IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V m /. / / ..^ ij /< > ^% CP. y 1.0 I.I 1.25 28 lb m 1^ 12.0 iA IIIII.6 ^. ^ /a ^ /a A e. •^^ O « A^ :\ \ 4^^ ^^'' '^rN '^^".. ^^u ;\ 'i>^ . ^^^ r^^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. EZl Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains difauts susceptibles de nuire d la quality da la reproduction sont not^s ci-dessous. 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L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grSce d la g6n6rosit6 de I'^tablissement prdteur suivant : Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour Stre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont filmdes d partir de Tangle supdrieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 5 6 m;z.nr.t..i"-: ' ^-TTT, :-, rr .^ •5f .«ft/»x ...^ tiiifm'iiiiii-^"'^" ""'"^ «r iiip i^ HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND THE LxV SALLE HOMESTEAD OF IGCG AND OTHEi: OLD LAXDMAIJKS OF FlIENCH CANADA ON THE LOWER LAC MINE KUAD. ILLUSTKXTED. BY THE AUTHOR OF ''CANADIAN PEN AND INK SKETCHES." MONTREAL : '• WITNESS "' PRINTlN(i HOUSE. 1892. itiiiiauuueiitsiuaauauiMMatatMiuuasiatauaaaai ■v>.* ■ -3i 'T ••/ ;. ^' , l_ f '"'t^.,/-*^, y O '- T^^i'^Mix-'^.i^ f^--^-'- tSi VuuikM l uu i uuAmMjM ViMwrna •''^^-'•■^•--•••T^>1»fn-«iW.?:#!i«irit;ir'- HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND THK LA SALLE HOMKSTEAD OF IGOC AND OTHKi; OLD LAXI.MAliKS OF FliEXCH CANADA ON TflE LOWER LACMIXE ROAD. ILLUSTRATED. BY THE AUTHOR OF "CANADIAN PEN AND INK SKETCHES." MONTREAL :' " WITNESS " PRINTING H(WJSE. 1892. F"7 Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two, by John Fraseu, in the office of the Minister i>f Agriculture, J '»MUUilHIJM " HUI]W«.Ji,iMnm i 'T^^V.-'.-MrJ^ PREFACE. Thk La .Salle Uo.mestkai., Lac'iiixe IiAi'iiis, Canada, 'June, 1802. nmve],Wsurei„,,Iaci„.l,ef„re,l,c.,,„l,li,.,|,i.,,„ ,,„„,,,,,^, c..nta,n„,. an nccun^vitl, illust.-atiuns, „f tl.e „1,1 la,.,l,„arkj '■• Kronol, Ca„a,lu o„ the Lowe. Lacl.ino I;„acl. fro,,, the hea.l of tl,e I.ac.|.i„c l(a,,i,l.,_a ,hsta„c.e of o^■e,■ two „,ih,,_„,, ,„ ,,,3 ^^",.lm,ll, e,„l„.aci„g tl,e La .Salle Co„,„,o„ of Vm. the oM >:.,.h.l, Ki„,.s Posts of 1«2. the site of Cl,a„.,,lai„-s F„,-t,,.,U„. I'ost of 1615, the La Salle Ho,„estea,l of 1066. the r„i„s of K„rl (■."Ikrier of 107C, the eelela-ate,:. l.e„„er Fat,,,, the palisa.led ^ .llage of Laehu,e of 1666, the Kre„el, Catholic I'a.ish thavch of 1701, a„.l the old Wi„cl,„ill: all .leeply i„teresti„, to Ca„a- •lians m ge„eral, a„a to stu,le„ts of histo.y i„ particular. John Fraser. .'.'.•i.'.;i.'.f.',',}ttj..»,.;., THE LA SALLE HOMESTEAD AT LACHIXE, 1G66, AND THE GRAXD OLD CHIMXEY OF CHAMPLAIX'S FUR- TILVDIXG POST OF 1615. It IS recorded in Omadiaii liistoiy that sometime between the years 1609 and 1615, Champlain, then Governor of French Canada, established three fur-trading Posts in the colony ; one at Tadousac ; one at Tliree Ilivers ; the other at Lachine, at the head of the Sault St. Louis, the present Lachine Eapids. This was done some thirty years before the foundation of Montreal by Maisonneuve in 1642, and a dozen to fifteen vears before the formation of the company of the " One Hundred Associates." The post at Lachine being just below the junction of the Ottawa with the St. Lawrence, about eight miles from Mont- real, became the most important trading post in the whole Colony, and was periodically visited, spring and fall, by the various tribes of Indians living on the shores of the Upper Ottawa and the Lakes emptying into the St. Lawrence, to sell or to exchange their furs. It was built about two miles above the Lachine Rapids, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence; just at the present head entrance of the " Xew Inland Cut," of the Montreal Water Works, at the foot of the " Eraser Hill," on the site of the ruins •H* iiiiiiii nmTTiaiiiiffinfiniiiginiBga&ii 6 HISTORIC CANADIAN CJROUND. of the old stone Ijuilding now known as " Fort Cuillerier " or the " Cnillerier House." Chaniplain's post was established about fifty years before La Salle came to Lachine in 16G6 ; and it was in this old post that La Salle established his home or Manor Hou':e ; and the old chimney which still stands within the ruined walls of the Cuil- lerier House is the same chimney which stood within the wooden walls of Champlain's fur trading post of 1615, nearly three centuries ago, as we shall hereafter shew. This old ])ost of Champlain's day was the (-)nly building standing at Lachine when La Salle took possession of the land granted him by the gentlemen of the Seminary of St. Sulpice in 1666, and, in it he, La Salle, established his headquarters until such time as he had laid out and completed his palisaded village, which was one mile farther west, on the bank of the St. Lawrence, just between the present Windmill and the Cross road leading througli to Cote St. Paul. Champlain's post was built of wood ; of heavy timber, as the inside remains still shew. The only mason work connected with it was its Chimney or Fire Place, which still stands within the ruins of the Cuillerier House ; it is the most remark- able fire place or piece of old masonry now standing in all Canada, bearing evidence of its antiquity, and is still in a state of