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Entored according to Act of tlie Provincial liCpislatiire,
in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Forty-six, by James Bkaven, D.D., in the Office
of the Registrar of the Province of Canada.

RECREATIONS

OF A,

LOXG YACATION;

i3L lis it

INDIAN MISSIONS IN UPPER CANADA.

JAMES BEAVEN, D.D.,

Professor of Divfrii'y 'ji 'he Unjversi'y qf King's
College, Toicn'o.

L O N DON:

JA^MKS nuHNS, pout:man' stuket, poutmax square.

TORON'TO :
n. AND W. RO'.VSr,LT., KINC! STREET.

1846.

FOWSEtLS AM) THOMPSON, PRINTERS, TORONTO.

RECREATIONS

OF A

LONG VACATION

INTRODUCTION.

When I accepted the appointment which
removed me from my native land, I looked
forward to the long vacations as seasons in
which I might both obtain recreation from
sedentary employments, and be made useful
to the church, by travelling upon some religi-
ous errand in the country to which I was
about to expatriate myself; what that errand
was to be, circumstances of course would decide.
About the first Christmas I spent in Canada,
I received a request from Mr. McMurray,
rector of Ancaster, to preach at the opening
of his new church at Dundas. The visit made
me acquainted, not only with himself, whom
I found to have been formerly engaged in a
successful mission amongst the Chippeway
Indians, at the Sault Ste Marie, on the
southern extremity of Lake Superior, —
but with his amiable and intelligent wife,
herself the child of an Indian mother, and
retaining many of the characteristics of the

INTRODUCTION.

race from wliich she lijid spnino^. From
tluMn I learned to foel an interest in the
nhorioinal raees of this country, much
stroriM^er than I was likely to entertain from
the mere casual sioht of them as they ap-
|>eared in the streets, or came to the door
with bundles of baskets for sale. It did not,
however, occur to me, to think of them other-
wise than as objects of interest and curiosity,
until six months after, at the Bishop's Visita-
tion at Toronto, Mr. McMurray read to me
a letter he had received from a member of his
former char^>e, ShinguacoHse, or T/ie Little
Pmc, chief of the small tribe amonj^st whom
he resided as a missionary. It a])peared, that
on Mr. McMurray's removal from that sta-
tion, on account of the ill-health of himself
and his wife, to l)oth of whom the severity of
the winter in that latitude was becomin<r more
and more dan<rerous, the mission passed into the
liands of Mr. O'Meara; and on his removal to
the Manitoulin Islands, the government being
desirous of concentrating the Indians in those
quarters on the Great Manitoulin, the mission
at the south of Lake Superior was discon-
tinued, and the Indians at that point were
invited to join their countrymen at Mani-
toulin. Tlie chief, it seems, complied to a

:w,'

INTUODUCTrON,

'it

■i

cortaiii cxtoiit, and spoilt two summers m
that st'ttk'iiK'iit ; l)nt snl)so(juoiitIy romuvcd
hack anaiii to t!u' n{Mi»iihoiirhoo(l from whicli
ho luid ini^Tafod. Whoii thoro, he felt the
want of |);t>toral care, and the means of j^race,
althoui;h he endeavoured to kec^j) the Chris-
tians tojL^etlier, l)y readinj^ the scriptures and
j)rayers wirh thcni, Hut this did not satisfy
him. Indeed he fi It liimself, and still more,
the mass of his little tribe, ^oin*^ back to
their old evil habits, for want of some one to
controul and direct tliem, and hearin<^ that
Mr. O'lVIeara was lioinir to Toronto, where
he was likely to see his ohl friend and pastor,
he wrote this k^tter to him, to entreat him to
endeavour to procure a minister to settle
amongst them once more.

The letter was a very touchinj>' one, but it
did not occur to me at the time, that it was a
thing- in which I was immediately concerned.
It however had sunk into the heart of my
wife, and she brought the subject up again ;
and then the thought struck me, that amongst
the large circle of friends and well-wishers
whom I had left behind me in England, I
might perhaps have interest enough to raise
a sufficient fund for the revival of the mission.
I mentioned the thought to Mr. McMurray,

INTRODUCTION.

and he sugejested the idea of a visit to the
Sault, as the most likely means of giving
definiteness to my views. It, howevr r, ap-
peared to me, that it would be much more to
the purpose, if I were to visit previously
some of the more advanced missions nearer
home, and then proceed to the Sault. The
result was a month's absence from home, in
the course of which other objects attracted my
attention, besides the Indians : and thinking
that the whole of my impressions might be
interesting to those who are personally unac-
quainted with this new and improving colony,
I employed the remainder of the vacation, as
I found opportunity and the vein of thought
chose to flow, in committing them to paper.
I have interspersed a few sketches, by an
untaught and hitherto unpractii^ed hand, sup-
posing that they would add life and interest
to the narrations and observations, as being
faithful though unartist-like pictures of what
they profess to represent.

CHAPTER I.

Havintr formed the desijrn of visitirij)^ vari-
ous settlements of Indians connected with
the Church of England, concludini^ with the
Sault Ste Marie, I quitted Toronto, with my
eldest boy, on Thursday, the 8th of Au<rust,
on board the Hamilton steamer, in company
with several clergymen and others, who had
been visiting Toronto for the purpose of
being present at the recitations and distribu-
tion of prizes in Upper Canada College, in
which they had sons, — and who were now on
their return. The weather was very splendid,
and the city appeared to great advantage as
we gradually moved out of harbour. We
were twelve miles distant, at Port Credit,
before we lost sight of it ; and previous to
this, and during the whole of our course, the
eye was charmed with the varying view of the
coast, as one headland after another, and one

B'2

DEPARTUHE FROM TORONTa.

knot of houses after another, arose to the
view, passed before our eyes and faded in the
distance. The coast of the hike is but thinly
peopled, and there are only four villa<]^es, the
Humber Mouth, Port Credit, Oakville and
Wellington Square, between Toronto and
Hamilton. I had travelled the same route by
land in the winter ; and then every thing
looked poor and wretched. But now the white
or da.':';-brown wooden dwellings, j)eeping out
from between the trees, or clustered together
on level or eminence, looked cheerful and
pretty ; and the recognition of the church
and clergyman's house in two of them, made
us feel that we were united with them in high
and sacred interests. Towards seven o'clock
we began to enter Hamilton Bny, one of the
most beautiful upon the lake. The high land
immediately around it on all sides, and the
rock and cliff occasionally visible, with the
scattered farms along its margin, and the
group of pretty white buildings forming the
little town, presided over by the graceful
spire of the parish church, — give it a charac-
ter of iis own, much surpassing in picturesque
beauty the lower and more level view of the
bay of Toronto. The only drawback is the
bar which obstructs the entrance of the bay ;

DEPARTURE FROM TORONTO.

ir">

f 3

a long, narrow line of land, with a few poor
trees, and equally poor cottages : but there
is no removing it, and therefore we must rest
satisfied that it affords a shelter to the bay,
and in winter a very useful road, by which
sleighs travelling from Queenston to Toronto
avoid some six miles of distance. There
is a canal cut through it for steamfrs and
schooners, which they were enlarging by
means of a steam dredging-machlne, when we
entered the bay.

My friend Mr. McMurray, to whom I am
indebted for the idea of this tour, was ready
at the place of embarkation, with his light
waggon, and in another hour, rattling along
on the excellent macadamized road, we were
safe in his hospitable dwelling at Dundas,

(10)

CHAPTER II.

And now let me indulire in a little episode
on Canadian roads and carriages; at least
Upper Canadian, for I know no other. It is
the result of various observations, both before
and durintr this tour.

The most primitive description of road is
the bush track throuoh the primeval forest,
where the foot traces are scarcely, or not at
all discernable ; and where, if unacquainted
with the locality, or unpractised in trackinjr
them, the white person traversing them is
sure to be lost. Practice indeed enables a
person to see where the branches of trees
are partially cleared away, where the fallen
branches have their bark trodden off by the
feet of the passenger, where the grass is
slightly marked by an indistinct trace : and
some of these are made more certain by the
blazed trees (i. e. trees which have a portion

i ';

CANADIAN nOADS.

of the bark struck off by the axe), which
appear from distance to distance along them ;
but I have not had much experience of the
hitter. These tracks, however, if formed from
settlement to settlement, whether of Indians
or of white people, become distinctly marked
by the treading and wearing away of the
vegetation ; and are the first that are of any
service to a stranger. The Indian, inr.eed,
will iind his way without any path, for hun-
<lreds of miles through the forest, and travel
almost as straight as the bird flies. He is
guided in part by observing that the moss
always adheres to the iu)rth side of the trees
The next kind of pjith takes its origin from
the time that the Indian becomes a farmer, or
the wl'ite settler takes up his abode in the
forest. He soon Jiequires his waggon, and span
( Anglice, pair) of oxen or horses ; he cuts down
the trees which impede lis passage to the near-
est store, or taverj;, or village, or market town,
or port ; he clears away the brush-wood, and
without waiting to eradicate the stumps, or
drain the swamp, or level inequalities, he
mounts his waggon and drives off through the
track he has made. This track, from the
nature of the case, is not remarkal)ly straight.
A person who has to chop his way tlirough

CANADIA^ ROADS.

I i

the dense forest cannot be very accurate in
his bearings. If the trees are fewer or
smaller in one direction than in another, we
know which he will prefer. If he finds a bit
of swampy ground in his way, he will go
about to avoid it. If he meets with a ravine,
he will prefer crossing it obliquely. Neither
is such a track remarkably even. When trees
have been falling and decomposing for cen-
turies, every portion of the surface is rugged
in a degree scarcely possible to conceive by
a person who i as only seen the forests of a
long-inhabited country. Then many of the
trees have large gnarled roots level with the
surface, or rising above it : many of the
stumps of the trees which have been cut
down it is impossible by any ingenuity to
avoid, and they must be driven over. Then
again, although a small swamp may be
avoided, a swampy tract may have to be
crossed. The better portions of it are soft
and yielding, and the wheels either come into
immediate contact with the crossed and tan-
gled roots, or sink into the holes which lie
between them. The wetter parts have to
be made passable, by laying trees side by side
across them, and thus constructing a rude
causeway, the roughness of which has long

CANADIAN ROADS.

urate in
;wer or
her, we
ids a bit
will go
I ravine,
Neither
en trees
for cen-

rugged
;eive by
sts of a
J of the
vith the

of the
?en cut
luity to
Then
may be
; to be
are soft
me into
nd tan-
lich lie
have to
by side
a rude
as long

been proverbial under the name of corduroy.
Fortunately the whole surface is not entirely
covered with heavy timber or intersected by
swamps ; and thus there are portions of the
bush-road, especially in sandy districts, which
are very smooth and even, as soon as ever
they become worn by repeated passing.

This kind of road undergoes many changes
in the way of improvement and deterioration.
Time, which decays all stumps, consumes the
stumps from the road ; if not very much tra-
velled, alternate rain anc. sun reduce it to an
even surface ; and if the forest is partially
open, and the ground undulating, and the
style of timber various, especially if it over-
looks ravine, or creek (Anglice hrook)^ or
river or lake, or passes through a country
partially cleared and settled, — few things can
be conceived more exhilarating or delightful
than a drive through a Canadian bushroad.
But, if it continues in anything like its primi-
tive state, — or if by being much travelled in
the wet weather of spring and autumn, it
becomes cut up with ruts and worn out into
holes, — especially if they are the peculiar
succession of holes met with in some parts,
rolling with a slight obliquity across the

track, then nothing can well be conceived
c

CANADIAN ROADS.

more painful or laborious to any person, but
one of the roughest and most robust frame.
No pleasure of companionship or charm of
natural beauty can make amends for it.

The next description of road is the cleared
concession line, or Queen's hig^hway. To
understand this we must bear in mind that the
whole country is divided up into square
blocks of land, several miles square, called
townships; these townships into concessions ;
and the concessions aofain into lots. The con-
cessions are separated from each other by
lines of land, 22 yards in breadth, which
are not granted to any person, but reserved
to form the public roads of the province.
Every person is at liberty to cut down the
timber on that portion of the concession line
which adjoins his lot. Where many settlers
lie on aline, thiy will agree to do it, in order
to have a road in common. Sometimes again
the government undertakes to open the line,
in order to induce persons to settle on land,
or to facilitate the advancement of the colony.
The opening of the line does not, however,
necessarily imply doing anything more than
cutting down most of the timber to within a
foot or two of the ground, clearing off the
under-brush, and making a sufficient width of

CANADIAN ROADS.

jon, but

frame,
larm of
t.

cleared
y. To
that the

square
, called
'cssions ;
he con-
:her by

which
eserved
rovince.
►wn the
on line
settlers
in order
es aj^rain
he line,
m land,
colony,
owever,
re than
s^ithin a

off the
kvidth of

the road as passable as the ordinary bush
road. This havinjr to be selected f/om the
whole breadth of the line, is cornmoidy made
very meandering (althou«rh the line is as
straight as an arrow) ; and being left altoge-
ther to the choice of the passengers after
being once made, varies often with the season,
or the caprice of those who travel it. In many
parts you find two, or even three tracks on
the same line.

The great public roads formed by the go-
vernment, uiidergc a further operation called
turnpikimj. This consists in the eradication
of the stumps (which is often accomplished
by a machine worked by horses), in diggintr
ditches on each side of the line, and throwing
up the soil on the road to form a causeway ;
in levelling its whole surface in a rather rude
way; in carrying drains across it where
swampy, or intersected with streams; in
raising it altogether to various heights where
it crosses wet or swampy ground, and in
building bridges of various descriptions, ac-
cording to circumstances. These turnpiked
roads are commonly carried in a straitrht line
from point to point of the country. For-
merly it was done in a rude and imperfect
manner ; but in the new lines improved or

CANADIAN ROADS.

formed in the western portion of Upper
Canada no expense appears to be spared.
Hills are cut through, or sloped gradually into
the valley ; vast embankments are formed to
carry the road over lands liable to be over-
flowed with the melti.ig snow in the spring,
or after heavy rains ; bridges are built, of
wood indeed in most cases, but in other
respects rivalling or excelling in convenience
those of the mother country. In short, the
impression on my own mind is, that in some
localities the expenditure is unnecessarily
large ; and that some of the large embank-
ments and long bridges might have been
spared, as they have been in England, until
increased traffic both rendered their higher
convenience important to the public,- and
afforded a prospect of the repayment of the
expense. And I am the more strongly inclined
to this opinion, from knowing that there are
many portions of road which must remain des-
titute of improvement, and which might have
been improved to the great convenience of the
districts in which they lie, with the remain-
ing three-fourths of the cost incurred in par-
ticular spots ; leaving the inhabitants of those
spots, or the travellers over them, still enough
of improvement to make them very thankful.

CANADIAN ROADS.

.3ftr

■i

Still I am told, that in all cases the tolls are
expected soon to replace the whole cost.

The next improvement to the road is plank-
ing, or macadamizint^. Ilitherto, macadamiz-
ing has come first in order of time; but in
future I ima«i;ine the plank road will be the
first improvement. I am no'.v speakinj:^ of the
government roads: for on a few miles of road
in some districts, the surface has been im-
proved under other direction, — of trustees or
otherwise, — by simply throw injr down on the
turnpiked road, the gravel or rubbly stone
which was procurable in the neighbourhood.
But to return to more extensive operations ;
we must not understand in all cases by a
macadamized road, the beautiful even surface
which we j^^enerally see in roads in the old
country, which have under^rone the operation
so desig-nated. That may be the case or not,
according to circumstances. The only roads
I know of, which come up to the English
notion of a macadamized road, arc those in the
neighbourhood of Hamilton. In most cases
it simply means a road formed with broken
stones, in which there is no care taken to
break them very small; the road is not watched
to preserve it from being worn into ruts and

holes ; when these eye-sores are formed, they
c2

CANADIAN ROADS.

are not speedily obliterated ; the stone is not
laid of sufficient depth to prevent its becom-
ing very uneven by the operation of the break-
ing up of the frost in the spring ; so that even
the subjacent soil frequently works up to the
surface, and forms deep mud holes in the
middle of the road. Even King Street, in
Toronto, from these causes, is very rough in
parts. But every thing must hav« a begin-
ning; new roads are formed upon better prin-
ciples than the old ones, and the old ones
are daily more or less improved ; so that I
do not despair of even passing down the
whole of King Street without any danger to
the springs of my waggon, or possibly any
inconvenience to my rheumatic limbs. There
is another peculiarity about the macadamized
roads of Ijpper Canada, arising in part from
the imperfect breaking of the stone ; and that
is, the custom of laying down a slight cover-
ing of sand or gravel over it. A real disciple
of McAdam would think he was ruining his
road by such an act; but in this country, from
the fewness of the passengers, it is necessary,
in order to bring the road into use ; and the
continuance of wet weather is seldom so great
as to render it any essential injury to the road.
Of those streets which I have seen macadam-

' H

CANADIAN ROADS.

19^

is not
}com-
►reak-
; even
to tl»e
11 the
3et, in
jgh in
begin-
r prin-
l ones
tliat I
m the
iger to
ly any
There
amized
rt from
nd that
cover-
lisciple
mg his
y, from
lessary,
ind the
o great
le road,
icadam-

ized in this country, only one was entirely
covered with broken stone ; most of them have
only a laying of suflficieiit breadth to allow two
carriages to pass. Ih a few of the most recent
in Toronto, the space between the broken
stone and the footway is paved or pitched with
boulders.

And speaking of boulders, I will observe
that one of the greatest inconveniences the
cultivator of land has to contend with in some
parts of the province, is likely to become a
source of profit to him; I allude to the great
quantity of boulders of all sizes scattered over
the fields. Some of these are small rocks in
size, and all I have seen are of the hardest
descriptions of stone, particularly granite. In
the improvements which are continually going
on in districts where there is no subterranean
stone, these are bought up in large quantities,
for the formation of roads and streets.

From the macadamized road, I pass to the
plank. Any one who has read Mr. Dickens'
"American Notes," will remember the boarded
footways of Toronto; but since his visit, they
have undergone a very material improvement.
This was the first application of plank on pub-
lic streets or roads ; and I will give a little
account of it. The late Judge Powell was

!ii

CAI;/.DIAN ROADS.

the first person who iiia<le a boarded footway
on the public street. Living in a cross street,
he laid down planks, supported by sleepers,
from his own door to King Street, the foot-
ways of which were then paved with irregular
flags, so far as any assistance was afforded to
the pedestrian. A year or two before the
rebellion, the notorious firebrand, McKenzie,
being then mayor, conceived and carried out
theprojectof extending Judge Powell's accom-
modation to all the thoroughfares of the city.
The plank he employed is pine wood, (or, as
we say in England, deal,) of about two inches
thick, and one foot in breadth, and laid down
longitudinally, each causeway being four
planks broad, and secured by nails. At the
crossings, a thicker description of plank is
used, and the edges are taken off, to facilitate
the passing of carriages. In tV.e bye streets,
however, less c le is employed, and the cross-
ings are very awkwardly high. This method
of planking is at all times a great improve-
ment upon the bare ground, inasmuch as it is
always pretty clean, and soon becomes dry
after rain. In a few years however, it is apt to
become broken; and the planks being kept in
constant vibration (to some extent) in their
length, the ends are liable to become loose, and

CANADIAN ROADS.

sometimes cause dangerous concussions and
falls. The breadth, moreover, is not sufficient
for the crowded streets of a populous city.
Hence, during the past year much of the
old plank and flagging has been removed, and
replaced by plank three inches in thickness,
placed transversely, sloping gently towards
the carriageway, fastened with wooden plugs,
and forming a causeway of eleven feet in
breadth. The improvement is so manifest,
and so highly appreciated, that it appears
probable that it will be adopted in all the
principal streets.

This transverse planking then, witli mate-
rials three or four inches in thickneos, is that
which is adopted on the public roads. It is
generally laid down level, and of a sufficient
breadth to allow of two carriages passing
abreast. Sometimes a sufficient bieadth is
allowed for three carriages ; and on the King-
ston road, 1 notice that a breadth of plank
sufficient only for one carriage has been laid
down side by side with the broken stone ; no
doubt as an experiment. Opinions differ as to
the comparative expense of keeping a road in
good order with plank or with stone; and still
more as to the durableness of the former.
There can be no doubt that a new plank road,

*l^-

CANADIAN ROADS.

i'3
-^1

covered lightly with sand or gravel, (as is the
custom), is the pleasantest road for wheels
that can well be imagined. You bound along
over it with an ease and quietness which is
luxury itself, after the noise of one of our
ordinary carriages over the macadamized road,
to say nothing of the awful jolting and
shaking of those in a less advanced state.
But then on the other hand, when the plank
has been in use six or seven years, it begins
to give way in portions. Holes are broken,
which are very awkward, and even dangerous
to the horse ; and the jolts which the wheels
sustain are much worse than those of the
worst macadamized road I am acquainted with.
When the plank begins to wear out, it appears
to be thought inexpedient to attempt to keep
it in repair; and thus its evils are endured
for another year or two, when it has to be
replaced by new. Still the Board of Works
is laying down a vast length of it between
Brantford and London, and thence on to Ox-
ford, and in other parts of the west; and I
suppose where stone is not very accessible, or
the situation is low, and the soil damp, it will
continue to be employed for many years to
come. In some situations, the Board appears
to employ stone still ; so that it appears with

CANADIAN ROADS.

is the
heels
along
ich is
>f our

road, <
r and
state,
plank
begins
roken,
rerous
wheels
of the
i with,
ppears
o keep
ndiired

to be
Works
etween
to Ox-
; and I
iible, or
, it will
(Tears to
appears
irs with

them to be a question of circumstances: but
that they are not singular in using plank for
carriage roads, appears from the fact, that u.
several ^ iirts of the province, the farmers are
making their own roads, by joint contribution,
of the same material, and that in parts where
stone is far from inaccessible. The same ij
the case in Toronto, where considerable por-
tions of some of the principal streets have had
their carriage ways planked, under th- d^-ec-
tion of the corporation. In these cases the
plank is made to slope from the middle to the
sides, and where the work is completed, the
space of about ten feet on each side, between
the carriage way and the footway, is paved
with boulders.

The addition which this improvement is
making to the comfort and general prosperity
of the city, appears likely to be great.

mmmmm

(24)

ill '5

9 i

! n

'I ■■,

CHAPTER III.

