LETTERXXI.

Embark on Lake Champlain.—Difficulty of procuring Provisions at Farms bordering upon it.—Ticonderoga.—Crown Point.—Great Beauty of the Scenery.—General Description of Lake Champlain and the adjacent Country. Captain Thomas and his Indians arrive at Crown Point.—Character of Thomas.—Reach St. John’s.—Description of that Place.—Great Difference observable in the Face of the Country, Inhabitants, &c. in Canada and in the States.—Chambly Castle.—Calashes.—Bons Dieux.—Town of La Prarie.—Great Rapidity of the River Saint Lawrence.—Cross it to Montreal.—Astonishment on seeing large Ships at Montreal.—Great Depth of the River.

Montreal, July.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

SHORTLY after our arrival in Skenesborough, we hired a small boat of about ten tons for the purpose of crossing Lake Champlain. It was our wish to proceed on the voyage immediately; but the owner of the boat asserting that it was impossible to go out with the wind then blowing, we were for three days detained in Skenesborough, a delicious feast for the hungry musquitoes. Thewind shifted again and again, still it was not fair in the opinion of our boatman. At last, being most heartily tired of our quarters, and suspecting that he did not understand his business as well as he ought to have done, we resolved not to abide by his opinion any longer, but to make an attempt at beating out; and we had great reason to be pleased with having done so, as we arrived in Canada three days before any of the other boats, that did not venture to move till the wind was quite aft.

We set off about one o’clock; but from the channel being very narrow, it was impossible to make much way by tacking. We got no farther than six miles before sun-set. We then stopped, and having landed, walked up to some farm houses, which appeared at a distance, on the Vermont shore, to procure provisions; for the boatman had told us it was quite unnecessary to take in any at Skenesborough, as there were excellent houses close to the shore the whole way, where we could get whatever we wished. At the first we went to, which was a comfortable log-house, neither bread, nor meat, nor milk, nor eggs, were to be had; the house was crowded with children of all ages, and the people, I suppose, thought they had but little enough for themselves. At a second house, we found a venerable old man at the door, reading a news-paper, who civillyoffered it to us for our perusal, and began to talk upon the politics of the day; we thanked him for his offer, and gave him to understand, at the same time, that a loaf would be much more acceptable. Bread there was none; we got a new Vermont cheese, however. A third house now remained in sight, and we made a third attempt at procuring something to eat. This one was nearly half a mile off, but alas! it afforded still less than the last; the people had nothing to dispose of but a little milk. With the milk and the cheese, therefore, we returned to our boat, and adding thereto some biscuits and wine, which we had luckily on board, the whole afforded us a frugal repast.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

The people at the American farm houses will cheerfully lie three in a bed, rather than suffer a stranger to go away who comes to seek for a lodging. As all these houses, however, which we had visited, were crowded with inhabitants, we felt no great inclination to ask for accommodation at any of them, but determined to sleep on board our little vessel. We accordingly moored her at a convenient part of the shore, and each of us having wrapped himself up in a blanket, which we had been warned to provide on leaving New York, we laid ourselves down to sleep. The boat was decked two thirds of her length forward, and had a commodious hold; we gave the preference,however, because more airy, to the cabin or after part, fitted up with benches, and covered with a wooden awning, under which a man could just sit upright, provided he was not very tall. The benches, which went lengthwise, accommodated two of us; and the third was obliged to put up with the cabin floor; but a blanket and a bare board, out of the way of musquitoes, were luxuries after our accommodations at Skenesborough; our ears were not assailed by the noise even of a single one the whole night, and we enjoyed sounder repose than we had done for many nights preceding.

The wind remained nearly in the same point the next morning, but the lake being wider, we were enabled to proceed faster. We stopped at one house to breakfast, and at another to dine. At neither of these, although they bore the name of taverns, were we able to procure much more than at the houses where we had stopped the preceding evening. At the first we got a little milk, and about two pounds of bread, absolutely the whole of what was in the house; and at the second, a few eggs, and some cold salted fat pork; but not a morsel of bread was to be had. The wretched appearance also of this last habitation was very striking; it consisted of a wooden frame, merely with a few boards nailed againstit, the crevices between which were the only apertures for the admission of light, except the door; and the roof was so leaky, that we were sprinkled with the rain even as we sat at the fire side. That people can live in such a manner, who have the necessaries and conveniencies of life within their reach, as much as any others in the world, is really most astonishing! It is, however, to be accounted for, by that desire of making money, which is the predominant feature in the character of the Americans in general, and leads the petty farmer in particular to suffer numberless inconveniencies, when he can gain by so doing. If he can sell the produce of his land to advantage, he keeps as small a part of it as possible for himself, and lives the whole year round upon salt provisions, bad bread, and the fish he can catch in the rivers or lakes in the neighbourhood; if he has built a comfortable house for himself, he readily quits it, as soon as finished, for money, and goes to live in a mere hovel in the woods till he gets time to build another. Money is his idol, and to procure it he gladly foregoes every self-gratification.

