officer of the A- merican army in that quarter, that they sup- posed him to be a man of higher rank and consequence than he ever was ; and Sir Ar- chibald requested he might be supplied with all the money he fhould call for, and obtain every chirurgical afsistance that could be given, until he fhould have an opportunity of sending money, and his own surgeon to attend him : that in consequence of that letter, every attention that could be wifhed was given him : that the first people in the place often waited upon him, offered him money, and every service in their power: that they spoke of Sir Archibald with such applause and admiration, that they were on ' the eve, and publicly spoke of giving up the province, and joining the Britifh cause. When the news came of his being superseded in the command by General Provost, they said that Provost was cin old wife, with whom they would have nothing to do. Captain M'Crae is confident from his knowledge of the people, and what he heard them declare, that had Colonel Campbell continued in the command, that province would not have held out ten days longer, and that North and South Carolina would soon t 363 1 have followed. The infatuation that atten- ded the BritiOi cause, on that and many o- ther occasions, cannot well be accounted for but by a planetary influence, that brought disgrace upon every one in high command that was engaged in the war, excepting Sir Archibald Campbell, Gene-al John Campbell in Pensicola in the South, and Genertil M'Lean in the North. Is it not a little singular that these three were from the poorest and mojt remote corner of the Britifh empire? and does it not verify what the great Lord Cha- tham said, " That he sought for merit every " where, and found it in the heathy moun- « tains of the North ?" to which might be ap- plied, what Ulyfses said of Ithaca, " 'Tis a " barren clime, but breeds a generous race." The coast from the foot of the river St John to the river Scudiac, is so full of inlets, creeks, bays, and harbours, of various forms and dimensions, that I suppose, if a line was drawn along the water's edge, it would be found to consist of a stretch of several hun- dred miles in length. The whole of this ex- tensive Ihore is covered with kelp ware, and yet never an ounce of kelp was made here, or in any part of this country. It often occurred in going along these bays, that it would be a good speculation to bring a parcel of kelp^makers from ScQtlan4 m r 3^4 ] to this country. The undertaker would re- quire to indent every one of them for six months at least; otherwise they would all forsake him on coming to this country. He might cut the sea ware wherever he pleased j no one would challenge him. The perpetual sun would make his labour so productive, that he could afford to pay the pafsage of his' men, and at the same time allow them high- er wages than they get in their own country; as here they could work six months in the year, without being stopped in all that time ten days by bad weath r ; whereas in the Hebrides, and west coasts of Scotland, where most kelp is made, it is rare to see six days work go on without being interrupted with rain. It frequently happens that servants are not to be had here for love or money ; and when any happen to be got, they rarely engage but from month to month. The extravagance of their board and wages is such, as to equal, if not exceed, all the benefit that can accrue from their labour ; which deters most people -from carrying on works that would otherwise be found very advantageous. Every day-la- bourer must have beef, or what he hkes bet- ter, pork, twice a-day, tea or chocolate, half a mutchkin of rum for grog, and half a dollar of money ^^r day. The undertaker would run t 365 ] p6 rifk of being troubled with solicitations .*om his people for returning to their own country, as they could fliift for themselves ; his only difficulty would be to keep them from running away, and engaging with o- thers before their time fliould have expired. Ships he could have at St John to carry his kelp to Britain, at 2I. sterling per ton ; and if kelp were to sell any thing near to what we have seen it in Britain, I am perfectly sa- tisfied that whoever fhould* try this experi- ment would find it answer probably beyond his expectations^ I suggested this plan to a Scotch gentleman in St Andrews, who <;eemed clearly to see the utility of it, and told me some time thereafter that he was determined to try it ; but since I returned to Britain, I find kelp has fallen so low in price that it will not answer ; but whenever it rises to its former