{287} LETTER XXIV[159]

Passage on Lake Erie—Presque Isle—Buffalo—The Falls of Niagara—Kingston—Youngstown—Newark—Passage on Lake Ontario—Scotch Settlement in Upper Canada—Descend the River St. Lawrence—Thousand Islands—Brokeville—Prescott-Ogdensburgh—Rapids—St. Regis—Lake St. Francis—Falls—Cotu-du-Lac—The Cedar Falls and Village—Lake St. Louis—La Chine—Cachnewaga—Montreal—Passage down the St. Lawrence—Sorel—Lake St. Peter’s—Trois Rivieres—Settlements in Lower Canada—The Falls of Richelieu—Quebec—Heights of Abraham—Lorete—Indians—Remarks on the People—Lumber Trade—Government—Climate.

Quebec, Nov. 9, 1820.

Since writing my last letter to you I have removed from the head of Lake Erie to this place—a very considerable distance; but as I proceeded most of the way by water, I had very little communication with the shore, and very scanty means of making myself acquainted with the country.[160]

On the 14th I went on board the American steam-boatWalk-in-the-Water, a fine vessel of 330 tons burden, with two masts, and rigged, for taking advantage of the winds in the manner of sea-craft.[161]The interior of this vessel is elegant, and the entertainment is luxurious. There were twelve cabin passengers of genteel appearance and polite manners, and about an equal number of persons in the steerage; the whole indicating a degree {288} of intercourse and refinement which I did not expect to see on Lake Erie. The southern bank only was in sight. It is low, and many cleared patches were to be seen at intervals amongst the woods. Probably the time is not far distant when the anticipation of Campbell will be realized,

“There shall the flocks on thymy pasture stray,And shepherds dance at summer’s op’ning day;Each wand’ring genius of the lonely glenShall start to view the glittering haunts of men.”

“There shall the flocks on thymy pasture stray,

And shepherds dance at summer’s op’ning day;

Each wand’ring genius of the lonely glen

Shall start to view the glittering haunts of men.”

There are numerous islands in the lake, which are all covered with a growth of timber, and were then beautifully variegated with the tints of the season. These are the islands in which rattle-snakes and other reptiles are said to be so numerous that it is dangerous to land on them.

During the afternoon, and a part of the night, we experienced the most severe gale that our mariners had felt on the lake. The swell rose to a great height, and occasionally immersed one of the wheels deeply, while the other was almost entirely out of the water, causing the vessel to heave and flounce very disagreeably. Most of the passengers were affected by the same kind of sickness, similar to that which prevails at sea.

Nov. 15.We continued in sight of the United States side of the lake, but without enjoying a single peep of the Canadian shore. The summit of the country between the lake and the Ohio was in sight. It is high land, but what may be called a flat ridge of the most evenly contour, without any pointed hills or conspicuous prominences. Land birds perched on the rigging. The water appeared to be green, showing that its depth is considerable. In some parts it has been sounded and found to be thirty-five fathoms deep. Altogether, {289} the lake presents much of the phenomena of the ocean.

Erie, formerly called Presque Isle, is a small town. Before this place, the British squadron captured during the late war, is sunk for preservation. Some of our people who went ashore here, were told that a schooner with eight men was lost in the storm of the preceding night.

The numbers of water-fowl seen in the lake is truly astonishing. These migrate to the southward in the winter.

Late on the evening of the 16th, we anchored off Buffalo, and on the morning of the 17th dropped two miles down the river, to Black Rock.

Buffalo is a thriving town in the State of New York. Coaches pass from thence to Albany, which is on the route to the city of New York. When the great canal between Hudson River and New York is completed, Buffalo must become a place of considerable importance.[162]

The New York canal is a work not only interesting to a large portion of the United States, but also to Upper Canada. Already ninety miles of the line is completed and in operation, and the continuance of the present exertionsmust in a short time finish the whole. Should the government of Britain continue to neglect the improvement of the inland navigation of Canada, and persist in excluding the colonies from the advantages of a free trade, and give their grain a nominal preference in the British market, while that market is in reality shut against it, a new interest must arise in the upper province. England may still give Canadian lands gratis, and garrison the frontier posts with an idle soldiery, but she cannot shut the eyes of her subjects against the facilities to be derived {290} from an uninterrupted navigation to the port of New York, which is free to the flags of all nations, and open to the sea at every season of the year.