good preservation, except that portion of it abo^'e the roof. When La Salle had completed his palisaded village, which took him about two vears, he transferred the fur-trading busi- ness from Champlain's old post to his palisaded village. In later years, about six years after La Salle had left Lachincj sometime Ijetween the years 1673 and 1676, liene Cuillerier got possession of Champlain's (Ad post, which had been deserted, as a trading post ever since La Salle had transferred the fur- trad- ing business to his palisaded village. Cuillerier then converted the post into r fort, and he must have palisaded it all round, because Yaudruuil took shelter there with his 500 men ov his way back to Montreal from the scene of the massacre of Lachine, on the night of the 5th of August, 1689. jBaaMMMMTtiitiiafiMMami :,v»l.V>;;n;ifv%;.anti»r»K#^ii^;^i»>>>^^^•*i; iii8t0uic canadian ground. 7 thj: cuillerier house. Below is a true picture of tlie " Cuillerier House " — now in ruins — as it appeared until the year 1886. Tliis house, the reader will bear in mind, stands upon the site of Cliamplain's fur post of 1615 ; and that Cuillerier, l)etween the years 1673 and 1676, converted the old fur post into a fort; and it is on record in the papers of the Cuillerier family lliat the ])resent stone l)uilding, the " Cuillerier House," was commenced to be built of stone, by the Cuilleriers about the year 1700. Tlie first portion built was at the west end of the Innlding — say 23 feet fronting on tlie Lower Lachine Road, by 26 feet in depth. French measure, and later on the Cuilleriers continued the building to its present frontage. The part, first built of stone by the Cuilleriers, 23 by 26, was built against the chimney which stood within the old fur post ; an inspection of the present walls shews that the west end gable wall of the Cuillerier House is, or rather was, built against the old chimney, which was the chimney or fire place which stood within the wooden structure of Cliamplain's fur- trading post of 1615, when La Salle took possession of that post in 1666. This old building, the Cuillerier House, stands at the foot of the Fraser Hill, two miles above the Lachine liapids ; it has a frontage on the Lower Lachine lioad, facing the St. Lawrence KMOODMMMMMia "FFrfg Hi^£££ JJ>»11.»JW1..».IH.I- ,..— ^-■^l^^..^.^WWl~^.|r^|j 8 HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. of 56 feet 6 inches, with a depth of 27 feet 3 inches, French measurement (being 60 feet 4 inclies by 29 feet, English.) It had about 30 gun, or loop holes, on front, rear and sides. These gun holes have all been plastered over to secure the building from frost, to protect it for the purpo.ses for which it had been used during the past hundred years. But, inside, the gun holes were quite perfect until very lately For a part of the present century this old building had been used as a Cider House. The old cider mill and the cider presses can still be seen in the ruins. During the war of 1812 it had been used as a barracks ; and we believe, it was also used as a Military Hospital during the war, being close l)y and adjoining the English King's posts of 1812. The river front of this old building is, without question, the most interesting, historical spot, in all Canada. It was, to this- spot, in 1609, that Champlain came up to embark in an Indian canoe, to have a sail down the Old Sault St. Louis — the pres- ent Lachine llapids. This is the first spot of smooth water from which a canoe could shoot out to reach the channel of the river above the rapids. It was here, over fifty years before Lu Salle's day, that Champlain's fur-trading post was established. Let us try to draw a picture of those far-oft' days — nearly three centuries ago, when Champlain stood at the foot of the " Eraser Hill," at the head of that once beautiful little Ixav — now destroyed by the Water Works I^asin, surrounded l)y his escort band of wild Iroquois, with their canoes hauled up on the quiet shore, beneath the shade of the far-spreading primeval elms,, ready to embark to sail down those now far-famed rapids. This spot should be held sacred by Canadians for all time. Fancy Champlain's feelings as he embarked in his canoe to be paddled out to reach the channel of the river leading down through the centre of the Great Rapids; The excitement and the novelty of the sail would almost make him forget or be oblivious of the T)" danger ! THE ENGLISH KING'S POSTS OF 1812. The English King's posts of 1812 stood on the North l)ank of the St. Lawrence, right in front of the La Salle Homestead ;; 1 Vi ^™^'^***'*'^''°''^^ ^ssmSi iuwMriii^it^iiti'ifh'y. • fil - i v ! ' W . :ng»r'3{ntii aiSiamBeaaiii HISTORIC CANADIAN GROINP. and we now enter upon the task of picturing it — the old post — as we remember it at the time of its ev^acuation over sixty YEARS AGO, in 1826 or 1827. The writer saw the last soldier leave, l)ag and baggage, and he remembers and was at the " Vandue," as the Scotcli farmers called the sale by the Govern- ment of all the buildings, land, &c. This was the most celebrated military post in all Canada during the war of 1812. Every British soldier, every British Eegiment, with their guns, amunition, stores and baggage, sailed westward in bateaux from this place, and landed here on their return