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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. errata 1 to t B pelure, :on d n 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO; CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; HISTORY OF HALIBURTON COUNTY; THEIR TOWNSHIPS, TOWNS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, ETC. ; GENERAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS ; BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ; AND AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA, ETC., ETC. 5lUistrateO. TORONTO: C. BLACKETT ROBINSON, 5 JORDAN STREET 1884. / f'-ff g ,/^ VA Bui PREFACE. HE following pages, it is confidently believed, will not only be ' found to fulfil all the various conditions outlined in the Pro- spectus, but will be recognized as supplying a long-felt want. With the exception of the first portion, the matter embodied in the work is necessarily to a large extent local in its applica- tion, but much of it will be found to be not devoid of interest, even for those who have no special concern with the County of Peterborough. No pains or expense have been spared to render every portion of it worthy of the subject-matter. Many of the incidents narrated in the historical portion are now chronicled for the first time. Not a few of the personal episodes will doubtless enable its readers to recall long-forgotten memories, and, in imagination, to live over again the happy days of their youth. The slight delay which has occurred in the production of the work has been due to a desire to secure complete accuracy, and to produce a volume which will not only be read with present interest, but which will be permanently useful for purposes of reference. It is too much '•o expect that a book embodying such a multiplicity of details should be absolutely free from error, but tlie opinion is confidently expressed that this County History will at least compare favourably with other works of its cl^ss, and Inat in many important respects it will be found to Be considerably in advance of them. I - WiuiM»"£. *-'^gAi5tV¥ IV. Preface. " A Brief History of Canada and the Canadian People " was written by Dr. C. Pelham Mulvany, of Toronto, who also wrote the History of th^ County and Town of Peterborough. The Township Histories were pre- pared by Mr. Charles M. Ryan, of Toronto, with local assistance. The History of Haliburton County was written by Mr. Charles R. Stewart, of Haliburton Village. The biographical sketches were prepared by efficient ' writers from notes collected by the solicitors, and a copy of each biography has been sent by mail to the various subjects, giving each an opportunity to correct any errors that might have crept into their sketches; Where the copy was not returned the publisher was obliged to print the originals. To the county, town and township officers, and many intelligent residents of Peterborough, the publisher is indebted for favours and generous assistance in the preparation of the work. THE PUBLISHER. ^ CONTENTS. \ 'I PART I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF CANADA AND THE CANADIAN PEOPLE. CHAPTHR. PAGE. I. Pre-Historic, - - - - i II. Jacques Cartier, - - - - - . . ■ . - 7 III. Cartier's Successors, ' - - 13 IV. Acadia, 16 V. Samuel de Champlain, - 22 'VI. Champlain and the Ottawa, ------- 33 VII. The Recollet Mission, - - - 38 VIII. Champlain's Difficulties, - - - - - - - 50 IX. Champlain Governor of Canada, - - - - - - 57 X. The Jesuit Missions, - - - - • - - - - 59 XI. The Beginning of Montreal, ...... Qy XII. The Government of Montmagny, - - - - - 73 XIII. Canada under Royal Government, - - - - - 82 XIV. The English Military Government, 93 XV. The American Revolution as it affected Canada, - - - 97 XVI. The Constitution of T 79 1, - 103 XVII. The Settlement of English-Speaking Canada, - - - no XVIII. Lower Canada from 1 791 to 18:2, ..... ng XIX. The War of i8i2-'i5, 125 XX. Lower Canada from the Peace to 1828, - - - - 137 XXI. Upper Canada from the Peace to 1828, .... 139 XXII. Canada on the Eve of Rebellion, 143 XXIII. Revolt, - - - - .- - - - ■ ■ - 148 VI. CHAPTER. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII XIIL Contents. The Civil War, .... The Civil War- cr;«//«,/grf, ..." The Civil War-Montgomery-s Farm. '." The Family Compact Terror, The Union of the Provinces, Confederation, .... Prosperous Days, . . . '. Recent Y^ars, . . . . ' PART II. COUNTV AND TOWN OF PETERBOROUGH. The County of Peterborough, - . . History of the Town of Peterborough, " .' \ Progress of the Settlement, - A Paternal Government, ...,'" Peterborough, - . . . _ Military Peterborough, Education and Journalism, - . • . Incorporation and Royalty, - . . . " The Living and the Dead, . . Peterborotigh Water Works, Miscellaneous Matters, Ashhurnham, .... Lo ! The Poor Indian, . . PART III. ' , TOWN.SHIPS OF PETER150K0UGH. Smith, Township of, - Otonabee, Township of, ~: . . . . " Douro, Township of, - . . . ' ' Lakefield, Village of, - ... North Monaghan, Township of, - Ennismore, Township of, .... _ Asphodel, Township of, ..... PAGE. - 159 -165 - ^1S • ^79 - 195 - 203 - 207 .215-245 246-270 271-280 281-288 289-307 308-326 327-333 334-339 340-344 352-359 360-362 - 361 - 381 - 390 - 397 - 402 - 404 ■ 410 Contents. I'AOK. Hastings, Village of, , j Norwood, Village of, • . . .^o Dummer, Township of, 426 Belmont and Methuen, Townships of, .^, Burleigh, Chandos, and Anstruther, Townships of, - - - . 436 Harvey, Township of, .» Galway and Cavendish, Townships of, aca PART IV. COUNTY OF HALIBURTON. 1. Organization and Geology, - . ^ .... 463-474 II. Minerals and Haliburton Village, 475-481 III. The Townships, 482-505 * PART V. BrOGRAI'IIICAL NOTICES. Town of Peterborough, - - - ^oo Smith, Township of, g^- Otonabee, Township of, -. 528 Keene, Village of, . 5.2 Douro, Township of, 5^, Lakefield, Village of, 5.0 North Monaghan, Township of, - -656 Ennismore, Township of, - - - - - . - . . 550 Asphodel, Township of, 5^0 Hastings, Village of, g^g Norwood, Village of, 582 Dummer, Township of, 5go Warsaw, Village of, -Qg Belmont, Township of, - - -Qg Methuen, Township of, . . - 717 Burleigh Township of, - 718 Chandos, Township of, y,Q Anstruther, Township of, ^i-i t -'if -I • • • VUl. Contents. Harvey, Township of, - Haliburton, Village of, Monmouth, Township of, Glamorgan, Township of Cardiff, Township of, - PAGE. - n^ • n\ • 780 ■ 782 • PORTRAITS. Louis Papineau, - Louis H. Lafontaine, - - 43 Sir George E. Cartier, - ■ 71 Joseph Howe, - 99 D'Arcy McGee, - -. - 113 Hon. George Brown - - • 133 Sir Francis Hincks, -• ■ ■ - 153 Hon. Edwiird Blake, - ; ■ 211 Sir John A. Macdonald, - 263 Sir S. L. Tilley, - . - 315 Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, • ■ - 367 Marquis of Lome, . .417 Earl Dufferin, - 467 - 499 A BRIEF HISTORY OF CANADA AND THE CANADIAN PEOPLE. Chapter I. ^k-f^" PRE-HISTORIC CANADA. HE history of Canada is the history of three races, — the Indian, the Frenchman, and the Enghsh-spcaking immigrant from the l^ritish isles or tlie neiglibouring Repuhiic^ Tlie Indian tribes had roamed over the unbroken forest that is now the Dominion of Canada, through ages that we can only approximately estimate by the guesses of experts in our jwe-historic annals. Like the other inferior races of man, thev have no annals, no record of their own past ; but the record of race, stamped on skin and skeleton, would seem to indicate an Asiatic origin. In the part of North America south of what is now New York State, the present race of Indians appear to have superseded a far more civilized race, the builders of fortified towns and permanent temples, who were well acquainted with the use of .netals. But^ when, in the sixteenth century of Christian- civilization, French and English maritime enterprise, born of the new birth of classical literature, discovered or re-discovered this country, the Indian race in Canada Iiad not advanced beyond the civili- zation of the Stone Age. They were in some respects behind, they were in no respect in advance of, the human wild beast who was the contemporary of the mammoth and the cavc-I)ear. Their spears and arrows were pointed with carefully-chipped flint, their knives were of clam-shells ; of the use of Canada and the Canadian People. metal they knew nothing ; their dress was that of the earlier savages described in the legends of Hebrew and other primitive races, paint and the skins of wild beasts. They had no domesticated animals except a breed of dogs useless for the chase, which they kept for the purpose of religious Siacrifice and of food. They had lived for unknown centuries with no home but the forest, which they siiared with the wolf, the bear, and the lynx. In architecture they were inferior to the brute instinct which had shaped the lake cities of the beaver, the cave-shaped nests of the mole, the wax hexagon of the bee. The Indians of Canada represent its pre-historic age. It is impossible to estimate the date of their sparse and nomadic occupation of a country that, now civilized into farms, towns, and cities, supports an increasing; population which to their feeble and shifting mmiber is as a thousand to one. No doubt these inferior races fulfdled a useful purpose. They were of some service to the first white immigrants into Canada. They guided Champlain up the tortuous courses of the Ottawa ; their conversion from Fetichism to Roman Catholicism elicited the noblest missionary effort which the Christian Church has seen since its first certury of miracles and martyr- doms. But the}' surpassed all other savage races known to history in cruelty, treachery, and revenge ; and whenever, after a fashion, they have become civilized, they seem to have lost many of the virtues of savage life. . It may be doubted whether the heroism of the French Jesuits does not count among the wasted efforts of man's noblest powers. The Christian- ized Indian is no permanent or prosperous element in the population of this country; his civilization is second-hand; disease and vice decimate his ranks ; alcoholism fastens its fangs into his strength. An intelligent officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, employed at the Pacific Railway station of Mattawa, in 1882, not long since expressed the opinion that the Indian tribes in the northern part of Canada will nost likely be extinct before the end of another hundred years. When the continent of America was first discovered, what is now the Dominion of Canad'. was inhabited by a number of savage tribes who, in their approach to civilization, were on a level with the negroid races of Africa or Australia, although to some degree surpassing them in courage and pl^.ysical vigou. . Of these, there were two principal divisions : the tribes of the Algon- quin race, and those of the Iroquois, since known as the Six Nation Indians. Tht! Algonquins, as a rule, did not live in fortified villages ; the solitary hunter wandered through the woods, or with wife and children erected the birch- bark wigwam by the banks of some stream, whose plentiful supply of fish would supplement the more precarious venison. In tlie tropical Canadian { Pre-Historic Canada. summer, life passed in Arcadian content. With the Arctic winter came the severer struggle for existence against the wild beasts and the weather. When the long-hoarded supply of food, often little better than putrid carrion, became nearly exhausted, old people and women were knocked on the head, and can- nibalism became a necessity; the scanty supply of fuel, hewn with long-con- tinued labour of flint knife and stone hatchet, gave little protection against the terrible winter wind which entered every crevice of the wretched dwel- linj^\ Deaths from exposure thinned the ranks of the hunters; wolf and wildcat vainly strove to tear the marble-stiffened form frozen in the snow. And still, with the conservatism of savage life, no advance was made, no protection sought against cold and hunger; the warrior in the brief hour of feasting forgot the sure approach of famine, and the terrors of winter descended upon his defenceless home, without any provision having been made against its approach. A nearer approach to civilization was made by those tribes that, as a rule, lived in settled communities. Of these, by far the most remarkable were the Iroquois, whose organization, once that of the terrible Iroquois League, continues to this day in the Reserve on the Grand River, which the British Government granted as an asylum for their race. They formed a Confederacy originally seated in what is now New York State, but whose hunting grounds extended, and whose villages were built, over the entire lake region and valley of the St. Lawrence. Their settlements were made up of a number of large houses, surrounded by a wooden rampart. Each house was solidly built of wood, and well protected against wind and rain. It was generally from a hundred to a hundred and fiftj' feet long, and con- tained mituy fire-places, and a number of bunks, a few feet from the ground, on which the various families — men, women, children, old and young — slept promiscuously together. Provision for privacy or decency there was none. Their only drink was the water of the stream ; their food, meat or fish, often kppt till it was putrid; their sole luxurj', tobacco, that great gift' of the New World to the Old, in return for which slic had not yet received the more questionable gift of fire-water. The Iroquois have been aptly termed "the Romans of the Western World." Their political organization, with its extensive settlements of allied tribes and towns, enabled them to conquer the other Indian races in every part of Canada, to exterminate the two great tribes of the Hurons and the Eries, and to become an important ally to England in the wars of the French and English colonists previous to the conquest, and in the two wars with the United Stat'-a which followed it. Enthusiastic writers on the romantic aspects of savage life have drawn rose-coloured pictures Canada and the Canadian People. of the courage, the simplicitj', the eloquence of the noble red man. But, looked at in the light of careful and patient investigation, the ways of the dwellers in wigwams lose much of this ideal colouring. The Indian Chief was not, as writers like the poet Campbell have repre- sented him, a hero king, like those of the Grecian army before Troy. He was simply a warrior raised above others by superior strength or cunning ; with no authority of life or death ; no power as a ruler, beyond what the influence he could exert in the interminable wrangling of war-council might give him for the time. He was in no respect a member of an aristocratic caste ; he fished and hunted just as did every other member of his tribe ; had no privilege of class, such as those of the chief of a Highland clan, or an Irish sept. The most noted chiefs of even the most recent, and therefore the best, phase of Indian warfare, such as Pontiac or Tecumseh, were in many respects mere painted savages among their fellow-savages. The courage of the Indian warrior differed from that which in all civilized ages has been regarded as the essential attribute of manhood. He could die a death of horrible and prolonged torture without a complaining cry, but on the battle-field the Indian would rarely risk his life before an equal foe. A handful of Europeans, as in the case of the Carillon massacre, could hold hundreds of these wolves of the wilderness at bay. The Indian on the war-path resorted to every treachery, every coward's subterfuge of ambush and surprise. On children, women, and captives, he gloried in exercising cruelties of which there is no trace in the record of any other savage race, even the most degraded known to history. Of endurance of inevitable pain, these Stoics of the forest gave abundant proof; of pit}-, placability, chivalry, none. It is true that the annals of Iroquois warfare show no instance of treachery to allies resulting from mere abject cowardice I'ke that shown by the Huron allies of Daulac des Ormeaux at the critical turning point of the disasters of Carillon. But, in many respects besides this, the Iroquois stand alone among the Indian races. West of the St. Lawrence Valley were two great tribes, the Huron and the Erie. Like the Iroquois and the more civilized of the Algonquin tribes, the Hurons lived in towns. When Champlain visited their settlements in the West, he was surprised at the superiority of their villages, and at the cultivated ground covered with corn ana vegetables. The religious chivalry of the French Jesuit missionaries converted, and might have civilized, the Hurons. But the torch and tomahawk of Iroquois warfare exter- minated the race as utterly as the Canaanites were destroyed from the face of earth by the pious zeal of the children of Israel. Nothing remains Pre-Historic Canada. of them but the name given to the lake by which they dwelt, the record of their slow and doubtful conversion by the Jesuits, and the mocking but brilliant romance written in ridicule of the Jesuit Relations by Voltaire.'" It is true that there are other remains in the huge bone pits found in the country once occupied by the Huron race, immense receptacles of human skeletons containing hundreds in one vast sepulchre. The existence of these places of sepulture is well explained by the account given by the early Jesuit missionaries, who witnessed the process of the formation at the loatlisome Feast of the Dead. Every few years it was the Huron custom to exhume the bodies of all those who had been buried during that period. The bodies were wrapped in robes of honour, and carried into the houses where they had dwelt during life ; there the festering remains were treasured for several daj'S, then brought all together and thrown into a deep pit, as soon as the skeleton could be denuded of the last particle of flesh. Then, with endless oratory from a high plat- form, and a feast as of ghouls in presence of this foul spectacle, the " Feast of the Dead " came to an end. There were other feasts common to the Indian race, of all of which unlimited gluttony was the main feature. For drunkenness they had no opportimity till civilization came with the rum- bottle, which is so rapidly helping to exterminate their race. At some of the public dances and festivals, girls and the younger women danced robe- less, as the witches at Faust's Walpurgis Night. When preparing for war, the usual council was held and the usual interminable speechification, characteristic of these grown-up children, was continued for days. Then, the warriors, smeared with paint so as to ensure disguise, issued forth, armed with flint-pointed spear, arrows, and tomahawk, to tread the war-path. Of all savage races, these alone practised the cruel and disgusting custom of scalping; a custom practised by Pontiac, Tecumseh, and Captain Brant, as ruthlessly as by the earliest and least civilized braves of Indian warfare. As to religion, much has been said of the pure monotaeism of the Indian race : of their hope in a future life, and worship of the Great Spirit. Unscientific writers have found it eas}' to exalt this crude and shocking Manitou worship to a level with the monoiheism of Socrates and the New Testament. But those who have studied the abundant early records of Indian superstition know well that this, like every other savage race, never emerged from the stage of intermingled animism and fetichism. Animism is the superstition of children when they beat the ground against which they have fallen and hurt themselves. It is the superstition of savages when • Voltaire's Le Huron. Canada and the Canadian People. they attribute a conscious life to the phenomena of nature. A more advanced step in animism, the worship of deceased ancestors, the Indians never seem to have reached. Till they learned some vague monotheistic notions from the white man, their idea of a Great Spirit seems to have been extremely vague, and to have consisted in the worship of a number of " Manitous," good or malignant, who dwelt in forest, lake, or cataract, and whom it was well to propitiate with offerings of tobacco. Of a future state their notions were equally vague. It was a shadowy reproduction of the present life ; a hunting-rround where good and bad fared alike, and where the ghost of the hunter flitted in pursuit of the ghost of the wild beast, accompanied by the ghost of the tomahawk, his spear, bow and arrows, and tobacco pipe. Poets, moralists, and romance writers, from Voltaire downward, have delighted to pourtray the noble red man, the chivalrous and undaunted Indian chief, the lovely and faithful daughter of the forest. In all this there is little reality. A sterner and coarser picture is drawn by the impartial hand of history, and by those travellers who have visited the less civilized Indian settlements of the present day in remote parts of Canada. It may be added that, unlike even the negroid race of Africa, the Indian has invented no art beyond the civilization of the Stone Age. One thing, among the most graceful although the simplest products of human skill, he has "nvented — the birch canoe ; exquisitely proportioned, buoyant, yet so frail, and so luisafe in all but the most practised hands, that it will in all probability pass away with the decaying race to whom it belongs, and who appear doomed to fade in obedience to that inexorable law of the non-survival of the unfit, leaving as their memorial only the strange music of their names for the rivers, lakes, and hills of a country which has become the Dominion of a higher race. Chapter II. JACQUES C ARTIER. S the delusions of astrology and alchemy were the motive power of the researches which have given us the true sciences of astronomy and chemistry, so the favourite delusions of the last century of the Middle Ages gave to the world the boon which ranks with the invention of printing and the European Revo- lution — the discovery of America. Men like Cartier, Columbus, the two Cabots, even Champlain a century later, dreamed of a passage across the Western Ocean to India and China. And kings, like those who sent out these and other discoverers, had, as their chief object, the finding of a treasure-trove of gold and gems. But an impulse ^had been L;iven to European thouglit which stimulated maritime discovery as well as every other art, by the new birth of learning resulting from the taking of Constantinople, and the consequent dispersion over Italy and France of the band of ""reek scholars who held the key of ancient Greek letters. Among other arts, ship-building and navigation had now improved, the use of the bowline enabling mariners to sail on a wind, the discovery of the compass and of the method, as yet but imperfect, of taking observations, made long voyages through uiiknown seas possible. The trade with the Orient, hitlierto monopolized by the Turk, was thrown open to Christendom by Vasco da Gama's success in doubling the Cape of Storms. This last also led to all the maritime nations giving their attention to new methods of constructing ships large enougli to undertake long voyages to distant seas. It was such ships, the first of modern naval art, that carried the discoverers of America and Canada. Ther'e seems good reason to suppose that the hardy Norman fishermen had, with the Bretons and Basques, visited the Newfoundland fisheries for centuries before the voyage of Cabot. There is also a tradition of a 8 Canada and the Canadian People, sea captain from Dieppe, voyaging on tlie African coast, being carried by a storm across the Western Ocean, and seeing an unknown land and river's mouth. This may have been heard of by Columbus, who, four years later, made his vo3'age of discovery. The alleged discoveries of Verrazzano are probably mythical, but th.ey found a place in the compilation of Ramusio, and have ever since been commonly accepted as veracious history, until within the last few years, during which the investigations of distinguished American savants have caused them to be pretty thoroughly discredited. Suffice it to saj' that in process of time Canada was claimed by three European powers : by Spain, as part of her province of Florida, in consequence of 'he preposterous gift of the whole continent to the Spanish king by Pope Alexander the Sixth : by France, in consequence of the discoveries claimed to have been made by several navigators under the auspices of Francis«I. ; and by England, in consequence of the undoubted discoveries of Sebastian Cabot. After the Treaty of Cambray, France began, in some degree, to recover from the exhaustion of the disastrous war into which she had been plunged by the ambition of Francis. The plans for Canadian exploration were re- vived by a young noble in favour with the volatile king, in whose schemes of gallantr}' and war he had shared. The king had appointed his young comrade Admiral of