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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15245-0.txt b/15245-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..278d7f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/15245-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7455 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West, by Samuel Strickland + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West + +Author: Samuel Strickland + +Release Date: March 3, 2005 [eBook #15245] +[Most recently updated: January 22, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: E.D. (Tedd) Brien + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST *** + + + + +Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West; + +or The Experience of an Early Settler + +by MAJOR STRICKLAND, C.M + + +EDITED BY AGNES STRICKLAND, +Author of “The Queens of England,”, etc. + + +And when those toils rewarding, +Broad lands at length they’ll claim, +They’ll call the new possession, +By some familiar name. + +Agnes Strickland.—_Historic Scenes_. + +IN TWO VOLUMES. +VOL. I. + +LONDON: +RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. +Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. +1853. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +No one can give an adequate view of the general life of a colonist, +unless he has been one himself. Unless he has experienced all the +various gradations of colonial existence, from that of the pioneer in +the backwoods and the inhabitant of a shanty, up to the epoch of his +career, when he becomes the owner, by his own exertions, of a +comfortable house and well-cleared farm, affording him the comforts and +many of the luxuries of civilization, he is hardly competent to write +on such a subject. I have myself passed through all these grades. I +have had the honour of filling many colonial appointments, such as +Commissioner of the Court of Requests, and Justice of the Peace. My +commission in her Majesty’s Militia, and my connection with the Canada +Company, have also afforded me some opportunities of acquiring +additional information. I was in the Company’s service during the early +settlement of Guelph and also of Goderich, in the Huron tract. I am, +therefore, as intimately acquainted with those flourishing settlements +as with the townships in my own county of Peterborough. + +Upon my return to my native country in August, on a visit to my +venerable mother, I was advised by my family to give my colonial +experience to the world in a plain, practical manner. I followed the +flattering suggestions of relatives so distinguished for literary +attainments, and so dear to my affections, and “Twenty-seven Years in +Canada West; or, The Experience of an Early Settler,” is the result of +my compliance with their wishes. + +The subject of colonization is, indeed, one of vital importance, and +demands much consideration, for it is the wholesome channel through +which the superfluous population of England and Ireland passes, from a +state of poverty to one of comfort. It is true that the independence of +the Canadian settler must be the fruit of his own labour, for none but +the industrious can hope to obtain that reward. In fact, idle and +indolent persons will not change their natures by going out to Canada. +Poverty and discontent will be the lot of the sluggard in the Bush, as +it was in his native land—nay, deeper poverty, for “he cannot work, to +beg he is ashamed,” and if he be surrounded by a family, those nearest +and dearest to him will share in his disappointment and regret. + +But let the steady, the industrious, the cheerful man go forth in hope, +and turn his talents to account in a new country, whose resources are +not confined to tillage alone—where the engineer, the land-surveyor, +the navigator, the accountant, the lawyer, the medical practitioner, +the manufacturer, will each find a suitable field for the exercise of +his talents; where, too, the services of the clergyman are much +required, and the pastoral character is valued and appreciated as it +ought to be. + +To the artizan, the hand-loom weaver, and the peasant, Canada is indeed +a true land of Goshen. In fact, the stream of migration cannot flow too +freely in that direction. However numerous the emigrants may be, +employment can be obtained for all. + +That the industrial classes do become the richest men cannot be denied, +because their artificial wants are fewer, and their labours greater +than those of the higher ranks. However, the man of education and +refinement will always keep the balance steady, and will hold offices +in the Colony and responsible situations which his richer but less +learned neighbour can never fill with ease or propriety. + +The Canadian settler possesses vast social advantages over other +colonists. He has no convict neighbours—no cruel savages, now, to +contend with—no war—no arid soil wherewith to contend. The land is, +generally speaking, of a rich quality, and the colonist has fire-wood +for the labour of cutting, fish for the catching, game for the pleasant +exercise of hunting and shooting in Nature’s own preserves, without the +expense of a licence, or the annoyance of being warned off by a surly +gamekeeper. + +The climate of Canada West is healthier and really pleasanter than that +of England or Ireland. The cold is bracing, and easily mitigated by +good fires and warm clothing; but it is not so really chilling as the +damp atmosphere of the mother-country. Those who have not visited the +Canadas are apt to endow the Upper Province with the severe climate of +the Lower one, whereas that of Western Canada is neither so extremely +hot nor so cold as many districts of the United States. + +Emigration to Canada is no longer attended with the difficulties and +disadvantages experienced by the early settlers, of which such +lamentable, and perhaps exaggerated accounts have frequently issued +from the press. The civilizing efforts of the Canada Company have +covered much of the wild forest-land with smiling corn-fields and +populous villages. Indeed, the liberal manner in which the Company have +offered their lands on sale or lease, have greatly conduced to the +prosperity of the Western Province. + +If the facts and suggestions contained in the following pages should +prove useful and beneficial to the emigrant, by smoothing his rough +path to comfort and independence, my object will be attained, and my +first literary effort will not have been made in vain. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + +CHAPTER I. +Embarkation for Canada.—Voyage out.—Sea-life.—Icebergs.—Passage up the +St. Lawrence.—Quebec.—Memorials of General +Wolfe.—Cathedral.—Hospitality.—Earthquakes.—Nuns.—Montreal.—Progress up +the Country.—My Roman Catholic Fellow-traveller.—Attempt at +Conversion.—The Township of Whitby. + +CHAPTER II. +Arrival at Darlington.—Kind Reception.—My Friend’s Location.—His +Inexperience.—Damage to his Land by Fire.—Great Conflagration at +Miramichi.—Forest Fires.—Mighty Conflagration of the 6th of +October.—Affecting Story of a Lumber-foreman.—His Presence of Mind, and +wonderful Preservation.—The sad Fate of his Companions. + +CHAPTER III. +Inexperience of my Friend.—Bad State of his Land—Fall +Wheat.—Fencing.—Grasses.—Invitation to a “Bee.”—United Labour.—Canadian +Sports.—Degeneracy of Bees. + +CHAPTER IV. +My Marriage.—I become a Settler on my own Account—I purchase Land in +Otonabee.—Return to Darlington.—My first Attempt at driving a +Span.—Active Measures to remedy a Disaster.—Patience of my +Father-in-law.—My first Bear-hunt.—Beaver-meadows.—Canadian +Thunder-storms.—Fright of a Settler’s Family + +CHAPTER V. +Canadian Harvest.—Preparing Timber for Frame-buildings.—Raising +“Bee.”—Beauty of the Canadian Autumn.—Visit to Otonabee.—Rough +Conveyance.—Disaccommodation.—Learned Landlord.—Cobourg.—Otonabee +River.—Church of Gore’s Landing.—Effects of persevering industry + +CHAPTER VI. +Wood-duck Shooting.—Adventure on Rice Lake.—Irish Howl.—Arrival at +Gore’s Landing.—General Howling for the Defunct.—Dangers of our +Journey.—Safe Arrival at Cobourg.—Salmon-fishing.—Canoe-building after +a bad Fashion.—Salmon-spearing.—Canadian Fish and Fisheries.—Indian +Summer.—Sleighs and Sleighing.—Domestic Love + +CHAPTER VII. +Employments of a Man of Education in the Colony.—Yankee Wedding.—My +Commission.—Winter in Canada.—Healthiness of the Canadian +Climate.—Search for Land.—Purchase Wild Land at Douro.—My Flitting.—Put +up a Shanty.—Inexperience in Clearing.—Plan-heaps + +CHAPTER VIII. +A Logging-Bee.—Lime-burning.—Shingling.—Arrival of my +Brother-in-law.—Birth of my Son.—Sad Journey to Darlington.—Lose my +Way.—Am refused a Lift.—My boyish Anger.—My Wife’s Death.—The +Funeral.—I leave Darlington + +CHAPTER IX. +Return to Otonabee.—Benevolence of my Neighbour.—Serious Accident to a +Settler.—His singular Misfortunes.—Particulars of his Life + +CHAPTER X. +Preparations for my second Marriage.—Dangerous Adventure.—My Wife’s +nocturnal Visitor.—We prepare for the Reception of our uninvited +Guest.—Bruin’s unwelcome Visit to an Irish Shanty.—Our Bear-hunt.—Major +Elliott’s Duel with Bruin.—His Wounds and Victory + +CHAPTER XI. +Canada the Poor Man’s Country.—Disadvantages of Inexperience.—Township +of Harvey Settlement.—Pauper Emigration.—Superior Advantages of the +Labourer Colonist.—Temperance and Temperance Societies.—A dry Answer to +watery Arguments.—British and Foreign Temperance Society + +CHAPTER XII. +Want of Home-pasturage in Canada.—Danger of being lost in the +Woods.—Plain Directions to the Traveller in the Bush.—Story of a +Settler from Emily.—An old Woman’s Ramble in the Woods.—Adventure of a +Trapper.—Fortunate Meeting with his Partner + +CHAPTER XIII. +Directions for ascertaining the Quality of Land in the Bush.—Site of +Log-shanty.—Chopping.—Preparation for Spring-crops.—Method of planting +Indian Corn.—Pumpkins and Potatoes.—Making Pot-ash + +CHAPTER XIV. +My first Shot at a Buck.—Hunting and Shooting Parties.—Destructiveness +of Wolves.—Loss of my Flocks.—Cowardice of the Wolf.—The Lady and her +Pet.—Colonel Crawford’s Adventure.—Ingenious Trick of an American +Trapper.—A disagreeable Adventure.—How to poison Wolves.—A stern Chase + +CHAPTER XV. +Formation of the Canada Company.—Interview with Mr. Galt.—His personal +Description and Character.—Guelph.—Dr. Dunlop.—My Medical Services at +Guelph.—Dr. Dunlop and the Paisley Bodies.—An eccentric Character.—An +unfortunate wife + +CHAPTER XVI. +Porcupine-catching.—Handsome Behaviour of Mr. +Galt.—Owlingale.—Introduction to the Son of the celebrated Indian +Chief, Brandt.—Expedition to Wilmot.—Sham Wolves.—Night in a Barn with +Dr. Dunlop.—The Doctor and his Snuffbox.—His Bath in the Nith.—Louis +XVIII. and his Tabatiere.—Camp in the Woods.—Return to Guelph + +CHAPTER XVII. +A new Way of keeping a Birthday.—Lost in the Woods.—Kindness of Mr. +Galt.—Advice to new Settlers.—Unexpected Retirement of Mr. Galt.—I +accompany him to the Landing-place.—Receive orders to leave Guelph for +Goderich.—Whirlwinds at Guelph and Douro + +CHAPTER XVIII. +The Huron tract.—Journal of Dr. Dunlop.—His Hardships.—I leave Guelph +for Goderich.—Want of Accommodation.—Curious Supper.—Remarkable +Trees.—The Beverly Oak.—Noble Butter-wood Trees.—Goderich.—Fine Wheat +Crop.—Purchase a Log-house.—Construction of a Raft + +CHAPTER XIX. +My new House at Goderich.—Carpentry an essential Art.—American +Energy.—Agreeable Visitors.—My Wife’s Disasters.—Hints for Anglers.—The +Nine-mile Creek Frolic.—The Tempest.—Our Skipper and his +Lemon-punch.—Short Commons.—Camp in the Woods.—Return on +Foot.—Ludicrous termination to our Frolic + +CHAPTER XX. +Choice of a Location.—The Company’s Lands.—Crown Lands.—Tables +published by the Canada Company.—Progressive Improvement of the Huron +Tract + +CHAPTER XXI. +The King proclaimed in the Bush.—Fete and Ball in the Evening.—My +Yankee Fellow-traveller.—Awful Storm.—My lonely Journey.—Magical Effect +of a Name + +CHAPTER XXII. +Visit of the Passenger-pigeon to the Canadas.—Canadian +Blackbirds.—Breeding-places of the Passenger-pigeons.—Squirrels + +CHAPTER XXIII. +The Rebel, Von Egmond, the first agricultural Settler on the +Huron.—Cutting the first Sheaf + + + + +TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +EMBARKATION FOR CANADA.—VOYAGE OUT.—SEA-LIFE.—ICEBERGS.—PASSAGE UP THE +ST. LAWRENCE.—QUEBEC.—MEMORIALS OF GENERAL +WOLFE.—CATHEDRAL.—HOSPITALITY.—EARTHQUAKES.—NUNS.—MONTREAL.—PROGRESS UP +THE COUNTRY.—MY ROMAN CATHOLIC FELLOW-TRAVELLER.—ATTEMPT AT +CONVERSION.—THE TOWNSHIP OF WHITBY. + +A preference for an active, rather than a professional life, induced me +to accept the offer made by an old friend, of joining him at +Darlington, in Upper Canada, in the year 1825. I therefore took leave +of my family and pleasant home, in Suffolk, and engaged a passage in +the brig “William M’Gilevray,” commanded by William Stoddart, an +experienced American seaman. + +On the 28th of March we left the London Docks, and dropped down the +river to Gravesend, and on the following day put our pilot ashore off +Deal, and reached down as far as the coast of Sussex, where we were +becalmed for two days. Here one of our cabin-boys, a German, met with a +very serious accident by falling down the after hatchway, and +fracturing several of his ribs. On this occasion I officiated as a +surgeon, and bled him twice, with excellent effect, for he quickly +recovered from the severe injury he had received. Before quitting +Suffolk I had learned the art of blood-letting from our own medical +attendant. Every person intending to settle in a distant colony ought +to acquire this simple branch of surgery: I have often exercised it +myself for the benefit of my fellow-creatures when no medical +assistance could be procured. + +It blew so fresh for two or three days, that we made up for our lost +time, and were soon out of sight of Scilly: then I bade a long farewell +to old England. I had often been on the sea before, but this was my +first long voyage; every object, therefore, was new to me. I caught +some birds in the rigging they were of a species unknown to me, but +very beautiful. Being in want, too, of something to do, I amused myself +with cleaning the captain’s guns, which I hoped to use for our joint +benefit before the end of the voyage. + +The 18th and 19th of April were very stormy: the sea ran mountains +high; we had a foot of water in the cabin, and all hands were at the +pumps to lessen the growing evil. The gale lasted till the following +morning. In the night the aurora borealis was particularly brilliant; +but though the storm lulled, the wind was against us. On the 26th of +April, I saw a whale, and, boy-like, fired at the huge creature: the +shot must have hit him, for he made the water fly in all directions. + +To vary the monotony of a sea-life, I sometimes played draughts with +the mate, whom I always beat; but he took his defeats in good part, +being a very easy-tempered fellow. + +I awoke on the 21st of April literally wet to my skin by the deluge of +water pouring down the cabin. I dressed myself in great haste and +hurried upon deck to learn the cause of this disaster, which I found +originated in the coming on of a terrible hurricane, which would not +permit us to show a stitch of canvas, and found us continual employment +at the pumps; my chest in the cabin shipped a sea which did not improve +the appearance of my wardrobe. The following day we had calmer weather, +and pursued our course steadily, no longer exposed to the fury of the +elements. + +On the following day I killed several birds, and saw two whales and +many porpoises. The weather was foggy, but the wind favourable for us. +As we were near the bank of Newfoundland, we got our fishing tackle +ready, with the hope of mending our fare with cod; but the water was +not calm enough for the purpose, and the fish would not bite. We passed +over the Great Bank without any danger, though the wind was high and +the sea rough. + +On the 29th of April we fell in with some icebergs. A more magnificent +and imposing spectacle cannot be conceived; but it is very fearful and +sufficiently appalling. Suddenly, we found ourselves close to an +immense body of ice, whose vicinity bad been concealed from us by the +denseness of the fog. Our dangerous neighbour towered in majestic +grandeur in the form of a triple cone rising from a square base, and +surpassed the tallest cathedral in altitude. The centre cone being +cleft in the middle by the force of the waves, displayed the phenomenon +of a waterfall, the water rushing into the sea from the height of +thirty feet. If the sun had pierced the vapoury veil which concealed it +from our view, the refraction of his rays would have given to the ice +the many-coloured tints of the rainbow. We took care to keep a good +look out; but the fog was thick. We fell in with many other icebergs; +but none so beautiful as this. + +We doubled Cape Ray, and entered, on the 5th of May, the Gulf of St. +Lawrence. The thermometer fell many degrees a change caused by the +vicinity of the ice. On the 5th of May we passed the Bird Rocks, three +in number, to windward, so called from the immense number of geese and +aquatic birds which resort thither to rear their broods. These rocks +rise to the height of four hundred feet, perpendicularly from the sea. +The fishermen, nevertheless, contrive to climb them for the sake of the +eggs they find there. + +The 6th of May found us in the river St. Lawrence, between the +westernmost point of Anticosti to the north, and Cape Gaspe to the +south, in the middle of the channel, surrounded by ships tacking up the +stream, bound for Quebec and Montreal. We had plenty of sea-room, as +the river was more than ninety miles in breadth, and it is supposed to +be full a hundred at its _embouchure_. + +The land was partially covered with snow, which fell throughout the +day. On the 8th of May we sailed as far as the Seven Islands. The day +was glorious, and the prospect most beautiful. Our vicinity to “the +cold and pitiless Labrador,” rendered the air chilly, and we could hear +the howling of the wolves at night, to me a new and dismal sound. The +aurora borealis was particularly splendid, for the air was clear and +frosty. + +On the 10th of May we stood for the Island of Bic, and took on board a +pilot. He was a handsome young man, a French-Canadian, under whose +guidance we made the place, but we were becalmed before it for the +whole forenoon. + +The beauty of the scenery atoned, however, for the delay. Nothing, +indeed, could surpass it in my eyes, which had then only been +accustomed to the highly-cultivated and richly-wooded tracts in Suffolk +and Norfolk, and therefore dwelt with wonder and delight upon the +picturesque shores and lofty heights that crowned the noble St. +Lawrence. + +The wind changing in our favour, carried us swiftly up the stream, +which was still thirty-six miles in breadth, though distant 280 miles +from the Gulf. We passed Green Island and the Kamouraska Island, and +Goose and Crane Islands. These beautiful islets, which stud the broad +bosom of the St. Lawrence, are evidently of volcanic origin. That of +Kamouraska displays vast masses of granite, which rise in the form of +conical hills, one of which attains the height of five hundred feet. +The same features are discernible in the Penguins, and even the strata +about Quebec still indicate the same mysterious agency.[1] + + [1] “Encyclopædia of Geography,” p. 1304. + + +Our progress through the river continually presented the new continent +in an attractive point of view. The shores were dotted with farmhouses +and adorned with fine gardens and orchards, while lovely islands, +covered with lofty trees, rose from the river and delighted the eye. I +thought Canada then and I have never changed my opinion since the most +beautiful country in the world. + +On the 13th of May we passed the Island of Orleans, which we no sooner +rounded than the Falls of Montmorenci burst upon my sight. I was +unprepared for the scene, which I contemplated in silent astonishment. +No words written down by the man, at this distance of time, can +describe the vivid feelings of the boy. I have since beheld the mighty +cataracts of Niagara, so finely described by its Indian name, “The +Thunder of Waters;” but I concur in the general opinion, that if those +of Niagara are more stupendous, the Falls of Montmorenci are more +beautiful and picturesque. + +Quebec soon came in view, with its strong fortress crowning the +imposing height of Cape Diamond. No one can look upon the old capital +of Canada without remembering that the most gallant British soldier of +the age fell in the battle that added the colony to the other +dependencies of the English crown. + +I remembered, too, with some pleasure, that the paternal dining-room +contained a looking-glass one of the fine old Venetian plates, framed +with ebony, which had once formed a part of the General’s personal +property. It had been for two centuries in his family, but had since +become a valued heirloom in mine. His manly features must often have +been reflected on its brilliant surface, and that circumstance, which +had formerly endeared it to his aged mother, had made it prized by +mine. + +We have also a bureau, very complete, but evidently constructed more +for use than ornament, which might have once contained the papers of +this distinguished soldier, while the book-case, to which it was +annexed, had probably held his little library. His cruet-stand, which +looks as if it had been made in the patriarchal times, is still in use +at Reydon Hall. + +The reader must pardon this digression, since distinguished worth and +valour give an interest even to trivial objects. + +Quebec consists of two towns, the Upper and Lower, and is adorned with +a cathedral, whose metallic roof glitters in the sun like a vast +diamond. Indeed, the tin-roofs of the churches and public buildings +give this city a splendid look on a bright sunshiny day, testifying, +moreover, to the dryness of the air. Captain Stoddart took me all over +this curious city, and kindly introduced me to one of the partners of a +great mercantile house, who invited us both to dinner. We regaled +ourselves on smelts, fillet of veal, and old English roast beef, to +which hospitable meal we did ample justice, not forgetting to pledge +our absent friends in bumpers of excellent wine. + +The inhabitants of Quebec are very kind to strangers, and are a fine +race of people. French is spoken here not, however, very purely, being +a _patois_ as old as the time of Henry IV. of France, when this part of +Canada was first colonized; but English is generally understood by the +mercantile classes. + +This city is visited, at intervals, with slight shocks of +earthquake.[2] Nothing serious has yet followed this periodical +phenomenon. But will this visitation be only confined to the mountain +range north of Quebec, where the great earthquake that convulsed a +portion of the globe in 1663 has left visible marks of its influence, +by overturning the sand-stone rocks of a tract extending over three +hundred miles?[3] Quebec contains several nunneries, for the French +inhabitants are mostly Roman catholics. The nuns are very useful to +emigrants, who have often been bountifully relieved by these charitable +vestals, who employ themselves in nursing the sick and feeding the +hungry. + + [2] Lyell’s “Elements of Geology.” + + + [3] “Encyclopædia of Geography.” + + +The inhabitants—or _habitans_, as the French Canadians are usually +termed—are an amiable, hospitable, simple people, kind in manner, and +generous in disposition. The women are lively and agreeable, and as +fond of dress in Quebec as in other civilized places. They are pretty +in early youth in the Lower Province, but lose their complexions sooner +than the English ladies, owing, perhaps, to the rigour of the +climate.[4] However, they possess charms superior to beauty, and seem +to retain the affections of their husbands to the last hour of their +lives. + + [4] Mac Taggart’s “Three Years’ Residence in Canada.” + + +Short as was my stay in Quebec, I could not leave without regret the +hospitable city where I had received from strangers such a warm +welcome. I have never visited the Lower Province since; but my +remembrance of its old capital is still as agreeable as it is distinct. +The next day our brig was taken in tow by the fine steam-boat, the +“Richelieu de Chambly,” and with a leading wind and tide in our favour +we proceeded at a rapid rate up the river. + +I shall not attempt to describe the charming scenery of this most +beautiful of all rivers, which has already been so amply described by +abler writers. I was delighted with everything I saw; but nothing +occurred worthy of narration. + +The next day saw us safely moored in the port of Montreal, just +forty-five days from our departure from the London Docks. Montreal is a +handsome town, well situated, and must eventually become the most +important city in British North America. The river here is very broad. +The Lachine rapids commence immediately above the town, which are an +impediment to the navigation, now obviated by a canal terminating at +the village of Lachine, I believe nine miles distant from Montreal. + +I took my passage in a Durham boat, bound for Kingston, which started +the next day. We had hard work poling up the rapids. I found I had +fallen in with a rough set of customers, and determined in my own mind +to leave them as soon as possible, which I happily effected the next +evening when we landed at Les Cedres. Here the great Otawa pours its +mighty stream into the St. Lawrence, tinging its green waters with a +darker hue, which can be traced for miles, till it is ultimately lost +in the rapids below. + +I now determined to walk to Prescot, where I knew I should be able to +take the steam-boat for Kingston, on Lake Ontario. At the Coteau du Lac +I fell in with a Roman Catholic Irishman, named Mooney. We travelled in +company for three days, and as I had nothing else to do, I thought I +might as well make an effort to convert him. However, I signally +failed; and only endangered my own head by my zeal. + +In the heat of argument and the indiscretion of youth, I used +expressions which the Papist considered insulting to his religion. He +was not one to put up patiently with this, so he would fire up, twirl +his blackthorn round his head, and say, “By St. Patrick, you had better +not say that again!” In everything else we agreed well enough; but I +found, on parting, that all my eloquence had been entirely thrown away. +Mr. Mooney remained just as firm a Roman Catholic as ever. Indeed, it +was the height of presumption in me, a boy in my twentieth year, to +attempt the conversion of such a strict Romanist as this Irishman. + +The weather was excessively fine. The trees were just bursting into +leaf. The islands in the St. Lawrence, which are here numerous, wore +the brightest hues, and presented a charming contrast to the foaming +rapids. + +I remained two or three days at Prescot, waiting the arrival of my +baggage, which I had left on board the Durham boat. I amused myself +during the interval by taking walks in the neighbourhood. The land +appeared very sandy, the timber being chiefly hemlock: the situation of +the town is good. Steam-navigation commenced at this place, and now +that the Welland Canal is completed, it affords an uninterrupted +navigation be borne in mind that at the time of which I am to the head +of Lakes Huron and Michigan. It must speaking (1825), the great St. +Lawrence Canal and the Rideau were not commenced, but since their +completion the Durham boats and small steamers have given place to a +set of superb boats affording the best accommodation, whereby the +passage from Montreal to Toronto can be performed at half the expense, +and in one-third of the time. + +My baggage having arrived, I left Prescot by boat in the evening for +Kingston, at that time the second town both in size and importance in +Canada West. It must, on account of its situation as a military and +naval post, always be a place of consequence. I fell in there with an +old sea-dog, who had commanded a vessel, for many years trading between +London and Quebec. He had had the misfortune to lose his vessel, which +was wrecked on the rocks at Gaspe, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence. +I was glad to find the friends I was going to reside with had come out +passengers in his ship, and that the schooner he then commanded was +bound for the Big-bay (now called Windsor), in the township of Whitby, +within six or seven miles of my friends’ residence, and that they would +sail in two days at farthest. + +On our passage from Prescot to Kingston we passed Brockville, which +looked very pretty from the river, and soon afterwards we were +threading our way through the intricacies of the Thousand Islands.[5] +Who has not heard of the far-famed Thousand Islands—the Archipelago of +the St. Lawrence? Nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot. The river +is here several miles in width, studded with innumerable islands, of +every variety of form. The moon shone brightly on this lovely scene: +not a ripple stirred the mirror-like bosom of the stream—“There was not +a breath the blue wave to curl.” + + [5] “The Lake of the Thousand Isles. The expression was thought to be + a vague exaggeration, till the Isles were officially surveyed, and + found to amount to 1692. A sail through them presents one of the most + singular and romantic succession of scenes that can be imagined—the + Isles are of every size, form, height and aspect; woody, verdant, + rocky; naked, smiling, barren; and they present as numerous a + succession of bays, inlets, and channels as occur in all the rest of + the continent put together.” “Encyclopædia of Geography,” iv. 1321. + + +The reflection of the trees in the water enhanced the natural beauties +I have endeavoured to describe. + +The next morning, June the 3rd, I embarked on board the schooner +“Shamrock,” on my way to Darlington. We passed the Duck islands towards +evening, and found ourselves fairly launched on the bosom of the Great +Ontario. We anchored next day opposite the town of Cobourg, then a +small village, without a harbour, now a fine, handsome, well-built +town, containing a population of nearly 4,000 inhabitants. A large sum +of money has been laid out in the construction of a harbour, which +appears to answer very well. + +Cobourg is the county-town for the counties of Northumberland and +Durham, which comprehend the following townships: Darlington, Clarke, +Hope, Hamilton, Haldimand, Cramache, Murray, Seymour, Percy, Alnwick, +South Monaghan, Cavan, Manvers, and Cartwright. The soil of most of +these townships is of excellent quality, particularly the fronts of +Hamilton, Haldimand, and all Cavan, being generally composed of a deep +rich loam. + +These townships are well watered by numerous spring creeks, bounded to +the north and east by the river Trent, Skugog and Rice Lakes; and to +the south, for about sixty miles, by Lake Ontario. The chief towns are +Cobourg, Port Hope, and Bournauville. As I shall have occasion in +another place to speak more fully respecting these counties, I shall +take my readers again on board the “Shamrock.” + +Our captain having to land some goods at Cobourg, we were detained +there all night. He invited a few friends to pass the evening. A jolly +set of fellows they were, and they initiated me into the mysteries of +brewing whiskey-punch, a beverage I had never before tasted, and which +I found very palatable. The song and the joke went round till the small +hours warned us to retire. + +On Sunday morning, June the 5th, I landed at the Big-bay (Windsor), in +Whitby, and after bidding adieu to my fellow-voyagers commenced my +journey to my friends in Darlington on foot. Whitby, at the time of +which I am speaking, was only partially settled, and chiefly by +Americans. This township is justly considered one of the best between +Toronto and Kingston. At present the township is well settled and +well-cultivated. Nearly all the old settlers are gone, and their farms +have, for the most part, been purchased by old country farmers and +gentlemen, the log-buildings having given place to substantial stone, +brick, or frame houses. The village of Oshawa, in this township, now +contains upwards of one thousand inhabitants, more than double the +number the whole township could boast of when I first set foot on its +soil. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +ARRIVAL AT DARLINGTON.—KIND RECEPTION.—MY FRIEND’S LOCATION.—HIS +INEXPERIENCE.—DAMAGE TO HIS LAND BY FIRE.—GREAT CONFLAGRATION AT +MIRAMACHI.—FOREST FIRES.—MIGHTY CONFLAGRATION OF THE 6TH OF +OCTOBER.—AFFECTING STORY OF A LUMBER-FOREMAN.—HIS PRESENCE OF MIND, AND +WONDERFUL PRESERVATION.—THE SAD FATE OF HIS COMPANIONS. + +I was now very near to my ark of refuge, and the buoyant spirit of +early youth, with its joyous anticipations of a radiant future, bore me +exultingly forward. It might have been said of me in the beautiful +lines of the poet: + +“He left his home with a bounding heart, + For the world was all before him; +And he scarcely felt it a pain to part, + Such sun-bright hopes came o’er him.”[1] + + + [1] Alarie A. Watts. + + +Two hours’ brisk walking brought me to the long-looked-for end of my +journey. I was received with the greatest kindness and hospitality; +and, in a few days, felt quite at home and comfortable in my new +quarters. + +After some days’ rest, I commenced operations by assisting my friend on +the farm and in the store. From my practical knowledge of farming, +acquired upon my mother’s estate, I was soon installed as manager in +that department. + +Our farm contained upwards of two hundred acres of cleared land, the +largest proportion of which consisted of meadows and pastures, but the +soil was light and sandy, and altogether very indifferent. My friend, +Colonel B—— had been imposed upon by the Yankee, of whom he had bought +it, and no wonder, when I tell you that my friend had formerly held a +situation under Government, and had lived in London all his life. + +Only the first three concessions of this township were settled at this +time, the remainder of the land being generally in the hands of +absentee proprietors. I am happy to say, the absentee tax has had the +effect of throwing vast quantities of these lands into the market. + +This township, like Whitby, is now well settled, and though not +generally equal in regard to soil, is still considered a good township. +Bowmanville is the principal town, containing about twelve hundred +inhabitants. In 1825 it only boasted a grist-mill, saw-mill, a store, +and half-a-dozen houses. I mention this, merely to show how much the +country has improved in a few years. This is not an isolated fact it +applies to nearly all Canada West. + +My intention was, to stay with my friends till the ensuing spring, and +to get a little insight into Canadian farming, clearing land, &c., that +I might have some experience before commencing operations on my own +account. + +The situation of my friend’s house was close to the Toronto road, +partly built of logs and framework: it had been designed by the former +Yankee proprietor, and could certainly boast of no architectural +beauties. We lived about a mile and a half from the lake shore, and I +took advantage of my vicinity to the water to bathe daily. I found +great refreshment in this, for the weather was very hot and dry. The +drought lasted for some time, and among its consequences, I may mention +the prevalence of extensive fires.[2] Several broke out in our +neighbourhood, and, at last, the mischief reached our own farm. It +destroyed several thousand rails, and spread over forty or fifty acres +of meadow land. We ultimately stopped its further progress in the +clearing, by ploughing furrows round the fire and a thunder-shower in +the evening completed its extinction. Fire seldom runs in the woods on +good land, and where the timber is chiefly deciduous, but on sandy, +pine, or hemlock lands, or where evergreens chiefly prevail. + + [2] Fires in Canada are of frequent occurrence, and are generally + caused by the burning of brush-wood or log-heaps by the settlers. In + dry weather, with a brisk wind, the fire is apt to run on the surface + of the ground in the bush, where the dry leaves are thickest. In + clearing the land a good deal of brush-wood and tops of trees are + thrown into the edge of the woods. It follows, as a matter of course, + that the greatest danger to be apprehended is the burning the + boundary-fences of farms. I have heard it asserted that these fires + are sometimes caused by spontaneous combustion, which I consider + altogether a fallacy. + + +I have seldom known very serious damage by these fires done in Canada +West, although occasionally a barn or house falls a sacrifice to the +devouring element. Not so, however, in some parts of Nova Scotia and +New Brunswick, where extensive conflagrations often devastate the +country for miles round. Of such a character was the great fire at +Miramichi, which nearly destroyed Fredericton, and was attended not +only with an immense loss of property but with the sad loss of many +valuable lives. I will presently give in his own forcible and feeling +language the history of a lumberer who escaped from destruction after +being for some time in imminent peril of his life. He was one of the +few persons who had the good fortune of escaping the great +conflagration in Miramichi, which broke out in the October after my +arrival, and excited so much general sympathy. Fifteen of his comrades +perished in the flames. + +The narrative which I introduce here, anticipating by a few months the +proper order of narration, was related to me by the man himself with +that native eloquence which often surprises, and always interests us in +the uneducated. The class to which he belongs is one peculiar to +America. Rough in manners, and often only half-civilized, the lumberer, +as an individual, resembles little the woodsman of other lands. He is +generally a Canadian Frenchman, or a breed between the Irish and the +native of the Lower Province. However, some Yankees may be found among +these denizens of the woods and wilds of Canada. The fearful +conflagration to which our poor lumberer nearly fell a victim, has been +thus ably described in M’Gregor’s “British America.” “In October, 1825, +about a hundred and forty miles in extent, and a vast breadth of the +country on the north, and from sixty to seventy miles on the south side +of Miramachi river, became a scene of perhaps the most dreadful +conflagration that has occurred in the history of the world. + +“In Europe we can scarcely form a conception of the fury and rapidity +with which fires rage through the forests of America during a dry hot +season, at which period the broken underwood, decayed vegetable +substances, fallen branches, bark, and withered trees, are as +inflammable as the absence of moisture can make them. To such +irresistible food for combustion we must add the auxiliary afforded by +the boundless fir forests, every tree of which in its trunk, bark, +branches, and leaves contains vast quantities of inflammable resin. + +“When one of these fires is once in motion, or at least when the flames +extent over a few miles of the forest, the surrounding air becomes +highly rarefied, and the wind consequently increases till it blows a +perfect hurricane. It appears, that the woods had been on both sides of +the north-west partially on fire for some days, but not to an alarming +extent until the 7th of October, when it came on to blow furiously from +the westward, and the inhabitants along the river were suddenly +surprised by an extraordinary roaring in the woods, resembling the +crashing and detonation of loud and incessant thunder, while at the +same instant the atmosphere became thick darkened with smoke. + +“They had scarcely time to ascertain the cause of this awful phenomenon +before all the surrounding woods appeared in one vast blaze, the flames +ascending from one to two hundred feet above the tops of the loftiest +trees; and the fire rolling forward with inconceivable celerity, +presented the terribly sublime appearance of an impetuous flaming +ocean. In less than an hour, Douglas Town and Newcastle were in a +blaze: many of the wretched inhabitants perished in the flames. More +than a hundred miles of the Miramichi were laid waste, independent of +the north-west branch, the Baltibag, and the Nappen settlements. From +one to two hundred persons perished within immediate observation, while +thrice that number were miserably burned or wounded, and at least two +thousand were left destitute of the means of subsistence, and were +thrown for a time on the humanity of the Province of New Brunswick. The +number of lives that were lost in the woods could not at the time be +ascertained, but it was thought few were left to tell the tale. + +“Newcastle presented a fearful scene of ruin and devastation, only +fourteen out of two hundred and fifty houses and stores remained +standing. + +“The court-house, jail, church, and barracks, Messrs. Gilmour, Rankin, +and Co.’s, and Messrs. Abrams and Co.’s establishment, with two ships +on the stocks, were reduced to ashes. + +“The loss of property is incalculable, for the fire, borne upon the +wings of a hurricane, rushed on the wretched inhabitants with such +inconceivable rapidity that the preservation of their lives could be +their only care. + +“Several ships were burned on shore, while others were saved from the +flames by the exertions of their owners, after being actually on fire. + +“At Douglas Town scarcely any kind of property escaped the ravages of +the fire, which swept off the surface everything coming in contact with +it, leaving but time for the unfortunate inhabitants to fly to the +shore; and there, by means of boats, canoes, rafts of timber, logs, or +any article, however ill calculated for the purpose, they endeavoured +to escape from the dreadful scene and reach the town of Chatham, +numbers of men, women, and children perishing in the attempt. + +“In some parts of the country all the cattle were either destroyed or +suffering greatly, for the very soil was parched and burnt up, while +scarcely any article of provision was rescued from the flames. + +“The hurricane raged with such dreadful violence, that large bodies of +timber on fire, as well as trees from the forest and parts of the +flaming houses and stores, were carried to the rivers with amazing +velocity, to such an extent and affecting the water in such a manner, +as to occasion large quantities of salmon and other fish to resort to +land, hundreds of which were scattered on the shores of the south and +west branches. + +“Chatham was filled with three hundred miserable sufferers: every hour +brought to it the wounded and burned in the most abject state of +distress. Great fires raged about the same time in the forests of the +River St. John, which destroyed much property and timber, with the +governor’s house, and about eighty private houses at Fredericton. Fires +raged also at the same time in the northern parts of the Province, as +far as the Bay de Chaleur. + +“It is impossible to tell how many lives were lost, as many of those +who were in the woods among the lumbering parties, had no friends nor +connections in the country to remark on their non-appearance. Five +hundred have been computed as the least number that actually perished +in the flames. + +“The destruction of bears, foxes, tiger-cats, martens, hares, +squirrels, and other wild animals, was very great. These, when +surprised by such fires, are said to lose their usual sense of +preservation, and becoming, as it were, either giddy or fascinated, +often rush into the face of inevitable destruction: even the birds, +except these of very strong wing, seldom escape. Some, particularly the +partridge, become stupified; and the density of the smoke, the rapid +velocity of the flames, and the violence of the winds, effectually +prevent the flight of others.” + +It was from this mighty destruction that the forecast and admirable +presence of mind displayed by the lumberer, whose pathetic story I am +about to relate, saved him. I could not fail, while rejoicing in his +escape, to impute his self-possession to the compassion of the all-wise +Being who had made him such an instance of His mercy. + +“The weather,” said he, “had been unusually dry for the season, and +there had been no rain for upwards of three weeks before this calamity +took place. We had only just completed our shanty, and had commenced +felling timber ready for squaring, when it occurred. We had heard from +our teamsters, who had brought us out pork and flour, the day previous, +that fires were raging in the woods some miles to the eastward of us. +However, we paid but little attention to what appeared to us a common +occurrence. + +“After supper, one of our men went out of the shanty, but immediately +returned to tell us ‘that a dreadful conflagration was raging within a +mile or so of our dwelling.’ We immediately rushed out to ascertain the +truth of his assertion. I shall never forget,” he continued, “the sight +presented to our view: as far as the eye could reach we saw a wall of +fire higher than the tree-tops, and we heard the mighty sound of the +rushing flames mingled with the crashing fall of the timber. + +“A single glance convinced us that not a minute was to be lost; we did +not stop even to try and secure our clothing, but made our way as +quickly as possible to a small river about two hundred yards from our +shanty, and which we knew was our only chance of preservation. + +“We reached the stream in safety, where I determined to take my stand. +My comrades, however, were of a different opinion: they contended that +the fire would not cross the river, which was upwards of thirty yards +in width. Unfortunately, no argument of mine could induce them to stay, +though I was well aware, and represented to them that such a body of +flame would not be stayed a minute by such a barrier. + +“My comrades, hoping to reach an old clearance of some acres, about +half a mile in advance, in spite of all entreaties crossed the stream, +and were soon lost to my view never more to be seen alive by me. + +“I waded down the stream, till I found a place where the water was up +to my arm-pits, and the bank of the river rose about six feet over my +head. There I took my stand, and awaited the event in breathless +anxiety. I had no time to look around me. The few minutes which had +elapsed, had greatly added to the terrors of the scene. + +“As the wall of fire advanced, fresh trees in succession were enveloped +by the flames. A bright glare crimsoned the clouds with a lurid glow, +while the air was filled with a terrible noise. The heat now became +intense. I looked up once more; the trees above me caught fire at that +instant, the next, I was holding my breath a foot beneath the surface +of the running stream. Every few seconds I was compelled to raise my +head to breathe, which I accomplished with great difficulty. In a few +minutes, which seemed ages to me, I was enabled to stand upright, and +look around me. What desolation a short half hour had effected! In +front, the conflagration was still raging with unabated fury, while in +the rear the fire had consumed all the under-brush and limbs of the +trees, leaving a forest of blackened poles still blazing fiercely, +though not with the intense heat caused by the balsam and +pine-brushwood. + +“It was several hours before I durst quit my sanctuary to search for my +companions, the blackened remains of whom I found not a quarter of a +mile from the river. + +“Our shanty,[3] and all that it contained, was utterly consumed. I, +however, succeeded in finding in the cellar beneath its ruins, as much +provisions uninjured as served to carry me through to the settlements, +which I ultimately reached, though not without great difficulty.” + + [3] A shanty is a building made with logs, higher in the front than + the back, making a fall to the roof, which is generally covered with + troughs made of pine or bass-wood logs; the logs are first split fair + in the middle, and hollowed out with the axe and adze. A row of these + troughs is then laid from the front or upper wall-plate, sloping down + to the back plate, the hollowed side uppermost. The covering-troughs + is then placed with the hollow reversed, either edge resting in the + centre of the under trough. A door in the front and one window + complete the building. Such is commonly the first dwelling of the + settler. The lumber-shanty differs both in shape and size, being much + larger, and the roof sloping both ways, with a raised hearth in the + centre of the floor, with an aperture directly above for the escape of + the smoke. It has no window. One door at the end, and two tier of bed + berths, one above the other, complete the _tout ensemble_. These + shanties are generally constructed to accommodate from two to three + gangs of lumber men, with shed-room for twelve or fourteen span of + oxen or horses span being the Canadian term for pair. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +INEXPERIENCE OF MY FRIEND.—BAD STATE OF HIS LAND.—FALL +WHEAT.—FENCING.—GRASSES.—INVITATION TO A “BEE.”—UNITED LABOUR.—CANADIAN +SPORTS.—DEGENERACY OF BEES. + +Colonel B—— was an old and valued friend of my family, who had held a +lucrative situation under Government for many years. His retirement +from public life, on some disgust, had eventually led to his settlement +in Canada. + +Now, his literary tastes and sedentary habits had ill-fitted him for +the rough customs of the colony. Besides having scarcely seen a grain +of corn in its progressive state from the blade to its earing and +harvest, he knew nothing of agricultural operations. Of stock he was +equally ignorant, and of the comparative goodness or badness of soil he +was, of course, no judge. Such a man, in the choice of a farm, was sure +to be shaved by the shrewd Yankee proprietor, and my poor friend was +shaved accordingly. + +I found my friend’s farm had been much neglected. His out-door +labourers were all from the south of Ireland, and had never before +followed farming operations. In consequence of their inexperience, half +the clearing was quite overrun with raspberries and Canadian thistles. +(The latter weed is far more troublesome to eradicate than any other I +know. It is the same as the common corn-thistle, or _Serratula +arvensis_, so well known to English agriculturists). + +As we intended to prepare a large piece of ground for summer-fallow, it +was necessary to get rid of those stumps of the trees, which, according +to the practice of chopping them two or three feet from the ground, +present a continual obstacle to the advance of the plough. We, however, +succeeded in getting clear of them by hitching a logging-chain round +the stump near the top, when a sudden jerk from the oxen was generally +sufficient to pull it up. For the larger, and those more firmly fixed +in the ground, we made use of a lever about twenty feet long, and about +eight or nine inches in diameter, one end of which was securely chained +to the stump, the oxen being fastened to the other and made to go in a +circular direction, a manoeuvre which rarely fails of the desired +effect. This plan will not answer unless the roots are sufficiently +decayed. During dry weather the application of fire produces more +effectual results. A few embers shaken from a cedar-torch on the crown +of the stump are sufficient for the purpose: some hundreds of these +blazing merrily at night have a very pretty effect. + +In ten or twelve years the hard woods, such as oak, ash, beech and +maple disappear; but the stumps of the evergreens, such as pine, +hemlock and cedar, are much more difficult to eradicate. + +The land being of a sandy nature, we had but few stones to contend +with. When such is the case, we raise them above the surface, by the +help of levers. By these means, stones of half a ton weight can be +easily lifted from their beds. The larger ones are generally drawn off +the fields to make the foundations of fences, and those of a smaller +size are used in the construction of French drains. + +To succeed well with your summer fallow, it is necessary to have the +sod all turned over with the plough by the end of May, or sooner if +possible. Shortly afterwards the fallow should be well harrowed; in +July it should be crossed, ploughed and harrowed, and rolled at least +twice before the final ploughing or ridging up, which should be +completed by the last week in August. + +Fall-wheat should be sown between the first and fifteenth day of +September.[1] The sooner the better, in my opinion, because the plant +is stronger and better able to withstand the frost, and is decidedly +less liable to rust. Our fallow having been prepared in this manner, +and sown broad-cast with fall-wheat, the next object was to fence in +the field securely, which is done in the following way. Trees of a +straight growth and straight also in the grain are selected and cut +into twelve feet lengths, and are then, by the means of a beetle and +wedges, split into rails as nearly four inches square as possible. The +rails are then laid in a zigzag direction, crossing each other about a +foot from the end, making an angle of about six feet. Seven rails in +height, crowned by a stake and rider, complete the fence. The best +timbers for making rails, are pine, cedar, oak and black and white ash: +these kinds of timbers will last about thirty years. Bass-wood is more +commonly used for the first fences, because it is to be procured in +greater abundance, and splits more easily; but as it will not last more +than ten years, I would not recommend settlers to use it, if the other +sorts can readily be obtained. + + [1] “Fall” is the term usually applied to wheat sown in the autumn by + the Canadian farmer, and will be used in this sense throughout a work + especially written for the service of the inexperienced settler. + + +In this country, hay-cutting commences about the first or second week +in July. Timothy-grass and clover mixed or timothy alone are the best +for hay, and the most productive. The quantity of seed required for new +land is six quarts of grass-seed and two pounds of clover to the acre; +on old cleared farms nearly double this seed is required. Timothy is a +solid grass with a bulbous root. If the weather is hot and dry, the hay +should be carted the second day after cutting, for there is no danger +in carting it at once into your barn, the climate being so dry that it +never heats enough to cause spontaneous combustion. We have other sorts +of grasses, such as red-top, blue-joint, &c.: these grasses, however, +are inferior, and therefore never grown from choice. + +Soon after my arrival at Darlington, one of my neighbours residing on +the lake-shore invited me to a mowing and cradling “Bee.”[2] As I had +never seen anything of the kind, I accepted the invitation. On my +arrival at the farm on the appointed day, I found assembled about forty +men and boys. A man with a pail of spring water with a wooden cup +floating on the surface in one hand, and a bottle of whiskey and glass +in the other, now approached the swarm, every one helping himself as he +pleased. This man is the most important personage at the “Bee,” and is +known by the appellation of the “Grog-bos.” On this occasion his office +was anything but a sinecure. The heat of the weather, I suppose, had +made our party very thirsty. There were thirty-five bees cutting hay, +among whom I was a rather awkward volunteer, and ten cradlers[3] +employed in cutting rye. + + [2] What the Canadian settlers call a “Bee” is a neighbourly gathering + for any industrious purpose a friendly clubbing of labour, assisted by + an abundance of good cheer. + + + [3] The cradle is a scythe of larger dimensions than the common + hay-scythe, and is both wider in the blade and longer. A straight + piece of wood, called a standard, thirty inches long, is fixed + upright; near the end of the snaith, or handle, are four fingers made + of wood, the same bend as the scythe, and from six to seven inches + apart, directly above the scythe, and fixed firmly into the standard, + from which wire braces with nuts and screws to adjust the fingers. + These braces are secured to the fingers about eight inches from the + standard. The other end of the wire is then passed through the snaith + and drawn tight by means of a screw-nut. These machines are very + effective, and in the hands of a person who understands their use will + cut from two to three acres a-day of either wheat, oats, barley, or + rye. + + +At eleven o’clock, cakes and pailfuls of tea were served round. At one, +we were summoned by the sound of a tin bugle to dinner, which we found +laid out in the barn. Some long pine-boards resting on tressels served +for a table, which almost groaned with the good things of this earth, +in the shape of roast lamb and green peas, roast sucking-pig, shoulder +of mutton, apple-sauce, and pies, puddings, and preserves in abundance, +with plenty of beer and Canadian whiskey. Our bees proved so +industrious, that before six o’clock all Mr. Burke’s hay and rye were +finished cutting. Supper was then served on the same scale of +profusion, with the addition of tea. After supper a variety of games +and gymnastics were introduced, various trials of strength, wrestling, +running, jumping, putting the stone, throwing the hammer, &c. + +About nine o’clock our party broke up, and returned to their respective +homes, well pleased with their day’s entertainment, leaving their host +perfectly satisfied with their voluntary labour. One word about bees +and their attendant frolic. I confess I do not like the system. I +acknowledge, that in raising a log-house or barn it is absolutely +necessary, especially in the Bush, but the general practice is bad. +Some people can do nothing without a bee, and as the work has to be +returned in the same manner, it causes a continual round of dissipation +if not of something worse. I have known several cases of manslaughter +arising out of quarrels produced by intoxication at these every-day +gatherings. As population increases, and labour becomes cheaper, of +course there will be less occasion for them. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +MY MARRIAGE.—I BECOME A SETTLER ON MY OWN ACCOUNT.—I PURCHASE LAND IN +OTONABEE.—RETURN TO DARLINGTON.—MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT DRIVING A +SPAN.—ACTIVE MEASURES TO REMEDY A DISASTER.—PATIENCE OF MY +FATHER-IN-LAW.—MY FIRST BEAR-HUNT.—BEAVER-MEADOWS.—CANADIAN +THUNDERSTORMS.—FRIGHT OF A SETTLER’S FAMILY. + +I must now say something of myself. During my domestication under my +friend’s roof, I became attached to one of his daughters. The affection +was mutual; and our happiness was completed by the approbation of our +friends. We were married; and it seemed that there was a goodly +prospect of many years of wedded happiness before us. + +But it was necessary that I, who was now a husband, and might become a +father, should become a settler on my own account, and look about for +lands of my own. I examined, therefore, several locations in the +neighbourhood; but one objection or another presented itself, and I +declined fixing my settlement at Darlington. Ultimately, I bought two +hundred acres of land in the township of Otonabee, within a mile of the +newly laid out town of Peterborough. It was arranged that I should stop +at Darlington, and assist my father-in-law, until it was time to +commence operations in the spring. This arrangement proved very +beneficial to me, as I was able to learn many useful things, and make +myself acquainted with the manners and customs of the people with whom +I was going to live. + +We kept two pair of horses and a yoke of oxen to work the farm. One +pair of our horses were French Canadian. Generally speaking, they are +rough-looking beasts, with shaggy manes and tails, but strong, active, +and stout for their size, which, however, is much less than that of the +Upper Canadian horse. I have seen, nevertheless, some very handsome +carriage-horses of this breed. Of late years, both the Upper and Lower +Canadian breed of horses have been much improved by the importation of +stallions. + +The working oxen of this country are very docile and easily managed. +They are extremely useful in the new settlement; indeed, I do not know +what could be done without them. It is next to an impossibility to +plough among the green stumps and roots with horses the plough being +continually checked by roots and stones therefore, till these obstacles +are removed, which cannot be effectually done for seven or eight years, +oxen are indispensably necessary, particularly for logging up new +fallows. Yet notwithstanding their usefulness, I do not know a worse +treated set of animals than Canadian oxen. Their weight, when fat, +varies from seven to eight hundred weight. A yoke and bows, made of +birch or soft maple, is the only harness needed; and, in my opinion, +for double draught, better, and certainly less troublesome than the +collar and traces used in England. + +The ox-yoke is made of a piece of wood, four feet in length, and nine +inches deep in the centre, to which a staple is fitted, and from which +an iron ring depends, about a foot from the middle of the yoke each +way, which is hollowed out, so as to fit on the top of the oxen’s +necks. A hole is bored, two inches in diameter, on each side of the +hollow, through which the bow is passed, and fastened on the upper side +of the yoke by a wooden pin. The bow is bent in the shape of a +horse-shoe, the upper, or narrow ends being passed through the yoke. If +the yoke and bows are properly made and fit the cattle, there is no +fear of galling the beast. The bows are made of hickory, white or rock +elm, in this way. Cut a piece of elm, five feet and a half long, large +enough to split into quarters, each of which will dress to two inches +in diameter; put them in a steam-box for an hour at least; take them +out hot, and bend on a mould made on purpose; tie the two bent-up ends +together until dry. Every settler should know how to do these things, +and to make his own axe-handles, and many other articles which are +constantly required in the bush. + +My first attempt at driving oxen was accompanied by an unfortunate +accident, which gave me some trouble and mortification. My +father-in-law had lent a neighbour a plough, of which we were much in +want. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try my hand +with the oxen, to fetch it home. Now, it happened the cattle were +young, and not very well broken, so that I found some difficulty in +yoking and attaching them to the cart. However, I succeeded at last, +and drove up to the door of Mr. Stephens’ house in great style. I found +the family just going to dinner, which they courteously invited me to +partake with them. I accepted their hospitality, and left the oxen +standing before the door. + +I discussed my neighbour’s good cheer with an excellent appetite, and +was in the very act of pledging mine host, when I heard the cattle +start off. We left the table with precipitation, but-were, alas! too +late to stop the refractory oxen, which galloping down a steep hill, on +the summit of which the house was built, stumbled in their descent, and +fell to the bottom, where we found them struggling, apparently, in the +agonies of death. We cut the bows from their necks as soon as possible, +but not in time to save the life of poor Spot, the near ox, who was +quite dead; and it was for some minutes doubtful if Dandy the off +“critter,” as the Yankees would style him would survive his companion. +I killed the dead one over again to make its flesh fit for consumption, +and bled the other, which happily saved its life. But, notwithstanding +my careful endeavour to make the best of a foolish matter, I felt +myself in an awkward predicament. To my worthy father-in-law the loss +of an animal worth thirty dollars was, at that time, particularly +inconvenient; but his moral justice was high and his temper mild; so he +listened meekly to my account of the misfortune, quietly remarking, +that it could not be helped, and that no blame attached to me. It is in +these worrying affairs of every-day life that we discern the real +beauty of the Christian character. My mother-in-law behaved as well, on +this trying occasion, as any lady could do who found her larder +suddenly stocked with a quantity of lean tough beef a prospect, indeed, +by no means cheering to any member of the household. + +On my return home from my first essay in ox-driving, or rather +ox-killing, I found Dennis, our Irish servant, waiting for me with the +greatest impatience. + +“Och, sir,” he exclaimed; “if you had but been with me you might have +shot a bear. I was out in the bush searching for the cows, and just as +I was crossing the Big creek, near the beaver meadow, I heard a noise +from a thicket of cedar bushes close by me, and thinking it might be +one of the lost cows I ran forward to see, when to my astonishment and +dismay I came suddenly upon a large bear.” + +“Well,” said I, “what did you do?” + +“Faith, then, sir, to tell you the truth, I did not do much only took +to my heels, and ran home as fast as I could to tell you; as I thought +yer honour might perhaps get a shot at the baste, and, troth! he warn’t +in the laste bit of a hurry to get out my way, sure.” + +“Well, Dennis, only show me the brute, and it shall be a hard case if I +do not make the addition of fat bear to eat with the lean beef, with +which I have already stocked the larder.” + +I loaded my gun with ball, and in company with Dennis and his father +started for the place where Master Bruin had been seen. I took Neptune +with me a remarkably fine Irish greyhound one of the most powerfully +built dogs of that breed I had ever seen, and well he proved his +strength and courage this day, as you shall hear. + +After proceeding nearly two miles in an easterly direction close to the +edge of the beaver meadow,[1] Neptune suddenly raised his head and +looked round. In the next instant he was dashing along in full chase of +Mr. Bruin, who was making the best of his way up a hill on the opposite +side of the meadow. + + [1] These meadows are to be found within two or three miles of each + other on almost every creek or small stream in Canada West. Those + industrious animals, the beavers, build their dams across the creeks + in a very ingenious manner, with clay and brush-wood. It is very + astonishing what ingenuity they display, and what sagacity, almost + amounting to reason, they show in the choice of situation for the + erection of these dams. It has been asserted that some years ago, when + the French were masters of the country, the Indians cut away the dams, + and killed all the beavers they could possibly find, as they did not + wish the reservoirs where the beavers bred to fall into the hands of + their white brethren. The size of these meadows varies from two or + three acres to two or three hundred, and in some few cases is much + larger. + + +We joined in the chase with the greatest alacrity, but not in time to +witness the first set-to between these savage opponents; for while we +were gaining the brow of the hill a desperate fight was going on only a +few yards from us. Neptune sometimes having the best of it sometimes +Bruin. I found it quite impossible to fire for fear of killing the dog. +We then tried to pull him off so as to enable me to shoot the bear. +This we found equally difficult, the dog had such fast hold of his +throat. He was, indeed, perfectly furious. + +Dennis, by my direction, cut a strong pole twelve or fourteen feet +long, which we laid across the brute’s back, and pressed him down as +tightly as we could, which, with the able assistance of Nep. kept my +gentleman tolerably quiet till the old man cut and twisted a couple of +withes, which he passed under the bear, near the hind and forelegs, and +secured him firmly to the pole, which my companions lifted on their +shoulders, from which the beast now hung suspended, and commenced our +march homewards. + +I had great difficulty in keeping the dog off. He would rush in, every +minute, in spite of all I could do, and seize poor Bruin by the side +and shake him most unmercifully. I had enough to do with the help of a +stout stick to keep him and the bear in order. The latter was equally +violent striking with his fore-paws at the men who were luckily for +them just out of his reach, and particularly so for Dennis, who marched +in front, whose unmentionables not being in the best possible repair, +appeared to excite Master Bruin’s particular attention. + +I very much wished to preserve this creature alive, that I might try +and tame him. In this, however, I was destined to be disappointed; for +what with the beating I was obliged to give him to keep him quiet, and +the savage attack of the dog, he died just as we came within sight of +the clearing. When we skinned him, we found his side much lacerated +where the dog had bitten him. From the exaggerated description Dennis +had given me of his size, I fully expected to find him as big as a +bullock. He, however, only weighed a hundred and fifty-seven pounds, +which, for a bear of two years old, which appeared to be his age, is, I +believe, the average weight. + +The summer of 1825 was warm, even for Canada, where this season is +always hot. The thermometer often ranged above 90 degrees in the shade. +Such weather would be quite unbearable, were it not for a fine breeze +which almost invariably springs up from the westward between ten and +eleven o’clock in the forenoon, and continues till sunset. + +The nights are cooler in proportion to the heat of the day, than in +England. + +This climate is subject to violent thunder-storms, accompanied by vivid +forked lightning and heavy rain, which greatly tend to cool the air and +make the country more healthy. Fatal accidents, however, sometimes +occur, and houses and barns are burnt down by the electric fluid, and I +have no doubt that, were it not for the proximity of the woods, a great +deal more damage would be done. + +The lofty trees serve as conductors, particularly the pine and hemlock, +the former, from its great height above all the other trees of the +forest, being much more likely to be struck by the lightning than any +other. It is a curious fact that the electric fluid invariably follows +the grain the wood. I have often noticed in pines which had been +struck, that the fluid had followed the grain in a spiral form, +encircling the tree three or four times in its descent to the earth. I +have myself witnessed some extraordinary effects produced by lightning. +I remember that, not more than two years since, I had occasion to go +out into the township of Douro to attend the sitting of the Council of +which I was then a member, and I had, on my way, to pass through a +small clearing occupied by an Irish settler, one James Lynch. + +This man, to save trouble, had left several large hemlock trees near +his house. These trees had been dead for some years, consequently the +wood was tolerably dry.[2] The day before, there had been a terrific +thunder-storm which struck the largest, which was fully four feet in +diameter, shivering it from top to bottom, and throwing the pieces +around for upwards of sixty yards in every direction. If a barrel of +gunpowder had been placed under the tree, greater devastation could not +have been made. Lynch told me that the storm had been very severe in +that neighbourhood. + + [2] It is well knows that dry timber offers a greater resistance to + the electric fluid than the green. + + +“We were at dinner,” he said, “when the dreadful flash came which +shattered that tree. We were all knocked down by the shock, and +narrowly escaped being killed, not only by the lightning, but by the +pieces of timber which were, as you may observe, scattered in all +directions.” + +After a thunder-storm, attended by heavy rain, a substance very much +resembling sulphur is left floating on all the pools, which many people +believe to be sulphur. This, however, is quite a mistake, for it is, in +reality, nothing more than the farina from the cone of the pine trees. +I have observed this substance equally abundant on the Huron tract, +many miles from any pine grove. It must, therefore, from its lightness, +have been carried up into the air, from whence it has been beaten down +by the rain. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +CANADIAN HARVEST.—PREPARING TIMBER FOR FRAME-BUILDINGS.—RAISING +“BEE.”—BEAUTY OF THE CANADIAN AUTUMN.—VISIT TO OTONABEE.—ROUGH +CONVEYANCE.—DISACCOMMODATION.—LEARNED LANDLORD.—COBOURG.—OTONABEE +RIVER.—CHURCH OF GORE’S LANDING.—EFFECTS OF PERSERVING INDUSTRY. + +Our harvest, with the exception of some late oats, was all carefully +housed by the 18th of August. Very little grain is stacked out in this +country: even the hay is put up in barns. As timber can be had for the +cutting, log or frame-barns can be built very cheaply. I would +certainly recommend frame in preference to log-buildings. + +Square timber, fit for framing, can be purchased from four to five +dollars per hundred feet, running measure. Twelve hundred feet are +sufficient, varying in size from four inches to a foot square. This +quantity will frame a barn fifty feet long by thirty feet wide, and +sixteen in height, from the sill to the plate which supports the roof. +Twelve thousand feet of boards and plank, at five dollars per thousand, +superficial measure, will be enough to enclose the frame, and lay the +threshing-floor, and board the roof ready for shingling. + +The best and cheapest method of barn-building is as follows: In the +winter season cut and square with the broad axe all the frame timber +you require, and draw it home to the place you have fixed on for the +building, and from the saw-mill all the lumber you require. As soon as +the weather is warm enough hire a framer, whose business is to mark out +all the tenons and mortices, and to make or superintend the making of +them. When ready, the building is put together in what is called bents, +each bent consisting of two posts, one on each side of the building, +connected together by a strong beam running across the building. The +foundation is composed of twelve cedar blocks, three feet long, sunk +two-thirds of their depth into the ground, one under each corner of the +barn, and under the foot of each post. These blocks support the sills, +which are firmly united at the corner to the cross sills. The bents, +four in number, are then laid on this foundation, and are ready for +raising, which is done by calling a “bee.” Thirty-five men are ample +for this service—more are only in the way. Every two persons should be +provided with a light balsam or cedar pole, fifteen feet in length, +shod at the end with a ring and strong spike. These pike-poles are laid +in order in front of the bent to be raised, one between each person. +All being ready, the framer-gives the word “attention,” when each man +lays hold of the bent, one man being stationed at the foot of each post +with a hand-spike, which he presses against it to prevent its slipping. +“Yeo heave!” is then shouted by the framer, at which every man lifts, +waiting always for the word, and lifting together. As soon as the bent +is lifted as high as they can reach, the pike-poles are driven into the +beam, and the bent is soon in a perpendicular position. Several pikes +are then stuck into the opposite side to keep the bent from being +swayed over, until the tenons on the foot of the post is entered into +the mortice on the sill: it is then secured by stays, until the next +bent is raised, when the girts connect them together. In this manner +all the bents are raised: the wall-plates are then lifted upon the +building which connect all the bents. The tenon on the top of each post +goes through the plate, and is firmly pinned; the putting up the +rafters completes the frame. The raising of a building of this size +should not occupy more than three quarters of a-day. No liquor should +be served out to the swarm of working bees till the raising is over, as +many serious accidents having occurred for want of this precaution. + +I am particular in giving these descriptions, because I flatter myself +they may prove useful to the future colonist. + +The first week in September we commenced sowing our fall-wheat, and +finished on the tenth, which is considered in good season. I would by +all means recommend early sowing, especially on old cleared farms. Late +sown wheat is more liable to winter-kill and rust. In fact, you can +hardly sow too early to ensure a good crop. + +September is the most beautiful month in the Canadian year. The weather +is neither too hot nor too cold. Nothing can be more delightfully +pleasant; for, in this month, the foliage of the trees begins to put on +that gorgeous livery for which the North American continent is so +justly celebrated. Every variety of tint, from the brightest scarlet +and deepest orange, yellow and green, with all the intermediate shades +blended together, form one of the most beautiful natural pictures you +can possibly conceive. + +I received a very pressing invitation from my wife’s brother-in-law, +who resided near the foot of Rice Lake, in the township of Otonabee, to +come and spend a few days with him. As an additional inducement, he +promised to show me some capital duck-shooting. I was too fond of +fowling to decline such an invitation as this. Besides, I wished to see +that new settlement. The township lies north of Rice Lake, which forms +its southern boundary: it is the largest in the county of Peterborough, +with the exception of Harvey. Otonabee contains above eighty thousand +acres, and is now the most populous as well as one of the most fertile +townships in the county, which, at the time of which I am writing, had +been just opened by the Government for location. + +The only practicable road then to this settlement was from Cobourg, +distant twelve miles from the southern shore of Rice Lake, leading over +a chain of hills, the highest of which is, I believe, about seven +hundred feet above the level of Lake Ontario, and from whence, on a +very clear day, the opposite shore may be seen, though the distance is +nearly sixty-five miles. I have heard this statement disputed, but I am +perfectly convinced of the truth from having myself seen, on several +occasions, the United States’ shore of the lake from White’s Hill, +which is several hundred feet lower. + +It was arranged that I should drive my wife as far as Cobourg, and +leave her with some friends till my return. I was to take out with me +from Cobourg the gentleman’s sister, Miss Jane W——, who was to return +with me. + +We left Darlington in a one-horse pleasure-waggon so called, or rather +mis-called, by the natives. For my part, I never could find in what the +pleasure consisted, unless in being jerked every minute two or three +feet from your seat by the unevenness of the road and want of springs +in your vehicle, or the next moment being soused to the axletree in a +mud-hole, from which, perhaps, you were obliged to extricate your +carriage by the help of a lever in the shape of a rail taken from some +farmer’s fence by the roadside. You are no sooner freed from this +Charybdis, than you fall into Scylla, formed by half a mile of +corduroy-bridge, made of round logs, varying from nine to fifteen +inches in diameter, which, as you may suppose, does not make the most +even surface imaginable, and over which you are jolted in the roughest +style possible, at the expense of your breath and injury of your +person. I am happy to say that better roads and a better description of +pleasure-carriages have superseded these inconvenient conveyances. + +Since the institution of county councils, and the formation of towns +and townships into municipalities, great attention has been bestowed, +and large sums of money voted, for the improvement of roads and +bridges; and several Joint-stock companies, chartered by the Provincial +Parliament, have completed sundry lines of plank and macadamized roads, +on which toll-gates have been erected. What has already been done in +this way has added greatly to the wealth and settlement of the +province. No one can understand, indeed, except the early settler, what +a blessing a good road is, especially to those who are too far back for +the benefit of water communication. + +The day was fine and clear when we started, and we congratulated +ourselves on the prospect of a pleasant journey, which, I am sorry to +say, was not to be verified. Distant thunder soon warned us that we +might expect a storm. We hurried on as fast as possible, in hope we +might be able to get through the nine-mile woods, in the township of +Clarke, before the bursting of the storm. In this, however, we were +disappointed; for, before we were half through the woods, the rain fell +in torrents, accompanied by the loudest thunder and most vivid +lightning I had ever seen. After above an hour’s most pitiless pelting, +we found ourselves suddenly before a small log-house, in front of +which, swinging between two upright posts, a cross-bar connecting them +at the top, depended a sign, on which was described, in large +characters, for the information of all way-worn or thirsty-travellers, +“that good liquor, good beds, and good accommodations, both for man and +horse, could be had from the proprietor, Thomas Turner Orton.” + +Although from the outward appearance of the premises we did not expect +the best accommodation, we thought anything better than being exposed +longer to the fury of the storm, so giving our horse and waggon to the +charge of the ostler, we entered Mr. Orton’s tavern, and demanded to be +shown into a private room, which request we found it was out of the +power of mine host to comply with, seeing he had only one apartment, +which answered the treble purpose of parlour, kitchen, and bar-room. +Besides this general apartment there were two small bedrooms on the +ground-floor. Luckily for us, a good fire blazed on the ample hearth, +its only occupant, in the shape of a guest, being a gentleman from Port +Hope, who, like ourselves, had just taken refuge from the storm. + +While our clothes were being dried, our hostess prepared dinner, which +consisted of a boiled chicken, eggs, and fried ham, which we found +excellent, and, as a preventive against catching cold, after the +soaking we had got, I ordered some whiskey-punch, which I have always +found very efficacious on such occasions. Some people recommend tea +made from the boughs of the hemlock-pine, which, I dare say, is +excellent for some constitutions; but it never agreed half so well with +mine as the former antidote, which I can conscientiously recommend but, +like all other medicines, an over-dose may do more harm than good. + +Our host, who appeared to make himself quite at home in his own house, +joined in the conversation, and being very communicative about his own +affairs, wanted us to be equally so about ours. His eccentricity +greatly amused us. He informed me that he was by birth a Yorkshireman, +and that he had been in business in London, where he had built some +fine “place” or “terrace,” which still bore his name. He spouted Latin +occasionally, and showed me a Greek lexicon, which he told me was his +constant companion. His real stock of Latin and Greek consisted only of +a few words and sentences he had picked up, and which he quoted +ostentatiously before the ignorant, who of course thought him a prodigy +of learning. + +As it continued to rain all the evening, I was obliged to give orders +to have my horse put up for the night, and also to see what +accommodation could be had for ourselves. I found on examination that +this was bad enough at least I thought so then, though many a time +since I should have been happy to obtain any half as good. + +We started early next morning, and reached Cobourg, without any farther +adventure, about noon on the same day. We halted there three days. I +left my wife with our friends, and took charge of Miss W—— to escort +her to her brother’s house. + +We left Cobourg for Rice Lake which was distant about twelve or +thirteen miles from thence. It was a delightful morning in October; and +our road, though very bad, and in some places positively dangerous, +where it descended into the deep ravines, was at the same time so +picturesque that we were quite delighted with our drive, and +particularly so when, emerging from the woods, we entered +Hamilton-plains, and beheld in the distance the glittering waters of +Rice Lake, and the gem-like islands which adorn its unruffled surface. + +Rice Lake, or the Lake of the Burning Plains, as it is called in the +Indian language, is a fine sheet of water, twenty-seven miles in length +from east to west, varying from two to three and a half miles in width. +About six miles from its head on the northern shore it receives the +waters of the Otonabee river, which, rising near the head-waters of the +Madawaska, flows in nearly a westerly direction, into Balsam Lake, +where it takes a more southerly direction, forming in its course a +succession of beautiful lakes for upwards of sixty miles. Ten miles +above Peterborough, and directly opposite my own farm in the township +of Douro, it suddenly contracts its channel and becomes a rapid and +impetuous stream. According to a survey ordered by the-government, it +was ascertained that from a point on my farm, at the foot of +Kawchewahnoonk Lake, and distant from Peterborough nearly ten miles, +there is a fall of one hundred and forty-seven feet, affording an +unlimited water-power, which has already been extensively applied not +only in the town of Peterborough, where several fine flour and +saw-mills have been erected, but also in the townships through which it +flows. + +At Peterborough the rapids cease, from whence the river becomes +navigable for steam-boats to the Rice Lake, at the distance of +twenty-one miles, which it enters after a course of fully two hundred +and fifty miles. + +The Indian river takes its rise close to Stony Lake, from which it is +only divided by a narrow ridge of granite: this ridge has been cut +across at the sole expense of the Hon. Zacheus Burnham and Dr. John +Gilchrist, for the purpose of obtaining a larger supply of water for +the use of their mills at Warsaw, in Dummer and Keane, in Otonabee, +thus connecting the two rivers by this canal. This river flows through +the townships of Dummer, Douro, and Otonabee, its whole course not +exceeding thirty-five or forty miles, with the exception of a few small +streams. No other river of consequence flows into Rice Lake. + +Our drive over the plains was truly delightful. New beauties presented +themselves at every step. It can hardly be imagined what a relief it is +to the eye, after travelling for miles through a dense forest, to see +such a beautiful landscape suddenly burst on your sight. + +For nearly three miles our road lay through natural park-like scenery, +flowery knolls, deep ravines, and oak-crowned hills, with every now and +then the blue waters of the lake glittering through the trees. Our path +now entered a deep and finely-wooded ravine, which wound round the base +of steep hills on either hand, rising to a considerable height, their +summits crowned here and there with beautiful clumps of oak. + +For nearly a mile we followed the sharp descent and windings of the +beautiful valley, till a sudden turning of the road revealed to our +sight the whole expanse of this fine sheet of water. Not a ripple +dimpled the surface; but, mirror-like, it lay with all its lovely +islands thickly wooded to their summits with the sugar-maple, which +rose, tree above tree, up the steep ascent of these conical islets, +which, reflected in the clear lake, added new beauties to the scene. + +A few minutes more brought us to the tavern, a small log-house, kept by +one David Tidy, a very respectable Scotchman. The situation of this +man’s farm is one of the best on the lake shore. It is now the property +of Mr. Alfred Hayward, whose good taste has added greatly to its +natural beauties. Mrs. Hayward, who is an accomplished artist, has +taken a view of the lake from her garden, and also one of Port Hope, +both of which have been lithographed, and are much admired. + +Tidy’s tavern, and two other log-houses, were at this time the only +settlements on the Rice Lake plains, which extend for nearly twenty +miles along the south shore, forming the rear of the townships of +Hamilton and Alnwick, but which are now dotted over with fine +productive farms, substantial stone, brick, or frame-houses, +full-bearing orchards, and possessing in fact almost every comfort and +convenience a farmer could wish. + +The pretty village of Gore’s Landing is built partly on the lot +formerly possessed by Tidy, and partly on the adjoining lot at present +occupied by Captain Gore, from whom the village takes its name. The +gentlemen in this neighbourhood have, nearly at their own expense, +built a very neat church, which is romantically situated on the top of +a high hill overlooking the lake. In summer time nothing can exceed the +beauty of this spot, or be more suitable for the erection of a fane +dedicated to Him + +“Whose temple is all space!” + + +This village contains two excellent taverns, a large steam saw-mill, +two stores, and several other buildings. Two steam-boats, the “Royal +George” and “Forester,” leave it daily for Peterborough, distant +twenty-five miles, making their return-trip the same day. Another +steamer is being constructed to run from the village of Keane, on the +Indian river in Otonabee down the Trent as far as Heely’s Falls and +back to Gore’s Landing. These boats meet Weller’s line of mail stages +at one o’clock, P.M. A fine line of plank road has been constructed +from this place to Cobourg, avoiding all the high hills. The stage time +is an hour and a half between lake and lake. + +As nearly all the lumber and shingles manufactured at Peterborough and +the neighbouring townships intended for exportation to the United +States, must be either landed here or at Bewdley, at the head of the +lake, whence it is conveyed across in waggons to Port Hope or Cobourg, +this village bids fair to become a stirring little place. + +One of my objects in writing this work is to point out what the country +was twenty-seven years ago, and what it is now, showing clearly that +what appeared to the pioneer of those days insurmountable difficulties, +have by persevering industry been overcome, “and the howling wilderness +made to blossom as the rose.” The desolating torrent has been utilised +and restrained; mills and factories have been erected; bridges span our +broadest rivers, and magnificent steamers plough our inland seas. Nor +is this all: the first sod of a railway has been turned, which is +ultimately intended to connect Lake Huron with Halifax and Boston, +bringing the riches of the Far West through its natural channel to the +sea. + +Nothing, indeed, but industry and enterprise is needed to change the +waste and solitary places of Upper Canada into a garden of Eden, which +it is designed by the Supreme Architect to become. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +WOOD-DUCK SHOOTING.—ADVENTURE ON RICE LAKE.—IRISH HOWL.—ARRIVAL AT +GORE’S LANDING.—GENERAL HOWLING FOR THE DEFUNCT.—DANGERS OF OUR +JOURNEY.—SAFE ARRIVAL AT COBOURG.—SALMON-FISHING.—CANOE-BUILDING AFTER +A BAD FASHION.—SALMON SPEARING.—CANADIAN FISH AND FISHERIES.—INDIAN +SUMMER.—SLEIGHS AND SLEIGHING.—DOMESTIC LOVE. + +After committing the care of my horse to our landlord, I ordered dinner +to be got ready immediately, as we had thirteen miles to row, and I +wished to reach Mr. W——’s before dark. Our hostess exerted herself, and +we soon sat down to a sumptuous feast, consisting of a brace of fine +fat wood-ducks and fried black bass, two dishes I am particularly fond +of, and which at this time of the year can always be obtained from the +lake. + +The wood-duck is a delicious bird. It makes its appearance early in the +spring, as soon as the ice breaks up. Its plumage is very fine—I should +say the most beautiful of any of its species. Its head and upper part +of the neck are dark green; from the top of the head a long crest +depends, richly variegated with green, white, and dark purple feathers. +The lower part of the throat and breast is cinnamon speckled with +white, but under the wings and sides towards the tail, grey, speckled +and fringed with black; the back of the wings dark blue and black +feathers. The wood-duck frequents close-wooded streams, little bays, +and nooks, sitting upon old logs or the limbs of trees which have +fallen into the water. It feeds on the wild rice, and is very fat from +the middle of August to November, when it migrates to a warmer climate. +This kind of duck is more easily approached than any other. The +sportsman should be seated near the centre of a small canoe, his gun +lying before him ready cocked, when he should paddle very cautiously +through the rice, keeping his head as low as possible. A person who +understands the management of a canoe can generally get within +twenty-five or thirty yards before he is seen, which gives him ample +opportunity to put down his paddle and take his gun, in time to fire +both barrels. In this manner I have often killed from fifteen to twenty +brace in a few hours. + +After dinner we hired a skiff and proceeded on our voyage. The lake was +calm, so we made good progress, passing the Indian village belonging to +the Mississauga tribe of Indians, a branch of the Chippewas, which I +shall have occasion to speak of hereafter, Pantaush’s point, Designs +Bay, and the _embouchure_ of the Indian river; and just at dusk landed +opposite my friend’s house, pretty well tired, though much delighted +with our day’s journey. We were received with a welcome such as only a +backwoodsman knows how to give. In half an hour I felt as much at home +as if I had belonged to the family. + +During my stay here, which was upwards of a week, I amused myself with +fishing and shooting. The fall and winter duck were beginning to come +in from the north, a sure sign that hard weather was close at hand. + +We had had an early spring and a long warm summer. Generally speaking, +the ground does not close till about the middle of November; but this +year the frost set in much earlier. It did not, however, continue, for +the ground again opened, and we had nearly two weeks of beautiful +Indian summer in the early part of November. + +On the 17th the ice was sufficiently strong to skate upon. On the 27th +day of October the first hard weather commenced, and as there was some +fear of the lake freezing, we determined to start for Cobourg the +following morning. I accordingly made the necessary preparations, and +hired an old man-of-war’s-man, one Robert Redpath, to row us up the +lake to Tidy’s. + +It froze hard during the night. The ice was fully half an inch thick on +the bays, and along the margin of the lake we were obliged to break a +passage for the skiff for upwards of fifty yards before we got into +clear water. It was cold, and blew fresh from the north-west, and the +wind being directly down the lake, caused a heavy swell, which +increased every minute. As the gale freshened, our skiff shipped so +much water that we thought it prudent to put across to the Alnwick +shore, which was more under the lee, being sheltered by islands. While +passing near one of these, I observed some person walking to and fro, +apparently making signals of distress. I called Redpath’s attention to +this, and bade him “row to the shore that we might ascertain what he +wanted.” This our boatman positively refused to do, saying that “he had +hired himself to ferry us to Tidy’s, and he was not bound to go half a +mile out of his way to hunt after every infernal Ingine (Indian) we +might see on our road.” + +I, however, insisted on his immediately complying with my request. It +was fortunate I did so, for on landing we found a man walking backwards +and forwards, trying to keep himself warm. Indeed, the poor fellow +looked nearly frozen. He seemed to have lost all power over his limbs, +and was quite unable to articulate. I made Redpath light a fire, and in +the meantime I gave the man a dram from our whiskey-bottle, which +greatly revived him. We soon had a blazing fire, which had the desired +effect of unloosing the tongue of our new acquaintance, and he informed +us, “he was one of the Irish emigrants sent off by Government under the +superintendence of the Honourable Peter Robinson; that several hundreds +of them had been forwarded from Cobourg to Rice Lake, a few days +before, on their way to the new settlements up the Otonabee River, and +were now camped at Tidy’s. He and his friend, a man of the name of +Daly, a tailor by trade, wished to settle in the township of Asphodel, +on the River Trent. They had accordingly taken a boat and had rowed +down the lake in the hope of reaching Crook’s Rapids on the Trent +before nightfall. Irishman-like, their only stores for the voyage +consisted of a bottle of whiskey, to which it appears they applied +themselves more diligently than to the navigation of their boat, which +they let drift at the mercy of the winds and waves while they slept. + +They did not wake up from their drunken slumbers till dark, when they +found themselves stuck in a rice bed, and unable to extricate +themselves from the dilemma in which they were placed; whereupon they +again had recourse to the bottle, which this time proved fatal to Daly +who, being very drunk, fell overboard. His companion, however, managed +to catch hold of him and succeeded in getting him into the boat only to +suffer a more lingering death, for he was frozen stiff before morning +dawned. The survivor had covered his unfortunate companion with a +blanket, the only one they had with them, in the hope it would keep him +from perishing with cold during the night, which care, however, proved +unavailing. He managed at dawn to extricate the boat from the rice bed, +but not being able to row so large a boat, especially in his present +condition, she drifted upon the point of the island on which we found +him. + +As soon as he was well warmed and refreshed, we proceeded to the place +pointed out by him, where we found the boat thumping in the surf, on a +ledge of rocks. After hauling it up, we proceeded to lift the blanket, +when a shocking sight presented itself. The dead man was sitting +upright on the seat, with his mouth and eyes half-open. We lifted him +out, laid him under a tree, and spread the blanket over him. We found +our skiff too small to accommodate another passenger, so we determined +to leave it behind and take the large boat, which we accordingly did; +and we put our new-comer to the oar with Redpath, whilst I took the +helm. + +We had a long, tedious row against the headwind, which now blew a gale. +Our new acquaintance, every now-and-then, would throw down his oar, and +howl and clap his hands to show his grief for the loss of his departed +friend. These pathetic lamentations elicited no sympathy from Redpath, +who abused him for “a lazy lubber,” and ordered him “to pull and not +make such an infernal howling, worse than a wild Ingin’s yell.” + +We made the landing at Tidy’s, just before dark, and found several +hundred emigrants in the tavern, and camped round about it. + +As soon as we came within hearing, our passenger commenced the loudest +howl he had yet perpetrated, which had the immediate effect of bringing +down to the landing the whole of his countrymen, who, as soon as they +learned the loss of their friend, gave us a genuine Irish howl, in +which the women took the most prominent part. + +On our way up to the house, we were met by the landlord, who, with a +most woful look, informed us that our horse had strayed away from the +pasture, and that he had searched the plains in every direction, and +could hear no tidings of him, but as soon as he turned up he would send +him home. “I am sorry, sir.” he added, “this misfortune has happened, +and particularly as I am unable to accommodate you and the young lady, +for my house is full of drunken Irish, as you see. Indeed, the only +chance you have of getting to Cobourg to-night is by an ox-cart, which +will start about nine o’clock this evening.” + +I was very angry with the landlord for his carelessness, and told him I +should look to him for payment unless my horse was forthcoming. I found +the owner of the ox-cart, and made a bargain with him to set us down at +my friend’s house in Cobourg. + +Our equipage was very unique of its kind, it having been constructed +for the sole purpose of carrying barrels of flour and pork. The box was +a kind of open rack, with two rows of upright stakes instead of sides: +two long boards, laid on cross-bars, formed the bottom: we spread our +buffaloes on these, and fastened a strong piece of rope across the +cart, from stake to stake on either side, to hold on by. + +Thus equipped, we commenced our journey. It was pitch-dark, so our +driver let the cattle go as they liked, for guiding them was perfectly +out of the question. I shall never forget the way our oxen galloped +down those steep hills. Miss W. was dreadfully frightened. All we could +do was to hold on and trust in Providence. Luckily, the oxen kept the +track; for had they deviated in the least, going down some of the steep +pitches, the cart would have been upset to a certainty, and very likely +we should have been seriously injured, or killed on the spot. + +It was past one in the morning before we reached Cobourg, thoroughly +fatigued with our expedition. + +I heard no tidings of my horse for upwards of four months, and had +given up all thoughts of beholding him again, when one morning I was +surprised to see him, waggon, harness and all, drive into the yard. +Upon inquiry, I found that the hard weather and snow had made him seek +the clearings for food, when he was easily secured; but one of his +fetlocks was cut almost to the bone by the piece of rope he had been +tethered with, and which was still upon him when he was found. + +One of the most exciting amusements at this season of the year, is +salmon-fishing. In order to enjoy this sport, I made a canoe sixteen +feet in length, and two feet nine inches at its greatest breadth. It +was my first attempt, and, certainly the thing looked more like a +hog-trough than a boat. It, however, answered the purpose for which it +was intended, and I can assure the reader I felt not a little proud of +this, my first attempt at canoe-making. + +Salmon-fishing commences in October, when the fish run up the rivers +and creeks in great numbers. The usual way of catching them is by +spearing, which is done as follows.