from Upper Canada at the close of the war. This was the place of embarkation westwards before the building of the Lachine Canal. During the war it was a common sight to see over fifty l)ateaux, filled with soldiers, leave this post in one day, on their way to join the army on the Niagara frontier. This was the head([uarters of our little army of defence dur- ing the American advance by way of Chateauguay, under H "iip- ton, in October, 1813. And every farm house from this place up to near Pointe Claire was billeted with regulars or militia. La Salle's old liome, near by, had sixty men billeted in it. This was Captain Mofl'at's company of Montreal militia. The late Mr. Ernest Idler once told the writer that he, as one of the sixtv, was stationed in that old house for six weeks. The eastern land Itoundary of the King's Posts was just where the Xew Inland Cut of the ^Montreal Water Works enters inland. It had a frontage on the King's highway of tlu'ee arpents, being the whole front of one of the farms, up to where the old powder magazine still stands; the eastern and western l)0undaries were marked by large stone posts with " G. R." and the liroad arrow. The depth was about tw(j acres^ making about six acres in superficies. THE BUILDINGS. Commencing at tlie eastern end, next to the AVater AVorks' entrance, was tlie bake and cook house ; next to it is an old stone building, still standing, about fifty feet fronting on the ■ a— M M WMM a MmtmM Mi 10 HISTORIC CANADIAN (illOUND. Lower Lachine Eoad, one storey and a lialf high, and about thirty feet deep. This building was used as the ofHcers' quarters. THE FINLAY HOUSE. Adjoining the old stone Imilding is the " Finlay House." John Finlay was the head officer of the King's post, and acted as commissary general or something in that way. He attended to the receiving and forwardhig of the government stores. It was he who engaged the voyageurs and boatmen to man the boats going west. He was looked upon as King of the King's posts. The Finlay House was built at the commencement of the war of 1812, and still stands — but a mere wreck of what it once was ! It was built of heavy timber, a double house, two storeys, about 40 by 40, lined with brick and clap-boarded outside. It was a grand house — the rooms were large and roomy. Tiiis house was the resting place of all the general officers passing up or down during the war. There were several houses of the same description luiilt by the government at that time, notably at Coteau du Lac and at Chambly. This house had a beautiful front — tastefully laid out, and planted with flowers, &c., and lined in front and by the side with Lombardy poplars, the fashional^le tree of old days in Lower Canada. It had its coach house and stabline^ ; these are all gone. There was also a garden in rear of about two acres, planted with all kinds of choice fruit, &c., and carefully attended to. There is nothing now left to mark where a garden had been. Since Mr. Finlay's day, this house has had many occupants. A Mr. Price, an English gentleman, lived there a few years and died there about 1833. The late Colonel Wilgress occupied it for a short time on his arrival in this country. ]\Ir. Davidson, late of the Bank of Montreal, had it for a summer residence for a few years. Then, among many others, the most noted of whom, the Eev. Wni. Bond (Bishop Bond), lived there five years, and it has ever since been known as the " Bond House." '*'"'''*'"''^*^ HISTOKIC CANADIAN GROUND. 11 Next to tlie Fiiilay House there stood a long wooden building about 70 feet front by 30 to 40 deep, having a stone foundation. This building, we believe was the soldiers' barracks. Next to this is an old stone building, still standing, and now used as a horse stable. We do not know what this building was used for. It may have been for a canteen, or a place to serve out the soldier's rations. Adjoining this is the old powder magazine, partly standing. A notable military relic of departed days ! On the river shore, opposite the powder magazine, was the military wharf ; it had a frontage on the river of al)out 200 feet, with a revetment wall made of heavy timber, having a depth of live to six feet of water at low water mark. There stood on this wharf, the whole length of it, two long large warehouses built of heavy timber, capable of storing an immense quantity of war-like stores. They had a second flat for lighter goods, which could be utilized as barrack quarters in an emergency. At the east end of these buildings was the main guard. The writer remembers seeing some of the last soldiers on sentry there. The Water Works Basin has entirely destroyed this old wharf. Farther down, on the river shore, just opposite to wdiere the old bake house stood, was the " Black Hole." A little farther down, on the river bank, about the centre of the Water Works entrance, stood another large wooden warehouse. In this building a room was set apart for Divine service for the troops. The Eev. Brook Bridges Stevens was chaplain to the forces there. THE STAFF CORPS BARRACKS. There was another frame building which stood inland, on the commons, just where the commons joined the eastern King's, post boundary. This building was a square of sheds, about, or over, one hundred feet square, some twenty feet high and twenty-five feet deep, having double tiers of sleeping berths,, and in the centre, in the inside of the square, was a cook house. Tliese sheds or barracks went by the name of the " Staff Corps Barracks." We suppose they were used by the old set- tlers passing up when detained at the post waiting for a boat. lUUfMHLIBlHI MM ^ir..fa%-j.