Opposite to Buffalo is Port Erie, on the Canadian side of the river,—pleasant situation, but apparently without any thing like the bustle that animates the southern shore.

At Black Rock, the river Niagara is about a mile in breadth, and runs at the rate of eight knots per minute, and its greatest depth is said to be about ten fathoms.[163]The lake, forming an extensive reservoir, greatly equalizes the discharge of water, particularly as this river is without the floods that characterize most other streams.

One of the passengers on board the steam-boat, a Captain of the United States army, on his way to Fort Niagara, agreed to travel along with me. We hired a two-horse waggon to carry ourselves and baggage. The actual portage to the falls of Niagara is only seven miles; but as we found that there was no boat in readiness to sail from Black Rock, we resolved to proceed the whole way by land, which is thirty-four miles. The gentleman with whom Itravelled was on his return from Green Bay, an inlet of Lake Michigan, where he had gone with some soldiers who were banished to that place. Green Bay is a place of exile, so far removed from the other settlements of the United States, that culprits have it not in their power to escape from thence.

Our journey down the southern bank of the river was extremely pleasant. The banks are low {291} and verdant to the water’s edge, and the margin, in most parts, forming fine curves, smooth as if finished by art. The islands are also low and covered with luxuriant timber. It is the extent of water-prospect, bounded in every direction by woods, that constitutes the grandeur of this part. At the lower extremity of Grand Island, the sheet of water seems to be about three miles broad. The soil is good, and yields better pasturage and hay than the lands of the more southern parts of the continent. A happy compensation for the severity of the northern winter.

On approaching within two or three miles of the falls, a cloud of spray is to be seen rising 600 or 700 feet into the air. At that distance, the noise of the waters has something like the effect of a strong wind among the trees of a forest.

Immediately above the precipice, there is an island beautifully wooded, with a mixture of white cedars and other evergreen trees, which divides the river into two unequal parts, leaving the principal channel toward the Canadian shore. The head of this island, and the beach of the United States side of the river, are connected by a rude wooden bridge, which must have been constructed with great difficulty, as the bottom is of rock, and the water runs with great velocity. On both sides of the island the declivity is great, and the furious stream is broken atintervals by falling over shelving rocks. The division of the rapids toward the Canadian side, would have been remarked as highly interesting, had it been situated somewhere else than immediately adjoining to the great falls of Niagara.

The stranger, on arriving at the point of land close at the head of the cataract, and that juts over {292} the tremendous abyss, is in a moment arrested by the awful grandeur of the scene, or if he is at all inclined to motion, it is to recede from the precipice. The sight of an immense volume of water poured over a perpendicular cliff, situated almost under his feet,[164]into the chasm below, and the thundering noise, are calculated to excite a degree of astonishment that borders on dismay.

The part of the river which passes between the island and the south-easterly shore, falls over the abrupt edge of a precipice that has a few small gaps in it; the water discharged is necessarily deep in these, and forms green columns, which descend twenty or thirty feet before they assume the whiteness that is uniform over other parts of the sheet that here spends its fury on a heap of large blocks which have been undermined and detached from the rocks above. A vast body of dense spray deflected from those large masses of stone, flies off horizontally, and in every other direction, and completely obscures the bottom of the fall, and a considerable portion of the chasm adjoining.

The chasm, from the falls downward, is bounded on both sides by perpendicular cliffs. After descending seventy or eighty feet by a wooden stair, the way to the water’s edge is down a steep foot-slope, amongst largeblocks of stone, and small trees of white cedar which line the banks, and add much to the beauty of this grand ravine.