France, and a fitting choice was made of one worthy to be entrusted with the task of exploration. Jacques Cartier, afterwards ennobled by Francis for his discovery of Canada, was a bold and experi- enced sea captain, a God-fearing seaman, fearless of tempest or battle. No part of France has produced a more fearless race of mariners than the rugged old town of St. Malo, where Cartier was born. His portrait is still pre- served there, and we can judge, to some extent, of its expression by the familiar copies in this country. A face firm, yet kindly; the rough sailor's beard pointed after the fashion of the time. On an April morning in 1534, Jacques Cartier, being then in his fortieth year, sailed from liis native town with two small ships, neither of them over sixty tons, and a crew of a hun- dred and twenty-two men. It was usual in those days to send out ships of war two at a time, for the ships were so built as not to carry anjtliing but the munitions of war and the crew. An attendant ship held provisions and a cooking-room. Much space was taken up by the amount of ballast required to steady the ship. A voyage of twenty days brought them to Newfound- land. Thence sailing to the south of that island, ('artier passed tiie Mag- dalen Islands, and entered a bay, which, from the heat of a Canadian summer's day, he named Bale des Clialeiirs. Having erected a large wooden cross as a sign of the claim of the French king to the whole Jacques Cartier. country, a proceeding watched with disniaj' by an Indian chief, who regarded it as an act of sorcery, Cartier advanced up the St. Lawrence till in siglit of tlie Island of Anticosti, when, dreading the storms already threatening, as autumn approached, he set sail for France. He first carried away two Indian boys, a more justifiable act of kidnapping than those of which he and others were afterwards guilty, since it was needful to pro- cure Indian guides who could understand the white man's speech, so as to Serve as interpreters in future expeditions. The news of his discovery was received with enthusiasm. Here was a chance for the French king to obtain new dominions in that lately discovered world, which was regarded as containing new El Dorados and Empire Cities like those conquered by Spain. Then, the Catholic reaction, already gathering its powerful forces to repair the damage done by the storm of the Reformation, seized on the idea of converting the heathen. Anew expedition was resolved on, with Cartier in charge, several of the young noblesse of France being under his command- — in all a hundred and ten souls. There were three ships, the largest bearing the memorable name of La Grande Hermine, no tons bur- den ; the second, La Petite Hermine, and the third of lesser size. All con- fessed and heard mass in the Cathedral of St. Malo, and on the nineteenth of May, 1635, set sail from the rugged stone harbour of the Breton port. After a storm)' voyage, they all met at the Straits of Belleisle, and entered a bay close to Anticosti, which, it being the Feast of Saint Lawrence, Cartier named after the Roman martyr, St. Lawrence. From that day the saint became sponsor to the mightiest river of Canada. Cartier's conduct in kidnapping the two Indian boys has been severely blamed by the hisioiian Parkman and other writers; but had he not done so, it is inconceivable that he could have guided his squadron through the dangers of the first river voyage. Day after day they sailed up the gloom)' stream, to the giant cliff of Cape Tourmente, and anchored beside an island, which, from its profusion of grape-vines, Cartier named after the god Bacchus. At last the squadron anchored in the River St. Charles, close to the site of Quebec, where then, under the shadow of the historic hill, an Indian town or village, called Stadacona, clustered its bark-built wigwams. The Indians received the Frenchmen with all kindness. The two Indian boys, fresh from the wonders of court, camp and city, told a tale of marvellous experiences in the land of the white man. Donnacona, the chief, was received and feasted on board Cartier's ship. The Indians told Cartier that the entire region through which he was proceeding was called Canada, but that the chief town was some distance up the river. After no slight difliculty in obtaining the necessary guidance from the Indians, whose sorcerers, dis- lO . Canada and the Canadian People. puisecl as demons, with hideous paint and long horns, endeavoured to terrify the pale-faces, Cartier, with the smallest of his ships, a galleon of forty tons and sixty men, began to ascend the river. It was autumn: the unbroken forest on either bank lay reflected in the water ; boughs where the ripe grape clusters hung from tree to tree ; masses of foliage, lit with the colours which no other forest can emulate — the gold of larch or maple, the flame-red of the soft maple, the garnet of the sumach. Amid the woods everywhere the song-birds thrilled the air. As the galleon sailed on, count- less wild-fowl flew, hoarse-screaming, before their approach. At length the Indian guides signalled to beach the galleon. An Indian trail led them through the oak groves which covered what is now the site of Montreal to the IndiaTi town of Hochelaga, surrounded with ripe fields of gold- coloured maize. Here the entire population turned out to receive the strangers with tumultuous welcome ; men, women and children yelling and leaping in the wildest excitement at the arrival of those whom they looked on as beings gifted with a supernatural superiority. The town consisted of some fifty oblong dwellings, each housing a number of families. These houses were constructed of- birch bark twisted around a number of poles. In the centre of the town was a large open space. Here Cartier and his friends were seated on mats upon the ground. Around them, row behind row, the warriors squatted, the women and children thronging the outer area. There the chief, a palsied and repulsive-looking old man, was carried for Cartier to lay his hands on him and heal him. Cartier did not refuse to touch the aged and helpless limbs, and read a passage from the Gospels over a crowd of bed-ridden savages, who crawled out of their huts to be cured. This done, he distributed a lavish present of beads, knives and hatchets, to squaws and braves. The Frenchmen were offered profuse sup- plies of food, maize and deer-flesh, which, however they did not accept. Cartier then was guided to the summit of the beautiful mountain, to which, in honour of Francis 'I., he gave the name of Momit Royal. From that stately hill where now the traveller, looks down upon a scene in which human art in its noblest forms mingles with and ministersto natural beauty ; where the river, magnificent now as then, bears on its bosom the navies of the merchant princes of Canada, and where its waters are spanned by the vast granite arches of a bridge which is one of the wonders of the world ; where one of Canada's noblest cities covers the site of the vanished Indian town — the illustrious discoverer gazed far and wide upon an unbroken mass of forest, stretching to either horizon and beyond, from the Arctic North to the savannah of Florida. Jacques Cartier. II After a stay of several days at Hochelaga, Cartier returned as he came, to Stadacona. There a rude fort of earth-works and palisades had been built, in front of which ships lay moored in the St. Charles River for the winter. Cartier and his company passed that gloomy season amid hard- ships innumerable, and suffered the loss of some of their best men. The Indians, at first so ready to welcome them, were no longer to be propitiated with wine and presents ; the fickle savages became dreaded foes, and were excluded from the fort. At length the terrible blood-poisoning disease that comes with cold and famine broke out among them. An Indian, who observed the scurvy symptoms in Cartier, told him of the remedy, a dccortion of the evergreen spruce leaves. A large spruce was cut down, and through six days the sick Frenchmen drank abundantly; the salts of potash contained in the leaves effecting a speedy cure. At length the long expected spring, dissolving the ice that bound their ships, set the prisoners free. Just before leaving, Cartier managed to seize Donnacona and several leading chiefs, and, conveying them on board his ship, sailed for France. This seems to us a treacherous act, though we must remember how strongly the Jesuit teaching pervaded the Catholic reaction. The maxim that it is lawful to do evil that good may come had been early impressed on minds like Cartiei's. It was unfortunate for poor old Donnacona that he told Cartier all sorts of Indian legends of wonder-land of gold and jewels in the far West. He must be taught to recount these marvels to the Most Chris- tian King. After all, the old chief was probably much better off than he would have been in his own wigwam, cared for kindly in a country where he was looked on with some sort of respect as an Indian " king," for the early French discoverers of Canada, with their feudal notions, regarded the chiefs as possessing a dignity and authority belonging to European kings and lords. The chiefs were baptised with great pomp in Rouen Cathedral, but all died shortly afterwards. After an interval of six years, another expedition sailed from St. Malo for Canada. A renewal of war between the Emperor Charles the Fifth and Francis had much abated the interest of the French in American coloniza- tion. The inducements already tried were not attractive. But a new court favourite, a nobleman whose title was the Sieur de Roberval, in Picardy, was appointed the first Viceroy of Canada, and managed to secure a grant from the king of sufficient money to equip five ships for the voyage. The squadron was manned, in a great degree, by all manner of thieves and useless vagabonds, whom De Roberval had authority to impress from the public prisons. Kept waiting for promised jpplies, Roberval remained to obtain them, Cartier sailing at once for Newfoundland and the I 12 Canada ami the Canadian People, St. Lawrence. Once more he anchored at the familiar mooring-place; but when the Indian warriors swarmed, as they had been wont, in their birch canoes around his ship to ask news of Donnacona, and were told by Cartier of his death, they withdrew in sullen discontent. Thus, Cartier's requital of the Indian chief's hospitality proved not only a crime but a mistake. Two forts were built: one on the height, one on the river bank. A little land was cleared, and seed SQwn. While this was being done, Cartier withdrew, with two boats, to explore the river. He did not succeed in getting beyond Hochelaga, and on returning found that the expected supplies had not yet appeared, and the terrors of a Canadian winter must again be undergone, with deficient supplies, a thoroughly discontented crew, and the Indians alienated. Roberval did not arrive with the supplies till June of the next year, 1542, by which time Cartier had already quitted the colony, fearing to pass another winter such as the two that he had lived through. The vessels of the two commanders encountered each other in the harbour of St. John, Newfoundland. In vain De Roberval com- manded Cartier's return ; that night his ships set sail for France. The sole result of this expedition was a few glittering scales of common iron pyrites which Cartier took for gold, and several quartz crystals, which he supposed to be diamonds. Hence its name was given to Cape Diamond, where he found them. It is pleasant to know that the discoverer of Canada met with no cold receptions on account of the scanty success of this expe- dition. He was created a noble by the king, and lived long to enjoy his dignity in the neighbourhood of his native St. Malo. De Roberval did not meet with better success. The expedition was ill provided with provisions and other necessaries. They built a fort or barrack on the site of the former entrenchment of Cartier. Again the rigours of a Canadian winter came upon a French colony totally unpre- pared to meet them. They had to subsist on such fish as could be nrocured from the Indians, and on roots fried in whale oil. Added to this, the company quarrelled incessantly among themselves. To maintain discipline, De Roberval resorted to lash and cord for the slightest offence. Theft was checked by hanging the first offender. Several men and women were shot. The colony was a hopeless failure. De Roberval returned to France, leaving a small garrison behind him. Sometime afterwards he again sailed for Canada with a ship-load of colonists, but he never reached his destin- ation, and is supposed to have perished by shipwreck. Meanwhile the garrison he had left on the shore of the St. Lawrence joined the Indians, and degenerated into barbarism. Thus ends the first chapter of the French settlement. It is but the prelude to a nobler record. Chapter III. CARTIER'S SUCCESSORS. ^'^) URING the next half century, the French Government and noblesse, occupied in the disastrous civil wars, had no thought whatever of Canada. The generation which knew Cartier had passed away; that of Champlain had not come. Yet, through all these evil years the barques of the Breton and Norman fisher- folk swarmed upon the Banks of Newfoundland, and returned to France full- freighted with the harvest of the sea. The still more profit- able trade in furs, too, became more and more an established branch of commerce between the Indians and the Frenchmen, who, building their huts on the margin of the St. Lawrence Gulf, found that, for a few trinkets, they could procure supplies of beaver and bear skins, walrus tusks, and the valuable furs of the smaller animals, such as the mink, ermine, and silver fox, then held in so much value in France. Many of these married Indian girls, acquired the Indian language and habits, and made voyages in the canoes which traded to some distance up the St. Lawrence. But the noblesse had not lost sight of the advantage of acquiring new territories and new titles by enterprises of Canadian colonization. A very abortive effort in this direction was made by the Marquis de la Roche, a Breton noble, who obtained from the king permission to found a colony in Canada. He repeated the mistake which had ruined the enterprise of Roberval. He ransacked the prisohs, and brought together a company of thieves and cut-throats who were forced to embark in a small vessel, so deep-freighted with its cargo of convicts that the wretched men, leaning over the ship's side, could dip their hands in the water. By good seamanship, or good luck, they crossed the Atlantic, and reached a low stretch of sand-bank with breakers surging unceasingly over the skeleton of a wrecked ship. This was Sable Island, eighty miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. In ac- cordance with the cruel custom of the time, La Roche landed his convict colonists on this dismal islet, while he and his sailors went in search of a suitable spot for settlement. But a storm from the west came on, and the tiny craft could do nothing else than run before the tempest, which speedily '4 Canada and the Canadian People. carried lier to France. There La Roclie was imprisoned by one of the rival leaders in the civil war, and, though oppressed by remorse for the fate of the unfortunates he had abandoned to almost certain starvation, could do nothin<,' until five years later, when he was able to bring the circumstances under ' the notice of the king. Meanwhile, the convicts having learned to despair of La Roche's return, faced their miserable fate. The island, about three miles long, contained in its centre a small lake fed by a clear spring of fresh water. There were a number of wild cattle, the progeny either of some that had escaped from the wreck of a .Spanish ship, or of some left there eighty years before by the explorer De Lfery. Not a tree or shrub was to be found, but the sand-hills were covered with a coarse grass on which the wild cattle fed. Black foxes burrowed in the sand-hills; seals basked on the beach. On these they managed to subsist, eating the flesh, and clothing themselves with the skins. They contrived to construct huts with the timbers of wrecked ships, wherein, huddled together without a fire, these miserable outcasts learned to regret the warmth and shelter of the dungeons whence they had been taken. Thus they lived for five years, when a ship passing near sent a boat to the island and carried the survivors of the strange exile back to France. The king sent for them. They stood in his presence like wild men, with hair unkempt and long shaggy beards, — their only clothing the skins of beasts. They had hoarded up a quantity of valuable furs, which had been taken from them, but were returned by the king's order, who also pardoned them and bestowed on thorn pensions. Once more a seaman from St. Malo undertook the attempt at settle- ment. Pontgrave' of St. Malo, with the aid of Chauvin, a captain in the royal navy, obtained a monopoly of the fur trade on condition that thej' should found a colony. Their onlj- thought was of the trade; as to the colony, they brouglit out some sixteen persons in 1599, for whom they built a depot under the shadow of the gloomy, inaccessible hill-sides at the outlet of the Saguenay. Here a stone house was built, the first erected in Canada. But the colonists were utterly deficient in self-help and energ)-. Unable to face the horrors of winter in that dismal region, several of them died of cold and exposure ; the rest, preserved by the charity of the Indians, were afterwards carried back to France. In 1603, Aymer de Chastes, a veteran soldier and commander of the Order of St. John, had saved the cause of Henry the Fovnth at the most critical period of the civil war which ended with the triumph of Ivry. A devout Catholic, De Chastes longed to devote the last years of his life to the cause of his God and his King, He could think of no nobler achieve- Qirthr's Successors. 15 ment than to win the wiUls of Canada for the Cross of Christ and the Crown of France. Kin^ Henry rC2^i S^" ^m^<^^ Chapter IV I . i ACADIA. ?IE strangely-freighted ship in which De Monts sailed with some tliree-score sokhers to subdue a continent, supported as he was by a company of thieves and nnnderers, in order to win the , heathen to Christianity, held other strange and incongruous elements of discord. De IMonts was a rigid Calvinist, but at the French court, even in the time of Henry the Fourth, nothing could be done without consulting the interest of Mother Church. De Monts had agreed that the converted Indian should belong to the Catholic fold. But, for the welfare of his own soul and those of his fellow Protestants on board. Calvinist ministers also formed part of the ship's company. During the voyage, priests and ministers engaged in perpetual wrangling on theological points; from arguments they sometimes fell to blows; which, as Champlain quaintly says, "was their way of settling /controversy." Mr. Parkman quotes a story, given in Sagard's Histoire tin Canada, to the effect that when they reached land, the dead bodies of a priest and a minister were laid in the same grave by the crew, who wished to see if even there they could lie peaceably together. 'At length the ship reached the southern coast of Nova Scotia. There they waited in a land- locked bay for the arrival of Pontgrave's store-ship. After a month, she brought their supplies, and De Monts passed on to the Bay of Fundy, and, sailing through its broad southern expanse, entered a small inlet to the north-east, which opened into a wide reach of calm water, surrounded by forest-mantled, undulating hills. This was the harbour of Annapolis. Poutrincoiirt foresaw the miportance of this place as a site for a settlement, and obtained a grant of it from De Monts. He named it Port Roval. They then coasted along the tortuous windings of the bay, and, returning, discovered the St. John River and Passamaijuoddy Bay. At the mouth of the River St. Croix they formed their first settlement. They built houses, workshops, and a magazine. Champlain tried to lay out a garden, but the Acadia. 17 soil was too sterile. Poiitrincourt then set sail for France, in order to procure supplies for his new domain at Port Royal. De Monts was left behind on the rocky and barren islet which repre- sented his vice-royalty. The only civilized men in that vast region were the seventy-nine French exiles under his command. The brief summer had gone ; soon autumn had passed as surely as summer. The perpetually eddying snow now covered all things: the impenetrable wall of woodland, the marble-frozt'i stream, the pine-covered hiils. The cold became intense, wine was frozei^ and served in solid lumps to the men. Scurvy broke out ; they tried, but with no effect, to cure it by the decoction of spruce employed by Cartier. Thirty-five died before that dismal winter had ended. Dis- gusted with St. Croix, De Monts and his followers moved to Annapolis basin. Thither their vessels transferred the stores and furniture. A portion of the forest was soon cleared, and the dwellings of the colonists were built. De Monts had been warned by letters from France that his enemies in that country were busy undermining his good name in the fickle favour of the court, in order to deprive him of the valuable fur monopoly. He therefore sailed for France, Pontgrave taking his place at Port Roj'al. He was coldly- looked upon at Paris. Something had been heard of the snow-clad wilder- ness, the impenetrable fogs, the famine, and the death-list of the previous winter. Nor even a priest would undertake the Acadian mission vacant by the deaths of those who had gone there at the outset. But Poutrincourt's zeal secured several followers who were destined to afford him admirable aid. Of these was Lescarbot, a lawyer and a good writer, who has left a history of this ill-fated settlement. In July, 1606, they arrived at the clearing in the forest, and saw the wooden fort and buildings of Port Royal. They found there two Frenchmen only, and an Indian named Membertou. Anxious at the advance of summer, and fearing that De Monts might not return with supplies, the settlers had built two small barques and gone in quest of some friendly sliips tliat might give help. A boat was sent in quest of Poutrincourt, who joyfully returned. Their friends met them at the vessel with arquebuse discharges, shouts, and trumpetings; Membertou's Indian warrioiS, whose wigwam was at hand, crowded to the fort, where they were feasted, and Poutrincourt broached a cask of wine in the court-yard. Soon after this supplies were again procured on a more liberal scale from France. Tlie settlers took heart ; Lescarbot made larger clearings in the forest, and sowed grain in the virgin soil. Near the fort gardens were laid o-.-.t. The settlement semed to prosper. The bill of fare at the dinner-tables of Port Royal included trout, salmon, and sturgeon, speared through the river ice, and sea fish caught in the waters of the bay. 2 i : IT i8 Canada and the Canadian People. There was abundance of game: the venison of the moose and caribou, the hare, the otter, the bear, furnished a hst of good things not known to Parisian epicures. The winter of 1600 was a mild one. Abundance of food^ a generous supply of good wine, of which the allowance to each man was three pints a day, warded off danger of scurvy. The firm rule of the noble Baron de Poutrincourt, and the buoyant energy of the not less noble Champlain, had turned into Christian order the outcasts whom he had gathered from the French prisons. There being no priest, the good Lescarbot read the Bible to the assembled colonists every Sundaj'' evening. The accounts given by this good man in his History of New France read like an idyl. "On the fourteenth of January," he tells us, "on a Sunday afternoon, we amused ourselves with singing and music on the River Equille, and in the same month we went to see the wheat-fields, two leagues from the fort, and merrily dined in the sunshine." All seemed bright with hope, but all depended on the favour of a monarch too easily influenced by fair women and courtly priests. As Lescarbot and his associates were at break- fast, their faithful Indian chief, Membertou, came with ne\vs of a strange sail out of view of any vision but his own, although he had passed his hundredth year. The vessel bore news fatal to the colony. Their monopoly of the fur trade had been withdrawn by the king. De Monts and his associates had spent enormous sums on the colony ; the king's breach of faith had ruined them. Lescarbot and Champlain sailed for France, and reached St. Malo in October, 1607. But De Poutrincourt would not even then despair of his little republic. He obtained from King Henry IV. a new and more definite grant of the ownership of Port Royal ; he sold property of his own ; and associated with himself several men of good means and reputation. Abundant supplies were obtained, and a ship's company of intending settlers awaited him at the port "f Dieppe. A Jesuit confessor, a profligate queen, and a virtuous but fanatical lady of rank, combined to induce King Henry IV. to consent to the Jesuits having religious charge of the new colony. Now, Poutrincourt, although a fervent Catholic, disliked the Spanish Order of Ignatius, and objected to priests who intermeddled, as the Jesuits were forever intermeddling, no doubt having religious ends in view, with everything secular. The authori- ties of the Order named Father Biard, Professor of Theology at Lyons, as Chaplain to Port Royal ; but De Poutrincourt eluded the indignant Jesuit by a hasty departure for Acadia. He had with him a priest who was not a Jesuit. They both set hard to work, so as to gain such success in con- verting the Indians that King Henry might see no necessity for sending Acadia. 