From Canadian roads, I pass to Canadian
carriages. I one day saw, in the streets of
Toronto, a very primitive veliicle indeed. It
was a cart, with small wheels cut solid from
the trunk of some large tree, with a hole
through the centre for t'le axle. The bed of
the cart was of small trees, laid side by side;
the sides and ends were of still smaller trees,
and stakes set upright at certain distances; and
it was drawn by a yoke of oxen. I never saw
another, and have no reason to thiidc that they
are commonly used in any part of the pro-
vince. The next thing in order is the wood
waggon, for the conveyance of firewood ; of
much the same structure as the cart 1 have
described, excepting that the small trees are
squared with the axe, and the wheels and
their etceteras are formed in the ordinary
manner by the wheelwright. The next step

CANADIAN CARRIAGES.

madian
reets of
led. It
id from
a hole
» bed of
iy side ;
^r trees,
:es; and
ver saw
lat tliey
lie pro-
le wood
ood ; of
; 1 have
rees are
els and
)rdinary
ext step

is to replace the rough upper fabric I have
described, by a long box, formed of four
planks, for the sides and ends, and as many
more as may be necessary to form the bed of
the waggon. When this is painted red or
green, and has two seats with backs placed
across it, it forms the pleasure waggon, in
which the lowest class of farmers and their
wives and children take their journeys of
business or pleasure. A still further step is
to have the same vehicle somewhat more neatly
made, and to support the seats on two springs
of wood, placed longitudinally inside the wag-
gon, and supported only at the ends. This is
the family waggon of a higher class of farmers,
and sometimes of the country clergy. The
last method of using the wooden spring is
with the smaller waggon, generally capable of
carrying only two persons; in which is fre-
quently seen a pair of wooden longitudinal
springs supporting the bed of the waggon.
All these vehicles are generally made with
poles instead of shafts, and drawn by a pair
of horses; although in districts where the
roads are good, you frequently see the latter
drawn only by one. From experience I can
testify to the light waggon being by far the

CANADIAN CAnniAGES.

■U

best vehicle for avoiding or lightening the
intolerable jolting of the rough bush roads.

The light waggon is the origin of all the
Canadian vehicles of pleasure. Mrs. Jameson
has described one of them as " a chair set on
a tray;" and hc'r description of them is not
a bad one. The next improvenient after those
I have described is, to adopt steel springs, and
a very light carriage and wheels. The spring
exdusiveltj in use, is the elliptical, set on over
the axle behind and before. This certainly,
from its combination of elasticity with strength,
is extremely well suited to the Canadian
roads, excepting the very worst ; but the alter-
nate motion from side to side, is as disagreeable
to some persons as the jolting itself. Above
these springs is placed the waggon, with either
a single or a double body : the former is that
which Mrs. Jameson alludes to. It is fre-
(piently less in length by two feet than the
distance from axle to axle, about nine iiiclies
in dej)th, and surmounted by the chair por-
tion of a gig, with a low splash board in front.
The form of the " tray" portion, is susceptible
of great variety ; being sometimes pannelled,
at other times plain ; sometimes straight in all
its lines; again, curved beneath, to admit of
the fore wheel passing under in turning;

ig tlic
ads.
all the
imesoii
set on
is not
r those
gs, and
spring
m over
'tainly,
rength,
madian
e alter-
reeable
Above
ii either
is that
is fre-
han the
> iiiehes
air por-
n front,
ceptible
nnelled,
ht in all
idmit of
urning ;

CANADIAN CAURIAGES.

sometimes rising before and behind, and ap-
proximating to the form of a boat : the last
however, is old fcisliioned. All these forms
are more or less seen in the double waggon ;
but the most eommon are the plain straight
waggon, pannelled; or a rough imitation (in
painted wood, and on high wheels and springs)
of the small double-bodied open poney-earriage
so common of late years in England. These
are all the wheeled carriages which I have
seen in the country, which appear to be at all
of native growth. Most of the patterns of
light waggons are borrowed from the neigh-
bouring States. The other descriptions of
carriages for pleasure, kept by the wealthier
classes in towns and elsewhere, are likewise
evidently copied from models either from the
States or from England; the former beinff
invariably lighter, higher on the wheels, and
more ornamented than the other.

(28)

CHAPTER IV.

11/!

i X

1 was led into this digression al)Out carriages
and roads, by finding myself driven by Mr.
MclNIurray in a carriage such as I had not
before entered, over the best road I have seen
in Canada: and I must now give a further
account of my host and hostess.

Some nine years ago, Mr. McMurray,
then quite a young man, was employed by
the Bishop of Quebec, upon the recommenda-
tion, I believe, of the then Archdeacon of
York, and now Bishop of Toronto, as a Mis-
sionary to the Chippeway Indians, at the
Sault Ste Marie, on the waters between Lake
Huron and Lake Superior. He was established
in the family of an Irish gentleman connected
with the fur trade, who had married the eldest
daughter of the head chief of that nation ; and
one of the daughters of this gentleman, who had
received her education in the States, became
his interpreter. In course of time, he learnt

■i

STAY AT DUNDAS.

irria<50S
by Mr.
liacl not
Lve seen
furtlier

Hurray,
>yed by
imenda-
Licon of
i a Mis-
at the
?n Lake
iblished
nnectefl
e eldest
on; and
who had
became
i learnt

the language himself, and became remarkably
successful in the conversion of the Indians to
the Christian faith. He had a very flourish-
ing school, an attentive and devout congrega-
tion, and many communicants. It was not
unnatural, that finding in his interpreter a
young lady of respectable Irish coiniexion, of
the first rank in her own nation, of pleasing
manners, a cultivated mind, and great piety,
he should become attached to her and ulti-
mately marry her. In course of time, the
hardships he had undergone in his missionary
life, joined to the coldness of the winters, be-
gan seriously to affect his health ; and his wife,
who appears to have inherited something of
the European constitution from her father,
suffering in a similar way, he was compelled
to resign his mission, and remove to a more
genial part of the country. Some of Mrs.
McMurray's family still live at the Sault; but
that is not the original seat of the family,
which belongs to the Pointe du Lac, at the
head of Lake Superior.

I remained at Mr. McMurray's for a few
days, to talk ov r my plans, and obtain infor-
mation concerning the Indian tribes. On
Friday he drove me up the valley to Flam-
borough, amidst some of the finest scenery I

DRIVE TO TUSCAKOllA.

!»

1 1.

have ever seen in any country. As you rise
out of the low ground, and look back, you
perceive the valley openinjj^ down bejt)nd you,
with a wooded mountain risinjr to the right
and left; the picturesque village of Dundas at
your feet; the little town of Hamilton in the
distance; and beyond it the bay opening by
degrees out into Lake Ontario: and every step
you take, you get little home views, such as
vou seldom meet with out of Euijland. I am
satisfied that when the country has been set-
tled fifty years longer, we shall have many
parts of Canada equalling, if not excelling, in
beauty, anything in England. On Monday,
we took leave of Mrs. McMurray and her
engaging little family, and were driven by
Mr. McMurray along the macadamized road
through Ancaster to Tuscarora, on the Grand
River, the seat of the mission to the Six Na-
tions. The country through which we passed
was extensively cleared and cultivated, and
appeared to be an excellent farming coiuitry.
As we approached our destination, we turned
off the main road into one of the country roads,
and soon encountered a stream of water fall-
ing into the Grand River. The country was
now less cultivated, but more varied and pic-
turesc'ie, and from the crops we saw on the
land, the soil must be extremely rich.

TUSCAIIORA MISSION.

^■^i

Our arrival was quite unexpected by IMr.
Elliott, the resident Missionary. The letter
which had been despatched some days before
by Mr. MeMurray, to apprise him of our in-
tention, had not arrived, — as there was no
post to the village, and he had not had occa-
sion to send into Ikantford, the post town.
Mr. Mc?Jurray's introduction, however, and
a letter from the Bishop, with which he had
kindly favoured mc, made everything j)lain,
if anything had been wanting to bring into
play the hospitality of a Canadian clergyman
towards a brother clergyman. Our luggage
was brought in, and we were soon engaged in
agreeable conversation. The English appear-
ance of the sitting room, the prints of home
scenes on the walls, the little English knick-
knacks on the table, were for a moment rather
disappointing. One fancied that there must
be a ruder simplicity about the very dwelling
and furniture of the Indian Missionary, and
that all the ornaments should be Indian curi-
osities. To the expatriated Englishman,
however, and even to the Canadian, every-
thing English is most valued ; and old-
fashioned specimens of needlework, set in pic-
ture frames, which would have been long ago
displaced in the old country, to make room for

:r;

ii'i

TUSCARORA MISSION.

newer ornaments, are here carefully cherished
as mementoes of those whom perhaps we are
never destined to see a^ain. A few Indian
trifles, however, were on the mantle-piece ;
and the discovery of an Indian mask cut in
wood, which had formerly been worn in their
heathen festivities, and which much resembled
those used upon the Roman stage, was a suf-
ficient recompence for the absence of other
things.

(I
i t

•i

C
W

(35)

p;
O
«
<)
O
S9

h
<

O
W

►J
<

CHAPTER V.

Mr. Elliott's mission is a part of the settle-
ment of the Six Nations, for whose benefit
the New England Company have established
two missions ; the principal one at the Mo-
hawk village near Brantford, the other at
Tuscarora. This company was originally
established for the conversion of the Indians
in New England and the parts adjacent, and
possesses a considerable portion of landed pro-
perty in one of the New England States. Upon
the separation of the United States from the
mother country, the Indians to whom they
had hitherto ministered, having proved loyal
to the English crown, were compelled to quit
their original settlement, and were mostly
removed to Canada. This, together with
the circumstance that English clergymen
could not, of course, be sent to minister in a
hostile state, broke up the New England
mission. The question then arose. In what

M ■

INDIAN MISSIONS.

lli

^ll: 1

Hi '

'If

manner the funds of the society could be
best employed, so as to fulfil the intentions
of the founders : and it was determined that
the tribes which had been originally bene-
fitted, although no longer resident either in
New England or in the parts adjacent, were
the fittest objects of their bounty. Upon
this, missions were established for the Mo-
hawks separately, one near Brantford, the
other in the Bay of Quintc,on the N. E. shore
of Lake Ontario; and more recently a mis-
sion for the Six Nations at Tusearora. I
should have visited the Mohawk village first,
but for the absence of the missionary.

The Six Nations^ who form a confederacy
under one chief, are the Mohawks, Cayu'gas,
Tuscaro'ras, Sen'ecas, Onondah'gas and Oni'-
das. Of these the Mohawks are the most
numerous, reaching to nearly 700. Next
come the Cayugas, numbering 550 ; then the
Tuscaroras, about 360; the Onondahgas, 280;
the Senecas and Onidas, about 100 each.
The confederacy originally consisted of Jive
nations, omitting the Tuscaroras, who were
added subsequently. All these speak dia-
lects of the Mohawk or Iroquois language.
Another nation has since been added, without
changing the name; i. e, the Delawares. They

INDIAN MISSIONS.

la be
ntions
cl that
bene-
lier in
;, were
Upon
e Mo-
rel, the
\. shore
a mis-
ora. I
re first,

ederaey
lyu'gas,
id Oni'-
le most

Next
lion the
as, 280;
|o each.

of five
10 wore
lak dia-
Lguage.
Iwithout
L They

are in number about 230, and speak a dialect
of Chippeway (or Ojibbeway) language, which
is perfectly distinct from the Mohawk. These
two languages divide the Indians of this part
of North America, — and formerly the races
were io hostile, that if they met, they were
sure to fight ; but now, as we have seen, the
Delawares, of the Chippeway race, are admit-
ted into friendship with the six nations of the
Iroquois race. For the settlements of this
race on the Grand River, the New England
Company supports two missionaries, six
schoolmasters and a schoolmistress : of these
there are a missionary and schoolmaster at
Tuscarora, a schoolmaster at the Martin set-
tlement, and another for the Delawares.
The rest are for the Mohawks. The allow-
ance for the missionaries is £200 sterling per
annum, with a house and land ; and that for
the schoolmaster £50, with a house. The
mission at the Mohawk village dates from the
American Rebellion ; that at Tuscarora is
more recent. The results of both are that
the Mohawks, Tuscaroras and Onidas are
entirely Christians ; the Onondahgas and
Delawares mostly so, the latter being recent
converts ; of the Senecas, not so many as half
have been baptized ; and the Cayugas hold

I't

INDIAN MISSIONS.

■ 't)

out obstinately, alleging that they have not
been well treated by the British. Their
character, from what I could learn, seems to
be more haughty than that of the other tribes.

I find that the New England Company
has expended as much as £300 in providing
a house and farm buildings for the mission
at Tuscarora ; and I imagine double that sum
at Mohawk Village : they have likewise spent
£400 on the church at Tuscarora, which is a
very pretty structure. Their expenses at the
Mohawk village must have been much more
considerable, as will be seen when I come
to sneak of it.

It SO happened that, on tho evening of our
arrival, there was to be a meeting of chiefs
in the Tuscarora mission, at the Onondahga
village, which might have terminated in a
regular council. The occasion of this meet-
ing will be better understood after a little
preliminary detail.

The Indians who removed to Canada, were
settled upon certain lands, which were as-
signed to them by the government, and which
are their own national property. They are
treated by the British government as allies;
so far as that no step has been taken towards
them without the consent of a council of their

INDIAN LANDS.

ive not
Their
eems to
r tribes,
ompany
oviding
mission
hat sum
ise spent
iiich is a
es at the
ch more
I come

g of our
►f chiefs
ondahga

d in a
is meet-

a little

da, were
^vere as-
id which
^hey are
IS allies;
towards
of their

chiefs. But having no ideas of internal
government, and no spirit to bear up under
the aggrecoion of white people, and not suf-
ficient intelligence or self-command to pre-
vent them from being the victims of their
cupidity and fraud, — the government has
found it necessary, with their own consent,
to take the management of their lands into
its direction, and to appoint superintendents
to reside amongst them, to watch over their
interests, and to settle all disputes which may
arise either between themselves or between
them and white settlers : all being under the
direction of a chief superintendent, resident
in such place as the government may direct,
which is at present at Toronto.

I have said that the lands are the national
property of the Indians; and they are so in
the most restricted sense; for no individual
has any permanent property in a single acre
of them. Individuals who are desirous of
cultivating any portion of the land may do
so, if they are not already occupied. If they
wish to have the possession secured to them,
they may have a life interest given them by
the superintendent ; and if a sufficient reason
appears, the reversion of that interest may be
secured to the family of the occupant ; but he

INDIAN LANDS.

cannot legally sell or alienate it, v/Ithout the
consent of the chiefs. It has however so hap-
pened, that individual Indians have for many
years past chosen to sell their improvements^
to use the Canadian term, (i. e. portions of
land which they have cleared and brought
into cultivation,) to white settlers. The late
Head Chief, Brant, (from whom Brantford
derives its name, and who is the author of a
Mohawk version of the gospel of St. Mark)
made in his latter years many alienations of
that description, and even of uncleared lands:
for however intelligent and promising at one
time, he became in his latter years the slave
of intemperance, and was continually barter-
ing away portions of the national lands for
barrels of strong liquors.

It is true that these sales, and all others of
the same kind, made by other Indians, are
perfectly invalid in law ; but they were acted
upon as though it were otherwise. The super-
intendents, whose business we may suppose
it to have been to prevent the whites from
occupying the Indian lands, did not interfere ;
possibly, from thinking that it was better for
them to be brought into cultivation in any
way, than that they should remain unoccu-
pied, — and that what was left was far more than

lOut the
so hap-
)r many
wcmenfs^
tions of
brought
Hie late
raiitford
hor of a
. Mark)
itions of
d hinds :
^ at one
lie slave
barter-
inds for

thers of
ins, are
re acted
e super-
suppose
es from
terfere ;
jtter for
I in any
unoecu-
ore than

INDIAN LANDS.

■•fv

the Indians themselves would ever occupy.
At length the settlements of this description
became so numerous, particularly in Brant-
ford and its neighbourhood, that it was
thought advisable by the government to per-
suade the Indians to sell a considerable tract
to the Crown, in order that they might give
legal titles by legitimate sale, both to the
present occupants and to future possessors, —
and apply the proceeds to tlie benefit of the
Indians themselves. This course has been
adopted in similar circumstances with regard
to more than one Indian settlement; and in
most cases the interest of the purchase money
has been annually distributed to them: and
as the number of Indians is annually dimin-
ishing, the remainder often receive very con-
siderable sums; which they employ according
to their taste and habits, — in tlie purchase of
Kngli.sh finery, in substantial clothing, in seed
corn and provisions, in articles of furniture,
and perhaps sometimes in the acquisition of
private landed property. At least I know
that some of the chiefs have landed property
of their own, and that to a considerable
amount.

This has been the usual mode of managing

the proceeds of sales of Indian lands, and
e2

INDIAN LANDS.

fit-

some of their settlements have made more
than one cession of territory under similar
circumstances. But in the ease ot the Six
Nations, on the Grand River, the govern-
ment has chosen to make another use of their
property, not however without having first
obtained their own consent. It was considered
desirable for the general advancement of that
part of the province, that the Grand River
should be made navigable for steamers and
merchant schooners, to as high u point as was
practicable; and for this end a company was
incorporated by act of provincial parliament.
It was likewise deemed advisable to embark
£10,000 of the proceeds of the Indian sales in
the undertaking. Whether the proceeding
was wise or not at the time, it may perhaps
be difficult to determine. The undertaking
will probably be in time a lucrative one; as
the company receives 255. per 1000 cubic feet
on squared oak timber, 155. on squared pine,
from 55. to 15s. per 1000 for pipe staves, 5s.
for every steamboat, 2s. 6d. for every 100
bushels of lime tind ton of wrought iron or
merchandize, and Is. 3(/. for un wrought iron
and stone, at each of its locks on the river, —
besides 12/. 10s. annually for every pair of
mill stones, and 20/. for every saw in any

INDIAN LANDS.

le more

similar

the Six

govern-

of their

ing first

nsiderecl

t of that

1(1 River

(lers and

it as was

any was

liament.

embark

1 sales in

)cee(ling

perhaps

ertaking

one; as

ubic feet

ed pine,

lives, 5s.

ery 100

t iron or

ig-ht iron

river, —

r pair of

' in any

mill erected on its banks. At present, how-
ever, 1 believe, it pays no dividend.

On several of these points, the Indians had
been making representations to the govern-
ment. 1 believe they had got the idea that
the nicinagement of the Grand River was
more expensive than it should be, or at all
events they wished to know a little more on
the subject. But the principal point was, that
they thought their lands not well managed.
They observed that, after the repeated
pledges given by the government at each
new cession of territory, that the whites
should be absolutely forbidden to squat (as the
term is) on their land, still new squatters con-
tinued to occupy the outer line, and to hem
them in closer and closer. It is true there
was a superintendent residing near them, but
he aj)peared to have no power to prevent it,
and they thought that if they could have
their lands placed in tlieir own direction, they
should be able to prevent it.

It was to consider a memorial to the Gover-
nor General, in reply to a report which had
been sent to them in consequence of a former
memorial, that this meeting was called ; and
we were invited by Mr. Elliott to go to wit-
ness the proceedings. My curiosity was on

INDIAN DRESS.

the qui Vive as I went along, but it was doomed
to considerable disappointment. Very few
of the Indians we met had anything remark-
able in their costume. The men have mostly
adopted the dress of the farmers and labourers
of the neighbourhood; so that we had Indians
in the frock coat of every cut, and the hat
of every shape. Here and there one had a
handkerchief on his head in place of a hat, or
instead of trowsers, wore the Indian legging,
reaching half-way up the thigh, and his shirt
of whatever material hanging loose over it.
Now and then a young man had a ragged red
girdle, worked with beads, or a circlet of tin
round his hat, or a feather in his hat, or ear-
rings in his ears, or his face marked with
paint. But amongst all we met on our way
there was only one man who wore the full
Indian costume. This was an old man be-
tween 90 and 100, the oldest chief of the
Mohawks, and a warrior. He was dressed
correctly from head to foot. On his feet
were the mocassin, a sort of shoe of soft
leather with no sole: then came the leggings
of light green cloth, with the seams down
the front: over them a shirt of figured cotton,
fastened down the bosom with three or four
pewter broaches: over that a loose short dres-

MEETING OF INDIANS.

loomed
ry few
e mark-
mostly
bourcrs
Indians
the hat
e had a
hat, or

Pgirin^,

lis shirt
over it.
ired red
t of tin
or oar-
?d with
)ur way
he full
lan be-
of the
jressed
lis feet
of soft
^gg^ings
down
cotton,
or four
rt dres-

sing gown of showy figured cotton or chintz,
fastened with u deerskin belt ; — the whole sur-
mounted by a showy handkerchief made
into a sort of cap, towering forward. He
stopped to speak with Mr. Elliott, and assigned
his great age as a reason for not awaiting
the issue of the meeting. He had the high
cheek bones; the flattened Roman nose; the
full firm mouth, which characterized his na-
tion ; but if I were to compare him with any
thing I had ever seen in England, it would
be with an old soldier I remember, of the low-
est class, lingering out the remnant of his
existence in one of the remote villages of the
midland counties of England.

We proceeded to the place of meeting,
which certainly presented nothing very im-
posing : there was an open green, with a few
log cottages adjoining it, surrounded with
gardens; and on one side of this green was a
log building, containing only one room, with
two chimnies. On entering it we found the
walls rude as the axe had left them, no ceil-
ing of any kind, nor do I remember any seats.
A few women and girls were there, and they
appeared to have provisions, of which one of
them was cooking a portion. This was all
we saw of the council-house of the Onon-

MEETING OF INDIANS.

dahgas; for there was no regular council. On
our return to one of the cottages, we found
some old men in conversation near it, some
in hats and some in handkerchiefs ; to whom
1 was introduced. The face of one chief was
perfectly hideous, but others had handsome
features, debased to all appearance by poverty
and ignorance ; one or two appeared quiet,
intelligent men. I found that the head chief
had recently perished by accident in getting
in his corn. He indeed was a man of a much
higher class; he was acquainted with English
and general history, and was a thoughtful
reader of the English reviews and newspapers.
The object of my tour was explained to them,
and they were invited to atten^' he church
to-morrow morning, to give me opportu-
nity of addressing them. After a time we
found that twenty or thirty persons were
assembling in the cottage, and we went in
amongst them. We sat round the room in no
order, and if I were to speak of any assembly
which I had seen as most resembling it, I
should instance a parish vestry in a rural parish
in England, where not a man was present
above the lower class of farmers. After a
time the principal chief, who might easily
have been taken for a small farmer in England,

MEETING OF INDIANS.

icil. On
re found
it, some
to whom
;hief was
andsome

poverty
(d quiet,
?ad chief
I getting
f a much

English
loughtful
vspapers.

to them,
e church
opportu-

time we
)ns were
} went in
)om in no
assembly
ling it, I
iral parish
s present
. After a
yht easily
England,

rose and addressed himself to the part of the
room in which I sat. When he ceased, the
interpreter proceeded to explain what he had
said, and I perceived that it was addressed to
me, expressing their pleasure in my taking
an interest in their nation, their intention to
be present at service in the morning, and
their good wishes for my journey, &c. I
made a suitable reply, which was then inter-
preted to them. The same speaker tlien
addressed himself tc their own business, and
after a short speech which was interpreted to
Mr. Elliott, requested tl at gentleman to read
the draft of a petition which he had brought.
It was read and interpreted sentence by sen-
tence; and then one speaker after another
expressed his views, until the leading chief
informed Mr. Elliott that some of their num-
ber thought some mention might be made of
sundry other matters, about which they desired
redress: and finally it was arranged that a
council should be held on the ensuing Tues-
day, to come to an ultimate agreement.