TICONDEROGA.

From this miserable habitation, just mentioned, we departed as soon as the rain was over, and the wind coming round in our favour, we got as far as Ticonderoga that night. The only dwelling here is the tavern, whichis a large house built of stone. On entering it we were shewn into a spacious apartment, crowded with boatmen and people that had just arrived from St. John’s, in Canada. Seeing such a number of guests in the house, we expected nothing less than to be kept an hour or two till sufficient supper was prepared for the whole company, so that all might sit down at once together, which, as I have before said, is the custom in the country parts of the United States. Our surprise therefore was great at perceiving a neat table and a comfortable little supper speedily laid out for us, and no attempts made at serving the rest of the company till we had quite finished. This was departing from the system of equality in a manner which we had never witnessed before, and we were at a loss for some time to account for it; but we presently heard that the woman of the house had kept a tavern for the greater part of her life at Quebec, which resolved the knotty point. The wife is generally the active person in managing a country tavern, and the husband attends to his farm, or has some independent occupation. The man of this house was a judge, a sullen demure old gentleman, who sat by the fire[28], with tattered clothes and dishevelledlocks, reading a book, totally regardless of every person in the room.

28.Though this was the 14th day of July, the weather was so cold that we found a fire extremely agreeable.

The old fort and barracks of Ticonderoga are on the top of a rising ground, just behind the tavern; they are quite in ruins, and it is not likely that they will ever be rebuilt, for the situation is very insecure, being commanded by a lofty hill called Mount Defiance. The British got possession of the place the last war by dragging cannon and mortars up the hill, and firing down upon the fort.

Early the next morning we left Ticonderoga, and pursued our voyage to Crown Point, where we landed to look at the old fort. Nothing is to be seen there, however, but a heap of ruins; for shortly before it was given up by the British, the powder magazine blew up, by which accident a great part of the works was destroyed; since the evacuation of it also, the people in the neighbourhood have been continually digging in different parts, in hopes of procuring lead and iron shot; a considerable quantity was in one instance got out of the stores that had been buried by the explosion. The vaults, which were bomb proof, have been demolished for the sake of the bricks for building chimneys. At the south side alone the ditches remain perfect; they are wide and deep, and cut through immense rocks of limestone; and from being overgrown towards the top with different kinds of shrubs, have a grandand picturesque appearance. The view from this spot of the fort, and the old buildings in it overgrown with ivy, of the lake, and of the distant mountains beyond it, is indeed altogether very fine. The fort, and seven hundred acres of good cleared land adjoining to it, are the property of the state of New York, and are leased out at the rate of one hundred and fifty dollars, equal to £. 33. 10s.sterling per annum, which is appropriated for the use of a college. The farmer who rented it told us, he principally made use of the land for grazing cattle; these, in the winter season, when the lake was frozen, he drove over the ice to Albany, and there disposed of.

CROWN POINT.

Crown Point is the most advantageous spot on the shores of Lake Champlain for a military post, not being commanded by any rising grounds in the neighbourhood, as Ticonderoga is, and as the lake is so narrow here, owing to another point running out on the opposite side, that it would be absolutely impossible for a vessel to pass, without being exposed to the fire of the fort. The Indians call this place Tek-ya-dough-nigarigee, that is, the two points immediately opposite to each other: the one opposite to Crown Point is called Chimney Point; upon it are a few houses, one of which is a tavern. While we staid there we were very agreeably surprised, for the first time, withthe sight of a large birch canoe upon the lake, navigated by two or three Indians in the dresses of their nation. They made for the shore and soon landed; and shortly after another party, amounting to six or seven, arrived, that had come by land.

