TRAVELLER.GILDERSLEEVE.COBOURG.BURLINGTON.GORE.BRITANNIA.QUEEN.TRANSIT.
TRAVELLER.GILDERSLEEVE.COBOURG.BURLINGTON.GORE.BRITANNIA.QUEEN.TRANSIT.
The sight of this fleet of eight steamers must have been impressive as with flying colours they made up the stream.
Judge Benson, of Port Hope, says that his father, Capt. Benson, of the 3rd Incorporated Militia, was then occupying the "Lang House" in Niagara, overlooking the river, and that he and his brother were lifted up to the window to see the flotilla pass by, a reminiscence of loyalfervor which has been vividly retained through a long life. Is it not a sufficient justification and an actual value resulting from special meetings and pageants that they not only serve to revivify the enthusiasm of the elders in annals of past days, but yet more to bring to the minds of youth actual and abiding touch with the historic events which are being celebrated?
The meeting was held upon the field of the battle, the memories of the struggle revived and honour done to the fallen.
The present monument was the result of the enterprise then begun.
Much rivalry existed between the steamers as to which would open the season first, as the boat which got into Niagara first before 1st March was free of port dues for the season. In this the "Transit" excelled and sometimes landed her passengers on the ice.
The Niagara Dock Company in 1842 turned out the "Chief Justice Robinson" commanded by Captain Hugh Richardson, Jr.
This steamer, largely owned by Captain Heron and the Richardsons, was specially designed to continue during the winter the daily connection by water to Toronto, and so avoid the long stage journey around the head of the lake. For this purpose her prow at and below the water line was projected forward like a double furrowed plough, to cut through the ice and throw it outwards on each side.
This winter service she maintained for ten seasons with commendable regularity between the outer end of the Queen's Wharf at Toronto (where she had sometimes to land passengers on the ice) and Niagara. On one occasion, in a snowstorm, she went ashore just outside the harbourat Toronto, and was also occasionally frozen in at both ends of the route, but each time managed to extricate herself. After refitting in the spring she divided the daily Lewiston-Toronto Route after 1850 with the secondCity of Toronto, a steamer with two separate engines, with two walking beams built at Toronto in 1840, which had been running in the Royal Mail Line, but in 1850 passed into the complete ownership of Captain Thomas Dick.
The steamer "Rochester" is also recorded as running between Lewiston and Hamilton in 1843 to 1849.
During this decade the Niagara River was more increasingly traversed by many steamers, and became the main line of travel between the Western and Centre States by steamer to Buffalo, and thence, via the Niagara River to Boston and New York via Ogdensburg and Albany, or by Montreal and Lake Champlain to the Hudson.
Lewiston had become a place of much importance, being the transhipping point for a great through freighting business. Until the opening of the Erie Canal all the salt used in the Western States and Canada was brought here by water from Oswego, in thousands of barrels, from the Onandaga Salt Wells. Business in the opposite direction was greatly active, report being made of the passing of a consignment of 900 barrels of "Mississippi sugar," and 200 hogsheads of molasses for Eastern points in the United States and Canada.
In addition to the sailing craft five different steamers left the docks every day for other ports on the lake.
A new era was opened in 1847 by the introduction with great eclat and enterprise of the first iron steamers. The "Passport," commanded first by Captain H. Twohey and afterwards by Captain Thomas Harbottle, was constructed for the Hon. John Hamilton, the iron plates being moulded on the Clyde and put together at the Niagara shipyard by James and Neil Currie. The plates forthe "Magnet" were similarly brought out from England and put together for J. W. Gunn, of Hamilton, the principal stockholder, with Captain J. Sutherland her captain. Both these steamers in their long service proved the reliability of metal vessels in our fresh water. Both formed part of the Royal Mail Line leaving Toronto on the arrival of the river steamers.
In the early "fifties" the "American Express Line," running from Lewiston to Toronto, Rochester, Oswego and Ogdensburg, consisted of the fine upper cabin steamers "Cataract," "Bay State," "Ontario," and "Northerner."
The "New Through Line," a Canadian organization, was comprised of six steamers: the "Maple Leaf," "Arabian," "New Era," "Champion," "Highlander," "Mayflower." The route they followed was: "Leave Hamilton 7 a.m.; leave Lewiston and Queenston about half past 8 p.m., calling at all north shore Ontario ports between Darlington and Prescott to Ogdensburgh and Montreal without transhipment. Returning via the north shore to Toronto and Hamilton direct." The through time down to Montreal was stated in the advertisement to be "from Hamilton 33 hours, from the Niagara River 25 hours."
A good instance of the frequency of the entrances of the steamers into the harbours is afforded by an amusing suggestion which was in 1851, made by Captain Hugh Richardson, who had become Harbour Master at Toronto.
The steamers running into the port seem to have called sometimes at one dock first, sometimes at another, according, probably, to the freight which may have been on board to be delivered. Much trouble was thus caused to cabmen and citizens running up and down the water front from one dock to another.
The captain, whose views with respect to the flying, and the distinctive meanings, of flags, we have already seen, proposed that all vessels when entering the harbour should designate the dock at which they intended to stop by the Following signals:—
For Gorrie's Wharf—Union Jack at Bowsprit end.For Browne's Wharf—Union Jack at Masthead.For Maitland's Wharf—Union Jack at Staff aft.For Tinnings Wharf—Union Jack in fore rigging.For Helliwells Wharf—Union Jack over wheel-house.
For Gorrie's Wharf—Union Jack at Bowsprit end.For Browne's Wharf—Union Jack at Masthead.For Maitland's Wharf—Union Jack at Staff aft.For Tinnings Wharf—Union Jack in fore rigging.For Helliwells Wharf—Union Jack over wheel-house.
It is to be remembered that in those days the "Western" was the only entrance to the harbour and Front Street without any buildings on its south side, followed the line of the high bank above the water so that the signals on the steamers could be easily seen by all. The proposal was publicly endorsed by the Mayor, Mr. J. G. Bowes, but there is no record of its having been adopted.
In 1853 there was built at Niagara for Mr. Oliver T. Macklem the steamer "Zimmerman," certainly the finest and reputed to be the fastest steamer which up to that time sailed the river. She was named after Mr. Samuel Zimmerman, the railway magnate, and ran in connection with the Erie and Ontario Railway from Fort Erie to Niagara, which he had promoted, and was sailed by Captain D. Milloy.
In this same year there was sailed regularly from Niagara another iron steamer, the "Peerless," owned by Captain Dick and Andrew Heron, of Niagara. This steamer was first put together at Dunbarton, Scotland, then taken apart, and the pieces (said to be five thousand in number) sent out to Canada, and put together again at the Niagara dockyard. These two steamers thereafter divided the services in competition on the Niagara Route to Toronto.