standard, it surely may. This new town of St Andrews is prettily situated, on a spacious point of land, with an easy slope towards the water, and environed on three sides by the river Scudiac und the Bay of Pasmaquady. It has a good anchorage and bar harbour, with two outlets, the one to the north west, and the other to the south or south east with a low woody island in front, of about a mile long, which makes it very safe mooring. This small town is in its t 366 ] infancy ; yet has a smart trade in fhip build- ing, lumber, and filh, of which Mr Robert Pagan, a Scotchman, is the life and soul. To his activity and enterprising spirit his country is indebted for this colony. He built this year, besides other vefsels, one of four hundred tons, copper bottomed, that has ten state rooms, intended for the West India trade to London. This fhip, as well as all others built here, is of black birch. This settlement is at present in a prosperous state ; bjit it is feared it will not continue long so, on account of the American States being at liberty to export their lumber to Britain on as low a duty as those of our own Colonies ; and as their country is full of people, and labour cheap, they can undersell us in our own markets. Of this the merchants of New Bruns- wick, Nova Scotia, and those of Greenock, that trade in these articles ii\ that country, complain much ; and speak of adarefsing the Britifh government on the subject, Unlefs their grievances are redrefsed, it is probable the people will leave this country, which, as formerly, will become a desert, and settle somewhere else ; as without a trade in lumber, this town or county cannot subsist. If the Britifli ministry were to pay due attenti- on to the prosperity of our own Colonies, they would prohibit any lumber frpm the States [ 367 ] to enter their ports, until such time as the Colonies were well peopled, and the trade es- tabUfhed on a stable footing ; whenever that happenea, their ports might then be opened to the Americans, as well as to our own people, which would create emulation and a rival- fhip between them. Temporary inconveni* encies ought to be put up with for the sake of future and permanent advantages. **-•' "^"^ From St Andrews to Greenoci; in Scotland. liiVERY thing being noip^ ready for diir de- parture for Scotland, and after bidding adieu, and thanking my worthy friend Captain M*Crae, and his kind family, with whom I lived most of the time I had been in this corner of the country, Mefsrs Robert Pagan, John M*Kenzie, and Daniel M'Master, merchants, and several other gentlemen in the place, on the 4th of November 1792 1 stepped on board the Friendlhip brig, of St Andrews, of 230 tons burden, loaded with lumber ; a new vefsel, built by Mr Colin Campbell of this place, for the use of, and by desire of his cre- ditors. Lnt pafsing through the islands, in the mouth of the Bay of Pasmaquady,we saw vast flocks of Sea Gulls and Marrats, which in- dicated the great quantities of fifh with which these sounds abound. Cod were so abundant here last summer, that it was said Newfoui.d- land Banks could not exceed it for fifhing. We pafsed Gnnid Mannan at night, and found ourselves next morning near the entry of the Bay of Fundi ; but hud we met with contra- t 369 ] ^y winf' hat detained us for some days beat- ing ab . After we had been a Uttle way out frc the Bay in a thick fog, we saw a HummLiig Bird which kept flying about the fhip for some time, also some land Hawks, one of which followed us for several days, and perched on the mast, yards, and Ihrouds, when tired to rest itself. It once caught a Mother Carries Chicken nearly as big as it- self, and brought it onboard, and rather than part with it, allowed itself to be taken alive. We kept it for about a week, when it was killed by some accident. Niothing particular jaappened until we came to the Newfound- land Banks, when the equinoxial gale overtook us, and blew a violent storm ; such indeed as none on board had ever experienced the like, excepting one sailor who bad been on board the fleet that accompanied the Ville de Paris when flie was lost ; and as we had been in the very place on the same days of the year that di- saster happened, we dreaded not a iittle to meet with the like fate. The ftiip was put in the best trim pofsible ; top gallant masts, and all the yards were struck, to enable us to wea- ther this storm, which continued with very little intermifsion for about a week : great part of the time we could put up no tire or cook any victuals. Our situation was very dis- agreeable, scudding before the wind with bare AAA