19 Jesuits to undertake the mission. Poutrincourt in this seems to have made a mistake ; one that resulted in the ruin of his colony and himself, by forfeiting the magnificent reinforcement which that Republic of the Black Robe might have brought to his aid. To the student of human nature there is a melancholy satisfaction in considering how this hater of Jesuitism sought to fight the Jesuits with their own weapons, by pushing with indecent haste the solemn work of conversion, merely in order to send, for political purposes, a long baptismal list of his converts to the king. The centenarian chief, Membertou, was the first baptised; after renouncing "the Devil," whom he had served, and "all his works" which he had practised with conscientious thoroughness all the days of his life of a hundred years. His example was followed by the Indians of his village of four hundred braves. An epidemic of conver- sion set in. The water of the fort was supplemented by fire-water and good fare. One aged warrior, newly baptised, when about to die, asked, with anxiety which was evidently sincere, whether in heaven pies could be had as good as those he had eaten at Port Royal. In a short time, Poutrincourt was able to send a baptismal list of portentous length to France. He despatched it by the hand of his son, a noble and gifted boy of eighteen named Biencourt. But Biencourt, when he reached Newfoundland, heard news which might have taught him that his mission was useless. The king who had given peace, order and plenty to France, the Victor of Ivry, De Poutrincourt's friend, was dead. On May 14th, 1610, Henry the Fourth was stabbed to the heart by one of those political pests of whose execrable breed our own age has not as yet rid itself. Young Biencourt went to the Court and had an audience of the queen, the infamous Marie de Medicis. He found her altogether in the hands of the Jesuits. Two other lac'ies, then all-j>owerful in the Court, threw their influence into the same scale. Many other wealthy women were persuaded by their Jesuit confessors to raise an immense fund for the Acadian Mission. With this at their command, the wil\' Orch r of Jesus completely out-flanked their enemy, De Poutrincourt. He imagined himself secure in the possession of Port Royal, which had been deeded to liim by the late king ; a donation which, according to French law, could not be reversed. But the Jesuits obtained from the imbecile young king, Louis the Thirteenth, a grant of all Acadia, a term which, be it remembered, then included all Canada. They had, in their own words, hemmed in De Poutrincourt in his own narrow domain of Port Royal, as in a prison. And even in Port Royal they obtained a controlling voice, by purchasing, with money obtained from the 20 Caiiiuia and the Cniuulian People. ladies to whose profligacy tliej' gave such easy absohition, a preponderat- ing number of shares in the company which managed Port Royal, and of which Poutrincourt was but a single member. And, as if that was not enough, they contrived to involve the foolish noble who had set himself against their powerful Order in a mesh of lawsuits, and even to throw him into prison. He was released, however, and returned to Port Royal. Young Biencourt could do nothing. He came back with the Jesuit Biard on board his ship. Their arrival was the signal for discord of all kinds, the death-knell of the prosperity which Poutrinconrt had so fondly hoped, by his noble self-sacrifice, to retain. The son of Pontgrave had outraged or seduced an Indian girl, and Poutrincourt was resolved to punish an act so likely to cause ill-feeling between the Indians and the French. But the Jesuits sought out the youth, heard his confession, and gave their usual easy absolution. They insisted on protecting him. Poutrin- court, indignant at their interference, sailed for France. Meanwhile, the colonists at Port Royal fell into a state of indigence and misery, aggravated by constant quarrels between young Biencourt, whom his father had left in command, and the Jesuits Biard and Masse. The latter tried to live as a missionary in an Indian town. He failed ; the filthy food, the filth, indescribable, of every kind ; the incessant jabber of scolding n'omen, the fleas, the smoke, were too much for the good man. He returned to Port Royal almost in a dying condition. The old chief, Membertou, had now come to the end of his long career. The Jesuits tended him most kindly. Father Biard placed him in his own bed. He made a most edifying end ; the only sign of relapse being a wish to be buried with his heathen forefathers, which however he allowed the Jesuits to overrule. In the hour of utmost need a vessel came from France with supplies. It was sent by the fair penitents of the Jesuits, one of whose order, Father Du Thet, was on board. This chafed Biencourt more and more. Mean- while, in Paris, De Poutrincourt being utterly powerless, the Jesuits and the frail court beauties — beauties of whose consciences they held the key — resolved to take possession of Acadia, and found a spiritual empire of Indian slaves bound body and soul to their sway, as they had already done with such unexampled success in Paraguay. Canada was to become a second Paraguay. A ship was freighted with .dl things needful for the establish- ment of a new settlement in Acadia, which should throw Port Royal into the shade. All kinds of necessary ami comfortable things were put on board : horses, goats, agricultural tools, barrels of wine. She set sail in an atmosphere of religious incense and courtly perfume. Her commander was Acadia. 21 a brave and pious ncble, named Saussaye. Arrived at Port Royal, they found their Jesuit colleagues and the Port Royal followers of Biencourt in the most miserable condition, digging for roots and living on what fish might be caught in the river. Without caring for the Port Royai colonists, they took the Jesuits on board, and steered for the Penobscot. Wrapped in the fogs of that dreary bay, they praj'cd earnestly for sunshine, and lo! the curtain of mist was swept away suddenly, and they could see the precipitous cliffs of Mount Desert, rising like a castle, defiant of the army of breakers that stormed so fiercely at its fore. With a fair wii:d they entered Frenchman's Bay, and r me to anchor in a haven east of Mount Desert. They landed, and raised a cross, when, amid a throng of friendly Indians, mass was sung, and incense mingled with the odours of the summer woods. The mission was soon settled, with every prospect of thriving, when an English ship from the colony at Virginia, carrying thirteen guns, swooped down on the startled French. The land they had seized was a part of the dominions of His Majesty of Britain. The thirteen guns opened fire on the feebly armed French vessel, which made a brave resistance, led by the Jesuit Du Tliet, who died on her deck, Sword in hatid. The English destroyed every vestige of a building in St. Croix and Port Royal. Such was the ruin of Acadia ; the beginning of a struggle which was to end on the heights of Quebec. I i , Chapter V. SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. HE story of the rise and ruin of Acadia, told in the last chapter, is indeed but an episode in the history of Canada, which we now resume at one of its most interesting points — the explo- ration of the St. Lawrence, the Ottawa, and the great inland seas of our country ; and the story of the foundation of Quebec. This was all the work of one man, who may well be ^ called the Father of New France. All that had been done ' before his time amounted to nothing more than a mere reconnaissance. Samuel de Champlain was born in 1567, at Brouage, a small town on the Bay of Biscay. He was a captain in the navy, and a soldier of no little military skill. During the wars of the League he had done good service for King Henry the Fourth in Brittany, and his prowess had con- tributed to the triumph of the royal cause at Ivry. After the war he travelled all through the Spanish settlements in the West Indies and South America ; an adventure of no slight risk, as the Spaniards, always averse to their South American possessions being visited by foreigners", were especially jealous of the French. Champlain's manuscript journal of his travels is still preserved, in clear, well-marked characters, und illustrated by a nimiber of coloured drawings, which, with a childlike disregard of proportion and perspective, yet give a sufficiently distinct idea of the objects represented. As has been said, Champlain accompanied De Monts on his Acadian enterprise. When that had utterly failed, the latter was easily induced by Champlain to explore the St. Lawrence, and, by founding a French colony in Canada, deliver the heathen of that land from eternal punishment, so that they might become loyal subjects to His Majesty of France and His Holiness of Rome. De Monts eagerly adopted a project so full of piety and patriotism. He fitted out two ships, one in charge of Pontgrave, the other in charge of Champlain. Pontgrave, with a cargo of wares for barter among the Indians, sailed for Canada on the 5th of April, 1608; Champlain Samuel de Chainplain. . 23 l^ft on the 13th. As he rounded the cliff which to the south-east of the St. Lawrence projects Hke a buttress into the turbulent waters, he found Pontgrave's ship at anchor, and beside her a Bas^que vessel which, on some difficulty arising between the two captains, had fired upon Pontgrave', wounded him, and killed one of his crew. With some difficulty, Champlain compromised the question at issue, and the Basques departed in peace to the neighbouring whale-fishery. Amid the desolation of sombre woods and hills, sombre even at this day, where after three centuries of civilization, the Saguenay rolls its sullen waters, ink-black, in the shadow of the green rocks that guard its channel, Champlain encountered an Indian tribe, his alliance with whom was destined to exercise no slight influence upon his future. They belonged to the great race of the Algonquins, who were the hereditary foes of the Iroquois. The lodges of their village, wretched huts of birch-bark, feebly supported on poles, were far inferior in comfort and appearance to the fortified towns visited by Cartier at Stadacona and Hochelaga. These Indians called themselves Montagnais. They traversed the gloom of the surrounding wilderness, armed with their flint-pointed arrows and spears, in patient quest of the only wealth the land yielded — the fur of the fox, lynx, otter; the skins of the bear, wolf, wild-cat, and the various species of deer. These men circled round the French ships in their frail but exquisitely graceful canoes; and several of tlieir chiefs were taken on board and feasted to the utmost contentment of their gluttonous appetites. They promised to furnish guides. Pontgrave' had now left for France, liis vessel full-freighted with costly furs obtained by barter from the Indians. Champlain held his course, for the second time, up the St. Lawrence, through scenes which in some respects civili- zation has done nothing to ciiange; where, now as then, the dark green wall of forest fringes the utmost marge of the precipice, and the towers and buttresses that guard the river are reflected in the sunless depths below. IJe passed where now a long-settled farm country, varied at every few miles by a bright, picturesque-looking village, meets the eye of the tourist ; where then the wilderness held unbroken sway. Soon he beheld once more the huge promontory of Quebec, towering like a fortress built by some god or giant to bar the rash explorers' onward way. At this point the lake-like expanse of the St. Lawrence suddenly narrows to a strait, whence the Indians named the plac"; " Kebec," or " Strait." Champlain anchored iiis ship at the old mooring-place where the River St. Charles enters the St. Lawrence. The stone hatcliets of the aborigines were scarce capable of felling a single tree without the labour of several days ; very different was the effect of the steel axes with which civilization had armed the white man. 24 Canada and the Canadian Pfo-hlc. ii( T Wielded by the strong arms of these resohite and hopeful men, inspirited l)y the presence and example of one who liimself was a practised woodmai', the gleaming axe-J^lades were smiting hard and fast all through the summer day; and ever as they smote, the huge pines, that were the advanced guard of the wilderness, fell before them. Soon several acres were cleared. On the site of the market-place of the Lower Town of Quebec was erected a rude but sufHciently strong fortress, consisting of a thick wall of logs, defended on the outside by a double line of palisades, and having at its summit a gallery with loop-holes for arquebuses. On platforms raised to a level with the siunmit of the wall were three small cannon, commanding the approaches from the river. There were barracks for the men, and a strongly-built magazine. The outer wall was surrounded by a moat. Grain, maize, and turnip seed were sown on part of the land which had been cleared ; and Champlain, practical man as he was in all things, culti- vated part of the land close to the fort as a garden. Early in September Pontgrave sailed for France to report progress and bring back supplies. Champlain was left in charge of the newly-erected fort, to which its founder had given the name of Quebec. The mother city of Canadian civilization, the centre and shield of resistance to bloody Indian warfare, through a long and chequered histor}' of nearly three centuries, Quebec has held the place of honour in the annals of each of the great races that now compose the Canadian People. The hero who was its founder had, like all heroes from Hercules down- wards, not onl}' labour and pain to contend with ; not only the hydra to smite down ; he had to crush the serpents that attacked his work in its cradle. One Duval, a locksmith, had formed a plot to seize Champlain when sleeping, and, having murdered him, to deliver up the ship to their late enemies the Basques, and to the commander of a Spanish ship then at Tadonssac. Aided by three other ringleaders, Duval had gained over nearly the whole of Champlain's garrison of twenty-eight. Prompt measures were taken. A shallop had lately arrived from Tadonssac, and was anchored close to the fort. Among the crew was one on whose loyalty Champlain knew he could depend. Champlain seVit for him, and giving him two bottles of wine, directed him to invite Duval and his three accomplices to drink with him on board the shallop, and while drinking, to overpov»-er them. This was done that evening. At ten, most of the men in the fort were in bed. Champlain gave orders that the trumpet should be sounded, and the men summoned to quarters ; they were told that the p'lot had been discovered, that its author would be hanged at dawn, and the three who had aided him in plotting mutiny be sent in irons to France to expiate their crime as galley Samuel de Champlain, 25 slaves for life ; the rest he would pardon, as he believed they had been mis- led. Tremblinfjf, they returned to tiieir beds; and the next day's dawn saw the carcase of their ringleader dangling from a gallows, food for the wild- cat, and warning against mutiny. It was an act of prompt decision that reminds one of Cromwell. Thenceforth Champlain had no difficulty in securing discipline. And now the gold and scarlet livery with which autumn arrays the Canadian forests was being rudely stripped away by November's blasts. A cold winter followed. The first garrison of Quebec amused themselves with trapping and fishing ; Champlain on one occasion hung a dead dog from a tree in order to watch the hungry martens striving vainly to reach it. A band of the wandering Algonquins, the feeblest and most improvi- dent of Indians, set up their wretched wigwams close to the fort, round which they prowled and begged. Althougli they took no precaution what- ever against their dreaded Iroquis enemies, every now and then they were seized by a panic, and man, woman, and child, would run half-naked to the gate of the fort, imploring its shelter. On such occasions Champlain would admit the women and children to the courtyard within. These Montagnais were, even for Indians, unusually degraded. They would eat any carrion. Once Champlain saw a band of these wretches, hunger-driven from the region beyond the river, seek help from their kindred. Gaunt and r.pectral shapes, they were crossing the river in their canoes. It was now the beginning of spring ; the St. Lawrence was full of drifting masses of ice which had floated from the far wildernesses of the west. The canoes got jammed between these miniature icebergs, and were at once shivered like eggshells. The famine-striken Indians sprang on one of the largest of the ice-drifts. Certain of death, they raised a terrible yell of fear and lamenta- tion. A sudden jam in the ice-pack saved their lives. Champlain humanely directed that they should be supplied with food ; before this could be brought, they found the carcase of a dead dog ; on this they seized, and, ravenous as wolf or wild-cat, tore and devoured the putrid flesh. Whatever may have been the cause, towards the close of winter scurvy appeared among them ; and when the spring sunshine came to their relief only eight out of a band of nearl}' tliirty were living. In May a sail-boat arrived from Tadoussac, bringing a son-in-law of Pontgrave with news that his father-in-law had arrived there. There Champlain met his colleague, and it was arranged that while Pontgrave took charge of Quebec, Cham- plain should carry out the plan of a complete exploration of Canada. The year before, a young war-chief from the distant tribes of the Ottawa had visited the fort ; had seen with amazed admiration the warriors i m 26 Canada and the Canadian People. i '! clad in glittering steel ; had heard the roar of arquebuses and cannon. Eagerly and earnestly he sought an alliance with the great war-chief. He told how his tribe, one of the superior branches of the Algonquin race, were in alliance with their kinsmen the Hurons against their common enemy the Iroquois. On being questioned by Champlain, he told how a mighty river as vast as the St. Lawrence flowed from unknown regions where the Thunder-bird dwelt, and the Manitous of mighty cataracts abode. Tliis aroused Champlain's most eager interest. To explore that river would be to obtain a knowledge of the whole country, otherwise beyond his reach ; perhaps it might even prove to be the long-coveted highway to China and the East. Without the help of the Indians it was clearly impossible for Champlain to pursue his explorations. It was agreed that, next spring, the Ottawa chief with a party of his warriors should visit the fort. But, as after waiting late in the spring, Champlain found that the Ottawa warriors did not appear at the fort, he set forth with eleven of his men and a party of Montagnais as guides. On his route up the river, he saw, throuf^a an opening in the forest, the wigwams of an unusually large Indian encamp- ment. Grounding his shallop on tlie beach, he made his way to the camp, and found a gathering of Hurons and Algonquins. Their chief received him with all the profuse and demonstrative welcome of savage life ; his companions and Indian followers were summoned to the chief's lodge. The dwellers on the far-off shores of Huron had never seen a white man. The}- gazed in wondering awe on the brilliant armour and strange weapons of Champlain and his followers. A feast and the usual prolonged speech- making followed, as a matter of course. Champlain invited all the chiefs to Quebec. Arrived there, they were fct.sted in return. At night they lighted huge fires, and painted and decked themselves for the war-dance. All through the night half-naked warriors, hideous with paint and feathered head-dress, danced and leaped, brandishing stone clubs and flint- pointed spears, as the fierce light of the fire fell on the fiend-like faces and frenzied gestures of hate. All through the night the sinister sound of the war-drum accompanied the j'ells of the dancers, till the wolves were scared at Point Levis, and wild-cat and lynx retreated deeper into the forest. Next day, Champlain, with eleven of his followers, set forth in a shallop. Accompanied by the canoes, they passed through Lake St. Peter, amid the tortuous windings which separate its numberless islets. Champlain looked with a delight inconceivable to his savage allies on that peculiar feature of Canadian scenery, the cluster of small islands which varies the monotonous expanse of the Canadian lake or lakelet ; each of them low-lying in the water as a coral-reef; in its centre a miniature grove of birch and cedar in Samuel dc Champhiin. 27 wliich tlie birils are singiiifj ; all round it, to where the emerald garment of the islands meets the water, a dense growth of shrubs and flowers fresh witli the life of June. The force of the current being against them, Champlain's sail-boat made way far in advance of the canoes : as he cautiously steered his course, his eye was caught by the gleam, close at hand, of foam, and the roar of hurrying waters. They were dangerously near the rapids. By this time the Indian canoes had joined the shallon. Champlain, with two of his men, determined to accompany the Hurons in their canoes, it being evidently impracticable to prosecute the voyage in a boat which could not b" carried past the rapids of the river, now called the Richelieu. The rest of his men were sent back to Quebec. Presently they reached the beautiful lake which bears the name of the hero of that day's adventure. They arrived at the country of their dreaded foes the Iroquois. They then took greater precaution in their advance. A small party of Indians explored the way. In the rear of the main body another small party guarded against surprise. On either flank a band of Indians scoured the woods to w-itch for indications of an enemy's approach, and to hunt what game might be met with for the common benefit. One night, about ten o'clock, they saw dark objects moving on the lake. The keen perception of the Indians at once decided that v'hese were the war-canoes of the Iroquois. They landed and intrenched themselves. The Hurons did the same. It was agreed on both sides that the battle was not to take place till the morning. But both by Huron and Iroquois the war-dance was kept up all night, accompanied by the hideous thumping of the war-drum, and by the cries and yells imitated from the wild beasts of the wilderness, but far surpassing in horror of discordant shrillness the shriek of the horned-owl, the howling of the wolf, the wailing of the starved wild-cat in the winter woods. With morning's dawn, the Hurons were drawn up in irregular skirmishing order. Champlain and his two com- panions waited in reserve. Presently the Iroquois defiled through the forest. Their steady advance and manly bearing excited the admiration of Champlain. At their head were several chiefs, conspicious by their waving plumes of eagle-feathers. When the two hostile lines confronted one another, Champlain stepped out in front of the Hurons, levelled his arque- buse, and fired. The two leading chiefs of the Iroquois fell dead. With a yell that resounded through the wilderness, the Hurons showered their arrows upon their adversaries. The Iroquois still stood firm, and replied with arrows from two hundred bows. But when Champlain's two companions, each with his arquebuse, poured a volley of fire into their ranks, the Iroquois, utterly terrified, turned and fled. Like a tempest, the aS Ctinathi and the Canadian People. I ! i \ Hurons tore after them into the woods. Most of tlie Iroquois were killed and scalped, or rather scalped and killed, on the spot ; but several were reserved for torture. That nif^'ht, by the blazing' watchfire, Champlam saw a captive tieil to a tree ; around him, with torclies and knives in their hantls, yelleil and leaped liis captors. They flashed his flesii ; they applied the burninf,' pine-torch to the wound. Champlain be{,'}^ed to be allowed to put a bullet throu{:fh the poor wretch's heart. They refused. Cham- plain turned away in horror ami disj^ust, as he saw them tear the scalp from the yet living head. Several of the captives were given to Cham- plain's Algonquins to be tortured. These they reserved tih they reached their own camp, near Quebec, in order that the women might share in the torturing process, in the ingenious application of which thej- justl}' con- sidered that the weaker sex excelled their own. On their arrival at the Algon(iuin camp, the girls and women rushed out to meet them, yelling and screaming with delight at the thought of chewing the fingers and cutting out the heart of one of their dreaded enemies. When the prisoners were scalped and slain, each of the women wore one of the ghastly heads strung round her neck as an ornament. To Champlain, as the reward of his prowess, one head and two arms were given, which he was enjoined to present to their great White Father, the French King. Soon ai\cr this Champlain revisited France to report the progress of Quebec, to procure further supplies, and to promote the emi- gration of artisans and other desirable colonists. Champlain's conduct in thus engaging in Indian warfare has been almost universally condemned by historical critics. We have been told, what no one who knows anything of the subject can question, that Indian warfare is beyond that of any other race savage, bloody, cruel, cowardly and treacherous ; and that for a superior and civilized people to engage in it was to lower themselves to the level of the wolves of the wilderness, by whose side they fought. It has been shown, and with sufficient truth, that the blood of the Iroquois, slain by the arquebuse of Champlain, was the beginning of a ceaseless guerilla warfare between *hat race and the French colonists, the results of which were the massacres of Lachine, Carillon and Montreal ; the desolation of many a farm by the Indian tomahawk and torch. But it may be said in reply that Champlain could hardly have done otherwise. He could not, without the alliance of friendly Indians, have carried out his projects of exploration. It would have been next to impossible for him, even if unmolested, to penetrate that labyrinth of wilderness and river without a guide. Even could he have done so, his scalp would certainly have been forfeited. On no other terms could he Samuel lic Champlain. 