The next day, at eleven o'clock, we went
to church, when Mr. Elliott read the prayers
in Mohawk. The prayer-books are printed in
Mohawk and English; and I observed that
even several of the Indians preferred to join

INDIAN CONGREGATION.

'-']

J-"

K -->:"^-

s.-

I _

l>i^ I

l.**^

vr^%

^vtmr

INDIAN CHUKOH OF TD8CAR0RA.

!'• i

! ■ I
II I

the English present in making the responses
in English. The propriety of demeanour,
the general responding and singing, were
very agreeable. The lessons were read in
English, and translated by the interpreter,
verse by verse. There were several liymns
sung in Mohawk and English at once; with-
out any appearance of confusion. The dif-
ferent parts of the harmonies were well sus-
tained: but the men's voices were very harsh,
and their singing very nasal; the women's,
on the contrary, were very sweet and musical.
Nothing can well be imagined more irksome,
than preaching by an interpreter; especially
in so diffuse a language as both the Mohawk
and Chippeway languages are. You feel that
in order not to make an outrageously long ser-

INDIAN CONGREGATION.

:^'-

esponses

neanour,

ig, were

read in

?rpreter,

il hymns

e; with-

The dif-

vell sus-

y harsh,

somen's,

musical.

rksome,

peeially

Mohawk

feel that

ong ser-

mon, it is necessary to compress your thoughts
into as few words as possible, — and then you
feel that they must be diluted and weakened
in the interpretation. You lose the agreeable
excitement by which you are carried on in
speaking in your own language, and miss
the kindling up of your hearer's looks, and
the increased and deepening attention, which
accompany your addressing those who under-
stand you at once. You feel your own voice
and manner become tame and spiritless, and
your sermon lose still more by the filtration
of interpreting. And then the Mohawk's
manner of speaking is so quiet and unimpas-
sioned, that if you had any little warmth of
feeling, it quickly cools down ; and you are
anxious to be speedily released from a posi-
tion which you fancy is agreeable neither to
your hearers nor to yourself. And yet I
believe my interpreter was heard with atten-
tion and feeling, whilst he gave them, sen-
tence by sentence, what was mostly an exhor-
tation to love and giod will and to the use of
private devotion, arising out of a portion of
the scripture for the day.

In the course of the morning I walked out
to visit the Indian cottages, and to take a

sketch of the old mission house. Mr. Elliott
F

INDIAN CHIEF.

took me into the house of the aged chief
whom we had met the preceding evening.
His Indian name is Oghnahwerea ; his Eng-
lish, Daniel Spring. He is a warrior chief,
and is the person who taught Mr. Elliott to
read the prayers in Mohawk. I saw a staff
on the floor, evidently carved by Indian
hands. I took it up and admired it, and
he subsequently gave it me. It became my
companion for the remainder of my tour, and
was a kind of passport to the good-will of the
Indians whom I afterwards encountered.

tt>

jd chief
iveiiing.
is Eng-
)r chief,
llliott to
J a staff
Indian
it, and
ime my
)ur, and
11 of the
ed.

(51 )

CHAPTER VI.

The same afternoon wf? drove to the Mo-
hawk village, at winch I was able to spend
but a small space of time : I saw, however,
the little church, and the school-room. The
former, like most of the Canadian churches,
is of wood, painted white, with a little bell
turret. At the upper end is a sort of pulpit,
divided in the middle, one side for the
preacher, the other for the interpreter ; be-
hind which, on the wall, are the Creed, Lord's
Prayer and Commandments, in the Mohawk
language. In front of it is the communion-
table, an arrangement derived from the
United States ; a little further down a sepa-
rate pew for the church-wardens. The rest
of the church is divided into open seats, one
side for the men, the other for the women :
In the church-yard are some tombstones and
wooden monuments, some with English, and

MOHAWK VILLAGE.

\ 1 ^

i> ':

l^^i

lii !

Others with Indian inscriptions. I copy one
of the latter : —

July

NiKYENH StAATS ETHONE

Yakonakeratonh 31. 1828.

NOKNEHJI NONWEHNONSAYA

lAE YE February 25trt, 1843.

Translation : — Ellen Staats born July 31,
1828, here turned again to earth February
25th, 1843.

I was shewn the communion plate given
by Queen Anne. It was at first a double set,
consisting of two flagons, chalices, and patens.
At present it is divided, half of it being at the
Mohawk settlement on the Bay of Quinte,
near Kingston. It is substantial, of good size,
but quite plain. Each piece has the following
inscription : —

" The gift of her Majesty Ann, (sic) by
the grace of God of Great Britain, France
and Ireland, and of her Plantations in North
America, Queen, to her Indian Chappel of
the Mohawks."

I need scarcely say that it is most highly
valued by them.

The school is taught by an intelligent
Englishman, and is upon a plan almost
exactly the same as that adopted in the

MOHAWK SCHOOL.

boardings and day schools for farmers' sons
in England. I saw the writing and cipher-
ing books of the boys. One wrote a good
free hand, and the other quite as good as
boys of the same age in similar schools in
England. The ciphering, I fhink, did not
generally extend beyond the rules of propor-
tion : one boy had been taught a little
geometry and surveying. I afterwards saw
the girls' school : they are taught reading,
writing, knitting and needlework. Their
appearance and behaviour was cleanly and
modest, without the extreme shyness of the
ordinary Indian children. Besides this there
are workshops for various handicrafts, in
which the boys are instructed out of school
hours: here I saw them employed in car-
pentry, smiths' work, waggon-making, and
shoe-making, under the direction of English-
men and Canadians. They appeared handy
and cheerful, but very shy, or at least silent.
This is the only establishn ent in which they
are boarded and lodged ; and the only one in
whicli they derive any great or marked ad-
vantage from their instruction. The number
of boys and girls together is, I believe, about
forty. The missionary at this station, Mr.

Nelles, has an excellent brick house and
f2

.11

INDIAN INTERPRETER.

h '■

: : I (

glebe, — in fact, one of the most comfortable
appointments in Canada.

Mr. Elliott was good enough to send us on
in his light waggon, with his interpreter, as
far as Oxford, or rather Ingersoll, of which
Mr. Rothwell was then the missionary. This
interpreter is the son of the (now) principal
chief of the Mohawks, and is the occupant of
about two hundred acres of land, which at
present he sublets : he is likewise heir to
the occupation of two hundred more. He
continues with Mr. Elliott without any other
remuneration than his board and lodging, and
such instruction as that gentleman chooses to
furnish him. Of the latter he appears to
have obtained as much as he contemplated :
but he is become so attached to the family,
that he stays on without any definite view,
beyond that of assisting his pastor and the
pleasure he derives from the gradual improve-
ment of his own mind by the society of the
family and visitors ; for he takes all his meals
at the same table with them. I was amused
bv the shrewdness and correctness of his
observations upon the national habits and
character of his employer's guests. From all
I can learn and observe, these Indians ap-
pear fully as well gifted with natural talent,

ll!

INDIAN CHARACTER.

and as capable of cultivation, as the children
of our own peasantry : but not a whit higher
in any respect. Their moral character like-
wise is pretty much on a par with that of
Englishmen in country districts ; in chastity,
no doubt, much hiirher.

On leaving the Mohawk village, we passed
tlirough the town of Brantford, once an In-
dian settlement, but now almost entirely in
the hands of the whites. Descending to the
banks of the river, and crossinir a lon^r
covered wooden bridge, which reminded me
of those I had met with in Switzerland, we
came on the lower ground, on which we were to
journey to reach our resting place for the
uight.

In taking leave of Mr. Elliott, I must not
omit to mention how much I was gratified to
observe his peculiar adaptation of character to
the simple people amongst whom he dwells,
and the entire confidence which subsists be-
tween him and his flock.

(56 )

CHAPTER VII.

I! ; i

, i r

•

On this part of our journey we were drawn
by a pair of Indian ponies, about fourteen
hands hi<^li. They are a short stout little
animal, of some spirit and great endurance;
and live very cheaply and hardily. They
took us Jiion^ over the good roads above
eight miles an hour, from about three to one
o'clock in the night : but a large portion of
the road was not good, and therefore our pace
was slower, although perhaps more fatiguing
to the animal. In proceeding on our way
we made the discovery that the place to
which we were directed, viz., Oxford, had no
existence ; that there was a township of
Oxford, divided into East and West, but that
there was no such place as Oxford. Fortu-
nately one of our informants happened to
know the clergyman to whose house we were
going, and his place of residence, and di-
rected us to inquire for Ingersoll. We went
on with much misgiving, knowing that if we

JOURNEY TO INGERSOLL.

got on the wrong road, we might go many a
mile before we found any one to repair our
error. There were two roads to take, one the
ordinary road of the country, the other par-
tially planked and macadamised, and we were
advised to take the latter. What the former
might have proved, we of course do not know ;
but the latter proved disagreeable enough.
About ten miles of it v.cie in the course of
being planked ; and the planking was not
carried on uniformly from one point to
another, but the worst parts appeared to have
been selected : I mean those which were most
swampy. The plank, it is true, so far as it
was finished, which might be one fourth, was
pleasant enough; but it was questionable
whether the road on the whole was not in a
worse state than if nothing had been done to
it. In those parts where the process of lay-
ing down the planks was going on, we were
often obliged to take the sides of the road,
which were of course very rough and uneven,
and in parts almost impassable. In other
parts the ground was being prepared, by dig-
ging out trenches for the long beams to which
the plank was to be fastened, and laying down
the beams themselves; and we were compelled
to flounder along on these as we could. The

n T

ROUGH ROADS.

vt (

thing became much worse after night fall.
We were compelled mostly to proceed at a
foot's pace ; and when we came to one of these
spots, we alighted till it was passed. But it
was still worse, when after trotting along
pleasantly on a bit of plank, we suddenly
came down on these beams and holes. In
short, it must be evident that English horses
would have been down a dozen times in the
course of an hour ; but our little Indians
went through it all most patiently, and were
perfectly ready for a merry trot when we
came to a bit of plank. In<leed, Canadian
horses in general are remarkably sure-footed,
and a broken knee I have not yet noticed.
The country on the banks of the Grand
River was fine and picturesque ; but on
leaving Brantford we got into a dead level,
from which we did not emerge materially
till after night-fall. The country conse-
quently became uninteresting, consisting of
little but a succession of forest and rough
clearings. Here I had an opportunity of
witnessing the clearing process in all its
stages. In one place might be seen a few
trees cut down, and the first rough shanty of
boards set up, with which by the bye many
of the Irish appear to content themselves

PROCESS OF CLEARING.

many

altogether for two or three years together.
Then about an acre, with the trees felled,
and lying irregularly about ; about a couple
of roods cleared in the centre of it, a small
log cottage set up, and the rest j)lanted with
potatoes. This would be fenced in perhaps
with the boards of the original shanty, nailed
to a few stumps and small trees, with their
tops cut off and left rooted in the ground, as
at first I whilst here and there a stump ap-
pears in the midst of the vegetation ; and
a rough little cow or two might be seen
picking about by the road side, or in the still
untouched forest. A further step would be,
to see some of the tree-trunks laid one on
another longitudinally, to form a rude pro-
tection to the future field, and the rest cut up
in lengths, and drawn together in heaps, and
burning with more or less of vigour ; whilst
interspersed would be the ashes and black-
ened remains of former heaps, and here and
there a curling wreath of smoke, telling of
smouldering embers still unquenched. The
burning of the timber trees, however, is a
process resorted to only in those remote parts
where timber or fire-wood finds no market, —
such as those we passed through to-day.
Nearer the towns, (and indeed every where,

PROCESS OF CLEARING.

when the farms have grown up over the
country,) the timber trees are pre])are(l for the
market, either hy beinj^ squared with the axe,
or by beisig sawed up into lengths to make
boards, or by being chopped and split into
billets of four feet in length for firewood.
Much valuable timber, and wood which will
one day be prized as ornamental, is now
tre.ited in the way last mentioned, owing to
the abundance of the supply which nature has
provided. In this case jnly the brushwood
is committed to the flames ; whilst the whole
of the clearing becomes piled over with stacks
of wood, which the woodman has thus cut
down and arranged at a given price per acre.
This is the plan in the most populous dis-
tricts : but in those I was speaking of, tim-
ber is at first simply an incumbrance to the
earth, or at best a manure to the first crops;
and therefore the sooner and the easier it can
be applied to its use, the better.

But we come to another clearing, whicli is
a year further in advance. Here the space
for the garden is augmented, and enclosed
with a snake-fence ; a shed or two is erected,
or it may be a little outhouse ; the whole of
the trees are gone from the first clearing,
and perhaps from a second, leaving only

PROCESS OF IMPROVEMENT.

the stumps ; a crop of grain or of Indian
corn covers the ground, and the original pro-
cess is extending itself over a further portion
of the forest. Further on the process has ad-
vanced another step. The original rough fence
of trees no longer appears, but is replaced by
the snake fence. What was cropped with
grain is laid down to gr.iss ; the crops of grain
and corn extend on all sides, and the forest
recedes into the background: comfortable
stables and barns are erected ; an addition is
perhaps made to the log hut; the chimney,
which was of wood, filled in and plastered
with clay, is replaced by one of brick or stone,
built up from the g''ound : the waggon or
sleigh is lying about ; a pair of horses may
be seen grazing in the pasture, in addition
to the half-dozen of cows and calves ; and if
the man is an Englishman or native Canadian,
a few flowers make their apj)earance in the
garden.

As we approach the older settled country,
the rough clearings scarcely appear, such as
the first I described : the farm buildings, (all
of wood) become capacious, and are kept in
good order. There is a good garden with
upright paling or boards; and a substantial
frame-house, painted white or rough-cast,

♦ I

G'2

CANADIAN FENCES.

with its neat verandah, and pretty green
Frencli blinds, sliows that the occupier has
triumphed over necessity, and possesses both
leisure and ability to think of comfort, even
perhaps of elegance. There are multitudes
of these dwellings in all parts of the country :
they have a lively and elegant appearance ;
and though they will no doubt, for comfort
sake, in time give way to the dwelling of
plain red brick, as they are doing in the
neighbourhood of towns, the prospect will
then have lost much of its beauty.

I mentioned just now the snake-fence;
and that leads me to make a little digression
on the siil)ject offences. The rudest is that
which I mentioned a short time since, formed
by piling up trunks of trees longitudinally
one U[)on another, and securing them in their
position by various devices; such as stumps re-
maining in suitable positions on each side of the
line they take, shorter trunks resting against
them, small trees driven into the ground,
&c. &c. Another kind of rude fence is made
of small trees, from four to nine inches in
diameter. These are cut into equal lengths,
laid longitudinally with their ends resting on
each other alternately, and supported on each
side by stout stakes driven perpendicularly

SNAKE FENCE.

6;3

green
ier has
es both
t, even
ititudes
nintry :
irance ;
comfort
ling of

in the
?ct will

-fence ;
rression
t; is that
formetl
ulinally
in their
imps ro-
le of the
against
ground,
is made
ches in
lengths,
iting on
on each
licularly

into the ground. But by far the most popular
fence is the snake-fence, which is thus con-
structed : a pine, or any other tree which
splits readily, is cut into ten-feet lengths, and
then cleft with the axe into rails. A set of
them are j)laced on the ground in a zigzag
line, with their ends resting on each other;
another and another set are laid upon the
others to the requisite height, and the result
is that you have a self-supporting fence made
in a very few hours. If you add rails resting
with one ei d in the ground, the other on
the fence at the corners on either side, and
crossing each other at top, and lay another
set of rails on the top of these, you have a
very efficient and durable mode of enclosure,
rather aA^kward indeed and straggling, but
at the same time very picturesque. Its
zigzag course gives it its name.

When the snake-fence decays, or the farmer
gets tired of its appearance, he replaces it in
various ways : one of the most favourite
seemii to be much such a one as I described
as made of small trees ; excepting that it is
composed of split rails, and the uprights
carefully pinned together with wooden pins.
Sometimes cedar posts are let into the
ground, and rou^h boards nailed to them ;

CANADIAN FENCES.

sometimes posts and rails of neat-sawn tim-
ber; again upright pales of all descriptions.
But we rarely indeed see any attempt at a
hedge ; and the hawthorn hedge of Old Eng-
land is almost unknown; I believe totally un-
known except in a few pleasure-grounds, and
on a single farm in the township of Etobicoke.
There are two in the grounds of the house in
which I reside, which was formerly the resi-
dence of Bishop Stewart ; and strangers fre-
quently stop to look at them. There are
however thorns of the country which are
occasionally employed in the same way, but
very rarely indeed. I may likewise remark,
that a ditch is very seldom seen upon a Cana-
dian farm; and I imagine an under-drain
is equally rare.

To return to our journey : — We stopped
to refresh both ourselves and our beasts a
little after eight o'clock, and were not enabled
to get off again till ten ; the landlord evi-
dently intending that we should stay with
him all night. On turning out of the inn
yard we found ourselves uj»on a new mac-
adamised road, a great part of which was quite
rough with newly-laid stone, — not broken
quite according to Mr. McAdam's rules, — and
of course very troublesome to our ponies,

ARRITAL AT INGEBSOLL.

are

being; a thing of which they liad no experi-*
ence : part was spread over lightly with
gravel, and in no small portion the heaps of
gravel were thrown down, but not yet spread :
perhaps half was well broken. It may be
imagined that our progress was not very
rapid. When we arrived at Ingersoll, there
were but two lights burning in the scattered
village, and, instead of making any attempt
to discover Mr. Rothwell's place of residence,
we were glad to take refuge in the inn for
the night.

G 2

( 66 )

CHAPTER VIII.

Next morning before breakfast I found out
Mr. Kothwell, who lived on his farm about a
mile distant. He had come to Canada, from
Ireland, some fourteen years before, in the
idea that clergymen were in great request,
and that he should much benefit himself ulti-
mately by the step. When he arrived he
found no prospect of employment; and there-
fore purchased some wild land, and got up a
log house, consisting of two rooms, in which
himself and Mrs. Kothwell had to live, and
in which she had to prepare single-handed
the meals for themselves and their work-
people ; for, at first, owing to the antipathy
of the neighbouring Wesleyans and Ro-
manists to the Church, she could get no
servant whatever. It may be supposed that
a person of good education and some accom-
plishment, would find this a state of great
hardship ; but, as she assured me, it turned

EMIGRANT CLERGYMAN.

out much less tlian she had expected. In time
they got a frame house erected : Mr. Roth-
well was requested by some chuich-people
to officiate, and by degrees made his way
amongst them. After a while he put himself in
communication with the bishop, and went on
under his sanction ; and, subsequently, was
placed on the list of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, and had a salary
assigned him. Now they have a good farm
arouiid them, another inferior one in the
hands of a tenant, and a very respectable
little church. 'I'he great drawback appears
to be the want of suitable society for them-
selves or their children, and the almost total
destitution of means of education, extiepting
such as they themselves can give. And here
it struck me. as it did on other occasions,
how advantageous it is that the country clergy
of Canada, until a competent provision can
be made for them, should be practical farmers.
It would no doubt be better that they should
be fully engaged in the duties of their calling;
for there is far more work to be done than
they can ever hope to do. For this reason, it
would likewise be better tha^; they should be
unmarried men, and scarcelv have a settled
dwelling-place, but live about amongst their

8'. I

:^EW LONDON.

1^1

people. But we must t«ke men as they are.
Few are able to bear up against spiritual toil
and labour, without somethin:^ to fall back
upon, — without some human heart to which
they might unbosom their thoughts and feel-
ings, — without some object of human affec-
tion. And that being the case, I cannot but
believe that more clergy could be provided,
and a more independent position given them,
if they were so much of farmers as to be able,
with t'le aid of one trustworthy servant, each
to oversee such a farm hh would provide them
with the necessaries of life, and leave such
salaries as they might receive to go towards
the education of their children, and (if any
thing remained) towards a provision for set-
ting them out in various walks of life.

Mr. llothvvell was good enough to send me
on in his waggon, driven by his little boy,
to London, to Mr. Cronyn, the rector of the
place. He lives in an excellent residence
of his own, built with stone, and surrounded
by a small farm, which he manages himself.
I was not able to stay with him, and he kindly
took me on to Delaware, the residence of
Mr. Flood, missionary to the Munsey Indians
on the Thames. In passing through the
pretty little town, I became acquainted with a

DRIVE TO DELAWARE.

little example of the working of town councils,
under the operation of what is thought public
spirit. A sum of money had been voted by
the legislature for the district schools; and Sir
C. Metcalfe, the Governor, had directed the
common-council to be consulted as to the best
means of applying it. Instead of directing
their attention to the point submitted to them
by the governor, they immediately looked
upon the sum of money voted as placed at
tlieir disposal, and deliberated in what way
they should apply it for the general promo-
tion of education, irrespective of the claims
of the district school. I heard that it was
with difficulty that the M.P.P., Mr. Lawra-
son, prevailed so far as to obtain a part of the
money for the assistant at the district school,
reserving the rest entirely unappropriated.
Much of the road to Delaware was throutrh

a rich country ; and we crossed the Thames
twice. As we approached Delaware, we
found we had to descend from the high ground
into a broad valley ; and the view from the
eminence was very fine. Here was one of
the specimens of the vast works which are
going on in Canada at present. The top of
the hill, both here and a mile in advance, is
being taken off to a depth of twenty feet, and

ARRIVAL AT DELAWARE.

an emUaiikment of fifteen feet in height is
beinjr carried across the valley, and, with a
very lonj; and substantial wooden bridge,
over the Thames.

We reached Delaware to tea, when we
found the house quite full. Mr. Cronyn
made room for us, by taking away one of the
party ; and we were soon established for the
night.

t 1»
th a

(71 )

we
»nyn
"the

the

CHAPTER IX.