nil t 37® 1 poles. For two weeks after we had rode out the storm we could not say where we were, and .kept a fharp look out in hopes of fal- ling in with some homeward bound West India man, who could tell us something about it ; but we saw no vefsel until we came within two days sail of the south w^st end of Ireland, when we fell in with an American Ihip three days out from Liverpool, on her w^ay home to New England. It being then fair weather we immediately launched out a boat, sent her a-board the fhip to learn from her, where we were. Two. days thereafter we fell in with an Irifh smuggler hovering on the coast, waiting for night and a fair wind to land and discharge her cargo ; we spoke her, when Ihe told us that from the mast head we could see land,which was very pleasant tidings to us. No- thing particular happened farther 'for four days, when we landed safe in Greenock, after a tedious pafsage of forty-one days. During the tiresome days I spent at sea on my pafsage home, I had time to examine the jottings and memorandums I had picked u^ in my travels, containing anecdotes of singu- lar persons, which I wrote upon separate pie- ces of paper, and did not insert them in my journal. Among these the following, selected from a great number, appeared to me so in- teresting or entertaining, that I thought them [ 37^ 3 not undeserving a place here ; especially as they tend to illustrate the manners of the people, and the circumstances of the country which is the subject of these memoirs. The manner in which the famous Indian chief Pontinac took the Fort of Detroit, is as follows. He being a great adherent to the French interest for a long time after the Bri- tifh had wrested Canada from the crown of France, had formed a plan to retake Detroit : to effect this purpose, he, with his whole na- tion came, under pretence of hunting in that neighbourhood, and encamped near the fort, and continued there for a considerable time. It was at length agreed among his tribe to have a fhinty match in a plain near the fort ; of this he sent notice to the governor, and said that a large bet was depending. On the day appointed the whole Indians came, di- vided themselves into two parties, and began , a furious contest. The garrison were at first on their guard, but seeing the game continu- ed for a long time, made them suppose there was no ill intended, and the ofhcei-s came out to see the sport. One of the Indians struck the ball over the rampart into the fort, and another of them was permitted to go in for h and take it out, and to continue the decep- tion this was done three or four times, till tlie- people were quite off their guard.. When 'U4 1 I i ■■ ill I 372 1 the Indians discovered this, the ball wa« struck in again, on which the whole rufhed in, in a body so thick that it was impofsible to fhut the gates, and made all within pi^so- ners. After keeping pofsefsion for some consider- ble time, the troops were ransomed, and a handsome gratification given Pontinac for giving up the fort. Here now again the Britilh were in pofsef. sion of Fort Detroit, but still Pontinac was difsatisfied, and being yearly in expectation of an army from France to retake Canada, he formed another plan to take the fort. For this purpose he came again with his whole tribe and encamped in the vicinity. Sent notice to the Governor, that as the French had been amusing them yearly with promises of befriending them and retaking Canada, all of which they failed in, and gave him every reason never to believe them more; he therefore wiflied of all things in the world to. be in friendihip and alliance with their great father the king of England, for whom he had the highest respect and veneration, and re- quested that the Governor would be good e- nough to draw up a treaty of amity and friend- fhip, and even of offensive and defensive al- liance if he chose it, most to his own Hking, on any terms he thought proper, and that he and .; II < t 373 ] all his chiefs would confirm it, and come into the fort on any day he would appoint, to sign and sanction such a treaty. He told his sto- ry so speciously that the Governor had not the least doubt of its sincerity, drew up a trea- ty, and appointed a day for him and his chiefs to come into the fort to sign it. Some days previous to this meeting the Governor gave a Deer fkin to a squaw to make him a pair of mogazines ; when fhe returned with them he was so well pleased with their make, that he handsomely rewarded her, and desired -her to make another pair in the same way. She answered that one pair was enough. This surprised the Governor a