A small skiff is kept for the convenience of those who would have a view of the falls from below. Sailing here sometimes exposes the traveller to {293} have his clothes wet from the falling vapours, the waters being so much agitated; but as the commotion is nothing more than the heavings of an eddy that comes into contact with the stream, no danger whatever is to be apprehended, and I am apt to believe that few visitors will forego the pleasure of crossing at this place.

It was not till I got afloat on the river that I obtained a comprehensive view of the whole cataract. The part between the island and the north-western shore, forms a hollow curve that is called the Horse-shoe Bend. It is in the inmost recess of this bay that the greatest quantity of water is precipitated, and from this part the most deep toned sounds seemed to proceed. The great body of water which dashes from the summit of the Horse-shoe Bend, is evidenced by the majestic curve that the liquid forms, where it rolls over the top of the rock, and by the green colour that it retains till the vast column is concealed by the waters which rise in revulsion from the vortex below. It is also over the Horse-shoe Bend, that the vapour ascends in the thickest cloud, and to the greatest height.

On the margin of the river, I observed some logs of timber, that had been put ashore by the eddy. They were large round trees, which appeared to have been cut across at the lengths of twelve and sixteen feet, such as are cut into boards at saw-mills. Several of them were split asunder throughout their whole length. Others of them had some of the annular layers of the timber peeled off,and the remaining surfaces bruised and marked, as if they had been beat all over with a weighty hammer or a blunt axe. The ends of the logs were round, somewhat resembling a parabolic figure.

{294} The ascent of the northern bank, is performed by climbing the steep foot-slope by a rugged path that winds amongst large stones, and ultimately surmounting the cliff by a wooden stair;—a fatiguing task, but one which is amply repaid by the commanding situation of the high ground on the Canadian side. As the cascade runs obliquely across the river, and exposes the concavity to the northward, the spectator is here, as it were, placed a little beyond the focus of the grandest amphitheatre. It is also in his power to approach close to the extremity of the pitch, and overlook the smoking Horse-shoe Bend, and peer down on the awful but indescribable convulsions that agitate the foaming bay.

The falls of Niagara are much visited by strangers, as during our short stay there we met with several persons who were examining them. There is a large tavern on each side of the river, and in thealbumkept at one of these, I observed that upwards of a hundred folio pages had been written with names within five months.

Immediately before reaching Kingston, we descended a steep ridge or step in the country. Opposite to this place is Queenstown, on the Canadian side of the river. Both these towns are at the lower end of the portage of Niagara. The chasm through which the river runs from the falls to this place, renders it highly probable that the cataract once poured itself over the ridge just noticed, and that it has subsequently made its progress upward to its present place. It would be interesting to ascertain the relative levels of the ridge above Kingston, and the oldbeach of Lake Erie, that has been observed in the great prairie.

Late in the evening we stopped at Youngstown, a small village near the confluence of the river {295} Niagara with Lake Ontario. At this place I heard the noise of the falls, which were eighteen miles distant.

On the 18th, I crossed the river to the town of Niagara, now called Newark. On the United States side of the mouth of the river stands the old fort Niagara; on the Canadian side is Fort George, of later erection. The 18th was a day of much parade there; the governor of the upper province being engaged in reviewing the troops of the garrison.

The banks of the river Niagara are, at its mouth, about sixty feet high, and the ground in the neighbourhood forms a delightful plain, but the people are said to be much afflicted with ague, a complaint common to both sides of the river.

In the afternoon I went on board a large steam-boat, called Fronteniac, which then sailed for Kingston. Toward evening we saw the spray over the falls of Niagara. It did not then appear to be a blue smoky-coloured, and almost transparent vapour, as when I was near it on the 18th, but a dark-coloured dense cloud. This fact agrees well with the opinion that asserts the vesicular formation of clouds, and with the observation familiar to every one, that clouds appear to be dark-coloured and opaque at a distance, and that when they actually approach and fall in the form of rain, their dark colour and opacity disappear.