Hfiving mentioned my wishes to Mr. Flood,
he very kindly arranged to ttike me over to
his Indian Mission of Munsey Town, in the
only possible way, viz., on horse-back, there
being no carriage track to within a mile and
a half. It was twelve miles, mostly along a
bush track ; and I had not ridden as many
miles in the last six years; but it was the
only way, and I was resigned. We set out
next morning after breakfast, and soon turned
off the high-road into the bush. We tra-
velled more than six miles through lands
partially cleared and under cultivation ; and
the high trees were a delightful shelter
from the scorching sun. The first Indian
dwellings we came in sight of were the
Onidas, on the other bank of the river.
They were a set of people who had once lived
in the United States. As population in-

RIDE TO MUNSEY TOWN.

A SQUAW.

creased, tlie government tliought it desirable
to buy them out, and by means of their
missionaries nejrociated the purchase of their
lunds, and their removal beyond the Missis-
sippi. A portion of them were displeased
with the part the missionaries had taken in
the transaction, and refused to accompany
them ; they therefore took their fifty dollars
per acre, and removed into Canada, where
purchasinjr land at less than a tenth of that
sum, they found themselves rich men. They
live in small frame cottages, with a garden
and little farm adjoining them, and subsist on
the produce of their lands. They are still
mostly heathen, but several of them attend
Mr. Flood's chapel, at four miles distance.
After a mile or two we began to ascend, and
met a party of Indians and others, going to
the superintendent, in consequence of a

!■

I
I

'! ;

M
H

HEATHEN TEMPLE.

quarrel hetweoii an Indian and a nou^ro wo-
man, a servant to a person residin;^ amon<rst
thorn. We now hen^an to find the Indian
cottajfes on each side of ns, mostly of one
room each, and rather ditt'erin^ in structure
from those of the Canadians, l»ein;r covered
with larger shin^^les, or with hark. We
passed the ruined remains of the ancient
heathen temple ; which was however notliinyj
hut a!J old lou: house of lar^^er si/e than usual.
I did not hear that they performed any acts
of worship in it ; hut, on occasion of their
assemhliuv*-, it was customary tor the priests,
after tlie cliiefs had disposed themselves on a
sort of seat round the aj)artmeiit, to pass
round it, trailini( the sludl of the land turtle.
When any one felt moved to speak, he stoj>pe(l
the shell, and held it in his hand while sj)eak-
ini^ : when he held finished, he <j^ave it back
to the priest, who repeated the operation until
there was no one left <lesirous of speakinj^.
The roof of the buildinij' was removed about
two years a;^o by an Indian whose residence
was close at hand, and who wished to make
some imj)rovement on his own premises; and
at this present time there is not a trace of it
left. The place was in use for some time
after Mr. Flood came to the mission: but the

MUNSEY-TOWN.

whole of these Indians have disused their
heathen customs, although comparatively a
small portion have become Christians.

There is a Wesleyan mission adjoining
that of the Church; and, when our missionary
began to make a little progress, they actually
sent out their emissaries to dissuade the
heathen Indians from attending his preach-
ing; but without success. After this they
brought up their famous Indian preacher,
Peter Jones, from the River Credit, to
strengthen their interest; but this did not
avail, and they fell into hopeless anarchy.
This is indeed only a specimen of the action
of the Canadian Wesleyans in various parts
of the province. They appear more anxious
to hinder the Church from doing good, than
to do it themselves. Those connected with
the British body are, I believe, of a somewhat
better stamp.

When we arrived on the first ojien spot on
the banks of the river, we found a few Indian
cottages, which are dignified with the name
of Munsey Town. The Munseys are a
branch of the Delawares, who came into
Canada about forty years ago to assist the
British against the people of the States.
Their dwellings are of different grades, from

?d their

tively a

djoinin^

ssionary

actually

ade the

preach-
his they
)reacher,
redit, to

did not
anarchy,
le action
)U8 parts
t anxious
lod, than
;ted with
omewhat

) spot on
w Indian
the name
^s are a
iime into
issist the
e States,
des, from

IVDIAN UTENSILS.

the little bark hut, about eight feet in every
direction, to the log cottage, with two rooms
on the ground floor and bed rooms above.
This is the highest state to which the Indian
farmer lias yet arrived. I noticed a sort of
club, lartfe at one end and small in the mid-
dle ; a;id I found that it is the pestle with
which the Indian women pound the maize,
of which they make their food. When
j)oun(le(l, it is made into a kind of soup,
either with or without the flesh of wild ani-
mals. Sometimes it is roasted before being
pounded to be made into soup ; it is likewise
made into a sort of cake, and baked over the
fire. The mortar in which it is pounded is
part of a tree hollowed out. The Iiulians at
])rrsent use utensils of metal, j)rocured from
white j)eople ; but anciently they had a kind
of pottery, made of the clay of the country
and some description of broken stone or small
gravel; of which there are some slight speci-
mens in the museum of the University at
Toronto.

After i){issing the first knot of cottages, we
struck into a track which has no room for
wheels; and, after a picturesque ride of about
a mile along the })anks of the river Thames,
we came upon tlie mission-house, a small
h2

MISSION HOUSE AND CHAPEL.

frame building, in a rough enclosure of the
ordinary snake-fence of the country. We
pulled down the rails, and took our horses into
the little stable. Here the missionary keeps
his ])ed, and a few chairs and books, and some
cooking utensils, a.jd so on. A married Indian
is his housekeeper, who ordinarily occupies
the kitchen ; but has built himself a little log
cabin of two apartments, to occupy when his
princi})al is there. Sometimes in the win'n
the missionary will happen to be snowed up,
and cannot get away for several days. Once
he lost himself in the woods, and was com-
pelled to remain there all night. It is re-
markable that, if a white person loses his way
in the bush, he is almost sure to travel in u
circh' ; I have mys-^lf found this by expe-
rience; whilst the Indian, in. his wild state,
will set oft* upon a journey of hundreds of
miles throuirh the forest, and travel almost
in a straight line. U[)on leaving the mission
house, we walked about half a mile to the
school-room (which is used Jis a chaj)el), and
the schoolmaster's residence. The school-
room is built of squared logs, and is ca})able
of containing about a hundred ; but it has no
fittings beyoiul some rough desks and benches,
and is neither phistered nor ceiled. 1 saw a

I I

INDIAN POPULATION.

carpenter's bench in it, on which some one
had evidently been workinj^. There is a
small pent-house coverinj^ a bell, vhi'di was
provided by the Indians themselves, at an
expense jf sixty dollars.

The services in the jchool-roam are two in
number on every Sunday, ai'.d conducted by
the missionary and schoolm.'ister, on altorna:e
Sundays. The whole population, under the
direction of the missioiuiry, are — Munseys
230, ]'otawotimies 20 ; but besides these,
there are in the neiij^hbourhood, Onidas 600,
and Chippeways (>()0. The mission was es-
tiiblished in 1835: the first convert was the
liadiuir chief of the Munseys — Capt. Snake:
he was baptized in 1838. The whole num-
ber of baptized persons, includinir children,
is about one hundred, of whom about forty-
five are communicants, and thirty the average
attendance at the school. Mr. Flood appears
evidently attached to this part of his fiock,
with wjjom he would willingly reside entirely,
and end his days amongst them. The Mun-
seys live in common upon their lands, culti-
vatin;^ what they like. The adjoining Chij)-
peways have received allotments from the
liritish Government, who built their cottages
for them. On our return, we stopped to

S-2

INDIAN BURIAL GROUND.

take a look nt tlie Indian burial ground.
Kacli jrrave is fenced in hy a rude hut neat
railinir (one very recent <^rave had a palisade);
and a rail ))assinjr athwart supports an uj)ri<^ht
])<)st, cut into sJiape, which rises a little above
the centre. There is no enclosure, nor any
inscription ; and the shrubs are suffered to
jJTow on and about the uraves, as nature
chances to direct. We «^ot home about seven
o'clock, after the most fatinuin«f ride I over
took. The ordinary ])ace we went was a kind
of farmer's jo;j^, which with my animal was
very rouyfii. shakinj; every bone in my body:
— when 1 ^-ot him into a trot, Mr. Flood's
steed adopted that ])ecnliar run, which in
('annda, constitutes a horse a rachcr^ because
it ))Uts his rider on the rack. That beinir
ratlier worse than the other j>ace, we seldom
continued it lon;^ to;r(.ther. I was asleep
almost before I had finished dinner, and
retired early to rest.

(^)

CHAPTER X.

'i'he next morniiiir, l)y Mrs. Flood's kind
caro, we ^ot an early breakfast, and I took
my seat in a two-horse sta^e for Chatham.
It travelled, on the whole, at less than six
miles an honr, hnt was aureeahle, as afford-
int( a shelter from the scorchin*^ \wi\t. The
road is a government one, and tiirnpiked
throughout, and therefore reckoned a gootl
road in Ciinada; hut it is full of inequalities
at its i)est. When we got about a third of
our way, the covered carriai^e was exchantred
for an open country waggon, which enabled
us to get along about two miles an hour
faster, but ex|)osed us to the broiling heat and
dust for the rest of the day. The country
through which we j)assed was very various.
In the early part of the journey it was rather
level, considerably cleared, and good farms
on the road side ; !)ut the buildings of all
kinds not in so advanced a state as farther
east. The shingle was larger and rougher;
sometimes bark was used instead of shingle

\i ;

FOREST SCENERY.

for the roofs; occasionally the walls of the
farm buildings were formed entirely of bark.
The character of the timber, too, varied with
the soil: on one spot it would be almost
entirely pine ; then again the pine was en-
tirely excluded, and the beech and maple,
and butternut and hickory prevailed. Some-
times ash and birch, and poplar, and alder,
would be the prevalent timber; sometimes
arbor-vita3 and cedar would come in largely ;
and in one spot, timber trees were only thinly
scattered, and sas.nafras and dog-wood, and
the black cherry, 'ind hazel, and blue beech,
and many kinds of shrub totally unknown to
me, or known only as ornaments to English
shrubberies, prevailed for two or three miles
together. This indeed was the prettiest drive
I ever took in Canada, and more resembled
one of the wilder portions of a gentleman's
grounds than any thing I have seen since I
left England. At a little distance to the
right was the broad, straight, and fyrmal
government road, not quite finished ; but I
could not avoid looking forward with regret
to the day when the public would be confined
to the latter, and excluded from the exqui-
site little drive I was then enjoying.

I observed that the road was formed almost

CANADIAN BIRDS.

ilmost

all the way through from Delaware to Chat-
ham, but in considerable portions it was not
yet open to the public; and on the more
recent portions which were oj)en, it was very
odd to be cuttinjr a narrow track between
forests of }i;ig;antic weeds on each side. It was
curious, too, tlwit these weeds appeared to lie
in distinct species, according to the nature of
the soil. Here would be a mile or two of mul-
leins, then another mile of wild chamomile ;
then thistles would be the prevalent growth;
then again the thorn apple; then the milk-
thistle. I could not help remarking how the
rabbits would enjoy themselves in the latter;
but alas! the rabbit is not indigenous to
Canada.

I have said nothing of the birds: but in-
deed we saw numy beautiful birds in dilVerent
j)arts of our journey. Most of the Canadian
birds are more beautiful than the English.
Tliere are small black-birds, which are gre-
garious, and blue-birds, and blue-jays, and
red-breasts, (a kind of thrush), and conunon
thrushes, and yellow-birds, nut-hatehes, high-
holders, sparrows in abundance, wo()dj)eekers,
liawks, war-birds, and many others, of which
I do not know the names: but the Woodpecker
tribe seems the most numerous; and the lar-

RIVER SCENERY.

gest species, known as the king of the woods,
is a very handsome creature. It is not true,
as some imagine, that the feathered tribes of
this continent have no song: several species
are vocal, and sing very prettily ; and the
song-thrush (whatever its native name may
be), is but little inferior to that of England.
It is very observable, however, that there are
many more birds in those parts which are
partially cleared, than in those where the
forest reigns undisturbed.

Towards the middle of the day, we touched
again upon the Thames, and from that time
we were continually encountering it, and
every time it became moi*e beautiful. Its
banks, which are steep and precipitous, were
covered with pine timber, more or less, to
the water's e(\ge ; here and there they were
quite out into the water; and in one part,
near Chatham, there were little woody islets
in the stream, which added much to its beauty.
In parts where the land had been cleared, and
only a portion of the trees left standing, the
effect was as fine as that of any river scenery
I have seen in England, perhaps finer.

Towards the middle of the day, I heard
much conversation on the subject of an affray
which bad taken place between the labourers

AFFRAY

! woods^
ot true,
ribes of
species
[\iul the
me may
jitj;lai»(l.
here are
liich are
lere the

. touehed
hat time
; it, ami
iful. Its
ous, were
r less, to
hey were
one part,
ody islets
its beauty.
L»are(l, and
iidinj?, the
er scenery

ner.

^, 1 heard
,f an affray
3 labourers

on tlie p^overnment road, and the inhabi-
tants of a viliajre on the road. From what
I could learn, it seemed that one or two of
the former, who were mostly Irish papists,
had used some insultinj^ lan^uajjje towards
one of the latter, which he resented, and a
fi^ht ensued, in which the Irishman was
worsted. His companions thereupon came
in and inflicted vengeance upon the victor.
Tlie townspeople stood by their friend, and
a state of open warfare ensued, in which
bludgeons and fire-arms were employed ; and
the townspeople were obliged to form them-
selves into a watch for self protection. In
what stage of the proceedings I hardly know,
an appcfd was made to a nei^bourin^ magis-
trate for protection : but it happened that he
was the boon companion of the Irishmen, and
in the habit of playing the fiddle for them at
their dances ; the result was, that he took the
part of the assailants. IIow it ended, I know
not; but I mention it to show what kind of
persons mm/ be magistrates in Canada. One
thing is certain, that the Irish were so manif
festly in the wrong, that some of their co-
religionists residing in the town took a deci-
ded part against thera..

About lialf way we passed on our left hand,

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

l.i

1.25

|2| 112.5

^ lis MM

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1.8

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fliotographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WfcST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 873-4503

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8fi

MORAVIAN INDIANS.

1' iil ■! • <

across the Thames, the picturesque little vil-
lage of Moravian Town, a mission of that body
of lontr stamliiiij. I heard hi^'h things of its
progress before I left home; but tlie inquiries
I made of various persons along the road, did
not lead me to think that it was ac all in ad-
vance of our own Mohciwk village. They
have however daily ])rayer, twice a day, and
under the former missionary appear to have
been in excellent training; but his successor
seems to have less influence, and liidians
being like children, requiring constant super-
vision and discij)line, they have fallen off in
correctness of habits.

One thing, however, seems pretty clear,
viz., that the acknowledged superiority of
these Moravian Indians over the ordinary run
of tluMt nation, arises chiefly from these cir-
cumstances, that the Moravians have joined
agriculture and handicrafts with religion, —
have brought the Indians into daily inter-
course with themselves in the concerns of
common life, and have trained them in the
habit of daily joint devotion.

We got into Chatham in the evening, and
I called on the Rector, Mr. Hobson, who was
once a Congregationalist. Being a bachelor,
and living in lodgings, he could not offer me

CHATHAM.

tie vil-
it body
s of its
qiiiries
ad, did
. in ad-
They
ly, and
to have
iccessor
Indians
t super-
n off in

y clear,

aritv of
lary run
bese cir^
e joined
ligion, —
ly inter-
cerns of
m in the

the hospitaliry which a Canadian clero-vman
generally chiims to exercise towards a brother
cleriryman : so that I staid at the inn, which
was not of a very hi«j^h character. Findin^r
that the steamboat for Detroit would not ^>-o
till Monday, I tried to obtain a conveyance
to Sandwich by land ; but finding that it w^s
rather doubtful, from the state of the roads,
whether any pair of horses could get in before
a very late hour indeed, and that the expense
would be considerable, I determined to re-
main where 1 was. During the whole of
Saturday night I suffered from an attack of
cholera, and next day I with great difficulty
fulfilled my engagement to Mr. Hobson, to
preach twice for him.

The Church seems to be prospering in
Chatham, and would do se more, were it not
that the edifice for divine worship lies quite
out of the town-

ling, and
, who was
bachelor,
: offer me

w^.

[90]

CHAPTER XI.

On Monday we took tlic boat for Detroit,
down the Thames, and through Lnke St.
Ciair, and the river of that name. I was un-
well, and saw l)ut little to interest me, except-
m\r the pieturesque little church belon<):intr
to the French settlers on the Thames. These
are a portion of the remains of the old French
colonies, extendintr from Lower Canada to
I ,ake Superior, and thence down the Ohio
and Mississippi, to New Orleans. How
strauiire, tliat a nation which could found
colonies so extensive, should so entirely have
lost them; that the revolted British colonies
should be permitted to succeed and prosper,
whilst France, who aided them in their revolt,
was entirely stripped of hers. But perhaps
we may perceive how just it was, that a
monarch who could aid the colonies of another
monarch, in renouncing their allegiance,
should be punished by the loss of his own
colonies; and that his offence, being totally
without justification of any kind, should be
signally avenged; whilst the rebellious sub-
jects of England, (having some sort of

niENCII CANADIANS.

cxonse for their fault), should be allowed to
work out their national chastisement by their
own hands, and at a more distant period,
which seems frradually and inevitably ap-
proaching. Tiie lands on each side of the
Thames, below Chatham, are chiefly settled
by persons of French extraction; and though
fertile, are not well cultivated, owin^r to the
inherent want of enterprize of the French
Canadians. Their cotta<j^es are likewise of
an inferior cast, compared with those of any
other of the settlers, exceptintj^ the low Irish.
They have a burial ground at Chatham; but
I do not think that their s])iritual wants are
well provided for, even accordintr to their
own system. Indeed, this is generally the
case with re^^ardto the Roman Catholics of the
Upper Province; — which seems the more un-
accountable, inasmuch as the rule of celibacy
amongst their clergy, and their being mostly
taken from the inferior classes, remove the
great obstacle felt in the Church of England
to the eftectual provision of the ministers of
the Church, — viz., the want of adequate funds
for their maintenance. Amongst Protestants
there would not be the slightest difficulty in
finding the necessaries of life amongst the
people themselves, if a class of men could be

DETROIT.

iiitroduce'l into holy orders, who would be
williiiiT to live entirely amori«r.st them, and
conform to their habits, and to be dependent
upon their voluntary aid. The house of the
Canadian settler is always j»ladly open to the
minister of religion, with whom he rejoices
to share whatever he has, so long as he chooses
to stay: the only difficulty is that it appears
impossible with us to find men properly qua-
lified who would submit permanently to such
a life. But with Roman Catholics one should
have supposed that the case was different, and
therefore it is the more unaccountable that
their people should be so slightly provided
with the ministrations of their clergy.

The passage through Lake St. Clair to De-
troit is very beautiful, and especially the
approach to that city by water. It rises pic-
turesquely from the bay, its foreground filled
with the gay steamers and rakish looking
schooners which distinguish the ports of the
States, — and the centre of the town adorned
with the towers and spires of a cluster of
churches. This last, however, is only a
beauty to the eye, and even to that only at a
distance. On a nearer approach to the build-
ings themselves, their architecture is slight
and poor, and full of unreal pretension ; and

DETROIT.

inquiry slievvL that tlicy arc only a sym1>ol of
that Isabel confusion on roli^rjous subjects
wliich has o])litcrate(l tho idea of one true
church,— which classes all churches alike as
pretenders whose claims are unncknowledired
except by a portion of the population,— wldch
insults and decrrades all alike, by oivin<r them
an ecpial share of some reserved spot of «iround
on which to erect their edifice and ceb'brato
their worship,— which proclaims to the eye,
and we fear largely likewise to the mind, that
there is no certainty of religious opinion, and
no ascertainable truth.

Detroit is the place of residence of the
Bishop of Michigan, Dr. Samuel INIcCoskry.
I had an introduction to him from a common
friend, which I lost no time in presenting.
The l)ishop received me in that fnink and
cordial manner with which the clergy of the
Church of England are always welcomed b
those of the sister church in the United States,
—and not only extended to me his kind hos-
pitality during my stay in Detroit, but shewed
every disposition to forward my wishes in
regard to my further progress. I was too
unwell to feei much pleasure from anything
at the time, but shall always remember his
hearty kindness, and that of his estimable

! ( J

k i

i ■

: I \

1 ,: j;

if!

' t

CHURCH ARRANGEMENTS.

ludy, — of whom, personally, I should wish to
say more, did I not feel that doing so would
be an unwarrantable intrusion into domestic
privacy.

Being detained at Detroit for two days, I
had the opportunity of becoming acquainted
with some of the church people there, whom
I found earnest and intelligent. There
appeared a very friendly disposition towards
England and her Church, and I was assured
that such a feeling was very prevalent amongst
well-inform .»d persons. On Wednesday even-
ing I preached to a small but attentive con-
gregation.

The internal arrangements of the church
here, like all those which it has been my
fortune to see in the States, and several in
Canada, were highly objectionable. The
object which terminates the view on entering
is the organ; immediately in front of it is
the pulpit, then the reading desk, and lowest
of all the communion table ; and whilst the
two former are adorned with hangings, the
latter is quite bare, and half overshadowed
by the hangings of the desk; and besides
this is made to appear as a mere stand for
the font, which is placed upon it. On either
side of the latter is a chair, of which that on

CHURCH ARRANGEMENTS.

the right is reserved for the bishop, and that
on the left occupied by any cler<ryman who
happens to be assisting in the performance of
divine service; but there was nothirvr but its
place to mark the bishop's chair; and in offici-
ating, he wore the surplice and stele, like any
ordinary clergyman. In fact, like most of
the bishops in the States, he is *Jie Rector of
the parish in which he resides, and performs
all the duties of a parish priest. There was
another thing which I remarked, viz., that
the pews were mostly lined, and many of
them cushioned and stuffed in a style we
should be ashamed of in England. The con-
trast between the luxury of the worshippers,
and the slighting treatment of the holy table,
and the want of a fitting position for the
bishop, was most revolting to my feelings.
On the former subject I ventured to express
myself to the bishop, (to whom it is due to
say, that he neither made this arrangement
nor approves of it,) and prophesied that how-
ever earnest he might be in asserting church
principles, — which he evidently is,— it would
be to little purpose, so long as the arrange-
ments of the church threw such contempt on
the highest mystery of the christian religion.
No doubt the Church in Detroit, as every

fH5

CHURCH ARRANGEMENTS.