These years were the zenith period for steamboating on Lake Ontario and the Niagara River, a constant succession of steamers passing to and fro between the ports. Progress in the Western States and in Upper Canada had been unexampled. Expansion in every line of business was active, population fast coming in, and the construction of railways, which was then being begun, creating large expenditures and distribution of money. The steamers on the water were then the only method for speedy travel, so their accommodation was in fullest use, and their earnings at the largest.
The stage routes around the shores of the lakes in those days were tedious and trying in summer, and in winter accompanied by privations. The services of the steamers in the winter were greatly appreciated and maintained with the utmost vigour every year, particularly for the carriage of mails between Toronto, Niagara, Queenston and Lewiston, for which the steamer received in winter £3 for each actual running day, and between Toronto and Hamilton, for which the recompense was £2 for service per day performed.
In 1851 theChief Justice Robinsonis recorded (Gordon's Letter Books) as having run on the Niagara River during 11 months of the year. The remaining portion, while she was refitting, was filled by the secondCity of Toronto.
It is mentioned that at one time she went to Oswego to be hauled out on the marine cradle there at a charge of 25 cents per ton.
In 1852-53 the services were performed by the same steamers. In 1854 thePeerlessmade two trips daily during ten months, theChief Justice Robinsontaking the balance of this service and also filling in during the othermonths, with the secondCity of Torontoon the Hamilton Route.
The winter service to the Niagara River for 1855 was commenced by theChief Justice Robinsonon 1st January, the steamer crossing the lake on 22 days in that month. February was somewhat interrupted by ice, but the full service between the shores was performed on 23 days in the month of March.
So soon as the inner water in the harbour of Toronto was frozen up all these services were performed from the outer extremity of the Queen's Wharf, and in the mid-winter months mostly from the edges of the ice further out, the sleighs driving out alongside with their passengers and freight. It seems difficult for us, in these days of luxury in travel, to comprehend the difficulties under which the early travellers laboured and thrived.
There was a wonderful and final exploit in the winter business of the Niagara River Route.
The "Niagara Falls and Ontario Railway" was opened as far as Lewiston in 1854 and by its connection at the Falls with theNew York Central Railwaybrought during its first winter of 1854-55 great activity to the Niagara steamers.
The Crimean War was in progress and food products for the armies in the field were being eagerly sought from all places of world-supply and from America. Shipments were accordingly sought from Upper Canada. In summer the route would be by the Erie Canal to Albany or by the St. Lawrence and Montreal, but both routes were closed in winter.
TheNew York Centralhad been connected as a complete rail route as far as Albany, where, as there was no bridge across the Hudson, transportation was made by a ferry to theHudson River Railroad, on the opposite shore for New York, or to theWestern Railroadfor Boston.
The WILLIAM IV. 1832. From the "Landmarks of Toronto." page 30The WILLIAM IV. 1832.From the "Landmarks of Toronto."page 30
The CHIEF JUSTICE ROBINSON. 1841.The CHIEF JUSTICE ROBINSON. 1841.From the "Landmarks of Toronto."page 84
There was, at that time, no railroad around the head of Lake Ontario so a Freight Route by steamer across the lake was opened to Lewiston, from where rail connection could be made to the Atlantic.
In January, 1855, large shipments of flour made from Upper Canada mills along the north shore of Lake Ontario began to be collected. The enterprising agent of thePeerless(Mr. L. B. Gordon) wrote to the Central that he hoped to "make the consignment up to 10,000 barrels before the canal and river opens." This being a reference to the competing all-water route via the Erie Canal and Hudson River.
The first winter shipment of a consignment of 3,400 barrels was begun by theChief Justice Robinsonfrom the Queen's Wharf on 17th January.
The through rates of freight, as recorded in Mr. Gordon's books, are in these modern days of low rates, remarkable. Not the less interesting are the proportions accepted by each of the carriers concerned for their portion of the service, which were as follows:
Steamer—Queen's Wharf to Lewiston12-1/2cWharfage and teaming (Cornell)6New York Central, Lewiston to Albany60Ferry at Albany3Hudson River Railroad to New York37-1/2——Through to New York$1.19
What would the Railway Commissioners and the public of the present think of such rates!
The shipments were largely from the products of the mills at theCredit,Oakville,Brampton,Esquesing, andGeorgetown, being teamed to the docks atOakvilleandPort Credit, from where they were brought by the steamersQueen CityandChief Justice Robinsonat 5c per bbl. to the Queen's Wharf, Toronto, and from there taken across the lake by theChief Justice Robinsonand thePeerless.
The propellerSt. Nicholastook a direct load of 3,000 barrels from Port Credit to Lewiston on Feb. 2nd. Shipments were also sent to Boston at $1,24-1/2 per bbl., on which the proportion of the "New York Central" was 68c, and the "Western Railroad" received 35c per bbl. as their share.
Nearly the whole consignment expected was obtained.
Another novel route was also opened. Consignments of flour for local use were sent to Montreal during this winter by theNew York Central, Lewiston to Albany, and thence by the "Albany Northern Railroad" to the south side of the St. Lawrence River, whence they were most probably teamed across the ice to the main city.
Northbound shipments were also worked up and received at Lewiston for Toronto—principally teas and tobaccos—consignments of "English Bonded Goods" were rated at "second-class, same as domestic sheetings" and carried at 63c per 100 pounds from New York to Lewiston.
It was a winter of unexampled activity, but it was the closing effort of the steamers against the entrance of the railways into their all-the-year-round trade.
Immediately upon the opening of the Great Western Railway from Niagara Falls to Hamilton in 1855 and to Toronto in 1856, and of the Grand Trunk Railway from Montreal in 1856, the steamboating interests suffered stillfurther and great decay. In the financial crisis of 1857 many steamers were laid up. In 1858 all the American Line steamers were in bankruptcy, and in 1860 theZimmermanabandoned the Niagara River to thePeerless, the one steamer being sufficient.
The opening of the American Civil War in 1860 opened a new career for the Lake Ontario steamers, as the Northern Government were short of steamers with which to blockade the Southern ports.
The "Peerless" was purchased by the American Government in 1861 and left for New York under command of Captain Robert Kerr, and by 1863 all the American Line steamers had been sold in the same direction and gone down the rapids to Montreal, and thence to the Atlantic. A general clearance had been affected.