-yv4tfrf.v4mtinfcs?«;^fe;tf^j:>;»:g«fi&&>ai^K.<'& 12 HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. We luive given, to the l)est of our ability, a true description of the buildings standing at this old ])Ost at the time of its evacuation. At the " vandue," or sale, Mr. Tenner purchased the land belonging to the government, and later on he acquired the rear of that farm. The two large buildings on the wharf stood there until within the past forty years, and were used by Mr. Tenner as a sleeping place for his hop-pickers. There would usually be fully two hundred hop-pickers during the hop-picking season, in the month of September of each year. The Old Chimney of Champlaln's Post of 1615 "'»'**°*''>'*'**''»g«»«»<^^ fcgJWMBI iiua •imSi HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. 13 THE OLD CHIMNEY OF CHAMPLAIN'.S FUK POST OF 1615. This old cliimney lias a history strett;liiii<^' far into and over the by -gone centuries of early Canadian days (being l)uilt over thirty years before j\Iaisonneuve's day) long before the founda- tion stone was laid in this (jueenly city of Montreal ; with its now nolile structures and princely mansions, basking under the shade of (jur stately Mount IIoyal. Long before a parish church ])ell was heard in the ancient town of ViLLE Marie, summoning the little l)ands of devout worshippers to tlieir early matins ; long before those days of early Canadian history did this old chimney stand, within the wooden walls of Oiamplain's fur trading post, as it still stands, on the l)ank of the St. Law- rence, two miles above the Lachine liapids, within the now ruined walls of the " Cuillerier House," a notable relic of early Canadian days. The dimensions of this old chimney are, 28 feet 6 inches high ; 9 feet broad at the base and 3 feet 6 inches thick. The fire place has an open front of 6 feet 3 inches, a height of 4 feet 3 inches, and a depth of 2 feet, making an open fire place of aljout fifty square feet, English measure ; built of solid masonry. There was a large oven in rear of the chimney, having an opening as may be seen, through the front of the fireplace. The oven is now in ruins, co^'ered over with lUhris. But the chimney itself is in a state of good preservation for about 24 feet high — that is, all is perfect except that portion above the roof. The immediate portion of the old building around the fire- place appears to have been the chief room and offices of the fur company of 1G15. This portion had no cellar under it, the other portion — the whole length of the l^uilding — had a cellar, except where the chimney stands. The writer remembers, over sixty years ago, when there was a fine room and office in front of this fire place ; these were then demolished to make room for a cider press. This room and office stood in the western portion of Champlain's trading- post in 1G66, when La Salle took possession of this place; and there, in this old post, he established his home or Manor House 14 HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. for about two years, until lie had erected his log-cah'ui in his palisaded village, about one mile farther west. There is the clearest evidence existing that the first portion of the " Cuillerier House," 23 by 26, which was commenced to be built of stone about the year 1700, was built against a former wooden building standing on that site, as the joining of the west gable-end wall to the old chimney shews. The walls testify to this fact ; and the old rafters and beauis, of tlie former wooden building, from end to end of the building, al)uut GO feet, are still there, clearly establishing this fact : — that the old chimney of Champlain's trading-post of 1615 is fully eighty YEARS older than the present " Cuillerier House," within whose walls it now stands. This was the home of llobert de La Salle, a name dear to all Canadians. How few now know of its existence, and fewer still of its whereabouts ! Its walls have withstood the rough blasts of nearly three centuries. The waters of the St. Lawrence still glide quietly by it as of old, but the rich fur- laden fleets of Indian canoes no longer visit that spot, nor is the merry song of the Canadian voyageur now heard there. Those days are gone ! La Salle needs no monument along our mountain slope. " No storied urn nor animated bust," to perpetuate or to transmit to future generations the great deeds of his purely unselfish life \ This whole northern continent of America, boundless and vast, bears unmistakeable traces of his footsteps. •His life was devoted to, and finally sacrificed, in the endeavour to extend the boundaries of his native land — Old France ! His discoveries and explorations were all made in the interest of the land of his birth, the country he loved ; therefore, so long as the noble St. Lawrence winds its course seaward, and our vast inland lakes exist as feeders i. jeof, or the great and broad Mississippi rolls its mighty waters to the main," these river banks and those lake shores — if all else were mute — will ever silently testify to the memory of that youthful explorer, La Salle, who first trod or traced their far western or southern shores. »wft«Kr#r;-{rv7ft^T'-'udJ^^i?