The waters of Lake Ontario indicate great depth by their dark green colour. It is reported that a line of 350 fathoms has been let down in various parts without findinga bottom.[165]The islands are low, and covered with small timber, and the shores rocky. Salmon abound in the lake, and in some of its tributary streams.

{296} 19th. Arrived at Kingston, which is situated at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. This place contains about 3000 people, and is the largest town in Upper Canada. It was here that the warships which navigated the lake during the late war were built, and several vessels of a larger size than any on the ocean, are still on the stocks. An island before Kingston, appears to be strongly fortified.

To the north of Kingston, and towards the Utawas [Ottawa] or Grand River, is the new town of Perth, and the settlement of a considerable body of Scots who emigrated in 1815. One of these people, who was on board the steam-boat, told me that the settlers had succeeded well; and a gentleman who lives in their neighbourhood assured me, that they have already attained to a more comfortable style of living than the French in the older settlements of the lower province.

On the 20th I sailed in a steam-boat for Prescott, which is seventy miles down the river. In immediate continuation with the eastern extremity is an expansion of the river St. Lawrence, which is called the lake of the thousand islands, from the great number of small islands it contains. These are rocky, and covered over with small pine trees, forming a romantic labyrinth, in which it is not always easy to discriminate between islands and the main land. Markings on the rocks show, that the waters rise occasionally to the height of four feet, but these slight floods must be occasioned by winds, rather than the immediate effect of rainy weather.

Brokeville is a new town on the north side of the river. The name is in honour of the British General Broke who fell in the late war.[166]The houses {297} are chiefly of stone, and have a neat appearance. In consequence of the settlements forming to the northward, Brokeville is of some importance as a landing place, and in its trade.

Prescott is a considerable town, with a small fort on the Canadian side of the river. It is a curious fact, that the thriving town of Ogdensburg, on the United States shore, is directly opposite, and though within the range of British cannon, is without defensive works, and without a garrison.

There being a number of rapids in the river between Prescott and Montreal, the intermediate navigation is performed by small flat-bottomed vessels, called Durham boats, which carry about three hundred barrels of flour each. These boats have no other decks than narrow foot-ways round the gunwales, leaving the middle space open, where the cargo is piled up.

On the 21st I left Prescott in a Durham boat,[167]in which there were three passengers besides myself. Two of these were Americans from Arkansaw river, on their way for Quebec, a journey of 2100 miles, and the other an Englishman, who had gone out to see the lands in Upper Canada, and was on his return to England, where he intends to give up a small farm that he holds in lease, and remove his family to the back woods near Kingston. From hearingthe swearing and rude conversation of the boat’s crew, I concluded that they were persons of the lowest character.

The waters of the St. Lawrence appear green, on account of the great depth of the river, but when taken up in a vessel, they seem perfectly transparent. The islands below Prescott are of a rich soil, and, like the banks on both sides of the river, are low, and covered with grass almost to the margin of the water. We passed over four rapids on {298} the 21st, viz. the Riftsle Galete, the Flat Rifts, the Long Falls, and theMaligne Rifts. All these run with great velocity; and at the lower end of each, where the stream rushes into waters that run on a lesser declivity, a great swell or heaving motion is produced. We stopped for the night at Cornwall, a considerable village on the Canadian shore. I was there told the river opposite to that place is so deep, that when the people attempted to drag it in search of the body of a man who had been drowned, the bottom was not felt.

On the 22d we passed St. Regis, an Indian town, which is built with stone. Below this place, the boundary line which separates the United States from Canada leaves the river. Lake St. Francis is an expansion of the river that is about thirty miles long, and from four to six miles broad. The banks are low, and the declivity of the neighbouring lands is very moderate. To the south-east, a number of high mountains in New York State are to be seen. Their distance from the river seems to be about thirty miles, and they are covered with trees to their summits.

On the northern bank of Lake St. Francis, is a settlement of Canadian French. It extends to the length of seven or eight miles, and is only about one mile broad.The farms are said to consist of one hundred acres each, and as they extend from the lake back to the woods, they are long narrow stripes of land, each having the dwelling-house, barn, &c. almost close to the bank. The houses are white-washed, and externally very neat. Their being almost completely uniform in size and appearance, might cause any stranger to believe that their owners are nearly on a parity in wealth.