The "Zimmerman" returned from the Hamilton Route to the Niagara River, which had been left vacant by the removal of the "Peerless," but, taking fire alongside the dock at Niagara in 1863, became a total loss. During the winter the third "City of Toronto" was built by Captain Duncan Milloy, of Niagara, and began her service on the river in 1864 and thereafter had the route to herself. In 1866 the "Rothsay Castle" brought up by Captain Thomas Leach from Halifax, ran for one season in competition, but the business was not sufficient for two steamers so she was returned to the Atlantic. The "City" then had the route alone until 1877, when the "Southern Belle," being the reconstructed "Rothsay Castle," re-entered upon the scene and again ran from Tinnings Wharf in connection with the Canada Southern Railway to Niagara.
Such had been the courses of navigation and steamboating on the Niagara River from its earliest days—therise to the zenith of prosperity and then the immeasurable fall due to the encircling of the lakes by the increasing railways. The old time passenger business had been diverted from the water, the docks had fallen into decay, only one steamer remained on the Niagara River Route, but it was fair to consider that with more vigor and improved equipment a new era might be begun.
The decadence of trade had been so great, and the prospects of the Niagara River presenting so little hope that Captain Thomas Dick had turned his thoughts and energies into the direction of the North Shore of Lake Huron, where mining and lumbering were beginning, and to Lake Superior, where the construction of the Dawson Road, as a connection through Canadian territory, to Fort Garry was commenced. He had several years previously transferred the secondCity of Torontoto these Upper Lake waters, and after being reboilered and rebuilt, her name had been changed toAlgoma, commanded at first by his half brother, Capt. Jas. Dick, and in 1863 he had obtained the contract for carrying the mails for the Manitoulin Island and Lake Huron Shore to Sault Ste. Marie.
If ever there was a steamer which deserved the name of "Pathfinder," it was this steamer "Algoma." It was said that all the officers, pilots and captains of later days had been trained on her, and that she had found out for them every shoal along her route by actual contact. Being a staunchily built wooden boat with double "walking beam" engines, working independently, one on each wheel, she always got herself off with little trouble or damage. One trip is personally remembered. Coming out from Bruce Mines theAlgomawent over a boulder on a shoal in such way as to open up a plank in the bottom, just in front of the boilers. Looking down the forward hatch the watercould be watched as it boiled up into the fire-hold, but as long as the wheels were kept turning the pumps could keep the in-rush from gaining, so the steamer after backing off was continued on her journey.
When calling at docks the engines were never stopped, one going ahead the other reversed, until after Sault Ste. Marie had been reached and the balance of the cargo unloaded, when the steamer, with the men in the fire-hold working up to their ankles in water, set off on her run of 400 miles to Detroit, where was then the only dry dock into which she could be put.
After a long and successful career the brave boat died a quiet death alongside a dock, worn out as a lumber barge.
This transference of Captain Dick's interests to the Upper Lakes was, strangely enough, the precursor to the events which led to the creation of another era in navigation on the Niagara River. This "North Shore" route, although for long centuries occupied by the outposts of the Hudson Bay and North West fur companies, was so far as immigration and mercantile interests were concerned, an undeveloped territory. Along its shores was the traditional canoe and batteaux route from French River to Fort William on the Kaministiqua River for trade with the great prairies by the interlacing waterways to Lake Manitoba and the Red River. At intervals, such as at Spanish River, Missassaga, Garden River, Michipicoten and Nepigon River, were the outlets for the canoe and portage routes, north to the Hudson Bay and great interior fur preserves. This ancient rival to the Niagara River route had remained little varied from the era of canoe and sail. The secrets of its natural products, other than fur, being as well kept as were those of the fertility of the soil of the "great Lone Land," under the perennial control of the same adventurers of Charles II.
The creation of the "Dominion of Canada" and of the "Province of Ontario" under Confederation in 1867 and its establishment as the "District of Algoma" brought it political representation in the Provincial Legislature and a development of its unoccupied possibilities.
The size of the constituency was phenomenal. Its first representative in the Legislature of Ontario used quizzically to describe it: "Where is my constituency? Sir, Algoma, is the greatest constituency on earth, and larger than many an Empire in Europe. On the east it is bounded by the French River, on the south by all the waters of Lakes Huron and Lake Superior, on the west by Manitoba, with an undecided boundary, and on the north by the North Pole, and the Lord knows where."
Its permanent voters were few and sparsely spread along a line of nigh 500 miles. By the Act of Confederation, Algoma was given a special qualification for its voters being for every male British subject of 21 or over, being a householder. Thus it has sometimes been averred that during hotly contested elections the migratory Indians for a while ceased to wander, that "shack towns" suddenly arose in the neighborhood of the saw mills, composed of small "slab" sided dwellings in which dusky voters lived until election day was over. It may be from these early seedlings that the several constituencies which have since been carved out from their great progenitor, have not been unremarkable for eccentricities in methods of ballot and in varieties of voters.
Further diversion of vessel interests from the Niagara Route to the Upper Lakes, and the circumstances which, within personal knowledge, accompanied it, are a part of the history, and a prelude to the return to the river.
The way having been opened by theAlgomabetween Georgian Bay and the Sault, with sundry extra trips beyond, N. Milloy & Co., of Niagara, brought up from Halifax, in 1868, the even then celebrated steamerChicorato increase the service to Lake Superior. No finer steamer was there on the Upper Lakes than theChicora, and none whether American or Canadian, that could approach her in speed; she could trail out a tow line to any competitor. She had arrived opportunely and had greatly increased her renown by carrying the Wolseley Expedition, in 1870, from Collingwood to the place on the shores of the Thunder Bay where the expedition for the suppression of the Riel Rebellion at Fort Garry was landed.
It was in the arrangements for the movement of this Wolseley Expedition that some difficulties arose which were due to a want of harmony between the local government of the State and that of the National Cabinet of the Federal Government at Washington, a condition which is liable to occur at any time under the peculiar provisions of the American Constitution.
Having been compiled in the time of stress for the avoidance of an autocracy and for the development of the individual rights of the several component States, the relations between States and Federal authority were strongly drawn. While in the Canadian Constitution any powerwhich has not been specifically allotted to the Provinces remains in the Dominion Government, which is thus the centre of all power, in the United States the reverse condition exists.
Speedy dealings with foreign nations are thus somewhat hampered on the part of the United States Federal Government.
The only canal lock at that time at the Sault by which the rapids of the Sault River could be overcome and the level of Lake Superior be reached from that of Lake Huron, was on the Michigan side, and owned and controlled by the State of Michigan. As an armed force could not be sent by rail through the United States, it was necessary that all supplies and the men of the Canadian forces for Fort Garry should be forwarded by this water route to the head of Lake Superior, from where they were to take the "Dawson Route" of mixed road and river transit to Lake Winnipeg and the scene of action. A cargo of boats, wagons, and general supplies for use by the troops had been sent up by the "Chicora" (Captain McLean), leaving Collingwood on the 7th May, but the steamer was not permitted by the Michigan authorities to pass through the Sault Canal. Owing to this action immediate steps were imperatively necessary, pending negotiations, to obtain additional tonnage to carry forward the expedition.