^^t:M yi>ilW^^ 0) v> (U £ o X CO CO CO U. )_ V c c 4> Q- O HI.STojiK; CAXADIA.V fillOVyj) A \ HOMESTEAD /666 'r^OARPFfjm '\ \ lasalls: \ common /uu \ zoo ARPENTS 15 2 m^Sj[^ LACHINE i^^^^ MMMMCMMMMM 16 lllsTolilC (ANAIUAN CliorNli. THK LA SALLK HOMKSTKAl) AND COMMON OF W,i\. ()iil»ii!4'e "7" of I'lirkniMii's I.ii Salle, we read: — " I.a Sallf set a])ail a i-omiiiou of two liuiitlicd aipciit-; in cxlciil, for ihc use of tlie settlers, on condition of liie iiavnient liv cacli of five sous a vcar; he, veserviMl four hundred and Iwenlv arpenls for for his own personal doniiiin : he Jiail traced oul llie circuit of a palisaded villaui; and assigned lo each settler half an arjient, or ahout the third of an acre, within iIk; enclosure." This lioniestead, situated on the Lower Lachine lioad, facinu" the St. Lawrence, two miles ahove the Lachine llapids, ahout eight miles from Montreal and two miles from the present town of Lachine, heing composed of the i)resent three farms of the " Fraser estate;" having a frontage of nine arpents n\ the Lower Lachine lload, with a deitth of forty-six and two-third arpents, making four hundret' ajtides itrnducHHl in early (lays ill LdWt'i' Canada. In liif antunin nt" ISI'.l a[t]tl('s wire so jdcMiliful that Mr, IViiiier purcliased snihfieiil a]>i»les to make four humh'ed punche<»iis of cider, e(|ual In tifleeii hundred harrels. liesides his hop lields and ids cider husiness Mr. I'enner was known far md near I'or Ids line stock of imported cattle, ])ar- ticularly his shee]), which found i)urchasers even in the United States. After disposing; of his ]>roperty at Lachine he moved t(» KiiiListon, Ontario, where he died som»' tifteeii years ay^o. Awd eiuhtv-.seven. IVace to his niemorv. THE PALISADED VILLAGE OF LACHINE OF 1606. This drawing of the palisaded villaire was made in 1G80, twenty years after La Salle had left Lachine ; therefore, the reader of the present day must not be ilcceived into the belief that this is a picture of the village as it was in La Salle's day. It is no such thing. The only building then standing in it was La Salle's little log cabin, that one with the flag flying, which ^t^tt*:,i*^ryj^^->id •I' ^ 'i'i'i H^ jtf5t7ifi7Tii;r/g^ lllsrolMC CANAHiAN (;i;iii-Ni». I'.t wan nfterwards eiiliuyed liy Avhu Millni for the jMuposes of his trade, havin<; ])ur('lias('(l La Salle's liLjIits t<> the \ illaiio. The ]»rin(*ii»al IniiMiiius, as shown on the di-awiiiir, such ns the Windmill, the ("hapki., tlir Uakhacks, and the whole of the other hiiildiiij^'s enclosed witiiiii the walls, known later on as: " Fort licniy," were not hiiilt I'or some years later, some of the huildinj'swere not huilt for nearlvten vears after La Salle had left. (~ «. ft To liis jialisaded villane La Salle transferred the fur business, which had heeu carrieil on for over fifty years at ( 'hami>lain's old post: hut is it a sinj^ular fact that after the attempt hy :;iE;l;: The Old Catholic Fiirisli (, huich of ' hlne, ITOI to ISWt. Jean Millot U) carry on the fur Imsiness at the i)alisaded vilUiGie liad failed, that Cuillerier, alxnit the year 1G76, re-estahlished the fur business at Champlain's old post : and that Cuillerier and his successors carried on an extensive l)usiness there for nearly a century after La Salle's day in that old building now known as " Fort Cuillerier " or the " Cuillerier House." It may be here stated that the old post — Champlain's — stood quite close to the river bank, not over 'en feet high, above high water mark, and the Indian canoes could approach close by it : but the bank at the palisaded village was over one 20 HISTORIC CAXADIAX GROUND. liuuilred feet \ih^h, luivin^' a roiio-h and strong cnrrent on the river sliore — a danoerons landing place; whereas, at the old post — Clianiplain's — the water was smooth, witli a quiet l)a}' to protect and shelter tlie canoes. THE OLD CATHCLTC PARISH CHURCH OF LACHINE, 1701 TO ISG'J. The old Catholic parish cliurch of Lachine, whicli was built of stone in the year 1701, being thirty-two years after La Salle had left Lachine, was built nearly in the very centre of the palisaded village. This old church stood there for one hundred and sixty-eight years, until the year LS69, when it was deniol- isheroaking up of that old buryhig ground and to liave disturl)od tlie graves of so many of the pioneers of French Canada. Tlie words jf the poet (Jray may very appropriately be used here: Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Sume heart once pregnant with celestial fire ; Hands that the rotl of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre : Some village Hampden, that with danntless breast The little tyrant of his fields w'thstood ; Souie nuite, inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood. HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. 