good deal, who a(k- ed her reason for sayhig so ; fhe refused to give any but that (lie supposed one was e- nough, carried away the fkin, and went oft with a downcast look, seemingly in a thought- ful musing manner. The Governor upon ruminating on what the squaw had said, and as these people rarely waste words uselefsly or say more than enough, thought fhe must have had some reason for it, he therefore sent for her to come and speak to him. When fhe came he recalled to her memory what fhe had formerly exprefsed, and begged to know her reason for having done it. She re- fused to give ^ny fox a considerable lime, but that fhe thought so, At last lie prevailed by ll [ 374 ] fair words, promises, and bribes; {he told hira that if ihe was to discover it fhe would be burnt, but that her gratitude for his kindnefs was such that fhe could not be easy and see him sacrificed, and tlxit he and all his people were to be killed on the day appointed for their meeting ; that for this purpose all the chiefs had cut their guns fhort, so that they could be hid under their blankets, and were to liave them charged and primed, their knives on, and every thing ready for falUng, first on him and his officers, and then on the men, on a certain signal to be made by Ponti- nac, when they were to meet in the Council Chamber, and still added that fhe would be burnt alive, in the event it was known that it was fhe that discovered it ; for that reason the most inviolable secjecy was necefsary in respect to her, which the Governor solemnly promised to observ 2. To guard against this dreadful attempt he ordered all the garrison out to excercise on the parade without the fort, trice a day for about a week previous to the meeting ; this, with a view to deceive the Indians and his own people ; but the night preceding the meeting he told his offi- cers of the whole plot, and put them on their guard, and ordered them to have every thing readv for defence^ and none to be out of the garrison or look over the nunparts, , The t 375 3 next day when the whole Indian chiefs en- tered the gate, they saw the garrison standing ready under arms. Pontinac afked the Go- vernor why he had his young men armed and all on the parade. The other answered, that it was on account of their health, that it was much better for them than to be loiter- ing in their barracks ; and as Pontinac knew it was customary for them to be so, he palsed on without any further alarm. When they en- tered the Council Chamber and seated them- selves, Pontinac began a speach in the most friendly terms and highest afsurance of affec- tion and friendfliip for the Englifh. At that in- stant a large party of soldiers with fixed bayonets entered the room, and the officers drew their swords, the whole party without came to the door also and made a great noise with their arms. On seeing this Pontinac turned as pale as linen, but continued hisspeech, and when he had fini- Ihed it aiked the meaning of all this. The Go- vernor thendrew his sword and taxed him with his treachery, and told him if any one of them was to stir hand or foot that that moment he and all his party would be sacrificed, and not a single man of them would escape the slaugh- ter. Pontinac still protested innocence un- til he and his chiefs were desired to throw aside their blankets, which they were, obliged to comply with, and discover what they had t 57« J concealed below them. When this was dona it was in vain to deny the plot. Pontinac and all his chiefs sued for mercy, and pro- mised the most inviolable attachment to the Englifti if their lives fhould be spared. The Governor through too much humanity and lenity forgave them, and dismifsed them without any punifhment. The use they made ef it was instantly to invest the fort, and conti- nued to blockade it the whole winter until the place was relieved by the arrival of a fhip with stores, and a reinforcement from Nia- gara next May. I saw several people who know the squaw, and said (he is still alive at Detroit, that the Governor gave her a pen- sion for some years, but whether it is still continued or not they could not say. jiccount thf* Indian drew his knife, which '!! i r 382 ] Mr T. also wrested from him, grappled with »nd dafhed him to the ground. All this happened before the other Indians were out of sight, who on seeing their companion down turned back. By this time Mr T. al- lowed the Indian to rise. On the Indians co- ming back they took up their tomahawks to kill Turner , but the Indian he had overcome interposing, desired them to desist, and said that he was a brave fellow and deserved his