; (•

where on this continent, is increasing^ rapidly
in numbers, chiefly by converts from other
bodies; but lean never believe that its ad-
lierents are true sons of the Church, so long
as personal luxury, and the exaltation of
preachiuir, and low estimation of the Holy
Communion, are marked characteristics of so
many of their Innises of worship. I am told
indeed that in the east matters are much bet-
ter; but I repeat, that in every one of their
churelies which I have hai)pened to see, the
communion table has been totally unadorned,
and ])]aced in front or on the side of the desk,
which has always been adorned. And in one
I remember to have found it all covered on
the Sunday with the droppings of candles,
whilst in another there were two tables, one
on each side of the desk ; one for the Holy
Communion, the other " to correspond".
During my brief visit, I had many opportu-
nities of noticing that the Bishop of Michigan
is a very j)opular person, and much respected
by all classes of persons. Many persons
touched their hats to him as he passed along
the street. He associated with his people
much as the Vicar of a country town in
England would do, and is in no way distin-
guished in dress from an ordinary clergyman.

DETROIT.

I was at first rather puzzled Low to address

McCoskry;' a,.d as "Doctor" is very cheap
." he States, that did not appear sufficient
liut I soon found that his own people called
h.m "B,shop,"_and although that again
sounded too familiar, I was obliged to I.e
conteiued with it. I fi„d since that thi. is
the ordinary compellation in the States.

[98]

CHAPTER XII.

The steamor in wliicli I emharkcd for my
iiorthorn ck'Stination, was the Great Western
for Chica«^o, — passinj^ up Lake Huron and
down Lake Michii^an, touching at Machinac
between the two; from which point I hoped
to get across to the Sault hy the })acket boat
or some other mode of conveyance. The
voyage up the River St. Chiir, was very
agreeable ; but being quite unwell, I was glad
to lie dow n when we came out upon Lake Hu-
ron. We stopped three hours to take in wood
at Fort Gratiot, opposite the Sarnia Mission,
by Sunderland wharf. If I had known that
the Rev. Alexander Pyne resided at a short
distance on the opposite side, I should have
availed myself of the op})ortunity to present
to him my letter of introduction from the
Bishop. As it was the time was spent very
wearily. This is the more to be regretted,
as I afterwards was delayed at Machinac a
space of time more than sufficient to have
enabled me to see the Walpole Island Mis-
sion, to which he was to have introduced me.

AMERICAN STEAMER.

On the American boat, I found the accom-
modations both better and worse than upon
the Canadian hike boat. They were inferior,
inasmuch as tiierc was nothing in the nature
of a couch or even of a chair, to rest one's
self upon; but only cane stools and settees.
On the other hand the sleeping accommoda-
tion was superior, being berths in convenient
state rooms, instead of the curtained berths,
open to the cabin. The provision at table
was ample and vrious; but the prevalence of
vinegar in all the made dishes, and of butter
every where, rendered it difficult to make a
meal. The manner of the ladies struck me
as an odd compound of stiffness and freedom ;
and the whole of the conversation with most
of the men was Clay and Polk, banks and
tariff, whigs and loco-focos. There were on
board very staunch advocates of both parties;
and I certainly agreed with the democratic
arguer, that in order to preserve republican-
ism, it was desirable to keep all institutions
as simple as possible; and therefore that
banks and indirect taxation should be avoided.
Still as far as the material prosperity of the
country is concerned, I imagine that the
whigs have the best of it ; — that not only do
banks tend to the advancement of enterprize,

100

*OLiTICS.

by facilitating credit; — hut that protective
tariffs, which foster native industry, and
enable a nation to provide most articles of
daily use within itself, must add to the wealth
of large classes of the community, and gra-
dually find a market for the fruits of the
earth, much more certain and stable tliaii any
foreign one. Whether the nation is, on the
whole, happier for being more wealthy, is
another question, and one whicli we are not
called on to decide. Certain it is, that Pro-
vidence uj)j)cars to brin^ forward one nation
after another in Jie career of temporal pros-
perity, and that by agencies entirely beyond
the controul of any man or body of men; and
therefore, for all practical purposes, it is
useless to moot the question whether it be
advantageous or not.

But still I revert to the opinion that the
complicated relations which wealth engenders
are inconsistent with the permanent main-
tenance of the theory, that government is or
should be so simple that every one can under-
stand it,- -which is the theory of democracy.
And the conclusion I draw is, — not that we
are to set our faces against those complicated
relations (which I regard as nothing short of
absolute madness, inasmuch as it is fighting

HIGH-CHURCH DEMOCRATS.

101

against p providential arrangement), — but that
democratical theories are totally inapplicable
to any state of great extent, and in an ad-
vanced condition of civilization; that, in
short, if a state in this kind of progression
begins with democracy, it must pass through
aristocracy or oligarchy into monarchy or
tyranny.

I was surprised to discover, both on this
and on future occasions, that the democratic
arguer was a churchman, and that some, even
of the most thorough republicans, were
high churchmen. There is, of course, no
real inconsistency in a person's believing at
the same time that his church is the only
true church, and the ministers of it the only
true ministers, ~ and that republicanism is the
best form of civil government. The two
things are in fact independent of each other;
and it is one advantage resultinjj: from occa-
si/nal associntion with persons of various
views, that we come to find the true princi-
ples on which all views must be made to rest.
But still I think it must be admitted the rjdo^
or habit of mind which is most likely to adopt
high-church views is that which is most likely
to tend to a love of monarchy ; and I could
never yet understand how a person whose
k2

102

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT.

mind was formed by the Scriptures eould be
anything else but a lover of monarchy in the
abstract, however much he migho feel it his
duty to acquiesce in that form of civil polity
under which Divine Providence had cast his
lot. No doubt every Christian man must
believe that the form of government which
subsists in any nation at any definite period
is providentially ordained foi that nation at
that period ; but that does not prove, either
that all forms of government are indiiferent,
or that any particular form is absolutely best
for that particular nation. Divine Provi-
dence docs not always provide for nations
that which is absolutely best for them; it
often gives them that whi 4i is worst, as a
punishment for their sins. Although, there-
fore, if living under a republic, I should feel
bound to acquiesce in such a form of govern-
ment, I should not feel bound to think that,
because providentially ordained, it was best
for my country. Independently of every other
consideration, I must always think that form
of civil, as well as of ecclesiastical polity, to
be best, which most directly tends to train the
mind to reverence and submit to the one
universal monarchy of the Supreme Being,
and the limited monarchy which he has

PRESBYTERIAN TEACHER. 103

ordained in every family. Nor is it one of
the least reproaches of American republi-
canism that, by the confessions of those who
live under it, it tends most strongly to weaken
that authority which God has revealed as
placed in the hands of parents.

In the boat I likewise had a discussion
with a person whom I afterwards discovered'
to be a Presbyterian teacher. It seems that
he had not been baptized in infancy, and had
led a very irreh'gious life : but the truths he
heard whilst at school from one of the bishops
of the Church in America remained in his
mind, and some years after his marriao-e
various circumstances led to his quittino- his
evil habits, and giving himself in earnest to
serve God. Then came the question— what
church he was to join ? His wife was a
Presbyterian, and his best acquaintance were
of that denomination, and so he united him-
self with them ; but he confessed that he had
never investigated the matters in dispute
between them and the Church. He endea-
voured however to shew, by a statistical com-
parison of the number of churches (i. e
places of worship), and of children under
instruction, in New and Old England, that
Presbyteriani^m produced better fruits of

104

AMERICAN SENSITIVENESS.

I I

piety than Episcopacy; and would insist upon
my accepting his test. This however I
declined; contenting myself with denying in
toto that dissent of any kind did 0:1 the
whole produce higher characters or more
piety than the Church; but admitting that
indivi(hials and communities of dissenters
might under particular circumstances sur-
pass in piety individuals and communities of
churcli people. He was however very wroth
with me, partly for that cause, and partly
because in rtply to questions of his, I
informed him of the simple fact, that the
history of the United States formed no part
of my education at the University of Oxford :
and he expressed himself violently and
rudely, as though I despised his country and
her history : for this however he afterwards
apologized.

This was not the only occasion on which
Americans have flown out with me on a
suspicion that I was impugning the honour
of their country. I was one day discussing
with a gentleman the merits of a lady singer,
and intimated that a more cultivated mind
would have made her a performer of a higher
order. He overwhelmed me with a list of
the languages and sciences she was acquainted

POLITICAL CORRUPTION.

105

with : and on my replying with a smile,
" Ah, I see that you do not apprehend what
we mean by cultivation ; it would take you
ten years' residence amongst us to under-
stand;" he replied with great warmth, and
expatiated on the equality,— as observed by
bishops and others who had visited Eng-
land — between the highest classes of men
in the two countries: not at all reflecting
that the question was not between the two
countries, but between his notion of a culti-
vated mind in a lady, and that which I knew
to prevail in good English society ; a know-
ledge of which I could not possibly divest
myself, and which I could as little avoid
perceiving to be at variance with his own
ideas on the subject.

I found gentlemen of the States very free
to acknowledge the great corruption which
prevails through all their public men ; and
the great deterioration in those who have
filled the highest offices in recent years.
I found them likewise ready to acknowledge,
that the conduct of President Tyler in send-
ing troops towards Texas, was unconsti-
tutional, although not directly illegal; and
that similar acts of various kinds might be
committed without the chance of any punish-

106

POLITICAL PROSPECTS.

I-,

meiit. But I could not get any one to agree
with me, that this general corruption, with
the difficulty of defining what is and is not
illegal in cases never contemplated by law,
might some day enable a crafty and ambitious
president, during his four years of office, to
get all power into his hands, and hold it by
force and fraud, so long as assassination
spared him. Looking, however, at the his-
tory of ancient Rome and modern France, I
cannot but think it probable that men of
education and substance will become more
and more disgusted with public business; and
that a time will arrive, — and that perhaps at no
distant period, — when the mass of ihe intelli-
gence and property of the Union will rejoice
to see some man of vigour and ability take
and hold the helm of affairs, and save them
from the endless and fruitless turmoil into
which the nation will have been plunged,
and allow them to go about their business in
the full assurance that the enjoyment of life
and property will be secure.

There was another point which I suggested,
in which I could get no one to agree with
me. It is notorious that the number of per-
sons of the Romish communion is on the
increase in the States, chiefly at present

POLITICAL PROSPECTS. ]07

by emigration from Ireland. It is likewise
notorious that in some localities they already
influence the elections. Now what is to pre-
vent their becoming a majority in some one
fetate.^ And when that arrives, what is to pre-
vent their appropriating the public funds in
support o their views ? And in so corrupt a
state of things as at present subsists, there
can be but little doubt that some large
political party may be found to support them
m so doing. To prove that this may be the
case, have only to advert to the fact, that
he States are already beginning confessedly
o fee (in the case of these very Komanists),
the 111 effects of the law which admits
foreigners easily to naturalization. It is
they whose influence has already banished the
Bible from many of the common schools, i„
entire opposition to the views of native
Americans. And if you inquire whether it
"ill .".ot be thought necessary to restrict the
privilege of naturalization, and grant it only
to the second or third generation,-the reply
>s, that the democrats would oppose such a
proposition to a man : the great body of them
as contravening their principles of civil
polity ; and the rest partly from fear of their
own party, and partly because it would be a

108

LAKE HURON.

good election cry against the Whigs, — the
only party who can be expected to propose
it. Indeed it is currently said, that whatever
ground either party may take up, the other
is sure to occupy the opposite.

The voyage up Lake Huron is very unin-
teresting; hours upon hours being passed
without seeing anything but the water, and
a distant indistinct view of shores covered
with trees. As we approach its northern
extremity, the shores approach, and the pros-
pect is varied by islands and promontories;
but it is not until we draw near to Machinac,
that the view becomes sufficiently distinct
and varied to be interesting. It may there-
fore be well imagined that it was with great
delight that we at length distinguished its
dazzling white fort, and the little town nest-
ling down on the beach below.

:ii

[Ill]

CHAPTER XIII.

We arrived at Machinac on Friday, the
23rd, and 1 found Mr. O'Brien, the chaphin
of the States garrison, to whom J had a letter
of introduction. He was not able to receive
me into his house ; but he did his best to find
me a convenient lodging. That, however,
proved impossible, on account of the number
of persons who, from various causes, were
congregated there. One was a party con-
nected with a company for working the cop-
per mines on Lake Superior ; others, young
men travelling west for pleasure or recrea-
tion ; and others, whose object did not
transpire.

Both in this house and on the boats, I
found the great inconvenience of travelling
in a country where the circumstance of being
a clergyman did not at once give me a
defined place and station. I do not mean
the personal inconvenience ; but the difficulty
which arose from the fact that the assumption
to perform any religious duty for the wI\ole
party— such as saying grace at table— might

112

CLEKICAL DISCOURAGEMENTS.

turn out ail infrinjj^tMiUMit of the j)rivili'^o»
or rights of sonio person or anotluT. In
Knyland 1 never experienced any sueli diffi-
culty. It was still worse on hoard tlie packet
vessel in vvliich I had crossed the Atlantic.
There I attempted (very quietly, for sea
sickness depressed me very nuich) to act as
chaplain of the vessel ; but the rudeness and
slij^ht with wliich the essay was met, was
very discouragin<r. Instead of feelin*^ ^rati-
fted that a clerj^^yman could be found to
undertake to conduct Divine service on Sun-
day, it was with difficulty that arrangements
could be obtained for a single service ; and
on no occasion could I succeed in getting a
second. I do not mean to say that this feel-
ing was universal amongst the passengers ;
but it prevailed in a very discourj»ging degree.
The result of this emancipation from all
pastoral controul for six weeks togetlier, was
seen in the gradual relaxation of feelings of
propriety and decency, which prevailed in a
very surprising degree even amongst the best
conducted of the passengers.

And 80 on board the steamboats on which
I had occasion to travel for days together.
I entertain no doubt that if they had been
English, a clergyman who was known to be

CLERICAL DISCOURAGEMENTS.

113

nicli

leen
be

on board, would have been requested by the
captain of the vessel to ask a blessing before
and after meat, as a matter of ordinary pro-
priety; but the perfect equality of all religi-
ous denominations in the States, prevents any
minister of religion from being in that way
recognized as the clergyman, Kar i^o)(i]v; and
the very face of religion was lost for days
together. The only way I am aware of in
which ministers of religion are recognized,
is, that it is very frequent for masters of inns
and steam vessels to charge them only half
the price required of ordinary travellers; —
this occurred to me upon one occasion, and
is of course very highly creditable to the
parties who show this kindness: but it does
not by any means make amends for the other
deficiency, arising from the want of anything
like a national established church. The same
deficiency, I am sorry to say, prevails to a con-
siderable extent in Canada from a similar cause.
I mentioned that the gentleman to whom
I brought a letter of introduction, was the
chaplain of the military post established at
Machinac; he was also a clergyman of the
reformed church in the States. It is remark-
able that most of the military and naval chap-
lains in the service of the States are of our

L 2

114

ARMY AND NAVY CHAPLAINS.

communion. This arises from ilie regula-
tion, that the plurality of voices of the officers
in any post shall choose the chaplain: — a cu-
rious instance of the working of the demo-
cratical principle even in the army, and which
goes the length of giving the commanding
officer no more weight than the youngest
lieutenant. It, however, proves one thing;
viz., that the majority of the officers of the
army and navy are members of the Church ;
which is the case likewise with the more
eminent amongst the public men. I fear,
however, from what I saw, that the chaplain
has not his proper weight in such places, and
that there is not that provision made for the
suitable performance of divine service which
miglit be made where the church held her
place by right, and not merely by the will of
the majority. The same idea struck me in
other places, which it would be improper for
me to particularize, because it v»ould appear
to be reflecting upon individuals, which is
not my meaning. We are all, more or less,
the creatures of circumstances, and if most of
us had been circumstanced like those we may
be inclined to blame, it is very doubtful
whether we should have acted more consist-
ently or firmly than they. What I am saying

DELAY AT MACHINAC.

it of

lay

[tful

jist-

is, that the evil of being more or less depen-
dent upon the will of the majority, appears,
in the States, even in our sister church,
where we should least expect it.

When I arrived at Machinac, I was disap-
pointed to find that there was no public con-
veyance going across to the Sault, until the
arrival of a steam vessel from Buffalo, which
was not expected until Monday ; and as I
could not afford the price I should have to
pay for hiring a batteau or canoe, and it
would be so long on the way that the steam
vessel would be equally expeditious, I deci-
ded to wait. The steamboat, however, which
was on a special trip, did not arrive until
Tuesday, and then would not proceed, being
in expectation of a portion of the passengers
who had engaged it from Chicago. On
Wednesday, in order to pass the time, a fish-
ing excursion was planned to the Carp River,
ill the mainland of Michigan. Desirous of
seeingany new portion of country, and having
my son among the fishermen, 1 joined the
party; and whilst they were fishing up the
stream, I threaded the Indian paths on its
banks, enjoying its wild scenery, and examin-
ing the natural products of the forest. It
was picturesque in its prese!it state, and

116

WASP S WEST.

will probably become more so when civiliza-
tion has cleared away a portion of the thick
forest which hedges it in to the water's edge.
I found the nest of a paper wasp hanging
over the stream, and secured it by cutting it
off and letting it drop into the water ; which
had likewise the effect of dislodging most of
its inruates. This led to the discovery that
the construction of nests of paper is not pe-
culiar to one species of wasp. Those which
I had seen in the neighbourhood of Lake
Ontario, are made by a wasp of a brown co-
lour, a slight body, and a waist nearly a quar-
ter of an inch long, and almost as slender as
a horse-hair. Indeed up to the period of my
visit to Machinac, I had supposed that the
beautiful but troublesome insect of the old
country did not exist on this continent. My
visit to the Carp River undeceived me: for
the tenants of my paper nest were precisely
of the same colour and proportions as the En-
glish wasp, but perhaps a little smaller.
Their sting is painful at the time; but the
effects of it are very transient. Indeed
the bite of the mosquitoes, (which abound-
ed) was far more permanently troublesome.
I was enabled during this excursion, to satis-
fy myself on one point, viz., that the yew is

a >

CANADIAN TREES. 1|7

indigenous to this part of the continent; hut
that It IS not the tree of Europe or Ken-
tjicky, but a straggling, spreading under-
shruh. This, however, satisfies me that
tlie tree might be naturalized he.e by seed
brought from Europe. Whilst I am upon
this subject of trees, I will add a few remarks
upon those of tiiat part of North America
winch I have seen.

It is remarkable that we have very few of
those of the old country. Some of the oaks
resemble those of England in growth and
foliage ; but the timber is of a totally differ-
ent kind, not by any means so firm and tough.
0.^3 species is applicable, however, to the
making of staves for barrels, and it is in other
respects one of the valuable woods of the
ooinitry. There are, however, many species
<>^ oak, some of them with the leaves ex-
tfi^mely serrated, so as almost to lose the
character of the tree altoirether. The ash is
a good deal like that ef England, but not
really of the same species. The horse^chesU
nut is indigenous, I believe ; but the most
})revalent chestnut is that which in England
IS called the Spanish. The beech exists in
many varieties, one of them much like the
English, and another,— the blue beech,—

118

CANADIAN TREES.

W'. n

y I '

nothing but a bush, or a very small tree. The
elm of this country is, no doubt, a species of
that tree; but it differs very widely from that
of England: the most common has pendu-
lous branches. The sycamore prevails in some
localities ; a species of the lime tree, under
the name of bass, is occasionally found. The
most prevalent tree is the maple^ of various
species, differing very much from the English
maple, and much more resembling the syca-
more, only with much smaller leaves. There
is likewise the walnut, not at all like the Eng-
lish, but in leaf resembling the ash ; the but'
ternuty likewise resembling the ash ; and the
hickory, which bears a strong resemblance to
our walnut. Birch exists in great variefy
and beauty ; and then we have the poplars
and willows and alders and dogwood. The
white willow is a very large, handsome tree,
and is one of the chief ornaments of some of
the less public streets of Toronto. So much
for deciduous trees. The chief evergreen is the
pine, — the common Scotch : then comes the
arbor-vitcB, which is here called the swamp^
cedar . after that the hemlock, a sort of spruce
fir, with the pendulous growth of deciduous
trees : it is a very fine tree in its prime. We
have likewise the silver Jir and common spruce,

CANADIAN TREES.

119

but both of them are rare. The red and
white cedar of our shrubberies are found in
some localities, but are not very common.

All the trees which I have mentioned may
be found in the country, but they are dis-
tributed very variously. In the part of the
country about Toronto the pine gives its cha-
racter to the great mass of the forest, accom-
panied by the oak, the beech and the maple,
and occasionally by the elm, ash, birch and
alder. Hence the aspect of the woods is
very different from anything :it home, the
oak and beech being the only trees recognis-
able as like those the English eye has been
accustomed to; and they seldom reaching a
handsome size. Near Niagara, and from
thence along lake Erie, deciduous timber
mostly prevails. The hickory, butternut, and
walnut take the place of the pine ; and with
Spanish chestnut, elm, bass, and everlasting
maple, give a richness and variety to the
view : but here, again, the aspect is far from
English. In fact, the trees analogous to
those of the old country, are in a decided
minority. The splendid English elm is
never seen ; and although occasionally a dis-
tant view may look English, or a clump of
trees may look like those in an ornamental

120

CANADIAN TREES-

pleasure ground, the road side never, for two
hundred yards together, hioks other thau for-
eign to an eye accustomed to n:ake friendship
with the rural objects in old England.

I '

or two
n for-
idship

[122]

ill

i -

I 123 ]

w
o

o
y.
<

■4

f<
H
O

CHAPTER XIV.

•

We returned to Machinac, after a very
successful fisliincr for the brook trout, which
abounds in the rivers of this hititude, and the
next ni^rht sailed for the Sault. The next
morning we found ourselves in the river,
passing up its winding channel, with its lands
on either hand and before and round about
us. The view changed every moment, and
every change was beautiful. It is however
a scenery peculiar to an uncleared country ;
for it consisted of nothing but land and water,'
and an occasional rock, and varying heights
of ground, with perhaps a house and clearing
of an acre or two of ground in twenty or
thirty miles; occasionally a single Indian
lodge or canoe. When we came within ten
miles of the Sault, the river became one
channel, and the scene more uniform. W«

124

GARDEN RIVER.

passed the mouth of what I afterwards found
was the Garden River, and a small point of
land, on which were six or eight Indian huts
and a log house or two; one of the latter not
quite finished, and the people working upon
its roof. I did not know at the time that
these were the Indians I had come so many
miles to see, and that the log house was
being reared by their chief, Shinguaconse.
This, it appears, is the station most com-
monly occupied by the Indians of the Sault,
amongst whom Mr. Mc Murray's mission was
so eminently successful : the reason of this
is, that the land is better than at the Sault
itself; although their burying ground is still
at the latter place. As we approached the
Sault, we perceived the river to spread out
on each side, and then gradually contract: on
the left bank was the United States' garrison,
all white and bright, and the little village
occupied by shop-keepers, publicans, and
voyageurs; on the right, the house of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and the scattered
dwellings inhabited by the voyageurs and
half-breeds on the British side; whilst right
in front was apparently a precipitous fall of
about eight or ten feet in depth, and a quar-
ter of a mile across. As we neared it, bow«

t I

SAULT STE. MAHIE.