29 have secured the Al({onquins, as trustworthy allies, tlian by his williriKness to {^ive Ihciu an aid that seemed all-powerful aj^ainsi their hereditary enemies the Iroquois. As to war on the part of the Frencii witii the Iro(iuois, tliat was an 'nevitable result of the French occupation of ('anada. It was tlie policy jf that powerfid confederation, the Iroquois League, to subjugate or exterminate every other race in Canada. Collision between them and the French settlements was only a question of time, and it could not luive been initiated in a maimer more favourable to French interests than by securing, as Ciiamplain did, an alliance with the two great Indian tribes of Canada, which in power and prowess ranked next to the Iroquois. In the duel of two centuries between the Iroquois and New France, the Indian allies were of the greatest possible use to the countrymen of Cham- plain ; they not only acted as guides, scouts and spies, but in actual fight- ing they rendered invaluable assistance. It may well be doubted whether, had not Champlain's policy been carried out, the thin line of Frencli settle- luicnt might not have been swept away before the storm of Irocpiois ill' sion. Champlain has been blamed for choosing as his allies the weaker tribe ui ugonquins, instead of their more warlike rivals. Again, we say, he could hardly have done otherwise. The Iroquois territory lay on the other side of the great lakes. The Algonquins held all the region for miles around Quebec, on the banks of the St. Lawrence and its Gulf; their kins- men, the Ottawas, had the lordship of the river which bears their name ; their allies, the Hurons, held the key to the entire lake country. The Iroquois, like the Romans to whom they have been compared, coidd never have been faithful allies. Their organization as a confederacy would never have allowed them to rest content with the second place, the inferior rank, which savagery must always take when allied with civilization. But the Algonquins had no such unity. They were, therefore, all the more willing to cling to the centre of organization which New France presented. Champlain also foresaw another means of centralizing the influence of New France over her Indian allies. The Catholic Church would send forth her unpaid ambassadors, her sexless and ascetic missionaries, ''er black-robed army of martyrs ; the converted Algonquins would be swa3'ed by a power mightier and more authoritative than any earthly confederacy. And events have proved tliat the policy by which New France won her hold on Canada wai. the wisest, and therefore the best. It began with the first shot fired in battle by the arquebuse of Champlain. Returning to France, Champlain visited King Henry the Foiuth a short time before his assassination. He told him of his adventures in i] 3° Cdiiada and the Canadian People. i i ! i Canada, and of the growing prosperity of Quebec. The adventure-loving king was much interested and amused. Soon after this, Champlain and Pontgrave sailed for Canada. Pontgrave' took charge of Quebec, while Champlain went to meet his Huron allies at the mouth of the Richelieu. They had promised, if he would once more help them in warfare against the Iroquois foe, they would guide him through the region of the great lakes, would show him the mines where the huge masses of copper sparkled, unmingled with ore. Although aware of the little value of a promise from this fickle and unreliable race, Champlain thought it best to try his chance ; accordingly, with a small party of Frenchmen, he left for the rendezvous, a small island at the mouth of the Richelieu River. On his arrival, he found the place a Pandemonium of dancing and 5'elling warriors ; trees were being hewed down in preparation for a great feast to be given to their Algonquin allies, whose arrival they were now waiting. On a sudden, news came that the Algonquins were in the forest several miles away, fighting a large force of the Iroquois. Every Indian present seized club, spear, tomahawk, or whatever other v/eapon he could possess himself of, and paddled to the shore. Champlain and his Frenchmen followed, and had to make their way as best they could over three miles of marsh, impeded by fallen trees ; water, in which they sank knee-deep ; entanglement of brushwood, through which it was hard to struggle. At last they came to a clearing, and saw- some hundred Iroquois warriors at bay, within a breastwork of felled trees ; a multitude of their Algonquin enemies brandishing spear and tomahawk around the easily scaled entrenchment. This they had attacked already- and betn hurled br.ck from the rampart of trees with bloody repulse. The}' did not dare to renew the effort to storm the Iroquois fortification, but contented themselves with shouting curses, insults, threats of the tor- tures which their foes, when captured, should suffer. At length Cham- plain and his followers came up, tired with his three miles effort to get through the cedar-swamp, encumliercd with his heavj' arms and weapons. But at once he came to the front, and assumed command. He ordered a large body of the Algonquins to be stationed in the forest, so as to intercept fugitives. He and his companions marched up to the breast- work, and resting their short-barrelled arquebuses on the logi^ of the breast-work, fired with deadly aim. The Iroquois, in terror, threw tliemselves on the ground. Then, and then only, did the Algonquins muster courage to scale the breast- work. Most of the Iroquois were scalped and slain. Some fifteen were reserved for the usual slow death by fire. Champlain succeeded in saving one prisoner after the battle. No human power could have saved the others. All through that night the fires of death and torture burned. Samuel de Chainplain. 31 On his return to Quebec, Champlain Heard, with dismay, of the assassi- nation of his friend and patron, Henrj' the Fourth. He also learned the revocation of the fur trade monopoly, which had been the life of the enter- prise of De Monts and Pontgrave'. Once more Champlain left his cherished home in the little fort under the shadow of Cape Diamond, his gardens and vineyard already yielding maize, wheat, barley, and evfy kind of vegetables, with grapes enough to make a tolerably good claret. He left a M. De Pare as his lieutenant at Quebec, with a few men, and in due course arrived at Honfleur. No success attended his efforts to secure a renewal of the monopoly. In fact, the corrupt and imbecile French Court had not the power to do this, even if it had the will. For the fur trade of the St. Lawrence was now opea to all nations. It was impossible to exclude the Basque, Dutch, English, and Spanish traders, whose vessels now began to swann up the St. Lawrence Gulf. But, failing to secure the mastery of the fur trade at its European source, Champlain conceived the idea of arranging a practical monopoly of the Indian traffic with the Indians themselves. He returned to Quebec in May, 161 1. A fleet of greedy trading boats followed his course. He resolved to elude them, and establish a new trading post at the confluence of the great rivers by which the Indian canoes brought down their yearly harvest of skins and furs. He built a small wooden depot on the spot where, in the Montreal of to-day, is the Hospital of the Grey Nuns. He named it Place Royale. Soon after this he again visited France. Meet- ing De Monts at a place called Pans, of which De Monts was governor, all charge of the Quebec colony was formally surrendered into the hands of Champlain. But Champlain was more anxious for the success of the colony, for the conversion of the heathen, and for the discovery, if it might be, of a route through Canada to India and China, than for mere fur trade gains. Dismissing all selfish thoughts, he succeeded in forming a com- pany of merchants, into whose hands the gains of the commercial traffic would mainly fall, Champlain contenting himself with their undertaking to aid and increase the colony. At St. Malo and Rouen his proposal was eagerly accepted, and a company was formed, backed by considerable capi- tal ; but this was not all that was necessary. In tliat seventeenth century, wherein were gathering themselves the forces which produced the great Revolution of a later period, no work of public beneficence could be undertaken without the patronage of one of the royal house. Such pa- tronage was sought and found by Champlain's company in two princes of the Bourbon blood, with whose names Canadian history need not concern itself. The two Bourbon princes were the sinecurists of a sensi'al and 32 Cauada and the Canadian People. indolent Court, men equally greedy, equally worthless; neither of them, thoui^h invested with all sorts of high-sounding titles connected with the colony they were supposed to rule, took the sliglitest interest in Canada. Large sums of money had to be paid to these illustrious noblemen by Champlain and his company of merchants. The Bourbon princes took every bribe they could get, and in return did one good tiling for this country — they kept away from it. Chapter VI. CHAMPLAIN AND THE OTTAWA. 1609 two young men among Champlain's French followers had volunteered to ascend the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers with the Indians on their homeward journey, to perfect themselves in their language, and to learn what could be learnt of the mysteri- ous country beyond. In 1612 one of these young men, named Nicholas Vignan, appeared in Paris, ind related a history of his adventures, which, marvellous as it was, seemed so consistent that Champlain believed it to be true. Vignan 's story was so framed as to meet the beliefs and flatter the hopes of those who held the theory that a passage could yet be discovered through North America to the Polar Seas. He stated that he had ascended the Upper Ottawa to its source, which was from a lake of considerable size. He had crossed this lake, and in the country beyond it had found a river, following whose course he had reached the sea. He said that this sea was the Pacific Ocean, and was distant from Quebec only seventeen days' journey. This lie — and Cham- plain afterwards said that Vignan was the most impudent liar he had ever known — had the good effect of interesting the selfish nobles of the court in Champlain's enterprise. They saw visions of a direct passage to India and China, which would give France, or rather the privileged class who regarded France as their footstool, a monopoly of trade with the Orient : gold and silk, ivory and spices, pearls and amber, all the most coveted treasures of the most gainful trade in the world, would be poured at the feet of great lords and ladies, to replenish whose purses the plunder of France alone was insufficient. They urged Champlain by all means to prosecute his discoveries. In April, 1613, Champlain once more sailed for the St. Law- rence. In May he left St. Helen's Island, near Montreal, with four French- men, Nicholas Vignan being of the number, and began to ascend the Lower Ottawa. Swiftly they passed up the gentle current of the mighty stream, with no sign of life but the cry of the fish-eagle as it swooped upon the '\n 34 Canada ami the Qmadian Peojuc I water for its prey, or tlie song of the wild birds from the bank's unbroken wall of verdure. At length their course was stopped by the rapids of Car- illon and Long Sault, past which they were obliged to carrj' their canoes. This they had to do for the most part over the bed of the river ; the forest, with its entanglement of underwood and interlacing vines, presenting a barrier that was absolutely impenetrable. They had to drag their canoes over rocks, like reluctant horses ; they had to push them against currents which threatened every moment to sweep men and canoe' to certain death. Champlain had once a narrow escape from death ; he fell where the whole force of the current was sweeping him irresistibly down the rapids ; he saved himself by clutching a rock, but his wrist was severely injured by the cord of his canoe. At length they reached the cataract whose silver columns of spray even now ascend high above the smoke of a great city ; whose grandeur remains at this day unvulgarized bj' its vulgar surroundings ;• which, though bound and shackled to turn-mills and drive-machinery, is still the Chaudiere. Here, his Indian guides threw in offerings of tobacco, in order to appease the Manitou, or guardian spirit of the cataract. Having draggec their canoes over what is now the most denseljf peopled part of the city of Ottawa, and having passed above the Chaudiere, they launched them on the placid bosom of a broad, lake-like stream. On they glided, those two egg-shell ships, freighted with the future of Canada, past where now on either side villages and churches, school-houses and farm homesteads diversify the richh'-cultivated farm-land, interspersed w ith here and there a grove of oak or maple, the survival of what was then primeval forest. Nine miles from the Ch, udiere they heard again the rush of falling water, and saw the white spray-column, like smoke from a bush fire, ascend-* ing from the largest of the sixteen cataracts of the Chats. Here a wall of granite, broken by interspaces of cataract, crosses the river, which thun- ders with the whole force of its volume of water through every crevice and opening. Past this, once more they dragged their canoes by land. Again they embarked on the Lake of the Chats, and proceeded without further hindrance till they reached the rapids which extend from the Devil's Elbow at Portage du Fort. Thence they enjoyed a calm passage till the}' reached AUumette, where an Indian chief named Tessouat received them with much kindness. He gave a solemn feast in Champlain's honour, runners being sent in all directions to summon the neighbouring chiefs to the feast. Early on the next day, the women and girls, who were Tessouat 's slaves, swept the floor of his hut to prepare for the festival. At noon the naked warriors appeared from every direction, each furnished with his ovvn wooden spoon and platter. The large hut which did duty as Tessouat's palace was as full Chaiuplain and the Ottawa, 35 as it could hold of warriors, row within row, squatting on the ground like apes, and expectant of the feast. First came a compound, not unsavoury, so Champlain writes, of pounded maize boiled with scraps of meat and fish ; next venison, and fish broiled on the burnt-out logs. Water was the only drink, and when the feast was over the pipes were lighted, and the council began. The pipe having first been passed to Champlain, the council smoked for half an hour in silence; Champlain then made a speech in which he desired them to send four canoes and eight men to guide him to the country of the Nipissings, a tribe to the north of the lake of the same name. To this the Indians demurred, as they were not on friendly terms with the Nipissings. Tessouat gave expression to their feelings: " We always knew you for our best friend amongst the Frenchmen. We love you like our own children. But why did you break your word with us last year when we all went down to Montreal to give you presents and go with you to war ? You were not there, but other Frenchmen were there who cheated us. We will never go again. As to the four canoes, you shall have inem if you insist upon it. But it grieves us to think of the hardships you will endure. The Nipissings have weak hearts. They are good for nothing in war, but they kill us with sorcery, and they poison us. They will kill you." At length, however, on Champlain assuring them he was proof against sorcery, he ex- torted a promise to give him the canoes; but he had no sooner left the reek- ing and smoking hut than they re-considered their promise and gave him a direct refusal. Champlain returned to the council and expostulated with them. " This young man," said Champlain, pointing to Vignan, " says he has been in their country, and that they are not so bad as you describe them." The chief looked sternly on the young Frenchman : " Nicholas! " he cried, " Did you sav you had been in the country of the Nipissings ? " " Yes, I have been there," said the impostor. All the Indians gravely fixed their eyes upon him. Al length Tessouat spoke : " You are a liar ; you spent the whole winter sleeping in the house with my children. If you have been to the land of the Nipissings, it must have been ' in }-our sleep. You are trying to deceive your chief, and induce him to risk his life. He ought to put you to death, with tortures worse than those with which we kill our enemies." Champlain led the young man from the council house ; after much equivocation Vignan finally confessed that the whole story was an invention of his own, fabricated, it is hard to say from what motive ; perhaps from the morbid love of notoriety, which is some- tunes found among travellers of a later day. The Indians rejoiced over Champlain's discomfiture. " Why." they said, "did you not listen to chiefs and warriors instead of believing that liar ? " i •• r 36 Canada and the Canadian People. They earnestly advised Champlain to permit them to put Vignan to death by torture. His generous chief preferred to forgive him freely. Champlain returned to Montreal, or, as he called it, the Sault, where he met his lieutenant, Du Pare, who, having been most successful in hunting, was able to give a plentiful repast to his half-famished chief. Having seen that all went well at Quebec, Champlain sailed for France, promising to return the next year. The French merchants who had taken interest in the Canadian enter- prise gave it but a half-hearted support. They never looked beyond the beaver skins and furs ; with Champlain's higlier projects of colonizing and Christianizing Canada they had but scant sympathy. And yet, reflection might have taught them that to win the Indians from their heathenism into the fold of the Catholic Church was to extend the political influence of France, and with that influence, to extend its trade. They did not see that men like Samuel de Champlain, the knight-errant of exploration, men like the Recollet and Jesuit missionaries, in all their eff'orts, in every conquest made by sword or breviary, were advancing the best interests of French commerce by giving to its operations a continually widening area. But, though Champlain realized this, his motive was a higher one. He belonged to a class of explorers peculiar to the great days of discovery in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries ; men of a temperament grave, valiant, adventurous, whose faculty for threading the mazes of unknown seas and impenetrable forests amounted to an instinct ; men who did nothing for the praise of men, but all for the glory of God. Such were Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; such, at a later day, was David Livingstone. To this noble and heroic type, in a special degree, belonged Samuel de Champlain. With him the saving of souls by the conversion of the heathen, was an actual, living, motive force in all that he did, as shown by a saying of his, characteristic of the man and his age in its exaggerated piety: "The saving of one soul is worth an empire." But he found few, even among the clergy, to sympathize with him. The French Church of those days was, as Carlyle says of it at a later and still baser day, "a stalled ox, thinking chiefly of provender." But Champlain found help in time of need from a friend, one Houel, of Brouage, who introduced him to the brethren of a convent near that town, and belonging to an order whose name will be ever memorable in Canadian history — the Recollet. Early in the thirteenth century appeared that extraordinary man, St. Francis of Assissi, in whom met all that was most fanatical, most ascetic most lovable in the faith of the Dark Ages. Called by dreams and Champlain and the Ottawa. 37 visions in early youth, he chose poverty for his bride, robbed his wealthy father in order to build a church, stripped himself naked in presence of the Bishop of Assissi, begging of him in charity a peasant's dress. He kissed and consorted with lepers, he travelled to Africa and Syria, and went to preach conversion to the ferocious Caliph, at the head of his army. Strange to say, the Caliph sent him back with marks of honour, probably from the reverence eastern natives entertain for those madmen whom they consider inspired. Wherever he went through Europe, his fervent and paspionate oratory attracted the multitude and made converts. His Order waxed strong in every European land. It furnished to the Church's Cal- endar no fewer than forty-six saints, who suffered martyrdom for the faith ; besides four popes, and forty-five cardinals. But in process of time discipline was relaxed, and abuses crept in. A reformation took place in one branch of the Great Franciscan Order, and the "Recollati," or Recollet Fathers were known as the Franciscans of the Strict Observance. Such were the men to whom Champlain now applied for help. Several of the Order, "inflamed with pious zeal," undertook the Canadian Mission, which no other priest would touch. I' Chapter VII. cr.-:^ THE RECOLLET MISSION OF CANADA. HE Recollet Order was a mendicant one, and as it strictly J observed the vow of poverty in the spirit of St. Francis him- self, it had no funds to contribute to the new mission. However, the exertions of Champlain's friend Houcl, who held the post of Comptroller-General of the salt mines of Brouage, and of some others interested in the mission, procured enough money to enable the Fathers dedicated to it to proceed to the scene of their pious work. Those of the Recollets who had a vocation for the mis- sion to Canada were four, Denis Jamet, Jean Dolbeau, Joseph Le Caron,and Pacifique du Plessis. All confessed their sins, received plenary absolution, and set sail with Champlain from Harfleur. They reached Quebec in the last week of May, 1615. According to the custom of their Order in under- taking a mission in a strange place, their first proceeding was to choose a site for their convent. They selected a position close to the wooden rampart surrounding the fort and barracks erected by Champlain. They next set up an altar, decorated it with a crucifix and the mystic seven candlesticks, and intoned a mass beneath the blue vault of heaven, a fitting temple for the first mass ever celebrated in Canada. Dolbeau was the celebrant. The entire colony of New France knelt on the bare earth before him, the naked savages from forest and river looked on in amazed perplexity, and as the host was held on high by the officiating priest, cannon after cannon sent forth its salute from ship and ramparts. After this the friars took counsel together in order to allot to each his sphere of labour in this vast harvest field of souls. To Father Dolbeau the Montagnais were assigned as his peculiar care ; to Le Caron, the distant tribes west and north-west of Lake Huron ; Fathers Jamet and Du Plessis were for the present to remain in the convent at Quebec. Dolbeau, fired with missionary enterprise, acciompanied one of the roving lodges of the Montagnais hunters to their winter hunting ,:l !ri The Rccollet Mission of Canada. 