At the east end of the lake are the falls of St. Francis. These are furious rapids, and a canal {299} for avoiding them has been cut at the villageCotu du Lac, but as the cut is not deep enough, the work is of very little use. Of the falls of St. Lawrence river, it may be remarked generally, that as there are no high floods, and as the banks are low, there can be no great difficulty in improving the navigation. There is a very small Fort at theCotu du Lac, which is garrisoned by about half a dozen of soldiers.

On the 23d we took in a pilot, who conducted us over the Cedar Rifts, the Thicket Falls, and Le Trou Falls. The former of these rapids runs with tremendous fury. The two latter canals are cut, but, like that at theCotu du Lac, they are too shallow to admit loaded boats. The Cedar village is most delightfully situated on the north side of the river.

The Utawas, or Grand river, forms the division line between Upper and Lower Canada, and falls into the St. Lawrence by two mouths, one above and the other below the island of Montreal. The great magnitude of the former river is manifested by the dark colour of its waters, which are sufficient to give a tinge to the Lake St. Louis, in which the two rivers meet. On this lake a new steam-boat has lately begun to ply.

La Chine is a small town on the Island Montreal, and at the head of the falls of St. Louis. In consequence of this interruption to the navigation, La Chine is at the head of a portage over which a great portion of the produce and goods that pass upward of Montreal are carried. The inhabitants of this place are Canadian French, many of whom are employed as carters between the landing place and the city, which is about seven miles distant. Cachnewaga, on the opposite side of {300} the river, is an Indian town, built of stone, and of a neat appearance.

On the 24th I proceeded by land to Montreal. The soil in that part is good, and well adapted to pasturage. I observed some farms that are occupied by Scotsmen, and cultivated in a neater style than any thing of the kind that I have ever seen in America. Several iron ploughs which were made at Uddingstone, on the Clyde, were lying by the side of the road. The horses are small, but elegantly formed and hardy.

The language in most common use here is the French. People of every possible shade of colour, between the French complexion and the copper colour of the Indian, are to be heard conversing in that tongue.

The suburbs of Montreal are composed of narrow dirty streets. The houses are of stone, plastered over with lime. A few private houses, and the court-house and jail, are built of hewed stone. The roofs of many of the houses are covered with small plates of tinned iron, which preserves its metallic lustre well, and produces a disagreeable glare during sunshine. In the end of the market place, is a monument in memory of Lord Nelson. It is a Doric column, with a plaster bust of the hero on the top, and some naval figures in relief upon the pedestal.This compound substance is already yielding to the weather, and probably will not long resist the effects of this rigorous climate. To the north of the town, there is a hill covered with timber, which contributes much toward giving the place a picturesque appearance. In the neighbourhood there are a few neat villas, and many luxuriant orchards. In the streets people are to be seen driving small carts drawn by dogs; {301} they are usually loaded with sticks, ashes, and other light articles. Montreal has a great trade, being the emporium of the upper country, and the residence of the principal agents of the North West Company. The port is accessible to large ships from the ocean, but is not a tenable harbour in the winter, on account of its being exposed to the breaking up of the ice. Montreal is the seat of justice for the upper district of Lower Canada. The court is composed of a chief justice, and three puisne judges. There is in the city, a barrack occupied by a small body of troops. A square in the form of a terrace, called thePlace d’Arms, for the exercising of soldiers; a college, and a convent, where a considerable number of nuns are kept. The clergy of the Roman Catholic religion retain the tithes of the island.

Early on the morning of the 25th I sailed in a steam-boat for Quebec. There are now twelve large vessels of this kind which ply between Montreal and that place, and one that crosses between La Prairie and Montreal.