125

ever, the fall increased in apparent height ;
and as we came still closer, it appeared that
it was a succession of rapids.

We landed, and I found Mr. Henry School-
craft, husband of Mrs. Mc Murray's sister, to
whom I presented my letter of introduction,
and who obtained me a convenient lodging
for the night. We walked out, and found
that there was a track which would take us to
the i.ead of the rapids, which we followed, and
discovered that there was a canal broad enouirh
for a single bateau or ciinoe, by which the
inhabitants are accustomed to take up their
boats and canoes, whether for voyages in
Lake Superior, or in order to fish down the
rapids. By following this path we got to the
head of the rapids, and were much gratified
by the view in that direction ; but a heavy
rain coming on, we were glad to return as
fast as we could. The remainder of the day
was spent either in conversation with Mr.
Schoolcraft and his family, or in visiting the
British side.

I found to my great disappointment, that
Mrs. McMurray's brother, Mr. James John-
son, upon whom I had relied as an inter-
preter, was gone away up Lake Superior; that
there was no probability of his making his
m2

126

THE SAULT.

appearance at the Sault in less than a week»
and tliat the time of his return was entirely
uncertain; and consequently that I could not
rely upon beini^ able to hold any intercourse
with the Indians, even if I should stay and
visit them at Garden River. It likewise ap-
peared that, in addition to the expense of
remainint^ at the Sault, I might probably be
compelled to hire a boat to take me back to
Machinac, — the return tcr which might occu-
py a week. I therefore, with great reluc-
tance and depression, determined on return-
ing by the steamer in which I had arrived;
after gaining as much information as the short
time allowed me would permit. I learned
that the number of Indians was under 100,
and that they had mostly, or entirely fallen
into habits of intoxication: but that still they
refused to put themselves under any other reli-
gious denomination, and professed themselves
attached to the Church. I likewise learned,
that the missionaries of dissenting bodies on
the American side, had been singularly un-
successful in making any impression what-
ever on the Indians on their own side. So
that the only religious body which appears to
have been successful in attaching the Chip-
peway Indians of that portion of the conti-*

[128]

H
P

W
u

D
W
u

THE SAULT.

129

nent to Christianity, has been the Church of
England. I found that there were on the other
side, besides the post of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, and a stone dwelling inhabited by the
officer of the customs, — nearly forty dwell-
ings of French Canadians and half breeds, of
whom most remained without any religious
instruction whatever; — and that all they got
was from Presbyterians and Romanists. The
information I had received from Mr. Mc-
Murray, that there were Indian settlements
at intervals of about 50 miles, all along the
north coast of Lake Superior, was also con-
firmed.

I found the little Church, raised by Mr.
McMurray, a neat frame structure, with a
bell; it had desks all round its sides, bein^
intended for a school-room; but the benches
were taken to various houses in order to be
guarded from injury or spoliation. In the
enclosure within which it stands were a few
graves of Indians; one quite recent, marked
by a covering of pine logs, laid longitudinal-
ly, supported and kept together by six short
posts of the same description. It is these
graves, as much perhaps as any thing else,
which attach this little tribe both to the Sault
and to the Cliurch with which their grave-

l;30

THE SAULT.

It •

I i

yard is connected. I had hoped to have gain-
ed some information from the resident of the
Hudson's Bay Company ; but I found that the
gentleman who had long held that position,
was gone, and that his successor was quite
new to the spot.

The Indians of the Sault belonof, as I have
intimated, to the Chippeways, who are the
oldest residents in Canada. Indeed the name
itself Ojihbewaij seems to imply that they are
the original stock of many others, ojeehik in
their language sigr.ifying a rock. They
are to be found on the Rice Lake, and to the
north of Kingston, on the River Credit, at
the Muncey Mission, and on Walpole Island,
on the North shores of Lakes Simcoe and
Huron, on the north and south shores of
Lake Superior, on all the rivers and inland
lakes connected with it, 700 or 800 miles
to the west of Lake Superior, and across from
Lake Huron to the height of land towards
Hudson's Bay. Their settlements, it is true,
are scattered, and the numbers in each settle-
ment few; but from the wide extent of coun-
try they inhabit, they must be numerous
in the aggregate; and the only intercourse
which at present the white man holds with
most of them, is to purchase furs of them.

131

THE SAULT.

and to distribute presents of such things as
are acceptable to them, to as many as choose
to congregate annually at Great Manitoulin
Island. And to all those who lie to the west
the Sault is the key. Indeed when Mr. Mc-
Murray was there, they came from 120 miles
distant to connect themselves with him.

I had hoped by my visit to the Sault to be
able to open a communication with those who
are still attached to that spot; but the consi-
derations I have already mentioned deter-
mined me to content myself with what I had
seen, and with such information as I could
afterwards collect from and through Mr. Mo-
Murray.

nc?"

[132]

CHAPTER XV.

OXrAWA INDIAN CHIEF.

Accordingly, the next morning we set out
onourreturti to Machinac; and as the next day
was Sunday, and I dia not wish to spend the
day on board tlie boat, I gladly accepted Mr.
O'Brien's invitation to stay with him until
Monday. The day of payment for the Otta-
wa Indians was approaching, and the whole
of the beach for a mile toufether was studded
with their wigwams, and the shops on the
shore crowded with them. As soon as the

I I

;t out
rtday
d the
IMr.
until
Otta-
ivliole
iddcd
ti the
s the

OTTAHWA INDIANS. I33

boat landed, they were on board, going every
where and inspecting every thing, but witli-
out rudeness. There was now considerable
variety ,n the costume of the men, -in
all the combinations of shoes, mocassins,
leggings of all colours, trowsers, coloured
cotton shirts, and frock coats of all imagina-
ble patterns; blankets, baits, sashes, hats of
every shape, ornamented with ribbons and cir-
clets of white metal or beads, together with

headseitherentirelybare,oradornedwithplat-
ted tresses, wiih handkerchiefs, bands of bead
work or circlets of feathers; not forgetting
earrings, either single or set on all round the
edge of the ear, and patches of red and dark
blue paint, to render their faces more attrac-
tive or terrible. All this ornament however,
was confined to the men. Perhaps a child here
and there might have a few strings of beads;
but the grown up women were, without excep-
tion, without ornaments of any kind, except-
ing, perhaps, earrings, and the leggings and
mocassins. Some of these were richly adorn-
ed with bead work: and here and there a wo-
man would have a petticoat and mantle of ve-
ry respectable dark blue broad-cloth: one or
two I saw with scarlet. But in general the
is-

134

INDIAN CHARACTEn.

appearance of the women was plainness itself,
compared with that of the men. Many of
the children had no clothing at all, but a shirt
and the i?ivariahle cloth^ worn for decency sake,
passing from the waist before to the waist
behind. The cradle or trav for infants is the
same as that which is found in Switzerland
and the north of Italy. It is formed much
like the cover of a hat or bonnet box, in which
the child is laid and strapped on his back,
with a projecting ledge for his feet to rest on,
and a semi-circular hoop of 18 inches diame-
ter to protect his face, and to contain the
little rattling trinkets with which he is amus-
ed. This, on a journey, is strapped to the
back of the mother, and in the lodge or ca-
noe is placed in an inclined position. I did
not, however, see many of these. Most of
the children appeared to be nursed much as
those of the most necessitous classes in Eng-
land.

It is only necessary to go amongst the In-
dians, and witness their habits, — to dissipate
the romance which one might feel regarding
them. They are, in fact, (those at least
whom I have seen.) as a race, much below the
lowest of the English country people; — but

INiyiAN PAYMENTS.

135

( itself,
any of
a shirt
y sake,
I waist
i is the
erland
[ much
which
} back,
est on,
diame-
in the
amus-
to the
or ca-
Idid
lost of
luch as
\ Eng-

Lhe In-

ssipate
aiding
t least
ow the
: — but

free from the total want of decency, which cha-
racterizes the lowest of our town population.
The very highest I have seen do not rise
above the rank of intellect and cultivation of
an ordinary English farmer. Whatever of
high-feeling or character is to be found
amongst them, must, I think, be sought
amongst those who still form settled na-
tions away from civilization. I am told how-
ever, that the Chippeways are much supe-
rior to the Six Nations and Ottahwas. Those
with whom we have intercourse are to be found
only in scanty numbers, compared with the
extent of country they occupy, and in a very
low condition. Whatever therefore, of a mis-
sionary character is undertaken with regard
to them, must be done,— not from any thing
interesting or magnanimous in their charact
ter,--but from a feeling, that as it has pleased
God in his providence to bring us into con-
tact with them, we are bound to communicate
to them the light we ourselves have ; that as
they are brought into the range of the conta-
mination of our evil example, we ought to
provide them with that safeguard of Christian
principle by which alone we ourselves are
preserved from its poUution. And then the

'•!

{ *

136

INDIAN PAYMENTS.

question seems to be, not of many or few,
but of our means of supplying the want.

I have just alluded to the cause which
brings together the Indians to Machinac at
this particular season, — viz., to receive their
payments. Both the government of Canada
and that of the United States have been in
the habit of purchasing the lands of the In-
dians from them, and of paying them by an-
nual pensions, or in some other way. In the
States the former is the practice; and these
payments are made at the rate of so much for
the chief of a nation, a smaller proportion for
the chief of a tribe or clan, and a general al-
lowance of head money for as many of the
nation as may come forward to claim it. It is
much to be regretted that these pensions ap-
pear to be of little benefit to them. They do
not calculate the time accurately, and there-
fore many of them are on the spot before the
time, — and getting into the hands or the tavern
and store keepers, run up scores for food and
liquor. Not accustomed to self control, too
many of them indulge in intoxication to a
shocking extent. Persons come from a dis-
tance to the place of payment, with all sorts
of useless trinkets, which take the eye and

INDIAN PAYMENTS.

137

fancy of tliese poor savages. In short it is
generally supposed that very little of the mo-
ney they receive is applied to any useful pur-
pose, and that the greater portion depart
nearly as poor as they came. The case I
think IS somewliat better on the British side.
There they have presents of articles selected
with a vie;v to utility, as a j.ortion of their
payment. Still I am told that thore are per-
sons who make a trade of purchasiiK. t'.o-
presents from them, and paying tirem in
strong hquors or money; a large portion of
which IS totally wasted before their return,
t IS, indeed, difficult to say what could be
done better than what we do atpresent. The
Indians are not all idle and childish. To
some of them both the pensions and the pre-
sents are of considerable value; the forme-
providing them with seed corn, and even with
a portion of their winter provisions, and the
latter furnishing the larger portion of their
clothing. And if they are skilful and indus-
trious m the manufacture of the mocassins
and leggings and boxes of various kinds and
toy-canoes, which go under the name of In-
dian Curiosities,-the place of distribution of
their presents becomes a valuable market in
n2

r?-

t ,

108

LMf>IAN f*AYM^EMT8.

which they can exchange the»« things far
articles of more sterling value. No doubt
they are and will be imposed upon, 8o long
as they continue entirely separate from white
people in language and mo<les of life, and s(»
far below them in cultivation; but that will
be gradually remedied.

INDIAN RUDDKR.

\ti

1109 2

gs for
doubt

long
white

and so

at u'iil

CHAPTER XVI.

f remained until Monday, havinjr preached
twice; once in the fort, and once in the
courthouse: and I then took my departure
on board the Empire, the largest steamer on
the lakes. Before I take my leave of Ma-
chinac I must give a little account of it. It
is an island of about 9 miles in circumference,
of an oval shape. It rises on all sides from
the beach in precipitous clilfs of 100 feet in
height, excepting on the north, where the
little town is built. This consists of two
streets, one on the beach, the other running
parallel to it for half the distance. It is sur-
mounted by the fort, which is built on the
heights above the N. W. part of the town.
The fort is surrounded partly by a wall, and
partly by a palisade, and like all the forts of
the United States I have seen, every part of
it, and of the houses contained in it, is white-
washed. The footway by which you ascend

140

MACHINAC.

to the ordinary entrance is '.nade of a kind
of concrete, for which abundant material is
produced in the limestone (carbonate of lime),
which is the rock of which the island is com-
posed, and the fine jrravel and sand of which
abundance is to be found upon it. It is kept
with extraordinary neatness by the comman-
dant of the fort, Captain Scott, who treated
me with much attention. He is so careful on
that head indeed, that he provides spitting
boxes all about the court yard and walk, to
prevent the men from spitting on the gravel ;
and if a carriage passes through the yard, the
tracks of its wheels are effaced by boughs,
(which answer the purpose of brooms) as soon
as it is gone.

The chaplains of these forts are also the
schoolmasters; a very admirable regulation,
ensuring to the children much better instruc-
tion than is ordinarily attained. There is
one great deficiency here, in the want of a
suitable room for the performance of divine
service, — which is consequently conducted in
one of the large wards occupied by the men.
It certainly looked odd to see their beds all
rolled up along one side, and their accoutre-
ments suspended all along the other side of

MACHINAC.

141

the apartment. The service is well attended
not only by the residents in the garrison,
but also by the town's people. The sin^r-
iiig was very well managed by some of
the latter; but it detracted much from the
beauty and dignity of the service, that the
whole was performed by the clergyman in his
gown, and at the same desk, and that scarce-
ly an individual but himself attempted to
kneel,— although the floor was as clean as a
drawing room. There is another service vo-
luntarily held by the present chaplain in the
court house, attended by all classes ^{ per-
sons,— who take their proper parts in respond-
ing and singing, although many are not mem-
bers of the Church. There, howevoi, the
further anomaly is committed of using nei-
ther gown nor surplice. Such irregularities,
I find, are not uncommon in the States, where
the gown is reckoned the more necessary part
of a clergyman's habiliments, as the surplice
is in England.

Besides the town of Machinac, there are
two small farms on the island ; but the greater
part of it is covered with forest or copse.
There are several points of beauty and inter-
est about it. The attention of visitors is

142

FORT HOLMES.

M-^ ;

directed to a few objects of natural or liisto-
rical interest. First comes Fort Holmes, the
site of the ancient fortress of the British,
when it bore the name of Fort St. George.
It is apparently a better position than that of
the present fort of Machinac, and in fact
commands the hitter. A curious instance is
told of this in the late war between this coun-
try and the States, — when a British force
surprised the Yankees before they were up in
the morning. Two British officers paid an
early visit to the American commanding offi-
cer, brought him from his bed, and required
him to surrender the post; and upon hia
dining to do so, quietly pointed out to liim
that there were five hundred troops on the
heights of Fort St. George, which had landed
in the night, and that a battery was planted
on it, and another on a lower eminence about
half a mile from the post. The result was
that the American fumed and talked a little,
but saw it more prudent to come to terms,
upon condition of being permitted to march
out with his army. He did so accordingly,
and left the island; but upon landing at De-
troit, found it also in possession of the Bri-
tish> and himself and his men prisoners. An

• liisto-
les, the
iritisi),
reorge.
that of
ri fact
mce is
coun-

torce

? up in
aid an
\g offi-
[juired
)n hia
him
)n the
anded
Ian ted
about
t was
little,
ierms,
narch

t De-

jBri-

MACHINAC.

143

attempt was afterwards made, under General
Holmes, to recover the Island,— but he him-
self fell, and the attempt was frustnited. In
memory of him, when we resi^rned the island
at the close of the war, the fort was called
Fort Holmes.

There are one or two objects of natural
interest; the Arched Hock and the Sugar-loaf
Hill; neither of which, however, would attract
very much attention, were not this part of tho
world so destitute of objects of that descrip-
tion. The Lover's Leap is one amongst the
many jutting cliffs which are to be found on
the west of the island,— distinguished from
the rest more by its freedom from timber on
the top, and its therefore affording a good
look-out on all sides, than by ar)y other cir-
cumstance. The Britisii landing is also shown
on the S. E. of the island. To me a ramble
in the bush and along the beach,— and the
discovery of flowers and trees and stones I
had never seen before,— some of the former
of great elegance of form and b.-auty of co-
lour,— with the birds fluttering in and out of
the bushes, and the clearness of the water as
it rolled up and broke on the beach,— was
worth a hundred times over, all the objects

i'l

'f*

lil'l

144

MACHINAC.

which visitors are specially expected to notice.
A ramble is a pleasure which may be enjoy-
ed at Machinac to perfection, and in consi-
derable variety; nor did it detract from the
pleasure to gather the hazel nuts, and wild
raspberries, and gooseberries and currants.
The former are not so good as the English,
and the husk is very prickly; but we were
glad to accept it as a substitute. The rasp-
berries and the red gooseberries were small,
but excellent in flavour; but the little black
gooseberry was quite bitter.

The beauties of Machinac itself are not all
it has to boast. The views from it in every
direction are extensive and (for distant views)
varied, taking in the main-land of Michigan,
and the islands and main-land between itself
and lake Superior. Its climate is unusually
healthy, and it would be a delightful place
for a family to spend a month or six weeks
in the summer, if they could put up with the
poor accommodation to be found in the little
town, and had their own occupations for a
rainy day. Indeed I understand that there
is some intention of occupying the building
formerly belonging to the Presbyterian mis-
sion, and fitting it up as a lodging house.

MACHINAC.

145

notice,
enjoy-
consi-
)in the
d wild
irrants.
English,
e were
e rasp-
) small,
e black

J not all
n every
t views)
chijj'an,
n itself
usually
1 place
weeks
fitli the
le little
for a
It there
lilding
in mis-
house.

But whoever goes to Machinac should carry
all articles of diet but bread, meat, milk, and
butter, that he cares to have for daily use, —
if he is at all particular about having them
good.

■7"

LI46 1

t is

: I.

!
1 E

CHAPTER XVII.

I returned from Maebinac on board tbe
splendid steam-boat tbe Empire, tbe largest
on tbe lakes. Sbe is *270 feet from stem to
stern ; and her saloon and ladies' and ji^en-
tlemen's cabins form one great apartment,
capable of being divided by folding doors, —
230 feet long. The fittings-up are very
handsome, and the painting tastefid in out-
line and very gay in colour. The state-rooms
are all fitted up with white dimity, ensuring
either cleanness or a quick detection of the
contrary. The ladies* or family state-rooms
are upon a scale which I never saw before
in a steam-boat, with sofas and chairs, and
some with little dressing closets; and there
are two sets of two rooms each, a bed-room
and sitting-room. Unfortunately the gentle-
men who travel singly are not so well accom-

YANKEE STEAMERS.

147

modated, being compelled to go to a common
washing-room, and to make use of public
towels or none. They have, however, the
accommodation of a barber's shop, the only
fault of which is, the extreme slowness with
which the operation is performed. There
were likewise couches in the gentlemen's
saloon, a very special rrticle of comfort in
this hot climate— and which I did not see
provided in the other Yankee steam-boats in
which I travelled. And whilst upon the
subject of couches, I must protest against the
censures so liberally bestowed upon the in-
habitants of the Spates, for their habit of
taking their legs off the ground, and sus-
pending them in various awkward positions
whilst sitting. I must aver that to most per-
sons a reclining posture, or at least, the rais-
ing of the legs from the ground is, in the
summer, positively as essential to comfort, as
having a chair to sit upon is to a European :
and if one has not a couch or sofa, it is neces-
sary to provide for it in some other way. As
an Englishman, and for two-thirds of my life
not accustomed to trouble either sofa or easy
chair, I think it but justice to say, that I feel
for any person in this climate, especially one
of sedentary habits, who has not a couch to

148

LAKE ERIE.

■ I

recline upon for some portion of every day
in summer, and especially after walking.
The legs absolutely become painful, and
feel like lumps of lead, if there is no way
of relieving them by raising them from
the ground. I have myself been so circum-
stanced, that I was glad to lie down on the
floor for want of any other means of attaining
a horizontal position.

I again passed Detroit on my return, and
went down Lake Erie to Cleveland and Buifalo.
The situation of the former is rather pictu-
resque ; and the end of the town farthest from
the water is laid out in villas and pleasure
grounds, along the sides of four parallel drives.
The effect, though rather formal, is still plea-
sant in a country where green and shade are so
grateful to the strained eye and the scorched
head, — and would be much more so if the
occupants kept their green-sward as neatly as
would be done in England. Buffalo is a very
large place, full two miles square, and built
very substantially of brick. The quantity
of shipping and steamboats, both there and at
Cleveland, is very great.

From Buffalo I cvossed by a Canadian
steamer to the Chippeway railroad, and by
it proceeded to Queenston. We had on board

LAKE ERIE.

149

the Cliippeway Indian, who had married an
English woman in London, whilst over iif Eng-
land exhibiting himself for the amusement of
the public—together with the lady herself.
They sat together the greater part of the
time ; but I pitied her, knowing how soon she
was destined to open her eyes to the terrible
change from the decencies and comforts of
civilized life, to the wretchedness of daily
intercourse with those to whom both comfort
and decency are ideas almost entirely un-
known. It is true that she might have abun-
dance of food and clothing, and might be
able to introduce little English proprieties
into her own dwelling; but she could never
exempt herself from thesociety of the Indians
amongst whom she had to live; for they
come in at all times, without any reserve.
Nothing but a strong desire of benefitting
them can ever reconcile her to the change.
I thought I saw that she shrunk from tlie
few Indians who were on board the steamer,
and felt the degradation of being mixed up
with them.

We went by the famous Navy Island, the

spot from whence the Caroline was cut out

by the British party in order to her being

drifted over the Falls. The latter we passed
o2

150

HOME.

■'l *

at a little distance on the railroad, and on
their^ grandeur I need not expatiate. From
Queenston we proceeded homewards by the
Toronto steamer, the Transit; and whether
owing to the smallness of the boat, or to the
unusual roughness of the lake, I was very
sea-sick ; as was my son, who had crossed the
Atlantic without suffering from that cause for
more than a couple of days. We got home
most gladly, after an absence of four weeks,
and were thankful to find all our dear rela-
tives well.

[151]

CHAPTER XVIII.

And now I will return to the subject upon
which I omitted to dwell when at the Sault,
but which was the impelling cause of my
undertaking the long journey I have now
recorded.