—An iron grate—or jack, as it is +called by the Canadians—is made in the shape of a small cradle, +composed of iron bars three or four inches apart. This cradle is made +to swing in a frame, so that it may be always on the level, or the +swell would cause the pine-knots to fall out. Fat pine and light-wood +are used to burn in the jack, which give a very brilliant light for +several yards round the bow of the canoe. The fish can be easily seen +at the depth of from four to five feet. One person sits in the stern +and steers with a paddle, propelling the canoe at the same time. The +bowman either kneels or stands up with the spear poised ready for +striking. An expert hand will scarcely miss a stroke. I have known two +fishermen in this manner kill upwards of two hundred salmon in one +night. I believe, however, the fishing is not nearly so productive as +formerly. + +Mr. Stephens showed me a small stream running through his farm, which I +could easily jump over. He told me that one afternoon he was watering +his horses, when he perceived a shoal of salmon swimming up the creek. +He had no spear at home, having lent it to a neighbour. He, however, +succeeded with a pitchfork in capturing fifty-six fine fish. + +Thirty years ago, all the small streams and rivers, from the head of +the lake downwards to the Bay of Quinte, used to abound with salmon. +The erection of saw-mills on the creeks, and other causes, have tended +materially to injure the fisheries. White fish and salmon-trout are, +however, taken in vast quantities, particularly the former, which has +become quite an article of commerce. The most extensive fisheries are +on the Manitoulin island, in Lake Huron, and along the Canadian shore +of Ontario, opposite the township of Haldimand, Crambe, and Murray, in +the county of Northumberland, and part of the district of Prince +Edward. Very large seine nets being used, many barrels of fish are +often taken at a haul, which are cured and packed on the spot: the +usual price of a barrel varies from five to six dollars. + +Lake Ontario abounds with herring, of much the same flavour as the sea +species, but not so strong and oily, nor so large. Sturgeon, pike, +pickerel, black bass, sheep-heads, mullets, suckers, eels, and a +variety of other fish, are plentiful in these waters: the spring-creeks +and mill-ponds yield plenty of spotted trout, from four ounces to a +pound weight: they are easily caught either with the worm or fly. + +The best creek I ever fished in was the Speed, a branch of the Grand +River, or Ouse, which runs through the township of Guelph. In winter +you can catch them by fishing through a hole in the ice. The best way +is to dig and store by in a box filled with earth, a quantity of worms, +which must be kept in the cellar for use. A small piece of fat pork is +commonly employed as bait, but is not nearly so good as the other. + +A friend of mine, living near Colborne, told me rather an amusing story +of a Yankee, who was fishing through the ice with the usual bait, a +piece of pork. He had been very unsuccessful, and tired of the sport, +he walked over to where my friend was throwing out the trout as fast as +possible, when the following colloquy took place: + +“Wal, how, under Heaven, did you get all them ’ere fish?” + +“Caught them.” + +“Wal, I s’pose you did; but what kinder bait do you use?” + +“Worms.” + +“Varms! Why, under Heaven, where do you get varms at this time of the +year?” + +“I got these out of my cellar.” + +“Get out! how you do talk!” + +“You may believe me or not, as you like; but I can assure you I did.” + +“Wal, do tell. I guess I never thought of diggin’ in the cellar; I will +go to hum and try.” + +My friend met him a few days afterwards, when the Yankee said—“I +calculate, Mister, you told me a tarnation lie, the other day, about +them ’ere varms. I went and dug up every bit of my cellar, and, I do +declare, I never got a single varm.” + +My friend laughed very heartily at this “Yankee diggin,” but at the +same time kindly informed his neighbour of the method he pursued, to +provide worms for winter-fishing. + +Before the winter fairly sets in, we generally have ten days or a +fortnight of the Indian summer; indeed, it is the sure harbinger of +winter. The air is mild and temperate; a haze, resembling smoke, +pervades the atmosphere, that at times obscures the sun, which, when +visible, is of a blood-red colour. Various causes have been assigned +for this appearance, but none very satisfactory. + +Towards the end of November this year, the ice was strong enough to +bear the weight of a man, and the ground was soon whitened with snow, +but not in sufficient depth to make good sleighing. Just a week before +Christmas, we had a fall of eight or ten inches, which made pretty good +going: the sleighs were, of course, in immediate requisition. + +A family sleigh is made to carry from six to ten persons; the more +stylish ones from four to six; a cutter, or single sleigh, two. These +are all for pleasure, but every farmer is obliged to have a +lumber-sleigh for general use. A much larger load can be drawn on +runners in winter than on wheels in summer. Sleighing is, without +doubt, the most delightful mode of travelling you can possibly +conceive, but it takes several falls of snow to make the sleighing +good. All the inequalities must be filled up and levelled, but the snow +soon packs solid by the constant friction of the sleigh-runner. The +horses are each provided with a ring of bells, the sound of which is +not unmusical; and I am assured is delightful indeed to the ears of the +anxious wife, watching for the return of her husband from a winter +journey. Some years ago, when the country was unsettled, the females of +the family had some cause for fear, since the absence of the father, +son, or husband, was not always followed by his safe return; and the +snow-storm, or the wolves, were thought of with alarm, till the music +of the sleigh-bells announced the safety of the beloved absentee. + +In no country on the face of the earth does the torch of wedded love +beam brighter than in Canada, where the husband always finds “the wife +dearer than the bride.” I have seen many an accomplished and beautiful +English girl, “forgetting with her father’s house,” the amusements of a +fashionable life, to realize with a half-pay officer or “younger +brother,” the purer, holier pleasures of domestic love in this country, +where a numerous issue, the fruits of their union, are considered a +blessing and a source of wealth, instead of bringing with them, as in +the old country, an increase of care. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +EMPLOYMENTS OF A MAN OF EDUCATION IN THE COLONY.—YANKEE WEDDING.—MY +COMMISSION.—WINTER IN CANADA.—HEALTHINESS OF THE CANADIAN +CLIMATE.—SERACH FOR LAND.—PURCHASE WILD LAND AT DOURO.—MY FLITTING.—PUT +UP A SHANTY.—INEXPERIENCE IN CLEARING.—PLAN-HEAPS. + +The employments of a respectable Canadian settler are certainly of a +very multifarious character, and he may be said to combine, in his own +person, several professions, if not trades. A man of education will +always possess an influence, even in bush society: he may be poor, but +his value will not be tested by the low standard of money, and +notwithstanding his want of the current coin of the realm, he will be +appealed to for his judgment in many matters, and will be inducted into +several offices, infinitely more honourable than lucrative. My friend +and father-in-law, being mild in manners, good-natured, and very +sensible, was speedily promoted to the bench, and was given the +colonelcy of the second battalion of the Durham Militia. + +At this time there was no place of worship nearer than Port Hope, where +the marriage ceremony could be legally performed. According to the +Colonial law, if a magistrate resides more than eighteen miles from a +church, he is empowered to marry parties applying to him for that +purpose, after three written notices have been put up in the most +public places in the township, with the names and residences of the +parties for at least a fortnight previous to the marriage. I witnessed +several of these marriages during my stay in Darlington, some of which +were highly amusing. + +One morning a near neighbour presented himself and a very pretty young +woman, as candidates for matrimony. He was an American by birth, and a +shrewd, clever, sensible person. After the ceremony, the bridegroom +invited me to partake of the wedding-dinner, and I went. + +The dinner was very good, though not served exactly in the English +fashion. We, however, managed to enjoy ourselves very much. After tea, +dancing commenced, to the music of two fiddles, when country-dances, +reels, and French fours were all performed with much spirit. The music +was very good, the dancing but indifferent. I could not help thinking + +“How ill the motion with the music suits, +So Orpheus fiddled, and so danced the brutes.” + + +During the pauses between the dances; some lady or gentleman would +favour the company with a song. Then plays—as they are called—were +introduced; such as hunt the slipper, cross questions and crooked +answers, ladies’ toilette, and several others of the same kind, in +which forfeits had to be redeemed by the parties making mistakes in the +game—a procedure of course productive of much noise, kissing, and +laughter. Refreshments were handed round in great profusion, and the +entertainment wound up with a dance, which, I believe, is of purely +American origin. A chair is placed in the middle of the room, on which +a young lady is seated; the company then join hands, and dance round +her, singing these elegant lines:— + +“There was a young woman sat down to sleep, +Sat down to sleep, sat down to sleep; +There was a young woman sat down to sleep, +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh-ho! + +“There was a young man to keep her awake, +To keep her awake, to keep her awake; +There was a young man to keep her awake, +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh ho! + +“John R—— his name shall be, +His name shall be, his name shall be; +John R—— his name shall be, +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh-ho! + + +The gentleman named walks up to the lady, salutes her, raises her from +the chair, and seats himself in her stead, the rest dancing round, and +singing as before, only substituting the gentleman, and naming the lady +who is to release the gentleman in the same way, till all the ladies +and gentlemen have been seated in their turn. + +As soon as this queer species of Mazurka was concluded, the company +broke up, seemingly well pleased with their entertainment. The +introduction of English manners and customs during the last quarter of +a century has tended greatly to improve society. It is now only amongst +the lower orders that parties of this kind would be tolerated. + +On my return home, I found an official letter from the Adjutant-general +of the Upper Canada Militia, in which I was informed I was appointed by +his Excellency Sir P. Maitland to an Ensigncy in the first regiment of +Durham Militia. The effective militia of this province is, I believe, +about 150,000 men. All persons, from sixteen to sixty, must enrol their +names once a year, and all from sixteen to forty, must muster for +general training on the 28th of June in each year. The officers, in +time of war, receive the same pay and allowances as those in the line. + +The winters of 1825 and 1826 were considered cold, even for Canada. The +sleighing was good from the middle of December to the middle of March, +with the exception of the January thaw, which continued for upwards of +a week, and took away nearly all the snow. This thaw, though +periodical, is not every year of the same duration, nor does it always +take away the snow. Sometimes it is attended by strong gales of wind, +from the southward, and with heavy thunder and lightning, which was +particularly the case last January. The month of February is generally +considered the coldest of the winter months. I have frequently known +the thermometer range from 16 degrees to 20 degrees below zero, for a +week together. On one day of the winter of which I am speaking, it was +as low as 35 degrees. This, however, is unusual. + +The coldest day I ever remember was in the winter of 1833. It was +called the “Cold Sunday.” The quicksilver in Fahrenheit’s thermometer +was frozen in the ball, which marks 39 degrees below zero. It was, +however, stated in the papers, both in Canada and the State of New +York, that the real cold was 40 degrees below zero, or 72 degrees below +freezing point. I dined at a friend’s that day, who resided three miles +from my farm in Douro. The day was clear, not a cloud being above the +horizon. The sun was of a dull copper-colour, and the horizon towards +the north-west tinged with the same hue. Not a breath of wind was +stirring. The smoke from the chimneys rose straight up into the air, +and appeared unable to disperse through the atmosphere. My horses were +as white as snow from the steam of their bodies freezing upon them; the +reins were frozen as stiff as rods; the air seemed to cut like a knife. +I was only a quarter of an hour upon the road, but even in that time I +felt the cold severely, and was very glad when I got into the house to +a large wood fire. The cold obliged the whole party at dinner to take +their plates upon their knees and sit round the fire. But, as I said +before, this is only an extreme case, and might not happen again for +twenty years. + +The excessive cold seldom lasts more than three days at a time, when it +generally moderates, though not sufficiently to soften the snow. The +dryness of the atmosphere and snow makes you feel the cold much less in +proportion than in England. You do not experience that clinging, +chilly, damp sort of cold in Canada that you do in the British Isles. +For my part, I much prefer a Canadian winter, where the roads are good, +the sleighing good, and your health good. Sickness is scarcely known +here in the winter months. + +If I could have purchased land on the lakeshore, I should have liked to +settle in Darlington; but I found the farms I fancied much too +high-priced for my pocket. So at last I made up my mind to go back to +the new settlement of Peterborough, and see what sort of a place it +was, and what it was likely to become. + +Accordingly, I started on my journey, and travelled east, along the +Kingston road, parallel with the shore of lake Ontario for about +twenty-four or five miles to the boundary line, between the townships +of Hope and Hamilton. After this I walked for twenty-seven miles +through Cavan and Monaghan, to the town of Peterborough, which, at that +time contained one log-house and a very poor saw-mill, erected some +five or six years before by one Adam Scott to supply the new settlement +of Smith with lumber. + +I found several hundreds of Mr. Robinson’s Irish emigrants camped on +the plains. Many had built themselves huts of pine and spruce boughs; +some with slabs and others with logs of trees. Three or four Government +store-houses and a house for the Superintendent, the Hon. Peter +Robinson, were in course of erection. I had letters of introduction to +that gentleman, and also to the Hon. T. A. Stewart, and Robert Reid, +Esq. The two latter gentlemen resided in the township of Douro, and +were at that time the only settlers in that part of Canada. + +As I did not much like the appearance of the lodgings I was likely to +obtain in the new town, I went on to Mr. Stewart’s house, and presented +my credentials. Nothing could have been more cordial than the welcome I +received from him. This gentleman and his brother-in-law, Robert Reid, +Esq., obtained a grant of land from the Colonial Government, on +condition that they would become actual settlers on the land, and +perform certain settlement duties, which consisted in chopping out and +clearing the concession lines.[1] Before the Crown patent could issue, +the party contracting to perform the settlement duties was obliged to +appear before a magistrate, and make an affidavit that he or they had +chopped and cleared certain concession lines opposite the lots of land +mentioned in the certificate. + + [1] Every township is laid out by the surveyor in parallel lines, + sixty-six chains apart. These lines are sixty-six feet in width, and + are given by government as road allowances, for the use of the public, + and are called concession lines. Cross lines run at right angles with + the former every thirty chains, and are called lot-lines: they + subdivide the township into two hundred acre lots: every fifth cross + line is a road allowance. + + +This was a bad law, because many of these lines crossing high hills, +swamps or lakes, were impracticable for road-purposes: many thousand +pounds consequently were entirely and uselessly thrown away: besides, +it opened a door for perjury. + +Land-speculators would employ a third party to perform their settlement +duties; all they required to obtain the deed, or “lift” as it is called +in Canadian parlance, was the sworn certificate for cutting the road, +allowances, and the payment of certain fees to Government. The +consequence of this was, that many false certificates were sworn to, as +few persons or magistrates would be at the trouble and expense of +travelling thirty or forty miles back into an uninhabited part of the +country, to ascertain if the parties had sworn truly or not. + +A magistrate in my neighbourhood told me that a Yankee chopper came to +him one day and demanded to be sworn on a settlement duty certificate, +which he did to the following effect, “that he had cut a chain between +two posts opposite lots so and so, in the concession of—— township. The +road allowances are a chain in width, and posts are planted and marked +on each side of the concession, at the corners of each lot. + +“I had some suspicions,” he said, “in my own mind that the fellow had +sworn falsely, so I determined to ascertain the truth. I knew a person +residing within a mile or two of the place, to whom I wrote for +information, when I found, as I expected, that not a tree bad been cut +on the line. I therefore summoned the Yankee, on the information of the +farmer, to appear before a brother magistrate and myself to answer for +his delinquency. + +“So, sir,” I said, “you came before me and swore to a false +certificate. Do not you know you have committed perjury, which is a +very serious offence. What have you to say for yourself?” + +“Wal, I guess, Mister, I han’t committed no perjury. I swore I cut a +chain between two posts opposite them lots, and I can prove it by Ina +Buck, for he was with me the hul time I was doing on’t.” + +“Now, Mr. Buck, what can you prove?” + +“Wal, gentlemen, I was along with Jonathan Stubbs when he went to chop +the settlement duties, and when we got to the posts opposite the lots, +he said, ‘Wal, this looks plaguy ugly any how! I calculate I must fix +these duties the short way,’ so he pulled out of his pocket a short +piece of trace-chain which he laid on a stone in a line between the two +posts, and with a stroke or two of his axe severed it in two. ‘Now,’ +said he, ‘Ina Buck, I guess you are a witness that I cut a chain +between two posts, so they can’t fix me nohow?’” + +“He was, however, a little out of his calculation, for we did fix him, +and sent him to jail, where I dare say he had ample time to plan some +new device for performing settlement duties.” + +My new friend advised me to purchase land adjoining his grant, which +was very prettily situated on the banks of the Otonabee, in the +township of the same name, within a mile of Peterborough. The price +asked was fifteen shillings per acre, which was high for wild land at +that time, but the prospect of a town so near had improved the market +considerably. + +I took his advice, closed the bargain, and became a landed proprietor +in Canada West. On the 16th of May, 1826, I moved up with all my goods +and chattels, which were then easily packed into a single horse waggon, +and consisted of a plough iron, six pails, a sugar kettle, two iron +pots, a frying pan with a long handle, a tea kettle, a chest of +carpenters’ tools, a Canadian axe, and a cross-cut saw. My stock of +provisions comprised a parcel of groceries, half a barrel of pork and a +barrel of flour. + +The roads were so bad that it took me three days to perform a journey +of little more than fifty miles. We (that is to say myself and my two +labourers) had numerous upsets; but at last reached the promised land +without any further trouble. My friend in Douro turned out the next day +and assisted me to put up the walls of my shanty and roof it with +bass-wood troughs, which was completed before dark. + +I was kept busy for more than a week chinking between the logs and +plastering up all the crevices, cutting out a doorway and place for a +window, casing them; making a door and hanging it on wooden hinges, &c. +I also made a rough table and some stools, which answered better than +they looked. Four thick slabs of lime-stone, placed upright in one +corner of the shanty with clay well packed behind them to keep the fire +off the logs, answered very well for a chimney with a hole cut through +the roof directly above, to vent the smoke. + +I made a tolerably good bedstead out of some iron-wood poles, by +stretching strips of elm-bark across, which I plaited strongly together +to support my bed, which was a very good one, and the only article of +luxury I possessed. + +I had very foolishly hired two Irish emigrants, who had not been longer +in Canada than myself, and of course knew nothing either of chopping, +logging, fencing, or, indeed, any work belonging to the country. The +consequence of this imprudence was, that the first ten acres I cleared +cost me nearly 5 pounds an acre[2]—at least 2 pounds more than it +should have done. Experience is often dearly bought, and in this +instance the proverb was fully verified. + + [2] The usual price for clearing land, and fencing it fit for sowing, + is, for hard wood, from eleven to twelve dollars per acre; for + evergreen, such as pine, hemlock, cedar, or where that kind of timber + predominates, from twelve to fourteen dollars per acre. There is no + fixed price for swamp. + + +I found chopping, in the summer months, very laborious. I should have +underbrushed my fallow in the fall, before the leaves fell, and chopped +the large timber during the winter months, when I should have had the +warm weather for logging and burning, which should be completed by the +first day of September. So, for want of experience, it was all up-hill +work with me. + +This was the season for musquitoes and black flies. The latter are ten +times the worse of the two. This happened to be a bad fly year, and I, +being a new comer, was nearly devoured by them. Luckily, they do not +last more than a month, and it is only before rain that they are so +very annoying. I have seen children whose necks were one mass of sores, +from the poisonous nature of their bite: sheep, calves, and foals, are +sometimes killed by them. Nor is this, indeed, an unfrequent +occurrence. It must be, however, borne in mind that, as the country is +cleared up, and the woods recede, the flies disappear. In the clearings +along the front townships, the flies are not more troublesome than they +are in England. + +The farm on which I now reside used to swarm terribly with flies, +lying, as it does, near the water; but, for the last three years, it +has been entirely free from them, especially from the black flies.[3] + + [3] These insects are always much worse, and more numerous, when the + spring is backward, and the floods are higher than usual. From close + observation, I believe the larvae are deposited during high water on + the rocks, when, as soon as the water falls, the heat of the sun + hatches the insects. I have remarked large stones, which had been + under water during the flood, covered over with small brown coloured + cells, exactly the shape, and very little bigger than a seed of + buckwheat. From out of these cells, on a sunny day, the flies rise in + clouds, for they bite through the envelope, and emancipate themselves. + Being provided with a sharp appetite, they will attack you the minute + they are at liberty. These pests begin to appear between the 10th of + May and 1st of June, according to the earliness or lateness of the + season. Towards the end of June, numbers of small dragon-flies make + their appearance, which soon eat up all the black-flies, to which + repast, you may be sure, they are heartily welcome. + + +A person who understands chopping, can save himself a good deal of +trouble and hard work by making what is called a plan-heap. Three or +four of these may be made on an acre, but not more. The largest and +most difficult trees are felled, the limbs only being cut off and +piled. Then all the trees that will fall in the same direction, should +be thrown along, on the top of the others, the more the better chance +of burning well. If you succeed in getting a good burn for your fallow, +the chances are, if your plan-heaps are well made, that they will be +mostly consumed, which will save a great many blows of the axe, and +some heavy logging. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +A LOGGING BEE.—LIME-BURNING.—SHINGLING.—ARRIVAL OF MY +BROTHER-IN-LAW.—BIRTH OF MY SON.—SAD JOURNEY TO DARLINGTON.—LOSE MY +WAY.—AM REFUSED A LIFT.—MY BOYISH ANGER.—MY WIFE’S DEATH.—THE +FUNERAL.—I LEAVE DARLINGTON. + +My fallow was finished by the first week in July, but I did not put +fire to it until the first week in August, because the timber was so +green. Indeed, I did not expect the fire would run at all. I was, +however, agreeably deceived, for I got a very respectable burn, which +gave me great help. + +As soon as the ground was cool enough, I made a logging Bee, at which I +had five yokes of oxen and twenty men, four men to each team. The +teamster selects a good place to commence a heap, generally against +some large log which the cattle would be unable to move. They draw all +the logs within a reasonable distance in front of the large log. The +men with hand-spikes roll them, one upon the top of the other, until +the heap is seven or eight feet high, and ten or twelve broad. All the +chips, sticks, and rubbish are then picked up and thrown on the top of +the heap. A team and four good men should log and pick an acre a day +when the burn has been good. + +My hive worked well, for we had five acres logged and set fire to the +same evening. On a dark night, a hundred or two of these large heaps +all on fire at once have a very fine effect, and shed a broad glare of +light for a considerable distance. In the month of July in the new +settlements, the whole country at night appears lit up by these fires. + +I was anxious to commence building my house, so that I might have it +ready to receive my wife in before the winter commenced. My first step +towards it was to build a lime-heap. I calculated I should require for +plastering my walls and building my chimneys, about a hundred bushels. + +We set to work, accordingly, and built an immense log-heap of all the +largest logs I could get together. It took at least the timber growing +on half an acre of land for this purpose, and kept five men and myself +busy all day to complete it. We made a frame of logs on the top of the +heap, to keep the stone from falling over the side. We drew for this +purpose twenty cart-loads of lime-stone, which we threw upon the summit +of the heap, having broken it small with a sledge-hammer; fire was then +applied to the heap, which was consumed by the next morning. But it +left such a mass of hot coals, that it was a week before the lime could +be collected and covered. This is the easiest and most expeditious way +of burning lime; but the lime is not so white, and there are more +pieces of unburnt stone, which make it not so good for plastering. + +I built my house of elm-logs, thirty-six feet long by twenty-four feet +wide, which I divided into three rooms on the ground-floor, besides an +entrance-hall and staircase, and three bed-rooms up stairs. I was very +busy till October making the shingles,[1] roofing, cutting out the door +and window-spaces, and hewing the logs down inside the house. + + [1] Shingles are made either of pine or cedar. I prefer the white + pine, because it is less liable to gutter with the rain, and makes an + evener roof. Every settler in the bush should know how to make + shingles, and how to choose a tree fit for that purpose, or much + labour may be thrown uselessly away. I do not know anything more + annoying than, after cutting down a tree, perhaps more than four feet + in diameter, and sawing a block eighteen inches long out of the + centre, to find that it will not split fair, or (if it does) that the + wood eats, which means, that the grain, though straight in the length + of the shingle, makes short deep curves, which render it bad to split, + and cause holes to appear in the shingle when you come to shave them. + The grain of most trees naturally inclines towards the sun, or the + same way round the tree as the sun’s course. Consequently, a tree may + be perfectly straight in the grain, where you chop it down, yet, ten + or twelve feet up, it may wind so much as to be totally useless. To + obviate this difficulty, attend to the following hints.:—First, select + a good-sized tree, the larger the better, perfectly clear of outside + knots for fifty or sixty feet. The head should be luxuriant, and the + large limbs drooping downwards. Peel off with your axe a stripe of + bark as high as you can reach. If, on examination, the grain is the + least inclined towards the sun, reject it. If, on the contrary, it + curves slightly in the opposite direction, or against the sun, you may + proceed to try it by cutting out a piece a foot long, and three or + four inches deep. Place your axe in the centre, and split it open. + Continue to do so till you have reduced the piece to the thickness of + two shingles, which again divide neatly in the middle. If the timber + is good and fit for your purpose, the pieces will fly apart with a + sudden snap, and will be perfectly clear in the grain on both sides, + while, if the timber be not good, the grain of the one piece will eat + into the other, or run off without splitting clear the whole length of + the block. The blocks should be cut eighteen inches long, and split + into quarters, and the sap-wood dressed off. It is then ready for the + frow—as the instrument used for splitting shingles is called. A good + splitter will keep two men shaving and packing. The proper thickness + is four to the inch: the packing-frame should be forty inches long, + and contain fifty courses of shingles, which make a thousand. The + price varies from five shillings to seven and sixpence, according to + quality. The upper bar of the packing-frame should be wedged down very + tightly across the centre of the bunch, which will keep them from + warping with the sun. + + +I was anxious to complete the outside walls, roof, and chimneys before +the winter set in, so that I might be able to work at the finishing +part inside, under cover, and with the benefit of a fire. + +As soon as my little fallow was ready for sowing with wheat, I +discharged my two Irishmen, of whom I was very glad to be rid. I would +advise new colonists never to employ men who have not been some time in +Canada: it is much better to pay higher wages than to be troubled with +fellows who know nothing about the work of the country. Besides, these +persons, though accustomed to bad wages and food at home, actually +expect better provisions and wages than men who thoroughly understand +their business: take the following for a fair example. + +One day, a stout able-bodied fellow, a fresh importation from the +emerald isle, dressed in breeches open at the knees, long worsted +stockings, rucked down to the ankles, and a great-coat with at least +three capes, while a high-crowned black hat, the top of which opened +and shut with every breeze like the lid of a basket, completed his +costume—rather a curious one for July, with the thermometer above 80 +degrees in the shade—accosted me with—“Does yer honor want to hire a +boy to-day?” + +He stood at least six feet in his stockings. + +“What can you do, and what makes you wear that great coat this hot +weather?” + +“Why, sure, yer honour, it’s a good un to keep out the heat, and I can +do almost anything.” + +“Can you log, chop, or fence?” + +“No.” + +“Can you plough?” + +“No; but I think I could soon larn.” + +“Can you mow or cradle wheat?” + +“I can mow a trifle, but I don’t know what the other thing is at all, +at all.” + +“Pray, then, what can you do?” + +“Well, then, yer honour, I am illigant at the spade entirely.” + +“What wages do you expect?” + +“Twelve dollars, sir, and my boord, if it be plasing to you.” + +“No, no, my good fellow; I do not please to do any such thing, and I do +not think any one else in his senses will, either. I think you had +better apply for work to the road-contractors, who require a good deal +of spade-labour, which I think is at present all you are fit for.” + +Upon returning to my shanty in the evening, I was surprised to find +that my brother-in-law had just arrived with the intelligence of the +birth of my first-born son, and the dangerous illness of my dear wife. +Little hope was entertained of her recovery. My poor Emma had been +safely delivered of a fine boy, and was supposed to be progressing +favourably, when some alarming symptoms appeared which made it +necessary to send immediately for me. + +Long before dawn I was some miles upon my sad journey to Darlington. I +had no horse. The way was long and toilsome; and I had had neither time +for rest nor appetite for food. I loved my amiable and excellent wife +with all the warmth of a youthful husband united to the object of his +affections. I am very fond of little children, and the idea of having +one of my own to pet and work for had given a stimulus to all my +labours. My first-born seemed dearly purchased now at the cost of his +poor mother’s peril. Still, my ardent temperament led me to hope that +my dear wife would be spared. Her loss seemed an event too dreadful to +realize, for the boy-husband had had no experience in sorrow then, and +his buoyant spirits had never anticipated the crushing blow that had +already annihilated his visions of domestic happiness. Fifty-five miles +lay between me and my suffering wife. The roads were heavy from the +effects of the late rains, and I had the misfortune to lose my way, +which added three miles to my long pedestrian journey. Once I overtook +a cart containing a boy and girl, whom I vainly entreated to give me a +ride. I told them the painful circumstances which induced me to solicit +their aid; but the boy was over-cautious, and the girl unusually +hard-hearted for one of her kind and compassionate sex. I could easily +have compelled them to give me a seat, but for a sense of moral justice +which would not permit me to take that by force which they denied to +pity. Mr boyish indignation, I recollect, was so great that I could +scarcely help throwing stones after my unkind fellow-travellers. + +It was evening by the time I reached Darlington Mills, and I was still +five miles from my father-in-law’s house. It was quite dark, and I was +so overpowered with my fifty miles’ walk, that to proceed without +refreshment and rest appeared then to be impossible. I stopped at the +tavern and asked for some tea. + +I had scarcely been seated two minutes before some men entered, in +whose conversation I became immediately and deeply interested. They +were discussing what to them was merely local news, but the question, +“When is the funeral to take place?” riveted my attention at once. + +Putting down the much-needed but untasted refreshment, I demanded of +the speaker “Whose funeral?” My heart at once foretold from its inmost +depths what the dreaded answer would be. + +Yes, she in whom I had placed my earthly hopes of a life-long happiness +was, indeed, no more. She was snatched away in the bright morning of +her existence with the rapturous feelings of maternity just budding +into life. I never knew how I got out of the house, or in what manner I +performed the last five miles of the journey. But I remember that in +the excitement of that hour I felt neither hunger, thirst, nor +weariness. Sometimes I doubted the truth of what I had heard. Indeed, +it seemed really too dreadful to be true. + +On my arrival at my father-in-law’s house, I found that the information +I had accidentally heard was unfortunately a sad reality. My +brother-in-law had not left Darlington an hour on his journey to +Otonabee before my wife breathed her last. I had not even the +consolation of bidding her a last adieu. Few can comprehend my feelings +on this trying occasion, except those who have suffered under a similar +bereavement. I was not yet twenty-one years of age. I was in a strange +country—the tie severed between me and my only friends in a manner so +afflicting and melancholy—all my hopes and future prospects in life +dashed, as it were, to the ground. I had expended all my little capital +in providing a comfortable home for her, who, alas! was doomed never to +behold it; and I had a little son to bring up without the aid of my +poor Emma, whose piety and sweet temper would have been so invaluable +to our child. + +A nurse was obtained for my poor motherless babe, the babe over whom I +shed so many tears—a sad welcome, this, to as fine a boy as ever a +father’s eye looked upon! + +I followed the remains of my beloved wife to the grave; and then +tarried for a month in that house of sorrow. My only consolation was +derived from my knowledge that Emma loved her Saviour, and put her +trust in him while passing through the valley of the shadow of death. + +“How many hopes have sprung in radiance hence; +Their trace yet lights the dust where thou art sleeping. +A solemn joy comes o’er me, and a sense +Of triumph blent with nature’s gush of weeping.” + + +I left my little son in the care of his Irish nurse, and quitted my +friend’s house, with a heavy heart, for my new settlement at Otonabee. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +RETURN TO OTONABEE.—BENEVOLENCE OF MY NEIGHBOUR.—SERIOUS ACCIDENT TO A +SETTLER.—HIS SINGULAR MISFORTUNES.—PARTICULARS OF HIS LIFE. + +I returned in sadness to my lonely and desolate home, feeling like a +shipwrecked mariner, cast upon a desert shore. In fact, I had to begin +life again, without the stimulus of domestic love to quicken my +exertions. I had left my land unsown, and therefore the prospect of a +crop of wheat for the next year’s harvest was, I felt assured, entirely +gone. Upon reaching my clearing, I was surprised to find my fallow not +only sown but showing the green blade, for some friendly hands had been +at work for me in my absence, that pecuniary losses might not be added +to my heavy domestic bereavement. + +On inquiry, I found I was indebted to the considerate kindness of my +excellent neighbour Mr. Reid and his sons, for this act of Christian +benevolence. I hurried to his house to thank him for the important +service he had rendered one, to whom he was almost a stranger. He +considered, however, that he had done nothing more than a neighbourly +duty, and insisted that I should take up my abode with him, instead of +returning to my unfinished and melancholy home. + +My residence under his hospitable roof increased my esteem for his +character, which my long experience of six-and-twenty years has never +diminished. Mrs. Reid treated me with maternal kindness; and in their +amiable family-circle my bruised heart recovered its peace, and my +spirits their healthy tone. The kindly disposition of my host in all +his domestic relations, his cheerful activity, pure morality, and +unaffected piety, presented an admirable example to a young man left +without guidance in a distant colony. But I did not at that time think +about becoming his son-in-law, though I had been several months +domesticated in his family, till the alacrity displayed by his eldest +daughter in hastening to the assistance of a wounded neighbour, through +the unknown intricacies of a Canadian forest, led me to consider her +character in a new and endearing point of view. + +A Mr. G. and his family had just commenced a settlement, about four +miles east of Mr. Reid’s clearing, when, early one morning, his eldest +son, a lad of twelve or thirteen, with a face full of trouble ran to +tell us “that his father had nearly cut his foot off with an axe while +chopping logs to build his house, that his mother could not stop the +bleeding, and that they were afraid he would bleed to death.” + +Mr. Reid’s eldest daughter immediately volunteered to return with the +boy, to render what assistance she could. Without any thought of +fatigue, or danger, or trial to her feelings, she set out instantly +with the proper bandages. Mr. Reid, his sons, and myself were all +chopping in the woods when the lad came, so that Mary followed the +spontaneous impulse of her own heart; but as soon as we heard what had +happened, her father sent over the river for our nearest neighbour, a +stout canny Scotchman, to assist us in carrying the wounded man through +the woods to his (Mr. Reid’s) house. + +John Morison readily obeyed the summons; and had we required any +additional help we should have had no difficulty, in a case like this, +of finding plenty of volunteers. The only road leading to Mr. G.’s was +from the town, a mere bush-road, and full three miles farther than if +we could go straight back through the woods. + +As the number of his lot was the same as the one[1] we resided on, we +knew that a direct east course would bring us within call of his +clearing. It was, therefore, agreed that Mr. Reid’s eldest son should +endeavour, with a pocket compass, to run a line in the direction which +we wanted to go, and that I should blaze[2] out the line with the axe, +while the rest chopped out the under-brush and levelled the path +sufficiently wide to allow the passage of a litter. + + [1] Each concession is divided into two hundred acre lots, numbering + from the boundary line from number one upwards. According to the new + survey, the lots run nearly east and west; therefore, number one in + the first concession will have a corresponding number west across + every concession in the township. + + + [2] Blazing is a term used by the backwoodsman for chopping off a + portion of the bark from each side of a tree to mark a surveyor’s line + through the woods. All concession roads, or lot lines are marked in + this manner; wherever a lot line strikes a concession, a short post + with the number of the lot and concession is marked on each side of + the post. If a tree comes directly on the line where the post should + be planted, the tree is substituted. A blaze is made on each side, + about three feet from the ground, and the numbers marked. I have + frequently in the matter of disputed lines seen the surveyor cut the + old blaze off, perhaps, of twenty years’ growth, and discover the + numbers perfect, although the wood had made such a growth over the + original blaze. + + +We had some difficulty in avoiding one or two small swamps and a high +hill, but finally succeeded in finding a good line of road; and so +accurate was our surveyor and engineer in this, his first attempt, that +his line actually struck the little chopping[3] of not more than a +quarter of an acre where poor G. lay. + + [3] This gentleman, John Reid, Esq. is now a deputy provincial + surveyor and county engineer. As a land surveyor there are few better + in the province. + + +It was past three o’clock in the afternoon before the road was +completed and the litter made, the last being effected by cutting two +iron-wood poles eight feet long, and fastening them together by broad +straps of bass-wood bark three feet apart. A blanket, doubled, was then +laid over these straps, upon which we placed the poor man, whose +bleeding wound had been stopped with some difficulty. + +It appeared that a small twig had caught the axe, which caused it to +glance in its descent, and struck the instep of his right foot, making +a gash about five inches long, the edge of the axe coming out at the +sole of the foot. It was a dreadful cut,—one of the worst I ever +saw—and I have seen and dressed a great many axe wounds since my +residence in Canada. + +Mr. G. was a very heavy man, and as _only_ four persons could +conveniently carry him at once, we found it very hard work. I was +completely done up when we reached the house. + +Mr. Reid and his family did everything in their power to make him and +his wife comfortable. Mr. Stewart, his brother-in-law, kindly sent for +two of the children: the other two remained with their father and +mother. + +It was ten months before the poor invalid was able to leave his +hospitable host, and resume his settlement in the bush. I mention this +little circumstance to show what kindly feelings exist between the +settlers, especially in cases of this kind. I shall also relate some +remarkable passages in this poor man’s life which present an almost +unparalleled train of misfortune. I shall tell his dismal story, as +nearly as possible, in his own words. + +The experience of life proves to a certainty, that some persons are +compelled to drink deeper of the cup of adversity than others, nay even +to drain it to the dregs. + +We know that the Jews of old and the heathen world still suppose that +such are visited for their sins by the judgment of Heaven; but the +Divine Teacher has taught us better things, and warned us against such +rash conclusions, instructing us indeed that + +“There surely is some guardian power + That rightly suffers wrong; +Gives vice to bloom its little hour, + But virtue late and long.” + + +Poor G. was one of these unfortunate persons, whose melancholy history +I will now relate, in his own words.—He was, it seems, a native of +Ireland, from which country he emigrated soon after the last American +war, with his wife and two children, leaving three other children at +home with his father and mother, who were the proprietors of a small +estate in the county of Cork. He arrived safely with his family at the +Big Bay in Whitby (Windsor,) and purchased a lot of land close to the +lake-shore. + +In those days, the emigrant’s trials were indeed hard, compared with +what they are now. The country was quite unsettled, excepting that here +and there the nucleus of a small village appeared to vary its +loneliness, for the clearings were mostly confined to the vicinity of +the Great Lake. There were no plank, gravel, or macadamized roads then; +saw and grist-mills were few-and-far-between. It was no uncommon thing +then for a farmer to go thirty or forty miles to mill, which cause +indeed sometimes detained him a whole week from his family; and, even +more, if any accident had happened to the machinery. Besides this +inconvenience, he had to encounter risks for himself and his +cattle,—from bad bridges, deep mud-holes, and many other annoyances—I +might say, with truth, “too numerous to mention.” The few farms in that +neighbourhood were then chiefly occupied by Americans, some of whom had +found it highly desirable to expatriate themselves; and might have +exclaimed with the celebrated pick-pocket, Barrington, in a prologue +spoken to a convict-audience in New South Wales,— + +“Friends, be it understood, +We left our country for our country’s good.” + + +I have no intention of reflecting here on the national honour of the +American nation; but it is a well-known fact, that many of the early +frontier settlers were persons who had evaded the payment of their just +debts or, perhaps, legal penalties for worse offences, by crossing the +lines, and forming settlements in Canada. Such persons are not a fair +specimen of American character. Individually, I have nothing to say +against the Americans, but rather the contrary, for I have found them +good and obliging neighbours. + +I have heard it generally asserted, that the Yankees are the greatest +rogues under the sun. If _smartness_ in trading, or barter, be roguery, +they richly deserve the epithet; but I deny that their intentions are +one whit more dishonest than those of the persons with whom they trade. +That their natural shrewdness and general knowledge give them an +advantage, I am quite ready to admit; and perhaps they are not +over-scrupulous in exercising it to the discomfiture of their +less-gifted neighbours. + +Unfortunately, Mr. G. purchased his land of a squatter, who had no +title himself, and consequently could give none to the purchaser, who, +after three or four years of hard labour upon it—when he had fondly +hoped he had surmounted the greatest difficulties—found that the +Government had issued a deed for the benefit of another person before +he came into possession, who could not be induced to give up his legal +rights to the unfortunate cultivator. He was so disheartened by this +occurrence, that he determined to sell all he had and leave the +country, which resolution he put into immediate execution. + +He took a passage for himself and family in a ship, timber-laden, from +Quebec, bound for Liverpool. It was late in the fall: the vessel was +one of the last that sailed; consequently, they experienced very rough +weather, accompanied with snow and sleet. Mid-way across the Atlantic, +they encountered a dreadful storm, which left the ship a mere wreck on +the ocean. To add to their misfortunes, a plank had started, owing, it +was supposed, to the shifting of some part of the cargo during the +gale; and so quickly did the vessel fill that they only saved two +eight-pound pieces of salt pork and a few biscuits. + +“I had,” he said, “also in my pocket, a paper containing two or three +ounces of cream of tartar. Luckily, a cask of water, lashed on deck, +was providentially preserved, amidst the general destruction. + +“Our ship’s company consisted of the captain, mate, and six seamen, +besides a medical man, myself, my poor wife, and two children, who were +cabin passengers. We made several unsuccessful attempts to procure a +supply of provisions; consequently, it became absolutely necessary to +give out what we had in the smallest possible rations. + +“The fourth night was ushered in by another storm, more terrific even +than the last. A heavy sea struck the vessel, sweeping overboard the +captain and three seamen; and the poor doctor’s leg was broken at the +same time, by a loose spar. + +“We passed a fearful night; nor did the morning add to our comfort, for +my daughter died from exposure and want, just as the day dawned. + +“On the seventh morning, the doctor, who had suffered the greatest +agony from his swollen leg, sank at last; the paper of cream of tartar +I had in my pocket being the only relief for his dreadful fever, during +his misery. My poor wife and remaining child soon followed. We now had +fine dry weather, which was some relief to our intolerable misery. + +“On the twentieth day, the last of our provisions was consumed. I had +an old pair of deer-skin mocassins on my feet: these we carefully +divided amongst us. We had now serious thoughts of drawing lots, to see +which of us should die, for the preservation of the rest. I, however, +begged they would defer such a dreadful alternative to the latest +minute. + +“On the twenty-first night of our disaster, I had a most remarkable +dream: I thought I saw a fine ship bearing down to our assistance, and +that she was called “The London of London.” I related my dream to my +companions, in hopes it might raise their spirits, which, however, it +failed to do; for nothing was to be seen on that dreary waste of water, +though we scanned the horizon in every direction. For upwards of two +hours after, we scarcely spoke a word, when suddenly the sun, which had +been obscured all the morning, shone out brightly and warm for the +season of the year. I mechanically raised myself and looked over the +bulwarks, when, to my astonishment and delight, I beheld a ship, the +very counterpart of the one I had seen in my dream, bearing down +directly for the wreck. + +“It is not easy to describe our various feelings on this occasion: we +could scarcely believe our senses when the boat came along side. We +were so reduced by famine and exposure, that we had to be lifted into +her. In this state of exhaustion every attention was paid us by the +humane captain and crew. + +“As soon as I was on board, I asked the name of the vessel, when I was +surprised to find she was called the ‘Portaferry of Portaferry.’ +Although the name was not that borne by the vessel of which I had +dreamed, it must be considered at least a remarkable coincidence. + +“Great care was taken to prevent us eating too ravenously at first: we +received every kindness our weak condition required; but, +notwithstanding these precautions, two of my companions in misery died +before we reached Ireland. + +“When we arrived at Strangford, in the north of Ireland, I was entirely +destitute—I had lost everything I possessed. Fortunately for me, I +belonged to the honourable fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, who +kindly furnished me with clothing, and money sufficient to take me +home, which I reached in safety. + +“Like almost every person who has resided a few years in Canada, I +found it impossible to content myself at home; and, although I had no +great reason to be fond of the country on account of the treatment I +had experienced, still, there is that indescribable charm in the free +life of a Canadian settler, which is wanting in a more civilized +country: I, therefore, determined once more to try my fortune. + +“I accordingly embarked with the young wife I had lately married, and +the three children I had formerly left in Ireland with my parents. We +sailed early in the spring of 1825. My ill luck still attended me; for +owing to the dense fogs we experienced on the banks of Newfoundland, we +got out of our course, and our ship struck the shore near Cape Ray: +fortunately the sea was smooth and the weather fine: so that when +daylight broke we were able, without much difficulty, to be landed on +that most inhospitable shore, + +“Where the bones of many a tall ship lie buried.” + + +“We saved little or nothing from the wreck; for, as the day advanced, +the wind freshened into a gale, which blowing on shore, soon settled +the fate of our gallant bark. The shore was soon strewn with casks, +bales, and packages, some of which we were able to secure. Our captain +chartered a small fishing-vessel, which landed us at last safely at +Quebec. And now, you see, after enduring almost unheard-of sufferings, +I am again prostrated by this unfortunate accident.” + +Such was the account given me by Mr. G——, who put into my hand, at the +same time, an old Belfast newspaper, containing the account of his +first wreck and sufferings. So I have no reason to doubt the entire +truth of his statement. + +After his foot healed he returned to his land, and, with the assistance +of his family, cleared up a large farm. His location, however, was not +well chosen; and, consequently, he was not a thriving settler. He, +however, managed to bring up a large family, who are now sufficiently +independent of him to maintain themselves and families comfortably. + +On his father’s death, about three years since, he returned with his +wife to Ireland, where I believe he intends to pass the remainder of +his days. + +I wish to make one remark before closing this chapter: does it not +speak well for Canada, when a person, who was neither an active nor a +clever person, and who had suffered almost unheard-of misfortunes, was +still able to gain a living and see his family settled in comparative +comfort? Under such circumstances, what would have been the fate of +these people in England or Ireland?—Abject pauperism. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +PREPARATIONS FOR MY SECOND MARRIAGE.—DANGEROUS ADVENTURE.—MY WIFE’S +NOCTURNAL VISITOR.—WE PREPARE FOR THE RECEPTION OF OUR UNINVITED +GUEST.—BRUIN’S UNWELCOME VISIT TO AN IRISH SHANTY.—OUR BEAR HUNT.—MAJOR +ELLIOTT’S DUEL WITH BRUIN.—HIS WOUNDS AND VICTORY. + +I spent the spring of 1827 very pleasantly in the company of my new +friends. I used to go down to my farm every morning, and return in the +evening to a cheerful fire-side and agreeable society, which rewarded +me for the toils of the day. I had fenced in my fields, planted my +spring crops, Indian corn, and potatoes, which looked promising; and I +had my house nearly finished. I, therefore, considered it was time I +should go and reside in it, and not trespass any longer on the +hospitality of my kind and generous friends. As, however, I did not +like the thought of living the life of a hermit, and my little boy; for +whom I had sent, was weaned, and growing healthy and lovely under the +kind hospitality of my friends, required now a watchful parental care, +I proposed to, and was accepted by, my friend’s eldest daughter, in +whom I found what I sought—a faithful mother for my child, and the most +devoted and affectionate wife for myself. A better woman, indeed, never +existed. For upwards of twenty-two years she shared my various +fortunes, and formed my greatest earthly blessing. A few days before my +marriage—an event to which I naturally looked forward for an increase +of happiness—an accident occurred, which might have been attended with +fatal results to myself, and actually was so to a lad who was in my +service. A kind Providence, however, watched over my life, and +delivered me from this danger. + +My farm was situated on the east shore of the Otonabee river, the town +of Peterborough being on the west of that line; and there was no bridge +communication between us and that place, so that we were obliged to +cross in skiffs, canoes, or any other craft we could get. When the +river is flooded in the spring, it is dangerous for persons crossing, +unless they are well acquainted with the management of a canoe. Several +fatal accidents have indeed happened to the inexperienced at that time +of the year, from this cause. Such was the state of the river, when I +had to cross it to reach the store, where I wanted to purchase some +articles for my intended marriage. The stream was then at its greatest +height, running with extreme rapidity, and I had, to contend with its +force, only a small log-canoe, about twelve feet in length, by thirty +inches at its greatest breadth, in which three of us ventured upon the +turbid water, namely, John Fontaine, a French boy; Michael Walsh, and +myself. We crossed a little above the new mill-dam, which had been +constructed at the expense of the Government for the Irish emigration, +and we managed to get over pretty well. Not so, however, on our return. +I was near the middle of the canoe, with a pair of small oars, one of +the boys at each end, and all seated at the bottom for greater +security. In this manner we got over the main channel; but owing to the +swiftness of the current, we were carried down much nearer the dam than +we intended. This alarmed the boys a good deal. I begged them to sit +still, assuring them I should be able to fetch the canoe into an eddy a +little lower down the stream. We were at this time close to an island, +which was deeply flooded, owing to the raising of the water by the +construction of the dam. From the point of this sunken island, a cedar +tree had fallen into the river. It was therefore necessary that we +should drop below this, before we could make the eddy. In the act of +passing, the boy Walsh—I suppose from fright—caught hold of the tree, +which caused the canoe to swing round broadside to the current, and it +instantly filled and upset. + +A large quantity of timber had been cut on the island, for the use of +the mill and dam. The workmen had piled the tops and limbs of these +trees in large heaps, which now floated above the surface of the +island. To one of these I immediately swam, and succeeded in getting +upon it. I then perceived that Walsh had been swept from the tree to +which he had clung, by the force of the current, into the middle of the +river, and close to the edge of the falls. I saw at a glance, that his +only chance was to swim for the opposite side, which I called on him to +do, but he appeared to have lost all self-possession; for he neither +swam for one shore nor the other, but kept his head facing up the +stream, uttering wild cries, which, in a few seconds, were silenced for +ever. + +In the meantime, John Fontaine, the French boy, had succeeded in +getting partly across the canoe, which was floating past the heap on +which I had taken refuge, and only a few yards from where I was +standing. I immediately plucked a long stick from the brush-heap, and +swam near enough to the lad for him to grasp one end of the pole, +bidding him leave the canoe, which I told him would be carried over the +dam to a certainty, and him with it, if he did not abandon his hold. +He, with apparent reluctance, followed my directions, but I had a hard +struggle to regain my former place of refuge, with the boy’s additional +weight. I had some trouble to persuade him to trust himself again in +the water. And no wonder; for darkness was fast approaching, and both +the island and a narrow channel of the river had still to be crossed. +However, trusting to the mercy of God, we again committed ourselves to +those wild, swollen waters, which, by the providence of the Almighty, +we successfully accomplished. I was obliged to hold the stick between +my teeth whilst crossing the channel, drawing along with me my +terrified companion, it being necessary for our preservation, that I +should have the free use of both my arms. I had on at the time a +velveteen shooting coat, the large pockets of which were filled with +things I had just purchased from the store; among which I remember +there was a dozen cups and saucers, which added no inconsiderable +weight to the swimmer. + +As soon as we made the shore, we ran down to the falls, to see if we +could hear anything of the poor boy. We shouted, for it was now quite +dark, but all in vain; indeed, I had not the slightest hope, as I had +seen him carried backwards over the dam into the boiling rapids below, +where the best swimmer would not have had the least chance. We failed +to discover his remains then, but found his mangled body six days +afterwards in a small lake, a mile and a half below the dam. + +I was much concerned at the fate of my poor young servant, but felt +deeply grateful for my own preservation and that of Fontaine. + +A few weeks after my marriage, I was detained one night from home by +business, leaving my wife, her little sister, and a small dog, called +Suffolk—so named by me in honour of my native county—the sole occupiers +of my house, of which the kitchen was still in an unfinished state, +part of the floor only being laid. We, however, had to make use of it, +until I could procure more boards to finish it, which, in those days, +were not very easy to obtain. + +In the middle of the night, my wife and her sister were awakened and +dreadfully alarmed by a terrible noise in the kitchen, accompanied by +the sharp barking of the little dog. They were quite sure by the low +growls and the fury of Suffolk, that it was some wild animal, but +whether a bear or wolf they could not tell. Towards morning, this +unwelcome visitor took himself off, to their infinite joy. When I came +home, they told me the story, at which I laughed very heartily, for I +thought their fears had magnified the visit of some neighbour’s dog +into a bear, or some other wild beast; but they appeared unconvinced, +being both frightened and positive. My wife declared, that in the +morning she found some of the salt-pork had been abstracted from the +barrel, which stood in one corner of the kitchen, by the savage guest. + +Now, I knew very well that master Bruin was fond of fresh pork, and I +thought it possible that he might think the salt an improvement. At all +events, I resolved to be prepared, in case he should pay us a second +visit. Accordingly, before going to bed, I loaded my gun with ball, and +tied Suffolk up in the vicinity of the pork-barrel. At midnight we were +suddenly awakened by the piteous howlings of the poor dog, and by a +noise, as if everything in the room had been violently thrown down. I +jumped out of bed instantly, and seizing my gun, crept cautiously along +the passage, till I came to the kitchen-door, which I threw open, +whereupon some large dark-looking object made a rush for the unfinished +part of the floor. I immediately fired; but it was so dark, and the +beast so quick in its movements, that I had little chance of hitting +him. Whether or not, it had the effect of scaring him so much that he +never resumed his nocturnal visitation. Indeed, I stopped his supplies +from my larder by finishing the floor and building up the hole between +the lower log of the house and the ground. + +But to return to my story. As soon as the beast had made his exit, we +lighted a candle and examined the room, which we found in confusion and +disorder. The barrel of pork was upset and the brine running in +miniature rivers over the floor, while poor little Suffolk was bleeding +from his wounds—indeed nearly killed. From what I could make out of the +footprints outside I am inclined to think my unwelcome visiter was a +bear; but this, of course, will for ever remain a mystery. + +I have heard many stories of their boldness, to some instances of which +I have been an eye-witness. Not very long after the occurrence I have +just related, the wife of an Irish emigrant saw a large bear walking +very deliberately towards the shanty, which no doubt he mistook for a +pigsty, and the inmates for pigs, for they were quite as dirty, +therefore it was no great mistake, after all. The woman and her three +children had barely time to get into the potato-cellar and shut down +the trap-door, when his bear-ship made his forcible entrance through +the feeble barrier the door opposed to his strength, much to the dismay +and terror of the subterranean lodgers, who lay shaking and quaking for +more than an hour, till the dying screams of their fatted pig told them +he was after game of a more savoury nature. + +In the fall of the year it is no uncommon thing for farmers to have +their pigs killed by the bears, particularly in the new settlements. + +Bears are, we know, very fond of good things. They are epicures in +their way. They like honey, and love pork, and, you may be sure, often +pay the settler a visit for the sake of his pigs. As Bruin makes very +good eating himself, these visitations are sometimes made at the risk +of his own bacon; his warm jacket, which makes comfortable robes for +the settler’s sleigh, keeping him warm during his journeys on pleasure +or business throughout the long Canadian winters. + +One day, I was assisting my father-in-law and his sons in logging up +his fallow, when we heard a great outcry among the pigs in a belt of +woods between Mr. Reid’s and Mr. Stewart’s clearing, when, suspecting +it was a bear attacking the swine, we ran for our guns, and made the +best of our way towards the spot from whence the outcry proceeded. + +Near the edge of the clearing we met Mr. B——, who was on a visit to his +friend and relative Mr. Stewart, driving before him Mr. Reid’s sow, +which he had just rescued from the grip of an immense bear, that, +alarmed by his shouts, dropped his prey and made off in the direction +of a small cedar-swamp. We immediately proposed surrounding the place, +as there were three of us provided with double-barrelled guns. Mr. +B——took up his station behind a large tree, close to where a small +creek ran into the swamp. My brother-in-law John and myself went round +to the opposite side, which we entered a few yards apart. We had not +proceeded far, when an enormous brute popped up his head from behind +some fallen logs and brush, for we had disturbed him in the act of +devouring a pig. We both fired at the same instant, but apparently +without effect; for he scampered off, passing within a few feet of +where B—— was hid, who fired only one of his barrels, reserving his +second in case the bear should turn on him. We ran as fast as we could +to the river, for we knew he had gone in that direction. Indeed, Bruin +took to the water in fine style, swimming across gallantly. Before we +could get another shot at him he had gained the opposite bank. There we +gave him a second volley, which did not appear in the least to retard +his ascent, so we concluded that it was a regular miss all round. B—— +maintained, however, that he had hit him, and wanted us to cross the +river and follow the track. We only laughed at him for not firing his +second shot, and returned home very much crestfallen at the ill success +of our expedition. + +Had we but complied with B——’s wish, we should have found our hunt had +been more successful than we imagined, for eight or ten days afterwards +John Morison was going on the opposite side of the river to +Peterborough, when, upon crossing a small creek, he came quite +unexpectedly on the carcass of a large bear, not thirty yards from the +bank we had seen him climb. No doubt B——’s shot was the fatal one, as +he was not more than five or six yards from him when he fired. The +stream, where the beast was found, is in the township of Smith, about a +mile and a half from Peterborough, on the river road, and is well-known +by the name of Bear Creek to this day. + +There is very little danger of being attacked by Bruin, unless you +first molest him. An old she-bear, with cubs, is the most dangerous +customer to meddle with. + +Major Elliott, of the Canadian Militia, a gentleman with whom I was +well acquainted, residing near Rice Lake, in the township of Monaghan, +was out one day in the woods partridge-shooting, near the big swamp on +the boundary line between Monaghan and Cavan, when he fell in with +several old bears and their cubs. He had only one ball with him which +he fired at the biggest fellow he could see among them, and wounded him +very severely, though not enough to stop him from following his +companions. But Elliott was not the man to be baulked without an effort +to capture his wounded adversary; so, being in want of a ball, he cut +of from his waistcoat some open-work brass buttons, with which he +loaded his gun, and followed the track of the wounded bear, which he +soon overtook. + +Bruin, however, being possessed of considerable pluck, immediately +faced about and attacked the major, who gave him a taste of the +buttons, as he advanced. But the bear, nothing daunted, returned to the +charge, which Elliott met with a blow from the butt-end of his gun, +that was instantly struck from his hand by his formidable antagonist, +who immediately closed with him. It now became a regular stand-up fight +between Major Elliott and Ursus Major. For a long time it was doubtful +which would come off victorious. Elliott was severely wounded about the +breast and arms; notwithstanding which, he boldly maintained his +ground, and ultimately succeeded in rolling the beast over the trunk of +a large pine tree which lay on the ground beside them. Bruin was too +much exhausted to climb over the tree, to renew the combat. + +Luckily, Elliott received no internal injury, though his flesh was +severely lacerated in the contest, which only ended with the bear’s +life. Ireland, indeed, never sent from her shores a bolder hunter, +braver man, or more active backwoodsman, than Major Elliott.[1] + + [1] This gentleman was afterwards returned as Member of the Provincial + Parliament for the county of Durham. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +CANADA THE POOR MAN’S COUNTRY.—DISADVANTAGES OF INEXPERIENCE.—TOWNSHIP +OF HARVEY SETTLEMENT.—PAUPER EMIGRATION.—SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES OF THE +LABOURER COLONIST.—TEMPERANCE AND TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.—A DRY ANSWER TO +WATERY ARGUMENTS.—BRITISH AND FOREIGN TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. + +There is no colony belonging to the British Crown better adapted for +the poor industrious emigrant than the Canadas, particularly the Upper +Province, which is essentially the poor man’s country. Twenty-five +years ago, the expense of the voyage out to Quebec, and the difficulty, +delay, and additional outlay of the inland journey put it completely +out of the power of the needy agriculturist or artizan to emigrate; the +very classes, however, who, from their having been brought up from +their infancy to hard labour, and used to all sorts of privations, were +the best fitted to cope with the dangers and hardships attending the +settlement of a new country. The impossibility of the working hand +raising funds for emigration, confined the colonists to a set of men +less calculated to contend with difficulties—namely, half-pay officers +and gentlemen of better family than income, who were almost invariably +the pioneers of every new settlement. + +Many high-spirited gentlemen were, doubtless, tempted by the grants of +land bestowed upon them by the Government, which made actual settlement +one of the conditions of the grant. It followed, as a matter of course, +that the majority of these persons were physically disqualified for +such an undertaking, a fact which many deserted farms in the rear +townships of the county in which I reside painfully indicate. + +Eighteen or twenty years ago a number of gentlemen located themselves +in the township of Harvey. The spot chosen by them was one of great +natural beauty; but it possessed no other advantages, except an +abundance of game, which was no small inducement to them. They spent +several thousand pounds in building fancy log-houses and making large +clearings which they had neither the ability nor industry to cultivate. +But, even if they had possessed sufficient perseverance, their great +distance from a market, bad roads, want of knowledge in cropping after +they had cleared the land, lack of bridges, and poor soil, would have +been a great drawback to the chance of effecting a prosperous +settlement. In a few years not a settler remained of this little +colony. Some stayed till their means were thoroughly exhausted; others, +more wise, purchased ready-cleared farms in the settlements or followed +some profession more congenial to their taste, or more suited to their +abilities. + +The only persons fit to undertake the hardships of a bush-life, are +those who have obtained a certain degree of experience in their own +country upon the paternal estate or farm. Men who have large families +to provide for, and who have been successful in wood-clearing, are +generally willing to sell their improvements, and purchase wild land +for their families, whose united industry soon places them in a better +farm than they owned before. They are thus rendered greater +capitalists, with increased means of providing for their children, who +soon take up their standing in society as its favoured class. Indeed, I +would strongly advise gentlemen of small capital to purchase +ready-cleared farms, which can be obtained in most parts of the +country, with almost every convenience, for half what the clearing of +bush-land would cost, especially by an inexperienced settler. In fact, +since grants of land are no longer given to the emigrant, there is less +inducement to go so far back into the woods. + +Since 1826, a steady influx of the working classes from Great Britain +and Ireland has taken place. This has tended much to the prosperity of +the country, by cheapening labour, and the settlement of vast tracts of +wild land. + +Several experiments have been made by Government in sending out pauper +emigration: that from the south of Ireland, under the superintendance +of the late Hon. Peter Robinson in 1824, was the most extensive, and +came more immediately under my own observation. I have understood that +some most obnoxious and dangerous characters were shipped off in this +expedition—no doubt to the great comfort of landlords, agents, and +tithe-proctors. + +The Government behaved very liberally to these settlers. A grant of a +hundred acres of good land was given to each head of a family, and to +every son above twenty-one years of age. + +A good milch cow, and rations of pork and flour were assigned to each +emigrant family. These provisions they continued to receive for upwards +of eighteen months, besides a variety of stores, such as axes, hammers, +saws, nails, grindstones, &c. A good log-shanty was also built on each +settler’s lot. These people have done as well as could be expected, +considering the material of which they were composed. It has been +observed that, whenever these people were located amongst the +Protestant population, they made much better settlers than when +remaining with Catholics. + +In fact, a great improvement is perceptible in the morality, industry +and education of the rising generation, who grow up more virtuous and +less bigoted to their exclusive religious opinions. + +As a general rule, the English, Scotch, and north of Ireland men make +much better and more independent colonists than emigrants from the +south of Ireland. + +Seven years after the location of Robinson’s emigrants, a colony of +Wiltshire people settled in the township of Dummer under many more +disadvantages than those placed by Government in the township of Douro. + +The Dummer people had no shanties built for them, no cows, and were +given much worse land; and yet they have done much more in a shorter +time. An air of comfort and cleanliness pervades their dwellings, and +there is a neatness about their farms and homesteads which is generally +wanted in the former. + +It must, however, be borne in mind that paupers sent out by the +Government, or by their own parishes, are not a fair specimen by which +to judge the working classes, who emigrated at their own expenses. Of +the latter, I know hundreds who, upon their arrival in the Upper +Province, had spent their last shilling, and who, by persevering +industry, are now worth hundreds of pounds. No person need starve in +Canada, where there is plenty of work and good wages for every man who +is willing to labour, and who keeps himself sober. The working man with +a family of grown children, when fairly established on his farm, is +fully on a par, as regards his prospects, with the gentleman, the owner +of a similar farm, and possessing an income of 100 pounds per annum. +The reason is obvious. The gentleman and his family have been used to +wear finer clothes, keep better company, and maintain a more +respectable appearance, and if he has children, to give them a more +expensive education. + +Then, again, the gentleman and his family are physically less qualified +to undergo the hardships and toil of a practical farmer’s life. On the +other hand, the working man thinks it no degradation to send his sons +and daughters out to service, and the united product of their wages +amount, probably to eight or ten pounds per month. He is contented with +home-spun cloth, while the spinning and knitting—and sometimes +weaving—required by the family, are done at home. Labour, indeed, is +money; and hence in a few years the gentleman with his income is soon +distanced, and the working hand becomes the man of wealth, while his +children eventually form a part of the aristocracy of the country, if +the father gives them a suitable education. + +There is one thing, however, to be said in favour of the +gentleman—namely, his education, which fits him for offices and +professions which must remain for ever out of the reach of the +half-ignorant. It is, therefore, only in agricultural pursuits, and +mechanical operations, that the working man is able to obtain a +superiority; and then only if he be sober and industrious, for whiskey +has been the great bane of the colony. Hundreds of our cleverest +mechanics, and many of gentler blood, have fallen victims to its +influence. + +It is said that temperance societies have done a great deal towards +checking this evil, and that the new society, the “Sons of Temperance,” +will complete what the others began. I am quite willing to admit it as +a fact, because I believe that the practice of temperance has gained +ground, both in Canada and the United States. But I am unwilling to +allow that the means taken to effect that much-desired object are the +best that might be adopted. Indeed, I think, in some instances, the +endeavour to prohibit the use of fermented drink altogether, has been +carried to unchristian lengths. + +I believe that, if the same amount of money had been expended in +propagating the gospel, as has been laid out by these total abstinence +societies, more real converts to temperance would have been gained, +because principle and true religion would have been the bases on which +the reformation was founded. + +Throughout the whole Bible and Testament, there is not a single command +to abstain totally from either wine or strong drink; but there is a +positive one respecting the abuse, and dreadful denunciations against +the drunkard. Then in respect to the prohibition, the false prophet +has, in the Koran, forbidden his followers to use wine at all. Now, +which do we profess to follow,—the precepts of Jesus Christ, or those +of Mahomet? But some will say, if your brother offends by his +intemperate habits, you should abstain altogether, that you may become +a good example to him. By the same rule, if my brother is a glutton, I +should abstain from food also. Now, I believe with the Apostle, “that +all the creatures of God are good,” and lawful for us to use; but we +are not to abuse them, “but to be temperate in all things,” thus acting +up to the rule of scripture, and setting a better example than if we +wholly abstained from fermented drink. Any other rule, excepting in +cases of notorious drunkenness, is, in my opinion, anti-scriptural, and +therefore wrong. + +The new American society, “The Sons of Temperance,” which now takes the +lead of all other temperance or tee-total societies, is a secret and +benefit society, having its signs and pass-words. In the hands of +clever leaders and designing men, may not a society of this kind become +a great political engine? + +Sometimes very ludicrous scenes occur at temperance meetings. A few +years ago, when this question was first agitated in Canada, a meeting +was held in a school-house on the English line, in the township of +Dummer. The lecturer, on that occasion, was an itinerant preacher of +the Methodist persuasion. After descanting some time in a very fluent +manner, on the evils arising from intemperance, and the great numbers +who had lost their lives by violent means, “for my part,” said the +lecturer, “I have known nearly three hundred cases of this kind +myself.” + +This broad assertion was too much for one of the audience, an old +Wiltshire man, who exclaimed, in his peculiar dialect, “Now, I know +that ’ere be a lie. Can you swear that you did ever see three out of +them three hundred violent deaths you speak on?” + +“Well, I have heard and read of them in books and newspapers; and I +once saw a man lying dead on the road, and a jar, half full of whiskey, +beside him, which, I think, you will allow is proof enough.” + +“I thought your three hundred cases would turn out like the boy’s cats +in his grandmother’s garden. Now, I will tell thee, that I did know +three men that did kill themselves by drinking of cold water. There was +John H——, that over-heated hisself, walking from Cobourg, and drank so +much water at the cold springs, that he fell down and died in a few +minutes. Then there was that workman of Elliott’s, in Smith, who +dropped in the harvest-field, from the same cause; and the Irishman +from Asphodel, whose name I forget. So, you see, that more people do +die from drinking cold water than whiskey.” Then he turned round to a +neighbour, who, like himself, was not over-fond of cold water, and +said, “I say, Jerome, which would you rather have, a glass of cold +water, or a drap of good beer?” + +“I know which I would take,” exclaimed Jerome; “I would like a drap of +good beer best, I do know.” + +This dialogue raised such a laugh against the apostle of temperance, +that the meeting was fairly broken up, leaving the Wiltshire man +triumphing in his victory over cold water and oratory, in the person of +the lecturer. The dryness of his arguments prevailed against the +refreshing and copious draughts of the pure element recommended by his +discomfited opponent. + +A good joke is not, however, a good argument, though it stood for one +at this meeting. Total abstinence is the best plan to be adopted by +habitual drunkards, who, if they can get at strong drink at all, seldom +keep their pledge of sobriety. The British and Foreign Temperance +Society, in fact, advises the habitually intemperate to abstain +altogether, while, at the same time, it aims at bringing the man to +repentance and reformation, by the renovating influence of the gospel. +If I differ in some respects from that society, in its prohibition +against the use of spirits altogether, in such a climate as Canada, I +still must consider its views far more liberal, and more consistent +with scripture rules, than that of any other for the promotion of +temperance, as, indeed, possessing more of that charity, without which +even the most fervent zeal is worse than useless. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +WANT OF HOME-PASTURAGE IN CANADA.—DANGER OF BEING LOST IN THE +WOODS.—PLAIN DIRECTIONS TO THE TRAVELLER IN THE BUSH.—STORY OF A +SETTLER FROM EMILY.—AN OLD WOMAN’S RAMBLE IN THE WOODS.—ADVENTURE OF A +TRAPPER.—FORTUNATE MEETING WITH HIS PARTNER. + +One of the greatest inconveniences belonging to a new settlement, for +the first four or five years, is the want of pasturage for your working +cattle and cows. Consequently, the farmer has to depend entirely on the +Bush for their support, for at least seven months out of the twelve. +The inconvenience does not arise from any want of food; for the woods, +beaver meadows, and the margins of lakes and streams yield an +abundance, and the cattle, towards the fall of the year, are sure to +grow fat. But it is the trouble of seeking for your cattle. + +Sometimes, indeed, in the midst of your greatest hurry, your oxen are +nowhere to be found. I have myself often spent two or three days in +succession, searching the woods in vain; and it not unfrequently +happens that, while looking for the strayed beasts, you lose yourself +in the woods. + +As we generally carry a gun with us in these excursions, we often fall +in with deer or partridges, which makes the way not only seem less +fatiguing, but even pleasant, unless during the season of musquitoes +and black flies, when rambling through the Bush is no pleasure to any +one. + +New-comers are very apt to lose themselves at first, until they get +acquainted with the creeks and ridges; and even then, on a dark day or +during a snow-storm, they are very likely to go astray. If you have no +compass with you, and the sun is obscured, the best way of extricating +yourself is, to observe the moss on the trees, which—not every one +knows—grows more luxuriantly and in greater quantities on the north +side of the tree. It is of little use to look at any tree separately: +this will perhaps only mislead you; but if you observe the general +aspect of the woods around, the indications may be of great service to +you. Towards the north, the trunks of the trees will appear light and +cheerful, while the south side will look dark and spotted. This plan, +however, will only answer amongst hard woods.