The steam-boats, on their passage between Montreal and Quebec, touch at the town of Sorel, at the mouth of Sorel river. Sorel is a small town, and its principal business is ship-building. It was formerly called Fort William Henry, known as the place of the earliest settlement of Europeans in North America, and as the scene of thecruel massacre committed by the Indians under the French General Montcalm, in 1757.[168]

The Lake St. Peter’s is another expansion of the river, about twenty miles long and fifteen broad. The great lakes in the upper country, and the smaller ones in the course of the St. Lawrence, have the effect of equalizing the stream, and prevent {302} inundations, which are very injurious to the neighbourhood of most large rivers.

In the afternoon, the vessel was anchored in consequence of a contrary wind, which was accompanied with a fall of snow, the first that had occurred during the season. The townTrois Rivieres, (Three Rivers,) then in our sight, is a large place, and is the seat of justice for one of the three districts of Lower Canada. Most of the inhabitants here, as in the other parts of the lower province, are Canadian French. The houses are covered with tinned iron.

On both sides of the river, a row of farm houses, placed at very short intervals, stretches along almost without interruption. These houses are white-washed, and have throughout a degree of similarity in size and appearance which I have not observed in any other part except the banks of the St. Lawrence. These houses are white-washed, and have each a barn and other inferior houses attached. As the grain is housed, and the barns seem to be of no great dimensions, it is a proof that the crops are certainly small. In viewing these ranges of farming establishments obliquely, the whole has the aspect of a continued village on both sides, with churches at veryshort distances from one another. Were it not for seeing the uncleared woods, which are in most parts only about a mile from the river, and for recollecting that the number of white people in Lower Canada was, a few years ago, estimated at only 200,000, I should have been induced to believe that this is a populous country.

On the 26th we proceeded downwards with a fair wind. The tide reaches to the distance of about sixty miles above Quebec. We descended the Falls of Richlieu, by the joint action of wind, tide, steam, and the stream, at the rate of fifteen {303} miles an hour. These falls are furious rapids at low stages of the tide, but in times of high water they are covered up and smooth. The banks are of a dark coloured schistous substance, very steep, and about a hundred feet high, and the soil inferior to that farther up the river.

On approaching Quebec, I was shown the steep recess of the rock through which General Wolf conducted his army on the night previous to his memorable victory.—This narrow defile retains the name of Wolfe’s Cove.

The first sight of Quebec that is obtained in descending the river, is imposing; the shipping viewed in the direction of the line that it forms along the wharfs, has something like the appearance of a thick forest of deadened pine-trees, and the dark-coloured rock, which rises almost from the water’s edge, towers high in air. An angle of the fort that stands on the edge of the precipice, and a stone tower and a signal-post that occupy a still higher summit in the rear, are the most prominent objects. On advancing farther, it is discovered that the low ground below widens to the westward, and is occupied by a part of the lower town, and a considerable extent of the circumvallation that occupies the top of the cleft, and incloses thecastle of St. Louis, and some other high buildings. The situation and aspect of the castle of St. Louis, (the residence of the governor,) reminds me of the barracks on the west side of the castle of Edinburgh. Indeed the whole of the northern front of Quebec has a general resemblance to the ancient Scottish fortress.

Quebec stands on a point of land formed by the junction of the rivers St. Lawrence, and is divided by the cliffs into two parts, the Lower and the Upper town. The Lower town, adjoining to the wharfs, is narrow and dirty, and the wharfs are {304} disconnected from one another by the intervention of houses. The Upper town is inclosed within the fort, and is much better built and more clean than the lower division of the city. The whole of the works occupy ground of the most commanding description, and are well furnished with the apparatus necessary for defence.

On the Heights of Abraham, the place is shown where Wolfe fell, and, till lately, the granite block remained on which the hero expired. There are some fragments still to be found, lying at a small wooden house adjoining, which will probably be soon broken into smaller pieces and carried off by strangers.