On board our little vessel we had a poor Canadian, whom we took in at Skenesborough. Tempted by the accounts he had heard of the United States, he quitted his own home in Canada, where he lived under one of the seigniors, and had gone as far as Albany, in the neighbourhood of which place he had worked for some time with a farmer; but finding, that although he got higher wages, he had to pay much more for his provisions than in Canada, and that he was also most egregiously cheated by the people, and particularly by his employer, from whom he could not get even the money he had earned; finding likewise that he was unable to procure any redress, from being ignorant of the English language, the poor fellow determined to return to Canada, and on his way thither we met him, without a shilling in his pocket.

Having asked this little fellow, as we sailed along, some questions about the Indians, he immediately gave us a long account of a Captain Thomas, a chief of the Cachenonaga nation, in the neighbourhood of whose village hesaid he lived. Thomas, he told us, was a very rich man, and had a most excellent house, in which he said he lived as well as a seignior, and he was sure we should be well received if we went to see him; he told us also that he had built a church, and was a christian; that he was very charitable, and that if he were acquainted with his present distress he would certainly make him a present of four or five dollars. “Oh je vous assure, messieurs, que c’est un bon sauvage.” It was impossible not to smile at the little Canadian, who, half naked himself, and nearly as dark as a mulatto, concluded his panegyric upon Thomas, by assuring us, “he was a good savage;” at the same time we felt a strong desire to behold this chief, of whom we had heard so much. It was not long before we were gratified, for the party of Indians that arrived whilst we were at Chimney Point were from the Cachenonaga village, and at their head was Captain Thomas.

CAPTAIN THOMAS.

Thomas appeared to be about forty-five years of age; he was nearly six feet high, and very bulky in proportion: this is a sort of make uncommon among the Indians, who are generally slender. He was dressed like a white man, in boots; his hair untied, but cut short; the people who attended him were all in the Indian habit. Not one of his followers could speak a word of English or French; Thomas,however, could himself speak both languages. English he spoke with some little hesitation, and not correctly; but French seemed as familiar to him as his native tongue. His principal attention seemed to be directed towards trade, which he had pursued with great success, so much so, indeed, that, as we afterwards heard, he could get credit in any store in Montreal for five hundred pounds. He had along with him at Chimney Point thirty horses and a quantity of furs in the canoe, which he was taking for sale to Albany. His people, he told us, had but very few wants; he took care to have these always supplied; in return they brought him furs, taken in hunting; they attended his horses, and voluntarily accompanied him when he went on a trading expedition: his profits therefore must be immense. During the course of conversation he told us, that if we came to see him he would make us very happy; that there were some very handsome squaws[29]in his village, and that each of us should have a wife: we promised to visit him if it was in our power, and parted very good friends. Thomas, as we afterwards found, is not a man respected among the Indians in general, who think much more of a chief that is a good warrior and hunter, and that retains the

29.Female Indians.

habits of his nation, than of one that becomes a trader, and assimilates his manners to those of the whites.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

Lake Champlain is about one hundred and twenty miles in length, and is of various breadths; for the first thirty miles, that is, from South River to Crown Point, it is in no place more than two miles wide; beyond this, for the distance of twelve miles, it is five or six miles across, but then again it narrows, and again at the end of a few miles expands. That part called the Broad Lake, because broader than any other, commences about twenty-five miles north of Crown Point, and is eighteen miles across in the widest part. Here the lake is interspersed with a great number of islands, the largest of which, formerly called Grande Isle, now South Hero, is fifteen miles in length, and, on an average, about four in breadth. The soil of this island is fertile, and it is said that five hundred people are settled upon it. The Broad Lake is nearly fifty miles in length, and gradually narrows till it terminates in a large river called Chambly, Richlieu, or Sorelle, which runs into the St. Lawrence.

The soundings of Lake Champlain, except at the narrow parts at either end, are in general very deep; in many places sixty and seventy, and in some even one hundred fathoms. In proportion to its breadth and depth, the wateris more or less clear; in the broad part it is as pure and transparent as possible. On the west side, as far as Cumberland Bay, the lake is bounded for the most part by steep mountains close to the edge of the water; at Cumberland Bay the ridge of mountains runs off to the north west, and the shore farther on is low and swampy. The East or Vermont shore is not much elevated, except in a few particular places; at the distance of twelve miles, however, from the lake is a considerable mountain. The shores on both sides are very rocky; where there are mountains these rocks jut out very boldly; but at the east side, where the land is low, they appear but a little above the water. The islands also, for the most part, are surrounded with rocks, in some parts, shelving down into the lake, so that it is dangerous to approach within one or two miles of them at particular sides. From some parts of the eastern shore the rocks also run out in the same manner for a considerable distance. Sailing along the shore when a breeze is blowing, a hollow murmuring noise is always heard from the waters splashing into the crannies of these rocks. There are many streams which fall into the lake: the mouths of all those on the western side are obstructed by falls, so that none of them are navigable. Of those on the eastern or Vermont side, a few only are navigable for small boats, and that for a short distance.