39 grounds. Of these it has been said by a missionary priest who knew them well, that whereas the Iroquois were nobles of the Indian race, and the Algonquins the burghers, the Montagnais were the peasants and paupers. Dolbeau was not of strong constitution, and was subject to a weakness of the eyes. The Indian hunters treated him kindly, and shared with him such food as they used themselves : boiled maize, fish speared through the ice, and the flesh now and then of deer, bear, wild-cat, porcupine, and a multitude of other such animals with which the forest swarmed. But Dolbeau was expected, when the camp moved, to carry his share of the poles and birch bark of which their frail hut consisted ; a task too heavy for his strength. Day and night the icy wind swept through every crevice in the scanty walls. Day and night the pungent smoke from the wood-fire tortured the eye-sore missionary. The dogs, the intoler- able stench, the filthy cooking, the innumerable fleas, the scolding, the inces- sant chatter of women and children, made the good father's life a burden too heavy to be borne. At last he debated in the court of conscience and casuistry the question whether God required of him the sacrifice of losing his eyesight, and having most sensibly decided that this was hot the case, he returned to his convent at Quebec. But in the spring of 1616, un- daunted by his experiences, a worthy disciple of the saint who embraced lepers, he went once more with a Montagnais hunting lodge on a tour through the vast sea of forest that extends to the regions of perpetual ice. He penetrated so far north as to meet wandering bands of Esquimaux. While the RecoUet convent was being rapidly brought to completion by the willing hands of the brothers set apart for the duty, Le Caron had gone in a canoe to the trade rendezvous at " the Sault " (Montreal), where were assembled countless canoes laden with furs, and a number of eager, chattering, gesticulating Indians, of the Huron and Algonquin tribes. Here Le Caron stayed for some time, picking up what he could learn of the Huron language, and observing their manners. He succeeded in winning the friendship of several of the Huron chiefs, who invited him to accompany them in their canoes on their return voyage, and promised that they would convey him to the chief town of their nation, Carhagouha, and there build him a house and listen to his teachings. When Champlain and Pontgrave arrived, they tried to dissuade Father Le Caron from his project of spend- ing the winter among these far-off savages. But in vain. The disciple of St. Francis had devoted his life to perpetual poverty; he knew no ambition but to serve his God ; what to him were privations ? On the festival of Dominion Day in our modern Canada, July ist, 1615, Father Le Caron bade adieu to the scantv comforts of such civilization as »1 40 Canada and the Canadian People. then was in New France, and embarked on board one of the large Huron canoes. Twelve French soldiers, devout Catholics, attended the expedition. Day after day the Heet of frail but exquisitely graceful craft shot over the expanse of the unrippled stream ; day after day the wondering eyes of the missionary must have rested on scenes of nature's beauty on which, scarcely changed since then, the tourist of the Upper Ottawa looks with such pleasure at this day. There, on either bank of such a river as the simple French monk had never seen before, was an everchanging Eden of maple, oak and beech ; while, over all, the giant pines lifted heads defiant of the storm. Then, on countless islets of emerald green, summer had spread her honey feast for humming-bird and bee. The strange beauty of the forest, fresh \yith the life of summer, the colours and scents of unknown flowers, the ever-changing panorama of river, lake, and island archipelago, must have awakened new sensations of pious happiness and gratitude in the breast of the Franciscan missionary. Tlie voyage proceeded. As with slow steps the voyageurs carried their canoes by the portage, long and difficult, that leads past the Falls of the Calumet, the pious Catholics must have felt scandalized to see their heathen guidies cast in their tobacco offerings to the guardian Manitou, the water-fiend, as it seemed to Le Caron, who had his lair in the recesses of those dark precipices crowned with sombre pines, or beneath the arches of those masses of descending water lashed into a sea of foam. The mission- ary tried to dissuade them from this act of devil-worship so abhorrent to his soul. But the Indians persisted in their act of unmeaning superstition, saying to Le Caron that it was the custom of their fathers. On from thence the canoes held their way without interruption, past the mouth of the river which the town of Pembroke had not yet poisoned with the saw-dust of its lumber mills; on, where for seven miles the river became a lovely lake, beneath tiie ink-black shadows and sheer precipice ot the Eagle rock (Cape Oiseau) till the roar of rapids and the death-dance of breakers fatal to many a gallant lumberman's boat warned them to the portage of De Joachim. Thence, for twenty miles, straight as bird can fly, the Ottawa lay pent between its deep and dark mountain shores. Thence past the Rocher Capitain, where the imprisoned river struggles like a huge serpent between its rocky barriers ; past the Deux Riviferes, where it escapes into a wider channel ; at length they reach the junction of the tributary river Mat- tawa. That scene is little changed since the seventeenth century. There the congregated hills, covered with gloomy frondage, still harbour the beasts of prey which have become extinct elsewhere in Upper Canada ; there still the scream of the eagle is not yet silenced by the whistle of the newly arrived locomotive. Ascending the Mattawa some forty miles the ) 'i The Rccollct Mission of Canada. 41 'i voyagers launched their canoes and men on the marge of a limpid lake, bearing the name, as it does still, of the Nipissing Indians. All day long they saw leafy shores, and verdure-covered islands seemed to float by them in the depth of blue. Avoiding the villages of the Nipissings, a nation who, as the Huron chief told the much-believing Franciscan, were a nation of sorcerers, and whose country, fair as it seemed to the eye, was the abode of demons and familiar spirits, they passed down the stream now called French River, and reached the country (near Lake Huron) of the Indian tribe afterwards known as the Clievciix Relcves. These bestowed the most elaborate care in plaiting and dressing their long black hair. They next reached the principal Indian town of Carhagonha, which Le Caron found to present a seeming approach to civilization such as he had seen in no othe rindian community. It contained a multitude of large-sized houses, each with the household fires of many families, and was defended by a triple rampart of palisades, thirty-five feet high, supporting a gallery with a breastwork, whence stones and missiles could be hurled against a foe. Here, on their arrival, the Hurons built a house of suitable size for the missionary, who at once began his labours to teach and convert them. A few days after his arrival he beheld, with the joy of one who sees a brother from whom he has long been parted, Champlain and his ten French soldiers. The true- hearted priest pressed the illustrious soldier to his heart. Then mass was celebrated — the first mass in the country of the Hurons. The forest was Le Caron's sanctuary, the song-birds of midsummer were assistant choristers, the odour of a thousand blossoms blended their per- fume with the incense. Multitudes of the heathen beheld with awe what seemed to them the Medicines of the White Man, the monotoned praj^er, the gorgeous vestments, the strange, sweet chanting of the psalms, the altar with its mystic lights, the figure which looked on them from the crucifix with agonized face and tortured limbs. Thus did this brave Franciscan, armed with cross and breviary, carry the Cross into the very stronghold of savage paganism, and, by offering the holy sacrifice of the mass at his mystic altar, bid defiance to its lords. But our thoughts must turn from these wielders of the spiritual weapons to that great man whose influence with the Indian heathen was far greater than that of any "Chief of the Black Robe." These benighted pagans were much more anxious for Champlain's aid with the carnal weapon. Again and again they prayed him to come once more to their aid against the common enemy. After mature deliberation, Champlain and Pontgrave agreed that the wisest course for the good ol New France would be to throw in their lot with the Hurons and Algonquins, to strike a blow at the Iroquois 43 Canada a)id the Canadian People. ascendency, ami entleavoiir tg form out of tlie shiftinf,' nd disunited tribes of Canada a confederacy capable of resisting the forumlable league south of Lake Ontario. Of such a confederacy it was intended that the French colonj' should be the centre, that its armies should be led and officered by Frenchmen, and that its bond of union should be allegiance to the faith taught by French missionaries. Thus the Indian race, indifferent to dan- gers from its numbers, and its skill in the tactics of the wilderness, would be ruled by being divided. It was a plausible scheme, and to the last con- tinued to be the policy of the French colony of Canatla. To a certain extent it was successful ; the Algonquins were made the faithful allies of New France, the Hurons were exterminated in the course of the struggle. The French power stood in the path of the Iroquois power to the complete ascendency over all tribes north of the lakes, which they would, no doidit, otherwise have obtained ; but the Iroquois threw in their weight against New France in the English war of conquest, as they did against American Independe'-ce in 177S, and American aggression in 1812. For New France to side with the Indian tribes of Canada against those south of the lakes was inevitable, but she thereby incurred the hostility of the boldest, best organized and most terrible enemies that the savagery of the wilderness could match against civilization. A war council was held (June, 1615) t "the Sault," of the chiefs of the Ottawa Algonquins and of the Huroi It was stipulated by Cham- plain that they should raise a force of twen five hundred warriors, to be in immediate readiness for invading the 1. mois ten itory. He himself would join them with all his available force of !• rench soldiers. To this the Indian chiefs, after much discussion and many speeches, agreed. Cham- plain went back to Quebec to muster his force and prepare what was necessary for the exy dition ; but when he returned to the place of meeting' he found that the volatile and impatient Indians had set fire to their camp and departed, taking with them, as has been already related, the missionary Le Caron. But Champlain was determined not to be baffled by the fickle- ness of his allies. Taking with him only his French soldiers, one of wliom was the trusty and intrepid Etienne Brule', his interpreter, and ten Indians, with two large canoes, he made his way over the track of his former expe- dition up the Ottawa as far as Allumette. Beyond this he followed the course of the Ottawa, till among the sombre hills of Mattawa he reached its junction with the river of that name. Following the course of that stream, and crossing Lake Nipissing, he reached tlie Huron country, not without having undergone severe suffering from hunger, for the ten Indians, with tlie usual improvident glutting of their race, had gorged themselves .::rs^- LOUIS I'APINEAU. r. Tlie Recollet Mission of Canada. 45 with the entire commissariat supply for the voyage, and they were glad to gather blueberries and wild raspberries for sustenance. Encountering some of the Cheveux Releve's Indians, of whom mention has been made, they found that they were within a day's journey of the great inland sea of the Hurons. Soon launched upon the broad bosom of the " Mer Douce,'' the Sweet-Water Sea of the West, he held his course for over a hundred miles along its shores, and through the mazes of its multitudinous islands. Crossing Byng Inlet, Parry Sound and Matchedash Bay, he reached, as the terminal point of his voyage, the inlet of the bay near the present village of Penetariguishene. Then they left their canoes hidden in the woods, and struck inland for the Huron town Otouacha. Champlain found this to be one of the better class of Indian towns. It was of long, bark dwell- ings, surrounded by a triple line of palisades, and stretching far into the distance were fields of maize, tlie ripe yellow spears of grain sparkhng in the sunshine, and the great yellow pumpkins lolling over the ground. At Otouacha Champlain met with enthusiastic welcome. " The man with the bre.tst of iron " was feasted again and again, amid rows of stolid warriors squatting on their haunches around him, while the younger squaws handed round the huge platter containing boiled maize, friec". salmon, venison, and the flesh of various other animals, not to be too curiously enquired into. Pending the complete muster of his India, i allies, Champlain made an extensive tour of observation through the Huron country. At Carha- gouha, as has been mentioned, he met the Recollet missionary, Le Caron. He visited a number of the Huron villages and towns, the largest of which was Cahiague, in tiie modern township of Orillia'. This contained some two lumdred of the usual, long, bark dwellings. The entire number of those towns in the Huron territory of sixty or seventy square miles was eighteen, according to Champlain's estimate. Cahiague was now swarming with hosts of warriors in readiness for the march. It was known that a neigji- bouring tribe had promised to sciul into the Iroquois territory a reinforce- ment of five hundred warriors. Of course, the inevitable feasting ami speech-making went on for several days. At length the muster was com- plete, and, laden with tiieir canoes and stock of maize for commissariat, they began their march. Tiiey crossed the portage to Balsam Lake, and passed across the chain of lakes of which the River Trent is one of the outlets. Those lakes are at the present day among the most desolate features of Canadian scenery. Nothing varies the monotonous wall of woodland whicii fringes the horizon. The canoe of the traveller moves along forests of veeds, hundreds of acres of extinct forest growtli— - f 46 Canada and the Canadian People. cemeteries of dead trees, with not a sign of life or movement, except wiien the cry of the startled crane or heron breaks the silence of the solitary mere. At length they reached, after manj' portages at the various rapids, the mouth of the Trent. Where now the pleasant streets of the picturesque town of Trenton nestle amid the villas and gardens which fringe the Bay of Quints, Champlain crossed the Bay close to the present village of Carrying Place to the township of Ameliasburgh, in Prince Edward county, and, crossing the two-mile-wide creek which leads to the village of Milford, passed through the township of North Marysburgh to the lake shore beyond. Their voyage was prosperous ; they landed on the New York coast, and, leaving their canoes carefully concealed in the wood, they marched, silent and vigilant as hyena or panther, through the forest to the south. After four days they reached a for-est clearing, and saw the fields of maize and pumpkin, which showed an Iroquois town to be close at hand. Presently, they saw a large number of the Iroquois at work gathering in their harvest. With their usual incapacity for a moment's self-restraint, and contrary to Champlain's orders, they yelled their war cry and ran to capture their foes. But the Iroquois warriors were armed, and offered a prompt resistance, fighting with such resolution as to turn the war against the Hurons, who were retreating in disorder, when a shot from Champlain's arquebuse drove back the pursuers. The Iroquois town was of consider- able size, and Champlain describes it as more strongly fortified than those of the Hurons. The rampart of palisades, crossed and intersecting, was four feet deep. They gave support to a gallery defended by a breastwork of sliot-proof timber, well furnished with piles of stones for defence; while, as a precaution against an attempt by an enemy to fire the wood-work below, a wooden gutter ran round the walls, capable of being amply supplied with water from a small lake on one sitle of tlie tlefences. The Huron chiefs and warriors seemed to have no plan and very little heart for attacking the town. Their idea of a siege seemed to be to leap and dance round the palisades, screaming out epithets of abuse, and shooting their arrows at the strong, wooden buildings which they could not penetrate. At length Champlain called them together, and upbraiding them in no measured terms for their inaction and want of courage, proposed a plan by which the town might be assailed with more effect. Borrowing his tactics from the moveable towers of mediaeval warfare, Champlain, aided by his few Frenchmen and the Hurons, constructed a huge wooden tower capable of commanding the wall, and with a platform sufficiently spacious to support a body of Frenchmen armed with the arquebuse. Two hundred Hurons The Rccollct Mission of Canada. 47 dragged the tower, to which ropes had been fastened, close to tlie palisades, and the French arquebusiers at the top began their fire on the naked savages densely crowded on the rampart below them. The Iroquois stood their ground with rare courage, even when f xposed to the terrors of a mode of attack to which they could offer no effectual resistance. But the excitable Hurona lost all self-control. Instead of making a united effort to storm the palisade under Champlain's leadership, they yelled, danced, gesticulated, and showered aimless arrows at the defences of the Iroquois. Champlain's voice was drowned in the tumult. The attack was discontinued after three hours ; the Hurons falling back to their camp, which they had taken the precaution of fortifying. Champlain was wounded in the leg and knee by arrows. Losing all heart from their repulse, the Hurons resolved to remain where they were for a few days, in order to see if the five hundred promised allies would come ; if not, to withdraw homewards. After five days waiting, they left their camp, retiring in what order they could maintain, and carrying in the centre of the main body their wounded, of whom Champlain was one. He was packed in a basket and carried on the back of an able-bodied Huron brave. Meanwhile the Iroquois hovered on their flanks. At last the miserable retreat was ended. They launched their canoes and crossed the lake in safety, paddling over the sheet of water between the eastern mouth of Bay Quinte' and Wolf Island. Having landed, Champlain learned conclusively the value of an Indian's promise. The Huron chiefs, in return for Champlain's promised aid in war, had undertaken that at the close of their expedition they would furnish him with a guide to Quebec. They now very coolly declared that it was impossible ; he must winter with them, and return in the spring with their trade canoes down the St. Lawrence. And so the irregular army disbanded, each eager to return home, and all quite indifferent as to what might become of their late ally. Fortunately a chief named Durantal, an Algonquin, whose abode was on the shore of a small lake nortli of Kingston, most probably Lake Sharbot, offered Champlain his hospitality. Witli liim the French leader stayed during the first part of the winter. Durantal's dwelling seems to have been much more comfortable and better provided than most Indian houses. It was necessary to wait till the setting-in of the coldest season of the winter should freeze the marshes and rivers that lay in their path before they could make the journey to the Huron iwns. Mean- time Champlain amused himself by sending the shot from his arquebuse among the multitudinous wild fowl tiial flocked and flew around the lake shore. On one occasion he had a narrow escape from being lost in the woods. A deer-hunt was being prepared for, on the banks of a small river i I ii 48 Canada c nd tlie Canadian People. which had its outlet into the lake. They constructed two walls of forts connected by interlaced boughs and saplings, which, standing apart at a wide distance, converged and met. At the angle where they met, the walls were strengthened with timber on each side, so as to form an enclosure from which there was no escape. The hunters then dispersed through the forest and drove the deer into the enclosure, where they were easily slaughtered. It happened that Champlain was posted deeper in the forest than the rest, and he was attracted by the appearance of a strange red-headed bird, unlike any that he had seen before. It flew before him from tree to tree ; he followed, so absorbed in watching it that when on a sudden it took flight and disappeared from view, he had lost all trace of the direction whence he had come. He had no pocket compass. All round him was the movmtainous maze of forest, no one tree to be distinguished from another. The night closed on him wandering and perplexed, and he lay down to sleep at the foot of a tree. The next day he wandered on once more and came to a dark pool, deep in the shadows of the pine woods. Here he shot some wild fowl with his arquebuse, and flashing .some powder among the dry leaves, managed to light a fire and cook it. Then, drenched by rain, he lay down once more on the bare ground to sleep. Another day and another night he passed in the same way. At length he came to a brook, and following its course he reached the river just at the spot where his friends were encamped. They received him joyfully, having searched everywhere for him in vain. December, at last, brought the true, hard frost of winter; and after nineteen days' journey they reached the Huron town of Cahiague. There they rested for a few days, then proceeded to Carhagouha, where Cham- plain found the missionary, Le Caron, in good health, and still actively engaged in the good work of convevsion. Le Caron had by this time made some progress in the mysteries of the Huron tongue. Champlain and he visited the Tobacco Nation, a tribe south-west of the Huron, and of kindred origin. They also visited the Chevcux Relcves, to whose custom of cleanliness and neatness he paj^s a tribute of admiration, but justly condemns their total abstinence from wearing apparel. Champlain was about to proceed homeward when he was delayed by having to act as umpire in a quarrel between a tribe of the AUumette Algonquins and the Hurons of Caliiague. The latter had given the Algonquins an Iroquois, with the kind design that the Algonquins should amuse themselves by torturing him to death. The ungrateful Algonquins on the other hand adopted the man, and gave him focd as one of themselves. Therefore a Huron warrior stabbed the Iroquois, whereupon he was forthwith slain. :'f The Recollet Mission of Canada. 