To the west of Quebec is Lorete, an Indian town, which is built of stone; and the neighbouring fields seem to be well cultivated. At Point Levi, on the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence, a tribe of Indians encamp occasionally for the purpose of trading. It is curious that the aborigines remain so long amongst the thickest settlements in Lower Canada, while in other parts of the continent they disappear before a very thin population of whites. This must have been occasioned by the French, who have at all times ingratiated themselves with the natives, andeven intermarried with them, and by the Indians becoming proselytes to the Roman Catholic religion.

The Canadian French are universally acknowledged to be true Roman Catholics, strict in their observance of holidays, submissive to the exactions of their priesthood, and the loyal subjects of Britain. They seem to retain the depressed characters of a conquered people. Their bow is low, and apparently obsequious, and they are usually ready to make out of the way of any one who walks rapidly along the streets. Many of {305} them are dirty and coarsely clothed, and instead of buttoning their coats, they tie them with a sort of sash that is wrapped round their middle. At meals each produces his pocket knife, the same, perhaps, with which he cuts his tobacco, and spits on the blade, and then rubs it on his clothes previous to eating. They are slovenly agriculturists, and use the most wretched implements, and yoke their oxen by the horns. A gentleman told me that he lately asked one of them, why they did not yoke these animals by the shoulders as other people do? The other replied—because the strength of the head would be lost. It is not uncommon to see the Canadian coming into market with only one or two bushels of wheat. Here, as at Montreal, the cruel practice of causing dogs to draw carts, prevails. On seeing a young man riding in one of these little vehicles, and whipping the docile creature till it lay down and turned up its feet, I was much shocked at the conduct of the wretch; and, though you may not altogether approve of the principle, I felt considerable satisfaction from the circumstance, that the profane imprecations which he with great fluency uttered, were not pronounced in the English language.

Timber is the principal article exported here. Theperiod for which Canadian timber is exempted from paying duty in Britain, is about to expire, and a fear is entertained that a tax may be imposed by parliament at their next session. The subject excites much interest at present, and in the event of a timber tax being enacted, it may operate as a test for Canadian loyalty.

The government of the Canadas consists of a governor, a legislative council, and a house of assembly in each province. This organization is vested with the power of making such laws as are not {306} contrary to the acts of the British Parliament. The legislative council is summoned by the governor, under the authority of the king, and its members are appointed for life. The assembly is elected by freeholders, whose qualification is possessing landed property to the yearly value of forty shillings or upwards; or possessing a dwelling house and lot of ground in towns to the yearly value of five pounds, or paying for one year, at least a rent of ten pounds. These assemblies continue for four years at most, but can be dissolved before the termination of the full period. Quebec is the seat of justice for the lower district of the lower province. The court consists of a chief justice and three puisne judges, and public business is conducted by a solicitor-general and an attorney-general. The criminal laws are the same as those of England, but in civil cases the oldcoutume de Parisis retained. The existence of French laws in the lower province is said to be repulsive to people from Britain, and is probably one of the causes that determines many of them on settling in Upper Canada.

The climate of Canada varies between extremes of heat and cold. A temperature of 96° of Fahrenheit’s scale has been observed at this place in summer, and it isbelieved that mercury has been frozen by the cold in winter. I am not able to judge of the inconvenience which attends wintering here, but the inhabitants look forward to that season as the gayest of the year. Most of the labours without doors at this season are suspended, and the people sally forth in their sledges on excursions of pleasure, or in visiting their friends. The deep and long continued snows in this country protect the crops of wheat from being injured by the frosts, and enable the Canadians to drag the {307} largest trees to the rivers, a work that would otherwise be difficult in the woods, where there are no good roads. Just now the ground is covered with snow, and the cold, which increases daily, shows that winter is about to commence in earnest. At least three-fourths of the ships that were here a week ago have sailed down the river, and the seamen who remain in port are all in a bustle, preparing for going to sea. Probably by a few days hence there will not be a ship left.