I think it right to say, that I was disap-
pointed to find a flourishing mission, as it
certainly was in Mr. McMurray's time, so
entirely broken up, that of all the Indians
who then made the place their ordinary resi-
dence, not one now resides there. The
Church I found still upon the top of the high
ground surmounting the river ; the tombs of
the former worshippers in the churchyard ;
one or two Indian graves apparently recent :
but only two solitary lodges on the shore, and
those evidently of persons who did not intend
to stay. I was moreover disappointed to learn

■T-

1 5-2

OBJECTIONS TO A

tliat of the settlement only ei^lit or ten fami-
lies remained together, makin;^ less than one
hundred persons ; and still more, that all these,
who had received Christian baptism, had re-
lapsed more or less into their old evil habits,
and that not even those who were anxious to
h;ive a pastor ugam amon<rst them, were ex-
empt from the sin of drunkenness. And when
we know the difficulty of supplying funds for
maintaining the ministrations of the Church
even amonijst those of our own blood in this
colony, I am not surprised that tlie Indians
should be told, that if they wish for christian
instruction they must migrate to some other
settlement, where there is a christian minister
who is both able and willing to instruct them.
No doubt it would be much best for the poor
people themselves, if they could be persuaded
to coalesce with some other tribe, and thus
form one settlement. No doubt the place
pointed out, the Great Manitoulin Island,
would be a very suitable position.

But on the other hand, every person
acquainted with the Indian mind with whom
I have conversed, (and especially those who
have acted as missionaries, and persons of
Indian extraction,) has assured me that there
is no probability whatever that this remnant

MISSION AT THE SAULT.

153

of a considerable tribe will remove from the
neighbourhood of the graves of their fathers.
They own that they may make their chief resi-
dence twenty miles this way, or twenty miles
that way, according to varying circumstances,
but that no motive can be found, short of
compulsion, sufficiently strong to induce their
untaught minds to make a permanent change.
The question then arises, shall we endeavour
to provide pastoral care for them, or shall we
leave them to their fate? For the latter
alternative I can see nothing but the small-
ness of their number, and the circumstance
that they have profited so imperfectly by
former care as to relapse so soon into evil
habits. It is indeed said that to keep up a
mission at the Sault, is but tempting them to
stay in a neighbourhood where, from the
nearness to the American side, which swarms
with low public-houses, their besetting sin is
likely to find but too great a stimulus. This
latter statement is to a certain extent true; and
if we could remove them, it would be desira-
ble so to do. But as I have said, those best
acquainted with them are unanimously of
opinion that they will not permanently quit
the neighbourhood of their fathers' graves;
and whilst in that neighbourhood they will

154

REPLY TO

visit the public-houses of the Sault whenever
they feel inclined. It remains then, I think,
that if our means would allow it, we should
not renounce the mission.

Moreover it is to be borne in mind, that
they do now obtain strong liquors in quantity
sufficient to give most of them a habit of
intoxication. The only means then of reclaim-
ing them appears to be, to endeavour to give
them such principles as will be sufficiently
strong to counteract the temptation whenever
it may occur; and it is almost needless to
say, that the only effectual principles are
those of the gos])el. Nor is it imparting the
hnowlfdye of principles that will suffice ; the
Indian is a child in mind, and like all children
requires to be trained by superior controul,
and kept in the right way by superintendence.
In short, he requires a pastor. Not only that,
but the Indian, like the white man, requires
the means of grace, the communion of saints,
to keep alive the fire of religion in his heart.
Is it wonderful that without them he should
relapse ?

Still I grant that with the many pressing
wants of this colony in other parts, it would
be difficult to make a sufficiently urgent case
for this small remnant of the ancient race;

OBJECTIONS.

155

and did it stand alone, one would be almost
disposed to say— It was a mistake to attempt
a mission at that point, and it is best to re-
nounce it, until the place shall assume suf-
ficient importance in some other way to
justify our returning to it; and I myself
should agree to this mode of reasoning but
for these considerations :

1st. There is on the spot a population of
French Canadians and half-breeds, amounting
to about forty families, besides the station of
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and a custom-
house. The French Canadians, it is true,
are professedly Romanists, but they are left
without instruction or care for tiic greater
part of the year.

2nd. There is another Indian settlement
about forty-five miles off, on Lake Superior,
which was formerly included in Mr. McMur-
ray's mission, containing about forty or fifty.
These are now totally neglected.

3rd. There are other Indian settlements
all along the shores of Lake Superior, of easy
access, which might by degrees be brought
in, from a mission stationed at the Sault.

4th. The Sault is the key of communi-
cation between the upper and lower lakes.

J 56

REASONS FOR HEVIVaL.

and the way by which the Indians from above
come down annually to receive their payments
and presents ; so that it is the best spot on
which to establish a settlement) with a view
to ulterior operations.

And to see the importance of this argu-
ment more completely, it must be borne in
mind, first, that the Chippeways, of whom the
Sault St. Marie Indians arc a small tribe,
extend not only along Lake Superior, but
westward by Lake La Pluie and the Lake of
the Woods, to the country beyond Lake
Manitoba; that is, a distiince of 900 miles:
and secondly, that the Crce Indians (whose
language is a dialect of th'» Chippeway)
inhabit the vast tract of country extending
from Lake La Croix in the west to Labrador
in the east, and from Lake Nipissing in Upper
Canada on the south to Hudson's Bay on the
north.

5th, There are posts of the Hudson's Hay
Company all along Lake Superior, whicii
ought to be visited, periodically at least, for
the purpose of administering the Sacraments,
but which are now totally neglected.

6th. The Indians who bury at tlie Sault
profess themselves of the Church of England,

OF THE MJ8$ilON.

157

pper
m the

Buy

hicli

^t, for

kL'IltS,

ISault
llaiid,

and have resisted the endeavours of oilers
to take charge of them. Indeed, the only
missions which appear to take hoKl on the
minds of the Indians permanently, are those
of our own Cliurch and that of Home, and
perhaps the Moravians; all other hodies
want those elements of stability which are
essentially necessiiry to a permanent hold on
the minds of any, and especially of the
uneducated.

7th. The copper mines, which have been
recently discovered on the British side of
Lake Superior, are found in the tract of
country lyinj^ north-west of the Sault. Their
discovery will necessarily cause a consider-
able and daily augmenting increase of traffic
by way of the Sault, and of population near
the copper mines, and render it of importance
that a clergyman of the Church of England
should reside there, — to watch over the
spiritual interests of those churchmen who
may be drawn thither.

8th. There is a church already existing
there, and suitable premises which might be
readily obtained for the purposes of a mission.

On all these accounts it appears to me,
that it would be much to be regretted that
the mission should be abandoned ; nay, if

•^^•^W"

i i

II;

U t

158

MISSIONARY PLANS,

there had been no mission there at all, I
should think it a desirable position to fix on,
to form a settlement of christian civilization.

The next question which arises is this, in
what manner it will be best to provide for
these ends, viz ; to keep up the mission to
the Indians at the Sault, and to extend it
along" Lake Superior ; and to provide for the
other residents both there and on the lake.
In order to exphiin my views, it will be
necessary to enter into some preliminary
explanation.

I find that the most successful mission I
have visited is that at the Mohawk villaufe,
where there has been a permanent establish-
ment ever since the rebellion of the United
States. The distinctive feature of this is,
that the younj^ people are taken from
their parents, and boarded, educated, and
clothed gratuitously, and trained to daily
habits of devotion ; and, as they grow up,
taught various handicrafts. It was very
interesting to see their neat and orderly
appearance, and the perfect success with
which they learned to make shoes, and to
assist in all kinds of smiths' and car-
penters' work. The attainments of the boys
in writing and cyphering were as good as

MISSIONARY PLANS.

159

all, I
fix on,
zation.
;his, in
ide for
>ion to
tend it
for the
} lake.
v\\\ be
ninary

s5sion I
nllai^e,
al^lish-
United
this is,
1 from
d, and
) daily
r)w up,
s very
orderly
IS with
and to
d car-
le boys
rood as

those in an English country parish ; and I
find that their moral conduct as a community
IS at least as good, and perhaps a little better
than that of any parish of wi.ite i)eople.

The mission under the Moravians on the
Thames, in which they unite farming and
mechanical pursuits with christian instruction,
and bring together the whole community for
daily prayer, is, so far as I can understand,
the next in point of success to our own
Mohawk mission. In the other church mis-
sions, where there are merely day schools,
Christianity seems to have advanced just in
proportion as the Indians have adopted the
pursuits of agriculture, and acquired civilized
habits. This has been the result also in
other places, so far as I can learn.

Now when we consider the extreme degra-
dation of those who have come into contact
with white people without embracing Chris-
tianity, and the extreme instability of those
who have embraced it under most other
forms than that of the Church, and indeed
the little success dissenters have had in
making converts at all,— I think we must say
that the results of our own Mohawk mission
speak volumes.

The conclusions I come to are these, that

If-

160

MISSIONARY PLANS.

it is to little purpose to attempt anything for
the Indians, unless by means of a settled
establishment ; that that establishment should
make it a primary object to obtain whatever
Indian children it can, and train them up as
christians; that it should seek every means
of bringing the Indians into daily intercourse
with religious and intelligent white people;
that in fact it should carry on civilization
co-ordinately with conversion, and as a means
to it : and that it should provide opportunities
of joint daily devotion for both adults and
children. I learn indeed from the missionaries,
as I have said already, that the Indians are
perfect children ; that they require the con-
stant direction and superintendence which
children require.

To make a perfect establishment of the
kind I suggest, we should require a mis-
sionary, a schoolmaster, a schoolmistress, a
farming man, a carpenter, a smith, a shoe-
maker, besides domestics. The missionary
and schoolmaster might be the same person :
or rather, (as it becomes every day more
evident that the Moravian system, by which
the missionaries are sent two and two, is
almost necessary in remote situations) there
should be two missionaries, both school-

MISSIONARY PLANS.

161

if the
mis-
ss, a
shoe-
mary
rson :
more
hich
o, is
there
ihooU

ttiastefs. For a beginning, we might dis-
pense with the schoolmistress, the shoemaker,
the carpenter and the smith ; but the
farming man, and one too who understood
the Canadian style of farming, would be
indispensable ; for one of the prime objects
should be to induce the Indian to cultiv.ate,
and for that purpose to teach him. In order
to do this, he must be got to work with the
European, to mould himself after him, to
learn by imitation his habits of mind and
action.

This is the kind of establishment we want;
and we need that all these should begin and
end every day, publicly and openly, with
holy prayers and hymns and the re.iding of
God's word; and that they should do this,
partially at least, in the languages of those
amongst whom they should minister, and
invite — nay, beguile and bribe — them to
unite with them.

All this requires first, the land, which, as
it is under the controul of the government
(although belonging to the Indians), and of
small value, might be had for little or nothing ,
with the consent of the government and th?
Indians themselves. Then it requires the
men, and the means of their support, until

162

MISSIONARY FLANS.

Ik)

the land itself can be made to support them ;
and it requires men who would be content
with a bare support, and that in the plainest
way. It would ultimately require the means
of raising or purchasing suitable buildings.
The last, if done in the rude manner of
the country, would not be an article of
great expense. £300 would cover the
first cost ; indeed, if we employed our own
people, probably even half would suffice.
But the thing we want most is, that which is
so rare in these days, men who would enter
such an establishment, to work in it according
to their ability, not as masters or servants, but
for love to their fellow-men, and a desire to
sj)end and l)c spent for Christ's sake.

In short, wlienever I reflect upon the
subject, my mind recurs to the christian
establishments by which England was origi-
nally brought within the pale of the Church.
They comprised all the elements which have
hitherto been most successful, and they com-
prised them more ])erfectly and systemati-
cally than any of modern days.

They had the missionaries and the school-
master, and the artizan, and the farming man ;
all intelligent for their day, all devout, all
self-denying ; not desiring to heap riches for

MISSIONAHY PLANS.

163

themselves, but devoting tl.emselves to the

good of others. These were the men who

civilised England whilst they christianized

"• Oh ! that we had something of this spirit
again!

But that can scarcely be, whilst the clergy
are only men educated as gentlemen; whilst
tlieir mentiil condition and ordinary habits
keep them involuntiirily from familiar inter-
course with the lower classes; whilst the
gradations of clergy extend themselves to all
the up,,er classes of society, but do not ramify
through the lower. 1 know that there is a
dread of lowering, the clergy as a class, by
taking any of them from the imperfectly edu-
cated or uneducated ; and I am far from wish-
ing to have a coarse, vulgar set of i.eople
bearing the name of clergymen. But it is
not all low that lies in the lower ranks. There
are many men in the lowest grades whose
inuuh are essentially of a high cast; whose
characters are noble, and who shew that they
are not vulgar, by catching refinement when-
ever they are brought into connexion with it.
ihese are the men we want to find out
amongst the schoolmasters and artizans and
fanning labourers ; not to make them all cler-
gymen, but to bring them into connexion

164

MISSIONARY PLANS.

with us, especially the yo'ing^r nien, and
train them up for the service of God in his
Church. These are the men, if we can find
them, whom we must attach to our missionary
stations. And perliaps the training schools
of the old country, especially those in which the
pupils are encouraged to cultivate handi-
crafts, or to practice agriculture, may be the
source from which we are to derive our most
efficient missionary labourers.

These are the views to which I have been
led by the conversations I have had with Mr.
McMurray and other persons interested in
the Indians, by the visits and inquiries I have
been able to make during my vacation, and
by the reflection by which I have endeavoured
to digest all that I have seen and heard, in
conjunction with the thoughts I have long
had in regard to missions to the heathen. I
have taken this mode of maki?»g known what
appear to me to be the exigencies of the case,
and my own views of the best means of meet-
ing them ; and I am glad to know, that there
are those in England at present who are pre-
pared to entertain similar views. I shall be gra-
tified to find that thislittle publication awakens
an interest in the minds of others on a subject
upon which I myself, and the friends I hare

MISSIONARY PLANS.

165

mentioned, take so deep an interest, and that
it prepares the minds of any to co-operate
with me in carrying out the measures I have
at heart. Tim is not the place to say more
on the subject; hut I hope to find encourage-
ment lo hiy my phuis more at length before
the public, through some other cliannel, when
further acquaintance with practical details
enables me so to do.

INDIAN ANCHOR.

•^

[166]

I '

CHAPTER XIX.

The interest I was led to take in the
Indians of the Sault St. Marie, and in the
Chippeway race to the west of the Sault, has
had the natural result of leadinjr my inquiries
towards the Indian races still farther to the
west and north, inliabiting for the most part
the tract of country called Rupert's land.
My informants have been principally a gen-
tleman formerly engaged in the fur business,
as a member of the Hudson's Bay Company,
and an officer of artillery, who had traversed
those countries for the purpose of conducting
a chain of magnetical observations.

From them I was surprised to learn, that
the number of Indians inhabiting the British
territories to the north and west of Canada
is much greater than that of those in the
settled provinces, amounting in short to
nearly 40,000 souls. This amount was
gained by the military officer above men-

WILD INDIAN TRIBES.

167

tioned, by actual inquiry at the various posts
of the Hudson's Iky Company which he
visited. At tliese places he ascertained the
exact number of Indians who personally visit
those posts for the purpose of selling furs :
and as the personal observation of the officers
of the Company (who are continually living
about in the forest amongst them), enables
them to know in many cases the pr portion
borne by the Indians visiting tlieir ports
to the families of which they are the repre-
sentatives, he had it in his power to make a
much more accurate api)roximation to the
real number than could have been supposed
possible. From these inquiries lie conclude<l
that the number of Indians in these terri-
tories, to the east of the Uocky Mountains
and north of the lakes, was as many as
18,000. Of these I have already stated that
the Crees occupy the vast extent of country
north of Canada, between it and Hudson's
Hay. Hut the most numerous race seems to
be the Chippewyans, who (strange as it may
seem) are a totally different race from the
Chippeways and speak a different language.
They extend from English River northerly
to the Esquimaux inhabiting the Polar seas,
and are in number about 9,000 : their most

168

WILD INDIAN TRIBES.

numerous tribes being tlie Chippewyans
Proper, the llarc Indians, and tho Dog-rib
Indians. These have sliown a much greater
disposition to embrace Christianity than any
other of the northern nations on this conti-
nent to whom it has l)een offered.

The whole of the Indians, I have already
mentioned, are scattered about in numerous
small communities, and live almost entirely
by the chase. But there is another collec-
tion of tribes lying to the south-west of the
lakes, and between them and the Rocky
Mountains, the chief of whom arc the Assini-
boins, who appear much more likely ulti-
mately to come within the pale of the Church
than even those I have already mentioned. In
the first place they are far less scattered,
occupying a space of eight or nine hundred
miles by about three hundred, and amounting
to. sixteen or seventeen thousand at the
lowest computation. One of the great ob-
stacles at all times encountered in chris-
tianizing the Indians arises from the diffi-
culty of finding a sufficient number together
in any one place to form a permanent con-
gpregation. This results in part from their
being compelled to sepainte into smal^
parties in order to find a sufficiency of

PASTORAL INDIANS.

160

Ither
;on-
Iheir
lall
of

suhsistenco, and in part from their being
en^au;ed in the pnrsuit of wihl animals, for
the sake of their furs. Hut the Indians I am
speakinir of, inhahit a eountry to a great
degree p.istoral, hsiving hirixe possessions of
hutfah)es, and eonsccpicntly hi-ing under less
indueement to \van(h'r and heeonio scattered.
Tlie circumstance of tlieir heiiiir ccdlected in
larger communities, has likewise caused them
to be a few degrees further advanced in civi-
lization, and consequently more capable of
comprehending and ii[)preciating the doc-
trines of the gospel; for all experience teaclies
that, .iiiwever the corruj)tions of civilized
countries may hinder the full effect of chris-
tian principles, a state of degraded barbarism
is an almost total bar to tlu ir reception. For
these reasons it seems probable, that a much
fuller measure of success would attend the
efforts of the christian missionary, if stationed
amongst those of whom I am speaking, than
is to be expected in any other of the aborigi-
nal tribes under British protection.

The whole of these Indians, 1 have already
said, trade with the Iludsons' Bay Company,
who it would seem are actual owners, under
the British government, of the greater por-
tion of the territory inhabited by them; having

170

RUPERT S LANfJ.

had conveyed to them, at a very early period,
a charter jrranted by king Charles I. to
prince Rupert, from whom this tract of
country derives the name of Prince Rupert's
Land. For a lon<^ time it was a source of
great emolument to the Company ; but the
animals producing furs having been gradually
extirpated, and the supply of furs having
thus become gradually less and less, the
revenues of the Company are so inconsider-
able, that parents who have themselves been
members of it, do not care to place their sons
in the position tiicy themselves occupied.
The result will probably be, in no long course
of ycnrs, that the (^oinp.iny will bo disposed
to iMJC()ura<»:e emiiiration to their territorv.
Meanwhile, being absolute musters of the
soil, they exercise an entire controul over the
inhabitants, so far as they judge it expedient ;
and conse(|uently no christi;in minister cnn
offieiate tliiTo without their consent, or in
any other plaee or manner than as they per-
mit. 'J'liere is nither a curious consecjuence
of this state of things. The Company, b<>ing
themselves of various denominations, have
agreed to j>ermit missions of various christijin
bodies, viz., the Church, Romanists, and the
Wesbnans: no other than these will tiu'V

INDIAN CONVERTS.

171

liavc

stij«n

(I tiio

tlu-y

permit to enter the country, except perhaps
the Presbyterians. But this is not all ; they
actually so thoroughly restrict them as to the
place of their ministrations, that they will
not permit the ministers of two different
christian bodies to officiate in the same place.
The Cliurch, the Roman Catholics, and the
Methodists, each have their allotted district,
within which tiiey may minister either to
those of European descent, or to the Indians
and half-breeds; but they dare not venture
into each other's territory. It is tiie condition,
which if they trans<rress, they would be
removed altoi^ether from the Company's ter-
ritories. This of course has the effect of
producing; relij^ious peace.

IJut there is another result, which may or
may not have been contemplated. I5y this
means the effect of the relijj^ious system of
the different christian bodies has been tested;
and njy informant tells me that the members
and servants of tin* C«unp;iny have come to
a conclusion (lecide<liy in favour of tin' (Jliurch
of En^^land. Tlicy find that the Indian c(»n-
verts, nuule cither by the Roman mJN'^lonaries
or by the Wesleyans, lose tiie ^•irtues of tiieir
heathen state, and become indoItMit and un-
trustworthy. This is attributed to their

172

INDIAN CONVERTS.

h.ivin^ resigned the principles and motive*
which formerly swayed them, and replaced
them by a very distorted view of Christianity.
The Roman C'atholic missionaries are charged
with haptizinjj^ converts in the most careh'ss
and iiasty manner, without instruction or any
other kind of trial ; and when tht y a.? ciiris-
tened, the whole of the religion they learn is
said to consist in the repetition of a few
prayers and other external acts of devotion ;
hut the necessity of a change of Iw^art, purity,
nj)rightness, conscientious discharge of rela- -
tive duty, are alhrmed to he idi'as with which
they are wholly unconversant. The VVes-
leyans seem to err in a manner much more
similar than would have heen exjxcted by
persons who know the great antipathy with
which they regard Papists. 'J'heir great
characteristic on this continent si cmus to be,
the love of excitement. 1 liey, it is true,
teach their (lisci})les to look for a new birth,
but it seems to consist practicall) in being
wrought up to a great j)itc]i of terror and
agitation, and being subsecpuntly brought to
feel great joy and transport. I'he ground for
this transport seems not to be a matter of
incpjiry ; the very existence of it, if preceded
by violent alarm, is too hastily taken for a

INDIAN CONVERTS.

173

bo,

injr

uul

t to

for

led

mr a

pledore of the divine favour. Tiie next token
of p;race is tlie power of extemporary prayer;
and when this is obtained, the e(»nvert is sup-
posed to be confirmed in the ^ood way.
Prayer me(tin;rs are the ^roat business of the
religious Indian, and private ])rayer seems
not to be much understood, much less the
controul of the appetites and passions, except
in their j^rosser manifestations; still less the
observance of diiit^ence in any calling, and
integrity in dealing with mankind.

Of course I do not undertake to pledge
myself to anything but the fact that I am
told tiiere is such an impression on the minds
of well informed persons as to the defects of
these converts and their causes. The same
prejudice does not exist against converts
made by the Church. They are not so
numerous as those of other bodies, because
our clergy look to some moral proof of
earnestness and understanding of the nature
of religion ; and because our system has but
little attraction for either the senses or the
natural feelings ; hut our Indians are more
to be depended on in transactions of various
kinds, and attend much better to their busi-
ness and relative duties. Tiiey learn to pray
even in solitude ; and can practice their

"■P^M

174

BISHOP OP

religion without the excitement of social
meetings; whilst the Wesleyan Indian fancies
that he cannot pray in the retirement of the
forest, whilst he is separated from other men
in huntinj^ the wild animals for the sake of
their fur. He thus learns to ne(»lect that
which is the ordinary callinjr of his race, and
adopts no other in its place ; but becomes
idle and dishonest.