life. Mr T. said that he was perfectly collec- ted all the time, and that he knew his only safety was to spare the Indian's hfe ; which in the end proved to be so. They brought him back through the field of action, made him carry a very heavy burden of the trophies of the field, and ordered him to strip some of the dead and carry more, which he refus- ed. They brought him from thence to the village where he was afterwards as well used as he could wifh, and once had gone out on a hunting party with them, and was permitted to visit a French village that was in the neighbourhood*. After being three * There are several French settlements and villages whose inhabitants formerly had spread out from the district of De- troit in the heart of the Indian territories. They trade with and seem to live on the most amicable terms with them. These French make as much red wine as serves themselves, and a- bundance of rice grows spontanious in their swamps 5 perhaps no country in the world e-eed. it in productions of varioii,, [ 3^3 ] weeks in this way with the Indians, he was permitted to go onhis parole to Detroit, under a promise of returning from thence, two eight gallon cags of rum, some powder and fhot, for his ransome ; that done he might go to his owr country or wherever he pleas- ed, but a Frenchman guarantied his imple- menting these terms. Mr T. amply perfor- med them, and returned more presents to the Indians t! ?n he was engaged for. He gave a high account of his reception from the Bri- tifli officers at Detroit. From thence he had come to Niagara, where he and I lived for three weeks together. Mr T. in the Philadel- phia gazettes, which I fhowed him, was re- turned in the Hst of the killed in that action, which no doubt greatly distrefsed his friends and relations ; but when they afterwards learned of his being still in life, and that h'^'" had been permitted to return to the Britifh settlement, they sent an exprefs with a letter to Colonel Gordon at Niagara, requesting that he would be good enough to find him out, and supply him with money, cloaths, and e- very necefsary, to draw upon them for the kinds J but its distance from sea and market exceeds icoa miles, yet there is water communication by small rivers, and the Milsisippi to the sea on the south, and by other small ri- vers, the Lakes of Canada, and the river St Laurence in the cast. 1 ! ■■ i C 384 1 amount, and that it would be most gratefully honoured. On the receipt of this letter, Co- lonel Gordon sent for Mr Turner to acquaint him of it, and upon Mr T's return from Co- lonel Gordon to me, he exprefsed such joy at his friends hearing of his being in life, and felt such felicity as unfortunately deran- ged his understanding, and was never more l^imself, while he continued in that place, and I am extremely unhappy to hear that he was no wise better on his return home, or after his arrival at Philadelphia. The Indians lost in that action as follows, viz. Meu. Savanese, - - 3 Dela wares, - - 4 Hurons, - - - 3 Ottowas, Chipawas, Pottawamas, Miamis, Men. - 4 Mingoes or five nations some, but not known how many. So that they did not lose above twenty men in that action. i Reflections on the British Provinces in Ame- rica, with regard to their throwing off their allegiance to the Mother Country, and their falling into the hands of the Foederal States. It is supposed by many people in Britain, and they do not hesitate tc say, that how soon our American Colonies find themselves strong enough, they will throw oiF their allegiance to the Mother country, and become inde- pendent, or prior to that event, fall into the hands of the American States. But these as- sertions and ideas proceed totally frorti want of information. The example of the Foederal States, who now pant for a connection with Great Britain, and to have a free trade with oar West Indian islands, from which they are totally excluded, is enough to deter them for ever. The Britifti Colonies are so sensible of the advantage they derive from a free trade with Britain, the Britifh laws and Govern- ment, the protection of its navy to their {hipping and trade, no duty paid, no lard tax, no cefs, nor any public burden imposed, no grievances whatever, have many fehcities in that line iio country in the world enjoys, and c c c C 3^6 ] msmj others unneccfsary to enumerate here, that were they millions strong, their first and last wifh would be a continuation of their connection with Great Britain. The examples of the Fcederal States as already observed would operate so powerfully as to preclude all idea of the remaining Britiih colonies