[1] The ridges mostly run +north-east and south-west, and the swamps parallel with them. Then, +again, in pine woods the general inclination of the timber is from the +north-west. All these indications have been successfully followed, and +should be borne in mind. + + [1] Deciduous trees are called hard-wood. + + +People who lose themselves in the Bush seldom persevere long enough in +any one direction. They fancy they are going wrong, and keep changing +their course; till probably, after four or five hours’ walking, they +find themselves near the spot from whence they started. This has +occurred to me more than once, and I shall relate a melancholy incident +which happened only a few years ago, and which proves what I have just +stated. + +The person to whom I allude, resided in the township of Emily, and had +been all the summer working at his trade in the village of Bowmanville, +to earn money sufficient to pay for his land, which he had succeeded by +the fall in doing. As the cold weather had set in, he determined to +return home, and chop all the winter on his farm. He knew that by +crossing the township of Darlington and Manvers in an oblique +direction, twenty-five or six miles in length, he could reach his own +house in half the time, the distance by the road being more than double +that by which he proposed to travel. He therefore determined to try the +short way, although he was well aware that the last eight or ten miles +of his road was through the Bush, with not even a blazed line to guide +him. He was, however, young and active, and moreover considered himself +a good backwoodsman. He started one fine frosty morning early in +December, expecting he should be able to reach his own house sometime +before sundown. + +For the first ten or twelve miles he got on pretty well, as he had a +sleigh-track to follow, and as long as the sun shone out he made a good +course. Unfortunately for him, a snow-storm came on and obscured his +only guide. He, however, struggled on manfully through cedar-swamps and +over ridges, with the snow half-way up to his knees, till the approach +of darkness compelled him to look out for some place to shelter him +from the storm, where he might best pass the weary hours of the coming +night. + +He selected a dry spot beneath some spreading cedars, and busied +himself as long as daylight lasted in collecting as much fire-wood as +would last till the morning. He then gathered a quantity of +hemlock-brush for his bed, and by breaking off some large limbs from +the surrounding evergreens, succeeded at last in forming a temporary +shelter. For a long time he despaired of getting a fire, till he at +length found some dry cedar-bark, which he finally succeeded in +igniting with a piece of punk,[2] which every backwoodsman carries with +him for that purpose. Though the poor fellow had only taken with him +provisions for a day’s journey, he made a hearty supper, merely +reserving a portion for his breakfast, not suspecting that he should +fail in reaching his destination. He fully expected he should see the +sun in the morning, which would enable him to correct this course; for +he knew that he was in the township of Manvers, and not more than seven +or eight miles from his own home. + + [2] A substance obtained from the sugar-maple, similar to German + tinder. + + +Wearied with his day’s journey, he slept the greater part of the night, +although awakened occasionally by the cold. At such times he would heap +fresh fuel on the fire, and again compose himself to sleep. + +To his infinite joy the morning beamed brightly—the sun shone out. With +a light heart and renewed confidence he again shaped his course +eastward, following the direction in which his house lay; and there is +no doubt, had the day remained clear, he would in a few hours have +extricated himself from the dilemma into which he had fallen. His +disappointment was great when he again beheld the sky overcast, and the +snow falling thickly around him. He pushed on, however, bravely, till +at length a thick cedar-swamp lay before him. For some time he +travelled along its edge, in the hope of finding a narrow spot to +cross, but in this he was disappointed, so he determined to attempt the +passage. He fully believed, once on the other side, he should know the +face of the country, from his having so often hunted game, or searched +for his cattle in that direction. + +For fully an hour he pressed on through a complete thicket of cedar; +but it was all random work, for the evergreens were so loaded with +snow, that it was quite impossible to go one hundred yards in a +straight course. At last he saw the tops of hard-wood trees before him, +which again revived his sinking spirits, for he thought he had crossed +the swamp. Alas, poor fellow! he was mistaken. He had come out on the +very side by which he had entered it, but of this he was not aware at +the time. He, however, wondered that he did not recognize any part of +the ground he was travelling over. + +At length, to his great joy, he came upon the fresh track of a man, +which he had no doubt belonged to some person, who was then out from +the settlement, still hunting;[3] for he knew that Manvers was the most +celebrated township for deer in the Newcastle District. As he observed +that the footprints were going in a contrary direction to what he was, +this circumstance gave him increased confidence. Two or three times, +however, he thought some of the small swamps and ridges looked vastly +like what he had traversed in the early part of the day. At last, about +an hour before dark, he saw a thin wreath of blue smoke in a thicket +before him. Judge of his disappointment and dismay, when, on his nearer +approach, he found he had actually followed his own track, which had +brought him back to the spot where he had passed the night. To describe +his feelings on this occasion would be difficult and painful. He +thought of his wife and his young children, who were hourly expecting +his return, and who had, no doubt, prepared some little treat to +welcome the wanderer home. + + [3] Canadian term for deer-stalking. + + +Bitter were his reflections during the waking hours of that long night! +Hungry, tired, and unrefreshed, the morning’s light saw him struggling +through the snow, but whither he knew not; for though it had ceased +snowing, the sky was still overcast, and continued so till the middle +of the afternoon, when the wind suddenly veered round to the +north-west, attended with intense cold. He now renewed every effort; +for once or twice he thought he heard the sounds of civilized life—the +distant supper-horn or cattle-bell—but the fierce howling of the wind, +which blew half a gale, rendered his hearing indistinct. + +As long as daylight lasted he dragged on his wearied limbs, till utter +exhaustion and coming darkness rendered his further progress +impossible. To add to his misfortune, on attempting to kindle a fire, +he found that his punk was damp, from the snow having come in contact +with it when pressing his way through the swamp. He now gave himself up +for lost, for the night was extremely cold, and he had neither fire to +warm him, nor roof to shelter his head. To sleep thus he knew was +certain death. He therefore paced up and down as long as he was able to +stand, but his boots were frozen stiff, and his feet numb with the +cold. After great difficulty he managed to pull off his boots, and +having wrapped up his feet in his woollen cap, he lay down on the path +he bad beaten in the snow, for he could no longer resist the +inclination to sleep. + +While in the act of lying down, he distinctly heard a cock crow at no +great distance. By a great effort he roused himself, and called as +loudly as he was able. Once he thought he heard an answer to his +cry—again the horn seemed to ring in his ears,—and then all was blank. + +At daylight he was found by some of his own neighbours; one of whom was +up early in the morning feeding his oxen, preparatory to a journey to +the front, when he heard the shouts, which sounded to him like those of +some person in distress. He immediately blew his dinner horn, that the +sound might guide the lost person, and having collected three or four +of his neighbours, they started into the woods in the direction from +whence the shouts of the lost man had proceeded. Half a mile from the +clearing, they came across his track, which they only followed for a +few yards, when to their surprise they found their poor neighbour, whom +at first they concluded to be dead. It was some time indeed before they +could wake him, so overpowered was he with fatigue and the death-like +sleep he had fallen into. + +His friends lost no time in carrying him home; but unfortunately they +placed him near a large fire, instead of rubbing his hands and feet +with snow. The too sudden reaction of the blood caused him the most +excruciating agony, for both his hands and feet were badly frozen. At +length Dr. Hutchinson[4] was sent for from Peterborough, who found +mortification had commenced, and that there was no chance of the poor +fellow’s recovery which proved too true, for he expired the next day, a +week from the morning he was found. + + [4] Dr. Hutchinson, is a medical practitioner of great note, and one + of the first settlers and oldest magistrates in that section of the + country. I had the particulars of this story from him; though, as it + was some years ago, I may have made some mistake as to the exact + locality. + + +He, however, died in the arms of his afflicted wife, and was surrounded +by his family, a privilege purchased at the expense of severe pain, but +still one to the husband and father—even though he had been snatched +from his pangless death-sleep to possess it, poor fellow! + +The mischances consequent upon being lost in the woods, which were so +frequent in the early settlement of Western Canada, are of rare +occurrence now. Since, roads have been cut, and the clearings have +brought the Bush-settlers nearer together. In my young time I have +often searched for missing persons, and indeed have sometimes been lost +myself. + +I remember, the first summer I passed in Canada, making one of a party, +who were for eight days looking for an old woman nearly eighty years of +age, and her little grandson, who were lost in the Bush. + +The old lady was going by a foot-path across a piece of woodland +between her son-in-law’s house and a neighbour’s, which, by-the-by, +were almost within sight of each other. The little boy, it seems, ran a +short distance off the path to gather some wild-flowers, and was +followed by his grandmother, who, either from her defectiveness of +sight, or, more probably, from having crossed without perceiving it, +was, unable to regain the track. Her friends finding that she did not +return, went over to their neighbour’s house to see if she was there; +but they only learned that neither she nor her grandson had found their +way thither. Search was instantly made till night came on, but without +success. + +The next day, all their friends and neighbours turned out, myself among +the number, to search for the unfortunate woman and the boy. We +concluded, from her advanced age and the tender years of the child, +that they could not be very far off; consequently we confined our +search for several days within a radius of two or three miles. + +On the fifth day, tracks were discovered near the edge of a small +creek, which from being the prints of a small and large foot, left no +doubt as to whom they belonged. Strange as it may appear, this was the +only sure indication of the lost ones that we had yet seen. No further +trail was seen till the evening of the seventh day, when fresh signs +were found. Our party therefore determined to camp out all night, and +follow these new indications early in the morning, which object they +succeeded in effecting. The lost ones were then found, and both were +discovered alive. + +The old woman had suffered the most; but the two had sustained +themselves by eating roots and beech-mast: the little boy was quite +frightened when he saw the men coming, and hid himself; such were the +consequences of solitude and privation on his mind. + +The place where they were found was in the township of Beach, at least +fourteen miles due east from the place where they were lost; and it is +more than probable, in their wanderings, that they had more than +doubled that distance—a most extraordinary circumstance, when the ages +of the parties are considered. + +About three years since, two young men, with whom I was well +acquainted, went back into the uninhabited township of Methuen, to trap +for fur, and hunt deer. They set a line of marten-traps,[5] extending +upwards of three miles. One or other of them used to go every alternate +morning, to examine these traps—to re-set any that were sprung; and +bring back to their camp any furry animal that might chance to be +captured. + + [5] The method pursued by the trappers and Indians is to blaze a line + through the bush for several miles. Along this line is set, at + intervals of one or two hundred yards, a kind of trap, called a dead + fall, which is constructed thus:—Two rows of short sticks are driven + into the ground about one foot apart, open only at one end, the top + being covered with brush-wood at the entrance. A piece of wood two or + three feet long is bedded into the ground, or snow, as the case may + be. The falling pole is supported immediately over this by three + pieces of stick notched together in the form of a figure of four. The + centre-piece is made long and sharp at the point, to which the bait is + attached, and projects well into the miniature house. The marten or + fisher, allured by the bait, reaches in to snatch it, which springs + the trap, and causes the pole to fall across the neck of the animal, + which is instantly killed by the blow. + + +One morning, the less-experienced trapper of the two, this being his +first season, went along the line to look at the traps, as usual. He +had his gun with him, but only two or three charges of powder. After +proceeding to the extreme end of the line, he thought he would go on +and look for some partridges, which he heard “drumming”[6] some little +distance a-head. + + [6] This sound is made by the Canadian partridge (a species of the + grouse) during its season of courtship. The cock-bird perches himself + on the top of a large hollow log, or fallen tree, and with his wings + produces a vibratory sound, like the distant roll of a drum, which, in + still weather, can easily be heard at the distance of a mile in the + woods. + + +In the pursuit of his game, he was induced to go further than he had at +first intended. He never doubted that he should easily find his way +back to the line. In this, however, he was woefully deceived, for the +day was cloudy, and the face of the country was very rough. It formed, +indeed, a part of the great granite range, which is said to cross the +St. Lawrence, at the Lake of the Thousand Islands, traversing the rear +of the Midland District and the counties of Hastings and Peterborough, +through the unsurveyed lands north of Lake Simcoe, to the shores of +Lake Huron. This granite formation is supposed to have an average +breadth of ten or twelve miles, being intersected with small lakes, +deep ravines and precipitous rocks. The woods of this region being +composed principally of pine, hemlock, and cedar, are of a peculiarly +gloomy character. In such a difficult country as this, it was no wonder +that our inexperienced trapper went astray. + +After an hour’s fruitless search for the line, he came to the +conclusion that he was lost, and that his only chance was to fire off +his gun, in the hope that his companion would hear and return it. As no +answering sound greeted his ear, he durst not fire his only remaining +charge of powder, for it was all he had to defend himself from wolves, +or to obtain some animal or bird whereupon to sustain his life. + +For four days and three nights did this poor fellow wander through +these rugged wilds. On the afternoon of the fourth day he came upon a +ridge of land, which appeared better timbered and more open; so he +determined to follow this route, expecting it might lead him to the +lakeshore, where his camp was situated. + +He had not walked a hundred yards in this new direction, when to his +surprise he saw quite a fresh blaze on a tree, and within a fear yards +of the spot on which he stood, a newly constructed marten-trap. Words +cannot express the joy he felt at this discovery; it was his own line +he had so fortunately come upon. Had he only gone the smallest distance +to his left, he would have missed it altogether; but he came, +providentially, upon the very spot where he had set his last trap, and +within a few feet of the place he had left four days before. + +On his way to the camp, a sudden fear came over him! Had his companion +left it, supposing him to be irrecoverably lost? If so, what was to +become of him on the north shore of Stony Lake, without a canoe to +cross over to the settlement, food, or ammunition to procure any for +his support. His fears were, however, groundless, as the report of a +gun, and soon after the appearance of his companion convinced him; but +the danger had been great; for, from the statement of his +fellow-trapper, he found that the latter was then on his way to the end +of the line, hoping that he might see or hear something of him before +he broke up their camp, which he intended to have done in the morning, +if he had not unexpectedly fallen in with his friend. Thus had +Providence again interposed in his behalf, and a few days of rest +restored him to his wonted health, spirits, and activity. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +DIRECTIONS FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALITY OF LAND IN THE BUSH.—SITE OF +LOG-SHANTY.—CHOPPING.—PREPARATION FOR SPRING-CROPS.—METHOD OF PLANTING +INDIAN CORN.—PUMPKINS AND POTATOES.—MAKING POT-ASH. + +I shall now endeavour to give the emigrant some information to guide +him in the selection of his land, and other matters connected with a +settlement in the bush. In the first place, the quality of the land is +the greatest consideration, and to make a good choice requires a +practical knowledge as to the nature of the soils, and the different +kinds of timber growing thereon. + +The best land is timbered with oak, ash, elm, beech, bass-wood, and +sugar maple. A fair mixture of this species of trees is best, with here +and there a large pine, and a few Canadian balsams scattered among the +hard-wood. Too great a proportion of beech indicates sand or light +loam: a preponderance of rock elm is a sign of gravel or limestone-rock +near the surface. + +The timber should be lofty, clean in the bark and straight in the +grain, and of quick growth. The woods should be open, free from +evergreens, and with little under-brush. Generally speaking, the soil +is of excellent quality, when timbered in the manner described. + +It however, often happens, that the best land is full of boulders, +which are both troublesome and expensive to remove. Two-thirds of these +stones are not visible above the surface, and the remainder are so +covered with moss and leaves, that they require a practised eye to +detect them. I have no objection to a small quantity of stones, as they +are useful to construct French drains, or to roll into the bottoms of +the rail-fences. + +When limestone-flag is near the surface, the stems of the trees will be +shorter, their heads more bushy, and the roots spreading along the top +of the ground. Such land is apt to burn in hot weather, and soon +becomes exhausted. White pine, or hemlock ridges, are almost always +sandy, and good for little—except the timber, which is valuable, if +near enough to water. White-pine, mixed with hard-wood, generally +indicates strong clay land, good for wheat; but the difficulty of +clearing off such heavy timber, and the long time it takes to get rid +of the stumps, render such a selection unprofitable, and add additional +toil to the emigrant. + +The best land for wheat should be gently undulating soil, rich loam, on +a clay bottom. In the summer months you can judge the quality of the +land by the freshly turned-up roots of trees, which have fallen by the +wind. + +In winter, when the surface of the ground is covered with snow, and +frozen hard, the growth and quality of the timber, as before described, +are your only mode of judging correctly. + +A constant supply of water is absolutely necessary, in a country liable +to such extreme heat in summer. Canada West, abounding, as it does, in +small spring-creeks, rivers, and lakes, is, perhaps, as well watered as +any country in the world; and, in almost every section of the country, +even on the highest ridges, good water can be obtained by digging +wells, which seldom require to be sunk more than twenty feet; and in +many townships, not half that depth is required. + +After the emigrant has selected a proper location, his next object is +to choose the best situation to build his shanty, and chop his first +fallow. Most settlers like to commence as near as possible to the +concession-line or public road; but sometimes the vicinity of a stream +of water or good spring is preferred. In fact, circumstances must, in +some measure, guide them in their choice. + +The best time of the year to commence operations is early in September. +The weather is then moderately warm and pleasant, and there are no +flies in the Bush to annoy you. + +A log shanty, twenty-four feet long by sixteen, is large enough to +begin with, and should be roofed either with shingles or troughs. A +small cellar should be dug near the fire-place, commodious enough to +hold twenty or thirty bushels of potatoes, a barrel or two of pork, &c. + +As soon as your shanty is completed, measure off as many acres as you +intend to chop during the winter, and mark the boundaries by blazing +the trees on each side. + +The next operation is to cut down all the small trees and brush—this is +called under-brushing. The rule is to cut everything close to the +ground from the diameter of six inches downwards. + +There are two modes of piling, either in heaps or in wind-rows. If your +fallow is full of evergreens, such as hemlock, pine, balsam, cedar, and +such description of timber, then I should say wind-rows are the best; +but when the timber is deciduous, heaps are better. + +The brush should be carefully piled and laid all one way, by which +means it packs closer and burns better. The regular price for +underbrushing hard-wood land, and cutting up-all the old fallen +timber—which is always considered a part of the underbrushing—is one +dollar per acre, and board. Rough land and swamp vary from seven +shillings and sixpence to ten shillings. Your under-brush should be all +cut and piled by the end of November, before the snow falls to the +depth of four inches, for after that it would be both difficult and +tedious. + +The chopping now begins, and may be followed without any interruption +until the season for sugar-making commences. The heads of the trees +should be thrown upon the heaps or wind-rows. A skilful chopper will +scarcely ever miss a heap when felling the timber, besides it saves a +great deal of labour in piling the limbs. + +The trunks of the trees must be cut into lengths, from fourteen to +sixteen feet, according to the size of the timber. Now and then a large +maple or beech, when felled, may be left without cutting up, with the +exception of the top, which is called a plan-heap, and is left to log +against: this is only done when the tree is too large to be cut through +easily with the axe. + +All timber fit for making rails should be left in double and treble +lengths, as it is less likely to burn. + +A good axe-man should be able, with fair chopping, to cut an acre in +eight days after the under-brushing is done. The regular price of +chopping is five dollars per acre, with board, or six without. + +The emigrant should endeavour to get as much chopping done as possible +during the first three years, because after that time he has so many +other things to attend to, such as increase of stock, barn and +house-building, thrashing, ploughing, &c., which, of course, give him +every year less time for chopping, particularly if his family be small, +in which case fifty or sixty acres are enough to clear at first, till +his boys are old enough to give him assistance. + +Clearing up too large a farm, when labour is so high, is not wise, for +it will not answer to disburse much for hire, at the present prices. +If, therefore, you are not able to cultivate what you have cleared +properly, it will grow up again with raspberries, blackberries, small +trees, and brush, and be nearly as bad to clear as it was at first. + +The size of the farm must, however, depend on the resources of the +emigrant, the strength and number of his family, and the quantity of +acres he may possess. + +In the month of May the settler should spring-burn three or four acres, +and log them up for his spring-crops, such as potatoes and Indian-corn. +The Indian-corn should be planted with the hoe in rows, three feet +apart and thirty inches in the row. A pumpkin-seed or two should be +sown in every second or third hole in each third row. The corn must be +earthed or hilled up by drawing the mould close round the roots, and +five or six inches up the stalks, which should be done when the plants +are fifteen or sixteen inches high. No further cultivation is necessary +until the time of cutting, except breaking off some shoots from the +roots, if too many are thrown out. + +Potatoes on the new land are also planted with the hoe, and in hills of +about five thousand to the acre. A hole is scraped with the hoe, in +which four or five sets, or a whole potato is dropped. The earth is +then heaped over them in the form of a mole-hill, but somewhat larger. +After the plants have appeared above the surface, a little more mould +is drawn around them. Very large crops of potatoes are raised in this +manner. Two hundred and fifty bushels per acre are no uncommon crop. I +have assisted in raising double that quantity; but of late years, since +the disease has been prevalent, but poor crops have been realized. + +Both white turnips and swedes do well, and grow to a large size, +particularly on new land: the roots must be either pitted or put in a +root-house, or cellar, as the winter is too severe for them to remain +unhoused. + +The remainder of the fallow should be burnt off and logged up in July, +the rail-cuts split into quarters and drawn off to the site of the +fences, ready for splitting into rails. After the log-heaps are burnt, +you should either spread the ashes or rake them while hot into heaps, +if you intend to make potash,[1] with which, by the by, I should advise +the new-comer to have nothing to do until he has made himself +thoroughly acquainted with the process. + + [1] This article is very extensively made in nearly all the new + settlements, and may be considered one of the staples of the country. + The process is very simple; but great care must be taken in collecting + the ashes clear of sand or dirt of any description. If your ashes are + well saved and from good timber, ten acres should produce at least + five barrels of potash, each barrel containing five hundred weight. + Several things should be considered before the emigrant attempts the + manufacture of this article. Firstly, his land should be well timbered + with oak, elm, maple, and bass-wood. Secondly, it must have a stream + of water, near which he may erect his works. And, lastly, it ought to + be within reach of a market and a remunerating price, which, to pay + the manufacturer, should not be less than twenty-five shillings, + Halifax currency, per cwt. + The best situation to erect an ashery upon, is the side of a bank, + beside a running stream; and if there should be fall enough in the + creek to bring a supply of water over head into the leaches, a + great deal of labour will be saved. An ash-house, six or eight + leach-tubs, a pot-ash kettle, and three or four coolers are all the + requisites necessary. Most persons use a small portion of common + salt and lime in the manufacture of pot-ash. After the lye is run + off it is boiled down into black salts, which are melted into + pot-ash, cooled off, and packed into air-tight barrels ready for + market. + + +As soon as the settler has cleared up fifteen or twenty acres, his +first care should be to erect a frame or log-barn; I should strongly +recommend the former, if boards can be obtained in the neighbourhood, +as it is undoubtedly the best and cheapest in the long run. If I were +commencing life again in the woods, I would not build anything of logs +except a shanty or a pig-sty; for experience has plainly told me that +log buildings are the dirtiest, most inconvenient, and the dearest when +everything is taken into consideration. + +As soon as the settler is ready to build, let him put up a good frame, +roughcast, or stone-house, if he can possibly raise the means, as +stone, timber, and lime, cost nothing but the labour of collecting and +carrying the materials. When I say that they “cost nothing,” I mean +that no cash is required for these articles, as they can be prepared by +the exertion of the family. + +With the addition of from a hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds in +money to the raw material, a good substantial and comfortable dwelling +can be completed. Two or three years should be spent in preparing and +collecting materials, so that your timber may be perfectly seasoned +before you commence building. + +Apple and plum orchards should be planted as soon as possible, and well +fenced from the cattle and sheep. The best kind of grafted fruit-trees, +from three to seven years old, can be obtained for a shilling a tree; +ungrafted, at four shillings the dozen. + +The apple-tree flourishes extremely well in this country, and grows to +a large size. I gathered last year, out of my orchard, several Ribstone +Pippins, each of which weighed more than twelve ounces, and were of a +very fine flavour. The native plums are not very good in their raw +state, but they make an excellent preserve, and good wine. + +Some of the particulars mentioned in this chapter have been glanced at +in an earlier portion of the work; but I make no apology for the +repetition. My object is, to offer instruction to the inexperienced +settler, and to impress these important matters more firmly upon his +mind and memory, that he may have his experience at a cheaper rate than +if he purchased it at the expense of wasted time, labour, and capital. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +MY FIRST SHOT AT A BUCK.—HUNTING AND SHOOTING PARTIES.—DESTRUCTIVENESS +OF WOLVES.—LOSS OF MY FLOCKS.—COWARDICE OF THE WOLF.—THE LADY AND HER +PET.—COLONEL CRAWFORD’S ADVENTURE.—INGENIOUS TRICK OF AN AMERICAN +TRAPPER.—A DISAGREEABLE ADVENTURE.—HOW TO POISON WOLVES.—A STERN CHASE. + +My father-in-law had a large field of fall wheat, upon which, during +the night, the deer were very fond of grazing. Just before dark, the +herd used to make their appearance, and we tried repeatedly to get a +shot at them, but in vain. At the least noise, or if they winded us, up +went their tails, and they were off in an instant. I was determined, +however, not to be so continually balked. I had observed, by the +tracks, the direction they took in their way to the field; so, an hour +before their usual time of coming, I sallied out, and concealed myself +in the top of an old fallen tree which lay a few feet from the ground, +and about twenty yards from a path which I suspected had been beaten by +the deer, going backwards and forwards to the field. + +The place I had selected to watch for them was an old settlement +duty-road, which had been cut out some years before, but was now +partially grown up again with a second growth of timber and underbrush. +Having seated myself very snugly, I took out of my pocket a volume of +Shakespeare to pass away the time. I had not been half-an-hour so +employed, before my attention was suddenly aroused by hearing a stick +break near me, when upon looking up I beheld the head and horns of a +large buck projecting from behind a thicket of trees. He appeared to be +in a listening attitude, so I durst not stir till he should have +lowered his head, as I knew the least movement then would make him +start off in an instant. Luckily, however, the wind was blowing from +his direction to mine. Presently, he walked into the open space; and +whilst I was cautiously raising my gun, he disappeared beneath the brow +of a small hill; but almost immediately, from the inequality of the +ground, his head and shoulders again became visible. On this, I +instantly fired. + +Astonished and mortified was I, when I saw him scamper off with his +tail up, as if nothing had happened. Still, I was sure I must have hit +him, as he was not forty yards from where I sat, his broadside being +towards me. So I followed the track for about two hundred yards, but +without seeing any blood; and was in the act of turning back, +concluding, that as he had hoisted his tail, I had missed him +altogether. Indeed, I had often heard, that if they show the white +feather, as putting up their tail is called by Canadian sportsmen—they +are not hit. This, however, is a mistake; for, in the act of turning +round to retrace my steps, I saw a small drop of blood upon a dry leaf. +I now felt quite certain that I had struck him. On proceeding a few +yards further, I saw several large splashes of blood. There was now no +room left for doubt; and, in another minute I was standing beside the +first buck I had ever killed. On opening him, I found I had put a ball +and five buck-shot into him, which had entered just behind the +fore-shoulder; and though two of these shots had lodged in the lungs, +he had, notwithstanding this, continued to run on the full jump, more +than two hundred yards. + +Not long after this adventure, my brother-in-law shot a deer through +the heart, which ran full a hundred yards before he dropped. + +Two or three years after, in the township of Douro, where I now reside, +I was walking down to the saw-mill about half a mile from my house, +with my American rifle in my hand, when, on coming close to the river, +I saw a large buck swimming down the middle of the stream near the +mill-dam. I ran down to the spot as fast as I could, for I expected he +would land on the opposite shore, at the corner of the dam. The surmise +proved to be correct. He was in the act of climbing up the bank when I +fired, and he fell back into the river. Recovering himself, however, he +scrambled out and made off. I crossed the bridge and went round to the +spot where he landed, and followed on the track. + +While in chase I was joined by an old hunter, who had been out since +day-light, still-hunting (deer-stalking); so he agreed to go with me +and examine the track, which we followed for about half a mile without +seeing any blood. But at last we came to a place where the buck had +stood and pawed up the ground. My companion, remarking upon the +circumstance, said— + +“He was quite satisfied the fellow was hit; and you will find,” added +he, “if we get him, that he is hit on the top of the back, and that is +the reason there is no blood to be seen.” + +The track led us round nearly in a circle; for we came back to the +river within a few yards of where I had fired at the buck. My companion +now suggested that we should recross the river and follow up the stream +on the opposite bank. “For,” said he, “we shall probably find him on +one of the islands opposite your house.” + +Acting on his suggestion, we retraced our steps, and found, as he had +predicted, that the buck, after taking the water, had swum up the river +and taken refuge on the west side of the lower island. We saw him +standing near the edge of the water, partially hidden by the trunk of a +fallen pine, when we both fired our rifles at the same instant. This +did not, however, drop him, for he bounded across the island, and took +the opposite channel in gallant style. + +As the distance from which we fired was less than a hundred yards, we +concluded that one of us at least had hit him. Reinforced by my old +hound Towler, who, attracted by the firing, had joined us, we recrossed +the river, and put the dog on the track. Towler was in high spirits, +and soon made the wood ring with music pleasant to the hunter’s ear. + +We momentarily expected to see our quarry again take the water; but +from the continued howling of the hound in the same spot, I began to +think the buck was standing at bay, which was really the case; for on +my near approach he was busily employed with his head down, keeping off +old Towler by making sudden plunges at him every now and then. The +moment he saw me, he made a rush for the river, but as he passed me on +the full bound, I fired at his fore-shoulder; and though he still +continued his course to the river, I knew by the jet of blood which +followed my shot that his fate was sealed. Near the river he made a +sudden turn, striking his head against a hemlock tree, and at the same +instant a shot from my companion stretched him lifeless on the ground. +And thus concluded an exciting chase of more than two hours. + +This was the largest buck I ever killed, for he weighed, after he was +skinned and dressed, two hundred and thirty pounds. We found that four +out of the five shots had hit him. The last shot I fired, cut away the +small end of his heart, though he actually managed to run thirty or +forty paces afterwards. + +Deer-hunting is a very exciting sport; but I prefer still-hunting (or +deer-stalling, as it is called in the Highlands of Scotland) to driving +them into the lakes and rivers with hounds. + +The deer are not now nearly so numerous as they formerly were. +Civilization has driven them back into the unsurveyed lands or less +populated townships. To give my readers some idea how plentiful these +wild denizens of the forest were, some years since, I need only mention +that a Trapper with whom I was acquainted, and four of his companions, +passed my house on a small raft, on which lay the carcasses of +thirty-two deer—the trophies of a fortnight’s chase near Stony Lake. +The greater number of these were fine bucks. + +I once had seventeen deer hanging up in my barn at one time—the produce +of three days’ sport, out of which I had the good fortune to kill +seven. Parties are now made yearly every October to Stony Lake, Deer +Bay, or the River Trent. I do not know anything more pleasant than +these excursions, especially if you have agreeable companions, a warm +camp, and plenty to eat and drink. Indeed, poor hunters must they be +who cannot furnish their camp-larder with wild-ducks and venison. This +is one of the great charms of a Canadian life, particularly to young +sportsmen from the mother-country, who require here neither license nor +qualification to enable them to follow their game; but may rove about +in chase of deer, or other game, at will. + +The greatest enemy the deer has to contend with is the wolf. In the +spring of the year, when the snow is in the woods, and a crust is +formed on the surface, the deer are unable to travel any distance, the +snow not being sufficiently hard to bear their weight. Consequently, +great numbers of them are destroyed by their more nimble adversaries, +who from their lighter make and rounder-shaped feet, are able to run on +the top of the crust, which gives the deer but little chance of escape. + +The wolves commonly hunt in packs, and generally at night. The deer, +when pursued, always make straight for the water, which, if they +succeed in reaching it, saves them for that time. + +When the wolves reach the shore and find their prey gone, they utter +the most diabolical yells. One night I was awakened by a pack of these +rascals, who were in chase of a deer. They ran through my wood-yard +within sixty feet of the house in full chorus. I think I never heard in +the stillness of the night a more wild and unearthly din. + +For some years, till the country became more settled, I was obliged to +shut up my sheep at night for fear of these prowling wretches. The +first flock I ever had were all killed by these thieves. One night I +was awakened by my dog barking furiously, and from the manner in which +he kept rushing against the door I was sure some wild animals were +about the premises. At first I thought it was useless to get up; for +the night was dark, and I knew the sheep were housed. However, the +increased fury of my dog Grouse, who seemed intent on getting into the +house, as if he were frightened, obliged me to dress and turn out. On +my opening the door, Grouse rushed in looking dreadfully scared, so +with a lantern in one hand and a gun in the other, I marched towards +the sheep-pen, the door of which not having been securely fastened by +my lad, I found open, and six sheep out, and for these I now commenced +a cautious search. + +About twenty yards from the pen, I found one of my best sheep lying on +the grass with his throat cut very scientifically just behind the ear. +A few paces further on, I found another, and so on, till five were +forthcoming. The sixth I did not get till the morning, which was the +only one that escaped the teeth of the marauders. It seems that my +appearance with the light drove the wolves from their prey. + +Luckily for me, the weather was cold, my sheep fat, and well-butchered, +as far as bleeding was concerned, so that I was no great loser, except +by having a rather larger supply of mutton at one time than was quite +convenient for the housekeeping department. + +About eleven or twelve years since, I lost in one season a flock of +sheep by the wolves. This misfortune occurred, unluckily for me, in the +hottest month of the Canadian year, July. I had not housed my sheep, +because I found that, in very sultry weather, during the fly-season, +they would not feed in the day-time, but would creep under the fences +and into the Bush for shade. I, therefore, thought it best to risk +losing some, than to spoil the whole flock; for I knew the only time +they would graze was during the night, or very early in the morning. +Consequently, for three or four years previously, I had allowed them to +run at large during the summer months. + +One morning, I observed from the veranda in front of my house, a sheep, +which was standing on the opposite bank of the river. As I knew there +was no farm within two or three miles of the river in that direction, I +thought I would go over in a canoe, and see what brought it there. I +had not gone half way to the river when I discovered the mangled +carcass of one of my own sheep, and on further search found ten more, +lying, half-devoured, in different directions—the murder was now out. +The sheep I had seen on the opposite shore was one of my own, which had +taken to the water, and had thus escaped the fangs of the wolves. I saw +two more of my luckless flock on a shoal more than a mile down the +river, which—less fortunate than their companion—had been swept down by +the current and drowned. Exactly a week afterwards, I had a similar +number destroyed by the wolves. As far as I was personally concerned, I +may say that they were a total loss; for the weather was too hot to +keep the meat any length of time, so I gave the greater part of the +mutton to my neighbours. Since that time, I have had better luck, not +having lost any part of my flock, although I have invariably left my +sheep abroad during the night. + +Notwithstanding his ravenous propensities and cruel disposition, the +wolf is a very cowardly animal in his solitary state. Indeed, it is +only when he hunts in a pack, that he becomes formidable to man. Nature +has, in some measure, checked his evil disposition, by rendering him +timid. If he falls into a snare, he never attempts to get out of the +scrape; but crouches in a corner, awaiting his fate, without the least +intention of displaying any pluck to the trapper. + +That the cowardice of the wolf is very great, the following anecdote +will sufficiently prove. + +My wife’s youngest sister had a pet-sheep that she had brought up from +a lamb, and to which she was much attached. One afternoon she was going +down to the spring for a pitcher of water, when she saw a large dog—as +she thought—worrying her sheep, upon which, being naturally courageous, +she picked up a large stick and struck the beast two or three strokes +with all her strength, thus compelling him to drop her favorite. This, +however, he did very reluctantly, turning his head at the same time, +and showing his teeth with a most diabolical snarl. She saw at once, +when he faced her, by his pricked ears, high cheek-bones, long +bushy-tail, and gaunt figure, that her antagonist was a wolf. Nothing +daunted, she again bravely attacked him; for he seemed determined, in +spite of her valiant opposition, to have her pet, which he again +attacked. She boldly beat him off the second time; following him down +the creek, thrashing him and calling for aid with all her might; when, +fortunately, one of her brothers, attracted by her cries, ran down with +the dogs and his gun, but was not in time for a shot; for when the +felon wolf saw the reinforcement, he scampered off with all his speed. + +There are few dogs bred in the Canadas fit to cope with the wolf; +indeed, they seem in general to have a great dread of him. + +Colonel Crawford, a gentleman with whom I am well-acquainted, for he +was many years one of my nearest and best neighbours, was one day +partridge-shooting, near Buckhorn Mills, in the township of Harvey, +when his sporting-dog, which had been ranging the bush a little in +advance, came running towards him, yelping in a most piteous manner, +followed by a large wolf. So intent was the beast on his prey, that he +did not perceive the gallant colonel, who met his advance with both +barrels, which stopped his earthly career, and rescued poor Carlo from +his impending fate. The colonel was very proud of this exploit, both +because he had killed so large an animal with partridge-shot and had +saved his dog at the same time. + +According to an act of the Provincial Parliament, six dollars must be +paid by the county treasurer for every wolf-certificate, signed by a +magistrate. No certificate now will be granted, unless the scalp of the +animal is produced, which is then taken possession of by the +magistrate. This precaution is absolutely necessary; for, previously to +this arrangement, it was found that double the number of wolves were +killed, or, rather twice the number of scalps were brought in—one wolf +often furnishing two pates—a curious feature in Natural History. + +Many petty frauds of this kind have been brought to light; amongst +other cases, that of a magistrate, not a hundred miles from the county +town, who forged seventeen wolf certificates, and succeeded in getting +the money for them; and, most likely, emboldened by his success, would +have continued to drive a flourishing trade, had not his career been +suddenly stopped in the following manner. + +One of the persons, whose name had been made use of in one or more of +the certificates, was congratulated on his recent success. He, however, +denied that he had either shot or trapped a wolf during the last year, +and declared, “that there must certainly be some mistake.” An inquiry +was accordingly made, whereupon the whole nefarious transaction was +brought to light. + +Our magistrate was not long in availing himself of the proximity of the +United States; for the next day saw him an inhabitant of the good city +of Rochester, in the State of New York, where, I make no doubt, over +gin-cocktail, or mint-julep, he entertains the free and enlightened +citizens with an account of his adroit manner of “sloping” the British +Government. Luckily for Rochester, there are no wolves in that +neighbourhood. + +A celebrated wolf-trapper, in the township of Smith, once caught a fine +she-wolf, big with young. Her fore-paw broken below the knee, was the +only injury she had sustained. So he thought, if he could but keep her +alive till after her accouchement, he should be able to demand the +bounty for every scalp; for he considered that as there was no mention +made in the act respecting the size the wolves must be, he might as +well have the benefit of that oversight. He put his scheme, +accordingly, into effect, and it proved quite successful. Her wolfship +in a few days was safely delivered of five fine whelps, whose scalps, +with that of their mother, were duly presented to the magistrate. At +first he demurred respecting the certificate, but upon referring to the +statute, he found there was no provision to meet a case of this kind. +He, however, satisfied his moral justice by the reflection, “that if +the dam had remained at large a few days longer, and whelped in the +Bush, it would have amounted to the same thing, and that, perhaps, many +sheep had been saved from the greedy fangs of the growing family, by +the ingenious plan of the trapper.” It was a clever trick, no doubt—a +real Yankee shave; but one for which the sternest moralist can scarcely +get up an effective lecture. + +The Canadian wolf is not nearly so ferocious as the European animal, +nor I believe quite so large. I have heard of very few +well-authenticated accounts of persons having been destroyed by these +creatures, though I must say I should not like again to be in their +vicinity in a dark night, as more than once I have been. I was +returning from Whitby after dark, and had just entered the woods, +through which my path lay for a full mile and a half. The night being +dark, and the road not particularly good, I gave Prince the rein, and +allowed him to choose his own pace. Presently, I thought I heard a +pattering on the leaves, like the tread of animals, at which sound my +horse pricked up his ears, snorted, and shied nearly across the road, +so suddenly that I was nearly thrown out of the saddle. Well for me was +it, however, that I kept my seat; for instantly such an infernal +howling was raised all round me as made my heart leap up to my mouth, +and I must candidly own I felt horribly afraid I should fall into the +clutches of devouring wolves. My good steed Prince, I fancy, was as +scared as myself, for he galloped off, followed by the pack, who fairly +made the woods ring with their unearthly yells. They did not chase us +far, and ceased howling, having seemingly lost the scent; but in a few +minutes a fresh burst in the direction of the lake-shore plainly told +me they had regained it, and were on the track of a deer, which most +probably had crossed the road at the time when I first heard their +chorus. It is not very easy to describe one’s feelings on such +occasions. + +There is something particularly appalling in the full cry of a pack of +wolves, especially when alone in the woods, and at night. I have +frequently heard them at such times, when camped out on hunting +expeditions. However, we mustered strong and were well armed, so we +cared little for them or their yells. + +The only instance of any one being killed by wolves, to which I can +speak with certainty, occurred a few years back in the township of +Douro. A young lad of the name of M’Ewen was sent by his father to a +shoemaker, one George Disney, for his shoes. The distance was not more +than a mile by a path through the woods, and the boy was well +acquainted with the road. It appears, he went to Disney’s, and waited +for his shoes till nearly dark, when he started for home. But nothing +more was ever heard or seen of him till the thaw in the spring, +although diligent search was made at the time. Owing to a snow-storm +which fell the same night, he was lost. It was impossible to follow the +boy’s tracks, and as a pack of wolves had been heard the same night in +the immediate neighbourhood, no doubt was entertained that he had been +attacked and eaten by these ravenous monsters. Some bones and pieces of +clothing, supposed to have belonged to the unfortunate youth, were the +only memorials found of him. + +I have heard the old settlers say, that very few instances have +occurred like this in their recollection, though from the many persons +lost in the woods and never again discovered, it is more than probable +that some of them, when weakened by fatigue and hunger and no longer +able to defend themselves, may have fallen victims to their insatiable +maws. + +Several plans have been devised by the inhabitants for the destruction +of these animals. That most commonly resorted to, and which is +considered the least troublesome and the most efficacious, is poison. +The best and surest for that purpose is strychnine, one grain of which, +if genuine, will kill the largest wolf in Canada. I have used this +poison myself, when baiting for foxes. The properest method in the +winter-season, is to take a piece of hog’s-lard, about the size of a +walnut, make a hole in the centre, and insert it carefully with a quill +or the point of a small knife, taking care not to spill any on the +outside, then to fill up the puncture with some fresh lard. + +If you have heard, or have reason to know, that wolves are in the +vicinity, your best way is to bait with pieces of carrion of any +description. This must be done at some distance from the clearing, or +you will be sure to lose your own dogs, or kill those of your +neighbours, when you come to lay your poison, which you need not do +till you see some of your bait taken, and observe their fresh tracks. + +I know a gentleman who had lost an ox, which he had drawn away some +distance into the Bush. In a few days, finding the wolves had paid +their respects to the carcass, he laid out several poison-balls, and +actually killed six of them before the carcass was eaten. The value of +the wolves, including their skins and the bounty-money, amounted to +forty-four dollars, a nice little sum for a few hours’ trouble, not to +speak of the satisfaction of having contributed to extirpate this +devouring crew. I must, however, caution the uninitiated to be very +careful in the use of this deadly poison: indeed it should only be used +by the most experienced trappers, and then at some distance from the +settlement. + +The price of the wolf-skin varies from 5 shillings to 7 shillings, 6 +pence, Halifax currency, according to size and quality: they are always +in good demand for sleigh-robes.[1] Those made of this species of fur +are considered the most elegant and _distingué_. + + [1] Sleigh-robes are commonly made of bear or buffalo skins dressed + with the hair on. The most fashionable are racoon or wolf. Several of + these skins are sewn together, with the tails of the animals stitched + to the bottom of the robe. The inside lining is generally scarlet or + purple cloth. A well equipped sleigh should have two robes for each + seat, one of which should cover the cushions, and fall gracefully over + the back of the seat, whilst the other is drawn over the passengers, + and wraps them securely from the cold. + + +A perilous adventure once befel my brother-in-law, James. He was a bold +brave boy, of ten years old at the time, and was on his return home +with a pair of oxen, with which he had been assisting a neighbour +residing about six miles from his father’s house. His road lay by the +river shore, which was dreary enough at the fall of the year and in the +evening hour: but the child was fearless, and saw the deepening shades +sink into night without experiencing anything like apprehension. + +He was trudging on steadily, singing cheerfully as he walked, when a +sound came on the night-air that sent a shiver through the young +pedestrian’s frame—the war-cry of the wolves. At first he hoped he was +not the object of pursuit; but the hideous uproar came nearer and +nearer, and then he knew that he must instantly adopt some plan for his +escape. + +His route lay by the river shore, and he could swim well; but the night +was dark, and he might be hurried into the rapids; and to be dashed to +pieces on the rocks was scarcely less dreadful than to be mangled and +devoured by wolves. In this extremity, the child lifted up his brave +young heart to God, and resolved to use the only chance left him of +escape. So he mounted Buck, the near-ox, making use of his goad, +shouting at the same time to the animal, to excite him to his utmost +speed. + +In most cases, the horned steed would have flung off his rider, and +left him for wolves’ meat, without hesitation; but Buck set off with +the speed of a race-horse, as if fully aware of his young rider’s +peril. Nor was his companion less tardy. Fast, however, as the trio +fled, still faster came upon them the yelling pack behind; and James +could ever hear— + +“Their long hard gallop which could tire +The hound’s deep hate and hunter’s fire.” + + +Fortunately for him, old Buck heard it too, and galloped on and on; but +still the wolves came neater and nearer. James shouted to keep them +off; the oxen almost flying; their chains rattling as they went. This +clanking sound, to which the hateful pack were unaccustomed, made them +pause whenever they came close upon the oxen, whilst the latter +redoubled their speed, till at length these gallant racers left the +wolves behind, and finding themselves within a short distance of home, +never stopped till they brought the brave little fellow safely to his +own door. + +He had felt afraid but once; and that was when those dismal yells first +broke upon his ear—and _never_ lost his presence of mind. He trusted in +God, and used the means within his reach for his preservation, and +arrived safe at last. + +Few boys would have displayed so much sense and spirit—but the boy is +almost always the father of the man; and what James was then, he is +now. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +FORMATION OF THE CANADA COMPANY.—INTERVIEW WITH MR. GALT.—HIS PERSONAL +DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTER.—GUELPH.—DR. DUNLOP.—MY MEDICAL SERVICES AT +GUELPH.—DR. DUNLOP AND THE “PAISLEY BODIES.”—AN ECCENTRIC CHARACTER.—AN +UNFORTUNATE WIFE. + +I remember on my first visit to the mouth of the river Maitland, now +the site of Goderich, a bridle-path for seventy miles through the +trackless forest was the only available communication between the +settlements and Lake Huron. This was only twenty-four years ago. This +vast and fertile tract of more than one million acres, at that time did +not contain a population of three hundred souls; no teeming fields of +golden grain, no manufactories, no mills, no roads; the rivers were +unbridged, and one vast solitude reigned around, unbroken, save by the +whoop of the red-man, or the distant shot of the trapper. + +Reverse the picture, and behold what the energies and good management +of the Canada Company have effected. Stage-coaches travel with safety +and dispatch along the same tract where formerly I had the utmost +difficulty to make my way on horseback without the chance of being +swept from the saddle by the limbs of trees and tangled brushwood. A +continuous settlement of the finest farms now skirts both sides of this +road, from the southern boundary-line of this district to Goderich. + +Another road equally good, traverses the block from the western +boundary. Thriving villages, saw and grist-mills, manufactories, +together with an abundance of horses, cattle, sheep, grain, and every +necessary of life enjoyed by a population of 26,000 souls, fully prove +the success caused by the persevering industry of the emigrants who +were so fortunate as to select this fruitful and healthy locality for +their future homes. + +Much of this prosperity is due to the liberality and excellent +arrangements of the Canada Company, who have afforded every facility to +their settlers in regard to the payments for their land: I particularly +refer to their system of leasing, which affords the best chance +possible to the poor emigrant. + +“This spirited and enterprising” Company’s principal tract of land lies +nearly in a triangular form, commencing in latitude 43 degrees, and +extending about sixty-miles along the coast. In 1824, this incorporated +company contracted with Government for this line of country and some +others, as well as for a portion of the clergy reserves, comprehending +in all about two million acres, payable in fifteen years.[1] + + [1] M’Gregor’s “British America.” + + +In the spring of 1827, a memorable year for Canada, the Company +commenced their operations at Guelph, under the superintendence of John +Galt, Esq. + +I had heard a great deal about the fertility of their lands, especially +of those in the Huron tract, containing a million of acres in one +block, of which I shall hereafter speak more particularly.[2] As I was +enterprising, and fond of an active life, I resolved to go and judge +for myself; and as I heard the superintendent was then at Toronto, I +determined to call upon him there and collect all the information in my +power. + + [2] The territory from which the Huron tract has been selected, was + explored previously to the selection being made, and the reports which + were received from the parties employed on that mission were of the + most satisfactory nature. This tract is bounded on the west by Lake + Huron, along which it runs for nearly sixty miles, having within its + limits one considerable river, at the mouth of which is a good + harbour; another river, which may probably be rendered navigable, and + numerous creeks and streamlets, many of which are large enough, and + have fall sufficient to drive mills or machinery of any + description.—Mac Taggart’s “Three Years in Canada.” + + +My first interview with Mr. Galt, the celebrated author of “Laurie +Todd,” took place at the Old Steam-boat Hotel, in February, 1828. He +received me with great kindness, and asked me many particulars of +Bush-life, connected with a first settlement. + +I suppose my answers were satisfactory, for he turned towards me +abruptly, and asked me, “If I would like to enter the Canada Company’s +Service; for,” said he, “I want a practical person to take charge of +the out-door department in the absence of Mr. Prior, whom I am about to +send to the Huron tract with a party of men to clear up and lay off the +New-town plot of Goderich. You will have charge of the Company’s +stores, keep the labour-rolls, and superintend the road-making and +bridge-building, and indeed everything connected with the practical +part of the settlement.” + +This was just the sort of life I wished; so I closed at once with his +offer. No salary was to be named, till I had been three months in the +Company’s employ. Indeed, I left everything to Mr. Galt, who, I felt +certain, would remunerate me according to my deserts. + +In person, Mr. Galt was, I should think, considerably above six feet in +height, and rather of a heavy build; his aspect grave and dignified, +and his appearance prepossessing. His disposition was kind and +considerate; but at the same time he commanded respect; and I can say +with sincerity, I always found him an upright and honourable gentleman. + +Of Mr. Galt’s fitness for the office of superintendent of the Canada +Company, it would, perhaps, be considered presumptuous in me to give an +opinion. His position was an unfortunate one, and from his first +residence in the country till his resignation, there appears to have +been a serious misunderstanding between him, the Governor, and the +Executive-council, in consequence of which, Galt’s character was +misrepresented at home as that of a meddling politician and troublesome +person. Other charges regarding the wasteful expenditure of money in +forming the new settlements were laid before the Directors, and these +repeated complaints against him left him no other alternative than to +resign his situation. + +My own opinion is, that Galt was ill-used by the Canadian Government. +He says in his “Autobiography,” that his whole and sole offence +consisted of having accepted a file of the “Colonial Advocate,” and +shaken hands with the editor, the notorious William Lyon Mackenzie. In +those days of ultra-toryism, such an instance of liberality and freedom +from party-prejudice was sufficient to excite the displeasure of the +Governor and his council. There is no doubt that Galt acted imprudently +in this matter, though I fully believe without any intention of +opposing the Government. + +In regard to the Company’s affairs, more might be said to his +prejudice—not in respect of his integrity, for, I believe him to have +been a most honourable man, and incapable of any meanness—but in regard +to his management. Although, as the original projector of the Canada +Company, he evinced much cleverness, and afterwards displayed +considerable judgment in the choice of the best situations for building +towns and villages, yet he committed some grievous mistakes. His ideas +were generally good; but often not well carried out in detail. + +His first error was in the selection of persons to fill the various +offices belonging to the Company. For, instead of appointing men who +had long experience in the country, and who were, therefore, +practically qualified to superintend the workmen by their experience of +all the requirements of a new settlement, he filled these situations, +for the most part, with inexperienced young men, recently arrived from +the old country, who, of course, could know nothing of road-making and +bridge-building, and were, therefore, incapable of directing a number +of workmen. Then, again, most of the hands employed on the Company’s +works were new settlers, and, of course, knew nothing of chopping, +house-building, or clearing land; and yet these men were paid just as +much as if they had served a long apprenticeship in the country. If Mr. +Galt’s appointments had been judicious, there is no doubt, in my mind, +that half the outlay would have produced greater results. + +It was arranged that I should meet Mr. Galt at Toronto, in April, at +the commencement of the spring operations. At the appointed time, I +again waited upon him, when he ordered me to Guelph, to take charge of +the department, as formerly agreed upon between us. He then introduced +me to Dr. Dunlop and Mr. Prior, who kindly invited me to take a seat in +their waggon, which would leave for Guelph in a few hours. The former +gentleman is well known in the literary world, as the author of the +“Backwoodsman.” + +During our journey, I found that he deserved his celebrity for good +companionship, which was fully borne out on this occasion. He could, +indeed, speak well on any subject. He was full of sound information, +and overflowed with anecdote—in fact, his way of telling a story was +inimitable. He had a fund of wit, which seemed almost inexhaustible. + +My fellow-travellers left me at Mr. Galt’s house, near Burlington +Heights, where, after taking some refreshment, I again proceeded on my +journey, and ultimately reached Guelph on the afternoon of the second +day. + +The situation of the town I found exceedingly pleasant, and well +watered. It was built in an angle, formed by the confluence of the +rivers Speed and Eramosa. The town-plot also abounds with copious +never-failing springs, of the purest water. + +I found some twenty or thirty log-houses, about as many shanties, a +large frame-tavern building, a store, two blacksmiths’ shops, and the +walls of two stone-buildings, one of which was intended, when finished, +for the company’s office. Besides these edifices, Dr. Dunlop and Mr. +Prior had each a good house, and there was the Priory, a large +log-building, afterwards occupied by the superintendent. This was +pretty well, considering that a year only had elapsed since the first +tree was felled. + +Mr. Galt, in his “Autobiography,” has given an account of the founding +of the town of Guelph,[3] and how Mr. Prior, Dr. Dunlop, and himself, +cut down the first tree—a large sugar-maple, whereupon the Dr. produced +a flask of whiskey, and they named and drank success to the new town. +This was on St. George’s day, April 23rd, 1827. Eighteen months after +this, by Mr. Galt’s orders, I had the stump of that tree inclosed by a +fence, though, I make no doubt, it has long since decayed. The name of +the founder will, however, remain,—a better and more enduring memorial. + + [3] “This name was chosen in compliment to the royal family, both + because I thought it auspicious in itself, and because I could not + recollect that it had ever been before used in all the king’s + dominions.”—Galt’s Autobioography. + + +On my arrival, I drove up to the only tavern in the place, a small +log-house, kept by one Philip Jones, an Englishman—or, rather, by his +wife—a buxom, bustling body, who was, undoubtedly, the head of the +establishment. In answer to my inquiry for lodgings, she courteously +informed me that she had neither bed nor blanket, but what was doubly +occupied, and, moreover, that she was sure I could not obtain one in +town, as every house was full of emigrants; but as the most of her +lodgers would leave for the Huron tract on the morrow, she should be +able and happy to accommodate me after their departure. With this +promise I was obliged to be satisfied. + +I might, perhaps, have succeeded in obtaining a share of a bed, but as +I did not know what population I might gain, or, indeed, what might be +the unpleasant results of such an arrangement, I preferred a hay-loft, +in which I slept soundly till the break of day. + +The superintendent and his staff arrived the next morning, when I was +duly installed in my office. Mr. Galt’s coach-house being unoccupied, I +took immediate possession, and converted it into a very respectable +store-house and office, till a building was completed for that purpose. +I was thus fairly established as an _employe_ in the service of the +Canada Company. + +The township of Guelph contains upwards of forty thousand acres of +land, of a fair average quality, well timbered, and well watered. I +believe the Company have disposed of all their saleable lots in this +township. I was fully employed the whole summer in constructing two +bridges, one over the Speed, and the other over the Eramosa branch, and +also in opening a good road to each. These bridges were built of cedar +logs, and on a plan of my own, which Mr. Galt highly approved. I +should, however, have preferred square timber, framed in bents, which, +I think, would have been more durable, and better adapted for the +stream they were intended to cross. + +Amongst the men under my charge, I had two Mohawk Indians, both of whom +were excellent choppers, and behaved themselves remarkably well. One of +them was called Henhawk, and the other William Fish. The Mohawks are +more civilized, and make better farmers than the Chippewas, and I think +are a finer-looking race of men.[4] + + [4] Benjamin West, the celebrated American painter, on being shown the + Apollo Belvidere, astonished a number of Italian cognoscenti by + comparing that _chef d’œuvre_ of ancient Greek art to a young Mohawk + warrior. But the fine proportions of these savage warriors, and their + free and graceful action, rendered the remark of this great artist a + just and beautiful critique, and of a complimentary not a depreciating + character. + + +My time passed pleasantly enough at Guelph, for I had plenty of work to +do, and in all labour there is profit. And what could be better for a +healthy, active young man than the employment of assisting in settling +a new country? + +The only drawback to my comfort was the temporary loss of the society +of my wife; a pretty, sensible young woman, whose mental and personal +charms had, since my union with her, formed the happiness of my life. +We cannot, however, have every blessing at once, and I worked on +cheerfully in the hope of getting things comfortably round me for my +dear girl against the moment when she would join me. + +Besides the services rendered to the Company, I performed _con amore_ +some gratuitous ones for the benefit of the township of Guelph, which +will, doubtless, both surprise and astonish my readers. We had no +medical man in Guelph for some months after my arrival, so, for want of +a better, I was obliged to turn physician and surgeon, and soon became +very skilful in bleeding and tooth-drawing, and, as I charged nothing, +you may be sure I had plenty of customers. And so well pleased was Dr. +Dunlop with my proficiency, that he invariably sent all his patients to +me. + +I remember one time in particular, he came over to my office and +inquired for me, when, on the store-porter telling him I had just gone +out, he said, + +“Tell him when he comes back, to take the calomel and jalap down to my +house, and treat those Paisley bodies with a dose apiece.” + +“What! all of them, sir?” + +“Yes, to be sure; they are but just arrived, and have got as fat as +pigs on the voyage. Some of their bacon must be taken off, or with this +heat we shall have them all sick on our hands. And tell him not to +spare the jalap.” + +When I returned and heard the message, I literally obeyed his order by +administering forty-two doses of various strengths to the men, women +and children, designated by the Doctor as the “Paisley bodies.” + +This wholesale way of medical treatment was in this instance attended +with a good effect; for there did not occur a single case of sickness +amongst them during the summer. + +Shortly after this, a medical man, a Mr. W——, applied for a town-lot +and commenced practice. This gentleman was certainly a great oddity. He +never had but two patients that I ever heard of, and they both died. +The settlers used to call him the “mad doctor,” and I believe not +without good reason. He built a log-house without any door, his mode of +entrance being through a square hole he had cut out of the end of the +house about six feet from the ground. + +I walked over to his place one day to speak to him on some business, +and found him very busy in his garden, driving into the ground a great +quantity of short sticks. + +I asked him “what all those sticks were for.” + +“Why you see, sir, I have planted part of my garden with Indian corn, +and I am putting sticks down to mark the places where I have planted +them.” + +A day or two afterwards I met him wearing his coat turned inside out, +the rough seams and red-edging of which had a very curious effect. I +inquired “what might be his reason for going about in such a costume?” + +“Well, you see I call this my morning attire; in the evening I have +nothing to do but turn my coat, and, lo! I am dressed; a very capital +arrangement, and quite good enough for the Bush. Do not you think so?” + +“As far as regards economy,” I replied, “it may do well enough, and as +you do not appear to care about being laughed at, your plan will +answer: and who knows but that you may have the pleasure of introducing +a new fashion into the colonies?” + +Amongst other odd characters I had to deal with, was a Mr. W——, I +believe a portrait and miniature painter by profession, who had +travelled a good deal in Russia, and understood that language well. He +purchased a lot of land from the company on the Waterloo-road, about a +mile from the village. Under the ground-plot chosen by him to build on, +he found there existed a good quarry of limestone; so he made up his +mind to build a stone-house, although he had spent his last dollar, and +his profession in a new and poor settlement would avail him very +little. + +However, he went to work, excavating the stone which he had found when +digging his cellar, for building the walls of his house: his only +assistant in the undertaking was a delicate ladylike young woman, whom +he had married in the United States, and brought here as a bride. He +treated his unfortunate partner like a slave. She had to mix and carry +all the mortar, and help him to raise the stone. + +I often, on an evening, walked down to see how they were getting on +with their job, and was quite astonished to find how well they +progressed. But, at the same time, I pitied the poor wife exceedingly, +whom the neighbours said he treated very harshly, notwithstanding her +conjugal devotion to him. + +At the end of three months his creditors began to threaten him. His +land was still unpaid for, and the walls of his house unfinished. When +too late, he counted the cost of completion, and found his best plan +was to take a Yankee leave, and clear out, leaving his unfinished home +as a legacy to his creditors. + +How to beat a retreat, and take his goods and chattels with him, +without discovery, was a difficult matter. He, however, set his wits to +work, and adopted the following plan, which, in theory, looked feasible +enough, but, when put in practice, was found not quite so easy as he +had anticipated. + +He knew that the river Speed, which ran at the rear of his lot, after a +course of fourteen or fifteen miles, debouched into the Grand River, +and was, from thence, navigable for boats to Lake Erie, a distance of +some seventy or eighty miles further. He, therefore, conceived the plan +of building a small scow,[5] large enough to hold his wife, himself, +and his effects, and silently dropping down with the current, bade +adieu to their sylvan retreat, and the great city of Guelph, which, +however, he was destined to see again, much sooner than he expected. + + [5] A long-shaped flat-bottomed boat of the same width the entire + length, rising gently at each end, built of two-inch plank, and much + used on shallow rivers and creeks. + + +He built his boat close to the river’s edge, having, with the +assistance of his wife, carried the planks down for that purpose. I +suppose he took a lesson from Robinson Crusoe, not to build his scow +too far from the water. + +Everything being ready, the boat was launched and freighted, our hero +in the stern, with steering paddle in hand, and his patient _compagnon +de voyage_ acting, as bowman. + +The Speed is a shallow, swift, running stream, seldom exceeding three +feet in depth during the dry season. For the first mile they got on +pretty well, till they came to a jam of drift wood; over this with +great difficulty they hauled their scow; every few yards fresh +obstructions occurred in the shape of snags, fallen trees, and drift +wood, which caused them to upset twice before they had accomplished the +second mile, till at last an extensive jam across the river many yards +in length, put a complete barrier to their further advance. + +Wet and weary, half the day gone, and no chance of proceeding down the +stream, they determined to retrace their course. This was not easy to +accomplish, for the current was too swift to paddle against; so, tying +a short piece of rope to the stem of the scow, he ordered his +unfortunate wife to take the water and tow the boat, whilst he sat in +state in the stern assisting with his paddle. + +In the evening, I was walking out with my wife; and as we were passing +I thought we would look in and see how their work progressed, when to +my astonishment I saw Mrs. W—— sitting on a stone, weeping bitterly. I +perceived at once that something extraordinary had occurred, for her +dress was sadly torn and saturated with wet. Upon making an inquiry +respecting her appearance, and the causes of her grief, she told me the +sad story I have just related, adding, that they had only just got back +from their expedition, and that all her clothes, bed, and blankets were +wringing wet. + +My wife, who had lately joined me, and was of a most kind disposition, +always ready to help those in distress, offered her an asylum for a few +days, and a change of apparel, which she thankfully accepted. Her +brutal husband cleared out the next day, and she joined him the week +following. + +Some time afterwards, I was told that Mrs. W—— had committed suicide, +goaded, doubtless, to desperation by the ill usage of her partner, and +the hardships she had to endure. As this, however, is only hearsay, I +will not vouch for its truth; though from my knowledge of the parties I +am afraid it was only too true. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +PORCUPINE-CATCHING.—HANDSOME BEHAVIOUR OF MR. +GALT.—OWLINGALE.—INTRODUCTION TO THE SON OF THE CELEBRATED INDIAN +CHIEF, BRANDT.—EXPEDITION TO WILMOT.—SHAM WOLVES.—NIGHT IN A BARN WITH +DR. DUNLOP.—THE DOCTOR AND HIS SNUFF-BOX.—HIS BATH IN THE NITH.—LOUIS +XVIII. AND HIS TABATIERE.—CAMP IN THE WOODS.—RETURN TO GUELPH. + +One day, being out in the woods with an emigrant, examining a lot of +land, I was attracted by the barking of my dog, who had treed some +animal, which, upon coming up, I discovered was a porcupine. We cut +down the tree, a small beech, in which he had taken refuge, and secured +him alive. I did not notice my dog till I got home, when I found his +mouth was full of quills, which the porcupine, in self-defence, had +darted into him. The manner in which they accomplish this is, by +striking the object that offends them with their tail, when the outside +points of the quills, being finely barbed, if inserted ever so +slightly, retain their hold, and are easily detached from the porcupine +without pain. + +I once lost a fine Irish greyhound, who was stuck full of quills in +this way, although I pulled out hundreds of them from his mouth, head, +and different parts of his body, with a pair of pincers. In fact, some +of these barbs had worked into him nearly their whole length, so that I +had a difficulty in getting hold of the end of the quills to extract +them; and I have no doubt, as the dog died, that many of them had +completely buried themselves in some vital part, and caused his death. + +I took home my prize, and put it into a barrel in a dark corner of the +store, which was half full of nails. A few minutes afterwards, Dr. +Dunlop, as he often did, came in to see me, and drink a glass of cider, +of which I had at that time some of excellent quality in bottle. The +Doctor, as he said, used to “improve” it, making what he called, “a +stone-fence,” by inserting a small _soupcon_ of brandy from a +pocket-pistol, which he was too much in the habit of carrying about +with him in hot weather. + +“Now,” said I, “Doctor, I know you like a bit of fun. When Fielding, +the porter, comes in, ask him to go to that barrel in the corner and +fetch you a nail; for I have got a live porcupine in it that I have +just brought home from the woods.” + +The Doctor was mightily tickled with the notion; so, as soon as poor +Fielding made his appearance, he sent him off to the barrel. Quite +unsuspiciously the man put in his hand for the nail, and as quickly +drew it out again, with the addition of some half a score quills +sticking to his fingers, to the no small delight of the Doctor, who +greatly enjoyed Fielding’s consternation, for the porter thought the +devil himself was in the tub. + +Every one who came into the store during the afternoon was served the +same trick by the Doctor, and it was certainly amusing to watch their +countenances and hear their remarks, those who showed the most anger +being of course the most laughed at for their pains. + +Shortly after, a Mr. Smith, an accountant, was sent out by the +directors to examine the accounts, and report on the state of the +Company’s affairs in the colony. A few days after his arrival, he went +round with the superintendent, and examined the works that had been +completed, and those in progress. Mr. Galt and the accountant both +expressed themselves much pleased with what I had done, especially with +the bridge connecting the clergy-block (now called the township of +Puslinch) with the town of Guelph. + +In the afternoon, Mr. Smith called upon me and said he was authorized +by the superintendent to arrange with me as to the amount of salary I +was to receive. He then informed me the amount that Mr. Galt had +instructed him to offer me—a liberal income, and the use of a house +rent-free, desiring him at the same time to express his satisfaction at +the manner in which I had conducted the operations since my engagement +with the Company, in which, he said, from what he had seen, he fully +concurred. + +As this result was entirely unsolicited by me, and as it was generally +understood that the accountant had been sent out partly as a check on +the superintendent, to prevent extravagant expenditure, I took this as +a compliment paid by both to my abilities and integrity. + +Several of the clerks had light neatly-made boats, in which we used to +make excursions up the Speed for the purpose of trout-fishing. I think, +without exception, this stream is the best for that species of fish I +ever saw. I have frequently caught a pailful of these delicious trout +in the space of two or three hours. For my own part, I found a small +garden-worm the best bait; but one of our clerks, a Mr. Hodgett, was +skilful with the fly, and consequently used to catch his fish in a more +scientific manner. + +My native county, Suffolk, with the exception of that part watered by +the Waveney, is not famed for its fly-fishing: therefore I was no adept +in the gentle art, but in ground-bait angling I consider myself no +contemptible performer. + +The small streams and creeks are so overarched with trees in Canada, +that it is almost impossible, except in odd spots, to make a cast with +the fly without endangering your tackle. + +The speckled trout in the river Speed vary in size from four ounces to +a pound and a half, though it is seldom that one of the latter size is +captured. + +Guelph I consider to be remarkably healthy, and for an inland town very +prettily situated. I think, however, that the town-plot was laid out on +too large a scale—especially the market-place, which is large enough +for a city containing fifty thousand inhabitants. I have not been there +since 1832. It has since become the assize-town for the Wellington +district, and consequently has greatly increased both in size and +population. + +Although I had been several months a resident in Guelph, I had neither +seen nor heard a clergyman of the Established Church. Why are we always +the last to send labourers into the vineyard? No sooner does a small +village, composed of a mill, a black-smith’s shop, and a few houses, +spring up in the woods, than you find a Presbyterian, Methodist, or +Baptist Church—or perhaps all three—settled there immediately. No +wonder, then, that our church is losing ground when so little energy is +displayed either in building churches or sending active and zealous men +to preach the gospel. + +The first person I heard preach in Guelph was a tailor, who had made a +professional visit to the city, and who had the reputation of being +considered a very eloquent man. Due notice having been given, a large +congregation assembled to hear Mr. H——, who, to do him justice, was +eloquent enough, though his sermon was all in his own praise from +beginning to end. + +He said that “he had once been a great infidel and an evil liver, but +now he was converted, and was as good as he formerly had been wicked; +and be hoped that all his hearers would take example from him and do as +he had done—forsake the crooked paths and steadfastly follow the +straight.” After this autobiographical discourse was at length over, +and a brother snip invited him to dinner, I was also honoured with an +invitation, which my curiosity induced me to accept. + +I found that the party consisted of a magistrate and his wife, from +E——, the mad Doctor, and Mr. Y——, one of the Company’s clerks. Our +host-tailor, No. 1, took the head of the table; the preacher, tailor +No. 2, sat at the foot. The dinner itself was quite a professional +spread, and consisted of a fine fat roast goose at the top, and another +at the bottom—a large dish of cabbage in the centre, and a plate of +hard dumplings on each side. Mr. Y——, who sat opposite, gave me such a +comical look when the second goose made its appearance, that I found it +impossible to suppress my risibility, which, unfortunately for me, +exploded just as the preacher—who, of course, mentally consigned me to +perdition—commenced a long grace; but if the Governor-General himself +had been present, I do not think I could have restrained my inclination +to laugh. + +The dinner was certainly excellent of its kind; and in a new settlement +where nothing but salt pork and beef could be obtained, I might with +truth say, that it was a great treat. After the cloth was removed, it +was proposed by the magistrate’s lady, that the company should sing a +hymn, upon which the mad Doctor, who was considered the most pious, as +well as the most scientific, singer of the company, sang like an +owlingale, Pope’s celebrated lines:— + +“Vital spark of heavenly flame, +Quit, O quit; this mortal frame. + + +I am ashamed to say that I was obliged to stuff my handkerchief into my +mouth to keep from laughing outright; and no wonder, for I never heard +such an insane screeching in all my life. + +In the course of the summer, Mr. Buchanan, the British Consul, visited +Guelph, when the superintendent gave a public dinner at the Priory, to +which I had the honour of an invitation. Amongst other guests was John +Brandt, the chief of the Mohawks, and son of the celebrated chief whom +Campbell the poet, in his “Gertrude of Wyoming,” has stigmatized as— + +“The monster, Brandt, +With all his howling, desolating band.” + + +And again— + +“Accursed Brandt! he left of all my tribe, +Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth.” + + +It is said that John Brandt was very angry when these lines were +pointed out to him.[1] + + [1] Campbell subsequently made an apology to him. + + +On his health being drunk, he acknowledged the courtesy in a short but +eloquent speech. He was not handsome, though rather a fine-looking man. +I believe he died of cholera in 1832. + +One day, Dr. Dunlop came to my house, and informed me that I was to +accompany him on an expedition to the township of Wilmot, joining the +Huron tract, to examine the site, and make a report of the probable +cost of building a bridge over the river Nith—or “Smith’s Creek,” as it +was then called—one of the tributaries of the Grand River. “The +accountant,” he said, “has taken it into his head that he will +accompany us; and, as he has never been in the Bush before, won’t we +put him through his facings before he gets back? that is all. Mind, and +keep your eye on me. When I am ready to play him off, I will give the +signal to you.” + +“Well, Doctor,” said I, “if you will take the blame, I have no +objection to the fun; but remember! I am a very young man, and if Mr. +Smith should complain to the Company—” + +“Oh, never fear,” was his reply, “for I will make it all right with +Galt, if he do. In the meantime, order my man to saddle the horses. Let +the Cockney have the roan-mare. You can take your own pony; and do not +forget to tell Hinds to bring the brandy. Should we have to camp out +all-night, a small _soupcon_ of the creature will do us no harm.” + +Everything being in readiness, we started about two o’clock, P.M. Our +route lay through the new settlement of Guelph and the fine townships +of Upper and Lower Waterloo. This tract of land was originally bought +and settled by a company of Dutch Pennsylvanians, upwards of fifty +years ago. The Grand River, or Ouse, intersects these townships—a fine +stream, spanned by several substantial bridges. This part of the +country is densely populated and very fertile. The soil, for the most +part, is a light rich loam. + +As soon as we had crossed the open country, we entered a narrow +bush-road, only just wide enough for two persons to ride abreast. It +must be remembered that Smith was a very bad rider, and looked as if he +had never been on horse-back before; for every time he rose in his +saddle you could see his horse’s head under him. + +The Doctor now gave me the wink to fall into the rear; then riding up +abreast of Smith, he commenced operations by slyly sticking his spur +into the roan mare, exclaiming at the same time, “Come, man, if we +don’t push on a little, we shall not reach Blenheim to-night.” + +As soon as the roan mare felt the spur, off she went at a rattling +pace, the Dr. keeping close along-side, and applying the spur whenever +he could get a chance. At first, Smith tried hard to pull in the mare; +then he shouted to the Doctor to stop her; instead of which, the spur +was only applied the sharper. At last, quite frightened, he seized the +mane with both his hands. And then commenced a neck-and-neck race for +nearly two miles—myself and the Doctor’s man, John Hinds, bringing up +the rear, and shouting with laughter. Smith was so frightened, and so +intent on stopping his run-away steed, that he never suspected his +persecutor who, looking quite grave, said, “He never remembered his +roan running off in that extraordinary manner before; but,” he added +with a grin, “I suspect, Smith, she knew you were a Cockney.” + +After this exploit, we went on soberly enough, until we entered the +township of Blenheim. We had still some distance to travel through a +dense forest, before we should reach Springer’s—a farm-house where we +intended to stop all night, and where the Doctor kept a store of good +things, under the charge of Mrs. Springer; for this was always his +halting-place, on his various journeys to Goderich. + +Darkness fell as we entered the Blenheim woods, and now the Doctor took +the opportunity of asking me, “If I thought that I could howl?” I +expressed confidence in my abilities that way. + +The Doctor then said, “Second any move of mine for pushing you on to +Springer’s. But mind,” continued he, “you are to stop within half a +mile of his clearing; and when you hear us coming, you must howl with +all your might, and leave the rest to me.” + +After a while, when it was quite dark, so that we could scarcely see +our horses’ heads, the Doctor proposed that I should take Hinds, and +“ride on as hard as we could, and tell Mrs. Springer to have supper +ready for us; and,” said he, “let the old man tap the whiskey I +forwarded to his house last week. We will follow you at our leisure; +for my friend is not used to travel after dark on such roads as these.” + +We accordingly rode on smartly, till we could perceive a slight +glimmering of light through the trees, which we knew to be Springer’s +clearing. We then halted, one on each side of the road, but entirely +concealed from view by the thick underbrush. As soon as we heard the +party coming, we set up a most unearthly yell, which made the woods +fairly ring again. We could hear the Doctor cry out, “The wolves! the +wolves! ride for your life, man,” and he then galloped off in the +direction from which they had just come. + +Poor Smith shouted after him at the top of his voice, imploring the +Doctor, for God’s sake, not to leave him. “Oh Lord!” we heard him say, +as he rode after the Doctor, “I shall surely be devoured by the +ravenous wretches. Help—help! Doctor—stop!” and such like piteous +ejaculations. + +The Doctor, who had ridden ahead, as soon as he heard his victim +approach, commenced in the same key as we had done before, and a dismal +howling we all made. Fear now compelled poor Smith to wheel the mare +round and ride back, whereupon we again greeted him with a second +edition, even—if that were possible—more diabolical than the first, +which terminated the fun sooner than we expected; for, losing all +presence of mind, he let his steed get off the track into the woods, +and, consequently, he was swept off by the branches. We heard him fall +and roar for help, which we left the Doctor to administer, and made the +best of our way to Springer’s, where, half an hour after, we were +joined by our fellow-travellers, one of whom had scarcely recovered +from his fright, and still looked as pale as a ghost. Two or three +glasses of whiskey-punch, however, soon restored him to his natural +complexion. + +I do not know if he ever found out the trick we had so successfully +played him; but if he did, he kept it to himself, rightly judging that +if the story got wind he would never hear the last of it. + +Springer had only one spare bed, which we resigned in favour of the +accountant, as some little compensation for the fright he had +sustained. The Doctor and I took possession of the barn, where we found +plenty of fresh hay, which we infinitely preferred to the spare bed and +its familiars. There we slept delightfully, till a chorus of cocks (or +_roosters_, as the more delicate Americans would call them) awakened us +from our repose, to the wrathful indignation of Dunlop, who +anathematized them for “an unmusical ornithological set of fiends.” + +We made an early breakfast off fried sausages, and the never-failing +ham and eggs, and were soon again in the saddle. We took the nearest +road to Plum Creek, where we left our horses, and proceeded for the +remaining four miles on foot, through a magnificent forest. + +We were now in that part of the township of Wilmot belonging to the +Canada Company, which did not then contain a single farm, but has been +since completely settled. At length, we came to a narrow valley, some +fifty or sixty feet below the level of the country through which we had +been travelling, in the centre of which flowed the Nith, sparkling in +the sun: the wild grapes hanging in rich festoons from tree to tree, +gave an air of rural beauty to the scene. For the convenience of +foot-passengers, some good Samaritan had felled a tree directly across +the stream, which at that place was not more than fifty feet wide. The +current was swift, though not more than four or five feet deep. + +Here a small misfortune happened to the Doctor, who was an inveterate +snuff-taker, and carried a large box he called a coffin—I presume from +its resemblance to that dreary receptacle. + +While in the act of crossing the temporary bridge, and at the same time +regaling his olfactory nerves with a pinch of the best Irish, his +famous coffin slipped from his grasp and floated away majestically down +the swift-flowing waters of the sylvan Nith. + +The Doctor was a man of decision: he hesitated not even for a moment, +but pitched himself headlong into the stream, from which he quickly +emerged with his recovered treasure. It is but justice to my friend +Dunlop, to remind the reader that his extravagant affection for his +snuff-box is not without a parallel in history, since Louis XVIII has +recorded with his own royal hand an attachment to his _tabatiere_, +equally eccentric and misplaced. + +Scarcely had this Prince escaped three miles from Paris and its +democrats, when, on putting his hand into his waistcoat-pocket, in +order to take a consoling pinch, he missed his snuff-box, which, in his +hurry, he had left upon his toilette, at the discretion of the mob. +“Mon Dieu, ma tabatiere!” was his horrified exclamation, as he +deliberated for a moment upon a misfortune so overwhelming. + +To go back to Paris was only to risk his life, while to proceed on his +journey was to lose his snuff-box. His philo-tabatierishness triumphed: +he returned, snatched up his beloved box, and made it the companion of +his flight; and, in all his vicissitudes, from exile to a throne, he +considered the possession of his favourite _tabatiere_ as his principal +consolation. The Doctor was no less rash than the French monarch, and +in recovering his _tabatiere_ equally fortunate. + +A good fire and some brandy soon made the Doctor all right again, after +his cold bath in the Nith. We now prepared our camp for the night: this +we had no trouble in doing, for we found plenty of poles and bark, +which had been used by the labourers, whilst cutting out the road to +the Huron tract. The Doctor’s man had brought a bundle of blankets and +an axe, from Springer’s, and I, like Dalgetty, carried the provender. + +While Hinds was cooking the supper, I prepared our bed, by breaking a +quantity of fine hemlock-brush to thatch the bottom of the camp, to +keep us from the damp ground, which it did quite effectually. I have +camped out, I dare say, hundreds of times, both in winter and summer; +and I never caught cold yet. I recommend, from experience, a +hemlock-bed, and hemlock-tea, with a dash of whiskey in it, merely to +assist the flavour, as the best preventive. + +The Doctor was in first-rate humour, and seemed determined to make a +night of it; and even the Cockney appeared to enjoy himself amazingly. +I knew, by the wicked eye of the Doctor, that he was bent on mischief. +Hinds was kept busy after supper in making brandy-punch, the Doctor +keeping us in a roar of laughter with his amusing anecdotes. I knew by +the long Latin quotations that Smith indulged in, that he was fast +verging on intoxication. For my part, tired and drowsy, I soon fell +into a state of pleasing forgetfulness, leaving my two companions in +the middle of some learned discussion, the subject of which I have long +forgotten. + +In the morning we examined the proposed site for building the bridge, +which we found presented no unusual difficulties. I have since been +informed that excellent mills and a thriving village now occupy the +very spot where we bivouacked on this memorable occasion. + +At Plum Creek we again resumed our horses, and, at the village of +Galt[2] we parted company. The Doctor and his man went on to +Flamborough[3] West; whilst Smith and I returned to Guelph, which we +reached a short time after dark, without inflicting on him any more +adventures. + + [2] Galt is a thriving town, situated on the west bank of the Grand + River, in the township of Dumfries. The town-plot originally belonged + to the Honourable William Dixon, who gave it that name in compliment + to the superintendent of the Canada Company. + + + [3] One of the prettiest situations in Canada West, commanding a fine + prospect of Ancaster and the surrounding country; and also the seat of + the Hon. James Crooks. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +A NEW WAY OF KEEPING A BIRTHDAY.—LOST IN THE WOODS.—KINDNESS OF MR. +GALT.—ADVICE TO NEW SETTLERS.—UNEXPECTED RETIREMENT OF MR. GALT.—I +ACCOMPANY HIM TO THE LANDING-PLACE.—RECEIVE ORDERS TO LEAVE GUELPH FOR +GODERICH.