21 1 4 It is to l»e regretted tliat the old landmarks of Freneli Canada are disa]>pearing so rapidly, one l)y one, that soon, very soon, we shall not have a score of tliose left standing that were stand- ing when Canada was a French colony. That grand old chnrch was as familiar to tlie writer when a boy as was his own home a mile distant. A i)ictnre of nearlv three score vears and ten rises vividly hefure him every time he passes the site of tlie old church. He recalls tlie once familiar face of the good old })riest. Father Duranceau, who always sat on the gallery in front of hii-, house, with his open book in hand. He knew all the boys, Catholic and Protestant, by name as they passed upwards to to the Lacliine (Jrammar School. He liad a kind word for each boy ; peace to his memory ! Everything has changed and is chane:ing in and around this historical-storied point ; the first little wooden Catholic chapel, built in tlie year 1G70, disa])})eared nearly two hundred years ago; and Fort Remy — which was standing inside the palisades of the old village at the time of the mas.sac.re of Lachine, in the vear IGSl), fell into ruins a few vears later. But the name and the memory of La Salle and his palisaded village of IGGG are household words, extending o\er this whole northern conti- nent of America, and will live throuu'h all ages and ever be fresh in the memorv and be ludd in almost sacred veneration by generations yet unborn I Yes; even so long as the waters of the noble St. Lawrence and the waters of the great Mississippi continue to flow ; even so long will the name and the memory of La Salle — as associated with the early history of these two great rivers — be upheld on the pages of Canadian and American historv as the greatest inland explorer of Canada and the Fnited States. There is not now a vestige remaining of La Salle's palisaded village of IGGG, to mark the spot: buihlings and palisades were all constructed of wood and they have, long ago, crumbled down and mingled with the dust of ages I And for the past hundred years, and even longer, the very site and the very name of the ])alisaded village of IGGG have been entirely forgotten and even blotted out of local tradition. I . ,mm mm ,mmmmm mmmmimiam \i\ MWi^ 9m nmaa i K i i iS »KK. ' ^»,i4,i^>^ 99 HISTORIC CANADIAN GHOUXD. Nothing HOW rcniciiiLs of La Salle's day at Lachiiie exce[>t tliat LiTaiKl old chiinney of Cliamplaiii's fur-trading ])ost of 1615, which still stands within the ruins of the CuiLLEKlER HorsE. That f,n'aiul old tire-place is now tlie only relic left standino- in all Canada, or even America, with which the name of La Salle can be associated. It has stood there for nearly three centuries — a silent sentinel of a l)y-gone age ! THE WINDMILL. This old windmill is a standing monument to the memory of a determined, stul)l)orn Scotchman — "that indignant spirit of the north," — in resisting the pretentions of the wealthiest, the greatest corporation in Lower Canada, to prevent him building his mill. When the late Mr. Fleming commenced the building of his mill for the manufacture (jf oatmeal, the gentlemen of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, as Seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, claimed that they alone had tlie right of l)uil(Ung mills of any description. Mr. Fleming thought dillerently ; he admilted if they controlled the water privileges their charter gave them no control ovef the " winds of heaven " nor of any other power a man may utilize for the purpose of running his mill. A long law suit was the result, the late Mr. Buchanan, K.C., was Mr. Fleming's legal adviser. We forget exactly how this case ended. It is all in the law Eeports. We believe, however, that the Seminary, after a long contest, allowed the matter to drop and permitted Mr. Fleming to finish his mill. The old mill stands firm and solid, with its four wings, but witliout any sails, as it has not been much used for the past forty years. It looks like a Martello tower, and may stand for centuries ; a monument to the memory of a determined Scotchman ! The present and the original mill have stood there for over two hundred years ; being the only vestige remaining to con- nect the old village of Lachine with the present day. The present mill was partly or wholly built within this century, and was principally used by the late Mr. Fleming for the manu- facture of oatmeal. So limited was the demand sixty or seventy /^ 3i2isrti.t«it??f?*; ;-;*i4iaffit:r5S'3jA.-::- HISTORIC CANADIAN CKOUNI). 23 The Windmill. ■BBiieiB i WIB BIHiaiMMUMHMHiflaaB^^ 'x^asiix ggggglgggggggggg^gggggg^ 24 HISTORIC CANADIAN nuOUND. years ago tliat Mr. Fleming- iiiamifactiired sufHeient oatmeal 'o satisfy the demaiids of the cities of Quebec and ''■Tontreal. The old mill is close by the eight-mile post from Montreal on the Lower Lachine Koad, and within one mile distant from the present town of Lachine. Directly opposite to the windmill on the south shore of the St. Lawrence stands the ohl Indian town of (Jaughnawaga, the home of the Iroquois. From this AVind- mill l*oint you have a fu^ clear view of Lake St. Louis, as far as the eye can reach. This was the actual i)oint of land from wliich the early explorers of old France had tlieir first full view of Lake St. Louis, impressing u])on them the belief that the large body of inland water spread out l)efore them was tlie " water way " or channel, which they had hoped to find, leading through Canada to China, and which called forth from them the excla- mation, " La Cliine !" Hence the name, " Lachine," given to this place. If you could manage to reacli this "Windmill Point by the Lower Lachine lioad on a clear, calm summer afternoon, at about half an hour before sunset, you would be repaid by one of the most charming sights to be had on the whole Island of ^Montreal. There, right before you, is spread out like a mirror tlie smooth, silvery waters of Lake St. Louis, extending westwards about twenty miles, dancing in gorgeous colors l)eneath tlie I'ays of the setting sun, withou. a ripple on its l)road surface of over two hundred square miles ; — even up to and l)eyond tlie shores of Lsle Perrot, and reaching across to the small islands on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, above the Caughiiaw.iga [loint, bordering on tin- ' hateauuuav shore. THE PRIMEVAL BEAUTY OF TH[S RIVER SHORE. The writer is one of the very few now living, wlio can recall in its almost primeval beauty this once romantic river shore;, nearly every footstep on this Lower Lachine Hoad, for two miles- — from the old Windmill down to the foot of the La Salle com- mon — is storied, almost hallowed ground, closely associated with the names of all the missionaries, pioneers and early explorers of French Canada; em1)racing in these two short Eatt HISTORIC CANADIAN GROUND. 25 miles: the La Salle coininon of IGGG, the English Kin^i's post of 1812, tlie La Salle Homestead of IGGG, tlie site of Champlaiii's fur-tiadiug post of IGlo, the ruins of Fort Cmllerier, the cele- brated •■ I'einier farm," and tlie Xovitiate of the Fathers 01)lats, which stands in the very centre of La Salle's palisaded villafje of IGGG. And last, l)Ut n(»t least, the present St. Lawrence bridije which si)ans the St. Lawrence between the Candmawaija and Lachine shores. Scenes of my childhood; home of my early days 1 I love to dwell on each familiar spot and linger to depart ! "THE HIGHLANDS." Tliis IS the name of a new town or suburb, laid out last year, 1891. Tlie first portion laid out is that farm, ]\rrs. Conway's, lying between the novitiate of the Fathers Oblats and the wind- mill ; and will, in course of time, extend westward up to the town of Lacliine : and eastward down the Lower Lachine Koad to tlie site of the English King's posts of 1812. We must con- fess, W( do not like the name " Highlands," as given to this new town. It should, we think, be named " La Salle." It is to lie regretted that this new town or sul)urb of ]\Iont- real had not l)een laid out earlier : at least before the " Montreal Junction "' was laid out. The Highlands has the double advan- tage of fronting on the St. Lawrence and on the Lower Lachine lIoid,and also of having that magniticent body of water — Lake St. Louis — always in front and in view. It is beautiful for situation ; its foundation was laid out two ;ind a quarter centuries ago l)y La Salle, himself! therefore, its historical as.sociations link and connect the })ast with tlie present (jf Canada. THE ST. LAWRENCE BRIDGE (C. P. R.) This grand St. Lawrence bridge is "a thing of beauty " as it spans the St. Lawrence between the- Caughnawaga and the Lachine shores — built of iron. Its length from shore to shore is o,GGO feet, which consists of the following spans : three spans of 80 feet — plate gir!d ; j <» !Ji ggstF.g mmmm 20 IIISTOIUC CANADIAN GROUND. inetal recjuired t() ])uil(l lliu bridge was 9,0o5,296 11)S. The total cost was about one million dollars. This bridge was built for the entrance of the South-f]astern Jiailway into Montreal. It is now tlie property of tlie Canadian racific Eailway.and is the fjutlet of the C. 1\ 11. from Monti-eal to tlie United States. Tlie Lachine sliore landing of tliis bridge is just at the very centre of tiie palisaded village of 1066. Tlie "Highlands" station stands inland about three acres from the Lower Lachine Ifoad. The approach to the station, on foot or in a carriage, is very much complained of, and justly so, by the people of that neighbourhood. THE LAKE ST. LOUIS ICE. Our readers may n(.)t lie aware that there is over two hundred square miles of solid ice on Lake St. Louis and the Ottawa to find its outlet every spring down the St. Lawrence, and to force its way through that narrow gorge of al)out two miles [between Caughnawaga and the AVin(hnilI Point, just where the lake narrows into the river, and very few of our readers have ever witnessed a grand shove of ice there, crashing, jamming, and roaring like thunder, forcing uj) boulders, tons weight, from the bed of the river, placing them high and dry on the shore, even as far down as the Penner farm, a mile below this. A GRAND SHOVE. The writer has witnessed many grand shoves there, Ijut one in particular, in his young days when attending the old gram- mar school at Lachine. This was a morning about the end of April — he forgets the year — ^^just as he was passing the AMnd- mill Point on his way to scIk.ioI. The ice in the distance, up Lake St. Louis, was seen to be on the move, floating majestically down, gathering speed from the increasing current, a white mist of foam denoting its near approach. The body of ice was large, must have been from twenty to thirty square miles, a solid, unbroken mass, until it reached the Caughnawaga P(jint. Then with a thunder-like crash it struck the Caughnawaga shore