49 War would have been the result, but that fortunately they asked Champlain to decide between them. He pointed out to them the exceeding folly of quarrelling among themselves when the Iroquois were waiting to destroy them both, and certainly would destroy them, if they became disunited. He then pointed out the great advantages both sides would gain from the trade with the French, and urged them to shake hands like brothers, and ' be at peace. This good advice was taken, fortunately both for the Indians and for New France. At last Champlain went homewards by the circuitous route of the Upper Ottawa, while the frequent presence of roving Iroquois bands in the St. Lawrence region rendered it the only secure one. He took with him his Huron friend and entertainer, Durantal. At Quebec it had been rumoured by the Indians that Champlain was dead ; great therefore was the joy of all the dwellers in Quebec, when it was seen that the Founder had returned safe and well. f ,' 'I '■■\ ■ i ^^ Chapter VIII. CHAMPLAIN'S DIFFICULTIES AT QUEBEC. HAMPLAIN found the future metropolis of New France in an unsatisfactor)' condition. Tlie mercliants of his own company obstructed the practical working of the schemes of colonization for tlie forwarding of which their charter had been granted. Whatever colonists came to Quebec were hampered and dis- couraged in every way, w-ere not allowed to trade with the Indians, and compelled to sell their produce to the conipan3-'s agents, receiving pay, not in money, but in barter, on the company's own terms. The merciiants, not Champlain, were the real rulers. But few buildings had been added. Champlain erected a fort on the verge of the rock over-hanging what is now the Lower Town, and where still may be seen the ruined buttresses of the dismantled Castle of vSt. Louis. A few years afterwards the Recollet friars built a stone convent on the site of the present General Hospital. The number of inhabitants at this time did not exceed fiftj' or sixty persons. These consisted of three classes, the merchants, the Recollet friai's, and one or two unhappy pauper householders who had neither opportunity nor wish for work. Small as was the com- munity, it was full of jealousies, and split up into a number of cliques. To other evils was added the pest of religious controversy. Most of the merchants were good Catholics, to whom any discussion or doubt of the Faith was a sin. But some were Huguenots, belonging to the most ignoble form of Protestantism, because the narrowest and most exasperatmgly disputatious. The Huguenots 'would not leave the Catholics alone; they persecuted them with dragonnades of controversy. Forbidden to hoKl religious services on land or water in New France, they roared out their heretical psalms, doggerel that, like the English " Tate and Brady," degraded and vulgarized the finest and oldest religious poetry in the world. Added to this, the Huguenot traders of Rochelle carried on a secret traffic with the Indians, to the great loss of Champlain's compan}' of monopolists. Chnmplalns Difficulties at Quebec. 51 'm Champlain was not discouraged. Again and again he visited France in order to revive the interest, always flagging, of the merchants of St. Malo and Rouen in the colony. Repeatedly the post, which the opportu- nity of receiving bribes made a lucrative one, changed hands by purchase or intrigue among noblemen, the worthless bearers of great historic names. At last, with some hope that the merchants of the company would fulfil the promises they had made to him in 1620, Champlain returned to Quebec, bringing with him his beautiful young wife. As the boat that bore Madame de Cliamplain neared the shore, the cannon from the fort welcomed her to the colony founded by her husband. The story of their marriage is a curi- ous one, illustrative as it is of religion a Ui mode of the Catholic France of 1620. The lady was daughter of Nicholas Boule, a Huguenot, who held the post of Secretary of the Royal Household, at Paris, under Henrj^ the Fourth. The marriage contract was signed in 1610, but the bride being then but twelve years old, it did not take effect till her fourteenth year, although 4,500 livres out of a 6,000 livres dowry were, it seems, paid over to Champlain. He, in return, bequeathed all his fortune to his wife, " in case lie should die while employed on sea or land in the service^of the King." The young Madame de Champlain was a Huguenot, but Champlain exerted himself to such good effect for her conversion that she became a most devout Catliolic, and only consented to live with her husband on the under- standing that they lived together as if unmarried, in a sort of celibate matrimony, familiar in the legends of monasticism. But at Quebec the mono- poly continued to palsy all improvement. The few colonists outside the circle of merchants belonging to the company fell into the lazy, loafing ways of people to whom honest labour was forbidden, and even the Mon- tagnais Indians began to plot against the settlement. They and other tribes of cognate origin actually met, to the number, it is said, of eight hundred men, with the design of overpowering and destroying the colony for the sake of what plunder they could gain. But Champlain found out the trea- son they were plotting, and the wretched cowards and ingrates soon after- wards, being threatened with starvation, were fain to crawl to him for a morsel of food. When we consider the benefits which Champlain and the French colony under him had so freely bestowed on these contemptible savages — their battles fought against a nobler race of savages, their women and children fed, clothed and taught by ladies like Madame de Champlain — one is tempted to thank with some brief thanksgiving the beneficent law of the Unsurvival of the Unfittest. Their tribe and its kindred tribes have long vanished from our Canadian Province of Quebec, but the taint of tlieir blood, no doubt, still lurks in the veins of some of the habitants. ! I', v1 53 Canada and the Canadian People. ! ! ( ; But in the summer of 1622 a more dangerous foe descended on the colony of New France. A formidable band of the Iroquois came to attack Quebec, but the dread of the White Man's thunder, and former experi- ence of the arquebuse fire, kept them from venturing too near the walls of the fort. The Recollet convent was close by, but it was built after the fashion of the block houses of a later period, and the upper windows com- manded all the approaches. The good Franciscans were equal to the occasion, and while some addressed their prayers to the saints in the chapel be'.JW, the others, lighted match and arquebuse in hand, stood on the walls, ready to pick off the approaching foe. So the Iroquois withdrew, merely burning the Huron captives in sight of Quebec, as a hint of their intentions towards the garrison. So great were the dissensions with regard to the fur trade monopoly, and so bitter the wrangling between the merchants of St. Malo and Rouen on the one side, and that of Rochelle on the other, that the great noble who held the post of Governor of Canada suppressed the company formed by Champlain, and gave the fur monopoly into the hands of the Huguenot merchants, WiJliam and Emery de Caen. It must be remembered that the Huguenots of Rochelle had not yet broken out into open rebellion, and that their irrepressible self-assertion was backed by this influence of powerful robbers. The brothers De Caen ur.dertook all sorts of pledges to support the Catholic missions, and to promote the interests of colonization, which pledges they respected as little as the company they superseded had res- pected theirs. Such confusion and ill-feeling resulted from their rule at Quebec that Champlain addressed a petition to the king. But a new influ- ence had come into operation at Paris, which was destined not only to set aside the ascendency of fanatical interlopers like the De Caens, but to influ- ence powerfully the whole future of New France. The worthless historic- named noble who held the post of Viceroy of Canada, becoming weary of the correspondence and worry it caused him, sold it, such being the political morality of France in those days, to another noble, his nephew. The noblesse of those days, not yet ripe for the guillotine, were either profligates or fanatics. The new Governor of Canada was an amateur in the conversion of souls. He had left his place at Versailles, and had entered into holy orders. His mind, such as it was, a Jesuit confessor directed. It was suggested to him that the strength of that mighty order whith had been in part put forth at the ill-fated Acadian settlement might be exerted with happier results in converting the heathen in Canada. But the Jesuit enterprise in New France and in the Huron country deserves a chapter to itself. In the mean- time the influence of the elder De Caen was being attended with the worst Champlain's Difficulties at Quebec. 53 scandals in Quebec. He not only insisted on holding his interminable Huguenot services, but forced Catholics to join them. He was continually devising new insults against the Jesuit Fathers who had now undertaken the mission of Canada. And more than any preceding monopolists, he forced all trade with the Indians into his own hands, in one year exporting, in place of the ordinary number of beaver skins, which did not exceed twelve thousand, as many as twenty-two thousand. In spite of the greed and the sinister bigotry of De Caen, the colony showed signs of improve- ment. The inhabitants of Quebec now numbered 105. Several families were self-supporting, subsisting on the grain and vegetables yielded by their farms. Although De Caen, in direct violation of his solemn premise, long delayed furnishing the men and funds needed to rebuild the fort which was by this time untenable against an enemy, Champlain's complaints at length had their effect, and a new fort -yas begun. Happily for New France, there came into power at this time a ruler whose masterly intellect could appreciate the value to France and to Catho- licity of the policy which Champlain had so long been labouring to carry out against every hostile influence. Cardinal Richelieu, the Bismarck of the seventeenth century, ruled France in the name of the despicable imbecile who was nominally King, Louis the Thirteenth. .He soon perceived the advantages ot French supremacy in at least a portion of the New World. To the abuses connected with the De Caen regime, he applied the effica- cious remedy of annulling all their privileges bj' a decree from that King who was a mere tool in his powerful hands. He then formed an altogether new company, that of the Hundred Associates, of wliicii he constituted himself president. The investment at once became a fashionable one. Several of the great nobles took shares ; merchants and rich citizens lol- lowed in their wal.j. They were granted ample privileges, no less than sovereign power over all the territorj^ claimed by France in the New World, a claim which, nominally, covered the entire continent from the North Pole to Florida. They were granted, for ever, a monopoly of the coveted fur trade, and of all other commerce whatever for a term of fifteen j'ears. All duties on imports were remitted. A free gift from the King conferred on the company two ships of war, fully equipped for active service. This was in 1627. In 1628 the company were pledged to transport to Quebec several hundred artisans, and before 1643 to import at least four thousand immigrants, men and women ; to provide for their maintenance for three years after their arrival in the colony, and to give them farms already cleared. None but Catholics were to be admitted as settlers. His- torians like Parkman, to whom the commonplaces of nineteenth century 54 Canada and the Canadian People. toleration seem applicable to all times and conditions of human society, have exclaimed against this exclusion of the Huguenots, and have speculated on the benefit to Canada of a large nnmigration of French colonists during the persecution, which forced them from the country against which they had so persistently plotted and reb';Iled during the seventeenth century. But New France's experience of Huguenot rule under De Caen does not support the conclusion that what is called Richelieu's bigotry was anything elso than political common sense. Unity was above all else needful in a com- munity which, among the multitudinous savage nations around it, had count- less foes and not a single friend. The Huguenots had ever shown them- selves intolerant, tyrannical and impracticable. A considerable number of them settled in Ireland about the close of the seventeenth century. The Protestant oligarchy opened its ranks to persecuted Protestants, many of whom bore the noblest French names. As a consequence the new impor- tation strengthened the hands of the oppressors of the Celtic and Catholic proletariat, and intensified religious bitterness. The Huguenot immigration to Ireland is perhaps no slight factor in tlie anarchic deadlock of the Ireland of to-day. Quebec was now in the utmost need of supplies of food, a famine being threatened. The new company showed its vigour by taking prompt meas- ures to avert this calamity. A number of transports laden with immigrants and abundant stores of provisions, seeds, and agricultural tools, left Quebec m April, 1628. They were destined never to arrive, though watched for week after week b}' the starving garrison. For, in the meantime, war had broken out between England and France, or rather between France and the worthless favourite who controlled the weak mind and weaker principles of the first Charles Stuart, The Duke of Buckingham had received a slight from the French Government. He forced on his country an abor- tive war in aid of the Huguenots of Rochelle, now in open rebellion against France. When war was declared, a favourable opportunity presented itself for taking possession of the French colony in Canada. The " cruel eyes that bore to look on torture, but dared not look on war " were turned greedily toward New France. And a Huguenot renegade was not wanting to be his tool in ruining Quebec. David Kirk, though on the father's side of Scotch extraction, was to all intents and purposes a French citizen of Dieppe. He was a zealous Huguenot, and with his brothers, Louis and Thomas, Kirk had been among the loudest singers of psalms, and wranglers in controversy, who had so troubled the peace of Quebec. For this he had been expelled by Champlain as soon as Richelieu's new company was established. He now saw his way to revenge. With true Huguenot hatred I ( Chninplain's DifficuUies at Quebec, 55 against the country of liis birth and the colony out of whose monopolised trade lie had made a fortune, De Caen, through a creature of his, one Michel, whoiri Charlevoix describes as " a fierce Calvinist," " Ctilviniste fiirieiix," suggested a descent by a sufficient naval force on Quebec. The suggestion was at once carried out. David Kirk, who, as a mariner, had considerable experience, and knew especially well the navigation of the St. Lawrence, was appointed Admiral, many Huguenot refugees being under his com- mand. But at Quebec the colonists were confidently awaiting the arrival of the promised fleet laden with provisions from France. On July gth, 1628, two men from tlie outpost at Cape Tourmente made their way to Quebec, and announced that they had seen six large ships anchored at Tadousac. Father Le Caron and another RecoUet friar volunteered to go in a canoe to ascertain the truth. They had not passed the Isle of Orleans when they met a canoe whose Indian crew warned them to return to Quebec, and shewed them a wounded man at the bottom of the canoe. It was the French commandant at Cape Tourmente, The six ships were English men-of-war, and their destination was to capture Quebec. Cham- plain had but scant means of resistance. The fort was little better than a ruin, two of the main towers had fallen, the magazine contained but fifty pounds r*" p .,'der. For this, Quebec had to thank the malicious neglect of duty of the Huguenot De Caen. Yet, Champlain resolved on resistance to the last ; even with starving garrison and ruined fort he assigned to every man his post, and when some Basque fishermen brought a summons to surrender frv m the Huguenot renegade Kirk, he refused. Meantime, the disastrous news had arrived that a battle had taken place between the four French ships of war and the squadron of six ships under Kirk. The French had been worsted, and all the fleet of transports, laden with the supplies so long expected, had been captured by the English and their Huguenot captains. Within the walls of Quebec the handful of defenders were now brought to the last extremity. Yet so boldly defiant was Cham- plain's bearing, and such his character for determined courage, that the Huguenot feared to attack him, and cruised about the St. Lawrence gulf, doing what mischief he could by destroying fishing boats. In Quebec the population Subsisted on roots, acorns, and a daily diminishing pittance of pounded peas. Champlain had even conceived a plan to leave the women and children whatever food remained, and himself, with the garrison, invade the Iroquois country to the south, seize on one of their villages, entrench himself therein, and subsist on the stores of buried maize invariably to be found in Iroquois towns. Meanwhile Kirk's squadron returned to England, and Quebec, left without supplies, was almost perishing. But in July, m 56 Canada and the Canadian People, 1628, the English fleet came once more in sight, and though Champhiiii ordered his garrison, now reduced to sixteen, to man the ramparts, when a boat with a white flag arrived with a proposal to surrender, he accepted it, the conditions l)eing that the French were to he conveyed to their own country, « acli soldier being allowed to take with him furs to the value of twenty crowns. The fort and the town were given up to the English, who made no harsh or unfair use of their conquest. The few farmers were en- couraged to remain. The Recollet and Jesuit Missions were not interfered with. And so, for a short space the Red Cross flag waved over the rock of Quebec, whence, a century later, it was to float permanently, or until succeeded by the ensign of a new Canadian nationality. Kirk's enterprise was piracy, pure and simple. He held no commission from the English Crown, but so lax were the laws of maritime war at the tune that a privateer who succeeded, at his own risk, in inflicting a blow on the enemy, was sure of countenance, if not of reward. Kirk's piratical pro- ceedings were more flagrant, inasmuch as he well knew that before he began liis descent on yucbec, peace had been ratified between the two Governments. When his squadron had reached the English port of Plymouth, Cham- plain at once repaired to London, where he induced the French ambassador to insist on the restoration to France of her colony, in accordance with the terms of the treaty. Neither the French nor the English (lovernment set much store on the feeble trading post beneath the rock of Quebec. Kirk was commanded by the English King to surrender Quebec to Emery De Caen, wlio was commissioned by the French Government to occupy the ■fort and hold a monopoly of trade for one year, as compensation for great losses sustained by him during the war. Why the renegade was thus favoured it is hard to say. Doubtless the great Cardinal's subtle policy had good reason. ■^^m Chapter IX. CHAMPLAIN GOVERNOR OF CANADA. HE last j'ears of the heroic founder of New France closed with a picture of dignity and happiness pleasant to contemplate. Car- dinal Richelieu saw further into the future than the short-sighted sneerers at the arpents of snow and the handful of half-frozen settlers on the rock of Quebec. He saw that France should not be without a share in the vast inheritance which the other maritime powers of Christendom were portioning out for them- selves in the New World. Intercourse with Canada would prove an in- valuable school for the French marine. And the fact that he, the Cardinal Duke de Richelieu, was at the head of the company whose possessions had been seized by foreign pirates, gave the ruler of France the strongest per- sonal motive for dispossessing the intruders. He knew of one man only who deserved the trust of ruling the new cc'.ony. By order of the King, Champlain was commissioned as Viceroj' and Governor-General of New France. Amid the pealing of the cannon from the fort, and the salutes of pikemen and musketeers, Champlain received the keys of the citadel from the crest-fallen De Caen. For two peaceful years his rule continued. It will have been seen that Champlain's nature had always a strong tinge of asceticism. In his last days the fires of military ardour and of adventurous exploration seem to have died out. The stern, practical soldier spirit was purified and calmed. His main care henceforward was for the religious and moral interests of his colony. In this he was well seconded by the Fathers of the Jesuit missions whose history will be given in another chapter. Under Champlain's rule Quebec became like a convent. Religious services were held at each one of the nine canonical hours from prime to compline. The traffic with the Indians for fire water was no longer permitted. Indeed it is a note- worthy fact to the credit of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada that they have from the first done all they could to suppress this iniquity. But it :r ^'1 58 Canada and the Canadian People. the Indians were encouraged to visit the fort, and when they did so they were kindly received, and encouraged by every means to enter the Christian fold. As the bells of the church which the Governor had built were ring- ing for mass on Christmas Day, 1635, the spirit of Samuel de Champlain passed quietly away. So, after many hardships, battles and wanderings, the life of one of fhe greatest men of his generation closed in peace and honour, and with every consolation of the faith he loved. The entire colony of New France attended his funeral. The funeral oration, in adequate terms of affection and respect, was pronounced over his remains by the Jesuit Father Le Jeune ; and over ihe spot where he was buried a fitting monument was raised. So passed away from French history the type of soldier, half hero, half saint — a lype which another ten years was to dis- play in Puritan England. NOTE TO CHAPTER IX. Champlain was generally thought to have been buried in the Governor's Chapel. This is a mistake. He was buried in a brick vault in the churc*. built by the RecoUet Kriars in 1615. The site of this church was in Little Champlain Street, in the Lower Town of Quebec. Some years ago a public officer caused an excavation to be made in the street referred to. He found a brick vault at the foot of "Break-neck Stairs." It contained a coffin with the remain.-., apparently, of some very distinguished man. The coffin and relics were handt d over to •' a Cathedral authorities. The .Vrchbishop of Quebec ordered it to be buried in the churchyard of the Cathedral, and record to be kept of its location. This unfortunately was neglected. But on examination of the vault, an inscription could be traced; " Samuel de Champlain." Champlain's wife survived him, and became an Ursu- line nun, in a convent founded by herself. ^2^ Chapter X. '.