SCENERY.

The scenery along various parts of the lake is extremely grand and picturesque, particularly beyond Crown Point; the shores are there beautifully ornamented with hanging woods and rocks, and the mountains on the western side rise up in ranges one behind the other in the most magnificent manner. It was on one of the finest evenings possible that we passed along this part of the lake, and the sun setting in all his glory behind the mountains, spread the richest tints over every part of the prospect; the moon also appearing nearly in the full, shortly after the day had closed, afforded us an opportunity of beholding the surrounding scenery in fresh though less brilliant colours. Our little bark was now gliding smoothly along, whilst every one of us remained wrapt up in silent contemplation of the solemn scene, when suddenly she struck upon one of the shelving rocks: nothing but hurry and confusion was now visible on board, every one lending his assistance; however, at last, with some difficulty, we got her off; but in a minute she struck a second time, and after we had again extricated her, even a third and a fourth time; at last she stuck so fast that for a short time we despaired of being able to move her. At the end of a quarter of an hour, however, we again fortunately got her into deep water. We had before suspected that our boatman did notknow a great deal about the navigation of the lake, and on questioning him now, it came out, that he had been a cobler all his life, till within the last nine months, when he thought proper to change his business, and turn sailor. All the knowledge he had of the shores of the lake, was what he had picked up during that time, as he sailed straight backward and forward between St. John’s and Skenesborough. On the present occasion he had mistaken one bay for another, and had the waves been as high as they sometimes are, the boat would inevitably have been dashed to pieces.

The humble roof of another judge, a plain Scotch labourer, afforded us shelter for this night. It was near eleven o’clock, however, when we got there, and the family having retired to rest we had to remain rapping and calling at the door for half an hour at least; before we could get admittance. The people at last being roused, opened their doors, cheerfully got us some supper, and prepared their best beds for us. In the morning, having paid our reckoning to the judge, he returned to his plough, and we to our boat to prosecute our voyage.

BOUNDARY.

We set off this day with a remarkable fine breeze, and being desirous of terminating our voyage as soon as possible, of which we began now to be somewhat tired, we stopped butonce in the course of the day, and determined to sail on all night. A short time after sun set we passed the boundary between the British dominions and the United States. Here we were brought to by an armed brig of twenty guns, under English colours, stationed for the purpose of examining all boats passing up and down the lake: the answers which we gave to the several questions asked being satisfactory, we were accordingly suffered to proceed. Since the surrender of the ports, pursuant to the late treaty with the United States, this brig has been removed, and laid up at St. John’s. When night came on, we wrapped ourselves up in our blankets, as we had done on the first night of our voyage, and laid down upon the cabin floor, where we might possibly have slept until we got to St. John’s, had we not been awakened at midnight by the loud hollas of the sentinel at the British fort on Isle aux Noix. On examining into the matter, it appeared that the boat had been driven on shore, while our sleepy pilot enjoyed his nap at the helm; and the sentinel, unable to imagine what we were about, seeing the boat run up close under the fort, and suspicious of some attack, I suppose, had turned out the whole guard; by whom, after being examined and re-examined, we were finally dismissed. We now took the command of the boat uponourselves, for the boatman, although he was more anxious to get to St. John’s than any one of us, and though he had himself in some-measure induced us to go on, was so sleepy that he could not keep his eyes open. Relieving each other at the helm, we reached St. John’s by day-break; one hundred and fifty miles distant from Skenesborough.

Immediately on our landing we were conducted to the guard house, where we had to deliver to the serjeant on duty, to be by him forwarded to the commanding officer, an account of our names, occupation, and place of abode, the strictest orders having been issued by the governor not to suffer any Frenchmen or other foreigners, or any people who could not give an exact account of their business in Canada, to enter into the country.

A NEW MAPOF UPPER & LOWER CANADA 1798.Published Novr. 20th. 1798 byJ.StockdalePiccadilly.