and the Windmill Point on this side! The very shore trembled with the rebound ! For a minute or two the ice came SSgS^ssft^^^oa^^SlSl IIISTOKIC CANADIAN GROUND. • • to a standstill, then with a niiglity crash it gave way, heaving half way up the river hanlv at the Windmill I'oint! This is the exposed spot where those tiny pillars of that heautiful structure — the St. Lawrence bridge — stand, bidding detiance to to the onward march of the Ice King of some conung spring ! THE INDIAN CAMP OF 1(189. The Iroquois were not wanting in military tactics ; to conceal their whereabouts from their enemy — the French — after the massacre of Lachine on the 4tii day of August, 1689, they hauled up their canoes about a mile int(.) the deej) forest, where they established their camp or headquarters ; their plunder was carried there. They found in the trading stores at Lachine a large supply of French Ijrandy and wines, of which they sup- plied themselves freely, and became beastly drunk for days. The exact position of this " Indian Camp of 1089 " is not known to the present generation : but to the boys of the old Grannnar school of Lachine of sixty years ago it was a familiar spot. Tiie l)oys then, with their bows and arrows and fishing lines, with hoolcs made from pins, used to tish there for brook trout and minnows in that branch of the St. I'ierre which ran back of Lachine and crossed the Upper Lachine Ii(jad near by the present Blue Bonnets. It was then a large stream, having a depth of two or three feet of water in midsummer. It has since disappeared — dried up — by new water-courses having been cut. Tliis camp was over a mile from the river shore, close by the present Dominion station, on the Lachine railway, and extend- ing back to the foot of Cote St. Luke. The branch of the St. Pierre passed through the centre of the camp : to this place, in the then deep forest, the Iroquois hauled up their canoes. It is not improbable that in those early days scouting parties from this camp found sufficient depth of water to use their canoes to pass on close to Montreal through that deep marsh, between Cote St. Paul and Cote St. Pierre, which was a Lake in early days ; if so, their camp was wisely selected for offensive opera- tions, being difficult of approach or finding out. ■JfMMMUI HBI 28 n I STO R I C C A N AI ) I AX G KO l' N D. If the reader ^vill take a seat witli \i.s on the brow of Cote St. Luke, h(;hiu(l tlie present Fasliion race course, ahove tlie lihie Bonnets, lie will have a full view right l)el(jw him, stretching over to the Dominion station, of the very identical si)()t of this historical Indian camj) of 1G89 ; un which this l)and of 1,500 savage Irocjuois had their head(|uarters for over two months ; the plunder of the Island of Montreal was carried there, and such of the inhabitants as were reserved for future torture were held there as cajttives. THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL UF LACHINE. This was a celeljrated school between sixty and seventv years ago; it had a Government grant of £100 a year, and there was usually eighty boys attending it. The boys of the Xorth-West and the Hud.son Bay Company were sent down to be educated there, and there were always some twenty boys from Montreal as l)oarders. We couM name a lon. 29 9 a new •^•L'lieiution, totally unhcLMlfiil of our ]>ie.seuce. I'ut we CHiiiiot foi'Liut tlie i»l(l school ijliiv-fiTouiid altlioiii>li \vv are for- ♦fotten there. There we stood — u sileiit, luiiioticed spectator. Tlie bovs knew us not : we did not int'oriu them thai one of tlieniselves of tliree generations back was among them taking notes and drawing com[)arisons lietweeii them and the boys of former days. ANCJIOR BAY, A.t). 1760. This bay has no place on any niaj) of Canadii ; it lives only in the memory of the few remaining boys of the old Grammar School of Lachine of sixty years ago, as associated with its historical anchors of 1700. Tile bay was al)out three acres wide on the river shore between the (4rammar School and tlie first locks built on the Lachine Canal ; it stretched up to that old warehouse wliich still stands on the canal liank, just opposite to the Lachine Convent. This bay does not bear any resend)lance to what it formerly was ; the enlargement of the Lachine Canal and the extension of its l)anks eastwards have almost blotted this little bav entirelv out of view. The shores of the bay were lined with anchors — slii}) anchors — there were a great number ; and besides these anchors the bay was filled witli the remains of old boats — bateaux, barges, scows and other fiat-bottomed boats, which were allowed to rot there. The anchors were removed Ijy the Government about fiftv vears ago. These anchors and the remains of the old boats belonged to the tieet which was prepared on the present American shore of the St. Lawrence, then British, near Kingston, in 1759 and 1760, by which General Amherst's army of about ten thousand men, was conveyed down the rapids of the St. Lawrence in Septem- ber, 1760, and anchored in front and above Lachine. The army then advanced on Montreal by the roads leading to the back of the mountain. Suftice it here to sav that Mont- real was captured, or rather capitulated, by which the whole of Canada, at the time of the cession, became, an