—WHIRLWINDS AT GUELPH AND DOURO. + +The 6th of November was my birthday, so I determined to give myself a +holiday, and go out _still-hunting_. I had been told by some of the +workmen that deer were very plentiful in the Clergy-block, so I started +early in the morning without waiting for my regular breakfast, merely +taking a biscuit, as I was too eager for the sport to have much +appetite; besides, I intended to be home to an early dinner. The sky +was overcast, and a few flakes of snow were falling, but I did not +dislike these signs; for I prefer a little dampness on the leaves, +which causes less noise from the tread—an important point to the +hunter; for when the leaves are crisp and dry, it is useless to attempt +approaching the deer, who are sure to hear you long before you get +within range. + +I considered myself a tolerably good woodsman, and was, therefore, not +much afraid of being lost; but I reckoned without my host in this +instance. After crossing the river, I proceeded for some distance along +a hard-wood ridge, till I came to a thicket of brush-wood, out of which +sprang three fine deer, a buck and two does. I fired at the buck as he +scampered off, and had the satisfaction of finding blood on the track, +which I followed for more than two miles. But I lost him at last in the +middle of a cedar-swamp, owing to the quantity of soft snow, which was +by this time falling heavily. I, therefore, thought it best to return +home, and put off my hunt to a more propitious day. + +On emerging from the swamp, which I did on the wrong side—for I had no +sun to guide me—I saw a fine doe within fifty yards of me, feeding on +the side of a hill. I thought I was sure of this one at any rate; but, +in this also, I was woefully disappointed; for the powder in the pan of +the lock had got damp by the wet snow, and only flashed in the pan. My +gun had the old flint-lock, percussion-caps being then hardly known in +the colonies. + +My second disappointment decided me to return home. This, however, was +sooner said than done; for, after walking for more than two hours, I +found I had lost my way, a conclusion as to which there could be no +mistake. At first, I thought it would be best to take my back-track, +but I found this would not answer; for the snow was melting as fast as +it fell. I could not even avail myself of the common indications for +finding my way, because the under-brush was still loaded with snow, so +that it was quite impossible to see fifty yards in any direction. + +Whilst I was debating what I had best do to extricate myself from this +dilemma, I came upon a tolerably fresh blazed line, which I suspected +was the boundary between the townships of Guelph and the +Clergy-reserve-block of Puslinch. In this idea I was perfectly right; +but the question now with me was, in which direction I should follow +the line. After considering for some time, as ill-luck would have it, I +took the wrong route, and, having walked at least three miles, came to +the end of the blaze, where I found a surveyor’s post, on which was +legibly written, in red chalk, on each side, the names of the four +townships, of which it was the corner-post; viz. Guelph, Puslinch, +Nasagiweya, and Eramosa; and lower down on the post, “_seven miles and +a half to Guelph_.” I had, therefore, nothing for it, but to turn back +on the line and retrace my steps. This I did in a smart run, for I saw +the shades of night fast gathering around me. + +In less than an hour I had passed the place where I first found the +blaze, but soon after came to a windfall,[1] where I found it +impossible to follow the line through. I was, therefore, compelled to +leave the blaze—my only sure guide—which, however, I still hoped to +re-find, by keeping round the edge of the windfall, till I again struck +the line. Just before dark, I saw a partridge sitting on a log, I +believe. I fresh primed, and snapped half a dozen times at him, without +effect, but the gun had got so wet, that at last I gave it up as a bad +job; though I should have liked him very much for my supper, for which +I had a ravenous appetite. + + [1] A heap of great trees blown down by the wind. + + +Presently, I came to a nice little spring creek running under some fine +shady cedars. The ground looked dry and mossy; and as it was nearly +dark, I thought the best thing I could do was to camp for the night, +for I knew it was impossible to find my way after dark. I immediately +collected a large quantity of dry balsam-fir, which lay about in great +profusion, and chose a cluster of spreading cedars for my camp. After +this, I piled a large heap of wood against one of the trees; and +rubbing some dry cedar-bark quite fine, put it under my wood. In order +to light my fire, I tore up a piece of a cotton handkerchief, which I +laid over the pan of my gun, newly primed. Having fired the cotton in +this manner, I enclosed it in the cedar-bark, keeping up the flame—not +by using that primitive bellows, my mouth—but, by waving the bark to +and fro, after the method used by the Indians. Thus, I soon had a large +cheerful fire, which I much needed, for I was thoroughly wet. + +My first care was to dry my gun and reload it, in case of wolves. +Whilst I was busy doing this, I heard a shot, and then another; but the +gunners were a long way off, as I knew by the sound—certainly not less +than three miles; and as I was quite aware it was useless for me to +attempt to make my way out, I contented myself with firing my gun in +answer to their shots, which, not being repeated, I also ceased firing, +though I had no doubt my neighbours were searching for me, but not near +enough to find me out. However, I discovered the direction in which +Guelph lay, by the sound of their volleys, so I did not despair, as I +felt sure of being able to regain my home in the morning. + +The snow soon ceased to fall, and the night came out fine and clear, +though rather sharp. I had a famous fire, and slept tolerably well, +though awaking occasionally with the cold; when I would replenish the +fire and turn my chilled side to the blaze, by which means I managed to +pass the night as well as I could expect under the circumstances, +considering, too, that I had eaten nothing from six o’clock the +previous morning. + +By day-break, I was on my march in the direction in which I supposed +Guelph to lie. The sun rose clear and bright, which enabled me to make +a true course in half an hour; for I began to recognize ridges I had +before traversed in former hunting excursions; and was soon confirmed +in this opinion, by the firing of guns and blowing of horns in the +direction I was going. In a few minutes, I heard two men in +conversation, one of whom was a native of Somersetshire, living close +to me. I stepped behind a large tree, directly in their path, when I +heard my neighbour say to his companion—“This is the way he generally +takes; I will warrant we shall find he.” At that instant, I fired my +gun close to them, which made them start with surprise. They then +informed me that Mr. Galt had sent out all the workmen in search of me. +This I was well-aware of, from the continual volleys which rang in all +directions. We were soon out on the main-road leading to the bridge, +where I found more than fifty of the inhabitants looking for me. + +This birthday hunting excursion turned out anything but a frolic; for +the result was, twenty-six hours’ starvation and the loss of a fine +buck; besides my being hungry, weary, and stiff, from sleeping all +night in the woods. Moreover, in common gratitude, I was bound to treat +my neighbours and the workmen sent to look for me, and the treat cost +me five gallons of whiskey. To add to this chapter of accidents, two of +the party who turned out to hunt for me in the woods, lost themselves, +and spent the night in as disagreeable a manner as I had myself done. + +I would advise all new settlers to provide themselves with a +pocket-compass, which can be procured for a few shillings. This should +be suspended round the neck by a ribbon, in the same manner as a +watch—and I need not add that in the Bush it is of infinitely more use. + +My employments in the Company’s service often obliged me to leave home +and take long journeys—fatiguing enough, indeed, they often were. But +youth is the season of enterprise, and always have accustomed myself to +look upon the bright side of everything, leaving to the grumblers the +reverse of the picture, upon which I fear they are only too fond of +dwelling. But I am sure a cheerful spirit is the best assistant in +carrying a settler through every difficultly. + +Early in the spring of 1829, I made a tour of the Newcastle district, +selling land and receiving payments for the Company. Whilst so +employed, I received a letter from the superintendent, informing me of +his resignation, and appointing me to meet him in Toronto with what +money I had collected. + +I was very sorry to hear of Mr. Galt’s retirement. He had always acted +in a kind and liberal manner towards me; and, indeed, when he left the +Company, I considered that I had lost a true and affectionate friend. I +could not help, therefore, noticing with regret that, although most of +the clerks belonging to the office were at that time in Toronto, only +Dr. Dunlop, Mr. Reid[2] and myself accompanied Mr. Galt to the +landing-place to see him depart and cry “God speed!” But this is the +way of the world. Those who should be most grateful when the hour of +adversity dawns on their benefactor, are often the first to desert him. + + [2] Mr. Galt’s friend and ornate secretary. + + +On the same day the Doctor introduced me to one of our new +Commissioners, Thomas Mercer Jones, Esq., a fine gentlemanly-looking +person. The other Commissioner was the Hon. William Allen. These +gentlemen were appointed by the directors to supersede Mr. Galt in the +direction of the Company’s affairs in Canada. On my return to Guelph, I +received an intimation that I must prepare to take up my residence in +Goderich, as my services in future would be required in the Huron +tract. + +A few days before my departure, I witnessed the most appalling land +tornado (if so I may term it), I ever saw in my life. As this is a +phenomenon seldom if ever witnessed in England, I think a particular +description may possibly interest those readers who are unaccustomed to +such eccentricities of Nature. + +In my hunting excursions and rambles through the Upper Canadian +forests, I had frequently met with extensive windfalls; and observed +with some surprise that the fallen trees appeared to have been twisted +off at the stumps, for they lay strewn in a succession of circles. I +also remarked, that these windfalls were generally narrow, and had the +appearance of a wide road slashed through the forest. + +From observations made at the time, and since confirmed, I have no +doubt Colonel Reid’s theory of storms is a correct one, viz.:—“That all +windstorms move in a circular direction, and the nearer the centre, the +more violent the wind.” Having seen the effects of several similar +hurricanes since my residence in Canada West, I shall describe one +which happened in the township of Guelph, during the early part of the +summer of 1829. + +The weather, for the season of the year (May) had been hot and sultry, +with scarcely a breath of wind stirring. I had heard distant thunder +from an early hour of the morning, which from the eastward is rather an +unusual occurrence. About ten A.M. the sky had a most singular, I may +say, a most awful appearance; presenting to the view a vast arch of +rolling blackness, which seemed to gather strength and density as it +approached the zenith. All at once the clouds began to work round in +circles, as if chasing one another through the air. Suddenly, the dark +arch of clouds appeared to break up into detached masses, whirling and +eddying through each other in dreadful commotion. The forked lightning +was incessant, accompanied by heavy thunder. In a short space the +clouds seemed to converge to a point, which approached very near the +earth, still whirling with great rapidity directly under this point; +and apparently from the midst of the woods arose a black column in the +shape of a cone, which instantly joined itself to the depending cloud: +the sight was now grand and awful in the extreme. + +Let any one picture to the imagination a vast column of smoke of inky +blackness reaching from earth to heaven, gyrating with fearful +velocity; bright lightnings issuing from the vortex—the roar of the +thunder—the rushing of the blast—the crashing of timber—the limbs of +trees, leaves and rubbish, mingled with clouds of dust, whirling +through the air—a faint idea is then given of the scene. + +“Through all the sky arise outrageous storms, +And death stands threatening in a thousand forms; +Clouds charged with loud destruction drown the day, +And airy demons in wild whirlwinds play; +Thick thunder-claps, and lightnings’ vivid glare +Disturb the sky, and trouble all the air.” + + +I had ample time for observation as the hurricane commenced its +desolating course about two miles from the town, through the centre of +which it took its way, passing within fifty yards of the spot where a +number of persons and myself were standing watching its fearful +progress. As the tornado approached, the trees seemed to fall like a +pack of cards before its irresistible current. After passing through +the clearing made around the town, the force of the wind gradually +abated, and in a few minutes died away entirely. + +As soon as the storm was over, I went to see what damage it had done. +From the point where I first observed the black column to rise from the +woods and join the cloud, the trees were twisted in every direction. A +belt of timber had been levelled to the ground about two miles in +length, and about one hundred yards in breadth: at the entrance of the +town it crossed the river Speed, and up-rooted about six acres of wood +which had been thinned out and left by Mr. Galt as an ornament to his +house. + +The Eremosa road was completely blocked up for nearly half a mile, in +the wildest confusion possible. In its progress through the town, it +unroofed several houses, levelled the fences to the ground, and +entirely demolished a frame-barn: windows were dashed in, and in one +instance the floor of a log-house was carried up through the roof. Some +hair-breadth escapes occurred, but, luckily, no lives were lost. + +About twelve years since, a storm of this kind occurred in the north +part of the township of Douro, though of less magnitude. I heard an +intelligent settler who resided some years in the township of Madoc +state that, during his residence there, a similar hurricane to the one +I have described, but of a more awful character, passed through a part +of Marmora and Madoc, which had been traced in a north-easterly +direction upwards of forty miles into the unsurveyed lands, the uniform +width of which appeared to be upwards of three quarters of a mile. + +It appears very evident that storms of this description have not been +unfrequent in the wooded regions of Canada; and it becomes a matter of +interesting consideration, whether the clearing of our immense forests +will not, in a great measure, remove the cause of these phenomena. + +Dark, heavy clouds were gathering in the west, + Wrapping the forest in funereal gloom; +Onward they roll’d and rear’d each livid crest, + Like death’s murk shadows frowning o’er earth’s tomb: +From out the inky womb of that deep night + Burst livid flashes of electric flame: +Whirling and circling with terrific might, + In wild confusion on the tempest came. +Nature, awakening from her still repose, + Shudders responsive to the whirlwind’s shock +Feels at her mighty heart convulsive throes; + Her groaning forests to earth’s bosom rock. + +But, hark! what means that hollow rushing sound, + That breaks the sudden stillness of the morn? +Red forked lightnings fiercely glare around: + What crashing thunders on the winds are borne! +And see yon spiral column, black as night, + Rearing triumphantly its wreathing form; +Ruin’s abroad, and through the murky light, + Drear desolation marks the spirit of the storm. +* * * * * * +How changed the scene; the awful tempest’s o’er; + From dread array and elemental war +The lightning’s flash hath ceased, the thunder’s roar— + The glorious sun resumes his golden car.[3] + + + [3] My description of this whirlwind, and the accompanying lines, have + already appeared in the “Victoria Magazine,” published in Canada West, + under the signature of “Pioneer.” + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +THE HURON TRACT.—JOURNAL OF DR. DUNLOP.—HIS HARDSHIPS.—I LEAVE GUELPH +FOR GODERICH.—WANT OF ACCOMODATION.—CURIOUS SUPPER.—REMARKABLE +TREES.—THE BEVERLY OAK.—NOBLE BUTTER-WOOD TREES.—GODERICH.—FINE WHEAT +CROP.—PURCHASE A LOG-HOUSE.—CONSTRUCTION OF A RAFT. + +I had always wished to go to the Huron tract, whose fine lake, noble +forests, and productive soil, have made it a source of wealth to many a +settler. The climate too, was mild, and I had heard a great deal about +it from my gifted and facetious friend Dr. Dunlop, whose services in +exploring that part of their possessions were not only useful but +inestimable to the Company, and, in fact, to emigration in general. + +“Dr. Dunlop, the Warden of the Company’s Woods and Forests, surveyed +the great Huron tract in the summer of 1827, assisted by the Chief of +the Mohawk nation, and Messrs. Sproat and MacDonald. They penetrated +the huge untravelled wilderness in all directions, until they came out +on the shores of the Huron, having experienced and withstood every +privation that wanderers can possibly be subject to in such places.”[1] + + [1] Mac Taggart’s “Three Years in Canada.” + + +The Doctor himself has given a very accurate account of the valuable +resources of the Huron tract. He says in his journal—“I have already +adverted to its nature and fertility, and think I may be justified in +adding, such is the general excellence of the land, that if ordinary +care can be taken to give each lot no more than its own share of any +small swamp in its vicinity, it would be difficult, if not impossible, +to find two hundred acres together in the whole territory, that would +make a bad farm. Although the land may be capable of raising any kind +of produce usual in that country, yet some spots are more particularly +advantageous for particular crops. The black ash-swales (a kind of +swamp) make the best ground for hemp; as by the scourging effect of two +or three crops, the ground will be made more fit for the raising of +wheat, for which, in the original state, it is too strong. The rich +meadows by the side of the rivers, (more especially such as are +annually overflowed,) are ready without farther preparation, for +tobacco, hemp, and flax. The lower meadows, and meadows adjoining +Beaver dams, which are abundant, produce at this moment enormous +quantities of natural hay and pasture; and the rest of the land, for +the production of potatoes, Indian corn, wheat, and other grain, is at +least equal, if not superior, to any other land in the Canadas. +Independent of the swamps, the timber on the land is very soon +described. + +“The sugar-maple is the principal growth, and the size and height which +it, as well as other trees, attains, sufficiently evince the strength +and power of the soil. Next to this come the beech, elm, and bass-wood, +in various proportions. In some instances, the beech and elm +predominate over the maple, but this is rare. Near the streams the +hemlock is found; and interspersed through the whole is the cherry, +butter-nut, the different species of oak, and the birch.”[2] + + [2] Mac Taggart’s “Journal of Dr. Dunlop.” + + +In exploring this, then unknown, wilderness, Dr. Dunlop encountered +many difficulties, and was more than once in danger of +starvation—though an Indian Mohawk Chief shared his risks and +perils.[3] As he told a story admirably well, I was delighted to hear +him discuss his peregrinations over a glass of brandy-punch, of which +he was very fond. Whatever might have been his feelings at the time, he +only made a joke of his trials at the period in which he related them +to me. + + [3] Mac Taggart’s “Journal of Dr. Dunlop.” + + +I should have experienced some regret in quitting Guelph, if the +society had been more to my taste. The only persons of education in +that town were, in fact, the Company’s officers, many of whom I might +reasonably expect to meet again at Goderich. Of course, I found some +exceptions, but the average was not in favour of Guelph. Besides, the +water was an attraction to me, as my Suffolk home was within a short +distance of the German Ocean. Brought up so near a sea-port, my natural +inclinations made me dislike an inland situation; and if I were not +going to have a sea-side residence, at least the shores of the mighty +Huron Lake came the nearest to it in my estimation. + +I left Guelph early in June with Mr. Prior, the Company’s agent at +Goderich. Our road after leaving Springer’s in Blenheim lay through the +township of Wilmot to the southern boundary of the Huron tract, and +from thence nearly in a straight line to the town of Goderich at the +mouth of the river Maitland, on Lake Huron, on our route for a distance +of nearly seventy miles, being bounded on the east by the townships of +North Easthope, Ellice, Logan, McKillop, Hullett, and the east part of +Goderich to the west, by South Easthope, Downie, Fullarton, Hibbert, +Tucker Smith, and the west part of Goderich. + +This road was a mere sleigh-track through the woods, newly cut out, and +rarely exceeding twelve feet in width. At this time we saw only three +log-cabins during the whole way, these being about twenty miles apart +from each other. These three were kept by Dutch or German emigrants, +who supplied travellers with whiskey and provisions—when they had +any—which was not always the case. Indeed, I can testify, to my sorrow, +to the uncertainty of finding a decent table provided for guests by +these foreigners; for I once had to stop at old Sebach’s, the centre +house, for the night, and being tired by a long day’s march through the +snow, I had calculated on making a capital supper. Not that I expected +anything better than tea, fried pork and bread and butter, to which, +hungry as I was, I should no doubt have done ample justice. Judge, +then, of my astonishment and disappointment, when mine hostess placed +before me a piece of dirty-looking Indian meal-bread, and a large cake +of beef-tallow, and, to wash down this elegant repast, a dish of crust +coffee without either milk or sugar, assuring me at the same time in +her broken English, “That she had nothing better in the house till the +return of her husband, who had gone fifty miles to the mill and store +for a supply of flour, groceries, and other fixings.” + +Not being a Russian, I rejected the tallow with disgust, and made but a +sorry meal of the other delicacies. + +On our route, we crossed several pretty streams, the principal of which +are the Avon, then called the Little Thames, the Big Thames, and the +Black Water. The Bayfield does not cross the road, though it makes a +bend close to it, and within sight. I believe I am correct in saying, +that we did not cross a single cedar-swamp from the time we entered the +Huron tract[4] till we reached Goderich, a distance of sixty-seven +miles. I consider this block the finest tract of land I ever travelled +over in Canada West. + + [4] “This interesting portion of the Company’s possessions contains a + million of acres in one block, within the compass of which a bad farm + could scarcely be found. The soil is a rich black loam, on clay or + limestone; and as it is entirely timbered with the best kind of hard + wood, no land in the Province is so well adapted for the manufacture + of potash, an object of considerable importance to the industrious + settler. It is bounded, for an extent of sixty miles, by Lake Huron; + is a separate district; and Goderich, its principal town, where the + district courts are held, is situated at the confluence of the river + Maitland with Lake Huron, where it forms an admirable harbour. The + population of the town is seven hundred, and there are several good + stores and shops in it; mechanics carrying on some useful trades. + There are also an episcopal church and other houses of religious + worship, and a good school, where the higher branches of the classics + are taught, as well as the more ordinary routine of + education.”—Statistics published by the Canada Company. + + +The land is well timbered with the best description of hard wood, +amongst which is to be found in considerable abundance, the black +cherry. This tree grows often to a large size, and is used extensively +for furniture, particularly for dining-tables: if well made and +polished, it is little inferior to mahogany, either in appearance or +durability. + +I remember, on this very journey, that Mr. Prior and myself were much +struck by the size and magnificent appearance of one of these +cherry-trees, which grew close to the road side, not far from the Big +Thames. Two years afterwards, passing the same tree, I got out of my +sleigh and measured the circumference as high as I could reach, which I +found to be ten feet seven inches, and, I should think, it was not less +than fifty feet in height from the ground to the first branch: it is a +great pity to see such noble trees as these either burned or split up +into fencing rails. + +I think the largest tree of the hard wood species I ever saw in this +country, was near Bliss’s Tavern, in the township of Beverly, and it +was called the Beverly-oak.[5] I was induced to visit this giant of the +woods from the many accounts I had heard of its vast dimensions, and +was, certainly, astonished at its size and symmetry. I measured it as +accurately as I could about six feet from the ground, and found the +diameter to be as nearly eleven feet as possible, the trunk rising like +a majestic column towering upwards for sixty or seventy feet before +branching off its mighty head. Mr. Galt, who was induced to visit this +tree from my description has, in his “Autobiography,” mentioned the +height of the trunk from the ground to the branches, as eighty feet; +but I think he has overrated it. I was accompanied to the tree by the +landlord, who remarked, “that he calculated that he should cut that +’ere tree down some day, for he guessed it would make enough rails to +fence the side of a ten acre field” + + [5] “On the road to Guelph, a short distance from Galt, there is an + uncleared portion of the primeval forest, on the edge of the township + of Beverly, where, in those days, a small tavern, convenient to rest + the horses of travellers, was situated. One day, when I stopped at + this house, while my horse was taking his corn, I strayed into the + woods, not many hundred yards, and came to a tree, the most stupendous + I had ever seen. + “At the first glance, the trunk reminded me of the London Monument, + an effect of the amaze which the greatness of its dimensions + produced. I measured its girth, however, at the height of a man + from the ground, and it was thirty-three feet, above which the + trunk rose without a branch to the height of at least eighty feet, + crowned with vast branches. + “This was an oak, probably the greatest known, and it lifted its + head far above the rest of the forest. The trees around, myrmidons + of inferior growth, were large, massy, and vigorous, but possessed + none of the patriarchal antiquity with which that magnificent + ‘monarch of the woods’ was invested. I think, therefore, that I was + not wrong in imagining it the scion of a forest that had passed + away, the ancestral predecessor of the present woods. + “Had I been convinced it was perfectly sound, I would have taken + measures for cutting it down and sending home planks of it to + Windsor Castle. The fate that awaited it would have justified the + profanation. The doubt of its soundness, however, and the + difficulty of finding tools large enough to do it justice, + procrastinated the period of its doom. I recommended the landlord + of the tavern to direct his guests, from time to time, to inspect + this Goliath of oaks.”—Galt’s “Autobiography.” + + +I replied, “Surely, you would not be such a Goth as to cut down such a +splendid oak merely for fence-wood, when you have plenty of rail-timber +which will answer that purpose equally well; and, besides, it may be +the means of drawing customers to your tavern.” + +“I do not know what you mean by a Goth; but I do know, if I could get a +crosscut saw long enough to cut that tree, I would not let it stand +there long; for you see it is mighty straight in the grain, and would +split like a ribbon.” + +Thus was this gigantic specimen of the primeval forest preserved for a +time, because there was not a saw long enough to cut it through in +Canada. I dare say there are many old oaks in England that exceed this +in diameter; but I do not believe one is to be found whose length of +trunk can be at all compared to it. + +On the flats about a mile from the mouth of the Maitland, are some very +large button-wood trees. There is one, in particular, growing near a +fine spring of water, the circumference of which appeared very vast, +though I did not measure it; but the tree was a complete shell, and had +a sort of natural arched doorway, just high enough to admit a +full-sized man. I was once inside this tree with Dr. Dunlop and eleven +other persons, at the same time. The trunk of this tree forked at +twelve or fourteen feet from the ground. There are several others of +this species near to the one I have described, of very large growth, +which apparently are sound, but not equalling it in size. + +I left a noble oak-tree standing in the middle of one of my fields in +the township of Douro, which I hoped I should have been able to +preserve, as it was such a remarkably fine tree. It, however, was +doomed to destruction; for in the summer of 1838, it was twice struck +with lightning in the space of a week. The first time, the bark only +was furrowed by the electric fluid, but at the second stroke it was +split from the top to the bottom, and thrown down by the violence of +the shock. I measured this tree correctly, and found the diameter, +twenty-four feet from the ground, to be five feet three inches. The +length of the trunk was forty-eight feet up to the first branch, and it +was perfectly sound to within three or four feet of the soil. + +Generally speaking, the white or American pine, from its vast length of +trunk, contains a larger number of cubic feet than any other tree in +the Canadian forest. I have seen several of these pines sold for masts, +the trunks of which were upwards of one hundred feet in length, and +full three feet in diameter, a third of the way up from the butt-end. +There is very little pine-timber on the Huron tract, which, though a +disadvantage in regard to building, is all the better in respect to the +land, hard wood being the best indication of a good soil. + +I did not—as I have said—regret my transfer to Goderich, though that +flourishing town was then in its infancy, the most unpleasant aspect in +which any Canadian settlement can be viewed. Still, I am pleased that I +have had the opportunity of tracing some of these important places from +their dawn to their present prosperous condition. + +I found the general aspect of the country level. There is scarcely a +rise of land sufficient to justify the appellation of hill from Wilmot +to Goderich; but as you approach the lake, the land becomes more +rolling, and better watered by fine spring streams. + +I was quite delighted with the situation of Goderich, though the +town-plot was only just surveyed. Three frame-houses were in process of +building. A log-house, beautifully situated on a bold hill, overlooking +the harbour, called by Dr. Dunlop, the Castle,[6] and a dozen or so of +log-cabins, comprised the whole town of Goderich, most of the latter +being inhabited by French Canadians and half-breeds. The upper town is +situated on a fine cliff fronting the lake and harbour, and upwards of +one hundred feet above the level of the water. + + [6] “In the afternoon of the following day, we saw afar off, by our + telescope, a small clearing in the forest, and on the brow of a rising + ground a cottage delightfully situated. The appearance of such a sight + in such a place was unexpected, and we had some debate, if it could be + the location of Dr. Dunlop, who had guided the land-exploring party + already alluded to. Nor were we left long in doubt; for on approaching + the place we met a canoe, having on board a strange combination of + Indians, velveteens and whiskers, and discovered within the roots of + the red hair, the living features of the Doctor. About an hour after, + having crossed the river’s bar of eight feet, we came to a beautiful + anchorage of fourteen feet water, in an uncommonly pleasant small + basin. The place had been selected by the Doctor, and is now the site + of the flourishing town of Goderich.”—Galt’s “Autobiography.” + + +The lower town comprises a few acres of alluvial flat, only a few feet +elevated above the river. This piece of land was destitute of trees or +stumps, and had evidently been cleared many years ago by the Indians, +who had cultivated it with Indian corn. I ploughed up this flat of land +for the benefit of the Company, and sowed it with oats in the spring of +’29; and, therefore, I can justly claim the honour—for the sake of +which I did it—of putting the first plough into the ground of the Huron +tract. I also put in four acres of wheat on the top of the hill near +the castle, in the fall of the same year, the yield of which was +upwards of forty bushels to the acre—a good yield for any country, +especially when it is considered that at least one-twelfth of the +ground may be fairly deducted for stumps of trees, stones, and other +obstructions, usually found in all new clearings. I believe, however, I +may say without exaggeration, that the Company’s tract may safely +challenge any other block of land of the same dimensions either in +Canada East or West, for fertility of soil, average yield per acre, or +healthiness of the climate.[7] + + [7] “The Canada Company’s Huron tract is known to be one of the most + healthy and fertile settlements in Canada. The tract in the year 1842 + contained 7101 souls. In June last year (1849) the Huron district + numbered 20,450 souls, according to official reports, exclusive of the + townships of Bosanquet and Williams. The Canada Company’s tract now + contains a population of 26,000 souls, showing an increase of 18,900, + and that the population has nearly quadrupled itself in seven years—a + progress of settlement of a tract of country scarcely exceeded in any + part of the North America.”—Information to Emigrants by Frederick + Widder, Esq. + + +I bought a small log-house and town-lot, or rather the good-will of +them, from a French Canadian, putting myself in his place with the +Company, with whom I completed the purchase. The situation was very +pretty, commanding a fine view of the Lake. I immediately prepared to +build a suitable house, to receive my wife and family, whom I had been +under the necessity of leaving behind me in Guelph, till I could make +suitable preparations to receive them here. + +At this time, there was only one saw-mill[8] in the whole Company’s +tract, and that was ten miles up the river, situated near the mouth of +a large creek, which flowed into the Maitland. This mill was built +close to one of the finest pine-groves in the block. + + [8] “In no situation can settlers be distant from a mill, as there are + at convenient places distributed throughout the tract twelve + grist-mills and twenty saw-mills, and the facilities for communication + are very great; for seventeen of the townships are bounded on the one + side by the great roads traversing the tract in two directions for one + hundred miles in extent, and six of them are bounded by the Lake on + the other side.”—Statistics published by the Canada Company. + + +I hired a man, who had been a raftsman on the Delaware, to go with me +by land up to the mill, for a few thousand feet of boards, that I +required for my new house. It was only seven miles to the mill by a new +cut-out sleigh-track, through the township of Goderich as far as the +Falls, which we crossed by wading the river just above them, which at +that time we were able to do, though not without some caution; for, +although the spring-floods were considerably abated, the water ran with +great rapidity, and in some places was up to our middles; but with the +help of a strong setting-pole, we got over with safety. + +We made our little raft in three cribs, of a thousand feet of boards in +each crib, which we connected together by short pieces of scantling, +which are bored near each end with a two-inch auger and strung on the +corner-pickets of each crib, thus uniting them in one length. At each +end of the raft, a long oar is securely fixed, in temporary rowlocks +for that purpose. + +The whole course of the river, from the mill to the harbour at +Goderich, is a strong rapid: two perpendicular falls occur in its +course to the lake. The Upper, or Big Fall, is about six feet, and the +Little Fall three. We made a capital run down, though in plunging over +the first Fall we were up to our arm-pits in water. But our little raft +rose gallantly to the surface; and we encountered no further +difficulty. + +I enjoyed my trip down the river amazingly. I do not know anything more +delightful, when all goes well than being borne over the foaming rapids +at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. The channel of the Maitland +is wide, and the banks picturesque. Our voyage did not exceed an hour, +though the distance was above nine miles. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +MY NEW HOUSE AT GODERICH.—CARPENTRY AN ESSENTIAL ART.—AMERICAN +ENERGY.—AGREEABLE VISITORS.—MY WIFE’S DISASTERS.—HINTS FOR ANGLERS.—THE +NINE-MILE-CREEK FROLIC.—THE TEMPEST.—OUR SKIPPER AND HIS +LEMON-PUNCH.—SHORT COMMONS.—CAMP IN THE WOODS.—RETURN ON +FOOT.—LUDICROUS TERMINATION TO OUR FROLIC. + +My new house at Goderich was constructed with cherry-logs neatly +counter-hewed both inside and out, the interstices between the logs +being nicely pointed with mortar. I had no upstair-rooms, excepting for +stowage. The ground-story I divided into a parlour, kitchen, and three +bedrooms. After office-hours I used to work a good deal at the +carpenter’s bench—for I was always fond of it when a boy. I had made +some useful observations, as well as tormenting our workmen on repairs +at home, with the usual amount of mischief, and I now reaped the +benefit of my juvenile experience. I was able to make the doors, and do +nearly all the insidework of my house myself. Indeed, it is really +essential for the well-doing of the emigrant, that he, or some members +of his family, should have some knowledge of carpentry—in fact, be a +jack-of-all-trades; and, in that excellent profession, educated +persons, healthy in mind and body, excel the most. + +There is a very true saying, that necessity is the mother of invention, +and in no country is it better exemplified than in Canada. The emigrant +has there, especially when distant from a town or settlement, to make a +hundred shifts, substituting wood for iron, in the construction of +various articles, such as hinges for barn-door gates, stable and +barn-shovels, and a variety of other contrivances whereby both money +and time are saved. + +I have often heard young men say, they “could not” do this or do that. +“Did you ever try?” is a fair question to such people. I believe that +many persons, with average capacities, can effect much more than they +give themselves credit for. I had no more been bred a carpenter than a +civil engineer, in which last capacity I was holding office +satisfactorily. My education had consisted of Latin, Greek, and French, +and the mathematics. My time had been spent in my own country; riding, +shooting, boating, filled up with a little amateur gardening. + +Want of energy is not the fault of the Americans; they will dash at +_everything_, and generally succeed. I had known them contract to do +difficult jobs that required the skill of the engineer or regular +architect, and accomplish them cleverly too, although they had never +attempted anything of the kind before; and they generally completed +their task to the satisfaction of the parties furnishing the contract. +“I cannot do it” is a phrase not to be found in the Yankee vocabulary, +I guess. + +It is astonishing how a few years’ residence in Canada or the United +States brightens the intellects of the labouring classes. The reason is +quite obvious. The agricultural population of England are born and die +in their own parishes, seldom or never looking out into a world of +which they know nothing. Thus, they become too local in their ideas, +are awake to nought but the one business they have been brought up to +follow; they have indeed no motive to improve their general knowledge. + +But place the honest and industrious peasant in Canada, and, no matter +how ignorant he may be, when he sees that by his perseverance and +industry he will in a short time better his situation in life, and most +likely become the possessor of a freehold, this motive for exertion +will call forth the best energies of his mind, which had hitherto, for +want of a proper stimulus, lain dormant. Having to act and think for +himself, and being better acquainted with the world, he soon becomes a +theoretical as well as a practical man, and consequently a cleverer and +more enlightened person, than he was before in his hopeless servitude +in the mother-country. + +When I left Guelph, I had arranged with my wife that as soon as I could +get the new house ready, I would send for her. I did not think that +this could possibly be done before sleighing-time, as the newly-cut +road was almost impassable for waggons. Judge, then, of my surprise +when, on returning home from the store-house one day, I noticed the +door of my log-cabin open, and saw a lovely curly-headed child sitting +in the doorway. I could hardly believe my eyes—it was my own little +Maria. My dear little boy had remained at Douro with my wife’s sister +Eliza, of whom he was so fond that my wife did not like to separate +such friends from each other. On my entrance I found my wife surrounded +by a pile of luggage, laughing heartily at my astonishment. + +She told me, she felt so lonely that she determined to brave all the +dangers of the road in order to join me. Accordingly, she hired a +settler who was the owner of a waggon and a yoke of oxen, which she +loaded with the most useful articles we required—bedding and +bed-clothes, &c.,—reserving room in the waggon for herself, the child, +and nursemaid. + +During the whole of the first day’s journey and part of the next, all +went on smoothly enough, their route lying through settlements; but as +soon as they entered the newly-cut road their difficulties commenced, +and before they had traversed five miles, the waggon was twice upset. +This so alarmed my poor wife, on account of the baby; that she durst +not ride another step of the way, although the travellers had still +upwards of sixty miles to go. Moreover, she was obliged to carry the +child the entire distance; for their teamster had enough to do to look +after and guide his cattle, and the servant girl was too young and too +tired to render much assistance. + +Fifteen miles a day was the outside distance they could persuade the +oxen to travel, consequently, they were compelled to camp out two +nights out of the six in which they were on the road. Luckily, the +weather was dry and warm. At night the musquitoes were dreadfully +annoying, as my poor little Maria’s neck and arms too plainly showed. + +During the afternoon of the second day, when within six miles of +Trifogle’s tavern, their intended resting-place for the night, they +were overtaken by a man who was going in the same direction, who very +politely—as my wife thought—offered to carry her baby part of the way. +She was, of course, very glad to avail herself of his kind offer; nor +did she perceive, till after he had got possession of the bairn, that +he was intoxicated. She immediately demanded back her little treasure, +but no inducement could persuade him to relinquish it, and he set off +with the infant as fast as he could. In vain the poor mother besought +him to stop—in vain she sobbed and cried. On he went, followed by my +Mary, who found great difficulty in keeping up with him, which she did +at first, till, at length, exhausted by the unusual fatigue, maternal +anxiety, and the roughness of the road, she lost sight of him when +about a mile from the tavern. He had walked off with his little burden. + +She was now dreadfully alarmed, for night was fast coming on, and she +did not know whether she was on the right track or not. Fortunately, a +light through the trees extricated her from this dilemma: her only +uneasiness was now for her child. She was soon, however, relieved from +this uncertainty; for, on entering the house, there sat the man with +the baby on his knee. The child appeared to be on very friendly terms +with him, and had, no doubt, enjoyed herself amazingly while her bearer +was running away with her. + +He at once restored the child to her mother’s arms, observing, “that he +hoped she would give him the price of a quart of whiskey for his +trouble, for the child was main heavy, God bless her.” + +My wife, of course, did not dispute the payment. She was only too glad +to recover her little pet, whom she took good care not again to trust +to masculine keeping, however tired she might be. So Maria remained +safely in her mother’s arms, for the remainder of the journey. + +At length, when down-hearted and weary, the bright waters of the Huron +gladdened their eyes, on the morning of the sixth day, and a few +minutes afterwards they took possession of my log-cabin, and gave me +the happy surprise already recorded. + +“I wonder you were not afraid of encountering such hardships, and even +danger, in travelling so many miles through the wild woods and on foot, +and with that heavy child to carry in your arms,” was my remark to my +enterprising wife. She replied, “that there had certainly been more +difficulties than she had anticipated; but had they been double, it +would not have prevented her from joining me.” So much for woman’s love +and devotion. + +During the summer months, we were plentifully supplied with fish. On +some days the harbour appeared to swarm with them. When the sun shone +brightly, you could see hundreds lying near the surface. There was no +difficulty in catching them, for the moment you threw in your bait, you +had a fish on your hook. + +In the early part of the season, I used to make an imitation mouse of a +piece of musk-rat fur. This is a killing bait for trolling either for +black bass or maskilonge—as the season advances, a red and white rag, +or a small green-frog. But the best bait for the larger fish, such as +salmon-trout and maskilonge, is a piece of brass, or copper, about the +shape and size of the bowl of a tablespoon, with a large hook soldered +upon the narrow end. If properly made, and drawn fast through the +water, it will spin round and glitter, and thus is sure to attract the +fish. I have caught hundreds by this method, and can therefore +recommend it as the most certain. Your trolling line, which is attached +to your left arm, should not be less than eighty or a hundred feet in +length, and sufficiently leaded to sink the bait three or four feet +beneath the surface, this line following the canoe as you paddle it +swiftly through the water. + +The scenery up the Maitland, from the harbour’s mouth to the flats, or +natural meadows, two miles from the lake, is very pretty and +interesting. I think it would be difficult to find for a summer +residence a more charming situation than the town of Goderich, and I +might say with equal confidence, a more healthy one. The water is +excellent, and the town-plot abounds with copious springs. + +About a mile from the town, there is one of the largest and purest +springs of the coldest and best water I ever drank. It gushes out of +the side of a hill, and rushes down the declivity with great swiftness +over its pebbly bed, till it is joined in its course, a few yards below +the hill, by another spring of nearly equal size, within half a mile of +its source, turning a grist-mill on its way to swell the waters of the +Maitland. + +Nine miles up the lake-shore, east of Goderich, a fine little stream +empties its bright waters into the mighty Huron. A party of us had +often expressed a wish to explore the outlet of this stream, and at +length a day was fixed for the expedition. As we intended merely to +pass one night at the river, and return the next day, we only supplied +ourselves with as much provisions and grog as would last for that +time—a great mistake, as it afterwards proved. However, I will not +anticipate. + +A large piece-log canoe was furnished by Mr. W. F. Gooding, our +Goderich store-keeper, who was one of the party, which consisted of +nine persons, including myself. All things being in readiness, Mr. +Fullarton was dubbed Captain for the occasion. At an early hour one +fine sunny morning in June, we stood out of the harbour with a light +breeze, having rigged up two blankets as sprit-sails. They answered +very well, as long as we had any wind, which, however, unfortunately +soon died entirely away. + +“Come, boys,” said the Captain, “this won’t do. We must raise a +white-ash-breeze (meaning that we must have recourse to our paddles) or +we shall not see the Nine-Mile Creek this day, I can tell you.” The +impetus given to our canoe by the vigorous application of eight +paddles, independent of our steersman, made the De Witt Clinton (the +name of our canoe) fly through the water, which was now as calm as a +mirror. After the wind fell, the heat was intense; and, towards noon +huge double-headed thunder-clouds showed themselves, slowly emerging +out of the still waters of the Huron, far away to the north-west—a +certain indication of a thunder-storm and change of wind. + +About noon, we entered the creek by a very narrow channel, not ten feet +in width. Indeed, the lake has choked up the entrance of the little +harbour with sand and gravel, which, the water, descending the creek in +summer-time, is not sufficient to disperse. I think, however, by +clearing out, and piling the channel, and erecting two piers a short +distance from each other, carried out upon the lake, and curving +towards each other, until only sufficient space is left between them +for the entrance of steam-boats and schooners, it might yet be made +navigable. The harbour at Cobourg has been built something on this +plan, which answers tolerably well; but if it had had a creek only the +size of this I am describing, it would have been much better, as the +current is a great help in clearing out the sand and gravel. + +On crossing the bar, we found ourselves in a snug little basin, +sufficiently deep for a vessel drawing six or seven feet water. We +landed on a little peninsula, between the lake and the harbour, and +commenced operations for cooking. + +After dinner, we paddled through the harbour, and up the river, as far +as we could go, which was only a very short distance, the navigation +being interrupted by a pretty fall of water, which tumbled from ledge +to ledge, like a succession of stone stairs, stretching from bank to +bank across the stream, and forming, as the Americans would say, an +elegant mill-privilege. + +Since I left Goderich, a township, called Ashfield, has been laid out +north of the Company’s township of Colborne; the principal place of +which is the village of Port Albert—the very spot we went to explore. + +What a difference a few years make in a new country like Canada! With +the aid of a compass, or by following the course of some unknown +stream, with much toil and difficulty we make our way back for miles, +through dense forests, swamps, and creeks; scale the rocky precipice, +or launch the light bark-canoe on some far distant lake. We travel the +same route twenty-five years afterwards, and the forests have bowed +their lofty heads—the swamps are drained—the rivers bridged, and the +steamer ploughs the inland wave, where shortly before glided the canoe +of the hunter. Such is no over-coloured picture. I have seen it in my +day realized many a time. The Huron tract, and the county of +Peterborough, are the proofs of my assertion; and various other +settlements I could name, would equally bear me out. + +But to return to our expedition—or as I might with greater truth +say—our _pic-nic_, for we did little else than paddle up and down the +creek, ramble about the falls, and eat and drink whenever we felt +inclined. In this manner we spent the first day; till the coming night, +and the distant growl of the thunder, warned us to prepare for our +night-bivouac. + +One of our party, Mr. Brewster—the professor, as we generally called +him—from the circumstance of his being a near relation of Sir David +Brewster, the talented author of “Natural Magic,” had a small +tent-cloth with him, but not sufficiently large for the whole party. It +was, therefore, determined that four of us should sleep under the +canoe, and the remaining five under the tent. Quite a contention now +arose between us, as to who should be the favoured possessors of the +tent. + +Not liking the appearance of the weather, I resigned any pretensions I +might have had to the canvas, knowing the canoe was, from its length +and size, capable of effectually sheltering four persons. We, +accordingly, turned the canoe bottom upwards, and raised one side of it +sufficiently high to allow us to creep under. To keep it in that +position, we supported the raised edge on some forked sticks; and a +quantity of hemlock brush and fern, spread evenly under it, made as +good a bed as I would care to sleep on in hot weather. Our companions +pitched their tent close beside us, so that we might be more sociable. +After supper, we amused ourselves by singing songs, telling stories, +and—if the truth must be told—drinking whiskey-punch. + +The lightning was now incessant, illuminating the harbour and lake, and +revealing dark masses of clouds, piled upon one another in endless +succession. Few spectacles are more grand than the coming storm, or +more awful when it bursts in its wildest fury. Such was its appalling +character on this night. For the last hour I had been watching its +progress, and admiring the brilliant forked lightning, and listening to +the deep-toned thunder, which woke the lone echoes of the wood-crowned +heights. + +A few large drops of rain warned us to seek the friendly shelter of our +respective camps. I had just settled myself snugly, when our skipper +came to me with a jug of lemon-punch fresh mixed. I declined taking any +more. He was too old a stager, however, to be put off that way, and was +proceeding to show me the necessity of taking a night-cap, when he was +saved all the trouble of any farther solicitation, and me of refusal, +by a blinding flash of lightning, followed by a succession of deafening +reports. At the same instant, the wind burst upon us like a whirlwind, +prostrating in its irresistible fury our unfortunate skipper, punch, +and all. As for the tent, it was whisked half across the harbour, in +one blast, and the unfortunate inmates were left exposed to all the +pelting of the pitiless storm, which raged with unmitigated violence +till the dawn of day. We made room under the canoe for the professor +and our skipper, the utmost we could accommodate. The three remaining +unfortunate fellows were left to brave the tempest as they best might. + +The next morning, the lake was white with breakers. The storm of the +preceding night had brought a strong north-wester in its train, so that +we found it impossible to launch our canoe—and, indeed, if we had, it +would have been unsafe to have attempted the passage therein; there was +nothing else for us but patience. But the worst part of the business +was, that we had barely sufficient provisions for breakfast, and what +the professor said—“Was worse than all—there was not a single horn of +whiskey left in the jar.” + +The merchant and three of our party now determined to take the woods, +and endeavour to reach Goderich by that route, leaving us to follow +with the canoe if the wind should fall, of which, however, there +appeared but little chance. + +It now became expedient that we should look out for food of some +description, as there was no doubt we should have to pass another +night. On examining the state of our larder, we found that our whole +stock consisted of half a loaf of bread, and a few ounces of +sugar—rather short commons for four hungry men, even for a single meal. + +We had no gun with us, or any fishing-lines. I had, it is true, a +spear, but there was too much wind to fish in the harbour. Luckily, I +bethought myself of the falls up the creek, where there was a pool +sheltered by the woods. Thither we went with the canoe, and succeeded +in spearing a number of suckers, which are, without exception, the +softest and worst of all Canadian fish, especially in the hot months; +but even bad suckers are better than nothing. Our first +starvation-dinner consisted of a dish of boiled fish, a little bread, +and a cup of hemlock-tea; our supper, boiled fish without bread, and +hemlock-tea without sugar. + +To amuse ourselves, we built a nice camp on a wooded point overlooking +the harbour, and arranged everything comfortably to pass the night; +and, although we had such bad commons, we were merry enough, +considering we had nothing stronger to drink than hemlock-tea. + +In the morning, as appearances were no better in respect to the +weather, and as we were heartily sick of boiled suckers, we determined +to do—as some of our party had done previously—take the bush-route for +Goderich. + +Accordingly, we crossed the harbour in the canoe, which we hid amongst +the bushes, and commenced our journey along the lake-shore. In some +places we found tolerably good walking, while in others we were +compelled to mount the cliffs to avoid the break of the surges, where +headlands jutted out into the lake. For the most part, however, we were +enabled to travel upon natural terraces about half way up the bank, +which I should think averages nearly one hundred feet in height. + +To our great delight, we discovered an abundance of fine wild +strawberries, the largest and most delicious I had ever seen. We found +this a very seasonable refreshment. The day was fine, and we enjoyed +the prospect, which, viewed from some of the highest points of land, +was truly magnificent. + +About four o’clock in the afternoon we reached Goderich, weary and +half-starved. Thus ended our memorable pic-nic to the Nine-Mile Creek. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +CHOICE OF A LOCATION.—THE COMPANY’S LANDS.—CROWN LANDS.—TABLES +PUBLISHED BY THE CANADA COMPANY.—PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT OF THE HURON +TRACT. + +After twenty-seven years’ residence in Canada West, it may be +reasonably inferred that I am justly entitled, from my long experience, +to give a fair opinion as to the best chances of location at present +available to the emigrant. + +On mature consideration, I must give the preference to the Huron tract, +as affording a greater facility for settlement, and this for three +reasons. First, on account of the excellent roads constructed by the +Company—an inestimable boon, which none but the early pioneer can fully +appreciate. Secondly, because of the excellent quality of the soil, +which is remarkably free from surface-stone, that every old settler +knows is both troublesome and expensive to clear away. And, thirdly the +low price of these lands, and the facility of payment. Indeed, their +system of leasing affords the poor man every chance. I shall copy a +table of the yearly rent of farms leased on this plan by the Company, +for the information of those of my readers who contemplate emigrating +to Canada West. The present price of the Company’s lands in the Huron +tract, is from 12 shillings 6 pence to 20 shillings currency per acre. + +The Company dispose of their lands, according to quality and situation, +for ready cash, or by lease for a term of ten years. In the latter case +no money is required to be paid down, the lease being granted upon the +following terms:— + +s.d. L. s. d. +100 acres, at 2 0 per acre, ann. rent 0 10 0 and no more. +” 3 6 ” ” 0 12 0 ” +” 5 0 ” ” 0 18 0 ” +” 6 3 ” ” 1 4 0 ” +” 7 6 ” ” 1 10 0 ” +” 8 9 ” ” 1 17 0 ” +” 10 0 ” ” 2 5 0 ” +” 11 3 ” ” 2 12 0 ” +” 12 6 ” ” 3 0 0 ” +” 13 9 ” ” 3 7 6 ” +” 16 3 ” ” 3 15 0 ” +” 17 6 ” ” 4 2 6 ” + +The rent is payable on the first day of February in each year, full +power being reserved to the settler to purchase the freehold, and take +his deed for the land he occupies, at any time during the lease, an +arrangement, of course, saving all future payment of rent. + +Many persons unacquainted with the country, might object to pay from +twelve shillings and six pence to twenty shillings for the Company’s +lands, when they see that the Government price on the wild lands +belonging to the Crown, in most townships, is only eight shillings per +acre. + +However, they must recollect, that all the choice lands belonging to +the Crown have long since been located; and unless the emigrant is +prepared to go back into the remote townships, he cannot expect to get +land as good as that belonging to the Canada Company. + +Indeed, the only Crown-lands which could at all compete with the +Company’s lands are the townships lately surveyed north of the Huron +track to the River Saugeen, and the new settlements of Owen’s Sound and +the Queen’s Bush. + +In a report, drawn up and published by Daniel Lizars, clerk of the +peace for the united counties of Huron, Perth, and Bruce, May, 1851, he +says,— + +“In this favoured portion of the province of Upper Canada, blest with a +salubrious climate and a fertile soil, watered with crystal springs and +brooks in every direction, reposing upon a table-land whose natural +drainage flows uninterruptedly onwards to the streams and great rivers +which intersect it in every quarter towards the noble Huron, or Lake +St. Clair, the energies of the people have been steadily devoted to +practical progress and improvement; having, in the short period above +alluded to, brought upwards of eighty thousand acres of the wilderness +into cultivation, erected five thousand dwelling-houses, fifty-six +schools, fourteen churches, twelve grist mills, with nineteen run of +stores, five oat and barley-mills, five distilleries, two breweries, +eight tanneries, and twenty-four pot and pearl-ash factories.” + +“Among other matters which crowned their industry in 1850, I may state +the following productions:— + +Wheat . . . . . 292,949 bushels. +Barley . . . . . 13,012 ” +Rye . . . . . 2,181 ” +Oats . . . . . 215,415 ” +Peas . . . . . 54,657 ” +Indian Corn. . . . 5,352 ” +Potatoes. . . . . 210,913 ” +Buck-wheat . . . . . 673 ” +Mangel-wurzel . . . . 297 ” +Turnips . . . . . 143,725 ” +Hay . . . . . 12,823 tons. +Flax or Hemp . . . . 7,359 pounds. +Maple Sugar. . . . 351,721 ” +Wool . . . . 54,347 pounds. +Fulled cloth . . . 10,303 yards. +Linen, or cotton cloth 1,197 ” +Flannel, or +other unfulled cloth 41,397 ” +Cheese for Market . . 7,761 pounds. +Butter for Market . . 58,873 ” +Beef, or Pork for Market 1,308 barrels. + +“And they further rejoice in the possession of the following stock:— + +Neat Cattle . . . 26,260 +Horses . . . . . 2,646 +Sheep . . . . . . 20,022 +Hogs . . . . . . 14,655 + +“The above gratifying examples speak loudly for the industry of the +settlers; and where hired labour can, with difficulty, be obtained at a +high remuneration, notwithstanding the yearly increased ratio of new +comers, and, moreover, where all are diligently employed in the onward +march to happiness and independence, we may truly be thankful to a +superintending Providence, that prosperity is in the ascendant.” + +Mr. Lizars states in another part of his Report, that the population of +the Huron district + +In 1841, was . . . . . 5,600 +In 1847, six years afterwards 16,641 increase 11,043 +In 1848, one year do . . . 20,450 ” 3,807 +In 1850, two years do. . . 26,933 ” 6,483 + +According to this ratio of increase, we may safely infer the population +at the present time (1852), to exceed thirty-two thousand souls; an +increase almost incredible; as, upon reference to Smith’s Work on +Canada, it will be found that the Huron district has made more rapid +progress since its first settlement in 1827, than Lower Canada did in +one hundred and four years; its population then being (in 1721), +24,511. + +Many contradictory statements have been made and published in respect +to what is the real actual grain average of Canada West. My own opinion +is, that even could a truthful average be obtained, it would throw very +little light on the real capability of the land—and for this reason. +One-half of the emigrants who settle upon land in Canada, and adopt +cultivation as their employment, are weavers, tinkers, tailors, +sailors, and twenty other trades and professions. It must be the work +of years to convert such settlers into good practical farmers. In such +cases, how can a fair yield be extracted from land ignorantly +cultivated? But I will venture to affirm, that wherever good farming is +in practice, as good an average yield will be obtained, as in any +country in the world. + +“The following average of ten years for the Huron tract, has been +published:—Wheat, 25 bushels; barley, 30 bushels; oats, 40 bushels; +rye, 30 bushels; potatoes, 250 bushels per acre. Swedish turnips, +mangel-wurzel, and other roots of a similar kind, are not yet +sufficiently cultivated, to enable an average yield to be given; but it +may very safely be said, that, with similar care, culture, and +attention, the produce will not be less per acre than in England. +Indeed, it may be said with truth to apply to every grain except beans, +which do not thrive well in the Canadian climate.” + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +THE KING PROCLAIMED IN THE BUSH.—FETE AND BALL IN THE EVENING.—MY +YANKEE FELLOW-TRAVELLER.—AWFUL STORM.—MY LONELY JOURNEY.—MAGICAL EFFECT +OF A NAME. + +I was busy in the storehouse one afternoon, when Mr. Prior entered with +a newspaper in his hand, which he had just received from the old +country. + +“I see by this paper, Strickland, that George IV. is dead; and that his +Majesty King William IV. has been proclaimed. Now, I think, we must +give the workmen a holiday on this memorable occasion.” + +“In what manner do you intend to celebrate the day?” was my rejoinder. + +“I have been thinking,” he replied, “of making a little fete, and +inviting all the settlers within reach to assemble on the Button-wood +Flats. We will have some refreshments served round; and if the day is +fine, I have no doubt we shall enjoy ourselves much.” + +Due notice having been given, upon the appointed day every-one within +ten miles assembled on the Flats, dressed in their best attire; and +ready to show their loyalty in any way Mr. Prior might think proper to +recommend. + +As soon as the squire made his appearance, he ascended a large stump; +and, in a patriotic and loyal speech, informed us “that he had called +this meeting to hear him proclaim his most gracious Majesty King +William IV.” + +He then read the proclamation, which was received with nine rounds of +British cheers. Our party then formed a large circle by joining hands; +and sang the national anthem, accompanied by the Goderich band, which +was composed of two fiddles and a tambourine. “Rule Britannia” for our +sailor-king was also played and sung—I was going to say in good style, +but at all events with great loyalty and enthusiasm. + +As soon as this ceremony was over, a pail of whiskey, with a tea-cup +floating on the surface, was handed round, followed by another pail +containing spring-water. Every person present drank his Majesty’s +health; even the fair sex, on this propitious occasion, did not disdain +to moisten their pretty lips with the beverage. + +The eating and drinking part of the festival now commenced in earnest. +We had seated ourselves on the grass, under the shade of four or five +immense button-wood trees, which effectually sheltered us from the +scorching rays of the sun. In the centre of the group, the union-jack +of Old-England waved gracefully above our heads— + +“The flag that braved a thousand years +The battle and the breeze.” + + +As soon as we had eaten and drunk to our satisfaction, a dance was +proposed and acceded to by the party. The band struck up “The Wind +Shakes the Barley:” country dances, Scotch reels, and “French fours,” +were kept up with great spirit on the level turf—“All under the +greenwood tree.” + +“For all that day to the rebeck gay +They danced with frolicsome swains.” + + +Those of our party who did not patronize the dance, amused themselves +with ball-playing and a variety of old English games. + +The day was lovely; and the spot chosen for our sports is one of the +most beautiful natural meadows I ever beheld. We kept our fete in +honour of King William on a smooth green semi-circular meadow, of large +extent, ornamented here-and-there with clumps of magnificent +button-wood trees.[1] Towards the north, skirting the meadow, a steep +bank rises in the form of an amphitheatre, thickly-wooded—tree above +tree, from the base to the crown of the ridge. The rapid waters of the +Maitland form the southern and western boundary of this charming +spot,—then not a little enhanced by the merry groups which dotted the +surface of the meadow, and woke its lone echoes with music and song. + + [1] Both the wood and the growth of this tree greatly resemble the + sycamore. + + +I was much amused by a Yankee mill-wright, who had contracted to build +a large grist-mill for the Company, both in Guelph and Goderich. He +appeared enchanted with the whole day’s proceedings. + +“I do declare,” he said, “if this don’t almost put me in mind of the +4th of July. Why, you Britishers make as much fuss proclaiming your +king as we do celebrating our anniversary of Independence. Well, it +does me good to look at you. I vow if I don’t feel quite loyal. Come, +let us drink the old gentleman’s health agin. I guess, I feel as dry as +a sand-bank after so much hollering.” + +The setting sun warned us to discontinue our pastime and prepare for a +move. Before doing so, however, the squire again came forward, and +after thanking us for our attendance, loyalty, &c., he proposed “we +should give three cheers more for the King, and three for Queen +Adelaide,” which were given with all the power of our lungs, not a +little aided by sundry potations imbibed by the loyal in drinking their +Majesties’ healths during the day’s proceeding. + +Three cheers were then given for the Canada Company, three for the +Commissioners, and three for the old Doctor. Thus terminated the +proclamation of our sovereign in the Bush. + +Mr. Prior had kindly issued invitations to the _élite_ to a ball and +supper at Reid’s Hotel, which was well attended. The refreshments were +excellent, the supper capital; and the dancing was kept up with great +spirit till day-light warned us to depart. + +The next day, I started for Guelph with the Yankee mill-wright, whom I +found a clever, shrewd man. He told me he had travelled over a great +part of the Western States and Canada; but in all his wanderings he had +never seen a section of country, of the same size, that pleased him +equal to the Huron tract. + +“I guess, when this country of your’n is once cleared up, and good +roads made, and the creeks bridged, there won’t be such another place +in all creation.” + +“What makes you think so?” I enquired. + +“Wal, just look what a fine frontage you have on that ’ere big pond (he +meant Lake Huron) and good harbours and land that can’t be beat not no +how. All you want is ‘to go a-head,’ and you may take my word for it +that this will be the garden of Canada yet.” + +We had only one horse between us, which belonged to the Doctor, so that +we were obliged to ride turn about. In this manner we got on pretty +well, so that by four o’clock we were within two miles of old Sebach’s. +The day had been excessively hot, and for the last hour we had heard +distant thunder. We, therefore, pushed on with redoubled energy, in +hopes of escaping the storm. + +Ever since I had witnessed the devastating effects of the whirlwind +which passed through Guelph, and which I have described in a previous +chapter, I had a dread of being exposed in the woods to the fury of +such a tempest. In this instance, however, we had the good fortune to +reach the shanty just as the rain commenced; and well for us it proved +that we had gained a shelter for ourselves and steed; for I seldom +witnessed a more terrific storm. The lightning was awful, accompanied +by the loudest thunder I ever heard. The volleys of heavy hail-stones +on the shingled roof, together with the rushing sound of the wind, and +the crash of falling trees, made it impossible for us to hear a word +that was said. Indeed, I did not feel much inclined for conversation; +for I could not help meditating on the peril we had escaped. Had the +storm commenced an hour or two earlier or later, we should have bean +exposed to its utmost fury, as there was no place of refuge nearer than +twenty miles either way. + +To show the terrible danger we had avoided, I counted a hundred and +seventy-six large trees that had fallen across the road between +Sebach’s and Trifogle’s—a distance not exceeding twenty miles. + +What a contrast this road now presents to what it was when I used to be +in the habit of travelling over it! I remember, once having been sent +on some important business to the settlement, which admitted of no +delay. It was late in November; the snow had fallen unusually early, +and there was no horse then to be procured at Goderich; so that I was +obliged to walk without even a companion to cheer the solitary way. I +found the walking exceedingly laborious: the snow was fully a foot deep +and unbroken, save by the foot-marks of some lonely traveller. + +I was very curious to learn who the person could be who had been +necessitated to take such a long journey through the wilderness alone. +The second day of my journey, my curiosity was gratified by seeing the +name of the person written in large characters in the snow. I stopped +and read it with much interest: it was that of a Scotchman I knew,—one +James Haliday. After reading that name, it appeared as if half the +loneliness of the road was gone; for I knew from the freshness of the +track, that a human being was travelling on the same path, and that he +was, perhaps, not far ahead. + +Not many minutes after this occurrence, whilst descending a slight +hill, I saw nine fine deer cross the road, within a short gun-shot of +the spot where I stood. I had no gun with me; for I thought, if I did +kill a deer, I should be obliged to leave it in the woods. Nothing +further occurred till within a short distance of Trifogle’s, when a +large wolf bounded close past me: he seemed, however, the more +frightened of the two, which I was not at all sorry to perceive. + +When I arrived at the tavern, I told Trifogle what I had seen. He said, +it was very lucky I had not fallen in with the pack; for only the night +before he had gone to a beaver-meadow, about two miles distant, to look +for his working oxen which had strayed, when he was surrounded by the +whole pack of wolves, and was obliged “to tree,” to save his bacon. He +was, it seems, kept for more than three hours in that uncomfortable fix +before he durst venture down—“when he made tracks,” as the Yankees say, +“for hum pretty considerably smart, I guess.” + +My solitary journey was performed in the fall of 1830: at the present +time (1853) you may travel at your ease in a stage-coach and four +horses, with taverns every few miles, and more villages on the road +than formerly there were houses. Such are the changes that a few short +years have produced in this fast-rising country! + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +VISIT OF THE PASSENGER-PIGEON TO THE CANADAS.—CANADIAN +BLACKBIRDS.—BREEDING-PLACES OF THE PASSENGER-PIGEONS.—SQUIRRELS. + +The passenger-pigeon[1] visits the Canadas in the early spring-months, +and during August, in immense flocks, bringing with them an agreeable +change in the diet of the settler. + + [1] The passenger-pigeon is not so large as the wild pigeon of Europe. + It is slender in form, having a very long-forked tail. Its plumage is + a bluish-grey, and it has a lovely pink breast. It is, indeed, a very + elegant bird. + + +Persons unacquainted with the country and the gregarious habits of this +lovely bird, are apt to doubt the accounts they have heard or read +respecting their vast numbers: since my return to England I have +repeatedly been questioned upon the subject. In answer to these +queries, I can only say that, in some parts of the province, early in +the spring and directly after wheat-harvest, their numbers are +incredible. Some days they commence flying as soon as it is light in +the morning, and continue, flock after flock, till sun-down. To +calculate the sum-total of birds passing even on one day, appears to be +impossible. I think, the greatest masses fly near the shores of the +great Canadian lakes, and sometimes so low, that they may be easily +killed with a horse-pistol, or even knocked down with a long pole. + +During the first spring in which I resided at Goderich, the +store-keeper was out of shot, and the pigeons happened to be uncommonly +numerous. I had a large fowling-piece with a wide bore; so I tried a +charge of fine shingle off the beach at the first flock that came +within close range, and had the satisfaction of bagging seven birds at +the first shot—indeed, it was almost impossible to miss them, they flew +in such thick clouds. I have frequently killed on the stubbles, from +twenty to thirty at one shot. + +Directly after the wheat is carted, the pigeons alight on the stubble +in vast flocks. As they are chiefly the young broods, they are very +easily approached: the sportsman should creep up behind them; for they +are so intent on feeding, that they will seldom notice his approach +till he is within fair range of them. + +The hindmost ranks are continually rising from the ground, and dropping +in front of the others. This is the proper time to fire, just as the +hind-rank are a couple or three feet from the ground; firing the second +barrel as the whole flock takes fight. + +In the vicinity of the towns, sometimes a regular _battue_ takes place, +when all kind of firearms are in requisition, from the old Tower musket +to the celebrated Joe Manton. + +In July, the pigeons feed a great deal on wild berries, such as +raspberries, huckle-berries, blue-berries, and a variety of other +kinds. Many people would naturally think that such vast flocks of birds +would alight on the standing grain, and destroy the crop: such, +however, is not the case. Sometimes, during the seed-time in the +spring, they are a little troublesome; but I have never known them +alight on the ripening grain. The Canadian blackbirds are far more +destructive in that particular—especially that species with the +orange-bar across the wings. These birds alight on the Indian corn +crops and oats in such numbers, that they do a great deal of damage, +particularly the oats, which they break down by their weight. + +There is another kind of blackbird, smaller than the former, and +speckled very much like a starling. Indeed, I believe it is a species +of that bird; for it frequents marshes, and lodges amongst the reeds at +night. This bird is also destructive in the corn-fields. + +There is yet a third species of blackbird, larger than either of the +above, whose colour is of a glossy blue-black, very like our rooks. +These birds are just as troublesome as the rest; but it must be +admitted that their destroy an immense quantity of caterpillars and +grubs. They are easily frightened away by firing a few shots. There is, +however, no doubt but that they are a greater plague to the farmers +than the pigeons: besides, the latter are excellent eating. + +I once accompanied the Doctor on an exploring expedition through the +tract. We encamped close to a breeding-place of these birds, when we +were kept awake all night by the noise they made. Sometimes, too, a +limb of a tree would break with the weight of the birds which had +alighted on it, when there would be such fluttering and flapping of +wings, as made it impossible for us to sleep. + +Towards morning, the sound of their departure to their feeding-grounds +resembled thunder. For nearly two hours there was one incessant roar, +as flock after flock took its departure eastward. The ground under the +trees was whitened with their excrement, and strewn with broken +branches of trees. + +The Americans have a plan of capturing these birds, by means of a +decoy, or stool-pigeon, and nets. Thousands are often taken in this way +during seed-time in the spring. When I first resided in the township of +Douro, the pigeons used to be very plentiful at that time, their chief +breeding-place being in the township of Fenelon, in a direct line west +from my residence, some forty or fifty miles. And yet, soon after +day-light, they would be passing eastward over my clearing, so vast is +their swiftness and strength on the wing. + +It is a curious fact that, although thousands passed daily for many +days in succession, yet not one of them returned by the same route they +went. I have been informed that this breeding-place has been deserted +for several years, owing to the settlements having approached too near +to please the winged possessors. + +This satisfactorily accounts for the decrease I have noticed amongst +these feathered denizens of the forest, during the last seven or eight +years. In consequence of their having been disturbed, they have sought +a more remote breeding-place. I am not at all certain whether this +decrease is general through the province; but I feel quite convinced +that, as civilization increases, all kinds of birds and wild animals +will become less numerous, with the exception of crows and mice, which +are greatly on the increase. Rats also have been imported, and appear +to thrive well in the towns; though, I am happy to say, they have not +found their way into my township yet—and long may they be ignorant of +my location. + +There is also another animal, which I think is more numerous than +formerly—I mean the black squirrel. These pretty little creatures are +very destructive amongst the Indian-corn crops. I have seen them +carrying off a whole cob of corn at once, which I will be bound to say +was quite as heavy as themselves. + +The form of this animal is very elegant; the colour jet black—with a +large bushy tail: the fur, however, is too open to be of any value. The +flesh is excellent eating, far superior to that of the rabbit. In a +good nut-season, in the western part of the province, the quantity of +these animals is almost incredible. + +I have heard old hunters say that, if the squirrels are numerous in the +summer, the bears will be plenty in the fall, and also that their +numbers give a sure indication of a severe winter. This saying, I +believe to be true; because neither the squirrels nor bears are +plentiful, unless there is an abundant supply of beech-mast, +butter-nuts, hickory-nuts, &c., which Providence has kindly provided in +more superabundant quantity on the approach of a longer and severer +winter than usual. + +Besides the _Niger_, or black squirrel, there are three other species +in Canada West; first, the _Cinereus_, or grey squirrel, which is +larger than the black squirrel. Its fur is something better, but the +animal is not near so numerous. Secondly, the _Ruber_, or red squirrel, +smaller than the last, but equally destructive. + +The chitmunck, or _Siriatus_, or ground squirrel, is much smaller and +more mischievous than any of the former species. The ridge of the back +is marked with a black stripe; the sides are of a reddish yellow, +spotted with white; the feet and legs pale red; the eyes black and +projecting. These pretty little creatures never run up trees, unless +they are pursued. They burrow and form their habitations under ground +with two entrances. During the maize-harvest, they fill their mouths so +full of corn that their cheeks distend to the size of a hen’s egg. The +chitmunck sometimes inhabits hollow trees and logs. + +I have frequently cut down trees in which they had deposited their +winter-store, to the amount of half-a-bushel of beech-mast, Indian +corn, and grain of different descriptions. It is a very curious +circumstance that, before storing away for the winter, they carefully +skin every beechnut. + +Towards the spring, when the days begin to be a little warm, they leave +their winter-holes and enter the barns—compelled, most probably, by the +failure of their winter-store. Great numbers are then destroyed by the +cats. Their fur is of little value, and their flesh uneatable. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +THE REBEL, VON-EGMOND, THE FIRST AGRICULTURAL SETTLER ON THE +HURON.—CUTTING THE FIRST SHEAF. + +The celebrated Anthony J.W.G. Von Egmond, who commanded the rebels at +Gallows Hill during Mackenzie’s rebellion, was the first agricultural +settler on the Huron tract. He had formerly been a Colonel in the old +Imperial Army; and after Buonaparte’s abdication and retirement to +Elba, he joined the Allies, and held the rank of an officer in one of +the Belgian regiments at Waterloo. + +He was a pushing, clever sort of man; and had he but been contented, +and stuck to his last, instead of troubling his head about politics, he +would, in all probability, have become one of the richest and most +independent farmers in the Huron tract. + +Within the short period of twenty months, Von Egmond had chopped and +cleared, fit for a crop, nearly a hundred acres of land, fifty of which +were sown wheat. As this was the first field ripe in the tract, the old +man determined to celebrate the event by asking some of the gentlemen +connected with the Canada Company to dinner, and to witness the cutting +of the first sheaf. + +Thomas Mercer Jones, Esq., one of the Company’s Commissioners, Dr. +Dunlop, Mr. Prior, the Professor, and myself, composed the party on +this important occasion. As the distance was little short of eighteen +miles through the Bush, and we had no way of getting there—except by +walking—it was arranged that we should start the day previous, and +sleep all night at Von Egmond’s. + +Accordingly, we left Goderich about eleven o’clock, A.M., by the newly +cut-out road, through the forest. I wonder what our English friends +would think of walking in their shirt-sleeves, with their coats and +neckcloths thrown over their arms, eighteen miles to a dinner-party, +with the thermometer ranging something like 90 degrees in the shade. + +The day was hot, though not unpleasantly so; for the leafy screen above +our heads effectually protected us from the scorching rays of a July +sun, which would otherwise have been very oppressive. + +The musquitoes were particularly civil—indeed the reign of these +gentlemen was nearly over for the season. They begin to be troublesome +in the middle of May. From the 1st of June to the middle of July, they +are in the very height of their impertinence; and, although they have +not sufficient strength in their proboscis to penetrate a top-boot, yet +they easily pierce through a summer coat and shirt, and a wee bit into +the skin beneath. From the middle of July to the middle of August, they +become much less venomous; and are then only annoying for an hour or so +in the evening, in the woods or marshes. By the 1st of September, they +finally disappear for the season. + +Our long road was considerably shortened by the amusing stories and +anecdotes of the Doctor, who kept us in good humour during the whole +journey. Nearly mid-way between Goderich and Von Egmond’s, a small rill +crosses the road: here we stopped for an hour, and refreshed ourselves +with beef-sandwiches and brandy and water—no bad things in the Bush. + +Close by the side of this little stream was a small log-shanty, which +had been erected by the people who had been employed by the men cutting +out the new road, which, from this to the southern boundary of the +Huron tract, was already cleared out, the full width of sixty-six feet, +preparatory to its being turnpiked.[1] + + [1] This is merely an American term for a road which has been ploughed + on each side, and the earth, so raised, thrown up in the centre by the + means of a road-scraper, or turnpike shovel, worked either with horses + or oxen. A road engineer or surveyor would call this grading, + preparatory to gravelling or planking. + + +We reached our destination about five o’clock, where we were received +with every mark of respect and hospitality. We were shown upstairs into +a newly-finished room—the only apartment as yet completed in the tavern +old Von Egmond was building. Here we found an excellent supper ready +for us, to which, after a walk of eighteen miles, you may be sure we +did ample justice. + +In the morning, we walked over the farm with the old Colonel, and were +much gratified by seeing the prosperous condition of the crops, which +argued well for the goodness of the land. I think I never saw a finer +crop of oats, or better promise for turnips, in my life. The wheat also +looked extremely well. It was certainly an interesting sight, after +walking for miles through a dense forest, suddenly to emerge from the +wooded solitude upon a sea of waving grain, white for the harvest. + +“The Harvest! the Harvest! how fair on each plain +It waves in its golden luxuriance of grain! +The wealth of a nation is spread on the ground, +And the year with its joyful abundance is crowned. +The barley is whitening on upland and lea, +And the oat-locks are drooping, all graceful to see; +Like the long yellow hair of a beautiful maid, +When it flows on the breezes, unloosed from the braid. + +“The Harvest! the Harvest! how brightly the sun +Looks down on the prospect! its toils are begun; +And the wheat-sheaves so thick on the valleys are piled, +That the land in its glorious profusion has smiled. +The reaper has shouted the furrows among; +In the midst of his labour he breaks into song; +And the light-hearted gleaners, forgetful of care, +Laugh loud, and exult as they gather their share. + + +Agnes Strickland. + +About noonday, we all proceeded to the harvest-field, headed by our +host and his lady, and her fair daughters. As soon as we arrived at the +scene of action, a sickle was placed in the hands of Madame Von Egmond; +and she was requested to cut and bind the first sheaf of wheat ever +harvested in the Huron tract—an honour of which any person might be +justly proud. + +“Lord! thou hast blessed the people, +And made the plant of bread +To spring, where’er beneath thine eye +Fair Nature’s carpet spread. +Earth’s thirst drank in thy freshening rain, +Earth’s bosom wooed thy sun, +Beautiful grew the golden grain, +Like prize of labour won!” + + +What were the red battle-fields of Napoleon, in comparison to this +bloodless victory, won over the forests of the Huron! The sight of that +first sheaf, cut by the gentle hand of woman, was one that angels +rejoiced to see; while the fruits of his conquests were such as might +well make “the seraphs weep.” + +Madame Von Egmond handled her sickle something better than a mere +amateur, which make us conjecture it was not the first sheaf she had +ever cut and bound. As soon as this interesting ceremony was over, we +gave three hearty cheers for the Canada Company. A horn of whiskey was +served round, in which we pledged our host and hostess, and drank +success to the settlement. + +On our return to the house, we found a capital dinner awaiting us. +Indeed, the old soldier had spared neither pains nor expense in +providing handsomely on the occasion. After the cloth was removed, a +nice dessert was laid out, consisting of almonds and raisins, oranges, +and red and black raspberries. The two latter dishes are easily +procured, for they grow more plentifully in the angles of the +snake-fences in Canada than blackberries do in England. They are a +delicious fruit, and particularly grateful in a hot day to the weary +traveller. + +I need hardly describe our evening’s entertainment, save that “we ate, +drank, and were merry.” Indeed, it would have been difficult to be +otherwise with Doctor Dunlop as one of our companions. + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + +LONDON: +Printed by Samuel Bentley & Co. +Bangor House, Shoe Lane. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST *** + +***** This file should be named 15245-0.txt or 15245-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/2/4/15245/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Samuel Strickland</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 3, 2005 [eBook #15245]<br /> +[Most recently updated: January 22, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: E.D. (Tedd) Brien</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST ***</div> + +<h1>Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West;</h1> + +<h3>or The Experience of an Early Settler</h3> + +<h2 class="no-break">by MAJOR STRICKLAND, C.M</h2> + +<p class="center"> +EDITED BY AGNES STRICKLAND,<br /> +Author of “The Queens of England,”, etc. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +And when those toils rewarding,<br /> +Broad lands at length they’ll claim,<br /> +They’ll call the new possession,<br /> +By some familiar name.<br /> +<br /> +Agnes Strickland.—<i>Historic Scenes</i>. +</p> + +<h4>IN TWO VOLUMES.<br /> +VOL. I.</h4> + +<p class="center"> +LONDON:<br /> +RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.<br /> +Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.<br /> +1853. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> + +<p> +No one can give an adequate view of the general life of a colonist, unless he +has been one himself. Unless he has experienced all the various gradations of +colonial existence, from that of the pioneer in the backwoods and the +inhabitant of a shanty, up to the epoch of his career, when he becomes the +owner, by his own exertions, of a comfortable house and well-cleared farm, +affording him the comforts and many of the luxuries of civilization, he is +hardly competent to write on such a subject. I have myself passed through all +these grades. I have had the honour of filling many colonial appointments, such +as Commissioner of the Court of Requests, and Justice of the Peace. My +commission in her Majesty’s Militia, and my connection with the Canada +Company, have also afforded me some opportunities of acquiring additional +information. I was in the Company’s service during the early settlement +of Guelph and also of Goderich, in the Huron tract. I am, therefore, as +intimately acquainted with those flourishing settlements as with the townships +in my own county of Peterborough. +</p> + +<p> +Upon my return to my native country in August, on a visit to my venerable +mother, I was advised by my family to give my colonial experience to the world +in a plain, practical manner. I followed the flattering suggestions of +relatives so distinguished for literary attainments, and so dear to my +affections, and “Twenty-seven Years in Canada West; or, The Experience of +an Early Settler,” is the result of my compliance with their wishes. +</p> + +<p> +The subject of colonization is, indeed, one of vital importance, and demands +much consideration, for it is the wholesome channel through which the +superfluous population of England and Ireland passes, from a state of poverty +to one of comfort. It is true that the independence of the Canadian settler +must be the fruit of his own labour, for none but the industrious can hope to +obtain that reward. In fact, idle and indolent persons will not change their +natures by going out to Canada. Poverty and discontent will be the lot of the +sluggard in the Bush, as it was in his native land—nay, deeper poverty, +for “he cannot work, to beg he is ashamed,” and if he be surrounded +by a family, those nearest and dearest to him will share in his disappointment +and regret. +</p> + +<p> +But let the steady, the industrious, the cheerful man go forth in hope, and +turn his talents to account in a new country, whose resources are not confined +to tillage alone—where the engineer, the land-surveyor, the navigator, +the accountant, the lawyer, the medical practitioner, the manufacturer, will +each find a suitable field for the exercise of his talents; where, too, the +services of the clergyman are much required, and the pastoral character is +valued and appreciated as it ought to be. +</p> + +<p> +To the artizan, the hand-loom weaver, and the peasant, Canada is indeed a true +land of Goshen. In fact, the stream of migration cannot flow too freely in that +direction. However numerous the emigrants may be, employment can be obtained +for all. +</p> + +<p> +That the industrial classes do become the richest men cannot be denied, because +their artificial wants are fewer, and their labours greater than those of the +higher ranks. However, the man of education and refinement will always keep the +balance steady, and will hold offices in the Colony and responsible situations +which his richer but less learned neighbour can never fill with ease or +propriety. +</p> + +<p> +The Canadian settler possesses vast social advantages over other colonists. He +has no convict neighbours—no cruel savages, now, to contend with—no +war—no arid soil wherewith to contend. The land is, generally speaking, +of a rich quality, and the colonist has fire-wood for the labour of cutting, +fish for the catching, game for the pleasant exercise of hunting and shooting +in Nature’s own preserves, without the expense of a licence, or the +annoyance of being warned off by a surly gamekeeper. +</p> + +<p> +The climate of Canada West is healthier and really pleasanter than that of +England or Ireland. The cold is bracing, and easily mitigated by good fires and +warm clothing; but it is not so really chilling as the damp atmosphere of the +mother-country. Those who have not visited the Canadas are apt to endow the +Upper Province with the severe climate of the Lower one, whereas that of +Western Canada is neither so extremely hot nor so cold as many districts of the +United States. +</p> + +<p> +Emigration to Canada is no longer attended with the difficulties and +disadvantages experienced by the early settlers, of which such lamentable, and +perhaps exaggerated accounts have frequently issued from the press. The +civilizing efforts of the Canada Company have covered much of the wild +forest-land with smiling corn-fields and populous villages. Indeed, the liberal +manner in which the Company have offered their lands on sale or lease, have +greatly conduced to the prosperity of the Western Province. +</p> + +<p> +If the facts and suggestions contained in the following pages should prove +useful and beneficial to the emigrant, by smoothing his rough path to comfort +and independence, my object will be attained, and my first literary effort will +not have been made in vain. +</p> + +<h2>CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.</h2> + +<p><a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I.</a><br /> +Embarkation for Canada.—Voyage +out.—Sea-life.—Icebergs.—Passage up the St. +Lawrence.—Quebec.—Memorials of General +Wolfe.—Cathedral.—Hospitality.—Earthquakes.—Nuns.—Montreal.—Progress +up the Country.—My Roman Catholic Fellow-traveller.—Attempt at +Conversion.—The Township of Whitby.</p> + +<p><a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II.</a><br /> +Arrival at Darlington.—Kind Reception.—My +Friend’s Location.—His Inexperience.—Damage to his Land by +Fire.—Great Conflagration at Miramichi.—Forest Fires.—Mighty +Conflagration of the 6th of October.—Affecting Story of a +Lumber-foreman.—His Presence of Mind, and wonderful +Preservation.—The sad Fate of his Companions.</p> + +<p><a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III.</a><br /> +Inexperience of my Friend.—Bad State of his +Land—Fall Wheat.—Fencing.—Grasses.—Invitation to a +“Bee.”—United Labour.—Canadian Sports.—Degeneracy +of Bees.</p> + +<p><a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV.</a><br /> +My Marriage.—I become a Settler on my own Account—I +purchase Land in Otonabee.—Return to Darlington.—My first Attempt +at driving a Span.—Active Measures to remedy a Disaster.—Patience +of my Father-in-law.—My first +Bear-hunt.—Beaver-meadows.—Canadian Thunder-storms.—Fright of +a Settler’s Family</p> + +<p><a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V.</a><br /> +Canadian Harvest.—Preparing Timber for +Frame-buildings.—Raising “Bee.”—Beauty of the Canadian +Autumn.—Visit to Otonabee.—Rough +Conveyance.—Disaccommodation.—Learned +Landlord.—Cobourg.—Otonabee River.—Church of Gore’s +Landing.—Effects of persevering industry</p> + +<p><a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /> +Wood-duck Shooting.—Adventure on Rice Lake.—Irish +Howl.—Arrival at Gore’s Landing.—General Howling for the +Defunct.—Dangers of our Journey.—Safe Arrival at +Cobourg.—Salmon-fishing.—Canoe-building after a bad +Fashion.—Salmon-spearing.—Canadian Fish and Fisheries.—Indian +Summer.—Sleighs and Sleighing.—Domestic Love</p> + +<p><a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII.</a><br /> +Employments of a Man of Education in the Colony.—Yankee +Wedding.—My Commission.—Winter in Canada.—Healthiness of the +Canadian Climate.—Search for Land.—Purchase Wild Land at +Douro.—My Flitting.—Put up a Shanty.—Inexperience in +Clearing.—Plan-heaps</p> + +<p><a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br /> +A +Logging-Bee.—Lime-burning.—Shingling.—Arrival of my +Brother-in-law.—Birth of my Son.—Sad Journey to +Darlington.—Lose my Way.—Am refused a Lift.—My boyish +Anger.—My Wife’s Death.—The Funeral.—I leave +Darlington</p> + +<p><a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX.</a><br /> +Return to Otonabee.—Benevolence of my +Neighbour.—Serious Accident to a Settler.—His singular +Misfortunes.—Particulars of his Life</p> + +<p><a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X.</a><br /> +Preparations for my second Marriage.—Dangerous +Adventure.—My Wife’s nocturnal Visitor.—We prepare for the +Reception of our uninvited Guest.—Bruin’s unwelcome Visit to an +Irish Shanty.—Our Bear-hunt.—Major Elliott’s Duel with +Bruin.—His Wounds and Victory</p> + +<p><a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI.</a><br /> +Canada the Poor Man’s Country.—Disadvantages of +Inexperience.—Township of Harvey Settlement.—Pauper +Emigration.—Superior Advantages of the Labourer +Colonist.—Temperance and Temperance Societies.—A dry Answer to +watery Arguments.—British and Foreign Temperance Society</p> + +<p><a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII.</a><br /> +Want of Home-pasturage in Canada.—Danger of being lost +in the Woods.—Plain Directions to the Traveller in the Bush.—Story +of a Settler from Emily.—An old Woman’s Ramble in the +Woods.—Adventure of a Trapper.—Fortunate Meeting with his +Partner</p> + +<p><a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br /> +Directions for ascertaining the Quality of Land in the +Bush.—Site of Log-shanty.—Chopping.—Preparation for +Spring-crops.—Method of planting Indian Corn.—Pumpkins and +Potatoes.—Making Pot-ash</p> + +<p><a href="#chap14">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br /> +My first Shot at a Buck.—Hunting and Shooting +Parties.—Destructiveness of Wolves.—Loss of my +Flocks.—Cowardice of the Wolf.—The Lady and her Pet.—Colonel +Crawford’s Adventure.—Ingenious Trick of an American +Trapper.—A disagreeable Adventure.—How to poison Wolves.—A +stern Chase</p> + +<p><a href="#chap15">CHAPTER XV.</a><br /> +Formation of the Canada Company.—Interview with Mr. +Galt.—His personal Description and Character.—Guelph.—Dr. +Dunlop.—My Medical Services at Guelph.—Dr. Dunlop and the Paisley +Bodies.—An eccentric Character.—An unfortunate wife</p> + +<p><a href="#chap16">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br /> +Porcupine-catching.—Handsome Behaviour of Mr. +Galt.—Owlingale.—Introduction to the Son of the celebrated Indian +Chief, Brandt.—Expedition to Wilmot.—Sham Wolves.—Night in a +Barn with Dr. Dunlop.—The Doctor and his Snuffbox.—His Bath in the +Nith.—Louis XVIII. and his Tabatiere.