Col. Cumberland, A.D.C., M.P.P., was sent on a secret duty to Detroit, where he succeeded in chartering the American steamerBrooklyn, which was at once sent off with instructions to report for orders above the canal at Point Aux Pins, to Col. Bolton, R.A., Deputy Adjutant General. Being passed up the canal, without obstacle, the difficulty was immediately relieved. Fortunately the "Algoma"was at the upper end of the route and on Lake Superior. The supplies and stores were accordingly unloaded from theChicoraat the Canadian Sault, portaged across by the twelve miles road to the wharf at Point Aux Pins, on the Canadian side above the Rapids, and sent on up Lake Superior by the "Algoma," and "Brooklyn."
A similar course was obliged to be adopted with the cargoes of supplies for the expedition brought up on the Canadian steam bargeShickluna, and on the schoonersOrionandPandoratowed by her.
This was in other ways a remarkable event, as being one in which the "Coasting Laws of Canada" were for a time, cancelled by the action of a citizen. The "Brooklyn" being an American boat could not legally carry cargo between two Canadian ports, such as Point Aux Pins and the Landing, so Col. Cumberland gave Captain Davis a letter[1]to Mr. Joseph Wilson, the Collector of Customs at the Canadian Sault, authorizing him to permit the American vessel to trade between Canadian ports. As Mr. Cumberland was member of Parliament for the district, the local authorities gave immediate attention, especially as everyone on the Canadian side was ready to run all risks and do everything in their power to help the expedition along.
Returning to Collingwood the "Chicora" left again on the 14th May with two companies of the Ontario Contingest recruited from the Volunteer Militia of the Province, twenty-four horses and more arms and stores. Refusal was again given and the same portaging took place as before, the men during the transfer being encamped near the old Hudson's Bay Fort. Urgent representations had been made to the local State authorities, pointing out that the expedition was pressed for time, much loss might be occasioned, and the rebellion spread if the troops were delayed. The British Minister at Washington was using every endeavor to obtain the necessary permission, but without avail. The "Chicora" returned to Collingwood and left again on 21st May with Col. Garnet Wolseley (afterwards Viscount Wolseley), a detachment of the "60th Rifles" of the Regulars (the Regiment of H.R.H. Prince Arthur) and the balance of the expedition. In the absence of the expected permission the same procedure was again followed, and when everything on board had been unloaded theChicorawas passed empty through the canal, and reloading the soldiers and all the equipment at the Point aux Pins proceeded up the lake to her destination.
Canada has since then, for her self control and the protection of her trade, built a great canal on her own side, through which ever since it was constructed the United States vessels have been freely allowed to pass upon exactly the same terms as her own.
Navigation upon the Upper Lakes was in those years in the most primitive condition.
When the "Chicora" landed the Wolseley Expedition at Prince Arthur's Landing there was no wharf large enoughfor her to be moored to, so she had to anchor off the shore, and the men and cargo were landed in small boats.
As Col. Wolseley came ashore in a rowboat he was met by Mr. Thomas Marks, a principal merchant, and Mr. William Murdock, C.E., who was then in conduct of the Government Railway Exploration Surveys from the shores of Thunder Bay to Fort Garry for what afterwards became the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Colonel, finding on enquiry that the place had no particular name beyond that of "The Landing," proposed that it should be called "Prince Arthur's Landing." This was to be in honour of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who was then serving in his battalion of the Rifle Brigade at that time stationed in Montreal. The name was immediately adopted and was kept unchanged until 1883, when, to mark the eastern end of the Canadian Pacific and to correspond with "Port Moody," the then accepted terminus at the western end, it was changed to "Port Arthur." The name and reminiscence of the Royal Prince is in this way still happily retained.
Rivalries had begun between the long established hamlet clustered around Fort William, the ancient post of the Hudson Bay Company on the banks at the mouth of the Kanistiqua River, and the newly created village on the shores of the Lake at the "Landing." To appease the vociferous claimants of both, the expedition was divided, one part being sent up by the lower river from "Fort William," the other by waggon on land from the "Landing," to join together again at a point on the Kaministiquia above the Falls, from where they proceeded together by the mixed transport of water and waggon on the "Dawson Route" to Fort Garry.
There were then few lighthouses on the lakes, and no buoys in the channels. When a steamer left the shores ofGeorgian Bay nothing was heard of her until she came in sight again on her return after being away ten days, for there were no telegraphs on the North Shore nor even at the Sault.
The hamlets were few and far spread, being mainly small fishing villages. Bruce Mines with its copper mines, then in full operation, was perhaps the most important place, with a population of 2,500. The Sault had perhaps 500, Silver Islet, with its mysterious silver mine, 1,500, and Prince Arthur's Landing about 200 residents, with whatever importance was given by its position at the head of the lake, and as being the starting place of the Dawson Road to Fort Garry, and the supply point for the developing mines of the interior.
Whatever meat, flour, or vegetable foods the people ate had to be carried up to them from the Ontario ports. Westwards the decks were filled with cattle, hogs, and all kinds of merchandise, but there was little freight to bring back east except fish and some small quantities of highly concentrated ores from the mines.
The business had not developed as had been expected, and the "Chicora" was found to be too good for the Lake Superior route as it then existed. Her freight-carrying capacity was light, cabin accommodation in excess of requirements, and her speed and expenses far beyond what was there needed. So the boat had to be withdrawn from service, dismantled, and laid up alongside the docks at Collingwood in the season of 1873.
One splendid and closing charter there had been in the season of 1874, when the "Chicora" was chartered for the months of July and August to be a special yacht for the progress of the Governor-General, Lord Dufferin, andhis suite, through what were then the northern districts of Ontario and through the Upper Lakes.
Col. F. W. Cumberland, M.P., General Manager of the Northern Railway, was also Provincial Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General and thus in general charge of the arrangements for the tour, particularly on the Northern Railway, through whose districts the party was then travelling. The further portions of the tour were through the district of Algoma, comprising all the country along the north shores of Lakes Huron and Superior, which Col. Cumberland then represented in the Provincial Parliament, being the first Member for Algoma.