^Jfp THE JESUIT MISSIONS. E have described the apostolic labours of the Recollet Fathers I for the conversion of the Indians. But the field was too vast, and the resources at command of a poor community too slender, to support an enterprise so great. The Recollet Fathers suggested that the mighty Jesuit order might attempt the work of Indian Missions with better chance of success. The Jesuits came, saw and conquered. Their Canadian mis- sions include a record of martyrdom and apostolic labour without parallel since the first century of Christianity. The history of Canada cannot be complete without some account of these men and their work. The first superior of the Jesuit residence at Quebec was Father Le Jeune, who came to Canada when the piratical seizure of Quebec by the Huguenot Kirk h^id been annulled by order of the English King, to whose service Kirk professed to belong. Le Jeiuie arrived at Quebec on Jidy 5th, 1632. He found the Jesuit residence a heap of ruins, the Huguenots having entertained a special hatred of that order. The earliest settler in New France had been a man named Hebert, who had by thrift and industry made the ground around his house for some acres a tolerably thriving farm, and had built an unusually commodious house. To that house Father Le Jeune now repaired in order to celebrate his first mass in the new country. He was received with tears of joy by the widow He'bert and her pious family. That first of duties performed, Le Jeune antl his companions set themselves at once to rebuild their residence, with such skill and materials as they could command, and to cultivate anew the fields left wastp so long. The residence was on the eastern side of the little river St. Charles, probably on the very spot where Cartier spent the winter of 1535. It was fortified by a square enclosure of palisades, no unnecessary precaution. Within this were two buildings, one of which was store-room, workshop, and bakery ; the other a rude frame building, thickly plastered 6o Canada and the Canadian People. with mud, and thatched with the long dry grass from the river banks. It hr^ four principal rooms, one used as refectory, a second as kitchen, a third as a sleeping place for workmen. The remaining or largest room was the chapel. All were furnished in the most primitive manner possible. The chapel had at first no other ornament than two richly executed engravings, but the Father had now obtained an image of a dove, which was placed over the altar, seeing which, an Indian asked if that was the bird that caused the thunder. They had also images of the Jesuit Saints, Loyola and Xavier, and three statues of the V^irgin. Four cells which opened from the refec- tory gave lodging to six priests. First, Jean de Brebceuf, a noble of ancient family in Normandy, a man stalwart and tall, with the figure and mien ot a soldier. Next was Masse, who had been the associate of Father Biard in the Acadian mission of whose failure we liave made mention. There were also Daniel, Davost, De None, and Father Le Jeune. Their first object was to learn the Algonquin language. The traders, who did not love Jesuitism, refused to help them. At last, Le Jeune sighted a hunter who had lived in France some time, and consequently could speak French or Algonquin equally well. This man, P'erre, was one of those outcasts who had learned only the vices of civilization, but whose want of practice in the woodcraft of savage life unfitted him to support himself as other savages do. By a present now and then of a little tobacco, Le Jeune prevailed on Pierre to become his private tutor, and speedily gained a working knowledge of the Indian dialect. To improve this, he resolved to accept :\u invitation from Pierre and his brothers to join their winter himting party. Many were the hardsliips that befel Le Jeune in that expedition. His friends, with ill- judged zeal, had persuaded him to take with iiis provisions a small keg of wine. The provisions were soon devoured by the gluttonous savages, and the first night that he spent with them, Pierre tapped the wine cask, got drunk, and would have killed Le Jeune liad he not souglit refuge in the forest, where he passed the night under a tree. By day he accompanied their marcli, carrying his share of the baggage. Towards evening the squaws set up the poles which supported the birch-bark covering which was their sole detence against an unusuallj' • vere winter. Tiie men shovelled the snow with their snow-shoes till it made a wall tiirce or four feet high, enclosing the space occupied by the wigwam. On the earth thus bared they strewed cedar or spruce boughs for a bed. A bear skin sefved as a door at tlie opening by which they entered ; in the centre a huge fire of pine logs blazed fiercely through the night. At thr* top of the wigwam was an opening so large that Le Jeune, as he la)' on his spruce bough bed at night, could watch the stars through it. In this narrow space, men, women, The Jesuit Missions. 6i children and dogs were huddled together. Attempt at decency there was none. Le Jeune classes the sufferings he went through in this expedi- tion under four chief heads : cold, heat, dogs and smoke. Through crevice after crevice the icy blast crept in, threatening to freeze him on one side, while on the other the intense heat of the pine fire nearly roasted him. The smoke that filled the wigwam was an intolerable nuisance ; when a snow- storm took place, it was often necessary for all of them to lie with their faces to the ground, in order to avoid its penetrating acrid fumes. The dogs were of some use, for by sleeping around where he lay they kept him warm, but they were in intimate alliance with another pest, the fleas, innumerable as voracious, which often rendered sleep impossible. At length he became so ill and worn that one of the better-natured Indians offered to carry him back to Quebec. Their frail canoe narrowly escaped being crushed by the floating ice-masses, it being the beginning of April, when the ice fields break up. They were obliged to camp as best they might on the Island of Orleans. Le Jeune narrowly escaped drowning, but his com- panion had sufficient strength to draw him up to the fixed ice, and at three o'clock in the morning the long absent Superior knocked at the door of the residence of Notre Dame des Au^es, Our Lady of the Angels. It became evident to the Jesuit Fathers that 'heir efforts would be wasted on the scattered and wandering Algonquin hunters, and that in order to produce a permanent effect, it would be necessary to attempt the conversion of some settled race, the dwellers in villages and towns. Such a race was that to which the RecoUet, Le Caron, had made a mission journey which produced no converts owing to the brief period of his stay ; the Huron tribes whose seventeen or eighteen towns had, most of them, been visited by Le Caron and Champlain. .1 description has been given in a former chapter of the superior agriculture ^nd social organization of this race of Indians. They were akin to other powerful and settled communi- ties; to the Tobacco Nation whose territory was south-west of the Georgian Bay; and to the Neutral Nation which extended south towards Niagara, between the Iroquois and the Canadian Indians. The Jesuits had ever before their eyes the great things accomplished by their order among a people akin to these Indians in Paraguay. Could the history of that success be made to repeat itself in Canada, wh it mattered the long and terrible journey through a wilderness haunted by savage beasts and more savage men, amid the gloom of pathless forests, by rock and cataract, till the dismal travel led to a drearier termination ? What mattered a life passed remote from every pleasure and every prize, amid the filth and squalor of naked savages; day after day attempting conversion that seemed hopeless. ■;!1 I' 1 i 62 Canada and the Canadian People. (i I I' rolling the stone of Sisyphus up an interminable hill? If tlie Church of God and the Order of Saint Ignatius Loyola could but gain thereby, what mattered the life of martyrdom, the death of fire ? In July, 1633, the three priests chosen by their superior La Jeune for the Huron Mission were introduced by Champlain to the assembled Hurons who had come down to the Sault (Montreal), as was their annual custom, to trade the furs which they had collected during the winter. The three Jesuit missionaries were Brebueuf, Daniel, and Davost. Champlain earnestl}' commended them to the reverence and good offices of the Hurons, who made every promise of charity and friendship, as is invariably the custom of their race. But Champlain refusing to set at liberty an Algonquin who had murdered one of his French soldiers so angered them that they refused to take with them " the three Black robes." The Jesuits gave a year to quiet study of the Huron language at their convent. Next year the unstable savages changed their minds, and consented to carry back the missionaries. Terror of the Iroquois made it necessary, as usual, to take the long and circuitous route by the Upper Ottawa. The distance was at least nine hundred miles. The toil was severe, all day toiling with unaccustomed heat, and faring far worse than the galley slaves in their own country, since the only food given to them was a little maize pounded between two stones and mixed witli water. There were tliirty-five portages, where thej? liad to carry the canoes, often by tortuous and difficult paths, round rapids or cataracts. More than fifty times they had to wade through the water, pushing their canoes before them b\' main force. Add to this, that the fickle savages soon lost their first good-lunnour, and treated the priests as prisoners, whose work they exacted to the uttermost. Davost's baggage they threw into the river, and it was with the greatest difficulty, even when the party reached the Huron countr}-, that the three priests made their way to the town of Ihonatiria. Here, at first, they were welcomed, the whole town turning out to assist in building them a house, which was erected on the usual Huron pattern, but which they divided in the interior by a partition, into dwelling place and chapel. As long as the novelty of their visit lasted, " the Black- robes " were caressed and petted. The savages were never tired of looking at several wonderful things which the Jesuits brought with them, especially a magnifying glass, a coffee mill, and above all a ticking and striking clock. The Jesuits, as usual, neglected no means to impress and attach the Indians among whom they had cast their lot for life. They visited and tenued the sick, baptizing any child that seemed likelj' to die. They gathered the children to their chapel, and after each lesson gave presents of a few beads or sweetmeats. The children learned prayers in the Huron tongue ; r^ The Jesuit Missions, 63 t: ■,! the ave, credo, and the commandments in Latin ; and were proficients in the art of crossing themselves. The Jesuits also taught the Hurons to build fortifications with flanking towers wherefrom the arquebusiers could harass an attacking foe. All seemed to go smoothly for a time. Then came a drought, want of water, and fear of famine in the maize fields. The Black robes were sor- cerers ; the huge cross, painted red, which stood before their chapel, had frightened the bird that brings the thunder. Worse still, a terrible pesti- lence broke out; all the chief .medicine men of the tribe declared that it was the witchcrafts of the Black robes, their baptisms and crucifixes and other White Medicine which had brought the sickness. The lives of the Jesuits were at this time frequently in danger. They faced it with courage as unflinching as that of anj' Iroquois prisoner whom the Hurons had tor- tured at the stake. In vain the)' toiled through the snowdrifts from one plague-stricken town to another, bending over the victims of pestilence to catch the slightest confession of faith uttered by that tainted breath, risking instant death from the parents who looked on baptism as a dangerous act of sorcery, and by stealth giving the indispensable sacrament to some dying infant with a touch of a wet finger and formula noiselessly uttered. They met with no immediate success, but when the panic of the pestilence had p:'ssed off, the savages, ungrateful as they were, began dimly to recognize in the Black robes the goodness of superior beings. But the Black robes were no longer at their town. They thought it betier to choose a more central position for a mission settlement, and chose a spot where the river Wye, about a mile from its debouchement into Matchedash Bay, flows thiough a small lake. The new station was named Sainte Marie. It had a central position with regard to every part of the Huron country, and an easy water communication with Lake Huron. From thence Fathers Garnier and Jogues were sent on a mission to the Tobacco Nation. Though they escaped torture and death, their preaching produced no efl'ect whatever on these obdurate savages. When they entered the first Tobacco town, a squalid group of birch-bark huts, the Indian children, as they saw the Black robes approach, ran away, screaming " Here come Famine and Pestilence." They found themselves everywhere regarded as sorcerers, sent thither by the white man to compass the destruction of the Indians. In other towns no one would admit them into his house, and from within they could hear the women calling on the young men to split their heads with hatchets. Only the darkness of night and of the forest enabled them to escape. On November 2nd, 1G40, Fatiiers Brebteuf and Chaumonot left Sainte h I'' ' f\ ■ ■ * I J 64 Canada and the Canadian People. Marie for a mission to the Neutral Nation. Their mission produced no other results than the curses and outrages of the heathen. But in the Huron country the Jesuit mission had begun to bear fruit. Each consider- able Huron town had now its church, whose bell was generally hung in a tree hard by, whence every morning was heard the summons to mass. The Christian converts were already a considerable power in the councils of the tribes, and exercised a most salutary influence in humanizing to some degree even their still heathen kinsmen. The Christian Hurons refused to take part in the burning and torturing of prisoners. In March, 1649, there were engaged in missionary work in the Huron country eighteen Jesuit priests, four lay brothers, twenty-three devout Frenchmen who served the mission without pay, and by their success in fur-trading— -not for their own profit but that of the order — made the mission self-supporting. Fifteen of these priests were stationed at various towns throughout the Huron country ; the rest at Sainte Marie. Every Sunday the converts resorted to Sainte Marie from all the surrounding country, and were received with the most hospitable welcome. The august rites of the Catholic Church were cele- brated with unwonted pomp. Eleven successful mission stations had now been established among the Hurons, and two among the Tobacco Nation. The priests who served these stations endured hardships through which it seems incredible that men could live. To toil all day paddling a canoe against the current of some unknown river ; to carry a heavy load of luggage under the blaze of a tropical sun ; to sleep on the bare earth ; in winter to be exposed to storm and famine; the filth and indecencies of an Indian hut: these were held as nothing, if only it was " ad majorem gloriam Dei,'' — " to the greater glory of God." The first death among their ranks was that of De None, a Jesuit Father who was found in the snowdrift kneeling, his arms crossed on his heart, his eyes raised heavenwards, frozen while he prayed. The efforts of the Jesuit priests at last were being crowned with success, and the Huron country might have become a second Paraguay but for the annihilation of the Huron tribes, whom it had taken such heroic efforts to convert. The fair prospects of the mission were overshadowed by a dark cloud of war as early as 1648. Had the Hurons been united and on their guard they might have been a match for the Iroquois, to whom the}' werfe not so much inferior in courage as in organization and subtlety. Father Daniel had just returned from one of those brief visits to Sainte Marie, which converse with his brethren, and some approach to stateliness of religious ceremonial, made the one pleasant event in mis- sionary life. He was engaged in celebrating mass at the church of his mission station of St. Joseph, when from the town without was raised T^f, Jesuit Missions. 65 the cry, " The Iroquois are coming ! " A crowd of painted savages scream- ing their war-whoop were advancing on the defenceless town. Daniel hurried from house to house calling on the unconverted to repent and be baptised, and so escape hell. The people gathered round him imploring baptism ; he dipped his handkerchief in water and baptised them by asper- sion. The Iroquois had already set the town in a blaze. " Fly," he said to his congregation — " I will remain to stop them from pursuit. We shall meet in Heaven !" Robed in his priestly vestments, he went forth to meet the Iroquois, confronting them with a face lit up with imearthly enthusiasm. For a moment they recoiled, then pierced his body with a shower of arrows. Then a ball from an arquebuse pierced his heart, and he fell gasping the name of Jesus. They flung his mutilated corpse into the flames of his church, a fit fimeral pyre for such a man. This was the beginning of the end of the Huron Nation. Next year (1649) the Huron village which the Jesuits had named after St. Louis was taken by surprise. The priests of this mission station were Breboeuf and Lalemant. They were urged by their converts to fly with them into tiie forest, but reflecting that they might be able to cheer some of the congrega- tion in the hour of torture, as by baptizing a repentant heathen to snatch his soul from perdition, they refused to escape. Breboeuf and Lalemant, with a large train of Huron captives, were led away to be tortured. The Iroquois then attacked Sainte Marie, but the French laymen, with their Inuidred Christian Hurons, assailed them with such impetuous valour that they were glad to retreat to the rumed palisade of St. Louis. But before they left for their own country, on March i6th, 1649, the Iroquois bound Father Breboeuf to a stake. He continued to exhort his fellow-captives, bid- ding them suffer patiently pangs that would soon be over, and telling them how soon the}' would be in the Heaven that would never end. The Iro- quois burned him with pine wood tor' lies all over his body to silence him. When he still continued to pray aloiul, they cut away his imder lip, and thrust a red hot iron into his mouth. But the descendant of the ancient Norman nobles stood defiant and undaunted. Next they led in Lalemant, round whose body they fastened strips of bark smeared with pitch. Lale- mant threw himself at Brebceuf's feet. " We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men !" he cried, in the words of St. Paul. They then fastened round Breboeuf's neck a collar of red-hot hatchet-blades, but still the courage of the Christian martyr would not yield. A renegade Christian poured boiling water on his head in mockery of baptism; still he would give no signs of giving way. This, to an Indian, is the most provok- ing rebuff. If he fails by his tortures to wring out a cry of pain from a ^ nil" ;■ J ,'::!. 66 Canada and tlic Canadian People. prisoner, it is held a disgrace and evil omen to himself. Enraged, they cut pieces of flesh from his limbs before his eyes. They then scalped him, and when he was nearly dead cut open his breast and drank his blood, thinking it would make them brave. An Iroquois chief tiien cut out his heart and devoured it, in the hope that then he could endue himself with the courage of so valiant an enemy. Next day the defenders of Sainte Marie found the blackened and mutilated bodies of the two priests amid the ruins of the St. Louis mission. The skull of Brebceuf, preserved in the base of a silver bust of the martyr, which his family sent from France, is preserved at the nunnery of the Hotel Dieu at Quebec. Other Iroquois armies invaded tlie Huron country, and carried all before them. Fifteen Huron towns were burned or abandoned. The Jesuit Fathers resolved to abandon Sainte Marie, and with a number of Huron converts which gradually swelled to over three thousand, sought refuge on an isbnd in the Georgian Bay which they called St. Joseph. There they built a fort, and managed to sustain the wretched remains of the Huron nation tlirough the winter, eking out what scanty supplies of food they possessed with acorns and fish purchased from the northern Algonquins. With the spring it was known that a large band of the Iroquois meditated a descent on their last place of refuge. The Huron chiefs implored the Jesuits to allow them to remove to Quebec, where, under the shelter of the fort, they might enjoy their religion in peace. To this the Superior agreed. With sorrow and many tears tlie Jesuit missionaries left the land which liad been the scene of their apostolic labours, and where tlie blood of their martyr breth- ren had been the seed of a church which would have proved a centre of Christian civilization, " had it not pleased Christ, since they ceased to be Pagans and became Christians, to give them a heavy share in His Cross and make them a prey to misery, torture and a cruel death." The Superior added, truly enough, " They are a people swept away from the face of the earth." Thus ended the Jesuit mission to the Hurons. • It cannot be called a failure, for it succeeded in converting the heathen, and only collapsed bj' the extermination of its converts. 1 Chapter XI. THE BEGINNING OF MONTREAL. O Champlain succeeded a Governor of very similar temperament, Charles Herault de Montmagny, with his lieutenant, De Lisle, and a brilliant train of French gentlemen. Both Montmagny and De Lisle were members of the semi-military, semi-ecclesiasti- cal order of the Knights of St. John, of Malta. Both were therefore in thorough accord with the Jesuits in favouring that system of paternal government by the priesthood which, fostered by them, has more or less prevailed in New France ever since, and of which many survivals exist in French Canada at the present day. Montmagny was the bearer of letters from some of the most illustrious nobles and ihe greatest ladies of France, expressing their interest in the Canadian mission. The Relations of the Canadian Jesuits, especially those of Le Jeune, had been read throughout all France. The apostolic lives of these most self-denying of missionaries had awakened a general enthusiasm, of which the Jesuits throughout France took full advantage to stir up the susceptible minds of female devotees to aid, with prayers and money, the good work in Canada. Some person unknown to men, but blessed of God, was about to found a school for Huron children at Quebec. In one convent thirteen of the sisters had bound themselves by a vow to the work of converting the Indian women and children. In the church of Montmartre a nun lay prostrate day and night before the altar, praying for the Canadian mission. Accordingly, in 1637, the Jesuits succeeded in building at Quebec a college for French boys and a seminary for Huron children. The commencement of the work with the latter was not hopeful for the few original pupils. One was taken away by his father, four ran away, and two killed themselves by over-eating. The Jesuits were enabled to complete both buildings by a generous donation of six thousand crowns by a French nobleman. An appeal was made by Le Jeune, in his Relations, to the effect that he prayed God might put it into the heart of some virtuous and charitable lady to 68 Ciuiadu and tlic Canadian People. come out and untlertake the training of the female children of the Indians. A yoimg lady of rank whose name is one of the most remarkable in the early history of New France, Marie Madeleine de la Peltrie, when a girl of seventeen, had a romantic longing to enter a convent. This her father strongly opposed, being exceedingly fond of his only child. He insisted on taking her into the gaieties of fashionable society, and induced her to accept the hand of M. de la Peltrie, a young nobleman of excellent dispo- sition. The marriage was a happy one, but Madame de la Peltrie was left a childless widow at t^yenty-two. She read Le Jeune's appeal to the women of France ; her old religious fervour returned ; and she resolved to devote all her wealth and the rest of her life to founding a sisterhood for teaching the Indian girls at Quebec. But her father, dismayed at the prospect of losing his only child, threatened to disinherit her if she went to Canada. He pressed her to marry again ; but her Jesuit confessor suggested a means of escape. She was to pretend to marry a nobleman of great wealth and thorough devotion to the Church. The marriage took place. Her father fell ill and died before he could discover the deception. Madame de la Peltrie was caressed and honoured by some of the greatest ladies in France. The Queen herself sent for her. At Tours the Superior of the Ursaline Convent, with all the nuns, led her to the altar and sang Tc Deiim. They threw themselves at her feet, each weeping as she entreated to be allowed to go with her to Canada. That privilege was accorded to two ; a young nun of noble family, whose pure and earnest religious temperament was united with strong common sense and a natural gaiety which in after years shed brightness on the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. The second was the celebrated Marie de I'lncarnation. In the history of these times we find ourselves in an atmosphere of miracle. Jesuitism had brought back to Europe the faith of the Middle Ages. With the age of faith came back tlie age of mii-acles, of dreams, voices, and visions ; the relation of which, by witnesses whose honesty of purpose is above suspicion, make them to the true believer additional proofs of supernatural religion, while the heretic only sees in them phenomena of constant recurrence in the history of religious enthusiasm, and capable of easy psychological explanation. Marie de I'lncarnation beheld in a dream an unknown lady who took her by the hand ; and then they walked towards the sea. They entered a magnificent temple where the Virgin Mother of God sat on a throne. Her head was turned aside, and she was looking on a distant scene of wild mountain and valley. Three tunes the Virgin kissed her, whereon in the excess of her joy she awoke. Her Jesuit confessor interpreted the dream : the wild land to which the Virgin was looking' was Canada, and when for the first time she saw The Beginning of Montreal, 69 Madame de la Peltrie slie recognized in her tlie lady seen in her dream. The Ursuline nuns, with Madame de la Peltrie, arrived at Quebec on August ist, 1659. They were received with every honour by Montmagny> and soon were established in a massive stone convent on the site of their present building. Their romantic garden where Marie de St. Bernard and Marie de I'lncarnation used to gather roses is as beautiful as ever ; and an ash tree beneath whose shade the latter used to catechise the