FOOTNOTES:[159]For notes on the following persons and places mentioned in this chapter, see Croghan’sJournals, volume i of our series: Presque Isle, note 62. J. Long’sTravels, volume ii of our series: Fort Niagara, note 19; Ogdensburg, note 15; Cedars, note 27; La Chine, note 34; Caughnawaga, note 9; Trois Rivieres, note 8; Lorette, note 92.—Ed.[160]Flint’s route from Ohio to Quebec was by way of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Kingston, and Montreal.—Ed.[161]This first steam-boat on Lake Erie was launched at Black Rock (now Buffalo), May 28, 1818. It was named from a Wyandot chieftain, and in 1821 was lost in a storm.—Ed.[162]The Erie Canal was begun at Rome, New York, July 4, 1817, being completed in eight years.—Ed.[163]Morse has stated theaveragedepth at this place (the ferry) to be twenty-five feet. According to him, its average rapidity from thence to Chipeway is six miles an hour, and that at the ferry it is much greater.—Flint.Comment by Ed.Jedidiah Morse,American Gazetteer(Boston, 1797).[164]The height of the division of the falls that lies between the island and the south-east shore has been formerly estimated at 160 feet. I have been told that a measurement made last summer has determined it to be 162 feet.—Flint.[165]Lake Ontario averages six hundred feet in depth.—Ed.[166]For an account of General Isaac Brock, see Buttrick’sVoyages, volume viii of our series, note 6.—Ed.[167]Durham boats were heavy freight craft built along the lines of an Indian canoe. Their designer (about 1750) was Robert Durham, manager and engineer of the Durham furnace, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The ordinary Durham boat was sixty feet long, eight feet wide, and two feet deep. When laden with fifteen tons, it drew twenty inches of water.—Ed.[168]Flint seems here to have obtained his facts from a typical guide-book. Fort William Henry, the scene of the massacre, stood at the head of Lake George; Montcalm captured it in 1757, and spread terror to Albany, and even as far as New York. Many of the prisoners of war were massacred by Indians, over whom the French claimed to have had little or no control.—Ed.

[159]For notes on the following persons and places mentioned in this chapter, see Croghan’sJournals, volume i of our series: Presque Isle, note 62. J. Long’sTravels, volume ii of our series: Fort Niagara, note 19; Ogdensburg, note 15; Cedars, note 27; La Chine, note 34; Caughnawaga, note 9; Trois Rivieres, note 8; Lorette, note 92.—Ed.

[160]Flint’s route from Ohio to Quebec was by way of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Kingston, and Montreal.—Ed.

[161]This first steam-boat on Lake Erie was launched at Black Rock (now Buffalo), May 28, 1818. It was named from a Wyandot chieftain, and in 1821 was lost in a storm.—Ed.

[162]The Erie Canal was begun at Rome, New York, July 4, 1817, being completed in eight years.—Ed.

[163]Morse has stated theaveragedepth at this place (the ferry) to be twenty-five feet. According to him, its average rapidity from thence to Chipeway is six miles an hour, and that at the ferry it is much greater.—Flint.Comment by Ed.Jedidiah Morse,American Gazetteer(Boston, 1797).

Comment by Ed.Jedidiah Morse,American Gazetteer(Boston, 1797).

[164]The height of the division of the falls that lies between the island and the south-east shore has been formerly estimated at 160 feet. I have been told that a measurement made last summer has determined it to be 162 feet.—Flint.

[165]Lake Ontario averages six hundred feet in depth.—Ed.

[166]For an account of General Isaac Brock, see Buttrick’sVoyages, volume viii of our series, note 6.—Ed.

[167]Durham boats were heavy freight craft built along the lines of an Indian canoe. Their designer (about 1750) was Robert Durham, manager and engineer of the Durham furnace, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The ordinary Durham boat was sixty feet long, eight feet wide, and two feet deep. When laden with fifteen tons, it drew twenty inches of water.—Ed.

[168]Flint seems here to have obtained his facts from a typical guide-book. Fort William Henry, the scene of the massacre, stood at the head of Lake George; Montcalm captured it in 1757, and spread terror to Albany, and even as far as New York. Many of the prisoners of war were massacred by Indians, over whom the French claimed to have had little or no control.—Ed.

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