Washago, at the first crossing of the Severn River, was then the "head of the track" of the "Muskoka Branch," which was under construction from Barrie. Beyond this point the party were to proceed through the byways and villages of Muskoka by mixed conveyance of boats on the lakes and carriages over the bush roads to Parry Sound, where they were to join the "Chicora."
Every minute of the way had been carefully planned out to satisfactorily arrange for the reception en route, stopping places for meals and rest, stays over night, and allowance for all possible contingencies, for the Governor-General insisted that he should make his arrival, at each place on the way, with royal precision.
There was therefore no room for the insertion of the many special demands for additional functions and time, which increasingly arose as the days drew near, for the fervor of the welcome became tumultuous.
The Presbyterian clergyman at Washago had been particularly insistent and had called to his aid every local influence of shipper and politician to obtain consent that the Governor-General should lay the corner-stone of thenew church which the adherents of the "Auld Kirk" were erecting at the village. The ceremony was whittled down until it was at last agreed that it should be sandwiched into the arrangements on condition that everything should be in readiness, and that the proceedings should not exceed fifteen minutes, for there was a long and rocky drive ahead of fourteen miles to Gravenhurst, where an important afternoon gathering from all the countryside and a reception by His Excellency and the Countess of Dufferin had been arranged.
The Municipal and the local Society receptions at the Washage station had been safely got through when the Governor and party walked over the granite knolls to where the church was to be erected. The location of the village, which is situated between two arms of the Muskoka River, is on the unrelieved outcrop of the Muskoka granite, which, scarred and rounded by the glacier action of geological ages, is everywhere in evidence.
On the knoll, more level than the others, was the church party expectant. At their feet, perched upon a little cemented foundation about a foot and a half in diameter, built on the solid granite, was the "corner stone," a cube of granite some three inches square. A miniature silver trowel, little larger than a teaspoon, was handed to the Governor, who, holding it in his fingers smoothed down the morsel of mortar and the corner stone was duly laid.
The Minister then announced "Let us engage in prayer," and raising his hands and closing his eyes he at once began.
It was a burning hot noon-day in July. Having got fairly started the minister seemed to be in no way disposed to stop. At five minutes a chair and umbrella were brought for Lady Dufferin. At ten minutes motions weremade to pluck the minister's coat tails, but no one dared. The fervid appeal covering all possible contingencies, and meandering into varied "We give Thee thanks also" still continued so the Governor and Lady Dufferin and their Suite quietly slipped away from the group and going to the carriages, which were waiting in readiness near by, drove away.
Shortly afterwards the minister ceased and, opening his eyes, took in the situation.
He at least had succeeded in having his corner-stone laid by a Governor-General and was satisfied, even though he had lost that portion of his audience. There were others also who were satisfied as one of the devout congregation who said as we walked away, "Wasn't the Meenester powerful in prayer?"
Lord Dufferin's private secretary and myself, having seen our duties to this point satisfactorily completed, returned to the cars and proceeded back by the special train to Collingwood, where the outfit and arrangements of the "Chicora" for the long cruise were being completed, and active operations had for some time been going on.
The ship was a picture, resplendent in brightened brasses, new paint and decorations. The staterooms had been re-arranged and enlarged so that they could be used in suites with separate dining and reception rooms arranged for various occasions. Strings of flags of all varieties, and ensigns for every occasion were provided, including His Excellency the Governor-General's special flag, to be raised the moment he came on board. Captain James C. Orr, his officers, and the picked crew were all in naval uniform, and naval discipline was to be maintained.
About ten o'clock one night we sailed out of Collingwood to make an easy night run across the Georgian Bay and arrive in the morning at Parry Sound, where the Governor-General was to join the steamer in the afternoon.
We were naturally anxious that nothing should occur on our part to mar the arrangements for the much heralded tour, and so I turned out early in the morning, called up by some indistinct premonition. Of all the evils that can befall a ship's captain it is that of a too supreme confidence in his own powers; a confidence which leads him to take unnecessary risks and so incur dangers which a little longer waiting would avoid. Of this we now met a most striking instance.
There are two routes from Collingwood to Parry Sound. The outer passage, outside the islands, longer but through open lake and safe, the other the inner passage winding through an archipelago of islands, tortuous and narrow. This latter was also known as the "Waubuno Channel," from its being the route of the steamer of that name, a vessel of 140 feet and the largest passing through it. As a scenic route for tourists it is unsurpassable, threading its way amid many islands with abrupt and thrilling turns.
Captain McNab, one of the most experienced and oldest navigators of the Upper Lakes, had been engaged as pilot for the tour of the "Chicora."
In the early morning, instead of being as had been expected, out in the open lake, we were heading into a bay with the shore line expanding far on each side both east and west.
The ALGOMA. 1862. The 2nd CITY OF TORONTO. 1840. Rebuilt. page 44The ALGOMA. 1862.The 2nd CITY OF TORONTO. 1840. Rebuilt.page 44
The 3rd CITY OF TORONTO. 1864. From an old drawing. page 123The 3rd CITY OF TORONTO. 1864.From an old drawing.page 123
Going forward, Captain McNab, in reply to questions, said he intended going through the Waubuno Channel, and admitted that he had never taken a boat as large as the "Chicora" through the channel, but was sure he could. Amiable suggestions that he might like to bet $10,000 that he could, being promptly declined, he accepted instructions and the steamer was at once turned around to go by the outer channel for which there was plenty of time. He might have done it, but there was a doubt in it, and supposing he had not, what then? It is better for a captain to be sure, than to be sorry.
The tour was a great success. Wherever the bonnie boat went, whether in Canadian waters around the northern shores of Lakes Huron and Superior at Sault Ste. Marie, Nepigon, Prince Arthur's Landing, or in American waters, at Mackinac, Lake Michigan and Chicago, her trim appearance, beautiful lines, and easy speed, won continued admiration.
FOOTNOTES:[1]Detroit, 18th May, 1870.Sir:The SteamerBrooklynproceeds to Point Aux Pins on special service.In case you may not have been advised by the head of your department, I am authorised to inform you that she is to have free access to all Canadian Ports on Lake Superior, moving under orders from Col. Bolton.I am, etc.,(Signed) F. W.Cumberland.Jos. Wilson, Collector of Customs,Saulte Ste Marie, Ont.
[1]Detroit, 18th May, 1870.Sir:The SteamerBrooklynproceeds to Point Aux Pins on special service.In case you may not have been advised by the head of your department, I am authorised to inform you that she is to have free access to all Canadian Ports on Lake Superior, moving under orders from Col. Bolton.I am, etc.,(Signed) F. W.Cumberland.Jos. Wilson, Collector of Customs,Saulte Ste Marie, Ont.
[1]
Detroit, 18th May, 1870.