—Camp in the +Woods.—Return to Guelph</p> + +<p><a href="#chap17">CHAPTER XVII.</a><br /> +A new Way of keeping a Birthday.—Lost in the +Woods.—Kindness of Mr. Galt.—Advice to new +Settlers.—Unexpected Retirement of Mr. Galt.—I accompany him to the +Landing-place.—Receive orders to leave Guelph for +Goderich.—Whirlwinds at Guelph and Douro</p> + +<p><a href="#chap18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a><br /> +The Huron tract.—Journal of Dr. Dunlop.—His +Hardships.—I leave Guelph for Goderich.—Want of +Accommodation.—Curious Supper.—Remarkable Trees.—The Beverly +Oak.—Noble Butter-wood Trees.—Goderich.—Fine Wheat +Crop.—Purchase a Log-house.—Construction of a Raft</p> + +<p><a href="#chap19">CHAPTER XIX.</a><br /> +My new House at Goderich.—Carpentry an essential +Art.—American Energy.—Agreeable Visitors.—My Wife’s +Disasters.—Hints for Anglers.—The Nine-mile Creek Frolic.—The +Tempest.—Our Skipper and his Lemon-punch.—Short Commons.—Camp +in the Woods.—Return on Foot.—Ludicrous termination to our +Frolic</p> + +<p><a href="#chap20">CHAPTER XX.</a><br /> +Choice of a Location.—The Company’s +Lands.—Crown Lands.—Tables published by the Canada +Company.—Progressive Improvement of the Huron Tract</p> + +<p><a href="#chap21">CHAPTER XXI.</a><br /> +The King proclaimed in the Bush.—Fete and Ball in the +Evening.—My Yankee Fellow-traveller.—Awful Storm.—My lonely +Journey.—Magical Effect of a Name</p> + +<p><a href="#chap22">CHAPTER XXII.</a><br /> +Visit of the Passenger-pigeon to the Canadas.—Canadian +Blackbirds.—Breeding-places of the +Passenger-pigeons.—Squirrels</p> + +<p><a href="#chap23">CHAPTER XXIII.</a><br /> +The Rebel, Von Egmond, the first agricultural Settler on the +Huron.—Cutting the first Sheaf</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST.</h2> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +EMBARKATION FOR CANADA.—VOYAGE +OUT.—SEA-LIFE.—ICEBERGS.—PASSAGE UP THE ST. +LAWRENCE.—QUEBEC.—MEMORIALS OF GENERAL +WOLFE.—CATHEDRAL.—HOSPITALITY.—EARTHQUAKES.—NUNS.—MONTREAL.—PROGRESS +UP THE COUNTRY.—MY ROMAN CATHOLIC FELLOW-TRAVELLER.—ATTEMPT AT +CONVERSION.—THE TOWNSHIP OF WHITBY. +</p> + +<p> +A preference for an active, rather than a professional life, induced me to +accept the offer made by an old friend, of joining him at Darlington, in Upper +Canada, in the year 1825. I therefore took leave of my family and pleasant +home, in Suffolk, and engaged a passage in the brig “William +M’Gilevray,” commanded by William Stoddart, an experienced American +seaman. +</p> + +<p> +On the 28th of March we left the London Docks, and dropped down the river to +Gravesend, and on the following day put our pilot ashore off Deal, and reached +down as far as the coast of Sussex, where we were becalmed for two days. Here +one of our cabin-boys, a German, met with a very serious accident by falling +down the after hatchway, and fracturing several of his ribs. On this occasion I +officiated as a surgeon, and bled him twice, with excellent effect, for he +quickly recovered from the severe injury he had received. Before quitting +Suffolk I had learned the art of blood-letting from our own medical attendant. +Every person intending to settle in a distant colony ought to acquire this +simple branch of surgery: I have often exercised it myself for the benefit of +my fellow-creatures when no medical assistance could be procured. +</p> + +<p> +It blew so fresh for two or three days, that we made up for our lost time, and +were soon out of sight of Scilly: then I bade a long farewell to old England. I +had often been on the sea before, but this was my first long voyage; every +object, therefore, was new to me. I caught some birds in the rigging they were +of a species unknown to me, but very beautiful. Being in want, too, of +something to do, I amused myself with cleaning the captain’s guns, which +I hoped to use for our joint benefit before the end of the voyage. +</p> + +<p> +The 18th and 19th of April were very stormy: the sea ran mountains high; we had +a foot of water in the cabin, and all hands were at the pumps to lessen the +growing evil. The gale lasted till the following morning. In the night the +aurora borealis was particularly brilliant; but though the storm lulled, the +wind was against us. On the 26th of April, I saw a whale, and, boy-like, fired +at the huge creature: the shot must have hit him, for he made the water fly in +all directions. +</p> + +<p> +To vary the monotony of a sea-life, I sometimes played draughts with the mate, +whom I always beat; but he took his defeats in good part, being a very +easy-tempered fellow. +</p> + +<p> +I awoke on the 21st of April literally wet to my skin by the deluge of water +pouring down the cabin. I dressed myself in great haste and hurried upon deck +to learn the cause of this disaster, which I found originated in the coming on +of a terrible hurricane, which would not permit us to show a stitch of canvas, +and found us continual employment at the pumps; my chest in the cabin shipped a +sea which did not improve the appearance of my wardrobe. The following day we +had calmer weather, and pursued our course steadily, no longer exposed to the +fury of the elements. +</p> + +<p> +On the following day I killed several birds, and saw two whales and many +porpoises. The weather was foggy, but the wind favourable for us. As we were +near the bank of Newfoundland, we got our fishing tackle ready, with the hope +of mending our fare with cod; but the water was not calm enough for the +purpose, and the fish would not bite. We passed over the Great Bank without any +danger, though the wind was high and the sea rough. +</p> + +<p> +On the 29th of April we fell in with some icebergs. A more magnificent and +imposing spectacle cannot be conceived; but it is very fearful and sufficiently +appalling. Suddenly, we found ourselves close to an immense body of ice, whose +vicinity bad been concealed from us by the denseness of the fog. Our dangerous +neighbour towered in majestic grandeur in the form of a triple cone rising from +a square base, and surpassed the tallest cathedral in altitude. The centre cone +being cleft in the middle by the force of the waves, displayed the phenomenon +of a waterfall, the water rushing into the sea from the height of thirty feet. +If the sun had pierced the vapoury veil which concealed it from our view, the +refraction of his rays would have given to the ice the many-coloured tints of +the rainbow. We took care to keep a good look out; but the fog was thick. We +fell in with many other icebergs; but none so beautiful as this. +</p> + +<p> +We doubled Cape Ray, and entered, on the 5th of May, the Gulf of St. Lawrence. +The thermometer fell many degrees a change caused by the vicinity of the ice. +On the 5th of May we passed the Bird Rocks, three in number, to windward, so +called from the immense number of geese and aquatic birds which resort thither +to rear their broods. These rocks rise to the height of four hundred feet, +perpendicularly from the sea. The fishermen, nevertheless, contrive to climb +them for the sake of the eggs they find there. +</p> + +<p> +The 6th of May found us in the river St. Lawrence, between the westernmost +point of Anticosti to the north, and Cape Gaspe to the south, in the middle of +the channel, surrounded by ships tacking up the stream, bound for Quebec and +Montreal. We had plenty of sea-room, as the river was more than ninety miles in +breadth, and it is supposed to be full a hundred at its <i>embouchure</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The land was partially covered with snow, which fell throughout the day. On the +8th of May we sailed as far as the Seven Islands. The day was glorious, and the +prospect most beautiful. Our vicinity to “the cold and pitiless +Labrador,” rendered the air chilly, and we could hear the howling of the +wolves at night, to me a new and dismal sound. The aurora borealis was +particularly splendid, for the air was clear and frosty. +</p> + +<p> +On the 10th of May we stood for the Island of Bic, and took on board a pilot. +He was a handsome young man, a French-Canadian, under whose guidance we made +the place, but we were becalmed before it for the whole forenoon. +</p> + +<p> +The beauty of the scenery atoned, however, for the delay. Nothing, indeed, +could surpass it in my eyes, which had then only been accustomed to the +highly-cultivated and richly-wooded tracts in Suffolk and Norfolk, and +therefore dwelt with wonder and delight upon the picturesque shores and lofty +heights that crowned the noble St. Lawrence. +</p> + +<p> +The wind changing in our favour, carried us swiftly up the stream, which was +still thirty-six miles in breadth, though distant 280 miles from the Gulf. We +passed Green Island and the Kamouraska Island, and Goose and Crane Islands. +These beautiful islets, which stud the broad bosom of the St. Lawrence, are +evidently of volcanic origin. That of Kamouraska displays vast masses of +granite, which rise in the form of conical hills, one of which attains the +height of five hundred feet. The same features are discernible in the Penguins, +and even the strata about Quebec still indicate the same mysterious agency.<a href="#fn-1.1" name="fnref-1.1" id="fnref-1.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-1.1" id="fn-1.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-1.1">[1]</a> +“Encyclopædia of Geography,” p. 1304. +</p> + +<p> +Our progress through the river continually presented the new continent in an +attractive point of view. The shores were dotted with farmhouses and adorned +with fine gardens and orchards, while lovely islands, covered with lofty trees, +rose from the river and delighted the eye. I thought Canada then and I have +never changed my opinion since the most beautiful country in the world. +</p> + +<p> +On the 13th of May we passed the Island of Orleans, which we no sooner rounded +than the Falls of Montmorenci burst upon my sight. I was unprepared for the +scene, which I contemplated in silent astonishment. No words written down by +the man, at this distance of time, can describe the vivid feelings of the boy. +I have since beheld the mighty cataracts of Niagara, so finely described by its +Indian name, “The Thunder of Waters;” but I concur in the general +opinion, that if those of Niagara are more stupendous, the Falls of Montmorenci +are more beautiful and picturesque. +</p> + +<p> +Quebec soon came in view, with its strong fortress crowning the imposing height +of Cape Diamond. No one can look upon the old capital of Canada without +remembering that the most gallant British soldier of the age fell in the battle +that added the colony to the other dependencies of the English crown. +</p> + +<p> +I remembered, too, with some pleasure, that the paternal dining-room contained +a looking-glass one of the fine old Venetian plates, framed with ebony, which +had once formed a part of the General’s personal property. It had been +for two centuries in his family, but had since become a valued heirloom in +mine. His manly features must often have been reflected on its brilliant +surface, and that circumstance, which had formerly endeared it to his aged +mother, had made it prized by mine. +</p> + +<p> +We have also a bureau, very complete, but evidently constructed more for use +than ornament, which might have once contained the papers of this distinguished +soldier, while the book-case, to which it was annexed, had probably held his +little library. His cruet-stand, which looks as if it had been made in the +patriarchal times, is still in use at Reydon Hall. +</p> + +<p> +The reader must pardon this digression, since distinguished worth and valour +give an interest even to trivial objects. +</p> + +<p> +Quebec consists of two towns, the Upper and Lower, and is adorned with a +cathedral, whose metallic roof glitters in the sun like a vast diamond. Indeed, +the tin-roofs of the churches and public buildings give this city a splendid +look on a bright sunshiny day, testifying, moreover, to the dryness of the air. +Captain Stoddart took me all over this curious city, and kindly introduced me +to one of the partners of a great mercantile house, who invited us both to +dinner. We regaled ourselves on smelts, fillet of veal, and old English roast +beef, to which hospitable meal we did ample justice, not forgetting to pledge +our absent friends in bumpers of excellent wine. +</p> + +<p> +The inhabitants of Quebec are very kind to strangers, and are a fine race of +people. French is spoken here not, however, very purely, being a <i>patois</i> +as old as the time of Henry IV. of France, when this part of Canada was first +colonized; but English is generally understood by the mercantile classes. +</p> + +<p> +This city is visited, at intervals, with slight shocks of earthquake.<a href="#fn-1.2" name="fnref-1.2" id="fnref-1.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +Nothing serious has yet followed this periodical phenomenon. But will this +visitation be only confined to the mountain range north of Quebec, where the +great earthquake that convulsed a portion of the globe in 1663 has left visible +marks of its influence, by overturning the sand-stone rocks of a tract +extending over three hundred miles?<a href="#fn-1.3" name="fnref-1.3" id="fnref-1.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +Quebec contains several nunneries, for the French inhabitants are mostly Roman +catholics. The nuns are very useful to emigrants, who have often been +bountifully relieved by these charitable vestals, who employ themselves in +nursing the sick and feeding the hungry. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-1.2" id="fn-1.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-1.2">[2]</a> +Lyell’s “Elements of Geology.” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-1.3" id="fn-1.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-1.3">[3]</a> +“Encyclopædia of Geography.” +</p> + +<p> +The inhabitants—or <i>habitans</i>, as the French Canadians are usually +termed—are an amiable, hospitable, simple people, kind in manner, and +generous in disposition. The women are lively and agreeable, and as fond of +dress in Quebec as in other civilized places. They are pretty in early youth in +the Lower Province, but lose their complexions sooner than the English ladies, +owing, perhaps, to the rigour of the climate.<a href="#fn-1.4" name="fnref-1.4" id="fnref-1.4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +However, they possess charms superior to beauty, and seem to retain the +affections of their husbands to the last hour of their lives. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-1.4" id="fn-1.4"></a> <a href="#fnref-1.4">[4]</a> +Mac Taggart’s “Three Years’ Residence in Canada.” +</p> + +<p> +Short as was my stay in Quebec, I could not leave without regret the hospitable +city where I had received from strangers such a warm welcome. I have never +visited the Lower Province since; but my remembrance of its old capital is +still as agreeable as it is distinct. The next day our brig was taken in tow by +the fine steam-boat, the “Richelieu de Chambly,” and with a leading +wind and tide in our favour we proceeded at a rapid rate up the river. +</p> + +<p> +I shall not attempt to describe the charming scenery of this most beautiful of +all rivers, which has already been so amply described by abler writers. I was +delighted with everything I saw; but nothing occurred worthy of narration. +</p> + +<p> +The next day saw us safely moored in the port of Montreal, just forty-five days +from our departure from the London Docks. Montreal is a handsome town, well +situated, and must eventually become the most important city in British North +America. The river here is very broad. The Lachine rapids commence immediately +above the town, which are an impediment to the navigation, now obviated by a +canal terminating at the village of Lachine, I believe nine miles distant from +Montreal. +</p> + +<p> +I took my passage in a Durham boat, bound for Kingston, which started the next +day. We had hard work poling up the rapids. I found I had fallen in with a +rough set of customers, and determined in my own mind to leave them as soon as +possible, which I happily effected the next evening when we landed at Les +Cedres. Here the great Otawa pours its mighty stream into the St. Lawrence, +tinging its green waters with a darker hue, which can be traced for miles, till +it is ultimately lost in the rapids below. +</p> + +<p> +I now determined to walk to Prescot, where I knew I should be able to take the +steam-boat for Kingston, on Lake Ontario. At the Coteau du Lac I fell in with a +Roman Catholic Irishman, named Mooney. We travelled in company for three days, +and as I had nothing else to do, I thought I might as well make an effort to +convert him. However, I signally failed; and only endangered my own head by my +zeal. +</p> + +<p> +In the heat of argument and the indiscretion of youth, I used expressions which +the Papist considered insulting to his religion. He was not one to put up +patiently with this, so he would fire up, twirl his blackthorn round his head, +and say, “By St. Patrick, you had better not say that again!” In +everything else we agreed well enough; but I found, on parting, that all my +eloquence had been entirely thrown away. Mr. Mooney remained just as firm a +Roman Catholic as ever. Indeed, it was the height of presumption in me, a boy +in my twentieth year, to attempt the conversion of such a strict Romanist as +this Irishman. +</p> + +<p> +The weather was excessively fine. The trees were just bursting into leaf. The +islands in the St. Lawrence, which are here numerous, wore the brightest hues, +and presented a charming contrast to the foaming rapids. +</p> + +<p> +I remained two or three days at Prescot, waiting the arrival of my baggage, +which I had left on board the Durham boat. I amused myself during the interval +by taking walks in the neighbourhood. The land appeared very sandy, the timber +being chiefly hemlock: the situation of the town is good. Steam-navigation +commenced at this place, and now that the Welland Canal is completed, it +affords an uninterrupted navigation be borne in mind that at the time of which +I am to the head of Lakes Huron and Michigan. It must speaking (1825), the +great St. Lawrence Canal and the Rideau were not commenced, but since their +completion the Durham boats and small steamers have given place to a set of +superb boats affording the best accommodation, whereby the passage from +Montreal to Toronto can be performed at half the expense, and in one-third of +the time. +</p> + +<p> +My baggage having arrived, I left Prescot by boat in the evening for Kingston, +at that time the second town both in size and importance in Canada West. It +must, on account of its situation as a military and naval post, always be a +place of consequence. I fell in there with an old sea-dog, who had commanded a +vessel, for many years trading between London and Quebec. He had had the +misfortune to lose his vessel, which was wrecked on the rocks at Gaspe, near +the mouth of the St. Lawrence. I was glad to find the friends I was going to +reside with had come out passengers in his ship, and that the schooner he then +commanded was bound for the Big-bay (now called Windsor), in the township of +Whitby, within six or seven miles of my friends’ residence, and that they +would sail in two days at farthest. +</p> + +<p> +On our passage from Prescot to Kingston we passed Brockville, which looked very +pretty from the river, and soon afterwards we were threading our way through +the intricacies of the Thousand Islands.<a href="#fn-1.5" name="fnref-1.5" id="fnref-1.5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> +Who has not heard of the far-famed Thousand Islands—the Archipelago of +the St. Lawrence? Nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot. The river is here +several miles in width, studded with innumerable islands, of every variety of +form. The moon shone brightly on this lovely scene: not a ripple stirred the +mirror-like bosom of the stream—“There was not a breath the blue +wave to curl.” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-1.5" id="fn-1.5"></a> <a href="#fnref-1.5">[5]</a> +“The Lake of the Thousand Isles. The expression was thought to be a +vague exaggeration, till the Isles were officially surveyed, and found to +amount to 1692. A sail through them presents one of the most singular and +romantic succession of scenes that can be imagined—the Isles are of every +size, form, height and aspect; woody, verdant, rocky; naked, smiling, barren; +and they present as numerous a succession of bays, inlets, and channels as +occur in all the rest of the continent put together.” +“Encyclopædia of Geography,” iv. 1321. +</p> + +<p> +The reflection of the trees in the water enhanced the natural beauties I have +endeavoured to describe. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, June the 3rd, I embarked on board the schooner +“Shamrock,” on my way to Darlington. We passed the Duck islands +towards evening, and found ourselves fairly launched on the bosom of the Great +Ontario. We anchored next day opposite the town of Cobourg, then a small +village, without a harbour, now a fine, handsome, well-built town, containing a +population of nearly 4,000 inhabitants. A large sum of money has been laid out +in the construction of a harbour, which appears to answer very well. +</p> + +<p> +Cobourg is the county-town for the counties of Northumberland and Durham, which +comprehend the following townships: Darlington, Clarke, Hope, Hamilton, +Haldimand, Cramache, Murray, Seymour, Percy, Alnwick, South Monaghan, Cavan, +Manvers, and Cartwright. The soil of most of these townships is of excellent +quality, particularly the fronts of Hamilton, Haldimand, and all Cavan, being +generally composed of a deep rich loam. +</p> + +<p> +These townships are well watered by numerous spring creeks, bounded to the +north and east by the river Trent, Skugog and Rice Lakes; and to the south, for +about sixty miles, by Lake Ontario. The chief towns are Cobourg, Port Hope, and +Bournauville. As I shall have occasion in another place to speak more fully +respecting these counties, I shall take my readers again on board the +“Shamrock.” +</p> + +<p> +Our captain having to land some goods at Cobourg, we were detained there all +night. He invited a few friends to pass the evening. A jolly set of fellows +they were, and they initiated me into the mysteries of brewing whiskey-punch, a +beverage I had never before tasted, and which I found very palatable. The song +and the joke went round till the small hours warned us to retire. +</p> + +<p> +On Sunday morning, June the 5th, I landed at the Big-bay (Windsor), in Whitby, +and after bidding adieu to my fellow-voyagers commenced my journey to my +friends in Darlington on foot. Whitby, at the time of which I am speaking, was +only partially settled, and chiefly by Americans. This township is justly +considered one of the best between Toronto and Kingston. At present the +township is well settled and well-cultivated. Nearly all the old settlers are +gone, and their farms have, for the most part, been purchased by old country +farmers and gentlemen, the log-buildings having given place to substantial +stone, brick, or frame houses. The village of Oshawa, in this township, now +contains upwards of one thousand inhabitants, more than double the number the +whole township could boast of when I first set foot on its soil. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +ARRIVAL AT DARLINGTON.—KIND RECEPTION.—MY FRIEND’S +LOCATION.—HIS INEXPERIENCE.—DAMAGE TO HIS LAND BY FIRE.—GREAT +CONFLAGRATION AT MIRAMACHI.—FOREST FIRES.—MIGHTY CONFLAGRATION OF +THE 6TH OF OCTOBER.—AFFECTING STORY OF A LUMBER-FOREMAN.—HIS +PRESENCE OF MIND, AND WONDERFUL PRESERVATION.—THE SAD FATE OF HIS +COMPANIONS. +</p> + +<p> +I was now very near to my ark of refuge, and the buoyant spirit of early youth, +with its joyous anticipations of a radiant future, bore me exultingly forward. +It might have been said of me in the beautiful lines of the poet: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“He left his home with a bounding heart,<br /> + For the world was all before him;<br /> +And he scarcely felt it a pain to part,<br /> + Such sun-bright hopes came o’er him.”<a href="#fn-2.1" name="fnref-2.1" id="fnref-2.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-2.1" id="fn-2.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-2.1">[1]</a> +Alarie A. Watts. +</p> + +<p> +Two hours’ brisk walking brought me to the long-looked-for end of my +journey. I was received with the greatest kindness and hospitality; and, in a +few days, felt quite at home and comfortable in my new quarters. +</p> + +<p> +After some days’ rest, I commenced operations by assisting my friend on +the farm and in the store. From my practical knowledge of farming, acquired +upon my mother’s estate, I was soon installed as manager in that +department. +</p> + +<p> +Our farm contained upwards of two hundred acres of cleared land, the largest +proportion of which consisted of meadows and pastures, but the soil was light +and sandy, and altogether very indifferent. My friend, Colonel B—— +had been imposed upon by the Yankee, of whom he had bought it, and no wonder, +when I tell you that my friend had formerly held a situation under Government, +and had lived in London all his life. +</p> + +<p> +Only the first three concessions of this township were settled at this time, +the remainder of the land being generally in the hands of absentee proprietors. +I am happy to say, the absentee tax has had the effect of throwing vast +quantities of these lands into the market. +</p> + +<p> +This township, like Whitby, is now well settled, and though not generally equal +in regard to soil, is still considered a good township. Bowmanville is the +principal town, containing about twelve hundred inhabitants. In 1825 it only +boasted a grist-mill, saw-mill, a store, and half-a-dozen houses. I mention +this, merely to show how much the country has improved in a few years. This is +not an isolated fact it applies to nearly all Canada West. +</p> + +<p> +My intention was, to stay with my friends till the ensuing spring, and to get a +little insight into Canadian farming, clearing land, &c., that I might have +some experience before commencing operations on my own account. +</p> + +<p> +The situation of my friend’s house was close to the Toronto road, partly +built of logs and framework: it had been designed by the former Yankee +proprietor, and could certainly boast of no architectural beauties. We lived +about a mile and a half from the lake shore, and I took advantage of my +vicinity to the water to bathe daily. I found great refreshment in this, for +the weather was very hot and dry. The drought lasted for some time, and among +its consequences, I may mention the prevalence of extensive fires.<a href="#fn-2.2" name="fnref-2.2" id="fnref-2.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +Several broke out in our neighbourhood, and, at last, the mischief reached our +own farm. It destroyed several thousand rails, and spread over forty or fifty +acres of meadow land. We ultimately stopped its further progress in the +clearing, by ploughing furrows round the fire and a thunder-shower in the +evening completed its extinction. Fire seldom runs in the woods on good land, +and where the timber is chiefly deciduous, but on sandy, pine, or hemlock +lands, or where evergreens chiefly prevail. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-2.2" id="fn-2.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-2.2">[2]</a> +Fires in Canada are of frequent occurrence, and are generally caused by the +burning of brush-wood or log-heaps by the settlers. In dry weather, with a +brisk wind, the fire is apt to run on the surface of the ground in the bush, +where the dry leaves are thickest. In clearing the land a good deal of +brush-wood and tops of trees are thrown into the edge of the woods. It follows, +as a matter of course, that the greatest danger to be apprehended is the +burning the boundary-fences of farms. I have heard it asserted that these fires +are sometimes caused by spontaneous combustion, which I consider altogether a +fallacy. +</p> + +<p> +I have seldom known very serious damage by these fires done in Canada West, +although occasionally a barn or house falls a sacrifice to the devouring +element. Not so, however, in some parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where +extensive conflagrations often devastate the country for miles round. Of such a +character was the great fire at Miramichi, which nearly destroyed Fredericton, +and was attended not only with an immense loss of property but with the sad +loss of many valuable lives. I will presently give in his own forcible and +feeling language the history of a lumberer who escaped from destruction after +being for some time in imminent peril of his life. He was one of the few +persons who had the good fortune of escaping the great conflagration in +Miramichi, which broke out in the October after my arrival, and excited so much +general sympathy. Fifteen of his comrades perished in the flames. +</p> + +<p> +The narrative which I introduce here, anticipating by a few months the proper +order of narration, was related to me by the man himself with that native +eloquence which often surprises, and always interests us in the uneducated. The +class to which he belongs is one peculiar to America. Rough in manners, and +often only half-civilized, the lumberer, as an individual, resembles little the +woodsman of other lands. He is generally a Canadian Frenchman, or a breed +between the Irish and the native of the Lower Province. However, some Yankees +may be found among these denizens of the woods and wilds of Canada. The fearful +conflagration to which our poor lumberer nearly fell a victim, has been thus +ably described in M’Gregor’s “British America.” +“In October, 1825, about a hundred and forty miles in extent, and a vast +breadth of the country on the north, and from sixty to seventy miles on the +south side of Miramachi river, became a scene of perhaps the most dreadful +conflagration that has occurred in the history of the world. +</p> + +<p> +“In Europe we can scarcely form a conception of the fury and rapidity +with which fires rage through the forests of America during a dry hot season, +at which period the broken underwood, decayed vegetable substances, fallen +branches, bark, and withered trees, are as inflammable as the absence of +moisture can make them. To such irresistible food for combustion we must add +the auxiliary afforded by the boundless fir forests, every tree of which in its +trunk, bark, branches, and leaves contains vast quantities of inflammable +resin. +</p> + +<p> +“When one of these fires is once in motion, or at least when the flames +extent over a few miles of the forest, the surrounding air becomes highly +rarefied, and the wind consequently increases till it blows a perfect +hurricane. It appears, that the woods had been on both sides of the north-west +partially on fire for some days, but not to an alarming extent until the 7th of +October, when it came on to blow furiously from the westward, and the +inhabitants along the river were suddenly surprised by an extraordinary roaring +in the woods, resembling the crashing and detonation of loud and incessant +thunder, while at the same instant the atmosphere became thick darkened with +smoke. +</p> + +<p> +“They had scarcely time to ascertain the cause of this awful phenomenon +before all the surrounding woods appeared in one vast blaze, the flames +ascending from one to two hundred feet above the tops of the loftiest trees; +and the fire rolling forward with inconceivable celerity, presented the +terribly sublime appearance of an impetuous flaming ocean. In less than an +hour, Douglas Town and Newcastle were in a blaze: many of the wretched +inhabitants perished in the flames. More than a hundred miles of the Miramichi +were laid waste, independent of the north-west branch, the Baltibag, and the +Nappen settlements. From one to two hundred persons perished within immediate +observation, while thrice that number were miserably burned or wounded, and at +least two thousand were left destitute of the means of subsistence, and were +thrown for a time on the humanity of the Province of New Brunswick. The number +of lives that were lost in the woods could not at the time be ascertained, but +it was thought few were left to tell the tale. +</p> + +<p> +“Newcastle presented a fearful scene of ruin and devastation, only +fourteen out of two hundred and fifty houses and stores remained standing. +</p> + +<p> +“The court-house, jail, church, and barracks, Messrs. Gilmour, Rankin, +and Co.’s, and Messrs. Abrams and Co.’s establishment, with two +ships on the stocks, were reduced to ashes. +</p> + +<p> +“The loss of property is incalculable, for the fire, borne upon the wings +of a hurricane, rushed on the wretched inhabitants with such inconceivable +rapidity that the preservation of their lives could be their only care. +</p> + +<p> +“Several ships were burned on shore, while others were saved from the +flames by the exertions of their owners, after being actually on fire. +</p> + +<p> +“At Douglas Town scarcely any kind of property escaped the ravages of the +fire, which swept off the surface everything coming in contact with it, leaving +but time for the unfortunate inhabitants to fly to the shore; and there, by +means of boats, canoes, rafts of timber, logs, or any article, however ill +calculated for the purpose, they endeavoured to escape from the dreadful scene +and reach the town of Chatham, numbers of men, women, and children perishing in +the attempt. +</p> + +<p> +“In some parts of the country all the cattle were either destroyed or +suffering greatly, for the very soil was parched and burnt up, while scarcely +any article of provision was rescued from the flames. +</p> + +<p> +“The hurricane raged with such dreadful violence, that large bodies of +timber on fire, as well as trees from the forest and parts of the flaming +houses and stores, were carried to the rivers with amazing velocity, to such an +extent and affecting the water in such a manner, as to occasion large +quantities of salmon and other fish to resort to land, hundreds of which were +scattered on the shores of the south and west branches. +</p> + +<p> +“Chatham was filled with three hundred miserable sufferers: every hour +brought to it the wounded and burned in the most abject state of distress. +Great fires raged about the same time in the forests of the River St. John, +which destroyed much property and timber, with the governor’s house, and +about eighty private houses at Fredericton. Fires raged also at the same time +in the northern parts of the Province, as far as the Bay de Chaleur. +</p> + +<p> +“It is impossible to tell how many lives were lost, as many of those who +were in the woods among the lumbering parties, had no friends nor connections +in the country to remark on their non-appearance. Five hundred have been +computed as the least number that actually perished in the flames. +</p> + +<p> +“The destruction of bears, foxes, tiger-cats, martens, hares, squirrels, +and other wild animals, was very great. These, when surprised by such fires, +are said to lose their usual sense of preservation, and becoming, as it were, +either giddy or fascinated, often rush into the face of inevitable destruction: +even the birds, except these of very strong wing, seldom escape. Some, +particularly the partridge, become stupified; and the density of the smoke, the +rapid velocity of the flames, and the violence of the winds, effectually +prevent the flight of others.” +</p> + +<p> +It was from this mighty destruction that the forecast and admirable presence of +mind displayed by the lumberer, whose pathetic story I am about to relate, +saved him. I could not fail, while rejoicing in his escape, to impute his +self-possession to the compassion of the all-wise Being who had made him such +an instance of His mercy. +</p> + +<p> +“The weather,” said he, “had been unusually dry for the +season, and there had been no rain for upwards of three weeks before this +calamity took place. We had only just completed our shanty, and had commenced +felling timber ready for squaring, when it occurred. We had heard from our +teamsters, who had brought us out pork and flour, the day previous, that fires +were raging in the woods some miles to the eastward of us. However, we paid but +little attention to what appeared to us a common occurrence. +</p> + +<p> +“After supper, one of our men went out of the shanty, but immediately +returned to tell us ‘that a dreadful conflagration was raging within a +mile or so of our dwelling.’ We immediately rushed out to ascertain the +truth of his assertion. I shall never forget,” he continued, “the +sight presented to our view: as far as the eye could reach we saw a wall of +fire higher than the tree-tops, and we heard the mighty sound of the rushing +flames mingled with the crashing fall of the timber. +</p> + +<p> +“A single glance convinced us that not a minute was to be lost; we did +not stop even to try and secure our clothing, but made our way as quickly as +possible to a small river about two hundred yards from our shanty, and which we +knew was our only chance of preservation. +</p> + +<p> +“We reached the stream in safety, where I determined to take my stand. My +comrades, however, were of a different opinion: they contended that the fire +would not cross the river, which was upwards of thirty yards in width. +Unfortunately, no argument of mine could induce them to stay, though I was well +aware, and represented to them that such a body of flame would not be stayed a +minute by such a barrier. +</p> + +<p> +“My comrades, hoping to reach an old clearance of some acres, about half +a mile in advance, in spite of all entreaties crossed the stream, and were soon +lost to my view never more to be seen alive by me. +</p> + +<p> +“I waded down the stream, till I found a place where the water was up to +my arm-pits, and the bank of the river rose about six feet over my head. There +I took my stand, and awaited the event in breathless anxiety. I had no time to +look around me. The few minutes which had elapsed, had greatly added to the +terrors of the scene. +</p> + +<p> +“As the wall of fire advanced, fresh trees in succession were enveloped +by the flames. A bright glare crimsoned the clouds with a lurid glow, while the +air was filled with a terrible noise. The heat now became intense. I looked up +once more; the trees above me caught fire at that instant, the next, I was +holding my breath a foot beneath the surface of the running stream. Every few +seconds I was compelled to raise my head to breathe, which I accomplished with +great difficulty. In a few minutes, which seemed ages to me, I was enabled to +stand upright, and look around me. What desolation a short half hour had +effected! In front, the conflagration was still raging with unabated fury, +while in the rear the fire had consumed all the under-brush and limbs of the +trees, leaving a forest of blackened poles still blazing fiercely, though not +with the intense heat caused by the balsam and pine-brushwood. +</p> + +<p> +“It was several hours before I durst quit my sanctuary to search for my +companions, the blackened remains of whom I found not a quarter of a mile from +the river. +</p> + +<p> +“Our shanty,<a href="#fn-2.3" name="fnref-2.3" id="fnref-2.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +and all that it contained, was utterly consumed. I, however, succeeded in +finding in the cellar beneath its ruins, as much provisions uninjured as served +to carry me through to the settlements, which I ultimately reached, though not +without great difficulty.” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-2.3" id="fn-2.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-2.3">[3]</a> +A shanty is a building made with logs, higher in the front than the back, +making a fall to the roof, which is generally covered with troughs made of pine +or bass-wood logs; the logs are first split fair in the middle, and hollowed +out with the axe and adze. A row of these troughs is then laid from the front +or upper wall-plate, sloping down to the back plate, the hollowed side +uppermost. The covering-troughs is then placed with the hollow reversed, either +edge resting in the centre of the under trough. A door in the front and one +window complete the building. Such is commonly the first dwelling of the +settler. The lumber-shanty differs both in shape and size, being much larger, +and the roof sloping both ways, with a raised hearth in the centre of the +floor, with an aperture directly above for the escape of the smoke. It has no +window. One door at the end, and two tier of bed berths, one above the other, +complete the <i>tout ensemble</i>. These shanties are generally constructed to +accommodate from two to three gangs of lumber men, with shed-room for twelve or +fourteen span of oxen or horses span being the Canadian term for pair. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +INEXPERIENCE OF MY FRIEND.—BAD STATE OF HIS LAND.—FALL +WHEAT.—FENCING.—GRASSES.—INVITATION TO A +“BEE.”—UNITED LABOUR.—CANADIAN SPORTS.—DEGENERACY +OF BEES. +</p> + +<p> +Colonel B—— was an old and valued friend of my family, who had +held a lucrative situation under Government for many years. His retirement from +public life, on some disgust, had eventually led to his settlement in Canada. +</p> + +<p> +Now, his literary tastes and sedentary habits had ill-fitted him for the rough +customs of the colony. Besides having scarcely seen a grain of corn in its +progressive state from the blade to its earing and harvest, he knew nothing of +agricultural operations. Of stock he was equally ignorant, and of the +comparative goodness or badness of soil he was, of course, no judge. Such a +man, in the choice of a farm, was sure to be shaved by the shrewd Yankee +proprietor, and my poor friend was shaved accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +I found my friend’s farm had been much neglected. His out-door labourers +were all from the south of Ireland, and had never before followed farming +operations. In consequence of their inexperience, half the clearing was quite +overrun with raspberries and Canadian thistles. (The latter weed is far more +troublesome to eradicate than any other I know. It is the same as the common +corn-thistle, or <i>Serratula arvensis</i>, so well known to English +agriculturists). +</p> + +<p> +As we intended to prepare a large piece of ground for summer-fallow, it was +necessary to get rid of those stumps of the trees, which, according to the +practice of chopping them two or three feet from the ground, present a +continual obstacle to the advance of the plough. We, however, succeeded in +getting clear of them by hitching a logging-chain round the stump near the top, +when a sudden jerk from the oxen was generally sufficient to pull it up. For +the larger, and those more firmly fixed in the ground, we made use of a lever +about twenty feet long, and about eight or nine inches in diameter, one end of +which was securely chained to the stump, the oxen being fastened to the other +and made to go in a circular direction, a manoeuvre which rarely fails of the +desired effect. This plan will not answer unless the roots are sufficiently +decayed. During dry weather the application of fire produces more effectual +results. A few embers shaken from a cedar-torch on the crown of the stump are +sufficient for the purpose: some hundreds of these blazing merrily at night +have a very pretty effect. +</p> + +<p> +In ten or twelve years the hard woods, such as oak, ash, beech and maple +disappear; but the stumps of the evergreens, such as pine, hemlock and cedar, +are much more difficult to eradicate. +</p> + +<p> +The land being of a sandy nature, we had but few stones to contend with. When +such is the case, we raise them above the surface, by the help of levers. By +these means, stones of half a ton weight can be easily lifted from their beds. +The larger ones are generally drawn off the fields to make the foundations of +fences, and those of a smaller size are used in the construction of French +drains. +</p> + +<p> +To succeed well with your summer fallow, it is necessary to have the sod all +turned over with the plough by the end of May, or sooner if possible. Shortly +afterwards the fallow should be well harrowed; in July it should be crossed, +ploughed and harrowed, and rolled at least twice before the final ploughing or +ridging up, which should be completed by the last week in August. +</p> + +<p> +Fall-wheat should be sown between the first and fifteenth day of September.<a href="#fn-3.1" name="fnref-3.1" id="fnref-3.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +The sooner the better, in my opinion, because the plant is stronger and better +able to withstand the frost, and is decidedly less liable to rust. Our fallow +having been prepared in this manner, and sown broad-cast with fall-wheat, the +next object was to fence in the field securely, which is done in the following +way. Trees of a straight growth and straight also in the grain are selected and +cut into twelve feet lengths, and are then, by the means of a beetle and +wedges, split into rails as nearly four inches square as possible. The rails +are then laid in a zigzag direction, crossing each other about a foot from the +end, making an angle of about six feet. Seven rails in height, crowned by a +stake and rider, complete the fence. The best timbers for making rails, are +pine, cedar, oak and black and white ash: these kinds of timbers will last +about thirty years. Bass-wood is more commonly used for the first fences, +because it is to be procured in greater abundance, and splits more easily; but +as it will not last more than ten years, I would not recommend settlers to use +it, if the other sorts can readily be obtained. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-3.1" id="fn-3.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-3.1">[1]</a> +“Fall” is the term usually applied to wheat sown in the autumn +by the Canadian farmer, and will be used in this sense throughout a work +especially written for the service of the inexperienced settler. +</p> + +<p> +In this country, hay-cutting commences about the first or second week in July. +Timothy-grass and clover mixed or timothy alone are the best for hay, and the +most productive. The quantity of seed required for new land is six quarts of +grass-seed and two pounds of clover to the acre; on old cleared farms nearly +double this seed is required. Timothy is a solid grass with a bulbous root. If +the weather is hot and dry, the hay should be carted the second day after +cutting, for there is no danger in carting it at once into your barn, the +climate being so dry that it never heats enough to cause spontaneous +combustion. We have other sorts of grasses, such as red-top, blue-joint, +&c.: these grasses, however, are inferior, and therefore never grown from +choice. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after my arrival at Darlington, one of my neighbours residing on the +lake-shore invited me to a mowing and cradling “Bee.”<a href="#fn-3.2" name="fnref-3.2" id="fnref-3.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +As I had never seen anything of the kind, I accepted the invitation. On my +arrival at the farm on the appointed day, I found assembled about forty men and +boys. A man with a pail of spring water with a wooden cup floating on the +surface in one hand, and a bottle of whiskey and glass in the other, now +approached the swarm, every one helping himself as he pleased. This man is the +most important personage at the “Bee,” and is known by the +appellation of the “Grog-bos.” On this occasion his office was +anything but a sinecure. The heat of the weather, I suppose, had made our party +very thirsty. There were thirty-five bees cutting hay, among whom I was a +rather awkward volunteer, and ten cradlers<a href="#fn-3.3" name="fnref-3.3" id="fnref-3.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +employed in cutting rye. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-3.2" id="fn-3.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-3.2">[2]</a> +What the Canadian settlers call a “Bee” is a neighbourly +gathering for any industrious purpose a friendly clubbing of labour, assisted +by an abundance of good cheer. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-3.3" id="fn-3.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-3.3">[3]</a> +The cradle is a scythe of larger dimensions than the common hay-scythe, and is +both wider in the blade and longer. A straight piece of wood, called a +standard, thirty inches long, is fixed upright; near the end of the snaith, or +handle, are four fingers made of wood, the same bend as the scythe, and from +six to seven inches apart, directly above the scythe, and fixed firmly into the +standard, from which wire braces with nuts and screws to adjust the fingers. +These braces are secured to the fingers about eight inches from the standard. +The other end of the wire is then passed through the snaith and drawn tight by +means of a screw-nut. These machines are very effective, and in the hands of a +person who understands their use will cut from two to three acres a-day of +either wheat, oats, barley, or rye. +</p> + +<p> +At eleven o’clock, cakes and pailfuls of tea were served round. At one, +we were summoned by the sound of a tin bugle to dinner, which we found laid out +in the barn. Some long pine-boards resting on tressels served for a table, +which almost groaned with the good things of this earth, in the shape of roast +lamb and green peas, roast sucking-pig, shoulder of mutton, apple-sauce, and +pies, puddings, and preserves in abundance, with plenty of beer and Canadian +whiskey. Our bees proved so industrious, that before six o’clock all Mr. +Burke’s hay and rye were finished cutting. Supper was then served on the +same scale of profusion, with the addition of tea. After supper a variety of +games and gymnastics were introduced, various trials of strength, wrestling, +running, jumping, putting the stone, throwing the hammer, &c. +</p> + +<p> +About nine o’clock our party broke up, and returned to their respective +homes, well pleased with their day’s entertainment, leaving their host +perfectly satisfied with their voluntary labour. One word about bees and their +attendant frolic. I confess I do not like the system. I acknowledge, that in +raising a log-house or barn it is absolutely necessary, especially in the Bush, +but the general practice is bad. Some people can do nothing without a bee, and +as the work has to be returned in the same manner, it causes a continual round +of dissipation if not of something worse. I have known several cases of +manslaughter arising out of quarrels produced by intoxication at these +every-day gatherings. As population increases, and labour becomes cheaper, of +course there will be less occasion for them. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +MY MARRIAGE.—I BECOME A SETTLER ON MY OWN ACCOUNT.—I PURCHASE +LAND IN OTONABEE.—RETURN TO DARLINGTON.—MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT DRIVING +A SPAN.—ACTIVE MEASURES TO REMEDY A DISASTER.—PATIENCE OF MY +FATHER-IN-LAW.—MY FIRST BEAR-HUNT.—BEAVER-MEADOWS.—CANADIAN +THUNDERSTORMS.—FRIGHT OF A SETTLER’S FAMILY. +</p> + +<p> +I must now say something of myself. During my domestication under my +friend’s roof, I became attached to one of his daughters. The affection +was mutual; and our happiness was completed by the approbation of our friends. +We were married; and it seemed that there was a goodly prospect of many years +of wedded happiness before us. +</p> + +<p> +But it was necessary that I, who was now a husband, and might become a father, +should become a settler on my own account, and look about for lands of my own. +I examined, therefore, several locations in the neighbourhood; but one +objection or another presented itself, and I declined fixing my settlement at +Darlington. Ultimately, I bought two hundred acres of land in the township of +Otonabee, within a mile of the newly laid out town of Peterborough. It was +arranged that I should stop at Darlington, and assist my father-in-law, until +it was time to commence operations in the spring. This arrangement proved very +beneficial to me, as I was able to learn many useful things, and make myself +acquainted with the manners and customs of the people with whom I was going to +live. +</p> + +<p> +We kept two pair of horses and a yoke of oxen to work the farm. One pair of our +horses were French Canadian. Generally speaking, they are rough-looking beasts, +with shaggy manes and tails, but strong, active, and stout for their size, +which, however, is much less than that of the Upper Canadian horse. I have +seen, nevertheless, some very handsome carriage-horses of this breed. Of late +years, both the Upper and Lower Canadian breed of horses have been much +improved by the importation of stallions. +</p> + +<p> +The working oxen of this country are very docile and easily managed. They are +extremely useful in the new settlement; indeed, I do not know what could be +done without them. It is next to an impossibility to plough among the green +stumps and roots with horses the plough being continually checked by roots and +stones therefore, till these obstacles are removed, which cannot be effectually +done for seven or eight years, oxen are indispensably necessary, particularly +for logging up new fallows. Yet notwithstanding their usefulness, I do not know +a worse treated set of animals than Canadian oxen. Their weight, when fat, +varies from seven to eight hundred weight. A yoke and bows, made of birch or +soft maple, is the only harness needed; and, in my opinion, for double draught, +better, and certainly less troublesome than the collar and traces used in +England. +</p> + +<p> +The ox-yoke is made of a piece of wood, four feet in length, and nine inches +deep in the centre, to which a staple is fitted, and from which an iron ring +depends, about a foot from the middle of the yoke each way, which is hollowed +out, so as to fit on the top of the oxen’s necks. A hole is bored, two +inches in diameter, on each side of the hollow, through which the bow is +passed, and fastened on the upper side of the yoke by a wooden pin. The bow is +bent in the shape of a horse-shoe, the upper, or narrow ends being passed +through the yoke. If the yoke and bows are properly made and fit the cattle, +there is no fear of galling the beast. The bows are made of hickory, white or +rock elm, in this way. Cut a piece of elm, five feet and a half long, large +enough to split into quarters, each of which will dress to two inches in +diameter; put them in a steam-box for an hour at least; take them out hot, and +bend on a mould made on purpose; tie the two bent-up ends together until dry. +Every settler should know how to do these things, and to make his own +axe-handles, and many other articles which are constantly required in the bush. +</p> + +<p> +My first attempt at driving oxen was accompanied by an unfortunate accident, +which gave me some trouble and mortification. My father-in-law had lent a +neighbour a plough, of which we were much in want. I thought it would be a good +opportunity for me to try my hand with the oxen, to fetch it home. Now, it +happened the cattle were young, and not very well broken, so that I found some +difficulty in yoking and attaching them to the cart. However, I succeeded at +last, and drove up to the door of Mr. Stephens’ house in great style. I +found the family just going to dinner, which they courteously invited me to +partake with them. I accepted their hospitality, and left the oxen standing +before the door. +</p> + +<p> +I discussed my neighbour’s good cheer with an excellent appetite, and was +in the very act of pledging mine host, when I heard the cattle start off. We +left the table with precipitation, but-were, alas! too late to stop the +refractory oxen, which galloping down a steep hill, on the summit of which the +house was built, stumbled in their descent, and fell to the bottom, where we +found them struggling, apparently, in the agonies of death. We cut the bows +from their necks as soon as possible, but not in time to save the life of poor +Spot, the near ox, who was quite dead; and it was for some minutes doubtful if +Dandy the off “critter,” as the Yankees would style him would +survive his companion. I killed the dead one over again to make its flesh fit +for consumption, and bled the other, which happily saved its life. But, +notwithstanding my careful endeavour to make the best of a foolish matter, I +felt myself in an awkward predicament. To my worthy father-in-law the loss of +an animal worth thirty dollars was, at that time, particularly inconvenient; +but his moral justice was high and his temper mild; so he listened meekly to my +account of the misfortune, quietly remarking, that it could not be helped, and +that no blame attached to me. It is in these worrying affairs of every-day life +that we discern the real beauty of the Christian character. My mother-in-law +behaved as well, on this trying occasion, as any lady could do who found her +larder suddenly stocked with a quantity of lean tough beef a prospect, indeed, +by no means cheering to any member of the household. +</p> + +<p> +On my return home from my first essay in ox-driving, or rather ox-killing, I +found Dennis, our Irish servant, waiting for me with the greatest impatience. +</p> + +<p> +“Och, sir,” he exclaimed; “if you had but been with me you +might have shot a bear. I was out in the bush searching for the cows, and just +as I was crossing the Big creek, near the beaver meadow, I heard a noise from a +thicket of cedar bushes close by me, and thinking it might be one of the lost +cows I ran forward to see, when to my astonishment and dismay I came suddenly +upon a large bear.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said I, “what did you do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Faith, then, sir, to tell you the truth, I did not do much only took to +my heels, and ran home as fast as I could to tell you; as I thought yer honour +might perhaps get a shot at the baste, and, troth! he warn’t in the laste +bit of a hurry to get out my way, sure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Dennis, only show me the brute, and it shall be a hard case if I +do not make the addition of fat bear to eat with the lean beef, with which I +have already stocked the larder.” +</p> + +<p> +I loaded my gun with ball, and in company with Dennis and his father started +for the place where Master Bruin had been seen. I took Neptune with me a +remarkably fine Irish greyhound one of the most powerfully built dogs of that +breed I had ever seen, and well he proved his strength and courage this day, as +you shall hear. +</p> + +<p> +After proceeding nearly two miles in an easterly direction close to the edge of +the beaver meadow,<a href="#fn-4.1" name="fnref-4.1" id="fnref-4.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +Neptune suddenly raised his head and looked round. In the next instant he was +dashing along in full chase of Mr. Bruin, who was making the best of his way up +a hill on the opposite side of the meadow. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-4.1" id="fn-4.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-4.1">[1]</a> +These meadows are to be found within two or three miles of each other on +almost every creek or small stream in Canada West. Those industrious animals, +the beavers, build their dams across the creeks in a very ingenious manner, +with clay and brush-wood. It is very astonishing what ingenuity they display, +and what sagacity, almost amounting to reason, they show in the choice of +situation for the erection of these dams. It has been asserted that some years +ago, when the French were masters of the country, the Indians cut away the +dams, and killed all the beavers they could possibly find, as they did not wish +the reservoirs where the beavers bred to fall into the hands of their white +brethren. The size of these meadows varies from two or three acres to two or +three hundred, and in some few cases is much larger. +</p> + +<p> +We joined in the chase with the greatest alacrity, but not in time to witness +the first set-to between these savage opponents; for while we were gaining the +brow of the hill a desperate fight was going on only a few yards from us. +Neptune sometimes having the best of it sometimes Bruin. I found it quite +impossible to fire for fear of killing the dog. We then tried to pull him off +so as to enable me to shoot the bear. This we found equally difficult, the dog +had such fast hold of his throat. He was, indeed, perfectly furious. +</p> + +<p> +Dennis, by my direction, cut a strong pole twelve or fourteen feet long, which +we laid across the brute’s back, and pressed him down as tightly as we +could, which, with the able assistance of Nep. kept my gentleman tolerably +quiet till the old man cut and twisted a couple of withes, which he passed +under the bear, near the hind and forelegs, and secured him firmly to the pole, +which my companions lifted on their shoulders, from which the beast now hung +suspended, and commenced our march homewards. +</p> + +<p> +I had great difficulty in keeping the dog off. He would rush in, every minute, +in spite of all I could do, and seize poor Bruin by the side and shake him most +unmercifully. I had enough to do with the help of a stout stick to keep him and +the bear in order. The latter was equally violent striking with his fore-paws +at the men who were luckily for them just out of his reach, and particularly so +for Dennis, who marched in front, whose unmentionables not being in the best +possible repair, appeared to excite Master Bruin’s particular attention. +</p> + +<p> +I very much wished to preserve this creature alive, that I might try and tame +him. In this, however, I was destined to be disappointed; for what with the +beating I was obliged to give him to keep him quiet, and the savage attack of +the dog, he died just as we came within sight of the clearing. When we skinned +him, we found his side much lacerated where the dog had bitten him. From the +exaggerated description Dennis had given me of his size, I fully expected to +find him as big as a bullock. He, however, only weighed a hundred and +fifty-seven pounds, which, for a bear of two years old, which appeared to be +his age, is, I believe, the average weight. +</p> + +<p> +The summer of 1825 was warm, even for Canada, where this season is always hot. +The thermometer often ranged above 90 degrees in the shade. Such weather would +be quite unbearable, were it not for a fine breeze which almost invariably +springs up from the westward between ten and eleven o’clock in the +forenoon, and continues till sunset. +</p> + +<p> +The nights are cooler in proportion to the heat of the day, than in England. +</p> + +<p> +This climate is subject to violent thunder-storms, accompanied by vivid forked +lightning and heavy rain, which greatly tend to cool the air and make the +country more healthy. Fatal accidents, however, sometimes occur, and houses and +barns are burnt down by the electric fluid, and I have no doubt that, were it +not for the proximity of the woods, a great deal more damage would be done. +</p> + +<p> +The lofty trees serve as conductors, particularly the pine and hemlock, the +former, from its great height above all the other trees of the forest, being +much more likely to be struck by the lightning than any other. It is a curious +fact that the electric fluid invariably follows the grain the wood. I have +often noticed in pines which had been struck, that the fluid had followed the +grain in a spiral form, encircling the tree three or four times in its descent +to the earth. I have myself witnessed some extraordinary effects produced by +lightning. I remember that, not more than two years since, I had occasion to go +out into the township of Douro to attend the sitting of the Council of which I +was then a member, and I had, on my way, to pass through a small clearing +occupied by an Irish settler, one James Lynch. +</p> + +<p> +This man, to save trouble, had left several large hemlock trees near his house. +These trees had been dead for some years, consequently the wood was tolerably +dry.<a href="#fn-4.2" name="fnref-4.2" id="fnref-4.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> The +day before, there had been a terrific thunder-storm which struck the largest, +which was fully four feet in diameter, shivering it from top to bottom, and +throwing the pieces around for upwards of sixty yards in every direction. If a +barrel of gunpowder had been placed under the tree, greater devastation could +not have been made. Lynch told me that the storm had been very severe in that +neighbourhood. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-4.2" id="fn-4.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-4.2">[2]</a> +It is well knows that dry timber offers a greater resistance to the electric +fluid than the green. +</p> + +<p> +“We were at dinner,” he said, “when the dreadful flash came +which shattered that tree. We were all knocked down by the shock, and narrowly +escaped being killed, not only by the lightning, but by the pieces of timber +which were, as you may observe, scattered in all directions.” +</p> + +<p> +After a thunder-storm, attended by heavy rain, a substance very much resembling +sulphur is left floating on all the pools, which many people believe to be +sulphur. This, however, is quite a mistake, for it is, in reality, nothing more +than the farina from the cone of the pine trees. I have observed this substance +equally abundant on the Huron tract, many miles from any pine grove. It must, +therefore, from its lightness, have been carried up into the air, from whence +it has been beaten down by the rain. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +CANADIAN HARVEST.—PREPARING TIMBER FOR FRAME-BUILDINGS.—RAISING +“BEE.”—BEAUTY OF THE CANADIAN AUTUMN.—VISIT TO +OTONABEE.—ROUGH CONVEYANCE.—DISACCOMMODATION.—LEARNED +LANDLORD.—COBOURG.—OTONABEE RIVER.—CHURCH OF GORE’S +LANDING.—EFFECTS OF PERSERVING INDUSTRY. +</p> + +<p> +Our harvest, with the exception of some late oats, was all carefully housed by +the 18th of August. Very little grain is stacked out in this country: even the +hay is put up in barns. As timber can be had for the cutting, log or +frame-barns can be built very cheaply. I would certainly recommend frame in +preference to log-buildings. +</p> + +<p> +Square timber, fit for framing, can be purchased from four to five dollars per +hundred feet, running measure. Twelve hundred feet are sufficient, varying in +size from four inches to a foot square. This quantity will frame a barn fifty +feet long by thirty feet wide, and sixteen in height, from the sill to the +plate which supports the roof. Twelve thousand feet of boards and plank, at +five dollars per thousand, superficial measure, will be enough to enclose the +frame, and lay the threshing-floor, and board the roof ready for shingling. +</p> + +<p> +The best and cheapest method of barn-building is as follows: In the winter +season cut and square with the broad axe all the frame timber you require, and +draw it home to the place you have fixed on for the building, and from the +saw-mill all the lumber you require. As soon as the weather is warm enough hire +a framer, whose business is to mark out all the tenons and mortices, and to +make or superintend the making of them. When ready, the building is put +together in what is called bents, each bent consisting of two posts, one on +each side of the building, connected together by a strong beam running across +the building. The foundation is composed of twelve cedar blocks, three feet +long, sunk two-thirds of their depth into the ground, one under each corner of +the barn, and under the foot of each post. These blocks support the sills, +which are firmly united at the corner to the cross sills. The bents, four in +number, are then laid on this foundation, and are ready for raising, which is +done by calling a “bee.” Thirty-five men are ample for this +service—more are only in the way. Every two persons should be provided +with a light balsam or cedar pole, fifteen feet in length, shod at the end with +a ring and strong spike. These pike-poles are laid in order in front of the +bent to be raised, one between each person. All being ready, the framer-gives +the word “attention,” when each man lays hold of the bent, one man +being stationed at the foot of each post with a hand-spike, which he presses +against it to prevent its slipping. “Yeo heave!” is then shouted by +the framer, at which every man lifts, waiting always for the word, and lifting +together. As soon as the bent is lifted as high as they can reach, the +pike-poles are driven into the beam, and the bent is soon in a perpendicular +position. Several pikes are then stuck into the opposite side to keep the bent +from being swayed over, until the tenons on the foot of the post is entered +into the mortice on the sill: it is then secured by stays, until the next bent +is raised, when the girts connect them together. In this manner all the bents +are raised: the wall-plates are then lifted upon the building which connect all +the bents. The tenon on the top of each post goes through the plate, and is +firmly pinned; the putting up the rafters completes the frame. The raising of a +building of this size should not occupy more than three quarters of a-day. No +liquor should be served out to the swarm of working bees till the raising is +over, as many serious accidents having occurred for want of this precaution. +</p> + +<p> +I am particular in giving these descriptions, because I flatter myself they may +prove useful to the future colonist. +</p> + +<p> +The first week in September we commenced sowing our fall-wheat, and finished on +the tenth, which is considered in good season. I would by all means recommend +early sowing, especially on old cleared farms. Late sown wheat is more liable +to winter-kill and rust. In fact, you can hardly sow too early to ensure a good +crop. +</p> + +<p> +September is the most beautiful month in the Canadian year. The weather is +neither too hot nor too cold. Nothing can be more delightfully pleasant; for, +in this month, the foliage of the trees begins to put on that gorgeous livery +for which the North American continent is so justly celebrated. Every variety +of tint, from the brightest scarlet and deepest orange, yellow and green, with +all the intermediate shades blended together, form one of the most beautiful +natural pictures you can possibly conceive. +</p> + +<p> +I received a very pressing invitation from my wife’s brother-in-law, who +resided near the foot of Rice Lake, in the township of Otonabee, to come and +spend a few days with him. As an additional inducement, he promised to show me +some capital duck-shooting. I was too fond of fowling to decline such an +invitation as this. Besides, I wished to see that new settlement. The township +lies north of Rice Lake, which forms its southern boundary: it is the largest +in the county of Peterborough, with the exception of Harvey. Otonabee contains +above eighty thousand acres, and is now the most populous as well as one of the +most fertile townships in the county, which, at the time of which I am writing, +had been just opened by the Government for location. +</p> + +<p> +The only practicable road then to this settlement was from Cobourg, distant +twelve miles from the southern shore of Rice Lake, leading over a chain of +hills, the highest of which is, I believe, about seven hundred feet above the +level of Lake Ontario, and from whence, on a very clear day, the opposite shore +may be seen, though the distance is nearly sixty-five miles. I have heard this +statement disputed, but I am perfectly convinced of the truth from having +myself seen, on several occasions, the United States’ shore of the lake +from White’s Hill, which is several hundred feet lower. +</p> + +<p> +It was arranged that I should drive my wife as far as Cobourg, and leave her +with some friends till my return. I was to take out with me from Cobourg the +gentleman’s sister, Miss Jane W——, who was to return with +me. +</p> + +<p> +We left Darlington in a one-horse pleasure-waggon so called, or rather +mis-called, by the natives. For my part, I never could find in what the +pleasure consisted, unless in being jerked every minute two or three feet from +your seat by the unevenness of the road and want of springs in your vehicle, or +the next moment being soused to the axletree in a mud-hole, from which, +perhaps, you were obliged to extricate your carriage by the help of a lever in +the shape of a rail taken from some farmer’s fence by the roadside. You +are no sooner freed from this Charybdis, than you fall into Scylla, formed by +half a mile of corduroy-bridge, made of round logs, varying from nine to +fifteen inches in diameter, which, as you may suppose, does not make the most +even surface imaginable, and over which you are jolted in the roughest style +possible, at the expense of your breath and injury of your person. I am happy +to say that better roads and a better description of pleasure-carriages have +superseded these inconvenient conveyances. +</p> + +<p> +Since the institution of county councils, and the formation of towns and +townships into municipalities, great attention has been bestowed, and large +sums of money voted, for the improvement of roads and bridges; and several +Joint-stock companies, chartered by the Provincial Parliament, have completed +sundry lines of plank and macadamized roads, on which toll-gates have been +erected. What has already been done in this way has added greatly to the wealth +and settlement of the province. No one can understand, indeed, except the early +settler, what a blessing a good road is, especially to those who are too far +back for the benefit of water communication. +</p> + +<p> +The day was fine and clear when we started, and we congratulated ourselves on +the prospect of a pleasant journey, which, I am sorry to say, was not to be +verified. Distant thunder soon warned us that we might expect a storm. We +hurried on as fast as possible, in hope we might be able to get through the +nine-mile woods, in the township of Clarke, before the bursting of the storm. +In this, however, we were disappointed; for, before we were half through the +woods, the rain fell in torrents, accompanied by the loudest thunder and most +vivid lightning I had ever seen. After above an hour’s most pitiless +pelting, we found ourselves suddenly before a small log-house, in front of +which, swinging between two upright posts, a cross-bar connecting them at the +top, depended a sign, on which was described, in large characters, for the +information of all way-worn or thirsty-travellers, “that good liquor, +good beds, and good accommodations, both for man and horse, could be had from +the proprietor, Thomas Turner Orton.” +</p> + +<p> +Although from the outward appearance of the premises we did not expect the best +accommodation, we thought anything better than being exposed longer to the fury +of the storm, so giving our horse and waggon to the charge of the ostler, we +entered Mr. Orton’s tavern, and demanded to be shown into a private room, +which request we found it was out of the power of mine host to comply with, +seeing he had only one apartment, which answered the treble purpose of parlour, +kitchen, and bar-room. Besides this general apartment there were two small +bedrooms on the ground-floor. Luckily for us, a good fire blazed on the ample +hearth, its only occupant, in the shape of a guest, being a gentleman from Port +Hope, who, like ourselves, had just taken refuge from the storm. +</p> + +<p> +While our clothes were being dried, our hostess prepared dinner, which +consisted of a boiled chicken, eggs, and fried ham, which we found excellent, +and, as a preventive against catching cold, after the soaking we had got, I +ordered some whiskey-punch, which I have always found very efficacious on such +occasions. Some people recommend tea made from the boughs of the hemlock-pine, +which, I dare say, is excellent for some constitutions; but it never agreed +half so well with mine as the former antidote, which I can conscientiously +recommend but, like all other medicines, an over-dose may do more harm than +good. +</p> + +<p> +Our host, who appeared to make himself quite at home in his own house, joined +in the conversation, and being very communicative about his own affairs, wanted +us to be equally so about ours. His eccentricity greatly amused us. He informed +me that he was by birth a Yorkshireman, and that he had been in business in +London, where he had built some fine “place” or +“terrace,” which still bore his name. He spouted Latin +occasionally, and showed me a Greek lexicon, which he told me was his constant +companion. His real stock of Latin and Greek consisted only of a few words and +sentences he had picked up, and which he quoted ostentatiously before the +ignorant, who of course thought him a prodigy of learning. +</p> + +<p> +As it continued to rain all the evening, I was obliged to give orders to have +my horse put up for the night, and also to see what accommodation could be had +for ourselves. I found on examination that this was bad enough at least I +thought so then, though many a time since I should have been happy to obtain +any half as good. +</p> + +<p> +We started early next morning, and reached Cobourg, without any farther +adventure, about noon on the same day. We halted there three days. I left my +wife with our friends, and took charge of Miss W—— to escort her +to her brother’s house. +</p> + +<p> +We left Cobourg for Rice Lake which was distant about twelve or thirteen miles +from thence. It was a delightful morning in October; and our road, though very +bad, and in some places positively dangerous, where it descended into the deep +ravines, was at the same time so picturesque that we were quite delighted with +our drive, and particularly so when, emerging from the woods, we entered +Hamilton-plains, and beheld in the distance the glittering waters of Rice Lake, +and the gem-like islands which adorn its unruffled surface. +</p> + +<p> +Rice Lake, or the Lake of the Burning Plains, as it is called in the Indian +language, is a fine sheet of water, twenty-seven miles in length from east to +west, varying from two to three and a half miles in width. About six miles from +its head on the northern shore it receives the waters of the Otonabee river, +which, rising near the head-waters of the Madawaska, flows in nearly a westerly +direction, into Balsam Lake, where it takes a more southerly direction, forming +in its course a succession of beautiful lakes for upwards of sixty miles. Ten +miles above Peterborough, and directly opposite my own farm in the township of +Douro, it suddenly contracts its channel and becomes a rapid and impetuous +stream. According to a survey ordered by the-government, it was ascertained +that from a point on my farm, at the foot of Kawchewahnoonk Lake, and distant +from Peterborough nearly ten miles, there is a fall of one hundred and +forty-seven feet, affording an unlimited water-power, which has already been +extensively applied not only in the town of Peterborough, where several fine +flour and saw-mills have been erected, but also in the townships through which +it flows. +</p> + +<p> +At Peterborough the rapids cease, from whence the river becomes navigable for +steam-boats to the Rice Lake, at the distance of twenty-one miles, which it +enters after a course of fully two hundred and fifty miles. +</p> + +<p> +The Indian river takes its rise close to Stony Lake, from which it is only +divided by a narrow ridge of granite: this ridge has been cut across at the +sole expense of the Hon. Zacheus Burnham and Dr. John Gilchrist, for the +purpose of obtaining a larger supply of water for the use of their mills at +Warsaw, in Dummer and Keane, in Otonabee, thus connecting the two rivers by +this canal. This river flows through the townships of Dummer, Douro, and +Otonabee, its whole course not exceeding thirty-five or forty miles, with the +exception of a few small streams. No other river of consequence flows into Rice +Lake. +</p> + +<p> +Our drive over the plains was truly delightful. New beauties presented +themselves at every step. It can hardly be imagined what a relief it is to the +eye, after travelling for miles through a dense forest, to see such a beautiful +landscape suddenly burst on your sight. +</p> + +<p> +For nearly three miles our road lay through natural park-like scenery, flowery +knolls, deep ravines, and oak-crowned hills, with every now and then the blue +waters of the lake glittering through the trees. Our path now entered a deep +and finely-wooded ravine, which wound round the base of steep hills on either +hand, rising to a considerable height, their summits crowned here and there +with beautiful clumps of oak. +</p> + +<p> +For nearly a mile we followed the sharp descent and windings of the beautiful +valley, till a sudden turning of the road revealed to our sight the whole +expanse of this fine sheet of water. Not a ripple dimpled the surface; but, +mirror-like, it lay with all its lovely islands thickly wooded to their summits +with the sugar-maple, which rose, tree above tree, up the steep ascent of these +conical islets, which, reflected in the clear lake, added new beauties to the +scene. +</p> + +<p> +A few minutes more brought us to the tavern, a small log-house, kept by one +David Tidy, a very respectable Scotchman. The situation of this man’s +farm is one of the best on the lake shore. It is now the property of Mr. Alfred +Hayward, whose good taste has added greatly to its natural beauties. Mrs. +Hayward, who is an accomplished artist, has taken a view of the lake from her +garden, and also one of Port Hope, both of which have been lithographed, and +are much admired. +</p> + +<p> +Tidy’s tavern, and two other log-houses, were at this time the only +settlements on the Rice Lake plains, which extend for nearly twenty miles along +the south shore, forming the rear of the townships of Hamilton and Alnwick, but +which are now dotted over with fine productive farms, substantial stone, brick, +or frame-houses, full-bearing orchards, and possessing in fact almost every +comfort and convenience a farmer could wish. +</p> + +<p> +The pretty village of Gore’s Landing is built partly on the lot formerly +possessed by Tidy, and partly on the adjoining lot at present occupied by +Captain Gore, from whom the village takes its name. The gentlemen in this +neighbourhood have, nearly at their own expense, built a very neat church, +which is romantically situated on the top of a high hill overlooking the lake. +In summer time nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot, or be more suitable +for the erection of a fane dedicated to Him +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Whose temple is all space!” +</p> + +<p> +This village contains two excellent taverns, a large steam saw-mill, two +stores, and several other buildings. Two steam-boats, the “Royal +George” and “Forester,” leave it daily for Peterborough, +distant twenty-five miles, making their return-trip the same day. Another +steamer is being constructed to run from the village of Keane, on the Indian +river in Otonabee down the Trent as far as Heely’s Falls and back to +Gore’s Landing. These boats meet Weller’s line of mail stages at +one o’clock, P.M. A fine line of plank road has been constructed from +this place to Cobourg, avoiding all the high hills. The stage time is an hour +and a half between lake and lake. +</p> + +<p> +As nearly all the lumber and shingles manufactured at Peterborough and the +neighbouring townships intended for exportation to the United States, must be +either landed here or at Bewdley, at the head of the lake, whence it is +conveyed across in waggons to Port Hope or Cobourg, this village bids fair to +become a stirring little place. +</p> + +<p> +One of my objects in writing this work is to point out what the country was +twenty-seven years ago, and what it is now, showing clearly that what appeared +to the pioneer of those days insurmountable difficulties, have by persevering +industry been overcome, “and the howling wilderness made to blossom as +the rose.” The desolating torrent has been utilised and restrained; mills +and factories have been erected; bridges span our broadest rivers, and +magnificent steamers plough our inland seas. Nor is this all: the first sod of +a railway has been turned, which is ultimately intended to connect Lake Huron +with Halifax and Boston, bringing the riches of the Far West through its +natural channel to the sea. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing, indeed, but industry and enterprise is needed to change the waste and +solitary places of Upper Canada into a garden of Eden, which it is designed by +the Supreme Architect to become. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +WOOD-DUCK SHOOTING.—ADVENTURE ON RICE LAKE.—IRISH +HOWL.—ARRIVAL AT GORE’S LANDING.—GENERAL HOWLING FOR THE +DEFUNCT.—DANGERS OF OUR JOURNEY.—SAFE ARRIVAL AT +COBOURG.—SALMON-FISHING.—CANOE-BUILDING AFTER A BAD +FASHION.—SALMON SPEARING.—CANADIAN FISH AND FISHERIES.—INDIAN +SUMMER.—SLEIGHS AND SLEIGHING.—DOMESTIC LOVE. +</p> + +<p> +After committing the care of my horse to our landlord, I ordered dinner to be +got ready immediately, as we had thirteen miles to row, and I wished to reach +Mr. W——’s before dark. Our hostess exerted herself, and we +soon sat down to a sumptuous feast, consisting of a brace of fine fat +wood-ducks and fried black bass, two dishes I am particularly fond of, and +which at this time of the year can always be obtained from the lake. +</p> + +<p> +The wood-duck is a delicious bird. It makes its appearance early in the spring, +as soon as the ice breaks up. Its plumage is very fine—I should say the +most beautiful of any of its species. Its head and upper part of the neck are +dark green; from the top of the head a long crest depends, richly variegated +with green, white, and dark purple feathers. The lower part of the throat and +breast is cinnamon speckled with white, but under the wings and sides towards +the tail, grey, speckled and fringed with black; the back of the wings dark +blue and black feathers. The wood-duck frequents close-wooded streams, little +bays, and nooks, sitting upon old logs or the limbs of trees which have fallen +into the water. It feeds on the wild rice, and is very fat from the middle of +August to November, when it migrates to a warmer climate. This kind of duck is +more easily approached than any other. The sportsman should be seated near the +centre of a small canoe, his gun lying before him ready cocked, when he should +paddle very cautiously through the rice, keeping his head as low as possible. A +person who understands the management of a canoe can generally get within +twenty-five or thirty yards before he is seen, which gives him ample +opportunity to put down his paddle and take his gun, in time to fire both +barrels. In this manner I have often killed from fifteen to twenty brace in a +few hours. +</p> + +<p> +After dinner we hired a skiff and proceeded on our voyage. The lake was calm, +so we made good progress, passing the Indian village belonging to the +Mississauga tribe of Indians, a branch of the Chippewas, which I shall have +occasion to speak of hereafter, Pantaush’s point, Designs Bay, and the +<i>embouchure</i> of the Indian river; and just at dusk landed opposite my +friend’s house, pretty well tired, though much delighted with our +day’s journey. We were received with a welcome such as only a +backwoodsman knows how to give. In half an hour I felt as much at home as if I +had belonged to the family. +</p> + +<p> +During my stay here, which was upwards of a week, I amused myself with fishing +and shooting. The fall and winter duck were beginning to come in from the +north, a sure sign that hard weather was close at hand. +</p> + +<p> +We had had an early spring and a long warm summer. Generally speaking, the +ground does not close till about the middle of November; but this year the +frost set in much earlier. It did not, however, continue, for the ground again +opened, and we had nearly two weeks of beautiful Indian summer in the early +part of November. +</p> + +<p> +On the 17th the ice was sufficiently strong to skate upon. On the 27th day of +October the first hard weather commenced, and as there was some fear of the +lake freezing, we determined to start for Cobourg the following morning. I +accordingly made the necessary preparations, and hired an old +man-of-war’s-man, one Robert Redpath, to row us up the lake to +Tidy’s. +</p> + +<p> +It froze hard during the night. The ice was fully half an inch thick on the +bays, and along the margin of the lake we were obliged to break a passage for +the skiff for upwards of fifty yards before we got into clear water. It was +cold, and blew fresh from the north-west, and the wind being directly down the +lake, caused a heavy swell, which increased every minute. As the gale +freshened, our skiff shipped so much water that we thought it prudent to put +across to the Alnwick shore, which was more under the lee, being sheltered by +islands. While passing near one of these, I observed some person walking to and +fro, apparently making signals of distress. I called Redpath’s attention +to this, and bade him “row to the shore that we might ascertain what he +wanted.” This our boatman positively refused to do, saying that “he +had hired himself to ferry us to Tidy’s, and he was not bound to go half +a mile out of his way to hunt after every infernal Ingine (Indian) we might see +on our road.” +</p> + +<p> +I, however, insisted on his immediately complying with my request. It was +fortunate I did so, for on landing we found a man walking backwards and +forwards, trying to keep himself warm. Indeed, the poor fellow looked nearly +frozen. He seemed to have lost all power over his limbs, and was quite unable +to articulate. I made Redpath light a fire, and in the meantime I gave the man +a dram from our whiskey-bottle, which greatly revived him. We soon had a +blazing fire, which had the desired effect of unloosing the tongue of our new +acquaintance, and he informed us, “he was one of the Irish emigrants sent +off by Government under the superintendence of the Honourable Peter Robinson; +that several hundreds of them had been forwarded from Cobourg to Rice Lake, a +few days before, on their way to the new settlements up the Otonabee River, and +were now camped at Tidy’s. He and his friend, a man of the name of Daly, +a tailor by trade, wished to settle in the township of Asphodel, on the River +Trent. They had accordingly taken a boat and had rowed down the lake in the +hope of reaching Crook’s Rapids on the Trent before nightfall. +Irishman-like, their only stores for the voyage consisted of a bottle of +whiskey, to which it appears they applied themselves more diligently than to +the navigation of their boat, which they let drift at the mercy of the winds +and waves while they slept. +</p> + +<p> +They did not wake up from their drunken slumbers till dark, when they found +themselves stuck in a rice bed, and unable to extricate themselves from the +dilemma in which they were placed; whereupon they again had recourse to the +bottle, which this time proved fatal to Daly who, being very drunk, fell +overboard. His companion, however, managed to catch hold of him and succeeded +in getting him into the boat only to suffer a more lingering death, for he was +frozen stiff before morning dawned. The survivor had covered his unfortunate +companion with a blanket, the only one they had with them, in the hope it would +keep him from perishing with cold during the night, which care, however, proved +unavailing. He managed at dawn to extricate the boat from the rice bed, but not +being able to row so large a boat, especially in his present condition, she +drifted upon the point of the island on which we found him. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as he was well warmed and refreshed, we proceeded to the place pointed +out by him, where we found the boat thumping in the surf, on a ledge of rocks. +After hauling it up, we proceeded to lift the blanket, when a shocking sight +presented itself. The dead man was sitting upright on the seat, with his mouth +and eyes half-open. We lifted him out, laid him under a tree, and spread the +blanket over him. We found our skiff too small to accommodate another +passenger, so we determined to leave it behind and take the large boat, which +we accordingly did; and we put our new-comer to the oar with Redpath, whilst I +took the helm. +</p> + +<p> +We had a long, tedious row against the headwind, which now blew a gale. Our new +acquaintance, every now-and-then, would throw down his oar, and howl and clap +his hands to show his grief for the loss of his departed friend. These pathetic +lamentations elicited no sympathy from Redpath, who abused him for “a +lazy lubber,” and ordered him “to pull and not make such an +infernal howling, worse than a wild Ingin’s yell.” +</p> + +<p> +We made the landing at Tidy’s, just before dark, and found several +hundred emigrants in the tavern, and camped round about it. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we came within hearing, our passenger commenced the loudest howl he +had yet perpetrated, which had the immediate effect of bringing down to the +landing the whole of his countrymen, who, as soon as they learned the loss of +their friend, gave us a genuine Irish howl, in which the women took the most +prominent part. +</p> + +<p> +On our way up to the house, we were met by the landlord, who, with a most woful +look, informed us that our horse had strayed away from the pasture, and that he +had searched the plains in every direction, and could hear no tidings of him, +but as soon as he turned up he would send him home. “I am sorry, +sir.” he added, “this misfortune has happened, and particularly as +I am unable to accommodate you and the young lady, for my house is full of +drunken Irish, as you see. Indeed, the only chance you have of getting to +Cobourg to-night is by an ox-cart, which will start about nine o’clock +this evening.” +</p> + +<p> +I was very angry with the landlord for his carelessness, and told him I should +look to him for payment unless my horse was forthcoming. I found the owner of +the ox-cart, and made a bargain with him to set us down at my friend’s +house in Cobourg. +</p> + +<p> +Our equipage was very unique of its kind, it having been constructed for the +sole purpose of carrying barrels of flour and pork. The box was a kind of open +rack, with two rows of upright stakes instead of sides: two long boards, laid +on cross-bars, formed the bottom: we spread our buffaloes on these, and +fastened a strong piece of rope across the cart, from stake to stake on either +side, to hold on by. +</p> + +<p> +Thus equipped, we commenced our journey. It was pitch-dark, so our driver let +the cattle go as they liked, for guiding them was perfectly out of the +question. I shall never forget the way our oxen galloped down those steep +hills. Miss W. was dreadfully frightened. All we could do was to hold on and +trust in Providence. Luckily, the oxen kept the track; for had they deviated in +the least, going down some of the steep pitches, the cart would have been upset +to a certainty, and very likely we should have been seriously injured, or +killed on the spot. +</p> + +<p> +It was past one in the morning before we reached Cobourg, thoroughly fatigued +with our expedition. +</p> + +<p> +I heard no tidings of my horse for upwards of four months, and had given up all +thoughts of beholding him again, when one morning I was surprised to see him, +waggon, harness and all, drive into the yard. Upon inquiry, I found that the +hard weather and snow had made him seek the clearings for food, when he was +easily secured; but one of his fetlocks was cut almost to the bone by the piece +of rope he had been tethered with, and which was still upon him when he was +found. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most exciting amusements at this season of the year, is +salmon-fishing. In order to enjoy this sport, I made a canoe sixteen feet in +length, and two feet nine inches at its greatest breadth. It was my first +attempt, and, certainly the thing looked more like a hog-trough than a boat. +It, however, answered the purpose for which it was intended, and I can assure +the reader I felt not a little proud of this, my first attempt at canoe-making. +</p> + +<p> +Salmon-fishing commences in October, when the fish run up the rivers and creeks +in great numbers. The usual way of catching them is by spearing, which is done +as follows.—An iron grate—or jack, as it is called by the +Canadians—is made in the shape of a small cradle, composed of iron bars +three or four inches apart. This cradle is made to swing in a frame, so that it +may be always on the level, or the swell would cause the pine-knots to fall +out. Fat pine and light-wood are used to burn in the jack, which give a very +brilliant light for several yards round the bow of the canoe. The fish can be +easily seen at the depth of from four to five feet. One person sits in the +stern and steers with a paddle, propelling the canoe at the same time. The +bowman either kneels or stands up with the spear poised ready for striking. An +expert hand will scarcely miss a stroke. I have known two fishermen in this +manner kill upwards of two hundred salmon in one night. I believe, however, the +fishing is not nearly so productive as formerly. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Stephens showed me a small stream running through his farm, which I could +easily jump over. He told me that one afternoon he was watering his horses, +when he perceived a shoal of salmon swimming up the creek. He had no spear at +home, having lent it to a neighbour. He, however, succeeded with a pitchfork in +capturing fifty-six fine fish. +</p> + +<p> +Thirty years ago, all the small streams and rivers, from the head of the lake +downwards to the Bay of Quinte, used to abound with salmon. The erection of +saw-mills on the creeks, and other causes, have tended materially to injure the +fisheries. White fish and salmon-trout are, however, taken in vast quantities, +particularly the former, which has become quite an article of commerce. The +most extensive fisheries are on the Manitoulin island, in Lake Huron, and along +the Canadian shore of Ontario, opposite the township of Haldimand, Crambe, and +Murray, in the county of Northumberland, and part of the district of Prince +Edward. Very large seine nets being used, many barrels of fish are often taken +at a haul, which are cured and packed on the spot: the usual price of a barrel +varies from five to six dollars. +</p> + +<p> +Lake Ontario abounds with herring, of much the same flavour as the sea species, +but not so strong and oily, nor so large. Sturgeon, pike, pickerel, black bass, +sheep-heads, mullets, suckers, eels, and a variety of other fish, are plentiful +in these waters: the spring-creeks and mill-ponds yield plenty of spotted +trout, from four ounces to a pound weight: they are easily caught either with +the worm or fly. +</p> + +<p> +The best creek I ever fished in was the Speed, a branch of the Grand River, or +Ouse, which runs through the township of Guelph. In winter you can catch them +by fishing through a hole in the ice. The best way is to dig and store by in a +box filled with earth, a quantity of worms, which must be kept in the cellar +for use. A small piece of fat pork is commonly employed as bait, but is not +nearly so good as the other. +</p> + +<p> +A friend of mine, living near Colborne, told me rather an amusing story of a +Yankee, who was fishing through the ice with the usual bait, a piece of pork. +He had been very unsuccessful, and tired of the sport, he walked over to where +my friend was throwing out the trout as fast as possible, when the following +colloquy took place: +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, how, under Heaven, did you get all them ’ere fish?” +</p> + +<p> +“Caught them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, I s’pose you did; but what kinder bait do you use?” +</p> + +<p> +“Worms.” +</p> + +<p> +“Varms! Why, under Heaven, where do you get varms at this time of the +year?” +</p> + +<p> +“I got these out of my cellar.” +</p> + +<p> +“Get out! how you do talk!” +</p> + +<p> +“You may believe me or not, as you like; but I can assure you I +did.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, do tell. I guess I never thought of diggin’ in the cellar; I +will go to hum and try.” +</p> + +<p> +My friend met him a few days afterwards, when the Yankee said—“I +calculate, Mister, you told me a tarnation lie, the other day, about them +’ere varms. I went and dug up every bit of my cellar, and, I do declare, +I never got a single varm.” +</p> + +<p> +My friend laughed very heartily at this “Yankee diggin,” but at the +same time kindly informed his neighbour of the method he pursued, to provide +worms for winter-fishing. +</p> + +<p> +Before the winter fairly sets in, we generally have ten days or a fortnight of +the Indian summer; indeed, it is the sure harbinger of winter. The air is mild +and temperate; a haze, resembling smoke, pervades the atmosphere, that at times +obscures the sun, which, when visible, is of a blood-red colour. Various causes +have been assigned for this appearance, but none very satisfactory. +</p> + +<p> +Towards the end of November this year, the ice was strong enough to bear the +weight of a man, and the ground was soon whitened with snow, but not in +sufficient depth to make good sleighing. Just a week before Christmas, we had a +fall of eight or ten inches, which made pretty good going: the sleighs were, of +course, in immediate requisition. +</p> + +<p> +A family sleigh is made to carry from six to ten persons; the more stylish ones +from four to six; a cutter, or single sleigh, two. These are all for pleasure, +but every farmer is obliged to have a lumber-sleigh for general use. A much +larger load can be drawn on runners in winter than on wheels in summer. +Sleighing is, without doubt, the most delightful mode of travelling you can +possibly conceive, but it takes several falls of snow to make the sleighing +good. All the inequalities must be filled up and levelled, but the snow soon +packs solid by the constant friction of the sleigh-runner. The horses are each +provided with a ring of bells, the sound of which is not unmusical; and I am +assured is delightful indeed to the ears of the anxious wife, watching for the +return of her husband from a winter journey. Some years ago, when the country +was unsettled, the females of the family had some cause for fear, since the +absence of the father, son, or husband, was not always followed by his safe +return; and the snow-storm, or the wolves, were thought of with alarm, till the +music of the sleigh-bells announced the safety of the beloved absentee. +</p> + +<p> +In no country on the face of the earth does the torch of wedded love beam +brighter than in Canada, where the husband always finds “the wife dearer +than the bride.” I have seen many an accomplished and beautiful English +girl, “forgetting with her father’s house,” the amusements of +a fashionable life, to realize with a half-pay officer or “younger +brother,” the purer, holier pleasures of domestic love in this country, +where a numerous issue, the fruits of their union, are considered a blessing +and a source of wealth, instead of bringing with them, as in the old country, +an increase of care. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +EMPLOYMENTS OF A MAN OF EDUCATION IN THE COLONY.—YANKEE +WEDDING.—MY COMMISSION.—WINTER IN CANADA.—HEALTHINESS OF THE +CANADIAN CLIMATE.—SERACH FOR LAND.—PURCHASE WILD LAND AT +DOURO.—MY FLITTING.—PUT UP A SHANTY.—INEXPERIENCE IN +CLEARING.—PLAN-HEAPS. +</p> + +<p> +The employments of a respectable Canadian settler are certainly of a very +multifarious character, and he may be said to combine, in his own person, +several professions, if not trades. A man of education will always possess an +influence, even in bush society: he may be poor, but his value will not be +tested by the low standard of money, and notwithstanding his want of the +current coin of the realm, he will be appealed to for his judgment in many +matters, and will be inducted into several offices, infinitely more honourable +than lucrative. My friend and father-in-law, being mild in manners, +good-natured, and very sensible, was speedily promoted to the bench, and was +given the colonelcy of the second battalion of the Durham Militia. +</p> + +<p> +At this time there was no place of worship nearer than Port Hope, where the +marriage ceremony could be legally performed. According to the Colonial law, if +a magistrate resides more than eighteen miles from a church, he is empowered to +marry parties applying to him for that purpose, after three written notices +have been put up in the most public places in the township, with the names and +residences of the parties for at least a fortnight previous to the marriage. I +witnessed several of these marriages during my stay in Darlington, some of +which were highly amusing. +</p> + +<p> +One morning a near neighbour presented himself and a very pretty young woman, +as candidates for matrimony. He was an American by birth, and a shrewd, clever, +sensible person. After the ceremony, the bridegroom invited me to partake of +the wedding-dinner, and I went. +</p> + +<p> +The dinner was very good, though not served exactly in the English fashion. We, +however, managed to enjoy ourselves very much. After tea, dancing commenced, to +the music of two fiddles, when country-dances, reels, and French fours were all +performed with much spirit. The music was very good, the dancing but +indifferent. I could not help thinking +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“How ill the motion with the music suits,<br /> +So Orpheus fiddled, and so danced the brutes.” +</p> + +<p> +During the pauses between the dances; some lady or gentleman would favour the +company with a song. Then plays—as they are called—were introduced; +such as hunt the slipper, cross questions and crooked answers, ladies’ +toilette, and several others of the same kind, in which forfeits had to be +redeemed by the parties making mistakes in the game—a procedure of course +productive of much noise, kissing, and laughter. Refreshments were handed round +in great profusion, and the entertainment wound up with a dance, which, I +believe, is of purely American origin. A chair is placed in the middle of the +room, on which a young lady is seated; the company then join hands, and dance +round her, singing these elegant lines:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“There was a young woman sat down to sleep,<br /> +Sat down to sleep, sat down to sleep;<br /> +There was a young woman sat down to sleep,<br /> +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!<br /> +<br /> +“There was a young man to keep her awake,<br /> +To keep her awake, to keep her awake;<br /> +There was a young man to keep her awake,<br /> +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh ho!<br /> +<br /> +“John R—— his name shall be,<br /> +His name shall be, his name shall be;<br /> +John R—— his name shall be,<br /> +Heigh-ho!—heigh-ho!—heigh-ho! +</p> + +<p> +The gentleman named walks up to the lady, salutes her, raises her from the +chair, and seats himself in her stead, the rest dancing round, and singing as +before, only substituting the gentleman, and naming the lady who is to release +the gentleman in the same way, till all the ladies and gentlemen have been +seated in their turn. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as this queer species of Mazurka was concluded, the company broke up, +seemingly well pleased with their entertainment. The introduction of English +manners and customs during the last quarter of a century has tended greatly to +improve society. It is now only amongst the lower orders that parties of this +kind would be tolerated. +</p> + +<p> +On my return home, I found an official letter from the Adjutant-general of the +Upper Canada Militia, in which I was informed I was appointed by his Excellency +Sir P. Maitland to an Ensigncy in the first regiment of Durham Militia. The +effective militia of this province is, I believe, about 150,000 men. All +persons, from sixteen to sixty, must enrol their names once a year, and all +from sixteen to forty, must muster for general training on the 28th of June in +each year. The officers, in time of war, receive the same pay and allowances as +those in the line. +</p> + +<p> +The winters of 1825 and 1826 were considered cold, even for Canada. The +sleighing was good from the middle of December to the middle of March, with the +exception of the January thaw, which continued for upwards of a week, and took +away nearly all the snow. This thaw, though periodical, is not every year of +the same duration, nor does it always take away the snow. Sometimes it is +attended by strong gales of wind, from the southward, and with heavy thunder +and lightning, which was particularly the case last January. The month of +February is generally considered the coldest of the winter months. I have +frequently known the thermometer range from 16 degrees to 20 degrees below +zero, for a week together. On one day of the winter of which I am speaking, it +was as low as 35 degrees. This, however, is unusual. +</p> + +<p> +The coldest day I ever remember was in the winter of 1833. It was called the +“Cold Sunday.” The quicksilver in Fahrenheit’s thermometer +was frozen in the ball, which marks 39 degrees below zero. It was, however, +stated in the papers, both in Canada and the State of New York, that the real +cold was 40 degrees below zero, or 72 degrees below freezing point. I dined at +a friend’s that day, who resided three miles from my farm in Douro. The +day was clear, not a cloud being above the horizon. The sun was of a dull +copper-colour, and the horizon towards the north-west tinged with the same hue. +Not a breath of wind was stirring. The smoke from the chimneys rose straight up +into the air, and appeared unable to disperse through the atmosphere. My horses +were as white as snow from the steam of their bodies freezing upon them; the +reins were frozen as stiff as rods; the air seemed to cut like a knife. I was +only a quarter of an hour upon the road, but even in that time I felt the cold +severely, and was very glad when I got into the house to a large wood fire. The +cold obliged the whole party at dinner to take their plates upon their knees +and sit round the fire. But, as I said before, this is only an extreme case, +and might not happen again for twenty years. +</p> + +<p> +The excessive cold seldom lasts more than three days at a time, when it +generally moderates, though not sufficiently to soften the snow. The dryness of +the atmosphere and snow makes you feel the cold much less in proportion than in +England. You do not experience that clinging, chilly, damp sort of cold in +Canada that you do in the British Isles. For my part, I much prefer a Canadian +winter, where the roads are good, the sleighing good, and your health good. +Sickness is scarcely known here in the winter months. +</p> + +<p> +If I could have purchased land on the lakeshore, I should have liked to settle +in Darlington; but I found the farms I fancied much too high-priced for my +pocket. So at last I made up my mind to go back to the new settlement of +Peterborough, and see what sort of a place it was, and what it was likely to +become. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, I started on my journey, and travelled east, along the Kingston +road, parallel with the shore of lake Ontario for about twenty-four or five +miles to the boundary line, between the townships of Hope and Hamilton. After +this I walked for twenty-seven miles through Cavan and Monaghan, to the town of +Peterborough, which, at that time contained one log-house and a very poor +saw-mill, erected some five or six years before by one Adam Scott to supply the +new settlement of Smith with lumber. +</p> + +<p> +I found several hundreds of Mr. Robinson’s Irish emigrants camped on the +plains. Many had built themselves huts of pine and spruce boughs; some with +slabs and others with logs of trees. Three or four Government store-houses and +a house for the Superintendent, the Hon. Peter Robinson, were in course of +erection. I had letters of introduction to that gentleman, and also to the Hon. +T. A. Stewart, and Robert Reid, Esq. The two latter gentlemen resided in the +township of Douro, and were at that time the only settlers in that part of +Canada. +</p> + +<p> +As I did not much like the appearance of the lodgings I was likely to obtain in +the new town, I went on to Mr. Stewart’s house, and presented my +credentials. Nothing could have been more cordial than the welcome I received +from him. This gentleman and his brother-in-law, Robert Reid, Esq., obtained a +grant of land from the Colonial Government, on condition that they would become +actual settlers on the land, and perform certain settlement duties, which +consisted in chopping out and clearing the concession lines.<a href="#fn-7.1" name="fnref-7.1" id="fnref-7.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +Before the Crown patent could issue, the party contracting to perform the +settlement duties was obliged to appear before a magistrate, and make an +affidavit that he or they had chopped and cleared certain concession lines +opposite the lots of land mentioned in the certificate. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-7.1" id="fn-7.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-7.1">[1]</a> +Every township is laid out by the surveyor in parallel lines, sixty-six +chains apart. These lines are sixty-six feet in width, and are given by +government as road allowances, for the use of the public, and are called +concession lines. Cross lines run at right angles with the former every thirty +chains, and are called lot-lines: they subdivide the township into two hundred +acre lots: every fifth cross line is a road allowance. +</p> + +<p> +This was a bad law, because many of these lines crossing high hills, swamps or +lakes, were impracticable for road-purposes: many thousand pounds consequently +were entirely and uselessly thrown away: besides, it opened a door for perjury. +</p> + +<p> +Land-speculators would employ a third party to perform their settlement duties; +all they required to obtain the deed, or “lift” as it is called in +Canadian parlance, was the sworn certificate for cutting the road, allowances, +and the payment of certain fees to Government. The consequence of this was, +that many false certificates were sworn to, as few persons or magistrates would +be at the trouble and expense of travelling thirty or forty miles back into an +uninhabited part of the country, to ascertain if the parties had sworn truly or +not. +</p> + +<p> +A magistrate in my neighbourhood told me that a Yankee chopper came to him one +day and demanded to be sworn on a settlement duty certificate, which he did to +the following effect, “that he had cut a chain between two posts opposite +lots so and so, in the concession of—— township. The road +allowances are a chain in width, and posts are planted and marked on each side +of the concession, at the corners of each lot. +</p> + +<p> +“I had some suspicions,” he said, “in my own mind that the +fellow had sworn falsely, so I determined to ascertain the truth. I knew a +person residing within a mile or two of the place, to whom I wrote for +information, when I found, as I expected, that not a tree bad been cut on the +line. I therefore summoned the Yankee, on the information of the farmer, to +appear before a brother magistrate and myself to answer for his delinquency. +</p> + +<p> +“So, sir,” I said, “you came before me and swore to a false +certificate. Do not you know you have committed perjury, which is a very +serious offence. What have you to say for yourself?” +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, I guess, Mister, I han’t committed no perjury. I swore I cut +a chain between two posts opposite them lots, and I can prove it by Ina Buck, +for he was with me the hul time I was doing on’t.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Mr. Buck, what can you prove?” +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, gentlemen, I was along with Jonathan Stubbs when he went to chop +the settlement duties, and when we got to the posts opposite the lots, he said, +‘Wal, this looks plaguy ugly any how! I calculate I must fix these duties +the short way,’ so he pulled out of his pocket a short piece of +trace-chain which he laid on a stone in a line between the two posts, and with +a stroke or two of his axe severed it in two. ‘Now,’ said he, +‘Ina Buck, I guess you are a witness that I cut a chain between two +posts, so they can’t fix me nohow?’” +</p> + +<p> +“He was, however, a little out of his calculation, for we did fix him, +and sent him to jail, where I dare say he had ample time to plan some new +device for performing settlement duties.” +</p> + +<p> +My new friend advised me to purchase land adjoining his grant, which was very +prettily situated on the banks of the Otonabee, in the township of the same +name, within a mile of Peterborough. The price asked was fifteen shillings per +acre, which was high for wild land at that time, but the prospect of a town so +near had improved the market considerably. +</p> + +<p> +I took his advice, closed the bargain, and became a landed proprietor in Canada +West. On the 16th of May, 1826, I moved up with all my goods and chattels, +which were then easily packed into a single horse waggon, and consisted of a +plough iron, six pails, a sugar kettle, two iron pots, a frying pan with a long +handle, a tea kettle, a chest of carpenters’ tools, a Canadian axe, and a +cross-cut saw. My stock of provisions comprised a parcel of groceries, half a +barrel of pork and a barrel of flour. +</p> + +<p> +The roads were so bad that it took me three days to perform a journey of little +more than fifty miles. We (that is to say myself and my two labourers) had +numerous upsets; but at last reached the promised land without any further +trouble. My friend in Douro turned out the next day and assisted me to put up +the walls of my shanty and roof it with bass-wood troughs, which was completed +before dark. +</p> + +<p> +I was kept busy for more than a week chinking between the logs and plastering +up all the crevices, cutting out a doorway and place for a window, casing them; +making a door and hanging it on wooden hinges, &c. I also made a rough +table and some stools, which answered better than they looked. Four thick slabs +of lime-stone, placed upright in one corner of the shanty with clay well packed +behind them to keep the fire off the logs, answered very well for a chimney +with a hole cut through the roof directly above, to vent the smoke. +</p> + +<p> +I made a tolerably good bedstead out of some iron-wood poles, by stretching +strips of elm-bark across, which I plaited strongly together to support my bed, +which was a very good one, and the only article of luxury I possessed. +</p> + +<p> +I had very foolishly hired two Irish emigrants, who had not been longer in +Canada than myself, and of course knew nothing either of chopping, logging, +fencing, or, indeed, any work belonging to the country. The consequence of this +imprudence was, that the first ten acres I cleared cost me nearly 5 pounds an +acre<a href="#fn-7.2" name="fnref-7.2" id="fnref-7.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a>—at +least 2 pounds more than it should have done. Experience is often dearly +bought, and in this instance the proverb was fully verified. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-7.2" id="fn-7.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-7.2">[2]</a> +The usual price for clearing land, and fencing it fit for sowing, is, for +hard wood, from eleven to twelve dollars per acre; for evergreen, such as pine, +hemlock, cedar, or where that kind of timber predominates, from twelve to +fourteen dollars per acre. There is no fixed price for swamp. +</p> + +<p> +I found chopping, in the summer months, very laborious. I should have +underbrushed my fallow in the fall, before the leaves fell, and chopped the +large timber during the winter months, when I should have had the warm weather +for logging and burning, which should be completed by the first day of +September. So, for want of experience, it was all up-hill work with me. +</p> + +<p> +This was the season for musquitoes and black flies. The latter are ten times +the worse of the two. This happened to be a bad fly year, and I, being a new +comer, was nearly devoured by them. Luckily, they do not last more than a +month, and it is only before rain that they are so very annoying. I have seen +children whose necks were one mass of sores, from the poisonous nature of their +bite: sheep, calves, and foals, are sometimes killed by them. Nor is this, +indeed, an unfrequent occurrence. It must be, however, borne in mind that, as +the country is cleared up, and the woods recede, the flies disappear. In the +clearings along the front townships, the flies are not more troublesome than +they are in England. +</p> + +<p> +The farm on which I now reside used to swarm terribly with flies, lying, as it +does, near the water; but, for the last three years, it has been entirely free +from them, especially from the black flies.<a href="#fn-7.3" name="fnref-7.3" id="fnref-7.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-7.3" id="fn-7.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-7.3">[3]</a> +These insects are always much worse, and more numerous, when the spring is +backward, and the floods are higher than usual. From close observation, I +believe the larvae are deposited during high water on the rocks, when, as soon +as the water falls, the heat of the sun hatches the insects. I have remarked +large stones, which had been under water during the flood, covered over with +small brown coloured cells, exactly the shape, and very little bigger than a +seed of buckwheat. From out of these cells, on a sunny day, the flies rise in +clouds, for they bite through the envelope, and emancipate themselves. Being +provided with a sharp appetite, they will attack you the minute they are at +liberty. These pests begin to appear between the 10th of May and 1st of June, +according to the earliness or lateness of the season. Towards the end of June, +numbers of small dragon-flies make their appearance, which soon eat up all the +black-flies, to which repast, you may be sure, they are heartily welcome. +</p> + +<p> +A person who understands chopping, can save himself a good deal of trouble and +hard work by making what is called a plan-heap. Three or four of these may be +made on an acre, but not more. The largest and most difficult trees are felled, +the limbs only being cut off and piled. Then all the trees that will fall in +the same direction, should be thrown along, on the top of the others, the more +the better chance of burning well. If you succeed in getting a good burn for +your fallow, the chances are, if your plan-heaps are well made, that they will +be mostly consumed, which will save a great many blows of the axe, and some +heavy logging. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +A LOGGING BEE.—LIME-BURNING.—SHINGLING.—ARRIVAL OF MY +BROTHER-IN-LAW.—BIRTH OF MY SON.—SAD JOURNEY TO +DARLINGTON.—LOSE MY WAY.—AM REFUSED A LIFT.—MY BOYISH +ANGER.—MY WIFE’S DEATH.—THE FUNERAL.—I LEAVE +DARLINGTON. +</p> + +<p> +My fallow was finished by the first week in July, but I did not put fire to it +until the first week in August, because the timber was so green. Indeed, I did +not expect the fire would run at all. I was, however, agreeably deceived, for I +got a very respectable burn, which gave me great help. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the ground was cool enough, I made a logging Bee, at which I had +five yokes of oxen and twenty men, four men to each team. The teamster selects +a good place to commence a heap, generally against some large log which the +cattle would be unable to move. They draw all the logs within a reasonable +distance in front of the large log. The men with hand-spikes roll them, one +upon the top of the other, until the heap is seven or eight feet high, and ten +or twelve broad. All the chips, sticks, and rubbish are then picked up and +thrown on the top of the heap. A team and four good men should log and pick an +acre a day when the burn has been good. +</p> + +<p> +My hive worked well, for we had five acres logged and set fire to the same +evening. On a dark night, a hundred or two of these large heaps all on fire at +once have a very fine effect, and shed a broad glare of light for a +considerable distance. In the month of July in the new settlements, the whole +country at night appears lit up by these fires. +</p> + +<p> +I was anxious to commence building my house, so that I might have it ready to +receive my wife in before the winter commenced. My first step towards it was to +build a lime-heap. I calculated I should require for plastering my walls and +building my chimneys, about a hundred bushels. +</p> + +<p> +We set to work, accordingly, and built an immense log-heap of all the largest +logs I could get together. It took at least the timber growing on half an acre +of land for this purpose, and kept five men and myself busy all day to complete +it. We made a frame of logs on the top of the heap, to keep the stone from +falling over the side. We drew for this purpose twenty cart-loads of +lime-stone, which we threw upon the summit of the heap, having broken it small +with a sledge-hammer; fire was then applied to the heap, which was consumed by +the next morning. But it left such a mass of hot coals, that it was a week +before the lime could be collected and covered. This is the easiest and most +expeditious way of burning lime; but the lime is not so white, and there are +more pieces of unburnt stone, which make it not so good for plastering. +</p> + +<p> +I built my house of elm-logs, thirty-six feet long by twenty-four feet wide, +which I divided into three rooms on the ground-floor, besides an entrance-hall +and staircase, and three bed-rooms up stairs. I was very busy till October +making the shingles,<a href="#fn-8.1" name="fnref-8.1" id="fnref-8.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +roofing, cutting out the door and window-spaces, and hewing the logs down +inside the house. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-8.1" id="fn-8.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-8.1">[1]</a> +Shingles are made either of pine or cedar. I prefer the white pine, because +it is less liable to gutter with the rain, and makes an evener roof. Every +settler in the bush should know how to make shingles, and how to choose a tree +fit for that purpose, or much labour may be thrown uselessly away. I do not +know anything more annoying than, after cutting down a tree, perhaps more than +four feet in diameter, and sawing a block eighteen inches long out of the +centre, to find that it will not split fair, or (if it does) that the wood +eats, which means, that the grain, though straight in the length of the +shingle, makes short deep curves, which render it bad to split, and cause holes +to appear in the shingle when you come to shave them. The grain of most trees +naturally inclines towards the sun, or the same way round the tree as the +sun’s course. Consequently, a tree may be perfectly straight in the +grain, where you chop it down, yet, ten or twelve feet up, it may wind so much +as to be totally useless. To obviate this difficulty, attend to the following +hints.:—First, select a good-sized tree, the larger the better, perfectly +clear of outside knots for fifty or sixty feet. The head should be luxuriant, +and the large limbs drooping downwards. Peel off with your axe a stripe of bark +as high as you can reach. If, on examination, the grain is the least inclined +towards the sun, reject it. If, on the contrary, it curves slightly in the +opposite direction, or against the sun, you may proceed to try it by cutting +out a piece a foot long, and three or four inches deep. Place your axe in the +centre, and split it open. Continue to do so till you have reduced the piece to +the thickness of two shingles, which again divide neatly in the middle. If the +timber is good and fit for your purpose, the pieces will fly apart with a +sudden snap, and will be perfectly clear in the grain on both sides, while, if +the timber be not good, the grain of the one piece will eat into the other, or +run off without splitting clear the whole length of the block. The blocks +should be cut eighteen inches long, and split into quarters, and the sap-wood +dressed off. It is then ready for the frow—as the instrument used for +splitting shingles is called. A good splitter will keep two men shaving and +packing. The proper thickness is four to the inch: the packing-frame should be +forty inches long, and contain fifty courses of shingles, which make a +thousand. The price varies from five shillings to seven and sixpence, according +to quality. The upper bar of the packing-frame should be wedged down very +tightly across the centre of the bunch, which will keep them from warping with +the sun. +</p> + +<p> +I was anxious to complete the outside walls, roof, and chimneys before the +winter set in, so that I might be able to work at the finishing part inside, +under cover, and with the benefit of a fire. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as my little fallow was ready for sowing with wheat, I discharged my +two Irishmen, of whom I was very glad to be rid. I would advise new colonists +never to employ men who have not been some time in Canada: it is much better to +pay higher wages than to be troubled with fellows who know nothing about the +work of the country. Besides, these persons, though accustomed to bad wages and +food at home, actually expect better provisions and wages than men who +thoroughly understand their business: take the following for a fair example. +</p> + +<p> +One day, a stout able-bodied fellow, a fresh importation from the emerald isle, +dressed in breeches open at the knees, long worsted stockings, rucked down to +the ankles, and a great-coat with at least three capes, while a high-crowned +black hat, the top of which opened and shut with every breeze like the lid of a +basket, completed his costume—rather a curious one for July, with the +thermometer above 80 degrees in the shade—accosted me +with—“Does yer honor want to hire a boy to-day?” +</p> + +<p> +He stood at least six feet in his stockings. +</p> + +<p> +“What can you do, and what makes you wear that great coat this hot +weather?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, sure, yer honour, it’s a good un to keep out the heat, and I +can do almost anything.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you log, chop, or fence?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you plough?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; but I think I could soon larn.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you mow or cradle wheat?” +</p> + +<p> +“I can mow a trifle, but I don’t know what the other thing is at +all, at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pray, then, what can you do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then, yer honour, I am illigant at the spade entirely.” +</p> + +<p> +“What wages do you expect?” +</p> + +<p> +“Twelve dollars, sir, and my boord, if it be plasing to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, my good fellow; I do not please to do any such thing, and I do +not think any one else in his senses will, either. I think you had better apply +for work to the road-contractors, who require a good deal of spade-labour, +which I think is at present all you are fit for.” +</p> + +<p> +Upon returning to my shanty in the evening, I was surprised to find that my +brother-in-law had just arrived with the intelligence of the birth of my +first-born son, and the dangerous illness of my dear wife. Little hope was +entertained of her recovery. My poor Emma had been safely delivered of a fine +boy, and was supposed to be progressing favourably, when some alarming symptoms +appeared which made it necessary to send immediately for me. +</p> + +<p> +Long before dawn I was some miles upon my sad journey to Darlington. I had no +horse. The way was long and toilsome; and I had had neither time for rest nor +appetite for food. I loved my amiable and excellent wife with all the warmth of +a youthful husband united to the object of his affections. I am very fond of +little children, and the idea of having one of my own to pet and work for had +given a stimulus to all my labours. My first-born seemed dearly purchased now +at the cost of his poor mother’s peril. Still, my ardent temperament led +me to hope that my dear wife would be spared. Her loss seemed an event too +dreadful to realize, for the boy-husband had had no experience in sorrow then, +and his buoyant spirits had never anticipated the crushing blow that had +already annihilated his visions of domestic happiness. Fifty-five miles lay +between me and my suffering wife. The roads were heavy from the effects of the +late rains, and I had the misfortune to lose my way, which added three miles to +my long pedestrian journey. Once I overtook a cart containing a boy and girl, +whom I vainly entreated to give me a ride. I told them the painful +circumstances which induced me to solicit their aid; but the boy was +over-cautious, and the girl unusually hard-hearted for one of her kind and +compassionate sex. I could easily have compelled them to give me a seat, but +for a sense of moral justice which would not permit me to take that by force +which they denied to pity. Mr boyish indignation, I recollect, was so great +that I could scarcely help throwing stones after my unkind fellow-travellers. +</p> + +<p> +It was evening by the time I reached Darlington Mills, and I was still five +miles from my father-in-law’s house. It was quite dark, and I was so +overpowered with my fifty miles’ walk, that to proceed without +refreshment and rest appeared then to be impossible. I stopped at the tavern +and asked for some tea. +</p> + +<p> +I had scarcely been seated two minutes before some men entered, in whose +conversation I became immediately and deeply interested. They were discussing +what to them was merely local news, but the question, “When is the +funeral to take place?” riveted my attention at once. +</p> + +<p> +Putting down the much-needed but untasted refreshment, I demanded of the +speaker “Whose funeral?” My heart at once foretold from its inmost +depths what the dreaded answer would be. +</p> + +<p> +Yes, she in whom I had placed my earthly hopes of a life-long happiness was, +indeed, no more. She was snatched away in the bright morning of her existence +with the rapturous feelings of maternity just budding into life. I never knew +how I got out of the house, or in what manner I performed the last five miles +of the journey. But I remember that in the excitement of that hour I felt +neither hunger, thirst, nor weariness. Sometimes I doubted the truth of what I +had heard. Indeed, it seemed really too dreadful to be true. +</p> + +<p> +On my arrival at my father-in-law’s house, I found that the information I +had accidentally heard was unfortunately a sad reality. My brother-in-law had +not left Darlington an hour on his journey to Otonabee before my wife breathed +her last. I had not even the consolation of bidding her a last adieu. Few can +comprehend my feelings on this trying occasion, except those who have suffered +under a similar bereavement. I was not yet twenty-one years of age. I was in a +strange country—the tie severed between me and my only friends in a +manner so afflicting and melancholy—all my hopes and future prospects in +life dashed, as it were, to the ground. I had expended all my little capital in +providing a comfortable home for her, who, alas! was doomed never to behold it; +and I had a little son to bring up without the aid of my poor Emma, whose piety +and sweet temper would have been so invaluable to our child. +</p> + +<p> +A nurse was obtained for my poor motherless babe, the babe over whom I shed so +many tears—a sad welcome, this, to as fine a boy as ever a father’s +eye looked upon! +</p> + +<p> +I followed the remains of my beloved wife to the grave; and then tarried for a +month in that house of sorrow. My only consolation was derived from my +knowledge that Emma loved her Saviour, and put her trust in him while passing +through the valley of the shadow of death. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“How many hopes have sprung in radiance hence;<br /> +Their trace yet lights the dust where thou art sleeping.<br /> +A solemn joy comes o’er me, and a sense<br /> +Of triumph blent with nature’s gush of weeping.” +</p> + +<p> +I left my little son in the care of his Irish nurse, and quitted my +friend’s house, with a heavy heart, for my new settlement at Otonabee. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +RETURN TO OTONABEE.—BENEVOLENCE OF MY NEIGHBOUR.—SERIOUS +ACCIDENT TO A SETTLER.—HIS SINGULAR MISFORTUNES.—PARTICULARS OF HIS +LIFE. +</p> + +<p> +I returned in sadness to my lonely and desolate home, feeling like a +shipwrecked mariner, cast upon a desert shore. In fact, I had to begin life +again, without the stimulus of domestic love to quicken my exertions. I had +left my land unsown, and therefore the prospect of a crop of wheat for the next +year’s harvest was, I felt assured, entirely gone. Upon reaching my +clearing, I was surprised to find my fallow not only sown but showing the green +blade, for some friendly hands had been at work for me in my absence, that +pecuniary losses might not be added to my heavy domestic bereavement. +</p> + +<p> +On inquiry, I found I was indebted to the considerate kindness of my excellent +neighbour Mr. Reid and his sons, for this act of Christian benevolence. I +hurried to his house to thank him for the important service he had rendered +one, to whom he was almost a stranger. He considered, however, that he had done +nothing more than a neighbourly duty, and insisted that I should take up my +abode with him, instead of returning to my unfinished and melancholy home. +</p> + +<p> +My residence under his hospitable roof increased my esteem for his character, +which my long experience of six-and-twenty years has never diminished. Mrs. +Reid treated me with maternal kindness; and in their amiable family-circle my +bruised heart recovered its peace, and my spirits their healthy tone. The +kindly disposition of my host in all his domestic relations, his cheerful +activity, pure morality, and unaffected piety, presented an admirable example +to a young man left without guidance in a distant colony. But I did not at that +time think about becoming his son-in-law, though I had been several months +domesticated in his family, till the alacrity displayed by his eldest daughter +in hastening to the assistance of a wounded neighbour, through the unknown +intricacies of a Canadian forest, led me to consider her character in a new and +endearing point of view. +</p> + +<p> +A Mr. G. and his family had just commenced a settlement, about four miles east +of Mr. Reid’s clearing, when, early one morning, his eldest son, a lad of +twelve or thirteen, with a face full of trouble ran to tell us “that his +father had nearly cut his foot off with an axe while chopping logs to build his +house, that his mother could not stop the bleeding, and that they were afraid +he would bleed to death.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Reid’s eldest daughter immediately volunteered to return with the +boy, to render what assistance she could. Without any thought of fatigue, or +danger, or trial to her feelings, she set out instantly with the proper +bandages. Mr. Reid, his sons, and myself were all chopping in the woods when +the lad came, so that Mary followed the spontaneous impulse of her own heart; +but as soon as we heard what had happened, her father sent over the river for +our nearest neighbour, a stout canny Scotchman, to assist us in carrying the +wounded man through the woods to his (Mr. Reid’s) house. +</p> + +<p> +John Morison readily obeyed the summons; and had we required any additional +help we should have had no difficulty, in a case like this, of finding plenty +of volunteers. The only road leading to Mr. G.’s was from the town, a +mere bush-road, and full three miles farther than if we could go straight back +through the woods. +</p> + +<p> +As the number of his lot was the same as the one<a href="#fn-9.1" name="fnref-9.1" id="fnref-9.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +we resided on, we knew that a direct east course would bring us within call of +his clearing. It was, therefore, agreed that Mr. Reid’s eldest son should +endeavour, with a pocket compass, to run a line in the direction which we +wanted to go, and that I should blaze<a href="#fn-9.2" name="fnref-9.2" id="fnref-9.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +out the line with the axe, while the rest chopped out the under-brush and +levelled the path sufficiently wide to allow the passage of a litter. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-9.1" id="fn-9.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-9.1">[1]</a> +Each concession is divided into two hundred acre lots, numbering from the +boundary line from number one upwards. According to the new survey, the lots +run nearly east and west; therefore, number one in the first concession will +have a corresponding number west across every concession in the township. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-9.2" id="fn-9.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-9.2">[2]</a> +Blazing is a term used by the backwoodsman for chopping off a portion of the +bark from each side of a tree to mark a surveyor’s line through the +woods. All concession roads, or lot lines are marked in this manner; wherever a +lot line strikes a concession, a short post with the number of the lot and +concession is marked on each side of the post. If a tree comes directly on the +line where the post should be planted, the tree is substituted. A blaze is made +on each side, about three feet from the ground, and the numbers marked. I have +frequently in the matter of disputed lines seen the surveyor cut the old blaze +off, perhaps, of twenty years’ growth, and discover the numbers perfect, +although the wood had made such a growth over the original blaze. +</p> + +<p> +We had some difficulty in avoiding one or two small swamps and a high hill, but +finally succeeded in finding a good line of road; and so accurate was our +surveyor and engineer in this, his first attempt, that his line actually struck +the little chopping<a href="#fn-9.3" name="fnref-9.3" id="fnref-9.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +of not more than a quarter of an acre where poor G. lay. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-9.3" id="fn-9.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-9.3">[3]</a> +This gentleman, John Reid, Esq. is now a deputy provincial surveyor and county +engineer. As a land surveyor there are few better in the province. +</p> + +<p> +It was past three o’clock in the afternoon before the road was completed +and the litter made, the last being effected by cutting two iron-wood poles +eight feet long, and fastening them together by broad straps of bass-wood bark +three feet apart. A blanket, doubled, was then laid over these straps, upon +which we placed the poor man, whose bleeding wound had been stopped with some +difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +It appeared that a small twig had caught the axe, which caused it to glance in +its descent, and struck the instep of his right foot, making a gash about five +inches long, the edge of the axe coming out at the sole of the foot. It was a +dreadful cut,—one of the worst I ever saw—and I have seen and +dressed a great many axe wounds since my residence in Canada. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. G. was a very heavy man, and as <i>only</i> four persons could conveniently +carry him at once, we found it very hard work. I was completely done up when we +reached the house. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Reid and his family did everything in their power to make him and his wife +comfortable. Mr. Stewart, his brother-in-law, kindly sent for two of the +children: the other two remained with their father and mother. +</p> + +<p> +It was ten months before the poor invalid was able to leave his hospitable +host, and resume his settlement in the bush. I mention this little circumstance +to show what kindly feelings exist between the settlers, especially in cases of +this kind. I shall also relate some remarkable passages in this poor +man’s life which present an almost unparalleled train of misfortune. I +shall tell his dismal story, as nearly as possible, in his own words. +</p> + +<p> +The experience of life proves to a certainty, that some persons are compelled +to drink deeper of the cup of adversity than others, nay even to drain it to +the dregs. +</p> + +<p> +We know that the Jews of old and the heathen world still suppose that such are +visited for their sins by the judgment of Heaven; but the Divine Teacher has +taught us better things, and warned us against such rash conclusions, +instructing us indeed that +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“There surely is some guardian power<br /> + That rightly suffers wrong;<br /> +Gives vice to bloom its little hour,<br /> + But virtue late and long.” +</p> + +<p> +Poor G. was one of these unfortunate persons, whose melancholy history I will +now relate, in his own words.—He was, it seems, a native of Ireland, from +which country he emigrated soon after the last American war, with his wife and +two children, leaving three other children at home with his father and mother, +who were the proprietors of a small estate in the county of Cork. He arrived +safely with his family at the Big Bay in Whitby (Windsor,) and purchased a lot +of land close to the lake-shore. +</p> + +<p> +In those days, the emigrant’s trials were indeed hard, compared with what +they are now. The country was quite unsettled, excepting that here and there +the nucleus of a small village appeared to vary its loneliness, for the +clearings were mostly confined to the vicinity of the Great Lake. There were no +plank, gravel, or macadamized roads then; saw and grist-mills were +few-and-far-between. It was no uncommon thing then for a farmer to go thirty or +forty miles to mill, which cause indeed sometimes detained him a whole week +from his family; and, even more, if any accident had happened to the machinery. +Besides this inconvenience, he had to encounter risks for himself and his +cattle,—from bad bridges, deep mud-holes, and many other +annoyances—I might say, with truth, “too numerous to +mention.” The few farms in that neighbourhood were then chiefly occupied +by Americans, some of whom had found it highly desirable to expatriate +themselves; and might have exclaimed with the celebrated pick-pocket, +Barrington, in a prologue spoken to a convict-audience in New South +Wales,— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Friends, be it understood,<br /> +We left our country for our country’s good.” +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +I have no intention of reflecting here on the national honour of the American +nation; but it is a well-known fact, that many of the early frontier settlers +were persons who had evaded the payment of their just debts or, perhaps, legal +penalties for worse offences, by crossing the lines, and forming settlements in +Canada. Such persons are not a fair specimen of American character. +Individually, I have nothing to say against the Americans, but rather the +contrary, for I have found them good and obliging neighbours. +</p> + +<p> +I have heard it generally asserted, that the Yankees are the greatest rogues +under the sun. If <i>smartness</i> in trading, or barter, be roguery, they +richly deserve the epithet; but I deny that their intentions are one whit more +dishonest than those of the persons with whom they trade. That their natural +shrewdness and general knowledge give them an advantage, I am quite ready to +admit; and perhaps they are not over-scrupulous in exercising it to the +discomfiture of their less-gifted neighbours. +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately, Mr. G. purchased his land of a squatter, who had no title +himself, and consequently could give none to the purchaser, who, after three or +four years of hard labour upon it—when he had fondly hoped he had +surmounted the greatest difficulties—found that the Government had issued +a deed for the benefit of another person before he came into possession, who +could not be induced to give up his legal rights to the unfortunate cultivator. +He was so disheartened by this occurrence, that he determined to sell all he +had and leave the country, which resolution he put into immediate execution. +</p> + +<p> +He took a passage for himself and family in a ship, timber-laden, from Quebec, +bound for Liverpool. It was late in the fall: the vessel was one of the last +that sailed; consequently, they experienced very rough weather, accompanied +with snow and sleet. Mid-way across the Atlantic, they encountered a dreadful +storm, which left the ship a mere wreck on the ocean. To add to their +misfortunes, a plank had started, owing, it was supposed, to the shifting of +some part of the cargo during the gale; and so quickly did the vessel fill that +they only saved two eight-pound pieces of salt pork and a few biscuits. +</p> + +<p> +“I had,” he said, “also in my pocket, a paper containing two +or three ounces of cream of tartar. Luckily, a cask of water, lashed on deck, +was providentially preserved, amidst the general destruction. +</p> + +<p> +“Our ship’s company consisted of the captain, mate, and six seamen, +besides a medical man, myself, my poor wife, and two children, who were cabin +passengers. We made several unsuccessful attempts to procure a supply of +provisions; consequently, it became absolutely necessary to give out what we +had in the smallest possible rations. +</p> + +<p> +“The fourth night was ushered in by another storm, more terrific even +than the last. A heavy sea struck the vessel, sweeping overboard the captain +and three seamen; and the poor doctor’s leg was broken at the same time, +by a loose spar. +</p> + +<p> +“We passed a fearful night; nor did the morning add to our comfort, for +my daughter died from exposure and want, just as the day dawned. +</p> + +<p> +“On the seventh morning, the doctor, who had suffered the greatest agony +from his swollen leg, sank at last; the paper of cream of tartar I had in my +pocket being the only relief for his dreadful fever, during his misery. My poor +wife and remaining child soon followed. We now had fine dry weather, which was +some relief to our intolerable misery. +</p> + +<p> +“On the twentieth day, the last of our provisions was consumed. I had an +old pair of deer-skin mocassins on my feet: these we carefully divided amongst +us. We had now serious thoughts of drawing lots, to see which of us should die, +for the preservation of the rest. I, however, begged they would defer such a +dreadful alternative to the latest minute. +</p> + +<p> +“On the twenty-first night of our disaster, I had a most remarkable +dream: I thought I saw a fine ship bearing down to our assistance, and that she +was called “The London of London.” I related my dream to my +companions, in hopes it might raise their spirits, which, however, it failed to +do; for nothing was to be seen on that dreary waste of water, though we scanned +the horizon in every direction. For upwards of two hours after, we scarcely +spoke a word, when suddenly the sun, which had been obscured all the morning, +shone out brightly and warm for the season of the year. I mechanically raised +myself and looked over the bulwarks, when, to my astonishment and delight, I +beheld a ship, the very counterpart of the one I had seen in my dream, bearing +down directly for the wreck. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not easy to describe our various feelings on this occasion: we +could scarcely believe our senses when the boat came along side. We were so +reduced by famine and exposure, that we had to be lifted into her. In this +state of exhaustion every attention was paid us by the humane captain and crew. +</p> + +<p> +“As soon as I was on board, I asked the name of the vessel, when I was +surprised to find she was called the ‘Portaferry of Portaferry.’ +Although the name was not that borne by the vessel of which I had dreamed, it +must be considered at least a remarkable coincidence. +</p> + +<p> +“Great care was taken to prevent us eating too ravenously at first: we +received every kindness our weak condition required; but, notwithstanding these +precautions, two of my companions in misery died before we reached Ireland. +</p> + +<p> +“When we arrived at Strangford, in the north of Ireland, I was entirely +destitute—I had lost everything I possessed. Fortunately for me, I +belonged to the honourable fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, who kindly +furnished me with clothing, and money sufficient to take me home, which I +reached in safety. +</p> + +<p> +“Like almost every person who has resided a few years in Canada, I found +it impossible to content myself at home; and, although I had no great reason to +be fond of the country on account of the treatment I had experienced, still, +there is that indescribable charm in the free life of a Canadian settler, which +is wanting in a more civilized country: I, therefore, determined once more to +try my fortune. +</p> + +<p> +“I accordingly embarked with the young wife I had lately married, and the +three children I had formerly left in Ireland with my parents. We sailed early +in the spring of 1825. My ill luck still attended me; for owing to the dense +fogs we experienced on the banks of Newfoundland, we got out of our course, and +our ship struck the shore near Cape Ray: fortunately the sea was smooth and the +weather fine: so that when daylight broke we were able, without much +difficulty, to be landed on that most inhospitable shore, +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Where the bones of many a tall ship lie buried.” +</p> + +<p> +“We saved little or nothing from the wreck; for, as the day advanced, the +wind freshened into a gale, which blowing on shore, soon settled the fate of +our gallant bark. The shore was soon strewn with casks, bales, and packages, +some of which we were able to secure. Our captain chartered a small +fishing-vessel, which landed us at last safely at Quebec. And now, you see, +after enduring almost unheard-of sufferings, I am again prostrated by this +unfortunate accident.” +</p> + +<p> +Such was the account given me by Mr. G——, who put into my hand, at +the same time, an old Belfast newspaper, containing the account of his first +wreck and sufferings. So I have no reason to doubt the entire truth of his +statement. +</p> + +<p> +After his foot healed he returned to his land, and, with the assistance of his +family, cleared up a large farm. His location, however, was not well chosen; +and, consequently, he was not a thriving settler. He, however, managed to bring +up a large family, who are now sufficiently independent of him to maintain +themselves and families comfortably. +</p> + +<p> +On his father’s death, about three years since, he returned with his wife +to Ireland, where I believe he intends to pass the remainder of his days. +</p> + +<p> +I wish to make one remark before closing this chapter: does it not speak well +for Canada, when a person, who was neither an active nor a clever person, and +who had suffered almost unheard-of misfortunes, was still able to gain a living +and see his family settled in comparative comfort? Under such circumstances, +what would have been the fate of these people in England or +Ireland?—Abject pauperism. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +PREPARATIONS FOR MY SECOND MARRIAGE.—DANGEROUS ADVENTURE.—MY +WIFE’S NOCTURNAL VISITOR.—WE PREPARE FOR THE RECEPTION OF OUR +UNINVITED GUEST.—BRUIN’S UNWELCOME VISIT TO AN IRISH +SHANTY.—OUR BEAR HUNT.—MAJOR ELLIOTT’S DUEL WITH +BRUIN.—HIS WOUNDS AND VICTORY. +</p> + +<p> +I spent the spring of 1827 very pleasantly in the company of my new friends. I +used to go down to my farm every morning, and return in the evening to a +cheerful fire-side and agreeable society, which rewarded me for the toils of +the day. I had fenced in my fields, planted my spring crops, Indian corn, and +potatoes, which looked promising; and I had my house nearly finished. I, +therefore, considered it was time I should go and reside in it, and not +trespass any longer on the hospitality of my kind and generous friends. As, +however, I did not like the thought of living the life of a hermit, and my +little boy; for whom I had sent, was weaned, and growing healthy and lovely +under the kind hospitality of my friends, required now a watchful parental +care, I proposed to, and was accepted by, my friend’s eldest daughter, in +whom I found what I sought—a faithful mother for my child, and the most +devoted and affectionate wife for myself. A better woman, indeed, never +existed. For upwards of twenty-two years she shared my various fortunes, and +formed my greatest earthly blessing. A few days before my marriage—an +event to which I naturally looked forward for an increase of happiness—an +accident occurred, which might have been attended with fatal results to myself, +and actually was so to a lad who was in my service. A kind Providence, however, +watched over my life, and delivered me from this danger. +</p> + +<p> +My farm was situated on the east shore of the Otonabee river, the town of +Peterborough being on the west of that line; and there was no bridge +communication between us and that place, so that we were obliged to cross in +skiffs, canoes, or any other craft we could get. When the river is flooded in +the spring, it is dangerous for persons crossing, unless they are well +acquainted with the management of a canoe. Several fatal accidents have indeed +happened to the inexperienced at that time of the year, from this cause. Such +was the state of the river, when I had to cross it to reach the store, where I +wanted to purchase some articles for my intended marriage. The stream was then +at its greatest height, running with extreme rapidity, and I had, to contend +with its force, only a small log-canoe, about twelve feet in length, by thirty +inches at its greatest breadth, in which three of us ventured upon the turbid +water, namely, John Fontaine, a French boy; Michael Walsh, and myself. We +crossed a little above the new mill-dam, which had been constructed at the +expense of the Government for the Irish emigration, and we managed to get over +pretty well. Not so, however, on our return. I was near the middle of the +canoe, with a pair of small oars, one of the boys at each end, and all seated +at the bottom for greater security. In this manner we got over the main +channel; but owing to the swiftness of the current, we were carried down much +nearer the dam than we intended. This alarmed the boys a good deal. I begged +them to sit still, assuring them I should be able to fetch the canoe into an +eddy a little lower down the stream. We were at this time close to an island, +which was deeply flooded, owing to the raising of the water by the construction +of the dam. From the point of this sunken island, a cedar tree had fallen into +the river. It was therefore necessary that we should drop below this, before we +could make the eddy. In the act of passing, the boy Walsh—I suppose from +fright—caught hold of the tree, which caused the canoe to swing round +broadside to the current, and it instantly filled and upset. +</p> + +<p> +A large quantity of timber had been cut on the island, for the use of the mill +and dam. The workmen had piled the tops and limbs of these trees in large +heaps, which now floated above the surface of the island. To one of these I +immediately swam, and succeeded in getting upon it. I then perceived that Walsh +had been swept from the tree to which he had clung, by the force of the +current, into the middle of the river, and close to the edge of the falls. I +saw at a glance, that his only chance was to swim for the opposite side, which +I called on him to do, but he appeared to have lost all self-possession; for he +neither swam for one shore nor the other, but kept his head facing up the +stream, uttering wild cries, which, in a few seconds, were silenced for ever. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime, John Fontaine, the French boy, had succeeded in getting partly +across the canoe, which was floating past the heap on which I had taken refuge, +and only a few yards from where I was standing. I immediately plucked a long +stick from the brush-heap, and swam near enough to the lad for him to grasp one +end of the pole, bidding him leave the canoe, which I told him would be carried +over the dam to a certainty, and him with it, if he did not abandon his hold. +He, with apparent reluctance, followed my directions, but I had a hard struggle +to regain my former place of refuge, with the boy’s additional weight. I +had some trouble to persuade him to trust himself again in the water. And no +wonder; for darkness was fast approaching, and both the island and a narrow +channel of the river had still to be crossed. However, trusting to the mercy of +God, we again committed ourselves to those wild, swollen waters, which, by the +providence of the Almighty, we successfully accomplished. I was obliged to hold +the stick between my teeth whilst crossing the channel, drawing along with me +my terrified companion, it being necessary for our preservation, that I should +have the free use of both my arms. I had on at the time a velveteen shooting +coat, the large pockets of which were filled with things I had just purchased +from the store; among which I remember there was a dozen cups and saucers, +which added no inconsiderable weight to the swimmer. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we made the shore, we ran down to the falls, to see if we could hear +anything of the poor boy. We shouted, for it was now quite dark, but all in +vain; indeed, I had not the slightest hope, as I had seen him carried backwards +over the dam into the boiling rapids below, where the best swimmer would not +have had the least chance. We failed to discover his remains then, but found +his mangled body six days afterwards in a small lake, a mile and a half below +the dam. +</p> + +<p> +I was much concerned at the fate of my poor young servant, but felt deeply +grateful for my own preservation and that of Fontaine. +</p> + +<p> +A few weeks after my marriage, I was detained one night from home by business, +leaving my wife, her little sister, and a small dog, called Suffolk—so +named by me in honour of my native county—the sole occupiers of my house, +of which the kitchen was still in an unfinished state, part of the floor only +being laid. We, however, had to make use of it, until I could procure more +boards to finish it, which, in those days, were not very easy to obtain. +</p> + +<p> +In the middle of the night, my wife and her sister were awakened and dreadfully +alarmed by a terrible noise in the kitchen, accompanied by the sharp barking of +the little dog. They were quite sure by the low growls and the fury of Suffolk, +that it was some wild animal, but whether a bear or wolf they could not tell. +Towards morning, this unwelcome visitor took himself off, to their infinite +joy. When I came home, they told me the story, at which I laughed very +heartily, for I thought their fears had magnified the visit of some +neighbour’s dog into a bear, or some other wild beast; but they appeared +unconvinced, being both frightened and positive. My wife declared, that in the +morning she found some of the salt-pork had been abstracted from the barrel, +which stood in one corner of the kitchen, by the savage guest. +</p> + +<p> +Now, I knew very well that master Bruin was fond of fresh pork, and I thought +it possible that he might think the salt an improvement. At all events, I +resolved to be prepared, in case he should pay us a second visit. Accordingly, +before going to bed, I loaded my gun with ball, and tied Suffolk up in the +vicinity of the pork-barrel. At midnight we were suddenly awakened by the +piteous howlings of the poor dog, and by a noise, as if everything in the room +had been violently thrown down. I jumped out of bed instantly, and seizing my +gun, crept cautiously along the passage, till I came to the kitchen-door, which +I threw open, whereupon some large dark-looking object made a rush for the +unfinished part of the floor. I immediately fired; but it was so dark, and the +beast so quick in its movements, that I had little chance of hitting him. +Whether or not, it had the effect of scaring him so much that he never resumed +his nocturnal visitation. Indeed, I stopped his supplies from my larder by +finishing the floor and building up the hole between the lower log of the house +and the ground. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to my story. As soon as the beast had made his exit, we lighted a +candle and examined the room, which we found in confusion and disorder. The +barrel of pork was upset and the brine running in miniature rivers over the +floor, while poor little Suffolk was bleeding from his wounds—indeed +nearly killed. From what I could make out of the footprints outside I am +inclined to think my unwelcome visiter was a bear; but this, of course, will +for ever remain a mystery. +</p> + +<p> +I have heard many stories of their boldness, to some instances of which I have +been an eye-witness. Not very long after the occurrence I have just related, +the wife of an Irish emigrant saw a large bear walking very deliberately +towards the shanty, which no doubt he mistook for a pigsty, and the inmates for +pigs, for they were quite as dirty, therefore it was no great mistake, after +all. The woman and her three children had barely time to get into the +potato-cellar and shut down the trap-door, when his bear-ship made his forcible +entrance through the feeble barrier the door opposed to his strength, much to +the dismay and terror of the subterranean lodgers, who lay shaking and quaking +for more than an hour, till the dying screams of their fatted pig told them he +was after game of a more savoury nature. +</p> + +<p> +In the fall of the year it is no uncommon thing for farmers to have their pigs +killed by the bears, particularly in the new settlements. +</p> + +<p> +Bears are, we know, very fond of good things. They are epicures in their way. +They like honey, and love pork, and, you may be sure, often pay the settler a +visit for the sake of his pigs. As Bruin makes very good eating himself, these +visitations are sometimes made at the risk of his own bacon; his warm jacket, +which makes comfortable robes for the settler’s sleigh, keeping him warm +during his journeys on pleasure or business throughout the long Canadian +winters. +</p> + +<p> +One day, I was assisting my father-in-law and his sons in logging up his +fallow, when we heard a great outcry among the pigs in a belt of woods between +Mr. Reid’s and Mr. Stewart’s clearing, when, suspecting it was a +bear attacking the swine, we ran for our guns, and made the best of our way +towards the spot from whence the outcry proceeded. +</p> + +<p> +Near the edge of the clearing we met Mr. B——, who was on a visit +to his friend and relative Mr. Stewart, driving before him Mr. Reid’s +sow, which he had just rescued from the grip of an immense bear, that, alarmed +by his shouts, dropped his prey and made off in the direction of a small +cedar-swamp. We immediately proposed surrounding the place, as there were three +of us provided with double-barrelled guns. Mr. B——took up his +station behind a large tree, close to where a small creek ran into the swamp. +My brother-in-law John and myself went round to the opposite side, which we +entered a few yards apart. We had not proceeded far, when an enormous brute +popped up his head from behind some fallen logs and brush, for we had disturbed +him in the act of devouring a pig. We both fired at the same instant, but +apparently without effect; for he scampered off, passing within a few feet of +where B—— was hid, who fired only one of his barrels, reserving +his second in case the bear should turn on him. We ran as fast as we could to +the river, for we knew he had gone in that direction. Indeed, Bruin took to the +water in fine style, swimming across gallantly. Before we could get another +shot at him he had gained the opposite bank. There we gave him a second volley, +which did not appear in the least to retard his ascent, so we concluded that it +was a regular miss all round. B—— maintained, however, that he had +hit him, and wanted us to cross the river and follow the track. We only laughed +at him for not firing his second shot, and returned home very much crestfallen +at the ill success of our expedition. +</p> + +<p> +Had we but complied with B——’s wish, we should have found +our hunt had been more successful than we imagined, for eight or ten days +afterwards John Morison was going on the opposite side of the river to +Peterborough, when, upon crossing a small creek, he came quite unexpectedly on +the carcass of a large bear, not thirty yards from the bank we had seen him +climb. No doubt B——’s shot was the fatal one, as he was not +more than five or six yards from him when he fired. The stream, where the beast +was found, is in the township of Smith, about a mile and a half from +Peterborough, on the river road, and is well-known by the name of Bear Creek to +this day. +</p> + +<p> +There is very little danger of being attacked by Bruin, unless you first molest +him. An old she-bear, with cubs, is the most dangerous customer to meddle with. +</p> + +<p> +Major Elliott, of the Canadian Militia, a gentleman with whom I was well +acquainted, residing near Rice Lake, in the township of Monaghan, was out one +day in the woods partridge-shooting, near the big swamp on the boundary line +between Monaghan and Cavan, when he fell in with several old bears and their +cubs. He had only one ball with him which he fired at the biggest fellow he +could see among them, and wounded him very severely, though not enough to stop +him from following his companions. But Elliott was not the man to be baulked +without an effort to capture his wounded adversary; so, being in want of a +ball, he cut of from his waistcoat some open-work brass buttons, with which he +loaded his gun, and followed the track of the wounded bear, which he soon +overtook. +</p> + +<p> +Bruin, however, being possessed of considerable pluck, immediately faced about +and attacked the major, who gave him a taste of the buttons, as he advanced. +But the bear, nothing daunted, returned to the charge, which Elliott met with a +blow from the butt-end of his gun, that was instantly struck from his hand by +his formidable antagonist, who immediately closed with him. It now became a +regular stand-up fight between Major Elliott and Ursus Major. For a long time +it was doubtful which would come off victorious. Elliott was severely wounded +about the breast and arms; notwithstanding which, he boldly maintained his +ground, and ultimately succeeded in rolling the beast over the trunk of a large +pine tree which lay on the ground beside them. Bruin was too much exhausted to +climb over the tree, to renew the combat. +</p> + +<p> +Luckily, Elliott received no internal injury, though his flesh was severely +lacerated in the contest, which only ended with the bear’s life. Ireland, +indeed, never sent from her shores a bolder hunter, braver man, or more active +backwoodsman, than Major Elliott.<a href="#fn-10.1" name="fnref-10.1" id="fnref-10.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-10.1" id="fn-10.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-10.1">[1]</a> +This gentleman was afterwards returned as Member of the Provincial Parliament +for the county of Durham. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +CANADA THE POOR MAN’S COUNTRY.—DISADVANTAGES OF +INEXPERIENCE.—TOWNSHIP OF HARVEY SETTLEMENT.—PAUPER +EMIGRATION.—SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES OF THE LABOURER +COLONIST.—TEMPERANCE AND TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.—A DRY ANSWER TO +WATERY ARGUMENTS.—BRITISH AND FOREIGN TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. +</p> + +<p> +There is no colony belonging to the British Crown better adapted for the poor +industrious emigrant than the Canadas, particularly the Upper Province, which +is essentially the poor man’s country. Twenty-five years ago, the expense +of the voyage out to Quebec, and the difficulty, delay, and additional outlay +of the inland journey put it completely out of the power of the needy +agriculturist or artizan to emigrate; the very classes, however, who, from +their having been brought up from their infancy to hard labour, and used to all +sorts of privations, were the best fitted to cope with the dangers and +hardships attending the settlement of a new country. The impossibility of the +working hand raising funds for emigration, confined the colonists to a set of +men less calculated to contend with difficulties—namely, half-pay +officers and gentlemen of better family than income, who were almost invariably +the pioneers of every new settlement. +</p> + +<p> +Many high-spirited gentlemen were, doubtless, tempted by the grants of land +bestowed upon them by the Government, which made actual settlement one of the +conditions of the grant. It followed, as a matter of course, that the majority +of these persons were physically disqualified for such an undertaking, a fact +which many deserted farms in the rear townships of the county in which I reside +painfully indicate. +</p> + +<p> +Eighteen or twenty years ago a number of gentlemen located themselves in the +township of Harvey. The spot chosen by them was one of great natural beauty; +but it possessed no other advantages, except an abundance of game, which was no +small inducement to them. They spent several thousand pounds in building fancy +log-houses and making large clearings which they had neither the ability nor +industry to cultivate. But, even if they had possessed sufficient perseverance, +their great distance from a market, bad roads, want of knowledge in cropping +after they had cleared the land, lack of bridges, and poor soil, would have +been a great drawback to the chance of effecting a prosperous settlement. In a +few years not a settler remained of this little colony. Some stayed till their +means were thoroughly exhausted; others, more wise, purchased ready-cleared +farms in the settlements or followed some profession more congenial to their +taste, or more suited to their abilities. +</p> + +<p> +The only persons fit to undertake the hardships of a bush-life, are those who +have obtained a certain degree of experience in their own country upon the +paternal estate or farm. Men who have large families to provide for, and who +have been successful in wood-clearing, are generally willing to sell their +improvements, and purchase wild land for their families, whose united industry +soon places them in a better farm than they owned before. They are thus +rendered greater capitalists, with increased means of providing for their +children, who soon take up their standing in society as its favoured class. +Indeed, I would strongly advise gentlemen of small capital to purchase +ready-cleared farms, which can be obtained in most parts of the country, with +almost every convenience, for half what the clearing of bush-land would cost, +especially by an inexperienced settler. In fact, since grants of land are no +longer given to the emigrant, there is less inducement to go so far back into +the woods. +</p> + +<p> +Since 1826, a steady influx of the working classes from Great Britain and +Ireland has taken place. This has tended much to the prosperity of the country, +by cheapening labour, and the settlement of vast tracts of wild land. +</p> + +<p> +Several experiments have been made by Government in sending out pauper +emigration: that from the south of Ireland, under the superintendance of the +late Hon. Peter Robinson in 1824, was the most extensive, and came more +immediately under my own observation. I have understood that some most +obnoxious and dangerous characters were shipped off in this expedition—no +doubt to the great comfort of landlords, agents, and tithe-proctors. +</p> + +<p> +The Government behaved very liberally to these settlers. A grant of a hundred +acres of good land was given to each head of a family, and to every son above +twenty-one years of age. +</p> + +<p> +A good milch cow, and rations of pork and flour were assigned to each emigrant +family. These provisions they continued to receive for upwards of eighteen +months, besides a variety of stores, such as axes, hammers, saws, nails, +grindstones, &c. A good log-shanty was also built on each settler’s +lot. These people have done as well as could be expected, considering the +material of which they were composed. It has been observed that, whenever these +people were located amongst the Protestant population, they made much better +settlers than when remaining with Catholics. +</p> + +<p> +In fact, a great improvement is perceptible in the morality, industry and +education of the rising generation, who grow up more virtuous and less bigoted +to their exclusive religious opinions. +</p> + +<p> +As a general rule, the English, Scotch, and north of Ireland men make much +better and more independent colonists than emigrants from the south of Ireland. +</p> + +<p> +Seven years after the location of Robinson’s emigrants, a colony of +Wiltshire people settled in the township of Dummer under many more +disadvantages than those placed by Government in the township of Douro. +</p> + +<p> +The Dummer people had no shanties built for them, no cows, and were given much +worse land; and yet they have done much more in a shorter time. An air of +comfort and cleanliness pervades their dwellings, and there is a neatness about +their farms and homesteads which is generally wanted in the former. +</p> + +<p> +It must, however, be borne in mind that paupers sent out by the Government, or +by their own parishes, are not a fair specimen by which to judge the working +classes, who emigrated at their own expenses. Of the latter, I know hundreds +who, upon their arrival in the Upper Province, had spent their last shilling, +and who, by persevering industry, are now worth hundreds of pounds. No person +need starve in Canada, where there is plenty of work and good wages for every +man who is willing to labour, and who keeps himself sober. The working man with +a family of grown children, when fairly established on his farm, is fully on a +par, as regards his prospects, with the gentleman, the owner of a similar farm, +and possessing an income of 100 pounds per annum. The reason is obvious. The +gentleman and his family have been used to wear finer clothes, keep better +company, and maintain a more respectable appearance, and if he has children, to +give them a more expensive education. +</p> + +<p> +Then, again, the gentleman and his family are physically less qualified to +undergo the hardships and toil of a practical farmer’s life. On the other +hand, the working man thinks it no degradation to send his sons and daughters +out to service, and the united product of their wages amount, probably to eight +or ten pounds per month. He is contented with home-spun cloth, while the +spinning and knitting—and sometimes weaving—required by the family, +are done at home. Labour, indeed, is money; and hence in a few years the +gentleman with his income is soon distanced, and the working hand becomes the +man of wealth, while his children eventually form a part of the aristocracy of +the country, if the father gives them a suitable education. +</p> + +<p> +There is one thing, however, to be said in favour of the +gentleman—namely, his education, which fits him for offices and +professions which must remain for ever out of the reach of the half-ignorant. +It is, therefore, only in agricultural pursuits, and mechanical operations, +that the working man is able to obtain a superiority; and then only if he be +sober and industrious, for whiskey has been the great bane of the colony. +Hundreds of our cleverest mechanics, and many of gentler blood, have fallen +victims to its influence. +</p> + +<p> +It is said that temperance societies have done a great deal towards checking +this evil, and that the new society, the “Sons of Temperance,” will +complete what the others began. I am quite willing to admit it as a fact, +because I believe that the practice of temperance has gained ground, both in +Canada and the United States. But I am unwilling to allow that the means taken +to effect that much-desired object are the best that might be adopted. Indeed, +I think, in some instances, the endeavour to prohibit the use of fermented +drink altogether, has been carried to unchristian lengths. +</p> + +<p> +I believe that, if the same amount of money had been expended in propagating +the gospel, as has been laid out by these total abstinence societies, more real +converts to temperance would have been gained, because principle and true +religion would have been the bases on which the reformation was founded. +</p> + +<p> +Throughout the whole Bible and Testament, there is not a single command to +abstain totally from either wine or strong drink; but there is a positive one +respecting the abuse, and dreadful denunciations against the drunkard. Then in +respect to the prohibition, the false prophet has, in the Koran, forbidden his +followers to use wine at all. Now, which do we profess to follow,—the +precepts of Jesus Christ, or those of Mahomet? But some will say, if your +brother offends by his intemperate habits, you should abstain altogether, that +you may become a good example to him. By the same rule, if my brother is a +glutton, I should abstain from food also. Now, I believe with the Apostle, +“that all the creatures of God are good,” and lawful for us to use; +but we are not to abuse them, “but to be temperate in all things,” +thus acting up to the rule of scripture, and setting a better example than if +we wholly abstained from fermented drink. Any other rule, excepting in cases of +notorious drunkenness, is, in my opinion, anti-scriptural, and therefore wrong. +</p> + +<p> +The new American society, “The Sons of Temperance,” which now takes +the lead of all other temperance or tee-total societies, is a secret and +benefit society, having its signs and pass-words. In the hands of clever +leaders and designing men, may not a society of this kind become a great +political engine? +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes very ludicrous scenes occur at temperance meetings. A few years ago, +when this question was first agitated in Canada, a meeting was held in a +school-house on the English line, in the township of Dummer. The lecturer, on +that occasion, was an itinerant preacher of the Methodist persuasion. After +descanting some time in a very fluent manner, on the evils arising from +intemperance, and the great numbers who had lost their lives by violent means, +“for my part,” said the lecturer, “I have known nearly three +hundred cases of this kind myself.” +</p> + +<p> +This broad assertion was too much for one of the audience, an old Wiltshire +man, who exclaimed, in his peculiar dialect, “Now, I know that ’ere +be a lie. Can you swear that you did ever see three out of them three hundred +violent deaths you speak on?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I have heard and read of them in books and newspapers; and I once +saw a man lying dead on the road, and a jar, half full of whiskey, beside him, +which, I think, you will allow is proof enough.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought your three hundred cases would turn out like the boy’s +cats in his grandmother’s garden. Now, I will tell thee, that I did know +three men that did kill themselves by drinking of cold water. There was John +H——, that over-heated hisself, walking from Cobourg, and drank so +much water at the cold springs, that he fell down and died in a few minutes. +Then there was that workman of Elliott’s, in Smith, who dropped in the +harvest-field, from the same cause; and the Irishman from Asphodel, whose name +I forget. So, you see, that more people do die from drinking cold water than +whiskey.” Then he turned round to a neighbour, who, like himself, was not +over-fond of cold water, and said, “I say, Jerome, which would you rather +have, a glass of cold water, or a drap of good beer?” +</p> + +<p> +“I know which I would take,” exclaimed Jerome; “I would like +a drap of good beer best, I do know.” +</p> + +<p> +This dialogue raised such a laugh against the apostle of temperance, that the +meeting was fairly broken up, leaving the Wiltshire man triumphing in his +victory over cold water and oratory, in the person of the lecturer. The dryness +of his arguments prevailed against the refreshing and copious draughts of the +pure element recommended by his discomfited opponent. +</p> + +<p> +A good joke is not, however, a good argument, though it stood for one at this +meeting. Total abstinence is the best plan to be adopted by habitual drunkards, +who, if they can get at strong drink at all, seldom keep their pledge of +sobriety. The British and Foreign Temperance Society, in fact, advises the +habitually intemperate to abstain altogether, while, at the same time, it aims +at bringing the man to repentance and reformation, by the renovating influence +of the gospel. If I differ in some respects from that society, in its +prohibition against the use of spirits altogether, in such a climate as Canada, +I still must consider its views far more liberal, and more consistent with +scripture rules, than that of any other for the promotion of temperance, as, +indeed, possessing more of that charity, without which even the most fervent +zeal is worse than useless. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +WANT OF HOME-PASTURAGE IN CANADA.—DANGER OF BEING LOST IN THE +WOODS.—PLAIN DIRECTIONS TO THE TRAVELLER IN THE BUSH.—STORY OF A +SETTLER FROM EMILY.—AN OLD WOMAN’S RAMBLE IN THE +WOODS.—ADVENTURE OF A TRAPPER.—FORTUNATE MEETING WITH HIS PARTNER. +</p> + +<p> +One of the greatest inconveniences belonging to a new settlement, for the first +four or five years, is the want of pasturage for your working cattle and cows. +Consequently, the farmer has to depend entirely on the Bush for their support, +for at least seven months out of the twelve. The inconvenience does not arise +from any want of food; for the woods, beaver meadows, and the margins of lakes +and streams yield an abundance, and the cattle, towards the fall of the year, +are sure to grow fat. But it is the trouble of seeking for your cattle. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes, indeed, in the midst of your greatest hurry, your oxen are nowhere +to be found. I have myself often spent two or three days in succession, +searching the woods in vain; and it not unfrequently happens that, while +looking for the strayed beasts, you lose yourself in the woods. +</p> + +<p> +As we generally carry a gun with us in these excursions, we often fall in with +deer or partridges, which makes the way not only seem less fatiguing, but even +pleasant, unless during the season of musquitoes and black flies, when rambling +through the Bush is no pleasure to any one. +</p> + +<p> +New-comers are very apt to lose themselves at first, until they get acquainted +with the creeks and ridges; and even then, on a dark day or during a +snow-storm, they are very likely to go astray. If you have no compass with you, +and the sun is obscured, the best way of extricating yourself is, to observe +the moss on the trees, which—not every one knows—grows more +luxuriantly and in greater quantities on the north side of the tree. It is of +little use to look at any tree separately: this will perhaps only mislead you; +but if you observe the general aspect of the woods around, the indications may +be of great service to you. Towards the north, the trunks of the trees will +appear light and cheerful, while the south side will look dark and spotted. +This plan, however, will only answer amongst hard woods.<a href="#fn-12.1" name="fnref-12.1" id="fnref-12.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +The ridges mostly run north-east and south-west, and the swamps parallel with +them. Then, again, in pine woods the general inclination of the timber is from +the north-west. All these indications have been successfully followed, and +should be borne in mind. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.1" id="fn-12.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.1">[1]</a> +Deciduous trees are called hard-wood. +</p> + +<p> +People who lose themselves in the Bush seldom persevere long enough in any one +direction. They fancy they are going wrong, and keep changing their course; +till probably, after four or five hours’ walking, they find themselves +near the spot from whence they started. This has occurred to me more than once, +and I shall relate a melancholy incident which happened only a few years ago, +and which proves what I have just stated. +</p> + +<p> +The person to whom I allude, resided in the township of Emily, and had been all +the summer working at his trade in the village of Bowmanville, to earn money +sufficient to pay for his land, which he had succeeded by the fall in doing. As +the cold weather had set in, he determined to return home, and chop all the +winter on his farm. He knew that by crossing the township of Darlington and +Manvers in an oblique direction, twenty-five or six miles in length, he could +reach his own house in half the time, the distance by the road being more than +double that by which he proposed to travel. He therefore determined to try the +short way, although he was well aware that the last eight or ten miles of his +road was through the Bush, with not even a blazed line to guide him. He was, +however, young and active, and moreover considered himself a good backwoodsman. +He started one fine frosty morning early in December, expecting he should be +able to reach his own house sometime before sundown. +</p> + +<p> +For the first ten or twelve miles he got on pretty well, as he had a +sleigh-track to follow, and as long as the sun shone out he made a good course. +Unfortunately for him, a snow-storm came on and obscured his only guide. He, +however, struggled on manfully through cedar-swamps and over ridges, with the +snow half-way up to his knees, till the approach of darkness compelled him to +look out for some place to shelter him from the storm, where he might best pass +the weary hours of the coming night. +</p> + +<p> +He selected a dry spot beneath some spreading cedars, and busied himself as +long as daylight lasted in collecting as much fire-wood as would last till the +morning. He then gathered a quantity of hemlock-brush for his bed, and by +breaking off some large limbs from the surrounding evergreens, succeeded at +last in forming a temporary shelter. For a long time he despaired of getting a +fire, till he at length found some dry cedar-bark, which he finally succeeded +in igniting with a piece of punk,<a href="#fn-12.2" name="fnref-12.2" id="fnref-12.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +which every backwoodsman carries with him for that purpose. Though the poor +fellow had only taken with him provisions for a day’s journey, he made a +hearty supper, merely reserving a portion for his breakfast, not suspecting +that he should fail in reaching his destination. He fully expected he should +see the sun in the morning, which would enable him to correct this course; for +he knew that he was in the township of Manvers, and not more than seven or +eight miles from his own home. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.2" id="fn-12.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.2">[2]</a> +A substance obtained from the sugar-maple, similar to German tinder. +</p> + +<p> +Wearied with his day’s journey, he slept the greater part of the night, +although awakened occasionally by the cold. At such times he would heap fresh +fuel on the fire, and again compose himself to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +To his infinite joy the morning beamed brightly—the sun shone out. With a +light heart and renewed confidence he again shaped his course eastward, +following the direction in which his house lay; and there is no doubt, had the +day remained clear, he would in a few hours have extricated himself from the +dilemma into which he had fallen. His disappointment was great when he again +beheld the sky overcast, and the snow falling thickly around him. He pushed on, +however, bravely, till at length a thick cedar-swamp lay before him. For some +time he travelled along its edge, in the hope of finding a narrow spot to +cross, but in this he was disappointed, so he determined to attempt the +passage. He fully believed, once on the other side, he should know the face of +the country, from his having so often hunted game, or searched for his cattle +in that direction. +</p> + +<p> +For fully an hour he pressed on through a complete thicket of cedar; but it was +all random work, for the evergreens were so loaded with snow, that it was quite +impossible to go one hundred yards in a straight course. At last he saw the +tops of hard-wood trees before him, which again revived his sinking spirits, +for he thought he had crossed the swamp. Alas, poor fellow! he was mistaken. He +had come out on the very side by which he had entered it, but of this he was +not aware at the time. He, however, wondered that he did not recognize any part +of the ground he was travelling over. +</p> + +<p> +At length, to his great joy, he came upon the fresh track of a man, which he +had no doubt belonged to some person, who was then out from the settlement, +still hunting;<a href="#fn-12.3" name="fnref-12.3" id="fnref-12.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +for he knew that Manvers was the most celebrated township for deer in the +Newcastle District. As he observed that the footprints were going in a contrary +direction to what he was, this circumstance gave him increased confidence. Two +or three times, however, he thought some of the small swamps and ridges looked +vastly like what he had traversed in the early part of the day. At last, about +an hour before dark, he saw a thin wreath of blue smoke in a thicket before +him. Judge of his disappointment and dismay, when, on his nearer approach, he +found he had actually followed his own track, which had brought him back to the +spot where he had passed the night. To describe his feelings on this occasion +would be difficult and painful. He thought of his wife and his young children, +who were hourly expecting his return, and who had, no doubt, prepared some +little treat to welcome the wanderer home. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.3" id="fn-12.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.3">[3]</a> +Canadian term for deer-stalking. +</p> + +<p> +Bitter were his reflections during the waking hours of that long night! Hungry, +tired, and unrefreshed, the morning’s light saw him struggling through +the snow, but whither he knew not; for though it had ceased snowing, the sky +was still overcast, and continued so till the middle of the afternoon, when the +wind suddenly veered round to the north-west, attended with intense cold. He +now renewed every effort; for once or twice he thought he heard the sounds of +civilized life—the distant supper-horn or cattle-bell—but the +fierce howling of the wind, which blew half a gale, rendered his hearing +indistinct. +</p> + +<p> +As long as daylight lasted he dragged on his wearied limbs, till utter +exhaustion and coming darkness rendered his further progress impossible. To add +to his misfortune, on attempting to kindle a fire, he found that his punk was +damp, from the snow having come in contact with it when pressing his way +through the swamp. He now gave himself up for lost, for the night was extremely +cold, and he had neither fire to warm him, nor roof to shelter his head. To +sleep thus he knew was certain death. He therefore paced up and down as long as +he was able to stand, but his boots were frozen stiff, and his feet numb with +the cold. After great difficulty he managed to pull off his boots, and having +wrapped up his feet in his woollen cap, he lay down on the path he bad beaten +in the snow, for he could no longer resist the inclination to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +While in the act of lying down, he distinctly heard a cock crow at no great +distance. By a great effort he roused himself, and called as loudly as he was +able. Once he thought he heard an answer to his cry—again the horn seemed +to ring in his ears,—and then all was blank. +</p> + +<p> +At daylight he was found by some of his own neighbours; one of whom was up +early in the morning feeding his oxen, preparatory to a journey to the front, +when he heard the shouts, which sounded to him like those of some person in +distress. He immediately blew his dinner horn, that the sound might guide the +lost person, and having collected three or four of his neighbours, they started +into the woods in the direction from whence the shouts of the lost man had +proceeded. Half a mile from the clearing, they came across his track, which +they only followed for a few yards, when to their surprise they found their +poor neighbour, whom at first they concluded to be dead. It was some time +indeed before they could wake him, so overpowered was he with fatigue and the +death-like sleep he had fallen into. +</p> + +<p> +His friends lost no time in carrying him home; but unfortunately they placed +him near a large fire, instead of rubbing his hands and feet with snow. The too +sudden reaction of the blood caused him the most excruciating agony, for both +his hands and feet were badly frozen. At length Dr. Hutchinson<a href="#fn-12.4" name="fnref-12.4" id="fnref-12.4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +was sent for from Peterborough, who found mortification had commenced, and that +there was no chance of the poor fellow’s recovery which proved too true, +for he expired the next day, a week from the morning he was found. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.4" id="fn-12.4"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.4">[4]</a> +Dr. Hutchinson, is a medical practitioner of great note, and one of the +first settlers and oldest magistrates in that section of the country. I had the +particulars of this story from him; though, as it was some years ago, I may +have made some mistake as to the exact locality. +</p> + +<p> +He, however, died in the arms of his afflicted wife, and was surrounded by his +family, a privilege purchased at the expense of severe pain, but still one to +the husband and father—even though he had been snatched from his pangless +death-sleep to possess it, poor fellow! +</p> + +<p> +The mischances consequent upon being lost in the woods, which were so frequent +in the early settlement of Western Canada, are of rare occurrence now. Since, +roads have been cut, and the clearings have brought the Bush-settlers nearer +together. In my young time I have often searched for missing persons, and +indeed have sometimes been lost myself. +</p> + +<p> +I remember, the first summer I passed in Canada, making one of a party, who +were for eight days looking for an old woman nearly eighty years of age, and +her little grandson, who were lost in the Bush. +</p> + +<p> +The old lady was going by a foot-path across a piece of woodland between her +son-in-law’s house and a neighbour’s, which, by-the-by, were almost +within sight of each other. The little boy, it seems, ran a short distance off +the path to gather some wild-flowers, and was followed by his grandmother, who, +either from her defectiveness of sight, or, more probably, from having crossed +without perceiving it, was, unable to regain the track. Her friends finding +that she did not return, went over to their neighbour’s house to see if +she was there; but they only learned that neither she nor her grandson had +found their way thither. Search was instantly made till night came on, but +without success. +</p> + +<p> +The next day, all their friends and neighbours turned out, myself among the +number, to search for the unfortunate woman and the boy. We concluded, from her +advanced age and the tender years of the child, that they could not be very far +off; consequently we confined our search for several days within a radius of +two or three miles. +</p> + +<p> +On the fifth day, tracks were discovered near the edge of a small creek, which +from being the prints of a small and large foot, left no doubt as to whom they +belonged. Strange as it may appear, this was the only sure indication of the +lost ones that we had yet seen. No further trail was seen till the evening of +the seventh day, when fresh signs were found. Our party therefore determined to +camp out all night, and follow these new indications early in the morning, +which object they succeeded in effecting. The lost ones were then found, and +both were discovered alive. +</p> + +<p> +The old woman had suffered the most; but the two had sustained themselves by +eating roots and beech-mast: the little boy was quite frightened when he saw +the men coming, and hid himself; such were the consequences of solitude and +privation on his mind. +</p> + +<p> +The place where they were found was in the township of Beach, at least fourteen +miles due east from the place where they were lost; and it is more than +probable, in their wanderings, that they had more than doubled that +distance—a most extraordinary circumstance, when the ages of the parties +are considered. +</p> + +<p> +About three years since, two young men, with whom I was well acquainted, went +back into the uninhabited township of Methuen, to trap for fur, and hunt deer. +They set a line of marten-traps,<a href="#fn-12.5" name="fnref-12.5" id="fnref-12.5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> +extending upwards of three miles. One or other of them used to go every +alternate morning, to examine these traps—to re-set any that were sprung; +and bring back to their camp any furry animal that might chance to be captured. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.5" id="fn-12.5"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.5">[5]</a> +The method pursued by the trappers and Indians is to blaze a line through +the bush for several miles. Along this line is set, at intervals of one or two +hundred yards, a kind of trap, called a dead fall, which is constructed +thus:—Two rows of short sticks are driven into the ground about one foot +apart, open only at one end, the top being covered with brush-wood at the +entrance. A piece of wood two or three feet long is bedded into the ground, or +snow, as the case may be. The falling pole is supported immediately over this +by three pieces of stick notched together in the form of a figure of four. The +centre-piece is made long and sharp at the point, to which the bait is +attached, and projects well into the miniature house. The marten or fisher, +allured by the bait, reaches in to snatch it, which springs the trap, and +causes the pole to fall across the neck of the animal, which is instantly +killed by the blow. +</p> + +<p> +One morning, the less-experienced trapper of the two, this being his first +season, went along the line to look at the traps, as usual. He had his gun with +him, but only two or three charges of powder. After proceeding to the extreme +end of the line, he thought he would go on and look for some partridges, which +he heard “drumming”<a href="#fn-12.6" name="fnref-12.6" id="fnref-12.6"><sup>[6]</sup></a> +some little distance a-head. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-12.6" id="fn-12.6"></a> <a href="#fnref-12.6">[6]</a> +This sound is made by the Canadian partridge (a species of the grouse) +during its season of courtship. The cock-bird perches himself on the top of a +large hollow log, or fallen tree, and with his wings produces a vibratory +sound, like the distant roll of a drum, which, in still weather, can easily be +heard at the distance of a mile in the woods. +</p> + +<p> +In the pursuit of his game, he was induced to go further than he had at first +intended. He never doubted that he should easily find his way back to the line. +In this, however, he was woefully deceived, for the day was cloudy, and the +face of the country was very rough. It formed, indeed, a part of the great +granite range, which is said to cross the St. Lawrence, at the Lake of the +Thousand Islands, traversing the rear of the Midland District and the counties +of Hastings and Peterborough, through the unsurveyed lands north of Lake +Simcoe, to the shores of Lake Huron. This granite formation is supposed to have +an average breadth of ten or twelve miles, being intersected with small lakes, +deep ravines and precipitous rocks. The woods of this region being composed +principally of pine, hemlock, and cedar, are of a peculiarly gloomy character. +In such a difficult country as this, it was no wonder that our inexperienced +trapper went astray. +</p> + +<p> +After an hour’s fruitless search for the line, he came to the conclusion +that he was lost, and that his only chance was to fire off his gun, in the hope +that his companion would hear and return it. As no answering sound greeted his +ear, he durst not fire his only remaining charge of powder, for it was all he +had to defend himself from wolves, or to obtain some animal or bird whereupon +to sustain his life. +</p> + +<p> +For four days and three nights did this poor fellow wander through these rugged +wilds. On the afternoon of the fourth day he came upon a ridge of land, which +appeared better timbered and more open; so he determined to follow this route, +expecting it might lead him to the lakeshore, where his camp was situated. +</p> + +<p> +He had not walked a hundred yards in this new direction, when to his surprise +he saw quite a fresh blaze on a tree, and within a fear yards of the spot on +which he stood, a newly constructed marten-trap. Words cannot express the joy +he felt at this discovery; it was his own line he had so fortunately come upon. +Had he only gone the smallest distance to his left, he would have missed it +altogether; but he came, providentially, upon the very spot where he had set +his last trap, and within a few feet of the place he had left four days before. +</p> + +<p> +On his way to the camp, a sudden fear came over him! Had his companion left it, +supposing him to be irrecoverably lost? If so, what was to become of him on the +north shore of Stony Lake, without a canoe to cross over to the settlement, +food, or ammunition to procure any for his support. His fears were, however, +groundless, as the report of a gun, and soon after the appearance of his +companion convinced him; but the danger had been great; for, from the statement +of his fellow-trapper, he found that the latter was then on his way to the end +of the line, hoping that he might see or hear something of him before he broke +up their camp, which he intended to have done in the morning, if he had not +unexpectedly fallen in with his friend. Thus had Providence again interposed in +his behalf, and a few days of rest restored him to his wonted health, spirits, +and activity. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +DIRECTIONS FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALITY OF LAND IN THE BUSH.—SITE OF +LOG-SHANTY.—CHOPPING.—PREPARATION FOR SPRING-CROPS.—METHOD OF +PLANTING INDIAN CORN.—PUMPKINS AND POTATOES.—MAKING POT-ASH. +</p> + +<p> +I shall now endeavour to give the emigrant some information to guide him in the +selection of his land, and other matters connected with a settlement in the +bush. In the first place, the quality of the land is the greatest +consideration, and to make a good choice requires a practical knowledge as to +the nature of the soils, and the different kinds of timber growing thereon. +</p> + +<p> +The best land is timbered with oak, ash, elm, beech, bass-wood, and sugar +maple. A fair mixture of this species of trees is best, with here and there a +large pine, and a few Canadian balsams scattered among the hard-wood. Too great +a proportion of beech indicates sand or light loam: a preponderance of rock elm +is a sign of gravel or limestone-rock near the surface. +</p> + +<p> +The timber should be lofty, clean in the bark and straight in the grain, and of +quick growth. The woods should be open, free from evergreens, and with little +under-brush. Generally speaking, the soil is of excellent quality, when +timbered in the manner described. +</p> + +<p> +It however, often happens, that the best land is full of boulders, which are +both troublesome and expensive to remove. Two-thirds of these stones are not +visible above the surface, and the remainder are so covered with moss and +leaves, that they require a practised eye to detect them. I have no objection +to a small quantity of stones, as they are useful to construct French drains, +or to roll into the bottoms of the rail-fences. +</p> + +<p> +When limestone-flag is near the surface, the stems of the trees will be +shorter, their heads more bushy, and the roots spreading along the top of the +ground. Such land is apt to burn in hot weather, and soon becomes exhausted. +White pine, or hemlock ridges, are almost always sandy, and good for +little—except the timber, which is valuable, if near enough to water. +White-pine, mixed with hard-wood, generally indicates strong clay land, good +for wheat; but the difficulty of clearing off such heavy timber, and the long +time it takes to get rid of the stumps, render such a selection unprofitable, +and add additional toil to the emigrant. +</p> + +<p> +The best land for wheat should be gently undulating soil, rich loam, on a clay +bottom. In the summer months you can judge the quality of the land by the +freshly turned-up roots of trees, which have fallen by the wind. +</p> + +<p> +In winter, when the surface of the ground is covered with snow, and frozen +hard, the growth and quality of the timber, as before described, are your only +mode of judging correctly. +</p> + +<p> +A constant supply of water is absolutely necessary, in a country liable to such +extreme heat in summer. Canada West, abounding, as it does, in small +spring-creeks, rivers, and lakes, is, perhaps, as well watered as any country +in the world; and, in almost every section of the country, even on the highest +ridges, good water can be obtained by digging wells, which seldom require to be +sunk more than twenty feet; and in many townships, not half that depth is +required. +</p> + +<p> +After the emigrant has selected a proper location, his next object is to choose +the best situation to build his shanty, and chop his first fallow. Most +settlers like to commence as near as possible to the concession-line or public +road; but sometimes the vicinity of a stream of water or good spring is +preferred. In fact, circumstances must, in some measure, guide them in their +choice. +</p> + +<p> +The best time of the year to commence operations is early in September. The +weather is then moderately warm and pleasant, and there are no flies in the +Bush to annoy you. +</p> + +<p> +A log shanty, twenty-four feet long by sixteen, is large enough to begin with, +and should be roofed either with shingles or troughs. A small cellar should be +dug near the fire-place, commodious enough to hold twenty or thirty bushels of +potatoes, a barrel or two of pork, &c. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as your shanty is completed, measure off as many acres as you intend to +chop during the winter, and mark the boundaries by blazing the trees on each +side. +</p> + +<p> +The next operation is to cut down all the small trees and brush—this is +called under-brushing. The rule is to cut everything close to the ground from +the diameter of six inches downwards. +</p> + +<p> +There are two modes of piling, either in heaps or in wind-rows. If your fallow +is full of evergreens, such as hemlock, pine, balsam, cedar, and such +description of timber, then I should say wind-rows are the best; but when the +timber is deciduous, heaps are better. +</p> + +<p> +The brush should be carefully piled and laid all one way, by which means it +packs closer and burns better. The regular price for underbrushing hard-wood +land, and cutting up-all the old fallen timber—which is always considered +a part of the underbrushing—is one dollar per acre, and board. Rough land +and swamp vary from seven shillings and sixpence to ten shillings. Your +under-brush should be all cut and piled by the end of November, before the snow +falls to the depth of four inches, for after that it would be both difficult +and tedious. +</p> + +<p> +The chopping now begins, and may be followed without any interruption until the +season for sugar-making commences. The heads of the trees should be thrown upon +the heaps or wind-rows. A skilful chopper will scarcely ever miss a heap when +felling the timber, besides it saves a great deal of labour in piling the +limbs. +</p> + +<p> +The trunks of the trees must be cut into lengths, from fourteen to sixteen +feet, according to the size of the timber. Now and then a large maple or beech, +when felled, may be left without cutting up, with the exception of the top, +which is called a plan-heap, and is left to log against: this is only done when +the tree is too large to be cut through easily with the axe. +</p> + +<p> +All timber fit for making rails should be left in double and treble lengths, as +it is less likely to burn. +</p> + +<p> +A good axe-man should be able, with fair chopping, to cut an acre in eight days +after the under-brushing is done. The regular price of chopping is five dollars +per acre, with board, or six without. +</p> + +<p> +The emigrant should endeavour to get as much chopping done as possible during +the first three years, because after that time he has so many other things to +attend to, such as increase of stock, barn and house-building, thrashing, +ploughing, &c., which, of course, give him every year less time for +chopping, particularly if his family be small, in which case fifty or sixty +acres are enough to clear at first, till his boys are old enough to give him +assistance. +</p> + +<p> +Clearing up too large a farm, when labour is so high, is not wise, for it will +not answer to disburse much for hire, at the present prices. If, therefore, you +are not able to cultivate what you have cleared properly, it will grow up again +with raspberries, blackberries, small trees, and brush, and be nearly as bad to +clear as it was at first. +</p> + +<p> +The size of the farm must, however, depend on the resources of the emigrant, +the strength and number of his family, and the quantity of acres he may +possess. +</p> + +<p> +In the month of May the settler should spring-burn three or four acres, and log +them up for his spring-crops, such as potatoes and Indian-corn. The Indian-corn +should be planted with the hoe in rows, three feet apart and thirty inches in +the row. A pumpkin-seed or two should be sown in every second or third hole in +each third row. The corn must be earthed or hilled up by drawing the mould +close round the roots, and five or six inches up the stalks, which should be +done when the plants are fifteen or sixteen inches high. No further cultivation +is necessary until the time of cutting, except breaking off some shoots from +the roots, if too many are thrown out. +</p> + +<p> +Potatoes on the new land are also planted with the hoe, and in hills of about +five thousand to the acre. A hole is scraped with the hoe, in which four or +five sets, or a whole potato is dropped. The earth is then heaped over them in +the form of a mole-hill, but somewhat larger. After the plants have appeared +above the surface, a little more mould is drawn around them. Very large crops +of potatoes are raised in this manner. Two hundred and fifty bushels per acre +are no uncommon crop. I have assisted in raising double that quantity; but of +late years, since the disease has been prevalent, but poor crops have been +realized. +</p> + +<p> +Both white turnips and swedes do well, and grow to a large size, particularly +on new land: the roots must be either pitted or put in a root-house, or cellar, +as the winter is too severe for them to remain unhoused. +</p> + +<p> +The remainder of the fallow should be burnt off and logged up in July, the +rail-cuts split into quarters and drawn off to the site of the fences, ready +for splitting into rails. After the log-heaps are burnt, you should either +spread the ashes or rake them while hot into heaps, if you intend to make +potash,<a href="#fn-13.1" name="fnref-13.1" id="fnref-13.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +with which, by the by, I should advise the new-comer to have nothing to do +until he has made himself thoroughly acquainted with the process. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-13.1" id="fn-13.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-13.1">[1]</a> +This article is very extensively made in nearly all the new settlements, and +may be considered one of the staples of the country. The process is very +simple; but great care must be taken in collecting the ashes clear of sand or +dirt of any description. If your ashes are well saved and from good timber, ten +acres should produce at least five barrels of potash, each barrel containing +five hundred weight. Several things should be considered before the emigrant +attempts the manufacture of this article. Firstly, his land should be well +timbered with oak, elm, maple, and bass-wood. Secondly, it must have a stream +of water, near which he may erect his works. And, lastly, it ought to be within +reach of a market and a remunerating price, which, to pay the manufacturer, +should not be less than twenty-five shillings, Halifax currency, per cwt.<br /> + The best situation to erect an ashery upon, is the side of a bank, beside a +running stream; and if there should be fall enough in the creek to bring a +supply of water over head into the leaches, a great deal of labour will be +saved. An ash-house, six or eight leach-tubs, a pot-ash kettle, and three or +four coolers are all the requisites necessary. Most persons use a small portion +of common salt and lime in the manufacture of pot-ash. After the lye is run off +it is boiled down into black salts, which are melted into pot-ash, cooled off, +and packed into air-tight barrels ready for market. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the settler has cleared up fifteen or twenty acres, his first care +should be to erect a frame or log-barn; I should strongly recommend the former, +if boards can be obtained in the neighbourhood, as it is undoubtedly the best +and cheapest in the long run. If I were commencing life again in the woods, I +would not build anything of logs except a shanty or a pig-sty; for experience +has plainly told me that log buildings are the dirtiest, most inconvenient, and +the dearest when everything is taken into consideration. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the settler is ready to build, let him put up a good frame, +roughcast, or stone-house, if he can possibly raise the means, as stone, +timber, and lime, cost nothing but the labour of collecting and carrying the +materials. When I say that they “cost nothing,” I mean that no cash +is required for these articles, as they can be prepared by the exertion of the +family. +</p> + +<p> +With the addition of from a hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds in money to +the raw material, a good substantial and comfortable dwelling can be completed. +Two or three years should be spent in preparing and collecting materials, so +that your timber may be perfectly seasoned before you commence building. +</p> + +<p> +Apple and plum orchards should be planted as soon as possible, and well fenced +from the cattle and sheep. The best kind of grafted fruit-trees, from three to +seven years old, can be obtained for a shilling a tree; ungrafted, at four +shillings the dozen. +</p> + +<p> +The apple-tree flourishes extremely well in this country, and grows to a large +size. I gathered last year, out of my orchard, several Ribstone Pippins, each +of which weighed more than twelve ounces, and were of a very fine flavour. The +native plums are not very good in their raw state, but they make an excellent +preserve, and good wine. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the particulars mentioned in this chapter have been glanced at in an +earlier portion of the work; but I make no apology for the repetition. My +object is, to offer instruction to the inexperienced settler, and to impress +these important matters more firmly upon his mind and memory, that he may have +his experience at a cheaper rate than if he purchased it at the expense of +wasted time, labour, and capital. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +MY FIRST SHOT AT A BUCK.—HUNTING AND SHOOTING +PARTIES.—DESTRUCTIVENESS OF WOLVES.—LOSS OF MY +FLOCKS.—COWARDICE OF THE WOLF.—THE LADY AND HER PET.—COLONEL +CRAWFORD’S ADVENTURE.—INGENIOUS TRICK OF AN AMERICAN +TRAPPER.—A DISAGREEABLE ADVENTURE.—HOW TO POISON WOLVES.—A +STERN CHASE. +</p> + +<p> +My father-in-law had a large field of fall wheat, upon which, during the night, +the deer were very fond of grazing. Just before dark, the herd used to make +their appearance, and we tried repeatedly to get a shot at them, but in vain. +At the least noise, or if they winded us, up went their tails, and they were +off in an instant. I was determined, however, not to be so continually balked. +I had observed, by the tracks, the direction they took in their way to the +field; so, an hour before their usual time of coming, I sallied out, and +concealed myself in the top of an old fallen tree which lay a few feet from the +ground, and about twenty yards from a path which I suspected had been beaten by +the deer, going backwards and forwards to the field. +</p> + +<p> +The place I had selected to watch for them was an old settlement duty-road, +which had been cut out some years before, but was now partially grown up again +with a second growth of timber and underbrush. Having seated myself very +snugly, I took out of my pocket a volume of Shakespeare to pass away the time. +I had not been half-an-hour so employed, before my attention was suddenly +aroused by hearing a stick break near me, when upon looking up I beheld the +head and horns of a large buck projecting from behind a thicket of trees. He +appeared to be in a listening attitude, so I durst not stir till he should have +lowered his head, as I knew the least movement then would make him start off in +an instant. Luckily, however, the wind was blowing from his direction to mine. +Presently, he walked into the open space; and whilst I was cautiously raising +my gun, he disappeared beneath the brow of a small hill; but almost +immediately, from the inequality of the ground, his head and shoulders again +became visible. On this, I instantly fired. +</p> + +<p> +Astonished and mortified was I, when I saw him scamper off with his tail up, as +if nothing had happened. Still, I was sure I must have hit him, as he was not +forty yards from where I sat, his broadside being towards me. So I followed the +track for about two hundred yards, but without seeing any blood; and was in the +act of turning back, concluding, that as he had hoisted his tail, I had missed +him altogether. Indeed, I had often heard, that if they show the white feather, +as putting up their tail is called by Canadian sportsmen—they are not +hit. This, however, is a mistake; for, in the act of turning round to retrace +my steps, I saw a small drop of blood upon a dry leaf. I now felt quite certain +that I had struck him. On proceeding a few yards further, I saw several large +splashes of blood. There was now no room left for doubt; and, in another minute +I was standing beside the first buck I had ever killed. On opening him, I found +I had put a ball and five buck-shot into him, which had entered just behind the +fore-shoulder; and though two of these shots had lodged in the lungs, he had, +notwithstanding this, continued to run on the full jump, more than two hundred +yards. +</p> + +<p> +Not long after this adventure, my brother-in-law shot a deer through the heart, +which ran full a hundred yards before he dropped. +</p> + +<p> +Two or three years after, in the township of Douro, where I now reside, I was +walking down to the saw-mill about half a mile from my house, with my American +rifle in my hand, when, on coming close to the river, I saw a large buck +swimming down the middle of the stream near the mill-dam. I ran down to the +spot as fast as I could, for I expected he would land on the opposite shore, at +the corner of the dam. The surmise proved to be correct. He was in the act of +climbing up the bank when I fired, and he fell back into the river. Recovering +himself, however, he scrambled out and made off. I crossed the bridge and went +round to the spot where he landed, and followed on the track. +</p> + +<p> +While in chase I was joined by an old hunter, who had been out since day-light, +still-hunting (deer-stalking); so he agreed to go with me and examine the +track, which we followed for about half a mile without seeing any blood. But at +last we came to a place where the buck had stood and pawed up the ground. My +companion, remarking upon the circumstance, said— +</p> + +<p> +“He was quite satisfied the fellow was hit; and you will find,” +added he, “if we get him, that he is hit on the top of the back, and that +is the reason there is no blood to be seen.” +</p> + +<p> +The track led us round nearly in a circle; for we came back to the river within +a few yards of where I had fired at the buck. My companion now suggested that +we should recross the river and follow up the stream on the opposite bank. +“For,” said he, “we shall probably find him on one of the +islands opposite your house.” +</p> + +<p> +Acting on his suggestion, we retraced our steps, and found, as he had +predicted, that the buck, after taking the water, had swum up the river and +taken refuge on the west side of the lower island. We saw him standing near the +edge of the water, partially hidden by the trunk of a fallen pine, when we both +fired our rifles at the same instant. This did not, however, drop him, for he +bounded across the island, and took the opposite channel in gallant style. +</p> + +<p> +As the distance from which we fired was less than a hundred yards, we concluded +that one of us at least had hit him. Reinforced by my old hound Towler, who, +attracted by the firing, had joined us, we recrossed the river, and put the dog +on the track. Towler was in high spirits, and soon made the wood ring with +music pleasant to the hunter’s ear. +</p> + +<p> +We momentarily expected to see our quarry again take the water; but from the +continued howling of the hound in the same spot, I began to think the buck was +standing at bay, which was really the case; for on my near approach he was +busily employed with his head down, keeping off old Towler by making sudden +plunges at him every now and then. The moment he saw me, he made a rush for the +river, but as he passed me on the full bound, I fired at his fore-shoulder; and +though he still continued his course to the river, I knew by the jet of blood +which followed my shot that his fate was sealed. Near the river he made a +sudden turn, striking his head against a hemlock tree, and at the same instant +a shot from my companion stretched him lifeless on the ground. And thus +concluded an exciting chase of more than two hours. +</p> + +<p> +This was the largest buck I ever killed, for he weighed, after he was skinned +and dressed, two hundred and thirty pounds. We found that four out of the five +shots had hit him. The last shot I fired, cut away the small end of his heart, +though he actually managed to run thirty or forty paces afterwards. +</p> + +<p> +Deer-hunting is a very exciting sport; but I prefer still-hunting (or +deer-stalling, as it is called in the Highlands of Scotland) to driving them +into the lakes and rivers with hounds. +</p> + +<p> +The deer are not now nearly so numerous as they formerly were. Civilization has +driven them back into the unsurveyed lands or less populated townships. To give +my readers some idea how plentiful these wild denizens of the forest were, some +years since, I need only mention that a Trapper with whom I was acquainted, and +four of his companions, passed my house on a small raft, on which lay the +carcasses of thirty-two deer—the trophies of a fortnight’s chase +near Stony Lake. The greater number of these were fine bucks. +</p> + +<p> +I once had seventeen deer hanging up in my barn at one time—the produce +of three days’ sport, out of which I had the good fortune to kill seven. +Parties are now made yearly every October to Stony Lake, Deer Bay, or the River +Trent. I do not know anything more pleasant than these excursions, especially +if you have agreeable companions, a warm camp, and plenty to eat and drink. +Indeed, poor hunters must they be who cannot furnish their camp-larder with +wild-ducks and venison. This is one of the great charms of a Canadian life, +particularly to young sportsmen from the mother-country, who require here +neither license nor qualification to enable them to follow their game; but may +rove about in chase of deer, or other game, at will. +</p> + +<p> +The greatest enemy the deer has to contend with is the wolf. In the spring of +the year, when the snow is in the woods, and a crust is formed on the surface, +the deer are unable to travel any distance, the snow not being sufficiently +hard to bear their weight. Consequently, great numbers of them are destroyed by +their more nimble adversaries, who from their lighter make and rounder-shaped +feet, are able to run on the top of the crust, which gives the deer but little +chance of escape. +</p> + +<p> +The wolves commonly hunt in packs, and generally at night. The deer, when +pursued, always make straight for the water, which, if they succeed in reaching +it, saves them for that time. +</p> + +<p> +When the wolves reach the shore and find their prey gone, they utter the most +diabolical yells. One night I was awakened by a pack of these rascals, who were +in chase of a deer. They ran through my wood-yard within sixty feet of the +house in full chorus. I think I never heard in the stillness of the night a +more wild and unearthly din. +</p> + +<p> +For some years, till the country became more settled, I was obliged to shut up +my sheep at night for fear of these prowling wretches. The first flock I ever +had were all killed by these thieves. One night I was awakened by my dog +barking furiously, and from the manner in which he kept rushing against the +door I was sure some wild animals were about the premises. At first I thought +it was useless to get up; for the night was dark, and I knew the sheep were +housed. However, the increased fury of my dog Grouse, who seemed intent on +getting into the house, as if he were frightened, obliged me to dress and turn +out. On my opening the door, Grouse rushed in looking dreadfully scared, so +with a lantern in one hand and a gun in the other, I marched towards the +sheep-pen, the door of which not having been securely fastened by my lad, I +found open, and six sheep out, and for these I now commenced a cautious search. +</p> + +<p> +About twenty yards from the pen, I found one of my best sheep lying on the +grass with his throat cut very scientifically just behind the ear. A few paces +further on, I found another, and so on, till five were forthcoming. The sixth I +did not get till the morning, which was the only one that escaped the teeth of +the marauders. It seems that my appearance with the light drove the wolves from +their prey. +</p> + +<p> +Luckily for me, the weather was cold, my sheep fat, and well-butchered, as far +as bleeding was concerned, so that I was no great loser, except by having a +rather larger supply of mutton at one time than was quite convenient for the +housekeeping department. +</p> + +<p> +About eleven or twelve years since, I lost in one season a flock of sheep by +the wolves. This misfortune occurred, unluckily for me, in the hottest month of +the Canadian year, July. I had not housed my sheep, because I found that, in +very sultry weather, during the fly-season, they would not feed in the +day-time, but would creep under the fences and into the Bush for shade. I, +therefore, thought it best to risk losing some, than to spoil the whole flock; +for I knew the only time they would graze was during the night, or very early +in the morning. Consequently, for three or four years previously, I had allowed +them to run at large during the summer months. +</p> + +<p> +One morning, I observed from the veranda in front of my house, a sheep, which +was standing on the opposite bank of the river. As I knew there was no farm +within two or three miles of the river in that direction, I thought I would go +over in a canoe, and see what brought it there. I had not gone half way to the +river when I discovered the mangled carcass of one of my own sheep, and on +further search found ten more, lying, half-devoured, in different +directions—the murder was now out. The sheep I had seen on the opposite +shore was one of my own, which had taken to the water, and had thus escaped the +fangs of the wolves. I saw two more of my luckless flock on a shoal more than a +mile down the river, which—less fortunate than their companion—had +been swept down by the current and drowned. Exactly a week afterwards, I had a +similar number destroyed by the wolves. As far as I was personally concerned, I +may say that they were a total loss; for the weather was too hot to keep the +meat any length of time, so I gave the greater part of the mutton to my +neighbours. Since that time, I have had better luck, not having lost any part +of my flock, although I have invariably left my sheep abroad during the night. +</p> + +<p> +Notwithstanding his ravenous propensities and cruel disposition, the wolf is a +very cowardly animal in his solitary state. Indeed, it is only when he hunts in +a pack, that he becomes formidable to man. Nature has, in some measure, checked +his evil disposition, by rendering him timid. If he falls into a snare, he +never attempts to get out of the scrape; but crouches in a corner, awaiting his +fate, without the least intention of displaying any pluck to the trapper. +</p> + +<p> +That the cowardice of the wolf is very great, the following anecdote will +sufficiently prove. +</p> + +<p> +My wife’s youngest sister had a pet-sheep that she had brought up from a +lamb, and to which she was much attached. One afternoon she was going down to +the spring for a pitcher of water, when she saw a large dog—as she +thought—worrying her sheep, upon which, being naturally courageous, she +picked up a large stick and struck the beast two or three strokes with all her +strength, thus compelling him to drop her favorite. This, however, he did very +reluctantly, turning his head at the same time, and showing his teeth with a +most diabolical snarl. She saw at once, when he faced her, by his pricked ears, +high cheek-bones, long bushy-tail, and gaunt figure, that her antagonist was a +wolf. Nothing daunted, she again bravely attacked him; for he seemed +determined, in spite of her valiant opposition, to have her pet, which he again +attacked. She boldly beat him off the second time; following him down the +creek, thrashing him and calling for aid with all her might; when, fortunately, +one of her brothers, attracted by her cries, ran down with the dogs and his +gun, but was not in time for a shot; for when the felon wolf saw the +reinforcement, he scampered off with all his speed. +</p> + +<p> +There are few dogs bred in the Canadas fit to cope with the wolf; indeed, they +seem in general to have a great dread of him. +</p> + +<p> +Colonel Crawford, a gentleman with whom I am well-acquainted, for he was many +years one of my nearest and best neighbours, was one day partridge-shooting, +near Buckhorn Mills, in the township of Harvey, when his sporting-dog, which +had been ranging the bush a little in advance, came running towards him, +yelping in a most piteous manner, followed by a large wolf. So intent was the +beast on his prey, that he did not perceive the gallant colonel, who met his +advance with both barrels, which stopped his earthly career, and rescued poor +Carlo from his impending fate. The colonel was very proud of this exploit, both +because he had killed so large an animal with partridge-shot and had saved his +dog at the same time. +</p> + +<p> +According to an act of the Provincial Parliament, six dollars must be paid by +the county treasurer for every wolf-certificate, signed by a magistrate. No +certificate now will be granted, unless the scalp of the animal is produced, +which is then taken possession of by the magistrate. This precaution is +absolutely necessary; for, previously to this arrangement, it was found that +double the number of wolves were killed, or, rather twice the number of scalps +were brought in—one wolf often furnishing two pates—a curious +feature in Natural History. +</p> + +<p> +Many petty frauds of this kind have been brought to light; amongst other cases, +that of a magistrate, not a hundred miles from the county town, who forged +seventeen wolf certificates, and succeeded in getting the money for them; and, +most likely, emboldened by his success, would have continued to drive a +flourishing trade, had not his career been suddenly stopped in the following +manner. +</p> + +<p> +One of the persons, whose name had been made use of in one or more of the +certificates, was congratulated on his recent success. He, however, denied that +he had either shot or trapped a wolf during the last year, and declared, +“that there must certainly be some mistake.” An inquiry was +accordingly made, whereupon the whole nefarious transaction was brought to +light. +</p> + +<p> +Our magistrate was not long in availing himself of the proximity of the United +States; for the next day saw him an inhabitant of the good city of Rochester, +in the State of New York, where, I make no doubt, over gin-cocktail, or +mint-julep, he entertains the free and enlightened citizens with an account of +his adroit manner of “sloping” the British Government. Luckily for +Rochester, there are no wolves in that neighbourhood. +</p> + +<p> +A celebrated wolf-trapper, in the township of Smith, once caught a fine +she-wolf, big with young. Her fore-paw broken below the knee, was the only +injury she had sustained. So he thought, if he could but keep her alive till +after her accouchement, he should be able to demand the bounty for every scalp; +for he considered that as there was no mention made in the act respecting the +size the wolves must be, he might as well have the benefit of that oversight. +He put his scheme, accordingly, into effect, and it proved quite successful. +Her wolfship in a few days was safely delivered of five fine whelps, whose +scalps, with that of their mother, were duly presented to the magistrate. At +first he demurred respecting the certificate, but upon referring to the +statute, he found there was no provision to meet a case of this kind. He, +however, satisfied his moral justice by the reflection, “that if the dam +had remained at large a few days longer, and whelped in the Bush, it would have +amounted to the same thing, and that, perhaps, many sheep had been saved from +the greedy fangs of the growing family, by the ingenious plan of the +trapper.” It was a clever trick, no doubt—a real Yankee shave; but +one for which the sternest moralist can scarcely get up an effective lecture. +</p> + +<p> +The Canadian wolf is not nearly so ferocious as the European animal, nor I +believe quite so large. I have heard of very few well-authenticated accounts of +persons having been destroyed by these creatures, though I must say I should +not like again to be in their vicinity in a dark night, as more than once I +have been. I was returning from Whitby after dark, and had just entered the +woods, through which my path lay for a full mile and a half. The night being +dark, and the road not particularly good, I gave Prince the rein, and allowed +him to choose his own pace. Presently, I thought I heard a pattering on the +leaves, like the tread of animals, at which sound my horse pricked up his ears, +snorted, and shied nearly across the road, so suddenly that I was nearly thrown +out of the saddle. Well for me was it, however, that I kept my seat; for +instantly such an infernal howling was raised all round me as made my heart +leap up to my mouth, and I must candidly own I felt horribly afraid I should +fall into the clutches of devouring wolves. My good steed Prince, I fancy, was +as scared as myself, for he galloped off, followed by the pack, who fairly made +the woods ring with their unearthly yells. They did not chase us far, and +ceased howling, having seemingly lost the scent; but in a few minutes a fresh +burst in the direction of the lake-shore plainly told me they had regained it, +and were on the track of a deer, which most probably had crossed the road at +the time when I first heard their chorus. It is not very easy to describe +one’s feelings on such occasions. +</p> + +<p> +There is something particularly appalling in the full cry of a pack of wolves, +especially when alone in the woods, and at night. I have frequently heard them +at such times, when camped out on hunting expeditions. However, we mustered +strong and were well armed, so we cared little for them or their yells. +</p> + +<p> +The only instance of any one being killed by wolves, to which I can speak with +certainty, occurred a few years back in the township of Douro. A young lad of +the name of M’Ewen was sent by his father to a shoemaker, one George +Disney, for his shoes. The distance was not more than a mile by a path through +the woods, and the boy was well acquainted with the road. It appears, he went +to Disney’s, and waited for his shoes till nearly dark, when he started +for home. But nothing more was ever heard or seen of him till the thaw in the +spring, although diligent search was made at the time. Owing to a snow-storm +which fell the same night, he was lost. It was impossible to follow the +boy’s tracks, and as a pack of wolves had been heard the same night in +the immediate neighbourhood, no doubt was entertained that he had been attacked +and eaten by these ravenous monsters. Some bones and pieces of clothing, +supposed to have belonged to the unfortunate youth, were the only memorials +found of him. +</p> + +<p> +I have heard the old settlers say, that very few instances have occurred like +this in their recollection, though from the many persons lost in the woods and +never again discovered, it is more than probable that some of them, when +weakened by fatigue and hunger and no longer able to defend themselves, may +have fallen victims to their insatiable maws. +</p> + +<p> +Several plans have been devised by the inhabitants for the destruction of these +animals. That most commonly resorted to, and which is considered the least +troublesome and the most efficacious, is poison. The best and surest for that +purpose is strychnine, one grain of which, if genuine, will kill the largest +wolf in Canada. I have used this poison myself, when baiting for foxes. The +properest method in the winter-season, is to take a piece of hog’s-lard, +about the size of a walnut, make a hole in the centre, and insert it carefully +with a quill or the point of a small knife, taking care not to spill any on the +outside, then to fill up the puncture with some fresh lard. +</p> + +<p> +If you have heard, or have reason to know, that wolves are in the vicinity, +your best way is to bait with pieces of carrion of any description. This must +be done at some distance from the clearing, or you will be sure to lose your +own dogs, or kill those of your neighbours, when you come to lay your poison, +which you need not do till you see some of your bait taken, and observe their +fresh tracks. +</p> + +<p> +I know a gentleman who had lost an ox, which he had drawn away some distance +into the Bush. In a few days, finding the wolves had paid their respects to the +carcass, he laid out several poison-balls, and actually killed six of them +before the carcass was eaten. The value of the wolves, including their skins +and the bounty-money, amounted to forty-four dollars, a nice little sum for a +few hours’ trouble, not to speak of the satisfaction of having +contributed to extirpate this devouring crew. I must, however, caution the +uninitiated to be very careful in the use of this deadly poison: indeed it +should only be used by the most experienced trappers, and then at some distance +from the settlement. +</p> + +<p> +The price of the wolf-skin varies from 5 shillings to 7 shillings, 6 pence, +Halifax currency, according to size and quality: they are always in good demand +for sleigh-robes.<a href="#fn-14.1" name="fnref-14.1" id="fnref-14.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +Those made of this species of fur are considered the most elegant and +<i>distingué</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-14.1" id="fn-14.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-14.1">[1]</a> +Sleigh-robes are commonly made of bear or buffalo skins dressed with the +hair on. The most fashionable are racoon or wolf. Several of these skins are +sewn together, with the tails of the animals stitched to the bottom of the +robe. The inside lining is generally scarlet or purple cloth. A well equipped +sleigh should have two robes for each seat, one of which should cover the +cushions, and fall gracefully over the back of the seat, whilst the other is +drawn over the passengers, and wraps them securely from the cold. +</p> + +<p> +A perilous adventure once befel my brother-in-law, James. He was a bold brave +boy, of ten years old at the time, and was on his return home with a pair of +oxen, with which he had been assisting a neighbour residing about six miles +from his father’s house. His road lay by the river shore, which was +dreary enough at the fall of the year and in the evening hour: but the child +was fearless, and saw the deepening shades sink into night without experiencing +anything like apprehension. +</p> + +<p> +He was trudging on steadily, singing cheerfully as he walked, when a sound came +on the night-air that sent a shiver through the young pedestrian’s +frame—the war-cry of the wolves. At first he hoped he was not the object +of pursuit; but the hideous uproar came nearer and nearer, and then he knew +that he must instantly adopt some plan for his escape. +</p> + +<p> +His route lay by the river shore, and he could swim well; but the night was +dark, and he might be hurried into the rapids; and to be dashed to pieces on +the rocks was scarcely less dreadful than to be mangled and devoured by wolves. +In this extremity, the child lifted up his brave young heart to God, and +resolved to use the only chance left him of escape. So he mounted Buck, the +near-ox, making use of his goad, shouting at the same time to the animal, to +excite him to his utmost speed. +</p> + +<p> +In most cases, the horned steed would have flung off his rider, and left him +for wolves’ meat, without hesitation; but Buck set off with the speed of +a race-horse, as if fully aware of his young rider’s peril. Nor was his +companion less tardy. Fast, however, as the trio fled, still faster came upon +them the yelling pack behind; and James could ever hear— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Their long hard gallop which could tire<br /> +The hound’s deep hate and hunter’s fire.” +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately for him, old Buck heard it too, and galloped on and on; but still +the wolves came neater and nearer. James shouted to keep them off; the oxen +almost flying; their chains rattling as they went. This clanking sound, to +which the hateful pack were unaccustomed, made them pause whenever they came +close upon the oxen, whilst the latter redoubled their speed, till at length +these gallant racers left the wolves behind, and finding themselves within a +short distance of home, never stopped till they brought the brave little fellow +safely to his own door. +</p> + +<p> +He had felt afraid but once; and that was when those dismal yells first broke +upon his ear—and <i>never</i> lost his presence of mind. He trusted in +God, and used the means within his reach for his preservation, and arrived safe +at last. +</p> + +<p> +Few boys would have displayed so much sense and spirit—but the boy is +almost always the father of the man; and what James was then, he is now. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +FORMATION OF THE CANADA COMPANY.—INTERVIEW WITH MR. GALT.—HIS +PERSONAL DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTER.—GUELPH.—DR. DUNLOP.—MY +MEDICAL SERVICES AT GUELPH.—DR. DUNLOP AND THE “PAISLEY +BODIES.”—AN ECCENTRIC CHARACTER.—AN UNFORTUNATE WIFE. +</p> + +<p> +I remember on my first visit to the mouth of the river Maitland, now the site +of Goderich, a bridle-path for seventy miles through the trackless forest was +the only available communication between the settlements and Lake Huron. This +was only twenty-four years ago. This vast and fertile tract of more than one +million acres, at that time did not contain a population of three hundred +souls; no teeming fields of golden grain, no manufactories, no mills, no roads; +the rivers were unbridged, and one vast solitude reigned around, unbroken, save +by the whoop of the red-man, or the distant shot of the trapper. +</p> + +<p> +Reverse the picture, and behold what the energies and good management of the +Canada Company have effected. Stage-coaches travel with safety and dispatch +along the same tract where formerly I had the utmost difficulty to make my way +on horseback without the chance of being swept from the saddle by the limbs of +trees and tangled brushwood. A continuous settlement of the finest farms now +skirts both sides of this road, from the southern boundary-line of this +district to Goderich. +</p> + +<p> +Another road equally good, traverses the block from the western boundary. +Thriving villages, saw and grist-mills, manufactories, together with an +abundance of horses, cattle, sheep, grain, and every necessary of life enjoyed +by a population of 26,000 souls, fully prove the success caused by the +persevering industry of the emigrants who were so fortunate as to select this +fruitful and healthy locality for their future homes. +</p> + +<p> +Much of this prosperity is due to the liberality and excellent arrangements of +the Canada Company, who have afforded every facility to their settlers in +regard to the payments for their land: I particularly refer to their system of +leasing, which affords the best chance possible to the poor emigrant. +</p> + +<p> +“This spirited and enterprising” Company’s principal tract of +land lies nearly in a triangular form, commencing in latitude 43 degrees, and +extending about sixty-miles along the coast. In 1824, this incorporated company +contracted with Government for this line of country and some others, as well as +for a portion of the clergy reserves, comprehending in all about two million +acres, payable in fifteen years.<a href="#fn-15.1" name="fnref-15.1" id="fnref-15.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-15.1" id="fn-15.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-15.1">[1]</a> +M’Gregor’s “British America.” +</p> + +<p> +In the spring of 1827, a memorable year for Canada, the Company commenced their +operations at Guelph, under the superintendence of John Galt, Esq. +</p> + +<p> +I had heard a great deal about the fertility of their lands, especially of +those in the Huron tract, containing a million of acres in one block, of which +I shall hereafter speak more particularly.<a href="#fn-15.2" name="fnref-15.2" id="fnref-15.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +As I was enterprising, and fond of an active life, I resolved to go and judge +for myself; and as I heard the superintendent was then at Toronto, I determined +to call upon him there and collect all the information in my power. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-15.2" id="fn-15.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-15.2">[2]</a> +The territory from which the Huron tract has been selected, was explored +previously to the selection being made, and the reports which were received +from the parties employed on that mission were of the most satisfactory nature. +This tract is bounded on the west by Lake Huron, along which it runs for nearly +sixty miles, having within its limits one considerable river, at the mouth of +which is a good harbour; another river, which may probably be rendered +navigable, and numerous creeks and streamlets, many of which are large enough, +and have fall sufficient to drive mills or machinery of any +description.—Mac Taggart’s “Three Years in Canada.” +</p> + +<p> +My first interview with Mr. Galt, the celebrated author of “Laurie +Todd,” took place at the Old Steam-boat Hotel, in February, 1828. He +received me with great kindness, and asked me many particulars of Bush-life, +connected with a first settlement. +</p> + +<p> +I suppose my answers were satisfactory, for he turned towards me abruptly, and +asked me, “If I would like to enter the Canada Company’s Service; +for,” said he, “I want a practical person to take charge of the +out-door department in the absence of Mr. Prior, whom I am about to send to the +Huron tract with a party of men to clear up and lay off the New-town plot of +Goderich. You will have charge of the Company’s stores, keep the +labour-rolls, and superintend the road-making and bridge-building, and indeed +everything connected with the practical part of the settlement.” +</p> + +<p> +This was just the sort of life I wished; so I closed at once with his offer. No +salary was to be named, till I had been three months in the Company’s +employ. Indeed, I left everything to Mr. Galt, who, I felt certain, would +remunerate me according to my deserts. +</p> + +<p> +In person, Mr. Galt was, I should think, considerably above six feet in height, +and rather of a heavy build; his aspect grave and dignified, and his appearance +prepossessing. His disposition was kind and considerate; but at the same time +he commanded respect; and I can say with sincerity, I always found him an +upright and honourable gentleman. +</p> + +<p> +Of Mr. Galt’s fitness for the office of superintendent of the Canada +Company, it would, perhaps, be considered presumptuous in me to give an +opinion. His position was an unfortunate one, and from his first residence in +the country till his resignation, there appears to have been a serious +misunderstanding between him, the Governor, and the Executive-council, in +consequence of which, Galt’s character was misrepresented at home as that +of a meddling politician and troublesome person. Other charges regarding the +wasteful expenditure of money in forming the new settlements were laid before +the Directors, and these repeated complaints against him left him no other +alternative than to resign his situation. +</p> + +<p> +My own opinion is, that Galt was ill-used by the Canadian Government. He says +in his “Autobiography,” that his whole and sole offence consisted +of having accepted a file of the “Colonial Advocate,” and shaken +hands with the editor, the notorious William Lyon Mackenzie. In those days of +ultra-toryism, such an instance of liberality and freedom from party-prejudice +was sufficient to excite the displeasure of the Governor and his council. There +is no doubt that Galt acted imprudently in this matter, though I fully believe +without any intention of opposing the Government. +</p> + +<p> +In regard to the Company’s affairs, more might be said to his +prejudice—not in respect of his integrity, for, I believe him to have +been a most honourable man, and incapable of any meanness—but in regard +to his management. Although, as the original projector of the Canada Company, +he evinced much cleverness, and afterwards displayed considerable judgment in +the choice of the best situations for building towns and villages, yet he +committed some grievous mistakes. His ideas were generally good; but often not +well carried out in detail. +</p> + +<p> +His first error was in the selection of persons to fill the various offices +belonging to the Company. For, instead of appointing men who had long +experience in the country, and who were, therefore, practically qualified to +superintend the workmen by their experience of all the requirements of a new +settlement, he filled these situations, for the most part, with inexperienced +young men, recently arrived from the old country, who, of course, could know +nothing of road-making and bridge-building, and were, therefore, incapable of +directing a number of workmen. Then, again, most of the hands employed on the +Company’s works were new settlers, and, of course, knew nothing of +chopping, house-building, or clearing land; and yet these men were paid just as +much as if they had served a long apprenticeship in the country. If Mr. +Galt’s appointments had been judicious, there is no doubt, in my mind, +that half the outlay would have produced greater results. +</p> + +<p> +It was arranged that I should meet Mr. Galt at Toronto, in April, at the +commencement of the spring operations. At the appointed time, I again waited +upon him, when he ordered me to Guelph, to take charge of the department, as +formerly agreed upon between us. He then introduced me to Dr. Dunlop and Mr. +Prior, who kindly invited me to take a seat in their waggon, which would leave +for Guelph in a few hours. The former gentleman is well known in the literary +world, as the author of the “Backwoodsman.” +</p> + +<p> +During our journey, I found that he deserved his celebrity for good +companionship, which was fully borne out on this occasion. He could, indeed, +speak well on any subject. He was full of sound information, and overflowed +with anecdote—in fact, his way of telling a story was inimitable. He had +a fund of wit, which seemed almost inexhaustible. +</p> + +<p> +My fellow-travellers left me at Mr. Galt’s house, near Burlington +Heights, where, after taking some refreshment, I again proceeded on my journey, +and ultimately reached Guelph on the afternoon of the second day. +</p> + +<p> +The situation of the town I found exceedingly pleasant, and well watered. It +was built in an angle, formed by the confluence of the rivers Speed and +Eramosa. The town-plot also abounds with copious never-failing springs, of the +purest water. +</p> + +<p> +I found some twenty or thirty log-houses, about as many shanties, a large +frame-tavern building, a store, two blacksmiths’ shops, and the walls of +two stone-buildings, one of which was intended, when finished, for the +company’s office. Besides these edifices, Dr. Dunlop and Mr. Prior had +each a good house, and there was the Priory, a large log-building, afterwards +occupied by the superintendent. This was pretty well, considering that a year +only had elapsed since the first tree was felled. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Galt, in his “Autobiography,” has given an account of the +founding of the town of Guelph,<a href="#fn-15.3" name="fnref-15.3" id="fnref-15.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +and how Mr. Prior, Dr. Dunlop, and himself, cut down the first tree—a +large sugar-maple, whereupon the Dr. produced a flask of whiskey, and they +named and drank success to the new town. This was on St. George’s day, +April 23rd, 1827. Eighteen months after this, by Mr. Galt’s orders, I had +the stump of that tree inclosed by a fence, though, I make no doubt, it has +long since decayed. The name of the founder will, however, remain,—a +better and more enduring memorial. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-15.3" id="fn-15.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-15.3">[3]</a> +“This name was chosen in compliment to the royal family, both because +I thought it auspicious in itself, and because I could not recollect that it +had ever been before used in all the king’s +dominions.”—Galt’s Autobioography. +</p> + +<p> +On my arrival, I drove up to the only tavern in the place, a small log-house, +kept by one Philip Jones, an Englishman—or, rather, by his wife—a +buxom, bustling body, who was, undoubtedly, the head of the establishment. In +answer to my inquiry for lodgings, she courteously informed me that she had +neither bed nor blanket, but what was doubly occupied, and, moreover, that she +was sure I could not obtain one in town, as every house was full of emigrants; +but as the most of her lodgers would leave for the Huron tract on the morrow, +she should be able and happy to accommodate me after their departure. With this +promise I was obliged to be satisfied. +</p> + +<p> +I might, perhaps, have succeeded in obtaining a share of a bed, but as I did +not know what population I might gain, or, indeed, what might be the unpleasant +results of such an arrangement, I preferred a hay-loft, in which I slept +soundly till the break of day. +</p> + +<p> +The superintendent and his staff arrived the next morning, when I was duly +installed in my office. Mr. Galt’s coach-house being unoccupied, I took +immediate possession, and converted it into a very respectable store-house and +office, till a building was completed for that purpose. I was thus fairly +established as an <i>employe</i> in the service of the Canada Company. +</p> + +<p> +The township of Guelph contains upwards of forty thousand acres of land, of a +fair average quality, well timbered, and well watered. I believe the Company +have disposed of all their saleable lots in this township. I was fully employed +the whole summer in constructing two bridges, one over the Speed, and the other +over the Eramosa branch, and also in opening a good road to each. These bridges +were built of cedar logs, and on a plan of my own, which Mr. Galt highly +approved. I should, however, have preferred square timber, framed in bents, +which, I think, would have been more durable, and better adapted for the stream +they were intended to cross. +</p> + +<p> +Amongst the men under my charge, I had two Mohawk Indians, both of whom were +excellent choppers, and behaved themselves remarkably well. One of them was +called Henhawk, and the other William Fish. The Mohawks are more civilized, and +make better farmers than the Chippewas, and I think are a finer-looking race of +men.<a href="#fn-15.4" name="fnref-15.4" id="fnref-15.4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-15.4" id="fn-15.4"></a> <a href="#fnref-15.4">[4]</a> +Benjamin West, the celebrated American painter, on being shown the Apollo +Belvidere, astonished a number of Italian cognoscenti by comparing that <i>chef +d’œuvre</i> of ancient Greek art to a young Mohawk warrior. But the fine +proportions of these savage warriors, and their free and graceful action, +rendered the remark of this great artist a just and beautiful critique, and of +a complimentary not a depreciating character. +</p> + +<p> +My time passed pleasantly enough at Guelph, for I had plenty of work to do, and +in all labour there is profit. And what could be better for a healthy, active +young man than the employment of assisting in settling a new country? +</p> + +<p> +The only drawback to my comfort was the temporary loss of the society of my +wife; a pretty, sensible young woman, whose mental and personal charms had, +since my union with her, formed the happiness of my life. We cannot, however, +have every blessing at once, and I worked on cheerfully in the hope of getting +things comfortably round me for my dear girl against the moment when she would +join me. +</p> + +<p> +Besides the services rendered to the Company, I performed <i>con amore</i> some +gratuitous ones for the benefit of the township of Guelph, which will, +doubtless, both surprise and astonish my readers. We had no medical man in +Guelph for some months after my arrival, so, for want of a better, I was +obliged to turn physician and surgeon, and soon became very skilful in bleeding +and tooth-drawing, and, as I charged nothing, you may be sure I had plenty of +customers. And so well pleased was Dr. Dunlop with my proficiency, that he +invariably sent all his patients to me. +</p> + +<p> +I remember one time in particular, he came over to my office and inquired for +me, when, on the store-porter telling him I had just gone out, he said, +</p> + +<p> +“Tell him when he comes back, to take the calomel and jalap down to my +house, and treat those Paisley bodies with a dose apiece.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! all of them, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, to be sure; they are but just arrived, and have got as fat as pigs +on the voyage. Some of their bacon must be taken off, or with this heat we +shall have them all sick on our hands. And tell him not to spare the +jalap.” +</p> + +<p> +When I returned and heard the message, I literally obeyed his order by +administering forty-two doses of various strengths to the men, women and +children, designated by the Doctor as the “Paisley bodies.” +</p> + +<p> +This wholesale way of medical treatment was in this instance attended with a +good effect; for there did not occur a single case of sickness amongst them +during the summer. +</p> + +<p> +Shortly after this, a medical man, a Mr. W——, applied for a +town-lot and commenced practice. This gentleman was certainly a great oddity. +He never had but two patients that I ever heard of, and they both died. The +settlers used to call him the “mad doctor,” and I believe not +without good reason. He built a log-house without any door, his mode of +entrance being through a square hole he had cut out of the end of the house +about six feet from the ground. +</p> + +<p> +I walked over to his place one day to speak to him on some business, and found +him very busy in his garden, driving into the ground a great quantity of short +sticks. +</p> + +<p> +I asked him “what all those sticks were for.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why you see, sir, I have planted part of my garden with Indian corn, and +I am putting sticks down to mark the places where I have planted them.” +</p> + +<p> +A day or two afterwards I met him wearing his coat turned inside out, the rough +seams and red-edging of which had a very curious effect. I inquired “what +might be his reason for going about in such a costume?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you see I call this my morning attire; in the evening I have +nothing to do but turn my coat, and, lo! I am dressed; a very capital +arrangement, and quite good enough for the Bush. Do not you think so?” +</p> + +<p> +“As far as regards economy,” I replied, “it may do well +enough, and as you do not appear to care about being laughed at, your plan will +answer: and who knows but that you may have the pleasure of introducing a new +fashion into the colonies?” +</p> + +<p> +Amongst other odd characters I had to deal with, was a Mr. W——, I +believe a portrait and miniature painter by profession, who had travelled a +good deal in Russia, and understood that language well. He purchased a lot of +land from the company on the Waterloo-road, about a mile from the village. +Under the ground-plot chosen by him to build on, he found there existed a good +quarry of limestone; so he made up his mind to build a stone-house, although he +had spent his last dollar, and his profession in a new and poor settlement +would avail him very little. +</p> + +<p> +However, he went to work, excavating the stone which he had found when digging +his cellar, for building the walls of his house: his only assistant in the +undertaking was a delicate ladylike young woman, whom he had married in the +United States, and brought here as a bride. He treated his unfortunate partner +like a slave. She had to mix and carry all the mortar, and help him to raise +the stone. +</p> + +<p> +I often, on an evening, walked down to see how they were getting on with their +job, and was quite astonished to find how well they progressed. But, at the +same time, I pitied the poor wife exceedingly, whom the neighbours said he +treated very harshly, notwithstanding her conjugal devotion to him. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of three months his creditors began to threaten him. His land was +still unpaid for, and the walls of his house unfinished. When too late, he +counted the cost of completion, and found his best plan was to take a Yankee +leave, and clear out, leaving his unfinished home as a legacy to his creditors. +</p> + +<p> +How to beat a retreat, and take his goods and chattels with him, without +discovery, was a difficult matter. He, however, set his wits to work, and +adopted the following plan, which, in theory, looked feasible enough, but, when +put in practice, was found not quite so easy as he had anticipated. +</p> + +<p> +He knew that the river Speed, which ran at the rear of his lot, after a course +of fourteen or fifteen miles, debouched into the Grand River, and was, from +thence, navigable for boats to Lake Erie, a distance of some seventy or eighty +miles further. He, therefore, conceived the plan of building a small scow,<a href="#fn-15.5" name="fnref-15.5" id="fnref-15.5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> +large enough to hold his wife, himself, and his effects, and silently dropping +down with the current, bade adieu to their sylvan retreat, and the great city +of Guelph, which, however, he was destined to see again, much sooner than he +expected. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-15.5" id="fn-15.5"></a> <a href="#fnref-15.5">[5]</a> +A long-shaped flat-bottomed boat of the same width the entire length, rising +gently at each end, built of two-inch plank, and much used on shallow rivers +and creeks. +</p> + +<p> +He built his boat close to the river’s edge, having, with the assistance +of his wife, carried the planks down for that purpose. I suppose he took a +lesson from Robinson Crusoe, not to build his scow too far from the water. +</p> + +<p> +Everything being ready, the boat was launched and freighted, our hero in the +stern, with steering paddle in hand, and his patient <i>compagnon de voyage</i> +acting, as bowman. +</p> + +<p> +The Speed is a shallow, swift, running stream, seldom exceeding three feet in +depth during the dry season. For the first mile they got on pretty well, till +they came to a jam of drift wood; over this with great difficulty they hauled +their scow; every few yards fresh obstructions occurred in the shape of snags, +fallen trees, and drift wood, which caused them to upset twice before they had +accomplished the second mile, till at last an extensive jam across the river +many yards in length, put a complete barrier to their further advance. +</p> + +<p> +Wet and weary, half the day gone, and no chance of proceeding down the stream, +they determined to retrace their course. This was not easy to accomplish, for +the current was too swift to paddle against; so, tying a short piece of rope to +the stem of the scow, he ordered his unfortunate wife to take the water and tow +the boat, whilst he sat in state in the stern assisting with his paddle. +</p> + +<p> +In the evening, I was walking out with my wife; and as we were passing I +thought we would look in and see how their work progressed, when to my +astonishment I saw Mrs. W—— sitting on a stone, weeping bitterly. +I perceived at once that something extraordinary had occurred, for her dress +was sadly torn and saturated with wet. Upon making an inquiry respecting her +appearance, and the causes of her grief, she told me the sad story I have just +related, adding, that they had only just got back from their expedition, and +that all her clothes, bed, and blankets were wringing wet. +</p> + +<p> +My wife, who had lately joined me, and was of a most kind disposition, always +ready to help those in distress, offered her an asylum for a few days, and a +change of apparel, which she thankfully accepted. Her brutal husband cleared +out the next day, and she joined him the week following. +</p> + +<p> +Some time afterwards, I was told that Mrs. W—— had committed +suicide, goaded, doubtless, to desperation by the ill usage of her partner, and +the hardships she had to endure. As this, however, is only hearsay, I will not +vouch for its truth; though from my knowledge of the parties I am afraid it was +only too true. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +PORCUPINE-CATCHING.—HANDSOME BEHAVIOUR OF MR. +GALT.—OWLINGALE.—INTRODUCTION TO THE SON OF THE CELEBRATED INDIAN +CHIEF, BRANDT.—EXPEDITION TO WILMOT.—SHAM WOLVES.—NIGHT IN A +BARN WITH DR. DUNLOP.—THE DOCTOR AND HIS SNUFF-BOX.—HIS BATH IN THE +NITH.—LOUIS XVIII. AND HIS TABATIERE.—CAMP IN THE +WOODS.—RETURN TO GUELPH. +</p> + +<p> +One day, being out in the woods with an emigrant, examining a lot of land, I +was attracted by the barking of my dog, who had treed some animal, which, upon +coming up, I discovered was a porcupine. We cut down the tree, a small beech, +in which he had taken refuge, and secured him alive. I did not notice my dog +till I got home, when I found his mouth was full of quills, which the +porcupine, in self-defence, had darted into him. The manner in which they +accomplish this is, by striking the object that offends them with their tail, +when the outside points of the quills, being finely barbed, if inserted ever so +slightly, retain their hold, and are easily detached from the porcupine without +pain. +</p> + +<p> +I once lost a fine Irish greyhound, who was stuck full of quills in this way, +although I pulled out hundreds of them from his mouth, head, and different +parts of his body, with a pair of pincers. In fact, some of these barbs had +worked into him nearly their whole length, so that I had a difficulty in +getting hold of the end of the quills to extract them; and I have no doubt, as +the dog died, that many of them had completely buried themselves in some vital +part, and caused his death. +</p> + +<p> +I took home my prize, and put it into a barrel in a dark corner of the store, +which was half full of nails. A few minutes afterwards, Dr. Dunlop, as he often +did, came in to see me, and drink a glass of cider, of which I had at that time +some of excellent quality in bottle. The Doctor, as he said, used to +“improve” it, making what he called, “a stone-fence,” +by inserting a small <i>soupcon</i> of brandy from a pocket-pistol, which he +was too much in the habit of carrying about with him in hot weather. +</p> + +<p> +“Now,” said I, “Doctor, I know you like a bit of fun. When +Fielding, the porter, comes in, ask him to go to that barrel in the corner and +fetch you a nail; for I have got a live porcupine in it that I have just +brought home from the woods.” +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor was mightily tickled with the notion; so, as soon as poor Fielding +made his appearance, he sent him off to the barrel. Quite unsuspiciously the +man put in his hand for the nail, and as quickly drew it out again, with the +addition of some half a score quills sticking to his fingers, to the no small +delight of the Doctor, who greatly enjoyed Fielding’s consternation, for +the porter thought the devil himself was in the tub. +</p> + +<p> +Every one who came into the store during the afternoon was served the same +trick by the Doctor, and it was certainly amusing to watch their countenances +and hear their remarks, those who showed the most anger being of course the +most laughed at for their pains. +</p> + +<p> +Shortly after, a Mr. Smith, an accountant, was sent out by the directors to +examine the accounts, and report on the state of the Company’s affairs in +the colony. A few days after his arrival, he went round with the +superintendent, and examined the works that had been completed, and those in +progress. Mr. Galt and the accountant both expressed themselves much pleased +with what I had done, especially with the bridge connecting the clergy-block +(now called the township of Puslinch) with the town of Guelph. +</p> + +<p> +In the afternoon, Mr. Smith called upon me and said he was authorized by the +superintendent to arrange with me as to the amount of salary I was to receive. +He then informed me the amount that Mr. Galt had instructed him to offer +me—a liberal income, and the use of a house rent-free, desiring him at +the same time to express his satisfaction at the manner in which I had +conducted the operations since my engagement with the Company, in which, he +said, from what he had seen, he fully concurred. +</p> + +<p> +As this result was entirely unsolicited by me, and as it was generally +understood that the accountant had been sent out partly as a check on the +superintendent, to prevent extravagant expenditure, I took this as a compliment +paid by both to my abilities and integrity. +</p> + +<p> +Several of the clerks had light neatly-made boats, in which we used to make +excursions up the Speed for the purpose of trout-fishing. I think, without +exception, this stream is the best for that species of fish I ever saw. I have +frequently caught a pailful of these delicious trout in the space of two or +three hours. For my own part, I found a small garden-worm the best bait; but +one of our clerks, a Mr. Hodgett, was skilful with the fly, and consequently +used to catch his fish in a more scientific manner. +</p> + +<p> +My native county, Suffolk, with the exception of that part watered by the +Waveney, is not famed for its fly-fishing: therefore I was no adept in the +gentle art, but in ground-bait angling I consider myself no contemptible +performer. +</p> + +<p> +The small streams and creeks are so overarched with trees in Canada, that it is +almost impossible, except in odd spots, to make a cast with the fly without +endangering your tackle. +</p> + +<p> +The speckled trout in the river Speed vary in size from four ounces to a pound +and a half, though it is seldom that one of the latter size is captured. +</p> + +<p> +Guelph I consider to be remarkably healthy, and for an inland town very +prettily situated. I think, however, that the town-plot was laid out on too +large a scale—especially the market-place, which is large enough for a +city containing fifty thousand inhabitants. I have not been there since 1832. +It has since become the assize-town for the Wellington district, and +consequently has greatly increased both in size and population. +</p> + +<p> +Although I had been several months a resident in Guelph, I had neither seen nor +heard a clergyman of the Established Church. Why are we always the last to send +labourers into the vineyard? No sooner does a small village, composed of a +mill, a black-smith’s shop, and a few houses, spring up in the woods, +than you find a Presbyterian, Methodist, or Baptist Church—or perhaps all +three—settled there immediately. No wonder, then, that our church is +losing ground when so little energy is displayed either in building churches or +sending active and zealous men to preach the gospel. +</p> + +<p> +The first person I heard preach in Guelph was a tailor, who had made a +professional visit to the city, and who had the reputation of being considered +a very eloquent man. Due notice having been given, a large congregation +assembled to hear Mr. H——, who, to do him justice, was eloquent +enough, though his sermon was all in his own praise from beginning to end. +</p> + +<p> +He said that “he had once been a great infidel and an evil liver, but now +he was converted, and was as good as he formerly had been wicked; and be hoped +that all his hearers would take example from him and do as he had +done—forsake the crooked paths and steadfastly follow the +straight.” After this autobiographical discourse was at length over, and +a brother snip invited him to dinner, I was also honoured with an invitation, +which my curiosity induced me to accept. +</p> + +<p> +I found that the party consisted of a magistrate and his wife, from +E——, the mad Doctor, and Mr. Y——, one of the +Company’s clerks. Our host-tailor, No. 1, took the head of the table; the +preacher, tailor No. 2, sat at the foot. The dinner itself was quite a +professional spread, and consisted of a fine fat roast goose at the top, and +another at the bottom—a large dish of cabbage in the centre, and a plate +of hard dumplings on each side. Mr. Y——, who sat opposite, gave me +such a comical look when the second goose made its appearance, that I found it +impossible to suppress my risibility, which, unfortunately for me, exploded +just as the preacher—who, of course, mentally consigned me to +perdition—commenced a long grace; but if the Governor-General himself had +been present, I do not think I could have restrained my inclination to laugh. +</p> + +<p> +The dinner was certainly excellent of its kind; and in a new settlement where +nothing but salt pork and beef could be obtained, I might with truth say, that +it was a great treat. After the cloth was removed, it was proposed by the +magistrate’s lady, that the company should sing a hymn, upon which the +mad Doctor, who was considered the most pious, as well as the most scientific, +singer of the company, sang like an owlingale, Pope’s celebrated +lines:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Vital spark of heavenly flame,<br /> +Quit, O quit; this mortal frame. +</p> + +<p> +I am ashamed to say that I was obliged to stuff my handkerchief into my mouth +to keep from laughing outright; and no wonder, for I never heard such an insane +screeching in all my life. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of the summer, Mr. Buchanan, the British Consul, visited Guelph, +when the superintendent gave a public dinner at the Priory, to which I had the +honour of an invitation. Amongst other guests was John Brandt, the chief of the +Mohawks, and son of the celebrated chief whom Campbell the poet, in his +“Gertrude of Wyoming,” has stigmatized as— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“The monster, Brandt,<br /> +With all his howling, desolating band.” +</p> + +<p> +And again— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Accursed Brandt! he left of all my tribe,<br /> +Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth.” +</p> + +<p> +It is said that John Brandt was very angry when these lines were pointed out to +him.<a href="#fn-16.1" name="fnref-16.1" id="fnref-16.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-16.1" id="fn-16.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-16.1">[1]</a> +Campbell subsequently made an apology to him. +</p> + +<p> +On his health being drunk, he acknowledged the courtesy in a short but eloquent +speech. He was not handsome, though rather a fine-looking man. I believe he +died of cholera in 1832. +</p> + +<p> +One day, Dr. Dunlop came to my house, and informed me that I was to accompany +him on an expedition to the township of Wilmot, joining the Huron tract, to +examine the site, and make a report of the probable cost of building a bridge +over the river Nith—or “Smith’s Creek,” as it was then +called—one of the tributaries of the Grand River. “The +accountant,” he said, “has taken it into his head that he will +accompany us; and, as he has never been in the Bush before, won’t we put +him through his facings before he gets back? that is all. Mind, and keep your +eye on me. When I am ready to play him off, I will give the signal to +you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Doctor,” said I, “if you will take the blame, I have +no objection to the fun; but remember! I am a very young man, and if Mr. Smith +should complain to the Company—” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, never fear,” was his reply, “for I will make it all +right with Galt, if he do. In the meantime, order my man to saddle the horses. +Let the Cockney have the roan-mare. You can take your own pony; and do not +forget to tell Hinds to bring the brandy. Should we have to camp out all-night, +a small <i>soupcon</i> of the creature will do us no harm.” +</p> + +<p> +Everything being in readiness, we started about two o’clock, P.M. Our +route lay through the new settlement of Guelph and the fine townships of Upper +and Lower Waterloo. This tract of land was originally bought and settled by a +company of Dutch Pennsylvanians, upwards of fifty years ago. The Grand River, +or Ouse, intersects these townships—a fine stream, spanned by several +substantial bridges. This part of the country is densely populated and very +fertile. The soil, for the most part, is a light rich loam. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we had crossed the open country, we entered a narrow bush-road, only +just wide enough for two persons to ride abreast. It must be remembered that +Smith was a very bad rider, and looked as if he had never been on horse-back +before; for every time he rose in his saddle you could see his horse’s +head under him. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor now gave me the wink to fall into the rear; then riding up abreast +of Smith, he commenced operations by slyly sticking his spur into the roan +mare, exclaiming at the same time, “Come, man, if we don’t push on +a little, we shall not reach Blenheim to-night.” +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the roan mare felt the spur, off she went at a rattling pace, the +Dr. keeping close along-side, and applying the spur whenever he could get a +chance. At first, Smith tried hard to pull in the mare; then he shouted to the +Doctor to stop her; instead of which, the spur was only applied the sharper. At +last, quite frightened, he seized the mane with both his hands. And then +commenced a neck-and-neck race for nearly two miles—myself and the +Doctor’s man, John Hinds, bringing up the rear, and shouting with +laughter. Smith was so frightened, and so intent on stopping his run-away +steed, that he never suspected his persecutor who, looking quite grave, said, +“He never remembered his roan running off in that extraordinary manner +before; but,” he added with a grin, “I suspect, Smith, she knew you +were a Cockney.” +</p> + +<p> +After this exploit, we went on soberly enough, until we entered the township of +Blenheim. We had still some distance to travel through a dense forest, before +we should reach Springer’s—a farm-house where we intended to stop +all night, and where the Doctor kept a store of good things, under the charge +of Mrs. Springer; for this was always his halting-place, on his various +journeys to Goderich. +</p> + +<p> +Darkness fell as we entered the Blenheim woods, and now the Doctor took the +opportunity of asking me, “If I thought that I could howl?” I +expressed confidence in my abilities that way. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor then said, “Second any move of mine for pushing you on to +Springer’s. But mind,” continued he, “you are to stop within +half a mile of his clearing; and when you hear us coming, you must howl with +all your might, and leave the rest to me.” +</p> + +<p> +After a while, when it was quite dark, so that we could scarcely see our +horses’ heads, the Doctor proposed that I should take Hinds, and +“ride on as hard as we could, and tell Mrs. Springer to have supper ready +for us; and,” said he, “let the old man tap the whiskey I forwarded +to his house last week. We will follow you at our leisure; for my friend is not +used to travel after dark on such roads as these.” +</p> + +<p> +We accordingly rode on smartly, till we could perceive a slight glimmering of +light through the trees, which we knew to be Springer’s clearing. We then +halted, one on each side of the road, but entirely concealed from view by the +thick underbrush. As soon as we heard the party coming, we set up a most +unearthly yell, which made the woods fairly ring again. We could hear the +Doctor cry out, “The wolves! the wolves! ride for your life, man,” +and he then galloped off in the direction from which they had just come. +</p> + +<p> +Poor Smith shouted after him at the top of his voice, imploring the Doctor, for +God’s sake, not to leave him. “Oh Lord!” we heard him say, as +he rode after the Doctor, “I shall surely be devoured by the ravenous +wretches. Help—help! Doctor—stop!” and such like piteous +ejaculations. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor, who had ridden ahead, as soon as he heard his victim approach, +commenced in the same key as we had done before, and a dismal howling we all +made. Fear now compelled poor Smith to wheel the mare round and ride back, +whereupon we again greeted him with a second edition, even—if that were +possible—more diabolical than the first, which terminated the fun sooner +than we expected; for, losing all presence of mind, he let his steed get off +the track into the woods, and, consequently, he was swept off by the branches. +We heard him fall and roar for help, which we left the Doctor to administer, +and made the best of our way to Springer’s, where, half an hour after, we +were joined by our fellow-travellers, one of whom had scarcely recovered from +his fright, and still looked as pale as a ghost. Two or three glasses of +whiskey-punch, however, soon restored him to his natural complexion. +</p> + +<p> +I do not know if he ever found out the trick we had so successfully played him; +but if he did, he kept it to himself, rightly judging that if the story got +wind he would never hear the last of it. +</p> + +<p> +Springer had only one spare bed, which we resigned in favour of the accountant, +as some little compensation for the fright he had sustained. The Doctor and I +took possession of the barn, where we found plenty of fresh hay, which we +infinitely preferred to the spare bed and its familiars. There we slept +delightfully, till a chorus of cocks (or <i>roosters</i>, as the more delicate +Americans would call them) awakened us from our repose, to the wrathful +indignation of Dunlop, who anathematized them for “an unmusical +ornithological set of fiends.” +</p> + +<p> +We made an early breakfast off fried sausages, and the never-failing ham and +eggs, and were soon again in the saddle. We took the nearest road to Plum +Creek, where we left our horses, and proceeded for the remaining four miles on +foot, through a magnificent forest. +</p> + +<p> +We were now in that part of the township of Wilmot belonging to the Canada +Company, which did not then contain a single farm, but has been since +completely settled. At length, we came to a narrow valley, some fifty or sixty +feet below the level of the country through which we had been travelling, in +the centre of which flowed the Nith, sparkling in the sun: the wild grapes +hanging in rich festoons from tree to tree, gave an air of rural beauty to the +scene. For the convenience of foot-passengers, some good Samaritan had felled a +tree directly across the stream, which at that place was not more than fifty +feet wide. The current was swift, though not more than four or five feet deep. +</p> + +<p> +Here a small misfortune happened to the Doctor, who was an inveterate +snuff-taker, and carried a large box he called a coffin—I presume from +its resemblance to that dreary receptacle. +</p> + +<p> +While in the act of crossing the temporary bridge, and at the same time +regaling his olfactory nerves with a pinch of the best Irish, his famous coffin +slipped from his grasp and floated away majestically down the swift-flowing +waters of the sylvan Nith. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor was a man of decision: he hesitated not even for a moment, but +pitched himself headlong into the stream, from which he quickly emerged with +his recovered treasure. It is but justice to my friend Dunlop, to remind the +reader that his extravagant affection for his snuff-box is not without a +parallel in history, since Louis XVIII has recorded with his own royal hand an +attachment to his <i>tabatiere</i>, equally eccentric and misplaced. +</p> + +<p> +Scarcely had this Prince escaped three miles from Paris and its democrats, +when, on putting his hand into his waistcoat-pocket, in order to take a +consoling pinch, he missed his snuff-box, which, in his hurry, he had left upon +his toilette, at the discretion of the mob. “Mon Dieu, ma +tabatiere!” was his horrified exclamation, as he deliberated for a moment +upon a misfortune so overwhelming. +</p> + +<p> +To go back to Paris was only to risk his life, while to proceed on his journey +was to lose his snuff-box. His philo-tabatierishness triumphed: he returned, +snatched up his beloved box, and made it the companion of his flight; and, in +all his vicissitudes, from exile to a throne, he considered the possession of +his favourite <i>tabatiere</i> as his principal consolation. The Doctor was no +less rash than the French monarch, and in recovering his <i>tabatiere</i> +equally fortunate. +</p> + +<p> +A good fire and some brandy soon made the Doctor all right again, after his +cold bath in the Nith. We now prepared our camp for the night: this we had no +trouble in doing, for we found plenty of poles and bark, which had been used by +the labourers, whilst cutting out the road to the Huron tract. The +Doctor’s man had brought a bundle of blankets and an axe, from +Springer’s, and I, like Dalgetty, carried the provender. +</p> + +<p> +While Hinds was cooking the supper, I prepared our bed, by breaking a quantity +of fine hemlock-brush to thatch the bottom of the camp, to keep us from the +damp ground, which it did quite effectually. I have camped out, I dare say, +hundreds of times, both in winter and summer; and I never caught cold yet. I +recommend, from experience, a hemlock-bed, and hemlock-tea, with a dash of +whiskey in it, merely to assist the flavour, as the best preventive. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor was in first-rate humour, and seemed determined to make a night of +it; and even the Cockney appeared to enjoy himself amazingly. I knew, by the +wicked eye of the Doctor, that he was bent on mischief. Hinds was kept busy +after supper in making brandy-punch, the Doctor keeping us in a roar of +laughter with his amusing anecdotes. I knew by the long Latin quotations that +Smith indulged in, that he was fast verging on intoxication. For my part, tired +and drowsy, I soon fell into a state of pleasing forgetfulness, leaving my two +companions in the middle of some learned discussion, the subject of which I +have long forgotten. +</p> + +<p> +In the morning we examined the proposed site for building the bridge, which we +found presented no unusual difficulties. I have since been informed that +excellent mills and a thriving village now occupy the very spot where we +bivouacked on this memorable occasion. +</p> + +<p> +At Plum Creek we again resumed our horses, and, at the village of Galt<a href="#fn-16.2" name="fnref-16.2" id="fnref-16.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +we parted company. The Doctor and his man went on to Flamborough<a href="#fn-16.3" name="fnref-16.3" id="fnref-16.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +West; whilst Smith and I returned to Guelph, which we reached a short time +after dark, without inflicting on him any more adventures. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-16.2" id="fn-16.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-16.2">[2]</a> +Galt is a thriving town, situated on the west bank of the Grand River, in +the township of Dumfries. The town-plot originally belonged to the Honourable +William Dixon, who gave it that name in compliment to the superintendent of the +Canada Company. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-16.3" id="fn-16.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-16.3">[3]</a> +One of the prettiest situations in Canada West, commanding a fine prospect of +Ancaster and the surrounding country; and also the seat of the Hon. James +Crooks. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +A NEW WAY OF KEEPING A BIRTHDAY.—LOST IN THE WOODS.—KINDNESS OF +MR. GALT.—ADVICE TO NEW SETTLERS.—UNEXPECTED RETIREMENT OF MR. +GALT.—I ACCOMPANY HIM TO THE LANDING-PLACE.