ever wifliing for a change. In regard to their falling into the hands of the iJtates of America, I will venture to say, that while the Britifli keep pofsefsion of the out forts, that were the whole- power of CongreiS,, which is not so very great as some perhaps suppose, over such a free and inde- pendent people (that think for themselves,) as the inhabitants of the United States are, were levelled against Canada (even in its present state,) and an attertipt made to con- quer it, it would be attended with no lefs disgrace and disaster, than that which had lately befallen the Britifh arnis in endeavour- ing to subdue themselves. The Canadians would take fire to a man at such an attempt, to which the recent sufferings of the loyal Americans, some of whose fathers, brothers, and nearest relations were killed (or hanged,) in cold blood, would give such an additional spur to their resentment, as would make it nearly if not as bloody to them as that iii ^^^hicll tijv y Hi.\. '£)"& [ 387 ] dians, and end in the like disaster to them- selves. The rilk and difficulty of carrying pro- visions and stores through a wildernefs of some hundred miles, and that distant from resources and supplies of all kinds would be subject to embarrafsments easily foreseen, but ill to surmount, and liable to the fate of Bur- goin and his army, in every comer the attempt could be made on that province. " Whoever sceketh to attain unto this end by crooked cunning, will find that by this left handed wisdom he will at least lose his v^ay," nor is it likely that such an attempt will be made, while it is well known that half a dozen of Britifti frigates, and as many bomb ketches, could lay every town of note in America in afties in one day. To explain this article it may be necef- sary to mention that all the old fortifications were erased to the ground, and not a gun now mounted in that whole continent but such as are in the pofsefsison of the Britilh. 1 1 FINIS. eraata. Page K line it for monday read day. P. 15 1. 24 for Grandamun r Granmanan, P. 41 1 5 for Najhwack r St 'John. ?• 43f 43 «^"d 47 for Symon r Lymon, P. 72 1. 18 for length r weight, P. 97 1. 13 for ^^^ r a. P. 99 1. 8 and 9 for port x fart. P. Ill 1. 15 for tfow^tf r ^etf«'. P. 153 1. 24 iox young r /?>//e, p. ib. 1. 27 for glad x he. p. ib. 1. ib. for and x he. P. i6q1. 18 for bvjhels r bolls. p. 231 1. 14 for him r ws. P. ib. note 1. a insert after the word house, *• they must have starved.** P. 268 1. 4 for Glencoe r Gleno. p. 269 1. 20 for /ufl^ r /o/ifj, P. 272 1. 21 and afterwards, for M^Jons r M*Ians. p. 276 last line for still r now. DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. Place the portrait of the author to front The large plate • — __ _ The small plate — __ ^ The table of distances at the end. Page, I 86 102 \tJSLE of the Distances in t may be conveyed through the found ta be greater than in. •I 1626 1309 1662 1345 1680 1755 1767 1813 '363 1438 1450 1079,10441 904 854 ^ "IT iii5;io8o 940 I 133 1098 9J8 1208 1173 1496 12201185 1033 890' 104s 908 j I 995^ 1266 1231 109x10411 N. B. Where the Angle between Detroit^ in the Horizontal Li 4 Iietters m»y be sent acnis tbef TABLE of the Distances in the Briti/b Frovinces in North America^ to which Letterr may be conveyed through the Post Office. The Distances ^ by later Measurements, ara found ta be greater than in. this Table, but alt Letters are paid according to it. 3 % is i 317 & 1. / J47 230 too -9 J82 265 iS 72a 405 ^IS 140 ^ 772 455 ^iS 190 50 < CJ 806 489 259 224 84 34 s 1 6 M no 841 524 ,294 259 119 69 35 a 882 565 335 300 160 no 76 41 « 927 610 380 345 205 ^SS i2i| 86 45 ^ 1 1 u 972 6ji 425 39^ 250 200 i66J 131 90 45 m 1017 700 470 435 295 245 211 176 'iS 90, 45 1 u 2 U07 790 ■560 S^S 385 ns 301 266 22j 180J i35 90 & 1536 12-9 989 954 814 764 730j 695 654 609 564 5'y 429 1 1626 1309 1 10791044 904 854 8201 785 744 699' 654 609 S^9 90 •55 J. .s 1662 1345 iiijjioSo 940 890' 856, 821 780 735| 690 645 sss 126) 36 3 1680 '363 1133I1098 958 908' 874, 839 1 ' 1 111 'nil 798 753! 708 663 573 144J 54 »8 c < 1, 4 1755 1438 1208 1 1 73 1 i 1033 ^^83! 949 9»4| 873 1 8281 783 738 648 219 129 93 1 1767 1450 12201185 1045 995j 96*1 926J 885 ,840, 795 750 660 231 141 105 87 1813 1496 1 266*1 231 io9r 104111007 972 931 886 841 796 706 m 187' 15- «33 iMi Hati&K. N. B. Where the Angle between any Town mects» is the exact distance in Englifh miles } was. from^ Berroit^ in the Horizontal Line, to St John8> 1309. Miles^ or from Matilda to Annapolis 874»' 4 Letters may be Mat wwb tbe River St Ltuuenc^ trom Sdrtiuer to William Henry, fonoeily I^tcL