Sir:
The SteamerBrooklynproceeds to Point Aux Pins on special service.
In case you may not have been advised by the head of your department, I am authorised to inform you that she is to have free access to all Canadian Ports on Lake Superior, moving under orders from Col. Bolton.
I am, etc.,(Signed) F. W.Cumberland.
Jos. Wilson, Collector of Customs,Saulte Ste Marie, Ont.
After the tour with Lord Dufferin had been concluded the "Chicora" was returned to Collingwood and laid up again to rest her reputation great and widespread as it was before, having been still more enhanced. At last early on a gray morning of August, 1877, under tow of a wrecking tug, there stole gently away from Collingwood the steamer which had been the greatest glory of the port, her red paddles trailing lifeless in the water like the feet of a wounded duck.
Where was she being taken to? What had taken place? It was the beginning of a bold and sporting venture.
As General Freight and Passenger Agent (Oct., 1873 to Jan., 1878) of the Northern Railway of Canada, the "Chicora" as she lay at Collingwood was much under my notice, and in travelling to Buffalo on railway business the water route by the Niagara River was most frequently taken. There was no route on the Upper Lakes upon which the "Chicora" could be successfully employed. It was considered that she could not be returned to the Lower Lakes because it was said that having been brought up the canals from Montreal, the "guards" added at Buffalo, which made her width fifty feet at the main deck could not be removed without serious damage in order to reduce her to the then Welland canal width of only 26 feet. As under the then trade conditions she could neither be profitablyrun nor be returned to the Lower Lakes, the steamer was of little worth to her owners, and could be readily purchased. It had for some time appeared to me that there was an opening for a good boat upon the Niagara River route. The "City of Toronto" plying to Lewiston and the New York Central was getting insufficient and out of date in equipment. The Canada Southern Railway at Niagara-on-the-Lake was not satisfied with the "Southern Belle." Why not get the "Chicora" and strike out for a career of one's own? So I started to study the position having always had a mechanical turn and had practical experience in railway and machine construction.
Keeping one's ideas to one's self the boat was examined and careful scrutiny ascertained that the "guards" could be removed and replaced without interference with the hull, so that this first obstacle to her being brought to the Lower Lakes could be overcome.
But there were other obstacles which cropped up. To begin with, a pier of one of the smaller locks in the Welland (150 × 26) was said to have inclined inwards so that there was not sufficient width even after the "guards" had been removed, for the 26-ft. hull to pass through.
Again,Chicorawas 230 feet long. If the vessel was brought down in two pieces through all the locks to Lake Ontario, there was no dry dock on the lake of sufficient length into which she could be placed so that these parts might be put together again. A further obstacle and a fatal one. The only place where the two parts could be put together again her full length of 230 feet long was Muir's dry dock, at Port Dalhousie, but that was above the last lock of the canal, which required to be passed to get down to Lake Ontario, andthis lock was only 200 feet long!
The game was apparently impracticable. It was not more impossible to put a quart into a pint bottle, than it was to put the full-sized 230-footChicorainto the 200-foot Dalhousie lock and lower her to Lake Ontario. No wonder other people had given the job up, and the steamer could be easily bought.
Just about this time I noticed an announcement in the press that in order to provide for the construction of the lower locks at the Ontario end of the new Welland Canal, the Canadian Government intended, after the close of navigation the next autumn, to draw off the whole of the water in the five-mile level above the Port Dalhousie lock between there and St. Catharines.
The idea at once arose, why not put theChicorainto the 200-foot lock with the upper gate open, so that although she would extend 30 feet beyond the regular lock, she would then be in a total actual lock of five miles long.
Going over again to Port Dalhousie, the whole position was carefully surveyed. It was found that on the troublesome lock there was three-quarters of an inch to spare, so that trick could be turned successfully. Closer investigation developed that the 200-foot lock problem at Port Dalhousie was, as will be stated later, more capable of being solved than appeared on the surface. It was now evident that the practical part of the work could be done successfully. The next thing was to provide for connecting support. My first railway service had been in that of the Great Western Railway in 1872-73 in the divisional office at London, and afterwards in charge of the terminal yard and car ferries at Windsor, under Mr. M. D. Woodward, Superintendent.
During that time the General Manager was Mr. W. K. Muir, who had transferred, and was now General Managerof the Canada Southern Railway, operating the branch line between Buffalo and Niagara. Enquiry led to an understanding that a contract could be made for a full service by a first-class steamer between Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake in connection with the route to the Falls and Buffalo, as the size of theSouthern Bellewas not satisfactory.
Armed with all this information, and having made up the estimates of cost and possible earnings, the whole matter was laid before the Hon. Frank Smith, who then had a part interest in theChicora. The proposition was that we should buy out the other owners, bring theChicorathrough the canal and put her on the Niagara Route, where she could earn good money.
One was to do the work and the other to find the backing for the funds required. In this way for him a dead loss would be revived and a good future investment found, while the junior would enter into a work in which with energy he would be able to secure a lasting reward for his enterprise and ability in transportation business. He agreed and we proceeded to carry out the project. The purchase was made early in 1877, the original purchasers and registered owners of the steamer being Hon. Frank Smith and Barlow Cumberland.
In this way began a partnership which lasted through life. Sir Frank (knighted in 1874) was a man of quick decision, of great courage, and indomitable will. Every company with which he became identified felt the influence of his virile hand. A charter for the Niagara Navigation Company, Limited, with a capital of $500,000, was obtained from the Dominion Government.
The first issue of the stock of the Company was entirely subscribed by the Frank Smith and Cumberland representativesand the transfer of the boat to the new company made in 1878. The first Board of Directors were: President, Hon. Frank Smith; Vice-President, Barlow Cumberland; Directors, Col. Fred. W. Cumberland, John Foy, and R. H. McBride; Barlow Cumberland, Manager; John Foy, Secretary. Preliminary work had been actively in progress at Collingwood in dismantling the steamer and preparing her for a long and eventful journey. As the engines had been laid up and would not be required until after the reconstruction at Toronto, they were not again set up, but the tug, J. T. Robb, was brought up from Port Colborne to tow the vessel to Buffalo.
Here began the closing era of this century of steam navigation in the Niagara River. The story of the next and final thirty-five years is the story of the rise and expansion of the Niagara Navigation Company, its vicissitudes and competitions, and the final success of the enterprise. Reminiscence of the series of hot competitions which were worked through and of the men and methods of the period are set out as matters of record of an eventful series of years on the route.
The long cabins on the upper deck were removed and parts sent to Toronto, where they now are the upper drawing room of theChicora.
The cabins on the main deck were left undisturbed to be used by the crew, while coming through the canals.