—RECEIVE ORDERS TO LEAVE +GUELPH FOR GODERICH.—WHIRLWINDS AT GUELPH AND DOURO. +</p> + +<p> +The 6th of November was my birthday, so I determined to give myself a holiday, +and go out <i>still-hunting</i>. I had been told by some of the workmen that +deer were very plentiful in the Clergy-block, so I started early in the morning +without waiting for my regular breakfast, merely taking a biscuit, as I was too +eager for the sport to have much appetite; besides, I intended to be home to an +early dinner. The sky was overcast, and a few flakes of snow were falling, but +I did not dislike these signs; for I prefer a little dampness on the leaves, +which causes less noise from the tread—an important point to the hunter; +for when the leaves are crisp and dry, it is useless to attempt approaching the +deer, who are sure to hear you long before you get within range. +</p> + +<p> +I considered myself a tolerably good woodsman, and was, therefore, not much +afraid of being lost; but I reckoned without my host in this instance. After +crossing the river, I proceeded for some distance along a hard-wood ridge, till +I came to a thicket of brush-wood, out of which sprang three fine deer, a buck +and two does. I fired at the buck as he scampered off, and had the satisfaction +of finding blood on the track, which I followed for more than two miles. But I +lost him at last in the middle of a cedar-swamp, owing to the quantity of soft +snow, which was by this time falling heavily. I, therefore, thought it best to +return home, and put off my hunt to a more propitious day. +</p> + +<p> +On emerging from the swamp, which I did on the wrong side—for I had no +sun to guide me—I saw a fine doe within fifty yards of me, feeding on the +side of a hill. I thought I was sure of this one at any rate; but, in this +also, I was woefully disappointed; for the powder in the pan of the lock had +got damp by the wet snow, and only flashed in the pan. My gun had the old +flint-lock, percussion-caps being then hardly known in the colonies. +</p> + +<p> +My second disappointment decided me to return home. This, however, was sooner +said than done; for, after walking for more than two hours, I found I had lost +my way, a conclusion as to which there could be no mistake. At first, I thought +it would be best to take my back-track, but I found this would not answer; for +the snow was melting as fast as it fell. I could not even avail myself of the +common indications for finding my way, because the under-brush was still loaded +with snow, so that it was quite impossible to see fifty yards in any direction. +</p> + +<p> +Whilst I was debating what I had best do to extricate myself from this dilemma, +I came upon a tolerably fresh blazed line, which I suspected was the boundary +between the townships of Guelph and the Clergy-reserve-block of Puslinch. In +this idea I was perfectly right; but the question now with me was, in which +direction I should follow the line. After considering for some time, as +ill-luck would have it, I took the wrong route, and, having walked at least +three miles, came to the end of the blaze, where I found a surveyor’s +post, on which was legibly written, in red chalk, on each side, the names of +the four townships, of which it was the corner-post; viz. Guelph, Puslinch, +Nasagiweya, and Eramosa; and lower down on the post, “<i>seven miles and +a half to Guelph</i>.” I had, therefore, nothing for it, but to turn back +on the line and retrace my steps. This I did in a smart run, for I saw the +shades of night fast gathering around me. +</p> + +<p> +In less than an hour I had passed the place where I first found the blaze, but +soon after came to a windfall,<a href="#fn-17.1" name="fnref-17.1" id="fnref-17.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +where I found it impossible to follow the line through. I was, therefore, +compelled to leave the blaze—my only sure guide—which, however, I +still hoped to re-find, by keeping round the edge of the windfall, till I again +struck the line. Just before dark, I saw a partridge sitting on a log, I +believe. I fresh primed, and snapped half a dozen times at him, without effect, +but the gun had got so wet, that at last I gave it up as a bad job; though I +should have liked him very much for my supper, for which I had a ravenous +appetite. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-17.1" id="fn-17.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-17.1">[1]</a> +A heap of great trees blown down by the wind. +</p> + +<p> +Presently, I came to a nice little spring creek running under some fine shady +cedars. The ground looked dry and mossy; and as it was nearly dark, I thought +the best thing I could do was to camp for the night, for I knew it was +impossible to find my way after dark. I immediately collected a large quantity +of dry balsam-fir, which lay about in great profusion, and chose a cluster of +spreading cedars for my camp. After this, I piled a large heap of wood against +one of the trees; and rubbing some dry cedar-bark quite fine, put it under my +wood. In order to light my fire, I tore up a piece of a cotton handkerchief, +which I laid over the pan of my gun, newly primed. Having fired the cotton in +this manner, I enclosed it in the cedar-bark, keeping up the flame—not by +using that primitive bellows, my mouth—but, by waving the bark to and +fro, after the method used by the Indians. Thus, I soon had a large cheerful +fire, which I much needed, for I was thoroughly wet. +</p> + +<p> +My first care was to dry my gun and reload it, in case of wolves. Whilst I was +busy doing this, I heard a shot, and then another; but the gunners were a long +way off, as I knew by the sound—certainly not less than three miles; and +as I was quite aware it was useless for me to attempt to make my way out, I +contented myself with firing my gun in answer to their shots, which, not being +repeated, I also ceased firing, though I had no doubt my neighbours were +searching for me, but not near enough to find me out. However, I discovered the +direction in which Guelph lay, by the sound of their volleys, so I did not +despair, as I felt sure of being able to regain my home in the morning. +</p> + +<p> +The snow soon ceased to fall, and the night came out fine and clear, though +rather sharp. I had a famous fire, and slept tolerably well, though awaking +occasionally with the cold; when I would replenish the fire and turn my chilled +side to the blaze, by which means I managed to pass the night as well as I +could expect under the circumstances, considering, too, that I had eaten +nothing from six o’clock the previous morning. +</p> + +<p> +By day-break, I was on my march in the direction in which I supposed Guelph to +lie. The sun rose clear and bright, which enabled me to make a true course in +half an hour; for I began to recognize ridges I had before traversed in former +hunting excursions; and was soon confirmed in this opinion, by the firing of +guns and blowing of horns in the direction I was going. In a few minutes, I +heard two men in conversation, one of whom was a native of Somersetshire, +living close to me. I stepped behind a large tree, directly in their path, when +I heard my neighbour say to his companion—“This is the way he +generally takes; I will warrant we shall find he.” At that instant, I +fired my gun close to them, which made them start with surprise. They then +informed me that Mr. Galt had sent out all the workmen in search of me. This I +was well-aware of, from the continual volleys which rang in all directions. We +were soon out on the main-road leading to the bridge, where I found more than +fifty of the inhabitants looking for me. +</p> + +<p> +This birthday hunting excursion turned out anything but a frolic; for the +result was, twenty-six hours’ starvation and the loss of a fine buck; +besides my being hungry, weary, and stiff, from sleeping all night in the +woods. Moreover, in common gratitude, I was bound to treat my neighbours and +the workmen sent to look for me, and the treat cost me five gallons of whiskey. +To add to this chapter of accidents, two of the party who turned out to hunt +for me in the woods, lost themselves, and spent the night in as disagreeable a +manner as I had myself done. +</p> + +<p> +I would advise all new settlers to provide themselves with a pocket-compass, +which can be procured for a few shillings. This should be suspended round the +neck by a ribbon, in the same manner as a watch—and I need not add that +in the Bush it is of infinitely more use. +</p> + +<p> +My employments in the Company’s service often obliged me to leave home +and take long journeys—fatiguing enough, indeed, they often were. But +youth is the season of enterprise, and always have accustomed myself to look +upon the bright side of everything, leaving to the grumblers the reverse of the +picture, upon which I fear they are only too fond of dwelling. But I am sure a +cheerful spirit is the best assistant in carrying a settler through every +difficultly. +</p> + +<p> +Early in the spring of 1829, I made a tour of the Newcastle district, selling +land and receiving payments for the Company. Whilst so employed, I received a +letter from the superintendent, informing me of his resignation, and appointing +me to meet him in Toronto with what money I had collected. +</p> + +<p> +I was very sorry to hear of Mr. Galt’s retirement. He had always acted in +a kind and liberal manner towards me; and, indeed, when he left the Company, I +considered that I had lost a true and affectionate friend. I could not help, +therefore, noticing with regret that, although most of the clerks belonging to +the office were at that time in Toronto, only Dr. Dunlop, Mr. Reid<a href="#fn-17.2" name="fnref-17.2" id="fnref-17.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +and myself accompanied Mr. Galt to the landing-place to see him depart and cry +“God speed!” But this is the way of the world. Those who should be +most grateful when the hour of adversity dawns on their benefactor, are often +the first to desert him. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-17.2" id="fn-17.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-17.2">[2]</a> +Mr. Galt’s friend and ornate secretary. +</p> + +<p> +On the same day the Doctor introduced me to one of our new Commissioners, +Thomas Mercer Jones, Esq., a fine gentlemanly-looking person. The other +Commissioner was the Hon. William Allen. These gentlemen were appointed by the +directors to supersede Mr. Galt in the direction of the Company’s affairs +in Canada. On my return to Guelph, I received an intimation that I must prepare +to take up my residence in Goderich, as my services in future would be required +in the Huron tract. +</p> + +<p> +A few days before my departure, I witnessed the most appalling land tornado (if +so I may term it), I ever saw in my life. As this is a phenomenon seldom if +ever witnessed in England, I think a particular description may possibly +interest those readers who are unaccustomed to such eccentricities of Nature. +</p> + +<p> +In my hunting excursions and rambles through the Upper Canadian forests, I had +frequently met with extensive windfalls; and observed with some surprise that +the fallen trees appeared to have been twisted off at the stumps, for they lay +strewn in a succession of circles. I also remarked, that these windfalls were +generally narrow, and had the appearance of a wide road slashed through the +forest. +</p> + +<p> +From observations made at the time, and since confirmed, I have no doubt +Colonel Reid’s theory of storms is a correct one, viz.:—“That +all windstorms move in a circular direction, and the nearer the centre, the +more violent the wind.” Having seen the effects of several similar +hurricanes since my residence in Canada West, I shall describe one which +happened in the township of Guelph, during the early part of the summer of +1829. +</p> + +<p> +The weather, for the season of the year (May) had been hot and sultry, with +scarcely a breath of wind stirring. I had heard distant thunder from an early +hour of the morning, which from the eastward is rather an unusual occurrence. +About ten A.M. the sky had a most singular, I may say, a most awful appearance; +presenting to the view a vast arch of rolling blackness, which seemed to gather +strength and density as it approached the zenith. All at once the clouds began +to work round in circles, as if chasing one another through the air. Suddenly, +the dark arch of clouds appeared to break up into detached masses, whirling and +eddying through each other in dreadful commotion. The forked lightning was +incessant, accompanied by heavy thunder. In a short space the clouds seemed to +converge to a point, which approached very near the earth, still whirling with +great rapidity directly under this point; and apparently from the midst of the +woods arose a black column in the shape of a cone, which instantly joined +itself to the depending cloud: the sight was now grand and awful in the +extreme. +</p> + +<p> +Let any one picture to the imagination a vast column of smoke of inky blackness +reaching from earth to heaven, gyrating with fearful velocity; bright +lightnings issuing from the vortex—the roar of the thunder—the +rushing of the blast—the crashing of timber—the limbs of trees, +leaves and rubbish, mingled with clouds of dust, whirling through the +air—a faint idea is then given of the scene. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Through all the sky arise outrageous storms,<br /> +And death stands threatening in a thousand forms;<br /> +Clouds charged with loud destruction drown the day,<br /> +And airy demons in wild whirlwinds play;<br /> +Thick thunder-claps, and lightnings’ vivid glare<br /> +Disturb the sky, and trouble all the air.” +</p> + +<p> +I had ample time for observation as the hurricane commenced its desolating +course about two miles from the town, through the centre of which it took its +way, passing within fifty yards of the spot where a number of persons and +myself were standing watching its fearful progress. As the tornado approached, +the trees seemed to fall like a pack of cards before its irresistible current. +After passing through the clearing made around the town, the force of the wind +gradually abated, and in a few minutes died away entirely. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the storm was over, I went to see what damage it had done. From the +point where I first observed the black column to rise from the woods and join +the cloud, the trees were twisted in every direction. A belt of timber had been +levelled to the ground about two miles in length, and about one hundred yards +in breadth: at the entrance of the town it crossed the river Speed, and +up-rooted about six acres of wood which had been thinned out and left by Mr. +Galt as an ornament to his house. +</p> + +<p> +The Eremosa road was completely blocked up for nearly half a mile, in the +wildest confusion possible. In its progress through the town, it unroofed +several houses, levelled the fences to the ground, and entirely demolished a +frame-barn: windows were dashed in, and in one instance the floor of a +log-house was carried up through the roof. Some hair-breadth escapes occurred, +but, luckily, no lives were lost. +</p> + +<p> +About twelve years since, a storm of this kind occurred in the north part of +the township of Douro, though of less magnitude. I heard an intelligent settler +who resided some years in the township of Madoc state that, during his +residence there, a similar hurricane to the one I have described, but of a more +awful character, passed through a part of Marmora and Madoc, which had been +traced in a north-easterly direction upwards of forty miles into the unsurveyed +lands, the uniform width of which appeared to be upwards of three quarters of a +mile. +</p> + +<p> +It appears very evident that storms of this description have not been +unfrequent in the wooded regions of Canada; and it becomes a matter of +interesting consideration, whether the clearing of our immense forests will +not, in a great measure, remove the cause of these phenomena. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Dark, heavy clouds were gathering in the west,<br /> + Wrapping the forest in funereal gloom;<br /> +Onward they roll’d and rear’d each livid crest,<br /> + Like death’s murk shadows frowning o’er earth’s tomb:<br /> +From out the inky womb of that deep night<br /> + Burst livid flashes of electric flame:<br /> +Whirling and circling with terrific might,<br /> + In wild confusion on the tempest came.<br /> +Nature, awakening from her still repose,<br /> + Shudders responsive to the whirlwind’s shock<br /> +Feels at her mighty heart convulsive throes;<br /> + Her groaning forests to earth’s bosom rock.<br /> +<br /> +But, hark! what means that hollow rushing sound,<br /> + That breaks the sudden stillness of the morn?<br /> +Red forked lightnings fiercely glare around:<br /> + What crashing thunders on the winds are borne!<br /> +And see yon spiral column, black as night,<br /> + Rearing triumphantly its wreathing form;<br /> +Ruin’s abroad, and through the murky light,<br /> + Drear desolation marks the spirit of the storm.<br /> +* * * * * *<br /> +How changed the scene; the awful tempest’s o’er;<br /> + From dread array and elemental war<br /> +The lightning’s flash hath ceased, the thunder’s roar—<br /> + The glorious sun resumes his golden car.<a href="#fn-17.3" name="fnref-17.3" id="fnref-17.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-17.3" id="fn-17.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-17.3">[3]</a> +My description of this whirlwind, and the accompanying lines, have already +appeared in the “Victoria Magazine,” published in Canada West, +under the signature of “Pioneer.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE HURON TRACT.—JOURNAL OF DR. DUNLOP.—HIS HARDSHIPS.—I +LEAVE GUELPH FOR GODERICH.—WANT OF ACCOMODATION.—CURIOUS +SUPPER.—REMARKABLE TREES.—THE BEVERLY OAK.—NOBLE BUTTER-WOOD +TREES.—GODERICH.—FINE WHEAT CROP.—PURCHASE A +LOG-HOUSE.—CONSTRUCTION OF A RAFT. +</p> + +<p> +I had always wished to go to the Huron tract, whose fine lake, noble forests, +and productive soil, have made it a source of wealth to many a settler. The +climate too, was mild, and I had heard a great deal about it from my gifted and +facetious friend Dr. Dunlop, whose services in exploring that part of their +possessions were not only useful but inestimable to the Company, and, in fact, +to emigration in general. +</p> + +<p> +“Dr. Dunlop, the Warden of the Company’s Woods and Forests, +surveyed the great Huron tract in the summer of 1827, assisted by the Chief of +the Mohawk nation, and Messrs. Sproat and MacDonald. They penetrated the huge +untravelled wilderness in all directions, until they came out on the shores of +the Huron, having experienced and withstood every privation that wanderers can +possibly be subject to in such places.”<a href="#fn-18.1" name="fnref-18.1" id="fnref-18.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.1" id="fn-18.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.1">[1]</a> +Mac Taggart’s “Three Years in Canada.” +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor himself has given a very accurate account of the valuable resources +of the Huron tract. He says in his journal—“I have already adverted +to its nature and fertility, and think I may be justified in adding, such is +the general excellence of the land, that if ordinary care can be taken to give +each lot no more than its own share of any small swamp in its vicinity, it +would be difficult, if not impossible, to find two hundred acres together in +the whole territory, that would make a bad farm. Although the land may be +capable of raising any kind of produce usual in that country, yet some spots +are more particularly advantageous for particular crops. The black ash-swales +(a kind of swamp) make the best ground for hemp; as by the scourging effect of +two or three crops, the ground will be made more fit for the raising of wheat, +for which, in the original state, it is too strong. The rich meadows by the +side of the rivers, (more especially such as are annually overflowed,) are +ready without farther preparation, for tobacco, hemp, and flax. The lower +meadows, and meadows adjoining Beaver dams, which are abundant, produce at this +moment enormous quantities of natural hay and pasture; and the rest of the +land, for the production of potatoes, Indian corn, wheat, and other grain, is +at least equal, if not superior, to any other land in the Canadas. Independent +of the swamps, the timber on the land is very soon described. +</p> + +<p> +“The sugar-maple is the principal growth, and the size and height which +it, as well as other trees, attains, sufficiently evince the strength and power +of the soil. Next to this come the beech, elm, and bass-wood, in various +proportions. In some instances, the beech and elm predominate over the maple, +but this is rare. Near the streams the hemlock is found; and interspersed +through the whole is the cherry, butter-nut, the different species of oak, and +the birch.”<a href="#fn-18.2" name="fnref-18.2" id="fnref-18.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.2" id="fn-18.2"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.2">[2]</a> +Mac Taggart’s “Journal of Dr. Dunlop.” +</p> + +<p> +In exploring this, then unknown, wilderness, Dr. Dunlop encountered many +difficulties, and was more than once in danger of starvation—though an +Indian Mohawk Chief shared his risks and perils.<a href="#fn-18.3" name="fnref-18.3" id="fnref-18.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +As he told a story admirably well, I was delighted to hear him discuss his +peregrinations over a glass of brandy-punch, of which he was very fond. +Whatever might have been his feelings at the time, he only made a joke of his +trials at the period in which he related them to me. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.3" id="fn-18.3"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.3">[3]</a> +Mac Taggart’s “Journal of Dr. Dunlop.” +</p> + +<p> +I should have experienced some regret in quitting Guelph, if the society had +been more to my taste. The only persons of education in that town were, in +fact, the Company’s officers, many of whom I might reasonably expect to +meet again at Goderich. Of course, I found some exceptions, but the average was +not in favour of Guelph. Besides, the water was an attraction to me, as my +Suffolk home was within a short distance of the German Ocean. Brought up so +near a sea-port, my natural inclinations made me dislike an inland situation; +and if I were not going to have a sea-side residence, at least the shores of +the mighty Huron Lake came the nearest to it in my estimation. +</p> + +<p> +I left Guelph early in June with Mr. Prior, the Company’s agent at +Goderich. Our road after leaving Springer’s in Blenheim lay through the +township of Wilmot to the southern boundary of the Huron tract, and from thence +nearly in a straight line to the town of Goderich at the mouth of the river +Maitland, on Lake Huron, on our route for a distance of nearly seventy miles, +being bounded on the east by the townships of North Easthope, Ellice, Logan, +McKillop, Hullett, and the east part of Goderich to the west, by South +Easthope, Downie, Fullarton, Hibbert, Tucker Smith, and the west part of +Goderich. +</p> + +<p> +This road was a mere sleigh-track through the woods, newly cut out, and rarely +exceeding twelve feet in width. At this time we saw only three log-cabins +during the whole way, these being about twenty miles apart from each other. +These three were kept by Dutch or German emigrants, who supplied travellers +with whiskey and provisions—when they had any—which was not always +the case. Indeed, I can testify, to my sorrow, to the uncertainty of finding a +decent table provided for guests by these foreigners; for I once had to stop at +old Sebach’s, the centre house, for the night, and being tired by a long +day’s march through the snow, I had calculated on making a capital +supper. Not that I expected anything better than tea, fried pork and bread and +butter, to which, hungry as I was, I should no doubt have done ample justice. +Judge, then, of my astonishment and disappointment, when mine hostess placed +before me a piece of dirty-looking Indian meal-bread, and a large cake of +beef-tallow, and, to wash down this elegant repast, a dish of crust coffee +without either milk or sugar, assuring me at the same time in her broken +English, “That she had nothing better in the house till the return of her +husband, who had gone fifty miles to the mill and store for a supply of flour, +groceries, and other fixings.” +</p> + +<p> +Not being a Russian, I rejected the tallow with disgust, and made but a sorry +meal of the other delicacies. +</p> + +<p> +On our route, we crossed several pretty streams, the principal of which are the +Avon, then called the Little Thames, the Big Thames, and the Black Water. The +Bayfield does not cross the road, though it makes a bend close to it, and +within sight. I believe I am correct in saying, that we did not cross a single +cedar-swamp from the time we entered the Huron tract<a href="#fn-18.4" name="fnref-18.4" id="fnref-18.4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +till we reached Goderich, a distance of sixty-seven miles. I consider this +block the finest tract of land I ever travelled over in Canada West. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.4" id="fn-18.4"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.4">[4]</a> +“This interesting portion of the Company’s possessions contains +a million of acres in one block, within the compass of which a bad farm could +scarcely be found. The soil is a rich black loam, on clay or limestone; and as +it is entirely timbered with the best kind of hard wood, no land in the +Province is so well adapted for the manufacture of potash, an object of +considerable importance to the industrious settler. It is bounded, for an +extent of sixty miles, by Lake Huron; is a separate district; and Goderich, its +principal town, where the district courts are held, is situated at the +confluence of the river Maitland with Lake Huron, where it forms an admirable +harbour. The population of the town is seven hundred, and there are several +good stores and shops in it; mechanics carrying on some useful trades. There +are also an episcopal church and other houses of religious worship, and a good +school, where the higher branches of the classics are taught, as well as the +more ordinary routine of education.”—Statistics published by the +Canada Company. +</p> + +<p> +The land is well timbered with the best description of hard wood, amongst which +is to be found in considerable abundance, the black cherry. This tree grows +often to a large size, and is used extensively for furniture, particularly for +dining-tables: if well made and polished, it is little inferior to mahogany, +either in appearance or durability. +</p> + +<p> +I remember, on this very journey, that Mr. Prior and myself were much struck by +the size and magnificent appearance of one of these cherry-trees, which grew +close to the road side, not far from the Big Thames. Two years afterwards, +passing the same tree, I got out of my sleigh and measured the circumference as +high as I could reach, which I found to be ten feet seven inches, and, I should +think, it was not less than fifty feet in height from the ground to the first +branch: it is a great pity to see such noble trees as these either burned or +split up into fencing rails. +</p> + +<p> +I think the largest tree of the hard wood species I ever saw in this country, +was near Bliss’s Tavern, in the township of Beverly, and it was called +the Beverly-oak.<a href="#fn-18.5" name="fnref-18.5" id="fnref-18.5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> +I was induced to visit this giant of the woods from the many accounts I had +heard of its vast dimensions, and was, certainly, astonished at its size and +symmetry. I measured it as accurately as I could about six feet from the +ground, and found the diameter to be as nearly eleven feet as possible, the +trunk rising like a majestic column towering upwards for sixty or seventy feet +before branching off its mighty head. Mr. Galt, who was induced to visit this +tree from my description has, in his “Autobiography,” mentioned the +height of the trunk from the ground to the branches, as eighty feet; but I +think he has overrated it. I was accompanied to the tree by the landlord, who +remarked, “that he calculated that he should cut that ’ere tree +down some day, for he guessed it would make enough rails to fence the side of a +ten acre field” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.5" id="fn-18.5"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.5">[5]</a> +“On the road to Guelph, a short distance from Galt, there is an uncleared +portion of the primeval forest, on the edge of the township of Beverly, where, +in those days, a small tavern, convenient to rest the horses of travellers, was +situated. One day, when I stopped at this house, while my horse was taking his +corn, I strayed into the woods, not many hundred yards, and came to a tree, the +most stupendous I had ever seen.<br /> + “At the first glance, the trunk reminded me of the London Monument, an +effect of the amaze which the greatness of its dimensions produced. I measured +its girth, however, at the height of a man from the ground, and it was +thirty-three feet, above which the trunk rose without a branch to the height of +at least eighty feet, crowned with vast branches.<br /> + “This was an oak, probably the greatest known, and it lifted its head far +above the rest of the forest. The trees around, myrmidons of inferior growth, +were large, massy, and vigorous, but possessed none of the patriarchal +antiquity with which that magnificent ‘monarch of the woods’ was +invested. I think, therefore, that I was not wrong in imagining it the scion of +a forest that had passed away, the ancestral predecessor of the present woods.<br /> + “Had I been convinced it was perfectly sound, I would have taken measures +for cutting it down and sending home planks of it to Windsor Castle. The fate +that awaited it would have justified the profanation. The doubt of its +soundness, however, and the difficulty of finding tools large enough to do it +justice, procrastinated the period of its doom. I recommended the landlord of +the tavern to direct his guests, from time to time, to inspect this Goliath of +oaks.”—Galt’s “Autobiography.” +</p> + +<p> +I replied, “Surely, you would not be such a Goth as to cut down such a +splendid oak merely for fence-wood, when you have plenty of rail-timber which +will answer that purpose equally well; and, besides, it may be the means of +drawing customers to your tavern.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know what you mean by a Goth; but I do know, if I could get a +crosscut saw long enough to cut that tree, I would not let it stand there long; +for you see it is mighty straight in the grain, and would split like a +ribbon.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus was this gigantic specimen of the primeval forest preserved for a time, +because there was not a saw long enough to cut it through in Canada. I dare say +there are many old oaks in England that exceed this in diameter; but I do not +believe one is to be found whose length of trunk can be at all compared to it. +</p> + +<p> +On the flats about a mile from the mouth of the Maitland, are some very large +button-wood trees. There is one, in particular, growing near a fine spring of +water, the circumference of which appeared very vast, though I did not measure +it; but the tree was a complete shell, and had a sort of natural arched +doorway, just high enough to admit a full-sized man. I was once inside this +tree with Dr. Dunlop and eleven other persons, at the same time. The trunk of +this tree forked at twelve or fourteen feet from the ground. There are several +others of this species near to the one I have described, of very large growth, +which apparently are sound, but not equalling it in size. +</p> + +<p> +I left a noble oak-tree standing in the middle of one of my fields in the +township of Douro, which I hoped I should have been able to preserve, as it was +such a remarkably fine tree. It, however, was doomed to destruction; for in the +summer of 1838, it was twice struck with lightning in the space of a week. The +first time, the bark only was furrowed by the electric fluid, but at the second +stroke it was split from the top to the bottom, and thrown down by the violence +of the shock. I measured this tree correctly, and found the diameter, +twenty-four feet from the ground, to be five feet three inches. The length of +the trunk was forty-eight feet up to the first branch, and it was perfectly +sound to within three or four feet of the soil. +</p> + +<p> +Generally speaking, the white or American pine, from its vast length of trunk, +contains a larger number of cubic feet than any other tree in the Canadian +forest. I have seen several of these pines sold for masts, the trunks of which +were upwards of one hundred feet in length, and full three feet in diameter, a +third of the way up from the butt-end. There is very little pine-timber on the +Huron tract, which, though a disadvantage in regard to building, is all the +better in respect to the land, hard wood being the best indication of a good +soil. +</p> + +<p> +I did not—as I have said—regret my transfer to Goderich, though +that flourishing town was then in its infancy, the most unpleasant aspect in +which any Canadian settlement can be viewed. Still, I am pleased that I have +had the opportunity of tracing some of these important places from their dawn +to their present prosperous condition. +</p> + +<p> +I found the general aspect of the country level. There is scarcely a rise of +land sufficient to justify the appellation of hill from Wilmot to Goderich; but +as you approach the lake, the land becomes more rolling, and better watered by +fine spring streams. +</p> + +<p> +I was quite delighted with the situation of Goderich, though the town-plot was +only just surveyed. Three frame-houses were in process of building. A +log-house, beautifully situated on a bold hill, overlooking the harbour, called +by Dr. Dunlop, the Castle,<a href="#fn-18.6" name="fnref-18.6" id="fnref-18.6"><sup>[6]</sup></a> +and a dozen or so of log-cabins, comprised the whole town of Goderich, most of +the latter being inhabited by French Canadians and half-breeds. The upper town +is situated on a fine cliff fronting the lake and harbour, and upwards of one +hundred feet above the level of the water. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.6" id="fn-18.6"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.6">[6]</a> +“In the afternoon of the following day, we saw afar off, by our +telescope, a small clearing in the forest, and on the brow of a rising ground a +cottage delightfully situated. The appearance of such a sight in such a place +was unexpected, and we had some debate, if it could be the location of Dr. +Dunlop, who had guided the land-exploring party already alluded to. Nor were we +left long in doubt; for on approaching the place we met a canoe, having on +board a strange combination of Indians, velveteens and whiskers, and discovered +within the roots of the red hair, the living features of the Doctor. About an +hour after, having crossed the river’s bar of eight feet, we came to a +beautiful anchorage of fourteen feet water, in an uncommonly pleasant small +basin. The place had been selected by the Doctor, and is now the site of the +flourishing town of Goderich.”—Galt’s +“Autobiography.” +</p> + +<p> +The lower town comprises a few acres of alluvial flat, only a few feet elevated +above the river. This piece of land was destitute of trees or stumps, and had +evidently been cleared many years ago by the Indians, who had cultivated it +with Indian corn. I ploughed up this flat of land for the benefit of the +Company, and sowed it with oats in the spring of ’29; and, therefore, I +can justly claim the honour—for the sake of which I did it—of +putting the first plough into the ground of the Huron tract. I also put in four +acres of wheat on the top of the hill near the castle, in the fall of the same +year, the yield of which was upwards of forty bushels to the acre—a good +yield for any country, especially when it is considered that at least +one-twelfth of the ground may be fairly deducted for stumps of trees, stones, +and other obstructions, usually found in all new clearings. I believe, however, +I may say without exaggeration, that the Company’s tract may safely +challenge any other block of land of the same dimensions either in Canada East +or West, for fertility of soil, average yield per acre, or healthiness of the +climate.<a href="#fn-18.7" name="fnref-18.7" id="fnref-18.7"><sup>[7]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.7" id="fn-18.7"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.7">[7]</a> +“The Canada Company’s Huron tract is known to be one of the most +healthy and fertile settlements in Canada. The tract in the year 1842 contained +7101 souls. In June last year (1849) the Huron district numbered 20,450 souls, +according to official reports, exclusive of the townships of Bosanquet and +Williams. The Canada Company’s tract now contains a population of 26,000 +souls, showing an increase of 18,900, and that the population has nearly +quadrupled itself in seven years—a progress of settlement of a tract of +country scarcely exceeded in any part of the North +America.”—Information to Emigrants by Frederick Widder, Esq. +</p> + +<p> +I bought a small log-house and town-lot, or rather the good-will of them, from +a French Canadian, putting myself in his place with the Company, with whom I +completed the purchase. The situation was very pretty, commanding a fine view +of the Lake. I immediately prepared to build a suitable house, to receive my +wife and family, whom I had been under the necessity of leaving behind me in +Guelph, till I could make suitable preparations to receive them here. +</p> + +<p> +At this time, there was only one saw-mill<a href="#fn-18.8" name="fnref-18.8" id="fnref-18.8"><sup>[8]</sup></a> +in the whole Company’s tract, and that was ten miles up the river, +situated near the mouth of a large creek, which flowed into the Maitland. This +mill was built close to one of the finest pine-groves in the block. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-18.8" id="fn-18.8"></a> <a href="#fnref-18.8">[8]</a> +“In no situation can settlers be distant from a mill, as there are at +convenient places distributed throughout the tract twelve grist-mills and +twenty saw-mills, and the facilities for communication are very great; for +seventeen of the townships are bounded on the one side by the great roads +traversing the tract in two directions for one hundred miles in extent, and six +of them are bounded by the Lake on the other side.”—Statistics +published by the Canada Company. +</p> + +<p> +I hired a man, who had been a raftsman on the Delaware, to go with me by land +up to the mill, for a few thousand feet of boards, that I required for my new +house. It was only seven miles to the mill by a new cut-out sleigh-track, +through the township of Goderich as far as the Falls, which we crossed by +wading the river just above them, which at that time we were able to do, though +not without some caution; for, although the spring-floods were considerably +abated, the water ran with great rapidity, and in some places was up to our +middles; but with the help of a strong setting-pole, we got over with safety. +</p> + +<p> +We made our little raft in three cribs, of a thousand feet of boards in each +crib, which we connected together by short pieces of scantling, which are bored +near each end with a two-inch auger and strung on the corner-pickets of each +crib, thus uniting them in one length. At each end of the raft, a long oar is +securely fixed, in temporary rowlocks for that purpose. +</p> + +<p> +The whole course of the river, from the mill to the harbour at Goderich, is a +strong rapid: two perpendicular falls occur in its course to the lake. The +Upper, or Big Fall, is about six feet, and the Little Fall three. We made a +capital run down, though in plunging over the first Fall we were up to our +arm-pits in water. But our little raft rose gallantly to the surface; and we +encountered no further difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +I enjoyed my trip down the river amazingly. I do not know anything more +delightful, when all goes well than being borne over the foaming rapids at the +rate of eight or ten miles an hour. The channel of the Maitland is wide, and +the banks picturesque. Our voyage did not exceed an hour, though the distance +was above nine miles. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +MY NEW HOUSE AT GODERICH.—CARPENTRY AN ESSENTIAL ART.—AMERICAN +ENERGY.—AGREEABLE VISITORS.—MY WIFE’S DISASTERS.—HINTS +FOR ANGLERS.—THE NINE-MILE-CREEK FROLIC.—THE TEMPEST.—OUR +SKIPPER AND HIS LEMON-PUNCH.—SHORT COMMONS.—CAMP IN THE +WOODS.—RETURN ON FOOT.—LUDICROUS TERMINATION TO OUR FROLIC. +</p> + +<p> +My new house at Goderich was constructed with cherry-logs neatly counter-hewed +both inside and out, the interstices between the logs being nicely pointed with +mortar. I had no upstair-rooms, excepting for stowage. The ground-story I +divided into a parlour, kitchen, and three bedrooms. After office-hours I used +to work a good deal at the carpenter’s bench—for I was always fond +of it when a boy. I had made some useful observations, as well as tormenting +our workmen on repairs at home, with the usual amount of mischief, and I now +reaped the benefit of my juvenile experience. I was able to make the doors, and +do nearly all the insidework of my house myself. Indeed, it is really essential +for the well-doing of the emigrant, that he, or some members of his family, +should have some knowledge of carpentry—in fact, be a jack-of-all-trades; +and, in that excellent profession, educated persons, healthy in mind and body, +excel the most. +</p> + +<p> +There is a very true saying, that necessity is the mother of invention, and in +no country is it better exemplified than in Canada. The emigrant has there, +especially when distant from a town or settlement, to make a hundred shifts, +substituting wood for iron, in the construction of various articles, such as +hinges for barn-door gates, stable and barn-shovels, and a variety of other +contrivances whereby both money and time are saved. +</p> + +<p> +I have often heard young men say, they “could not” do this or do +that. “Did you ever try?” is a fair question to such people. I +believe that many persons, with average capacities, can effect much more than +they give themselves credit for. I had no more been bred a carpenter than a +civil engineer, in which last capacity I was holding office satisfactorily. My +education had consisted of Latin, Greek, and French, and the mathematics. My +time had been spent in my own country; riding, shooting, boating, filled up +with a little amateur gardening. +</p> + +<p> +Want of energy is not the fault of the Americans; they will dash at +<i>everything</i>, and generally succeed. I had known them contract to do +difficult jobs that required the skill of the engineer or regular architect, +and accomplish them cleverly too, although they had never attempted anything of +the kind before; and they generally completed their task to the satisfaction of +the parties furnishing the contract. “I cannot do it” is a phrase +not to be found in the Yankee vocabulary, I guess. +</p> + +<p> +It is astonishing how a few years’ residence in Canada or the United +States brightens the intellects of the labouring classes. The reason is quite +obvious. The agricultural population of England are born and die in their own +parishes, seldom or never looking out into a world of which they know nothing. +Thus, they become too local in their ideas, are awake to nought but the one +business they have been brought up to follow; they have indeed no motive to +improve their general knowledge. +</p> + +<p> +But place the honest and industrious peasant in Canada, and, no matter how +ignorant he may be, when he sees that by his perseverance and industry he will +in a short time better his situation in life, and most likely become the +possessor of a freehold, this motive for exertion will call forth the best +energies of his mind, which had hitherto, for want of a proper stimulus, lain +dormant. Having to act and think for himself, and being better acquainted with +the world, he soon becomes a theoretical as well as a practical man, and +consequently a cleverer and more enlightened person, than he was before in his +hopeless servitude in the mother-country. +</p> + +<p> +When I left Guelph, I had arranged with my wife that as soon as I could get the +new house ready, I would send for her. I did not think that this could possibly +be done before sleighing-time, as the newly-cut road was almost impassable for +waggons. Judge, then, of my surprise when, on returning home from the +store-house one day, I noticed the door of my log-cabin open, and saw a lovely +curly-headed child sitting in the doorway. I could hardly believe my +eyes—it was my own little Maria. My dear little boy had remained at Douro +with my wife’s sister Eliza, of whom he was so fond that my wife did not +like to separate such friends from each other. On my entrance I found my wife +surrounded by a pile of luggage, laughing heartily at my astonishment. +</p> + +<p> +She told me, she felt so lonely that she determined to brave all the dangers of +the road in order to join me. Accordingly, she hired a settler who was the +owner of a waggon and a yoke of oxen, which she loaded with the most useful +articles we required—bedding and bed-clothes, &c.,—reserving +room in the waggon for herself, the child, and nursemaid. +</p> + +<p> +During the whole of the first day’s journey and part of the next, all +went on smoothly enough, their route lying through settlements; but as soon as +they entered the newly-cut road their difficulties commenced, and before they +had traversed five miles, the waggon was twice upset. This so alarmed my poor +wife, on account of the baby; that she durst not ride another step of the way, +although the travellers had still upwards of sixty miles to go. Moreover, she +was obliged to carry the child the entire distance; for their teamster had +enough to do to look after and guide his cattle, and the servant girl was too +young and too tired to render much assistance. +</p> + +<p> +Fifteen miles a day was the outside distance they could persuade the oxen to +travel, consequently, they were compelled to camp out two nights out of the six +in which they were on the road. Luckily, the weather was dry and warm. At night +the musquitoes were dreadfully annoying, as my poor little Maria’s neck +and arms too plainly showed. +</p> + +<p> +During the afternoon of the second day, when within six miles of +Trifogle’s tavern, their intended resting-place for the night, they were +overtaken by a man who was going in the same direction, who very +politely—as my wife thought—offered to carry her baby part of the +way. She was, of course, very glad to avail herself of his kind offer; nor did +she perceive, till after he had got possession of the bairn, that he was +intoxicated. She immediately demanded back her little treasure, but no +inducement could persuade him to relinquish it, and he set off with the infant +as fast as he could. In vain the poor mother besought him to stop—in vain +she sobbed and cried. On he went, followed by my Mary, who found great +difficulty in keeping up with him, which she did at first, till, at length, +exhausted by the unusual fatigue, maternal anxiety, and the roughness of the +road, she lost sight of him when about a mile from the tavern. He had walked +off with his little burden. +</p> + +<p> +She was now dreadfully alarmed, for night was fast coming on, and she did not +know whether she was on the right track or not. Fortunately, a light through +the trees extricated her from this dilemma: her only uneasiness was now for her +child. She was soon, however, relieved from this uncertainty; for, on entering +the house, there sat the man with the baby on his knee. The child appeared to +be on very friendly terms with him, and had, no doubt, enjoyed herself +amazingly while her bearer was running away with her. +</p> + +<p> +He at once restored the child to her mother’s arms, observing, +“that he hoped she would give him the price of a quart of whiskey for his +trouble, for the child was main heavy, God bless her.” +</p> + +<p> +My wife, of course, did not dispute the payment. She was only too glad to +recover her little pet, whom she took good care not again to trust to masculine +keeping, however tired she might be. So Maria remained safely in her +mother’s arms, for the remainder of the journey. +</p> + +<p> +At length, when down-hearted and weary, the bright waters of the Huron +gladdened their eyes, on the morning of the sixth day, and a few minutes +afterwards they took possession of my log-cabin, and gave me the happy surprise +already recorded. +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder you were not afraid of encountering such hardships, and even +danger, in travelling so many miles through the wild woods and on foot, and +with that heavy child to carry in your arms,” was my remark to my +enterprising wife. She replied, “that there had certainly been more +difficulties than she had anticipated; but had they been double, it would not +have prevented her from joining me.” So much for woman’s love and +devotion. +</p> + +<p> +During the summer months, we were plentifully supplied with fish. On some days +the harbour appeared to swarm with them. When the sun shone brightly, you could +see hundreds lying near the surface. There was no difficulty in catching them, +for the moment you threw in your bait, you had a fish on your hook. +</p> + +<p> +In the early part of the season, I used to make an imitation mouse of a piece +of musk-rat fur. This is a killing bait for trolling either for black bass or +maskilonge—as the season advances, a red and white rag, or a small +green-frog. But the best bait for the larger fish, such as salmon-trout and +maskilonge, is a piece of brass, or copper, about the shape and size of the +bowl of a tablespoon, with a large hook soldered upon the narrow end. If +properly made, and drawn fast through the water, it will spin round and +glitter, and thus is sure to attract the fish. I have caught hundreds by this +method, and can therefore recommend it as the most certain. Your trolling line, +which is attached to your left arm, should not be less than eighty or a hundred +feet in length, and sufficiently leaded to sink the bait three or four feet +beneath the surface, this line following the canoe as you paddle it swiftly +through the water. +</p> + +<p> +The scenery up the Maitland, from the harbour’s mouth to the flats, or +natural meadows, two miles from the lake, is very pretty and interesting. I +think it would be difficult to find for a summer residence a more charming +situation than the town of Goderich, and I might say with equal confidence, a +more healthy one. The water is excellent, and the town-plot abounds with +copious springs. +</p> + +<p> +About a mile from the town, there is one of the largest and purest springs of +the coldest and best water I ever drank. It gushes out of the side of a hill, +and rushes down the declivity with great swiftness over its pebbly bed, till it +is joined in its course, a few yards below the hill, by another spring of +nearly equal size, within half a mile of its source, turning a grist-mill on +its way to swell the waters of the Maitland. +</p> + +<p> +Nine miles up the lake-shore, east of Goderich, a fine little stream empties +its bright waters into the mighty Huron. A party of us had often expressed a +wish to explore the outlet of this stream, and at length a day was fixed for +the expedition. As we intended merely to pass one night at the river, and +return the next day, we only supplied ourselves with as much provisions and +grog as would last for that time—a great mistake, as it afterwards +proved. However, I will not anticipate. +</p> + +<p> +A large piece-log canoe was furnished by Mr. W. F. Gooding, our Goderich +store-keeper, who was one of the party, which consisted of nine persons, +including myself. All things being in readiness, Mr. Fullarton was dubbed +Captain for the occasion. At an early hour one fine sunny morning in June, we +stood out of the harbour with a light breeze, having rigged up two blankets as +sprit-sails. They answered very well, as long as we had any wind, which, +however, unfortunately soon died entirely away. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, boys,” said the Captain, “this won’t do. We must +raise a white-ash-breeze (meaning that we must have recourse to our paddles) or +we shall not see the Nine-Mile Creek this day, I can tell you.” The +impetus given to our canoe by the vigorous application of eight paddles, +independent of our steersman, made the De Witt Clinton (the name of our canoe) +fly through the water, which was now as calm as a mirror. After the wind fell, +the heat was intense; and, towards noon huge double-headed thunder-clouds +showed themselves, slowly emerging out of the still waters of the Huron, far +away to the north-west—a certain indication of a thunder-storm and change +of wind. +</p> + +<p> +About noon, we entered the creek by a very narrow channel, not ten feet in +width. Indeed, the lake has choked up the entrance of the little harbour with +sand and gravel, which, the water, descending the creek in summer-time, is not +sufficient to disperse. I think, however, by clearing out, and piling the +channel, and erecting two piers a short distance from each other, carried out +upon the lake, and curving towards each other, until only sufficient space is +left between them for the entrance of steam-boats and schooners, it might yet +be made navigable. The harbour at Cobourg has been built something on this +plan, which answers tolerably well; but if it had had a creek only the size of +this I am describing, it would have been much better, as the current is a great +help in clearing out the sand and gravel. +</p> + +<p> +On crossing the bar, we found ourselves in a snug little basin, sufficiently +deep for a vessel drawing six or seven feet water. We landed on a little +peninsula, between the lake and the harbour, and commenced operations for +cooking. +</p> + +<p> +After dinner, we paddled through the harbour, and up the river, as far as we +could go, which was only a very short distance, the navigation being +interrupted by a pretty fall of water, which tumbled from ledge to ledge, like +a succession of stone stairs, stretching from bank to bank across the stream, +and forming, as the Americans would say, an elegant mill-privilege. +</p> + +<p> +Since I left Goderich, a township, called Ashfield, has been laid out north of +the Company’s township of Colborne; the principal place of which is the +village of Port Albert—the very spot we went to explore. +</p> + +<p> +What a difference a few years make in a new country like Canada! With the aid +of a compass, or by following the course of some unknown stream, with much toil +and difficulty we make our way back for miles, through dense forests, swamps, +and creeks; scale the rocky precipice, or launch the light bark-canoe on some +far distant lake. We travel the same route twenty-five years afterwards, and +the forests have bowed their lofty heads—the swamps are drained—the +rivers bridged, and the steamer ploughs the inland wave, where shortly before +glided the canoe of the hunter. Such is no over-coloured picture. I have seen +it in my day realized many a time. The Huron tract, and the county of +Peterborough, are the proofs of my assertion; and various other settlements I +could name, would equally bear me out. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to our expedition—or as I might with greater truth +say—our <i>pic-nic</i>, for we did little else than paddle up and down +the creek, ramble about the falls, and eat and drink whenever we felt inclined. +In this manner we spent the first day; till the coming night, and the distant +growl of the thunder, warned us to prepare for our night-bivouac. +</p> + +<p> +One of our party, Mr. Brewster—the professor, as we generally called +him—from the circumstance of his being a near relation of Sir David +Brewster, the talented author of “Natural Magic,” had a small +tent-cloth with him, but not sufficiently large for the whole party. It was, +therefore, determined that four of us should sleep under the canoe, and the +remaining five under the tent. Quite a contention now arose between us, as to +who should be the favoured possessors of the tent. +</p> + +<p> +Not liking the appearance of the weather, I resigned any pretensions I might +have had to the canvas, knowing the canoe was, from its length and size, +capable of effectually sheltering four persons. We, accordingly, turned the +canoe bottom upwards, and raised one side of it sufficiently high to allow us +to creep under. To keep it in that position, we supported the raised edge on +some forked sticks; and a quantity of hemlock brush and fern, spread evenly +under it, made as good a bed as I would care to sleep on in hot weather. Our +companions pitched their tent close beside us, so that we might be more +sociable. After supper, we amused ourselves by singing songs, telling stories, +and—if the truth must be told—drinking whiskey-punch. +</p> + +<p> +The lightning was now incessant, illuminating the harbour and lake, and +revealing dark masses of clouds, piled upon one another in endless succession. +Few spectacles are more grand than the coming storm, or more awful when it +bursts in its wildest fury. Such was its appalling character on this night. For +the last hour I had been watching its progress, and admiring the brilliant +forked lightning, and listening to the deep-toned thunder, which woke the lone +echoes of the wood-crowned heights. +</p> + +<p> +A few large drops of rain warned us to seek the friendly shelter of our +respective camps. I had just settled myself snugly, when our skipper came to me +with a jug of lemon-punch fresh mixed. I declined taking any more. He was too +old a stager, however, to be put off that way, and was proceeding to show me +the necessity of taking a night-cap, when he was saved all the trouble of any +farther solicitation, and me of refusal, by a blinding flash of lightning, +followed by a succession of deafening reports. At the same instant, the wind +burst upon us like a whirlwind, prostrating in its irresistible fury our +unfortunate skipper, punch, and all. As for the tent, it was whisked half +across the harbour, in one blast, and the unfortunate inmates were left exposed +to all the pelting of the pitiless storm, which raged with unmitigated violence +till the dawn of day. We made room under the canoe for the professor and our +skipper, the utmost we could accommodate. The three remaining unfortunate +fellows were left to brave the tempest as they best might. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, the lake was white with breakers. The storm of the preceding +night had brought a strong north-wester in its train, so that we found it +impossible to launch our canoe—and, indeed, if we had, it would have been +unsafe to have attempted the passage therein; there was nothing else for us but +patience. But the worst part of the business was, that we had barely sufficient +provisions for breakfast, and what the professor said—“Was worse +than all—there was not a single horn of whiskey left in the jar.” +</p> + +<p> +The merchant and three of our party now determined to take the woods, and +endeavour to reach Goderich by that route, leaving us to follow with the canoe +if the wind should fall, of which, however, there appeared but little chance. +</p> + +<p> +It now became expedient that we should look out for food of some description, +as there was no doubt we should have to pass another night. On examining the +state of our larder, we found that our whole stock consisted of half a loaf of +bread, and a few ounces of sugar—rather short commons for four hungry +men, even for a single meal. +</p> + +<p> +We had no gun with us, or any fishing-lines. I had, it is true, a spear, but +there was too much wind to fish in the harbour. Luckily, I bethought myself of +the falls up the creek, where there was a pool sheltered by the woods. Thither +we went with the canoe, and succeeded in spearing a number of suckers, which +are, without exception, the softest and worst of all Canadian fish, especially +in the hot months; but even bad suckers are better than nothing. Our first +starvation-dinner consisted of a dish of boiled fish, a little bread, and a cup +of hemlock-tea; our supper, boiled fish without bread, and hemlock-tea without +sugar. +</p> + +<p> +To amuse ourselves, we built a nice camp on a wooded point overlooking the +harbour, and arranged everything comfortably to pass the night; and, although +we had such bad commons, we were merry enough, considering we had nothing +stronger to drink than hemlock-tea. +</p> + +<p> +In the morning, as appearances were no better in respect to the weather, and as +we were heartily sick of boiled suckers, we determined to do—as some of +our party had done previously—take the bush-route for Goderich. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, we crossed the harbour in the canoe, which we hid amongst the +bushes, and commenced our journey along the lake-shore. In some places we found +tolerably good walking, while in others we were compelled to mount the cliffs +to avoid the break of the surges, where headlands jutted out into the lake. For +the most part, however, we were enabled to travel upon natural terraces about +half way up the bank, which I should think averages nearly one hundred feet in +height. +</p> + +<p> +To our great delight, we discovered an abundance of fine wild strawberries, the +largest and most delicious I had ever seen. We found this a very seasonable +refreshment. The day was fine, and we enjoyed the prospect, which, viewed from +some of the highest points of land, was truly magnificent. +</p> + +<p> +About four o’clock in the afternoon we reached Goderich, weary and +half-starved. Thus ended our memorable pic-nic to the Nine-Mile Creek. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +CHOICE OF A LOCATION.—THE COMPANY’S LANDS.—CROWN +LANDS.—TABLES PUBLISHED BY THE CANADA COMPANY.—PROGRESSIVE +IMPROVEMENT OF THE HURON TRACT. +</p> + +<p> +After twenty-seven years’ residence in Canada West, it may be reasonably +inferred that I am justly entitled, from my long experience, to give a fair +opinion as to the best chances of location at present available to the +emigrant. +</p> + +<p> +On mature consideration, I must give the preference to the Huron tract, as +affording a greater facility for settlement, and this for three reasons. First, +on account of the excellent roads constructed by the Company—an +inestimable boon, which none but the early pioneer can fully appreciate. +Secondly, because of the excellent quality of the soil, which is remarkably +free from surface-stone, that every old settler knows is both troublesome and +expensive to clear away. And, thirdly the low price of these lands, and the +facility of payment. Indeed, their system of leasing affords the poor man every +chance. I shall copy a table of the yearly rent of farms leased on this plan by +the Company, for the information of those of my readers who contemplate +emigrating to Canada West. The present price of the Company’s lands in +the Huron tract, is from 12 shillings 6 pence to 20 shillings currency per +acre. +</p> + +<p> +The Company dispose of their lands, according to quality and situation, for +ready cash, or by lease for a term of ten years. In the latter case no money is +required to be paid down, the lease being granted upon the following +terms:— +</p> + +<pre> +s.d. L. s. d. +100 acres, at 2 0 per acre, ann. rent 0 10 0 and no more. +” 3 6 ” ” 0 12 0 ” +” 5 0 ” ” 0 18 0 ” +” 6 3 ” ” 1 4 0 ” +” 7 6 ” ” 1 10 0 ” +” 8 9 ” ” 1 17 0 ” +” 10 0 ” ” 2 5 0 ” +” 11 3 ” ” 2 12 0 ” +” 12 6 ” ” 3 0 0 ” +” 13 9 ” ” 3 7 6 ” +” 16 3 ” ” 3 15 0 ” +” 17 6 ” ” 4 2 6 ” +</pre> + +<p> +The rent is payable on the first day of February in each year, full power being +reserved to the settler to purchase the freehold, and take his deed for the +land he occupies, at any time during the lease, an arrangement, of course, +saving all future payment of rent. +</p> + +<p> +Many persons unacquainted with the country, might object to pay from twelve +shillings and six pence to twenty shillings for the Company’s lands, when +they see that the Government price on the wild lands belonging to the Crown, in +most townships, is only eight shillings per acre. +</p> + +<p> +However, they must recollect, that all the choice lands belonging to the Crown +have long since been located; and unless the emigrant is prepared to go back +into the remote townships, he cannot expect to get land as good as that +belonging to the Canada Company. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the only Crown-lands which could at all compete with the +Company’s lands are the townships lately surveyed north of the Huron +track to the River Saugeen, and the new settlements of Owen’s Sound and +the Queen’s Bush. +</p> + +<p> +In a report, drawn up and published by Daniel Lizars, clerk of the peace for +the united counties of Huron, Perth, and Bruce, May, 1851, he says,— +</p> + +<p> +“In this favoured portion of the province of Upper Canada, blest with a +salubrious climate and a fertile soil, watered with crystal springs and brooks +in every direction, reposing upon a table-land whose natural drainage flows +uninterruptedly onwards to the streams and great rivers which intersect it in +every quarter towards the noble Huron, or Lake St. Clair, the energies of the +people have been steadily devoted to practical progress and improvement; +having, in the short period above alluded to, brought upwards of eighty +thousand acres of the wilderness into cultivation, erected five thousand +dwelling-houses, fifty-six schools, fourteen churches, twelve grist mills, with +nineteen run of stores, five oat and barley-mills, five distilleries, two +breweries, eight tanneries, and twenty-four pot and pearl-ash factories.” +</p> + +<p> +“Among other matters which crowned their industry in 1850, I may state +the following productions:— +</p> + +<pre> +Wheat . . . . . 292,949 bushels. +Barley . . . . . 13,012 ” +Rye . . . . . 2,181 ” +Oats . . . . . 215,415 ” +Peas . . . . . 54,657 ” +Indian Corn. . . . 5,352 ” +Potatoes. . . . . 210,913 ” +Buck-wheat . . . . . 673 ” +Mangel-wurzel . . . . 297 ” +Turnips . . . . . 143,725 ” +Hay . . . . . 12,823 tons. +Flax or Hemp . . . . 7,359 pounds. +Maple Sugar. . . . 351,721 ” +Wool . . . . 54,347 pounds. +Fulled cloth . . . 10,303 yards. +Linen, or cotton cloth 1,197 ” +Flannel, or +other unfulled cloth 41,397 ” +Cheese for Market . . 7,761 pounds. +Butter for Market . . 58,873 ” +Beef, or Pork for Market 1,308 barrels. +</pre> + +<p> +“And they further rejoice in the possession of the following +stock:— +</p> + +<pre> +Neat Cattle . . . 26,260 +Horses . . . . . 2,646 +Sheep . . . . . . 20,022 +Hogs . . . . . . 14,655 +</pre> + +<p> +“The above gratifying examples speak loudly for the industry of the +settlers; and where hired labour can, with difficulty, be obtained at a high +remuneration, notwithstanding the yearly increased ratio of new comers, and, +moreover, where all are diligently employed in the onward march to happiness +and independence, we may truly be thankful to a superintending Providence, that +prosperity is in the ascendant.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Lizars states in another part of his Report, that the population of the +Huron district +</p> + +<pre> +In 1841, was . . . . . 5,600 +In 1847, six years afterwards 16,641 increase 11,043 +In 1848, one year do . . . 20,450 ” 3,807 +In 1850, two years do. . . 26,933 ” 6,483 +</pre> + +<p> +According to this ratio of increase, we may safely infer the population at the +present time (1852), to exceed thirty-two thousand souls; an increase almost +incredible; as, upon reference to Smith’s Work on Canada, it will be +found that the Huron district has made more rapid progress since its first +settlement in 1827, than Lower Canada did in one hundred and four years; its +population then being (in 1721), 24,511. +</p> + +<p> +Many contradictory statements have been made and published in respect to what +is the real actual grain average of Canada West. My own opinion is, that even +could a truthful average be obtained, it would throw very little light on the +real capability of the land—and for this reason. One-half of the +emigrants who settle upon land in Canada, and adopt cultivation as their +employment, are weavers, tinkers, tailors, sailors, and twenty other trades and +professions. It must be the work of years to convert such settlers into good +practical farmers. In such cases, how can a fair yield be extracted from land +ignorantly cultivated? But I will venture to affirm, that wherever good farming +is in practice, as good an average yield will be obtained, as in any country in +the world. +</p> + +<p> +“The following average of ten years for the Huron tract, has been +published:—Wheat, 25 bushels; barley, 30 bushels; oats, 40 bushels; rye, +30 bushels; potatoes, 250 bushels per acre. Swedish turnips, mangel-wurzel, and +other roots of a similar kind, are not yet sufficiently cultivated, to enable +an average yield to be given; but it may very safely be said, that, with +similar care, culture, and attention, the produce will not be less per acre +than in England. Indeed, it may be said with truth to apply to every grain +except beans, which do not thrive well in the Canadian climate.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE KING PROCLAIMED IN THE BUSH.—FETE AND BALL IN THE +EVENING.—MY YANKEE FELLOW-TRAVELLER.—AWFUL STORM.—MY LONELY +JOURNEY.—MAGICAL EFFECT OF A NAME. +</p> + +<p> +I was busy in the storehouse one afternoon, when Mr. Prior entered with a +newspaper in his hand, which he had just received from the old country. +</p> + +<p> +“I see by this paper, Strickland, that George IV. is dead; and that his +Majesty King William IV. has been proclaimed. Now, I think, we must give the +workmen a holiday on this memorable occasion.” +</p> + +<p> +“In what manner do you intend to celebrate the day?” was my +rejoinder. +</p> + +<p> +“I have been thinking,” he replied, “of making a little fete, +and inviting all the settlers within reach to assemble on the Button-wood +Flats. We will have some refreshments served round; and if the day is fine, I +have no doubt we shall enjoy ourselves much.” +</p> + +<p> +Due notice having been given, upon the appointed day every-one within ten miles +assembled on the Flats, dressed in their best attire; and ready to show their +loyalty in any way Mr. Prior might think proper to recommend. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the squire made his appearance, he ascended a large stump; and, in a +patriotic and loyal speech, informed us “that he had called this meeting +to hear him proclaim his most gracious Majesty King William IV.” +</p> + +<p> +He then read the proclamation, which was received with nine rounds of British +cheers. Our party then formed a large circle by joining hands; and sang the +national anthem, accompanied by the Goderich band, which was composed of two +fiddles and a tambourine. “Rule Britannia” for our sailor-king was +also played and sung—I was going to say in good style, but at all events +with great loyalty and enthusiasm. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as this ceremony was over, a pail of whiskey, with a tea-cup floating +on the surface, was handed round, followed by another pail containing +spring-water. Every person present drank his Majesty’s health; even the +fair sex, on this propitious occasion, did not disdain to moisten their pretty +lips with the beverage. +</p> + +<p> +The eating and drinking part of the festival now commenced in earnest. We had +seated ourselves on the grass, under the shade of four or five immense +button-wood trees, which effectually sheltered us from the scorching rays of +the sun. In the centre of the group, the union-jack of Old-England waved +gracefully above our heads— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“The flag that braved a thousand years<br /> +The battle and the breeze.” +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we had eaten and drunk to our satisfaction, a dance was proposed and +acceded to by the party. The band struck up “The Wind Shakes the +Barley:” country dances, Scotch reels, and “French fours,” +were kept up with great spirit on the level turf—“All under the +greenwood tree.” +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“For all that day to the rebeck gay<br /> +They danced with frolicsome swains.” +</p> + +<p> +Those of our party who did not patronize the dance, amused themselves with +ball-playing and a variety of old English games. +</p> + +<p> +The day was lovely; and the spot chosen for our sports is one of the most +beautiful natural meadows I ever beheld. We kept our fete in honour of King +William on a smooth green semi-circular meadow, of large extent, ornamented +here-and-there with clumps of magnificent button-wood trees.<a href="#fn-21.1" name="fnref-21.1" id="fnref-21.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +Towards the north, skirting the meadow, a steep bank rises in the form of an +amphitheatre, thickly-wooded—tree above tree, from the base to the crown +of the ridge. The rapid waters of the Maitland form the southern and western +boundary of this charming spot,—then not a little enhanced by the merry +groups which dotted the surface of the meadow, and woke its lone echoes with +music and song. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-21.1" id="fn-21.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-21.1">[1]</a> +Both the wood and the growth of this tree greatly resemble the sycamore. +</p> + +<p> +I was much amused by a Yankee mill-wright, who had contracted to build a large +grist-mill for the Company, both in Guelph and Goderich. He appeared enchanted +with the whole day’s proceedings. +</p> + +<p> +“I do declare,” he said, “if this don’t almost put me +in mind of the 4th of July. Why, you Britishers make as much fuss proclaiming +your king as we do celebrating our anniversary of Independence. Well, it does +me good to look at you. I vow if I don’t feel quite loyal. Come, let us +drink the old gentleman’s health agin. I guess, I feel as dry as a +sand-bank after so much hollering.” +</p> + +<p> +The setting sun warned us to discontinue our pastime and prepare for a move. +Before doing so, however, the squire again came forward, and after thanking us +for our attendance, loyalty, &c., he proposed “we should give three +cheers more for the King, and three for Queen Adelaide,” which were given +with all the power of our lungs, not a little aided by sundry potations imbibed +by the loyal in drinking their Majesties’ healths during the day’s +proceeding. +</p> + +<p> +Three cheers were then given for the Canada Company, three for the +Commissioners, and three for the old Doctor. Thus terminated the proclamation +of our sovereign in the Bush. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Prior had kindly issued invitations to the <i>élite</i> to a ball and +supper at Reid’s Hotel, which was well attended. The refreshments were +excellent, the supper capital; and the dancing was kept up with great spirit +till day-light warned us to depart. +</p> + +<p> +The next day, I started for Guelph with the Yankee mill-wright, whom I found a +clever, shrewd man. He told me he had travelled over a great part of the +Western States and Canada; but in all his wanderings he had never seen a +section of country, of the same size, that pleased him equal to the Huron +tract. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess, when this country of your’n is once cleared up, and good +roads made, and the creeks bridged, there won’t be such another place in +all creation.” +</p> + +<p> +“What makes you think so?” I enquired. +</p> + +<p> +“Wal, just look what a fine frontage you have on that ’ere big pond +(he meant Lake Huron) and good harbours and land that can’t be beat not +no how. All you want is ‘to go a-head,’ and you may take my word +for it that this will be the garden of Canada yet.” +</p> + +<p> +We had only one horse between us, which belonged to the Doctor, so that we were +obliged to ride turn about. In this manner we got on pretty well, so that by +four o’clock we were within two miles of old Sebach’s. The day had +been excessively hot, and for the last hour we had heard distant thunder. We, +therefore, pushed on with redoubled energy, in hopes of escaping the storm. +</p> + +<p> +Ever since I had witnessed the devastating effects of the whirlwind which +passed through Guelph, and which I have described in a previous chapter, I had +a dread of being exposed in the woods to the fury of such a tempest. In this +instance, however, we had the good fortune to reach the shanty just as the rain +commenced; and well for us it proved that we had gained a shelter for ourselves +and steed; for I seldom witnessed a more terrific storm. The lightning was +awful, accompanied by the loudest thunder I ever heard. The volleys of heavy +hail-stones on the shingled roof, together with the rushing sound of the wind, +and the crash of falling trees, made it impossible for us to hear a word that +was said. Indeed, I did not feel much inclined for conversation; for I could +not help meditating on the peril we had escaped. Had the storm commenced an +hour or two earlier or later, we should have bean exposed to its utmost fury, +as there was no place of refuge nearer than twenty miles either way. +</p> + +<p> +To show the terrible danger we had avoided, I counted a hundred and seventy-six +large trees that had fallen across the road between Sebach’s and +Trifogle’s—a distance not exceeding twenty miles. +</p> + +<p> +What a contrast this road now presents to what it was when I used to be in the +habit of travelling over it! I remember, once having been sent on some +important business to the settlement, which admitted of no delay. It was late +in November; the snow had fallen unusually early, and there was no horse then +to be procured at Goderich; so that I was obliged to walk without even a +companion to cheer the solitary way. I found the walking exceedingly laborious: +the snow was fully a foot deep and unbroken, save by the foot-marks of some +lonely traveller. +</p> + +<p> +I was very curious to learn who the person could be who had been necessitated +to take such a long journey through the wilderness alone. The second day of my +journey, my curiosity was gratified by seeing the name of the person written in +large characters in the snow. I stopped and read it with much interest: it was +that of a Scotchman I knew,—one James Haliday. After reading that name, +it appeared as if half the loneliness of the road was gone; for I knew from the +freshness of the track, that a human being was travelling on the same path, and +that he was, perhaps, not far ahead. +</p> + +<p> +Not many minutes after this occurrence, whilst descending a slight hill, I saw +nine fine deer cross the road, within a short gun-shot of the spot where I +stood. I had no gun with me; for I thought, if I did kill a deer, I should be +obliged to leave it in the woods. Nothing further occurred till within a short +distance of Trifogle’s, when a large wolf bounded close past me: he +seemed, however, the more frightened of the two, which I was not at all sorry +to perceive. +</p> + +<p> +When I arrived at the tavern, I told Trifogle what I had seen. He said, it was +very lucky I had not fallen in with the pack; for only the night before he had +gone to a beaver-meadow, about two miles distant, to look for his working oxen +which had strayed, when he was surrounded by the whole pack of wolves, and was +obliged “to tree,” to save his bacon. He was, it seems, kept for +more than three hours in that uncomfortable fix before he durst venture +down—“when he made tracks,” as the Yankees say, “for +hum pretty considerably smart, I guess.” +</p> + +<p> +My solitary journey was performed in the fall of 1830: at the present time +(1853) you may travel at your ease in a stage-coach and four horses, with +taverns every few miles, and more villages on the road than formerly there were +houses. Such are the changes that a few short years have produced in this +fast-rising country! +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap22"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +VISIT OF THE PASSENGER-PIGEON TO THE CANADAS.—CANADIAN +BLACKBIRDS.—BREEDING-PLACES OF THE PASSENGER-PIGEONS.—SQUIRRELS. +</p> + +<p> +The passenger-pigeon<a href="#fn-22.1" name="fnref-22.1" id="fnref-22.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +visits the Canadas in the early spring-months, and during August, in immense +flocks, bringing with them an agreeable change in the diet of the settler. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-22.1" id="fn-22.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-22.1">[1]</a> +The passenger-pigeon is not so large as the wild pigeon of Europe. It is +slender in form, having a very long-forked tail. Its plumage is a bluish-grey, +and it has a lovely pink breast. It is, indeed, a very elegant bird. +</p> + +<p> +Persons unacquainted with the country and the gregarious habits of this lovely +bird, are apt to doubt the accounts they have heard or read respecting their +vast numbers: since my return to England I have repeatedly been questioned upon +the subject. In answer to these queries, I can only say that, in some parts of +the province, early in the spring and directly after wheat-harvest, their +numbers are incredible. Some days they commence flying as soon as it is light +in the morning, and continue, flock after flock, till sun-down. To calculate +the sum-total of birds passing even on one day, appears to be impossible. I +think, the greatest masses fly near the shores of the great Canadian lakes, and +sometimes so low, that they may be easily killed with a horse-pistol, or even +knocked down with a long pole. +</p> + +<p> +During the first spring in which I resided at Goderich, the store-keeper was +out of shot, and the pigeons happened to be uncommonly numerous. I had a large +fowling-piece with a wide bore; so I tried a charge of fine shingle off the +beach at the first flock that came within close range, and had the satisfaction +of bagging seven birds at the first shot—indeed, it was almost impossible +to miss them, they flew in such thick clouds. I have frequently killed on the +stubbles, from twenty to thirty at one shot. +</p> + +<p> +Directly after the wheat is carted, the pigeons alight on the stubble in vast +flocks. As they are chiefly the young broods, they are very easily approached: +the sportsman should creep up behind them; for they are so intent on feeding, +that they will seldom notice his approach till he is within fair range of them. +</p> + +<p> +The hindmost ranks are continually rising from the ground, and dropping in +front of the others. This is the proper time to fire, just as the hind-rank are +a couple or three feet from the ground; firing the second barrel as the whole +flock takes fight. +</p> + +<p> +In the vicinity of the towns, sometimes a regular <i>battue</i> takes place, +when all kind of firearms are in requisition, from the old Tower musket to the +celebrated Joe Manton. +</p> + +<p> +In July, the pigeons feed a great deal on wild berries, such as raspberries, +huckle-berries, blue-berries, and a variety of other kinds. Many people would +naturally think that such vast flocks of birds would alight on the standing +grain, and destroy the crop: such, however, is not the case. Sometimes, during +the seed-time in the spring, they are a little troublesome; but I have never +known them alight on the ripening grain. The Canadian blackbirds are far more +destructive in that particular—especially that species with the +orange-bar across the wings. These birds alight on the Indian corn crops and +oats in such numbers, that they do a great deal of damage, particularly the +oats, which they break down by their weight. +</p> + +<p> +There is another kind of blackbird, smaller than the former, and speckled very +much like a starling. Indeed, I believe it is a species of that bird; for it +frequents marshes, and lodges amongst the reeds at night. This bird is also +destructive in the corn-fields. +</p> + +<p> +There is yet a third species of blackbird, larger than either of the above, +whose colour is of a glossy blue-black, very like our rooks. These birds are +just as troublesome as the rest; but it must be admitted that their destroy an +immense quantity of caterpillars and grubs. They are easily frightened away by +firing a few shots. There is, however, no doubt but that they are a greater +plague to the farmers than the pigeons: besides, the latter are excellent +eating. +</p> + +<p> +I once accompanied the Doctor on an exploring expedition through the tract. We +encamped close to a breeding-place of these birds, when we were kept awake all +night by the noise they made. Sometimes, too, a limb of a tree would break with +the weight of the birds which had alighted on it, when there would be such +fluttering and flapping of wings, as made it impossible for us to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +Towards morning, the sound of their departure to their feeding-grounds +resembled thunder. For nearly two hours there was one incessant roar, as flock +after flock took its departure eastward. The ground under the trees was +whitened with their excrement, and strewn with broken branches of trees. +</p> + +<p> +The Americans have a plan of capturing these birds, by means of a decoy, or +stool-pigeon, and nets. Thousands are often taken in this way during seed-time +in the spring. When I first resided in the township of Douro, the pigeons used +to be very plentiful at that time, their chief breeding-place being in the +township of Fenelon, in a direct line west from my residence, some forty or +fifty miles. And yet, soon after day-light, they would be passing eastward over +my clearing, so vast is their swiftness and strength on the wing. +</p> + +<p> +It is a curious fact that, although thousands passed daily for many days in +succession, yet not one of them returned by the same route they went. I have +been informed that this breeding-place has been deserted for several years, +owing to the settlements having approached too near to please the winged +possessors. +</p> + +<p> +This satisfactorily accounts for the decrease I have noticed amongst these +feathered denizens of the forest, during the last seven or eight years. In +consequence of their having been disturbed, they have sought a more remote +breeding-place. I am not at all certain whether this decrease is general +through the province; but I feel quite convinced that, as civilization +increases, all kinds of birds and wild animals will become less numerous, with +the exception of crows and mice, which are greatly on the increase. Rats also +have been imported, and appear to thrive well in the towns; though, I am happy +to say, they have not found their way into my township yet—and long may +they be ignorant of my location. +</p> + +<p> +There is also another animal, which I think is more numerous than +formerly—I mean the black squirrel. These pretty little creatures are +very destructive amongst the Indian-corn crops. I have seen them carrying off a +whole cob of corn at once, which I will be bound to say was quite as heavy as +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +The form of this animal is very elegant; the colour jet black—with a +large bushy tail: the fur, however, is too open to be of any value. The flesh +is excellent eating, far superior to that of the rabbit. In a good nut-season, +in the western part of the province, the quantity of these animals is almost +incredible. +</p> + +<p> +I have heard old hunters say that, if the squirrels are numerous in the summer, +the bears will be plenty in the fall, and also that their numbers give a sure +indication of a severe winter. This saying, I believe to be true; because +neither the squirrels nor bears are plentiful, unless there is an abundant +supply of beech-mast, butter-nuts, hickory-nuts, &c., which Providence has +kindly provided in more superabundant quantity on the approach of a longer and +severer winter than usual. +</p> + +<p> +Besides the <i>Niger</i>, or black squirrel, there are three other species in +Canada West; first, the <i>Cinereus</i>, or grey squirrel, which is larger than +the black squirrel. Its fur is something better, but the animal is not near so +numerous. Secondly, the <i>Ruber</i>, or red squirrel, smaller than the last, +but equally destructive. +</p> + +<p> +The chitmunck, or <i>Siriatus</i>, or ground squirrel, is much smaller and more +mischievous than any of the former species. The ridge of the back is marked +with a black stripe; the sides are of a reddish yellow, spotted with white; the +feet and legs pale red; the eyes black and projecting. These pretty little +creatures never run up trees, unless they are pursued. They burrow and form +their habitations under ground with two entrances. During the maize-harvest, +they fill their mouths so full of corn that their cheeks distend to the size of +a hen’s egg. The chitmunck sometimes inhabits hollow trees and logs. +</p> + +<p> +I have frequently cut down trees in which they had deposited their +winter-store, to the amount of half-a-bushel of beech-mast, Indian corn, and +grain of different descriptions. It is a very curious circumstance that, before +storing away for the winter, they carefully skin every beechnut. +</p> + +<p> +Towards the spring, when the days begin to be a little warm, they leave their +winter-holes and enter the barns—compelled, most probably, by the failure +of their winter-store. Great numbers are then destroyed by the cats. Their fur +is of little value, and their flesh uneatable. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap23"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE REBEL, VON-EGMOND, THE FIRST AGRICULTURAL SETTLER ON THE +HURON.—CUTTING THE FIRST SHEAF. +</p> + +<p> +The celebrated Anthony J.W.G. Von Egmond, who commanded the rebels at Gallows +Hill during Mackenzie’s rebellion, was the first agricultural settler on +the Huron tract. He had formerly been a Colonel in the old Imperial Army; and +after Buonaparte’s abdication and retirement to Elba, he joined the +Allies, and held the rank of an officer in one of the Belgian regiments at +Waterloo. +</p> + +<p> +He was a pushing, clever sort of man; and had he but been contented, and stuck +to his last, instead of troubling his head about politics, he would, in all +probability, have become one of the richest and most independent farmers in the +Huron tract. +</p> + +<p> +Within the short period of twenty months, Von Egmond had chopped and cleared, +fit for a crop, nearly a hundred acres of land, fifty of which were sown wheat. +As this was the first field ripe in the tract, the old man determined to +celebrate the event by asking some of the gentlemen connected with the Canada +Company to dinner, and to witness the cutting of the first sheaf. +</p> + +<p> +Thomas Mercer Jones, Esq., one of the Company’s Commissioners, Dr. +Dunlop, Mr. Prior, the Professor, and myself, composed the party on this +important occasion. As the distance was little short of eighteen miles through +the Bush, and we had no way of getting there—except by walking—it +was arranged that we should start the day previous, and sleep all night at Von +Egmond’s. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, we left Goderich about eleven o’clock, A.M., by the newly +cut-out road, through the forest. I wonder what our English friends would think +of walking in their shirt-sleeves, with their coats and neckcloths thrown over +their arms, eighteen miles to a dinner-party, with the thermometer ranging +something like 90 degrees in the shade. +</p> + +<p> +The day was hot, though not unpleasantly so; for the leafy screen above our +heads effectually protected us from the scorching rays of a July sun, which +would otherwise have been very oppressive. +</p> + +<p> +The musquitoes were particularly civil—indeed the reign of these +gentlemen was nearly over for the season. They begin to be troublesome in the +middle of May. From the 1st of June to the middle of July, they are in the very +height of their impertinence; and, although they have not sufficient strength +in their proboscis to penetrate a top-boot, yet they easily pierce through a +summer coat and shirt, and a wee bit into the skin beneath. From the middle of +July to the middle of August, they become much less venomous; and are then only +annoying for an hour or so in the evening, in the woods or marshes. By the 1st +of September, they finally disappear for the season. +</p> + +<p> +Our long road was considerably shortened by the amusing stories and anecdotes +of the Doctor, who kept us in good humour during the whole journey. Nearly +mid-way between Goderich and Von Egmond’s, a small rill crosses the road: +here we stopped for an hour, and refreshed ourselves with beef-sandwiches and +brandy and water—no bad things in the Bush. +</p> + +<p> +Close by the side of this little stream was a small log-shanty, which had been +erected by the people who had been employed by the men cutting out the new +road, which, from this to the southern boundary of the Huron tract, was already +cleared out, the full width of sixty-six feet, preparatory to its being +turnpiked.<a href="#fn-23.1" name="fnref-23.1" id="fnref-23.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn-23.1" id="fn-23.1"></a> <a href="#fnref-23.1">[1]</a> +This is merely an American term for a road which has been ploughed on each +side, and the earth, so raised, thrown up in the centre by the means of a +road-scraper, or turnpike shovel, worked either with horses or oxen. A road +engineer or surveyor would call this grading, preparatory to gravelling or +planking. +</p> + +<p> +We reached our destination about five o’clock, where we were received +with every mark of respect and hospitality. We were shown upstairs into a +newly-finished room—the only apartment as yet completed in the tavern old +Von Egmond was building. Here we found an excellent supper ready for us, to +which, after a walk of eighteen miles, you may be sure we did ample justice. +</p> + +<p> +In the morning, we walked over the farm with the old Colonel, and were much +gratified by seeing the prosperous condition of the crops, which argued well +for the goodness of the land. I think I never saw a finer crop of oats, or +better promise for turnips, in my life. The wheat also looked extremely well. +It was certainly an interesting sight, after walking for miles through a dense +forest, suddenly to emerge from the wooded solitude upon a sea of waving grain, +white for the harvest. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“The Harvest! the Harvest! how fair on each plain<br /> +It waves in its golden luxuriance of grain!<br /> +The wealth of a nation is spread on the ground,<br /> +And the year with its joyful abundance is crowned.<br /> +The barley is whitening on upland and lea,<br /> +And the oat-locks are drooping, all graceful to see;<br /> +Like the long yellow hair of a beautiful maid,<br /> +When it flows on the breezes, unloosed from the braid.<br /> +<br /> +“The Harvest! the Harvest! how brightly the sun<br /> +Looks down on the prospect! its toils are begun;<br /> +And the wheat-sheaves so thick on the valleys are piled,<br /> +That the land in its glorious profusion has smiled.<br /> +The reaper has shouted the furrows among;<br /> +In the midst of his labour he breaks into song;<br /> +And the light-hearted gleaners, forgetful of care,<br /> +Laugh loud, and exult as they gather their share. +</p> + +<p> +Agnes Strickland. +</p> + +<p> +About noonday, we all proceeded to the harvest-field, headed by our host and +his lady, and her fair daughters. As soon as we arrived at the scene of action, +a sickle was placed in the hands of Madame Von Egmond; and she was requested to +cut and bind the first sheaf of wheat ever harvested in the Huron +tract—an honour of which any person might be justly proud. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +“Lord! thou hast blessed the people,<br /> +And made the plant of bread<br /> +To spring, where’er beneath thine eye<br /> +Fair Nature’s carpet spread.<br /> +Earth’s thirst drank in thy freshening rain,<br /> +Earth’s bosom wooed thy sun,<br /> +Beautiful grew the golden grain,<br /> +Like prize of labour won!” +</p> + +<p> +What were the red battle-fields of Napoleon, in comparison to this bloodless +victory, won over the forests of the Huron! The sight of that first sheaf, cut +by the gentle hand of woman, was one that angels rejoiced to see; while the +fruits of his conquests were such as might well make “the seraphs +weep.” +</p> + +<p> +Madame Von Egmond handled her sickle something better than a mere amateur, +which make us conjecture it was not the first sheaf she had ever cut and bound. +As soon as this interesting ceremony was over, we gave three hearty cheers for +the Canada Company. A horn of whiskey was served round, in which we pledged our +host and hostess, and drank success to the settlement. +</p> + +<p> +On our return to the house, we found a capital dinner awaiting us. Indeed, the +old soldier had spared neither pains nor expense in providing handsomely on the +occasion. After the cloth was removed, a nice dessert was laid out, consisting +of almonds and raisins, oranges, and red and black raspberries. The two latter +dishes are easily procured, for they grow more plentifully in the angles of the +snake-fences in Canada than blackberries do in England. They are a delicious +fruit, and particularly grateful in a hot day to the weary traveller. +</p> + +<p> +I need hardly describe our evening’s entertainment, save that “we +ate, drank, and were merry.” Indeed, it would have been difficult to be +otherwise with Doctor Dunlop as one of our companions. +</p> + +<p class="center"> +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="center"> +LONDON:<br /> +Printed by Samuel Bentley & Co.<br /> +Bangor House, Shoe Lane. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA WEST ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 15245-h.htm or 15245-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/2/4/15245/</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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