St. John’s is a garrison town; it contains about fifty miserable wooden dwellings, and barracks, in which a whole regiment is generally quartered. The fortifications are entirely out of order, so much so that it would be cheaper to erect fresh works than to attempt to repair them. There is a king’s dock yard here, well stored with timber, at least, when we saw it; but in the course of the summer, after the armed brig which I mentioned was laid up, all the timber was sold off. The old hulks of several vessels of force were lyingopposite the yard. In proportion to the increase of trade between New York and Lower Canada this town must improve, as it is the British port of entry on Lake Champlain.

CHAMBLY.

The country about St. John’s is flat, and very bare of trees, a dreadful fire in the year 1788 having done great mischief, and destroyed all the woods for several miles: in some parts of the neighbourhood the people suffer extremely during winter from the want of fuel.

At St. John’s we hired a light waggon, similar to those made use of in the United States, and set off about noon for La Prarie, on the banks of the river St. Lawrence. By the direct road, this is only eighteen miles distant; but the most agreeable way of going thither is by Chambly, which is a few miles farther, on account of seeing the old castle built there by the French. The castle stands close to the rapids in Chambly or Sorelle River, and at a little distance has a grand appearance; the adjacent country also being very beautiful, the whole together forms a most interesting scene. The castle is in tolerably good repair, and a garrison is constantly kept in it.

As you travel along this road to La Prarie, after having just arrived from the United States over Lake Champlain, a variety of objects forcibly remind you of your having got into a new country. The British flag, the soldierson duty, the French inhabitants running about in their red nightcaps, the children coming to the doors to salute you as you pass, a thing unknown in any part of the United States; the compact and neat exterior appearance of the houses, the calashes, the bons dieux, the large Roman Catholic churches and chapels, the convents, the priests in their robes, the nuns, the friars; all serve to convince you that you are no longer in any part of the United States: the language also differs, French being here universally spoken.

Canadian CalashorMarche-donc.Published Dec. 22 1798, by J Stockdale, Piccadilly.

MONTREAL.

The calash is a carriage very generally used in Lower Canada; there is scarcely a farmer indeed in the country who does not possess one: it is a sort of one horse chaise, capable of holding two people besides the driver, who sits on a kind of box placed over the foot board expressly for his accommodation. The body of the calash is hung upon broad straps of leather, round iron rollers that are placed behind, by means of which they are shortened or lengthened. On each side of the carriage is a little door about two feet high, whereby you enter it, and which is useful when shut, in preventing any thing from slipping out. The harness for the horse is always made in the old French taste, extremely heavy; it is studded with brass nails, and to particular partsof it are attached small bells, of no use that I could ever discover but to annoy the passenger.

The bons dieux are large wooden crucifixes, sometimes upwards of twenty feet in height, placed on the highway; some of them are highly ornamented and painted: as the people pass they pull off their hats, or in some other way make obeisance to them.

La Prarie de la Madelene contains about one hundred houses: after stopping an hour or two there we embarked in a bateau for Montreal.

Montreal is situated on an island of the same name, on the opposite side of the River St. Lawrence to that on which la Prarie stands, but somewhat lower down. The two towns are nine miles apart, and the river is about two miles and a quarter wide. The current here is prodigiously strong, and in particular places as you cross, the boats are hurried down the stream, in the midst of large rocks, with such impetuosity that it seems as if nothing could save them from being dashed to pieces; indeed this would certainly be the case if the men were not uncommonly expert; but the Canadians are the most dexterous people perhaps in the world at the management of bateaux in rapid rivers. After such a prospect of the River St. Lawrence, it was not without astonishment that on approachingthe town of Montreal we beheld ships of upwards of four hundred tons burthen lying close to the shore. The difficulties which vessels have to encounter in getting to Montreal are immense; I have myself seen them with all their sails set, and with a smart and favourable breeze, stationary for an hour together in the stream, unable to stem it, between the island of St. Helene and the main land, just below the town: to stem the current at this place it is almost necessary that the vessel should be aided by a storm. The ascent is equally difficult in several other parts of the river. Owing to this it is, that the passage from Quebec to Montreal is generally more tedious than that across the Atlantic; those ships, therefore, which trade between Europe and Montreal, never attempt to make more than one voyage during the year. Notwithstanding the rapidity of the stream, the channel of the river is very deep, and in particular just opposite to the town. The largest merchant vessels can there lie so close to the banks, which are in their natural state, that you may nearly touch them with your hand as you stand on the shore.

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