Captain Thomas Leach was in charge of the voyage to Buffalo, where Captain William Manson, of Collingwood, took charge of the crew with some carpenters and the engineers. Mr. Alexander Leach was purser and confidential agent. A more faithful officer and devoted servant never was found. He had been purser of the steamerCumberlanduntil she was wrecked on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, 5 August, 1876.
The tow from Collingwood was uneventful and the steamer arrived at Buffalo and was placed in the Buffalo Dry Dock Company's Works, they having put her together when brought up from Halifax. Two barges were purchased and put alongside the guards, unriveted and lowered upon the barges in single pieces.
The paddle boxes were removed, the wheels taken to pieces, numbered, and put on the barges, and everything stripped off the sides of the hull, so that she was reduced to her narrowest width, cleared of everything, to go through the canal. The steamer was then put into dry dock, cut in two and the parts slid apart.
It was intended to take the steamer across Lake Erie to Port Colborne as a single tow. Two long sixteen-inch square elm timbers were placed on deck across the opening and strongly chained to smaller timbers; timbers were also put fore and aft to take the pull and keep the two parts of hull from coming together. It all reads easily, but took much consideration and time in working out the problems. And as the enterprise was unusual and not likely to be repeated the details are given as matters of interesting record. It was a strange looking craft that came out of dock. Two parts held far apart from one another by the big timbers, and the water washing free to and fro in the opening between. It was a tender craft to moor in a narrow river where heavily laden vessels coming and going banged heedlessly against one another. We were fortunate, however, in obtaining the permission of the United States Marine Department that we might lie unmolested and alone alongside Government wharf on the west side of the river while waiting for weather. Agreat deal of public interest was being taken in the venture and on every hand we received cheerful and ready assistance. Mr. David Bell, whose daughter had married Mr. Casimir Gzowski, of Toronto, was especially helpful, doing good work for us in the foundry and machine shops. The Dry Dock Companies seemed like old friends, the curious public often visited us, and the enterprising newspaper reporters kept us well in the readers' view. So we towed out of dock, dropped down the river and tied up at our allotted berth. The barges with their strange-looking cargo had been sent separately across to the canal to Port Colborne at the first opportunity.
It was the beginning of October when the weather was uncertain, the water restless, and we had to be very careful in selecting a day to take such a crazy craft as a steamer thus separated in two parts across the thirty-four miles of the open lake.
Buffalo in the seventies was a very different place from what it is at present. The lower city alongside the river and Canal Street, crowded with cheap boarding houses for sailors and dock gangs, reeked in ribaldry and every phase of dissolute excitements. The vessels frequenting the ports in those days were mainly sailing vessels, the era of great steam freighters not having come. The stay of the vessels was much longer, their crews more numerous, and being less permanent, were easy victims to the harpies and the drink shops which surrounded and beset them. The waterside locality of Buffalo had then a reputation and an aroma peculiarly of its own.
Crazy horse cars jangled down the main Main Street to the docks. The terminus of the Niagara Falls Railway operated by the New York Central, was at the Ferry Station, the cross-town connection to the Terrace and ExchangeStreet not having been put in. The Mansion House was the principal hotel of the city, and its lower storey on the street level, entirely occupied by the ticket offices of all the principal railway and steamship companies of the United States. The business centre of the town was in the vicinity.
Arrangements had been established with the United States Weather Bureau, whose office was well up town, to give us earliest advice of when they thought there would be from six to eight hours of fair weather ahead. Many a messenger trotted between, and many an hour was spent in their office, waiting for news, for there were no telephones to convey information.
The elements seemed against us. For a fortnight we had a succession of blows from almost every direction, one following the other without giving a sufficiently calm interval between. It was wonderful to see how quickly the water rose and fell in the harbour. A steady blow from the west would pile the water up at this east end of the lake and we would rise six feet alongside the wharf in a few hours, to fall again as the wind went down or changed, the outgoing water creating quite a rapid current as it ran out of the river.
It was during this waiting time an incident occurred which came within an ace of putting an end to one career. The last thing in the evening a visit was always made from the hotel to the boat to see that all was well. In front of the face of the Government Wharf there was a continuous line of "spring piles" for its protection, with the heads cut off to the level of the dock. One dark and rainy night, when stepping from the deck of the steamer, mistaking the opening in the darkness for the edge of the wharf the next step put the leader into the opening and he dropped through into the river. Soon Manson's voicewas heard calling, "Are you there, Mr. Cumberland?" A lamp was lowered; the distance from the floor of the dock to the water was some six or eight feet, and many iron spikes projected through the piles.
A storm was subsiding and the water running out fast, but by holding on to the spikes a way was worked up until a hand was reached by Manson and the adventurer was hauled up to the top. Sitting on the edge of the wharf with dripping legs dangling in the opening Manson's exclamation was heard, "Sakes alive; he's got his pipe in his mouth still!" They say the reply was, "Do you suppose I'd open my mouth when I went under?" It was a close call, and Mrs. Cumberland was always anxious until at last we got theChicorasafely to Toronto.
At length advice was received from the Bureau that we could start, so the tug was called and about 6 a.m. we were under way. We had tried to get some insurance for the run across, but the rate asked was excessive that we determined to go without any, a determination which added zest to the enterprise. We didn't want to lose the boat and wouldn't have taken any the less care or precaution even if the insurance companies would have carried the risk for nothing. In this connection it is open to consideration whether the moral hazard of a marine risk is not of more importance even than the rating of the vessel, and that good owners are surely entitled to better rates than simply the "tariff schedule" which their vessel's rating calls for. The prevailing inconsistent system is very much like that of the credit tailor whose solvent customers pay for his losses on those who fail to pay their bills.
The morning was cold and calm. We made down the river and rounded out into the lake, on which there still remained some motion from previous gales. It was curiousto stand on the edge of the deck and see the chips and floating debris carried along in the wide opening between the two parts.
We had come by a slanting course down and across the lake, reaching in under Point Abino in good shape and were rejoicing that the larger portion of the crossing was well over. As we rounded from under the lee of the Point and passing it, changed our course for Port Colborne, a nasty sea come down from the northwest with an increasing breeze. We were soon in trouble, the bow-part began to roll and jump on its own account at a different rate than the more staid and heavy after-part, sometimes rising up on end and then seeming to try and take a dive, but held from going away by the long elm timbers which writhed while their chains squealed and rang under the strain.
The worst sensation was when the seas, coming in on the quarter, swept through the opening between the two parts, swishing between the plates and dashing against the after bulkhead made it resound like a drum, sending the spray up over the deck while they coursed through the rower side. It was very exciting, but not at all comfortable. The pace of the tug seemed to get slower and slower, but all we on board could do was to keep the long timbers and their fastenings in their places, see that the bulkheads held their own, and stand by and watch the contest with the waves.