The way therefore seems to be prepared
for a larger extension of the ministry of the
Church in tiiose countries: and it is perhaps
this state of thiiit^s which has in part induced
the Hudson's Bay Company to ai'ree to assist
in supportin;>- a bishop for that territory, if
one should be jippointed. I do not mean to
say that the benefit of tiie Indians is the only
or principal motive ; but that the practical
experience of the hii^her n)oral etHciency of
the Church of England, both upon Indians
and uj)on white ])eople, has induced them
to incline latterly to the Church. Their
promise of support to a biNhop is, I believe,
at present cloi>i:,ed with tlie condition that he
shall take change of a detinite district at the
Red River, as a parochial cler«rynian, and
that of course principally with a view to the
white settlers and half breeds : but althouLch

^mmm

RUPERT S LAND.

175

ULjh

a bishop in a new country would of course of
Lis own accord, when at home, be disposed to
devote himself to the spiritual interests of
those ot the same blood livini»; around him,
and would desire to teach his clergy by
example what he desires to see in them, —
no one, I should think, who looks >>ither to
the number of seatrtred posts of the Com-
pany, or to the lar<j;;(' p()])ulation of Indians
under British rule, woidd desire to see the
bishop become little more than a settled
pastor and overseer t(i the few elerj^y at pre-
sent ministerinii;' to the white settlers near the
Hed River and Lake Winnipei^. 'I'he supply
of one ordinance of the Church, vi/. con-
firmation, even to white peo[)le, will re(piire
that the bishop should be a very considerable
traveller, ovvinir to the vast breadth of coun-
try over which the posts of the Company are
extiMided. Hut independently of this, are
the Indians to be ne;»lectt'd .'' And if they
aro not, will it not rttpiire a considerable
portion both of the time and of thi> attention
of the bishop to make suitable provision for
their conversion and instruction. Ciranted
that he must of necessity depute the actual
work of labourin*^ aujon^st tluiu to others,
can it be carried on elfectuallv without his

176

PROBABLE DUTIES

pprsoiially visitinor, as cliief ])astor, the scenes
of their labours. In a settled country, where
duty is a matter of course, where there is a
well-instructed clerjry, where a regular post
and rapid travellinjr make intercourse easy,
a hishop may perhaps superintend his diocese
effectually without j)ersonally visitin^; every
con^Tc^i^ation or parish. IJut the case is very
dilVercnt where circumstjinces are continually
arisinj^ for which the Church has no provi-
sion, — where the people have no traditionary
observances ke|)t up all around them, — where
the clergy themselves, in the multiplied
discouraj:;»Mnents and temptations by which
they are surrounded, find it almost as much
as they can do to keep up Christian faith at
all, and are apt to allow the accessories of
religion to sink into ne«^lect. lender such
circumstances, it retpiires the bishop's occa-
sional pcrsoiKil presence at the scene of his
brother's labours, — to witness with his own
eyes Ids dilliculties and temptations, — to
cheer him with personal converse, to en-
coura«re with the results of an experience he
has himsi'lf been all his life accumulatin<jf,
and to which he adds continually by this
very act of personal visitation.

i '

OF THE NEW BISHOP.

177

Nor is this all. Man is but man ; and left
to striijrirle on aloius he is apt unawares
hiinst'lf to fall into neglects, which become
serious when it is perhaps too l;ite to remedy
them. The bishop by personal visits nii^ht
become aware of these involuntary hipses, —
mi<(ht kindly point them out, — nii<iht ^uard
a«i;ainst others which itad not yet developed
themsolvi's.

Ihis is but a specimen of the kind of
causes which would recpiire from the bishop
a personal |U'riodical vi^itation of his di(»cese,
however exi;ensive, — and consecpiently ujake
his beinj( personally responsible for the sole
care of a parochial (dstrict out of the (piestion
as a p(>rmanent arrani^ement.

'I'here is moreover another kind of busi-
ness, connected with the Indian population,
which would demaiul much of the bishop's
thouii^ht and time, and that is the promotion
of Christian instruction and education. There
are at least three chief Indian lannuaiies to
be mastered — the C'hippewny, the ('hip[)e-
wyan ami the Assiniboin: there is the pre-
paration of translations of the l*rayer Hook
and Hible, with elementary educational
books, to be accomplished altoi;rtlier in the
two latter, ami to be completed in the former ;

178

DUTIES OF THE BISHOP.

and if this is to be done effectually under the
superintendence of the bishop, he must make
himself so far acquainted with the languages
as to be in some degree a judge of the
qualifications of those who prepare these
trauiiations. And, indeed, if he is to minis-
ter as he oui^ht to the Indian converts
themselves, — he should be to some extent
acquainted with their language. This it is
clear will require time and labour, and per-
sonal association with the Indians, — in what-
ever way it is to be attained. And it is
another portion of the argumeiit to prove,
tliat (however grateful we may hi that the
Hudson's Bay Company are ciisposed to
assist in supporting a liishop, even on con-
dition of his undertaking a pastoral charge,
and however glad we may be to accept such
a proposal, as a beginning of the Episco-
pate,) yet some arrangement must ultimately
be made which shall give the Bishop an
adequate income, independent of the neces-
sity of parochial duties; otherwise it will be
impossible for him to fulfil iii any sufficient
degree the duty which rests uj^on our branch
of the Churcli Cjitlioiic towards the Indian
natives who are [>rovidentiall) brought under
our influence.

RECENT DISCOURAGEMENTS.

179

It IS

rove,
t tlie
d to
con-
arge,
such
isco-
ately
p an
eces-
11 be
cient
an eh
idian
nder

It is true that these repeated calls upon
the purses of churchmen, from all quar-
ters, domestic as well as foreign, may for
a while tend to paralyze exertion, hy mak-
ing persons sensible of the immensity of
the work, and of the apparent hopelessness
of seeing anything done adequate to the
exigency. It is still more discouraging that
so many of the very school of men in the
church, who were beginning to shew signs of
a desire to revive those habits of simplicity
and self denial, which are essential to the
missionary life, have (from whatever cause)
withdrawn the benefit of their example and
precept from the church of their fathers. But
the instances of serious loss to the church are,
I hope, not proportionally so many as they at
first sight appear. Some of them are ca^es
not of a habit of self-denial, but of the oppo-
site habit of self-will. In others again, vvliere
the self-denial was undoubted, there are
marks of a want of sound praetieal judgment
in matters between man and man, which
makes tlie loss to the church much less than
it at first siglit appeared; for whatever some
may ima<iine, the absence of sound iudo^ment
is one of the most serious of all defects in a
christian minister, and will mar the effect of

180

MISSIONARY WANTS.

I :

much zeal, and of other more brilliant virtues.
So that I auW return to the sentiments I
expressed in the fore«roin<r chapter. We want
well informed churchmen, of simple habits,
devoted to the cause of Christ and the wel-
fare of mankind, not romantic, but earnestly
perseveriui;-, — capable of turninj^ their hands
to anytliinti^ and willin<^ so to do, but still
well (pialilii>d in some particular branch. A
society of such men, derj^ymaii, schoolmaster,
farmin«r labourers, artiznns, we want planted
here and theri^ «)Vfr any new country, keep-
up daily instruction and labour and prayer;
and 1 do not despair of seeing such societies
brought into oj)eration ';i our day. I'he
most ert'ectual missions have ever a[)proxi-
mated to this character; and I am persuaded
that one such n^is>«ion, under a bishop who
understands its real merits, who lives in or
near it, and will work it etVectually, must be
the ])ari'nt of many nu>re.

It was the interest in th<.' Indians of the
Sault Ste. Marie, which first drew my atten-
tion to this subject, with a view to any defi-
nite practical result ; but ac(|uainted, as I am
now, with the condition of so many tens of
thousands of that race, under British influ-
ence, the interests of such a handful of men

8AITLT STE MARIE.

181

irtues.
Mils I
L' want
labits,
e wel-
nestly

hands
It still
h. A
naster,
lanted

keep-
rayer ;
fieties

proxi-
uaded
I) who
in or
list he

of the
atti'n-
V defi-
s I am
ens of
inHu-
■ men

appear to sink into utter insignificance. And
yet the interests of that handful of men, and
the importiince of that station, on other
grounds, remain just as I have stated them.
They are not changed in a single j)oint; they
would be but little changed, if a bishop were
appointed to Prince Rupert's Land; only that
if that station became the south-eastern ex-
tremity of his diocese, although it could not
assume to his mind the importjince it pos-
sesses when viewed as a single case, he would
still be more likely than any other bishop to
appreciate its value; — for it would be the spot
which would unite him to the civilized world.
Although, therefore, the actmJ importance
of the Sault rests as it was, it may be desirable
to wait until the appointment of a bishop to
that intended diocese, before pressing any
further upon British churchmen the interests
of that particular place. Meanwhile, it may
not be uninteresting to those friends, who
have already felt i. concern in it from my
representations, to know that it is not alto-
gether forgotten : for at one of the sittings of
the Church Society in Toronto, which took
place within the past year, there was an allow-
ance voted to pay the expenses incurred by
the missionary at the Great Manitoulin Island

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TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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1.0 !f "^ I

I.I

2.5

»^ 1^ iij!)2.2
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1.6

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Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 873-4503

^9)

182

SAULT STE MARIE.

in visiting the Sault. Such an annual visit
serves to keep up the connexion between the
Indians and the Church, and that is all. It
does not answer the various important ends
to be attained by a mission actually on the
spot.

C185]

CHAPTER XX.
Ever since I came to this country and
observed the unecclesiastical character of
most of our sacred edifices. I have felt an
anxiety that some remedy might be f9und
for it. With regard to those which are con-
structed of brick and stone, there seems
to be a fair prospect of the evil being abated;
for in their construction the aid of the archi-
tect is called in, and it is easy to see that
there is a gradual approximation to a truer
taste; and that professional emulation will
render that approximation every day more
near. But with regard to wooden build-
ings, of which kind most must be for many
years to come, the case is different; no
architect is consulted, and the clergyman and
the building committee, with the builder,
settle the style of the erection. Appeals
have been made to the Oxford and Cambridge
Architectural Societies, but as yet little has

emanated from their members, and nothinir
r2 *

INMMMMM

186

WOODEN CHURCHES.

has reached us ; and that, perhaps, from this
reason, that they do not know what is the
actual construction of our wooden churches,
and consequently do not know in what way
their advice is needed. In order then to aid
our friends at home, I will give a brief account,
so far as an amateur can do, of the actual
construction and necessary features of our
wooden fabrics, and suggest some principles
which appear to me desirable to keep in mind
in improving them.

The most simple kind of wooden church
is formed of trees, laid horizontally one on
aifother, like the log -houses; the consequence
is, that all the main lines are horizontal, with
the exception of thoss of the roof. In a
building of brick or stone, the arch would
be naturally introduced, from the want of
a piece of either, sufficient in length and
strength, to sustain the portion of wall over
a door or window ; but in the log building
there is no difficulty of the kind, and con-
sequently the square door-way and window
are the natural attendants upon that species
of building.

The next question is as to the size and
number, proportions, position, &c. of the
windows. The great point in Canada is not

WOODEN CHURCHES.

187

m this
is the
irches,
at way

to aid
jcount,

actual
of our
iiciples
n mind

church
one on
quence
al, with
In a
would
ant of
th and
.11 over
uilding
d con-
inCow
species

ize and

of the

is not

so much to admit lif^ht, as to exclude it ; or
rather to admit as little as can possibly be
wanted : for the sun in summer, and the
snow in winter, produce a glare which is
all but intolerable. I have therefore thoua^ht
it a great mistake in most of our Canadian
churches that they were too light. It is evi-
dent, then, that the windows should be smiall
and few; or if that is not the case, that recourse
should be had to the external French blinds
so constantly adopted in the houses of this
country. That feature however is never seen
in the log-house, because it is generally speak-
ing an expense inconsistent with the re-
sources of those who build it.

The next point is the proportions. And
here I think it will be agreed that a church
window should, if possible, have height;
partly that there may be something about it
tending upwards, to compensate hr the pre-
valence of horizontal lines. And if they are
to be high, they must likewise be narrow, in
order to be small.

The position of the windows I shall regard
under two aspects, viz., in what walls of the
building they should be placed, and at what
height from the ground. I imagine that any
log building would be adequately lighted by

18S

WOODEN CHURCHES.

f i'

windows on the sides, and one, two, or three
lights at the east end, according to the size
of the buikling. In order to prevent the
attention of the congregation from being
distracted by external objects, they should be
at least seven or eight feet from the ground ;
and to prevent an unpleasant glare from be-
hind the clergyman, when standing at or near
the altar, the chancel windows should be very
hijjh indeed. There would then be ample
room for the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and
Commandm'^nts, which are too often omitted.
A word or two on the style of the win-
dows, and I have done with this part of the
subject. The windows and doors being square
in their outline, and the surface of the build-
ing being rough and uneven, anything which
is to give them an ecclesiastical character
must come within that outline. A label,
therefore, in the ordinary position would be
unsuitable, as it could not advantageously
be fixed to the rough logs of the exterior :
it requires a smooth and firm surface to
set it against. But any kind of label or
moulding which could be placed on the ac-
tual window frame, so as to throw the snow
out from the window, would be advantageous.
The arch, though inadmissible in the outline

WOODEN CHURCHES.

189

three

e size

It the

being

ulcl be

•ound ;

3m be-
ar near

)e very
ample

er, and

imitted.

le win-
of the
square
build-
which

liaracter
label,

lould be
reously
Lterior :

Iface to
label or
the ac-
lie snow
tageous.
outline

of the window frame, might very well be
introduced within it, by way of ornament,
and as furnishing an anparent strength to
the beam of wood which passes over the win-
dow. This would still be more proper in the
door-ways, as being wider; and again in that
portion of the interior where the body of the
building and the chancel connect together.
The glazing of the windows might likewise
be so managed as to have an ecclesiastical
appearance ; always remembering that a por-
tion of them should open, to cause ventilation
in the summer. And that again gives an addi-
tional reason for their being at a distance
from the ground, that the heated air may rise
and escape through them, whilst the cool air
comes in through the door or any other open-
ings which may be devised for that purpose.
A corresponding reason applies in the winter;
for it is inconvenient to be compelled to
stand near to a window at that season, as the
cold pours in readily through the thin glass.
There is nothing in the climate of Canada
which requires a high pitched roof. The
snow is not liable in general to injure the
roof by lodging on it ; indeed it adds to the
comfort of the place, by excluding the cold ;
ficcordingly, the roofs are almost always

190

WOODEN CHURCHES.

-I

t >

!,1 »

equilateral, or even lower. The roof itself
would be covered with shingles; and, although
not usual, it would be an advantage that the
roof should project, to carry off from the foun-
dation whatever droppings of melted snow or
rain there might be, and to assist in keeping
the building cool in summer and warm in
winter. It is customary to carry a flat ceiling
across these buildings ; but that is not neces-
sary, provided the roof be made thoroughly
air-tight, to keep in the heat in the winter.

I ouo^ht likewise to mention, that in Canada
there are two essentials in every building of
any size, viz., a porch or vestibule with an ex-
ternal door as well as an internal one, to keep
out the cold in winter,— and a stove to heat
the interior. The latter is not a mere comfort
or convenience, but a necessity. It is likewise
necessary in wooden buildings that the pipe
of that stove should not be carried immedi-
ately out of the building, but rather brought
up through it; or even that it should traverse
it horizontally, in order to economize heat.
In the smaller buildings it is sufficient that
the pipe should pass out to the roof through
the apartment; but in larger ones the pipes
must pass from end to end. This is far from
ornamental, but it cannot be dispensed with,

WOODEN CHUnCHES.

191

itself
lOugh
at the
foun-
10 w or
jeping
irm in
ceiling
neces-
oughly
inter.
Canada
ding of
I an ex-
okeep
to heat
comfort
ikewise
he pipe
mmedi-
ronght
raverse
e heat,
nt that
hrough
e pipes
ar from
d with,

and therefore must be provided for in the
construction of the building. Then again,
to avoid currents of cold air, the stove
must be near the entrance of the church.
A necessary consequence of all this is, a
chimney or chimneys of brick or stone, for no
other will answer; luiless indeed the iron pipe
be carried out, and then it must be taken
througii an opening of brick or stone, other-
wise the security of the building is endan-
gered. The ordinary practice, therefore, in
the smaller buildings is to have a chimney
of brick, with a cap to it, on the ridge of the
roof of a church or school-house; or, if the
building is larger, to have two or more of
these, half on each side.

I have hitherto spoken only of log build-
ings; another «ind a more frequent kind for
churches are frame buildings. These are
raised by erecting a framework of pine, cover-
ing the inside with lath and plaster, and
the outside with weather-boards placed hori-
zontally, and lapping one over the other.
In some cases the building is rough-cast on
the outside. Now in regard to the windows
and door-ways of the orilinary frame build-
ing, the same remarks apply, as in the case
of the log building; and for the samt rca-

ll)-2

WOODEN CUURCHES.

son, — tliut ull the main lines are liorizontal,
and the surface of the wall not smooth. But
a much neater and closer finish is required
in the frame building, and allowance must be
made for the fact that tiie walls are thinner
than in the lojr house. There is likewise a
peculiarity in the finish of the corners of the
building, viz., that it is made by vertical
boards about three or four inches wide, on each
side of the corner. These angular boards, it
is plain, might be made ornamental, if worked
with mouldings.

It is evident that anything like battlements
would be unsuitable in these buildings; but
buttresses may possibly be required, or some-
thing at least to answer the same purpose,
when we raise our buildings high enough to
afford a sufficient height of window above the
Leads of the congregation. Still I think it
would be much better to accomplish the same
end by the internal strength of the frame-
work of the walls.

I have omitted to mention, that frame
buildings, of whatever kind, are erected upon
foundations of stone where it can be pro-
cured ; and where that is not the case, it is
considered expedient to raise them on piles
two or three feet above the ground. A few

WOODEN CHURCHES.

193

orizontal,
)th. Biit
required
e must be
re thinner
likewise a
lers of the
)y vertical
de, on each
r boards, it
I, if worked

battlements
^ings; but
d, or some-
e purpose,
enough to
Iw above the
1 think it
sh the same
the frame-
that frame
[rected upon
ban be pro-
^e case, it is
iem on piles
Ind. A few

steps tlicrefore on the outside are required
leading to the doorways.

In connexion with this remark, I will add,
that it is very customary in dwelling houses
to have the basement story sunk two-thirds
in the ground, and constructed of stone. This
phm is sometimes adopted with churches,
and then the space thus acquired is employed
for schoolrooms. In that case, likewise, the
main stoves are l)elow, and dnnih-stovcsy a sort
of retainer and receptacle of heat, arc placed
in the upper apartment.

Although it is un loubted, that frame build-
ings are more commonly erected for ehurches,
I cannot but think that the log might still be
used with advantage. They are warmer and
much more durable ; and if carving were
adopted as a mode of ornamenting them
externally, they might be made much more
agreeable to the eye than at present.

It is plain from what I have said, that many

of the ordinary rules of Gothic architecture

are inapplicable to such buildings. The

horizontal lines exclude the ordinary pointed

arch, and the thinness of the walls precludes

the beautiful succession of mouldintrs with

which the windows and door-wnvs should

retire from the surface of the wall. But with
s

194

WOODEN CHURCHES.

^ i:

■ \

these exceptions, there appears no reason
wliy Gothic architecture may not furnish all
the details of the edifice, under new combi-
nation!?^ to suit new exigencies. This appears
80 much the more reasonable, as most of the
details of the pointed style give an impres-
sion of having been originally worked out in
wood : and of course the cheapness of timber
in this country gives a great facility for the
construction of wooden ceilings, where the
design does not require so much labour, as to
render it in that way too expensive in a
country which, unlike ancient England, finds
the cost of labour the most burdensome of all
its expenses.

If these details should enable any architec-
tural friend to the colonial church better to
understand our requirements, and to furnish
us with corresponding working designs, I
shall be amply repaid.

I have said that our buildinors of brick or
stone bid fair to approach gradually to a truer
taste, by the competition of architects: but
there is one difficulty, which it will take long
to surmount, and that is the small and uncer-
tain remuneration to the architect himself,
which prevents him from furnishing himself
with adequate information, and the necessity

WOODEN CHURCHES.

195

reason
ish all
;ombi-
ppears

of the
mpres-

out in
timber
for the
3re the
ir, as to
re in a
id, finds
le of all

rchitec-
etter to
furnish
igns, I

)rick or
a truer
ks: but
|ke long

uncer-
Uimoclf,
I himself

'cessity

he is under of studying in some degree the
taste of the people, who for the most part
have no adequate perception of beauty and
fitness in church architecture. The latter
evil can be surmounted only by the gradual
acquirement of information by the clergy and
influential laity ; and this must necessarily
go on slowly, from the confined means of
both, and from the fact that there are ex-
tremely few persons of any class who have
leisure for voluntary studies. But sotnething
might be done, if from any quarter a good
collection of practical works could be sent
out, and placed in the library of any public
institution where they would be open to
general inspection. But to be really useful,
they must be essentially practical.

Tliis would meet the case of architects, and
other persons engaged in the practical parfc
of the business, as well as of the clergy and
laity resident on the spot : but it is important
that the clergy generally should acquire a
more correct taste, and more accurate know-
ledge, to be a check upon the practical persons,
and to guide and temper their views ; and that
can only be done by the distribution of books
on the subject amongst them: but whence
such distribution can arise it is difficult to sa^\

196

WOODEN CHURCHES.

p j:

!il

There is however an institution amongst
them, including I think all their members,
which might advantageously be employed to
disseminate the requisite information ; I
mean that of Clerical Societies, which brings
the clergy together periodically at each
other's residences. The secretary or* each of
these societies might be made the depository
of such practical works as any friend to the
Canadian Church might be disposed to
supply ; and from what I have seen of the
Canadian clergy, I am sure that nothing of
the kind would be lost upon them. Their
means are for the most part limited, but
they are intelligent churchmen ; zealous in
pursuit of everything, internal and external,
by which the honour of the Church can be
upheld, and supported most cordially in their
views and wishes by their brethren of the
laity. I feel confident, therefore, that what-
ever means of information they acquire will
be turned to account, and that speedily.

' \

FINIS.

ROWSELLS AND THOMPSON, PRINTEHS, TORONTO.

amongst
lembers,
loyed to
.tion ; I
h brings
at each
' each of
?pository
d to the
osed to
H of the
>thing of
. Their
ited, but
?alous in
external,
I can be
y in their
n of the
bat what-
][uire will
dily.

TO,