At length, as we got more under the lee of the land, the waves subsided, the pace increased, and at last we were safe between the piers at Port Colborne.
Making all arrangements for the next few days, the leader hurried home, fagged out, but exultant, for the worst part of the journey was over and we had put the rest of the way fairly under our own control.
The barges with the "guards" on them had been sent down through the canal as soon as they had crossed the lake, and were now safely moored at the Ontario level in the outer harbour at Port Dalhousie, there to await the arrival of the united boat. The men in charge returning up the canal to join the main expedition.
Starting from Port Colborne, the two parts of the steamer were separated to go down the canal. The bow part was kept in the lead, but both as near one another as possible, so that the crews could take their meals on the after part, on which they also passed the nights. The stern part was taken down the long upper level by a small tug, but teams were employed in towing for all the remaining portions of the canalling. Memories of things as they then existed on the old Welland are in striking contrast to the conditions obtaining at the present day.
The miseries of human slaves on the "middle passage" of the Atlantic have been dilated upon until sympathy with their sufferings has abounded, but it is doubtful if they were in any way worse than those of the miserable beings then struggling on the canal passage between Lakes Erie and Ontario.
The canal bank and tow paths were a sticky mush, which in those autumn months was churned and stampedinto a continuous condition of soft red mud and splashing pools. From two to six double teams were employed to haul each passing vessel, dependent upon whether it was light or was loaded, but in either case there was the same dull, heavy, continuous pull against the slow-moving mass, a hopeless constant tug into the collars, bringing raw and calloused shoulders.
Poor beasts, there was every description of horse, pony, or mule forced into the service, but an all-prevailing similarity of lean sides and projecting bones, of staring unkempt coats, gradually approaching similar colour as the red mud dried upon their hides. Rest! they had in their traces when mercifully for a few moments the vessel was in a lock, or when awaiting her turn at night they lay out on the bank where she happened to stop. It was the rest of despair.
The poor devils of "drivers," boys or men, who tramped along the canal bank behind each tottering gang, were little better off than their beasts. Heavy-footed, wearied with lifting their boots out of the sucking slush, they trudged along, staggering and half asleep, until aroused by the sounds of a sagging tow line, with quickened stride and volley of hot-shot expletives, they closed upon their luckless four-footed companions. What an electric wince went through the piteous brutes as the stinging whip left wales upon their sides! A sudden forward motion brought up by the twang of the tow line as it came taut, sweeping them off their legs, until they settled down once more into the sidling crablike movement caused by the angle of the hawser from the bow to the tow path.
The new Welland, with its larger size and tug boats, has done away with this method of torturing human and horse flesh. One wonders whether it is the ghosts of thesedeparted equines, that, revisiting the scenes of their torture, make the moanings along the valley, and the whistlings on the hills, as they sniff and whinny in the winds along the canal.
We had a good deal of difficulty at first in our canalling, especially in meeting and passing vessels. The after-part took every inch of the locks, and was unhandy in shape. However, by dint of rope fenders, long poles and a plentiful and willing crew we got along without hurting anyone else or ourselves.
It was in one of these sudden emergencies which sometimes arise that Captain Manson was thought to have got a strain which developed into trouble later on. He was a splendidly-built fellow, over six feet in height, in the plenitude of youth, handsome, laughing, active, and of uncommon strength, the sort of man who jumps in when there is something to be done, throws in his whole force and saves the situation.
The bow-part, being short and light, went merrily on, its crew chaffing the other for their slower speed, for which there was much excuse.
One day on a course in the canal below Thorold we rounded the corner of the height above the mountain tier of locks. It was a wondrous sight to see laid out before us the wide landscape of tableland and valley spread out below, through which we were to navigate and drop down 340 feet on the next four and one-quarter miles. To the left was the series of locks which circled, in gray stone structures, like a succession of great steps, down the mountain side. These were separated one from the other by small ponds or reservoirs with waste weirs, whose little waterfalls tinkled, foaming and glinting in the sun. Directly in front, and below us, were the houses and factories ofMerritton, with trains of the Great Western and the Welland Railways spurting white columns of steam and smoke as the engines panted up the grade to the heights of the Niagara Escarpment from which we were about to descend.
Beyond these came glimpses of the canal as it wound its way toward St. Catharines. Still lower down the Escarpment, spires and towers of the city itself, and yet lower and still further away lay on the horizon the blue waters of Lake Ontario. How beautiful and hopeful it was!
As the Greeks when emerging from the strife and struggles of their long and painful homeward march, hailed the sea with shouts of happy acclaim, for beyond those waters they knew lay home and rest. So, too, it might have been for us, or at least for one of us, for another link had been gained in our long and trying voyage. Far away, from the height, we could see Lake Ontario, the goal of the expedition, the ardently sought terminus of our labours, and on the other side of its waters lay Toronto and the future for the bonnie ship. But times to-day are more prosaic, so, taking a hasty but satisfying look, we turned to negotiate the next lock.
That night at the bottom of the tier, the stern part moored in one pond and the bow in the next below, a "jubilation" was held in the after-cabin by the combined crews. We had safely got down all the steps, and had passed the large boat safely through, so that we might well rejoice.
Beyond this day there was not much that occurred; the way was simple and we had got the "hang" of things. At St. Catharines half the city came out to see the strangelooking hulk wending its way down the canal, and through the locks, close to the town.
At length we came down through the five mile level where the "Canadian Henley" is now held, with its floating tow path to carry the teams, and arrived at Muir's Dock, just above the final lock at Port Dalhousie, after five days occupied in coming through the Canal. The two parts were moored alongside the gate while waiting for the dock to be made ready for our turn to enter.
The position of the village now known as Port Dalhousie was originally, in 1812 days, being called "Twelve Mile Creek." The creeks, or river openings being then named according to their distances in miles from the Niagara River. This name was afterwards changed to "Port Dalhousie," in honour of Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General at the time the first canal was constructed. The "Port" in those days of the horse canal when we arrived at it was mainly a turning place for the canal crews. Its one principal street facing the canal basin, had houses on one side only, mostly drink shops, with or without license, with a few junk and supply stores intervening. Its immediate inhabitants, a nomad collection of sailors and towing gangs, waiting for another job. Around and in its neighborhood there was a happy district prolific of fruit and flowers, but in itself, with its vagrant crews culled from the world over, it was a little haven not far from the realm of Dante's imaginations. Times, methods and circumstances have all since changed.