Indian girls is flourishing still. The good nuns devoted themselves with much ardour to their task, and taught their pupils such a righteous horror of the opposite sex, that a little girl whom a man had sportively taken by the hand, ran off crying for a bowl of water to wash away the polluting touch of such an un- hallowed creature. A nobleman named Dauversiere one day while at his devotions heard a voice commanding him to establish an hospital on an island called Montreal, in Canada. At Paris a young priest named Jean Jacques Olier was praying in church, when he heard a voice from Heaven telling him that he was to be a light to tlie Gentiles, and to form a society of priests on an island called Montreal, in Canada. Soon after this, Dauver- sifere and Olier, who were utter strangers to each other, met at the old castle of Meudon. By a miracle, as we need scarcely say, they knew and greeted each other by name at once ; they even could divine each other's thoughts. Together they undertook the task of raising funds, and soon succeeded in obtaining a large sum of money and a grant from the king of the Island of Montreal. They cliose as military leader of the soldiers whom it would be necessary to take with them for defence, a gallant and devoted young nobleman, Paul de Chomedej', Sieur de Maisonneuve, one in whom the spirit of the ancient crusaders seemed to have returned to life, and who had long eagerly wished to dedicate his sword to the service of God. The little body of colonists, who had taken the name of the Society de Notre Dame de Montreal, received a valuable addition in an unmarried lady of noble family named MademoiL:elle Jeanne Mance, who at the tender age of seven had bound herself by a vow of celibacy ; also a little later by the unobtrusive goodness, sweet charity, and practical common sense of Marguerite Bourgeoys. In 1653, having given ail her possessions to the poor, the latter embarked for Quebec. She brought froni France a miracle-work- ing image of the Virgin, which at this day stands in a niche in the old seventeenth century Church beside the harbour at Montreal ; and still many a bold mariner, many an anxious wife, invokes the aid of " Our Lady of the Gracious Help." Before the ship set sail, Maisonneuve, with Mada- moiselle Mance and the other members of the expedition, knelt before the altar of the Virgin in the ancient cathedral church of Notre Dame at Paris. With the priest, Olier, at their head, they solen\nly dedicated Montreal to r 70 Canada ami llic Canadian People. the Virgin. The town they were about to build was to be called Ville Marie de Montreal. They arrived at Quebec too late in the fall to make the journey to Montreal till the spring of 1642. The Governor, Mont- magny, seems to have felt some jealousy of Maisonneuve as a nossible rival in governing the colony. Maisonneuve seems to have yielded to the temptation of encouraging his men in small acts of insubordination. The new colonists were sheltered by the hospitality of M. Pruseaux, close to the mission, established four miles from Quebec by the gene- rosity of a French noble, Brulart de Sillery, which still bears his hon- ourable name. Maisonneuve and his men spent the winter in building large flat-bottomed boats for the voyage to Montreal. On the 8th of May they embarked, and as their boats with soldiers, arms and supplies, moved slowly up the St. Lawrence, the forest, springing into verdure on either side, screened no lurking ambush to interrupt their way. This of course was due to no less a personage than the Virgin Mary herself, who chilled the courage and dulled the subtility of the Iroquois, so that they neglected this signal opportunity of crushing the new colony at its inception. For the Iroquois had now mastered the use of the fire-arms they had purchased from the Dutch traders on the Hudson. These arms were short arquebuse muskets ; so that the savages were on equal terms with the white men. On the 17th of May, 1642, the boats approached Montreal, and all on board with one voice intoned the Te Deiini, Maisonneuve was the first to spring on shore. He fell on his knees to ask a blessing on their work. His followers did the same. Their tents and stores were landed without delay. An altar was prepared for mass. It was decorated with admirable taste by Mademoiselle Mance, aided by Madame de la Peltrie, who, with the capricousness which distinguishes even the saintliest of her sex, had taken a sudden fancy to abandon the Ursulines in favour of the new settlement at Ville Marie. Then mass was celebrated, a strange and brilliant picture, with colom- and music, as if the rite of the middle ages had been brought suddenly into the heart of the primeval forest. The altar, with its lights and glittering crucifix ; before it the priest in vestments, stiff with gold ; tlie two fair girls of delicate nurture, attended by their servants, erect and tall ; above the soldiers kneeling around him, Maisonneuve in panoply of steel ; further off, artisans and labourers, the rank and file of the colony : such was the brilliant picture whose background was the dark aisles of columned woods. When mass was said, the Jesuit Father, Viniont, Superior of the mission, addressed to those assembled a few remarkable words to which subsequent events have given the force of prophecy. " You are but a grain of mustard seed, that shall rise and grow till its branches overshadow the earth. You are few, but your work is the work of God. His smile is on you, and your children shall fill the land.'" SMi '' LOUIS H. LAI-ONTAINE. ;;,r u m^^< i II Chahtkr XII. THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTMAGNY. OR a year the new settlement of Ville Marie escaped the notice of the Iroqi'ois. The settlers were therefore left unmolested till thev had entrenched themselves with a strong palisade. A birch hark chapel was raised above their altar. At first the whole commurity lived in tents, but soon strongly-built wooden houses were iiected, and the first feeble beginnings of what should be a great city in tlie future began to shape themselves. The whole commimity lived together in one large house, with the Jesuit Superior, Vimont, and his tu other priest. The life of the settlement was a simple and happy one, regulated in all things by the religious enthusiasm which was tlie life of the colony. The great event of each month was a festival, a procession, a high mass, in honour of some saint's day. Then the soldiers were marshalled under arms by Maisonneuve. The altar was decked with a taste which showed culture as well as piety, by Mademoiselle Mance and Madame de la Peltrie. For tliis purpose they loved to resort to tile neighbouring wood, and gather the May-flowers and the lilies among the fresh green grass. They were unmolested by hinnan enemies, but with December came a rise of the St. Lawrence which well nigh swept away the erfire village. In this their strait the pious Maisonneuve placed a large wooden cross on the margin of the rising tide, and at the same time he vowed a vow to the Mother of God that if it so might be that the advance of tlie waters were stayed, he wou'd carry another cross, equally large, to the summit of the mountain. Our Lady of Gracious Help hearkened to his prayer, and the rising tide was stayed. Therefore, Maisonneuve, bearing a heavy cross which the good I'athers had conse- crated, carried it to the topmost brow of the hill. With him followed the ladies, the soldv^rs, and the other colonists. Long did that cross stantl there, a sign of hope to the beleaguered inhabitants of Ville IVIarie in many a hitltr day. 74 Canada mid the Canadian People. Ville Marie received an important addition to its strrugth in the autumn of 1643, when Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonges, a vahant and devout noble- man of Champagne, accompanied by his young and beautiful wife, arrived. She, too, was noble. When she was asked in marriage by d'Ailleboust, she refused him, having at the age of five made a vow of perpetual chastity. To this refusal her Jesuit confessor objected, since her proposed husband was about to proceed to Canada, to devote his sword and his life to the service of the church in that distant land. It was most important that she should go with him to help in the good work. But iiow could her consci- ence be relieved of the vow she had taken ? Her confessor suggested a means of escape. Let the marriage ceremony be performed, but let hus- band and wife live together as if unmarried. A year after its foimdation the Iroquois discovered Ville Marie. Fortunately, very soon afterwards, d'Ailleboust, who was a skillful engineer, had surrounded the town with ramparts and bastions of earth, that proved a far more secure defence than mere palisades. One day ten Algonquins, flying from a band of Iroquois, sought shelter in Ville Marie. For the first timr , the Iroquois beheld the new fortifications. They examined the place carefully, and carried the important news home to their nation. In the summer of 1643, a party of si "ty Hurons descended the St. Lawrence, laden with furs for the \''ille Marie market. When they came to the rapids of Lachine they had to land and carry their canoes by the portage. Quite unexpectly, they came on a large war-party of Iroquois. The Hurons, panic-striken, sought to gain favour with their enemies by betraying all they knew of the defences of their Frencli benefactors. The Iroquois sent a party of forty warriors, who sur- prised six Frenchmen within shot of the fort, and having killed three of them, carried off the others for torture and the stake. It is satisfactory to know that the Huron traitors were, most of them, put to death that night by the Iroquois. Of the French captives, one escaped vo Ville Marie, the others were burned alive with the usual tortures. It now became unsafe to pass beyond the gates of the fort without a vigilant and well-armed escort. From this time forth the Iroquois were in perpetual ambuscade, not only at Ville Marie, but near a fort lately built at the central point of Three Rivers, and at another fort which Montmagny had erected at the mouth of tl.'j Richelieu, to check the advance ot the Mohawk Iroquois, who usually made their descents on the settlements by this river. At Ville Marie, especially, the Mohawk spies lay in wait ; concealed in a wood, or coiled up, bear-like, in a hollow tree, a single warrior would watch for days, almost without food, for the opportunity of taking the scalp of whoever ventured unarmed outside the gate. But this danger was much lessened bj' the arrival from France The Goverinnent of Moiittnaguy. 75 of a number of strong mastiffs which proved to be most efficient in instantly indicating the presence of the Iroquois, so that it was no longer possible for the savages to lurk in the woods undetected. Among these dogs the most remarkable was one named Pilot, which every morning, followed by a • strong detachment of her progeny, explored the outskirts of the fort If any one of them wa^ lazy, or returned unauthorized to the fort, she bit the delinquent severely. She could detect the presence of the Iroquois, even at a distance, by the scent, on which she would run back with loud barking to the fort. In 1644, a considerable detachment of Ircquois camped near Ville Marie, intending, if possible, to surprise the garrison. But Pilot gave warning of their movements every day, and ISIaisonneuve — although no braver soldier ever drew sword beneath the flag of France — thought it his duty to observe extreme caution in exposing his men to a fight with an enemy of far superior force. But his soldiers grew discontented at this forced inaction. They even so far forgot themselves as to accuse M-Json- neuve of want of courage. Hearing of this, Maisonneuve resolved on decisive action. One morning in March, while the snow still, lay deep around Ville Marie, Pilot ran into the fort barking furiously. The soldiers begged their leader to allow them to confront the foe. " Yes," said Maisonneuve, " get ready at once, and take care that you are as brave as you profess to be. I will lead you myself." All was made ready, and witli guns well loaded, a body of thirty French soldiers sallied fortli, Maisonneuve at their head. They marclied into the forer,t east of the fort, whence the barking of the dogs had first been heard. Suddenly' from be- hind the trees started forth some eight}' Iroquois warriors, who greeted them with a volley of bullets and arrows. Steadily the Frenchmen returned the fire, and several of the savages fell dead in the snow. The Frencli liad the advantage of being armed with the newly-invented flint-lock musket, while the Indians had only tlie match-lock arquebuse. Maisonneuve, with wise precaution, ordered his men to imitate the tactics of the foe by taking shelter behind trees. But, being outnumbered, the figlit was an imequal one, and it was necessary to retreat to the fort. Fro.n time to time, ihe French turned round and fired on tlieir pursuers ; but as they got closer to the fort, the retreat became a panic, and Maisonneuve was left alone. The Iroquois pressed close upon him, and miglit have surrounded him. but that they wished to leave the honour of his capture to tiieir chief. Maison- neuve shot him dead with a pistol, and while the savages busied themselves with securing the body of their chief, the French leader made his way in safety to the fort. In 1645, Montmagny endeavoured to secure a treaty of peace with the 76 Canada and the Canadian People. Iroquois. He had succeeded in saving from the stake several Iroquois who had been captured by the Algonquins. These he sent back to their own country unharmed. The result was an embassy from the Mohawk tribe of 'the Iroquois. The Iroquois, it will be remembered, consisted at that time of five nations, of which the Senecas and other western tribes were engaged in exterminating the Hurons, while the Mohawks alone carried on the war against New France. The Mohawk ambassadors were received by Mont- magny with much pomp at the fort at Three Rivers. Endless speeches were made, endless belts of wampum were presented ; one belt to unite the French and the Mohawks as brothers ; one belt to scatter the clouds ; ,one belt to cover the blood of the slain Iroquois ; one belt to break the kettle in which the Mohawks boiled their enemies ; and so on, through the endless maze of metaphors which constituted the oratory of these grown-up children. Peace was concluded, but Montmagny overlooked the fact that it was onl}' ratified by two out of the three tribes of the Mohawk Nation. The clans of the Wolf and the Turtle seemed to have been sincere in their desire for peace ; that of the Bear was unappeased. Father Jogues, a Jesuit missionary, was sent to the Mohawk country by Montmagny as a political emissary. The story of this man's life is a remarkable one. His portrait, as given by Charlevoix, presents a delicate, refined, almost femi- nine type of face ; not by any meuns one that would typify the stoical endurance of Breboeuf, or the placid courage of the martyred Daniel. But, as has been well said, when inspired with the same holy enthusiasm, the lamb has proved as brave as the lion. Several years befoic, when on the Huron mission, Jogues had been captured by the Iroquois, from whom he suffered inoi edible tortures, but one finger being left on his hands. B}' the k-'nuness of a Dutch trader, he was able to escape to France, where he was received with the greatest entluisiasm. Numerous honours and preferments were offered him. Anne of Austria, the Quean of Louis the Thirteenth, kissed his mutilated hand. As Charlevoix says, he had all the more temptation to enjo\' repose at home, because he must Iiave felt that it was deserved. But he would not be unfaithful to his vocation, and returned to Canada. His embassy to the Mohawks soon came to an end. The minority of the Bear tribe, being eager for war, desired to implicate the other Mohawks by taking the life of the French emissarj-. .\ sickness fell on the town in which he lived. The old cr}- nas raised tliai tlie Jesuit was a sorcerei whose presence brought famine and the pest. Jogues was murdered, happily without torture, by a blow on the head. Sc th.: peace of a few months was broken, and the Iroquois terror once more haunted forest and stream. As the French King iiad decreed that the term of oftice for colonial Hi The Governvient of Montmagny, 77 governors should not exceed three years, Montmagny resigned in 1648. The government of this nobleman was made illustrious by the foundation of Montreal and of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec, and by his wise erec- tion of the Richelieu fort. He was succeeded in the same year by M. d'Ailleboust, who had taken a leading part in the settlement at Ville Marie, and had afterwards been commandant at the important fort at Three Rivers. During the two years of his term of government took place the extirpation of the Hurons, a small remnant of whom sought shelter in Quebec. At Lorette, a few miles from thence, their descendants are still to be found, though with ever-dwindling numbers. In 1648 an envoy arrived at Quebec from the British colonies in New England. This was the first direct com- munication between the colonies of France and England. The New Eng- land envoy proposed a treaty for reciprocity of commerce, and an alli- ance between the colonies. The proposal was very acceptable to the government of New France. They sent to Boston, as their represen- tative, a Jesuit priest named Druillettes. Onlj' three years before, a law had been passed by the New England Legislature that any Jesuit entering New England should be put to death. It has been truly said that the men of Boston hated a Jesuit next to the devil or a Church of England minister. However, owing to his character of envoy, Druillettes reached the Puritan mother city in safety, and was hospitably entertained. He visited Boston again in 1651, in order to press on the New England government d'Aille- boust's wish for an alliance between New France and New England against the Iroquois. But then, as now, the New Englander was disinclined to fight for any interests but his own. And as to the plea which Druillettes urged, that it was the duty of the English colonists to protect his Huron converts against their heathen fellow-countrymen, the Puritans probably thought tl-at there was little to choose between the heathenism of the Iroruois and the idolatries of the popery to which the Hurons had been converted. So the negotiation came to nothing. In the j^ear 1650, that of the final destruction of the Hurons, jNI. d'Aille- boust resigned office, but settled in the colony where he died. He was suc- ceeded by M. de Lauzon, who had been one of the leading men in Richelieu's company. The prospectr of new France were dark when he entered on its goveinaient. The Iroquois, flushed with their success over the Hurons, directed all their energies against the unhappy colonists, and their yet more unhappy Indian allies. None" without being armed, dared to plough a field or bind up a sheaf of grain. The dwellers on outlying farms had either to entrench tliemselves with strong defences, or to abandon their dwellings. As an iUustration of the straits to which the colony was reduced, the 78 Canada and the Canadian People. following from the Relations for 1653 may be quoted: "The war of the Iroquois has dried up all the sources of prosperity. The beavers are allowed to build their dams in peace, none being able or willing to molest them. Crowds of Hurons no longer descend from their country with furs for trading. The Algonquin country is dispeopled; and the nations beyond are retiring further away still, fearing the musketry of the Iroquois. The keeper of the company's store here in Montreal has not bought a single beaver skin for a year past. At Three Rivers, the small means at hand have been used in fortifying the place from fear of an inroad upon it. In tlie Quebec store-house, all is emptiness. And thus everybody has reason to be malcontent, and there is not wherewithal in the treasury to meet the claims made upon it, or to supply public wants." An Iroquois band attacked Three Rivers, and killed the commandant, witli several men, in a sortie from the fort. So critical was the condition of Ville Marie in the year 1651 that Maisonneuve went to France to represent the state of the colony. He obtained, chiefly from Maine and Brittany, a body of a hundred and five colonists, all well trained both in Avar and agriculture, whose arrival checked the Iroquois advance, and greatly served to build up the fortunes of Ville Marie. By this time tlie fickle Iroquois seemed inclined for peace, which was accordingly concluded in 1655, and though the war broke out again in a few months, even this short interval of tranquillity was of great use to the colon}'. A number of Jesuit missionaries took advantage of the peace, precarious as it was, to venture their lives in preach- ing the gospel among the Iroquois. The Onondaga Nation had requested of M. de Lauzon that a settlement inigiit be formed in their country, in consequence of which Captain Dupuis, a French officer of noble birth, was sent into the Iroquois country with fifty soldiers and four missionaries. Wlien they left Quebec their friends bade them a last solemn farewell, not expecting to see them return alive from the land of those ruthless savages! The French force began to form a settlement in the Onondaga country, but the sleepless jealousy of the sa.age tribe was soon aroused against them. Jealousy soon became hatred. A dying Indian who had been converted warned one of the priests that the Iroquois had resolved on surprising and slaughtering their French guests. Dupuis resolved on a stratagem, pardon- able under the circumstances : he invited the Iroquois to a feast, gave them plenty of brandy, and when every man, woman and child, was perfectly drunk, he and his soldiers embarked in canoes which had been secretly prepared, and made their escape. In 1658, Viscount d'Argenson became governor. He ascended the river Richelieu with two hundred men, and drove back the Iroquois for a ■^T^" TJtc Goveniiitciit of Montmagny. 79 considerable distance. In 1659 tiie celebrated De Laval came to Quebec as Vicar Apostolic, a step by which the Pope made Canada independent of the French episcopate. He was afterwards bishop, and by his arbitrary assumptions of authority was engafjed in constant bickering with, the civil "■overnment. In 1660 it became known to the colonists of Ville Marie and Quebec that a united effort for the destruction of those towns and of Three Rivers, and the consequent extermination of the entire French race, was meditated by the Iroquois. The danger was averted by an act of heroic self-sacrifice not unworthy to be compared with the achievements of a Decius or a Leonidas. A young Frencli nobleman, named Daulac des Ormeaux, with sixteen companions, resolved to strike a blow which, at the sacrifice of their own lives, might check the savage enemy's advance, at least for the present. They confessed their sins, received absolution, and, armed to the teeth, took up their position in an old palisade fort situated where, then as now, the roar of the Long Sault Rapids on the Ottawa blend with the sigh of the wind through the forest. With them were some fifty Huron allies, who, however, basely deserted them in the hour of danger. Wliile they were engaged in strengthening their fortifications the Iroquois fell upon them. For ten days, and through incessant attacks, this handful of Europeans held at bay the five hundred painted savages who swarmed, screeching their war-whoops and brandishing their tomahawks, up to the very loop-lioles of the fort, but only to be driven back by the resolute fire of its defenders. The savages left their chief among the heaps of slain. Re- pulsed again and again, the Iroquois put ofi" their main attack till the arrival of reinforcements, the chief body of their forces which was moving on Ville Marie. To the last, Daulac des Ormeaux and his handful of gallant fol- lowers held their own against the swarming hordes. The base Hurons deserted, and, it is satisfactory to know, were nearly all put to death by the Iroquois. At length Daulac and his men, exhausted by their almost super- human efforts, as well as by hunger, thirst, and sleeplessness, fell, fighting to the last. Four only survived, of whom three, being mortallj^ wounded, were burned at once. The fourth was reserved for torture. The Iroquois had paid very dearly for their victory over a handful of men, whose valour so daunted the spirit of the savages that they gave up their designs on the French colony. There was great joy in Quebec at this deliverance, .uul a solemn Te Dcitin was sung in the churches. In 1661 the Baron d'Avaugour was appointed governor. He was a skilful soldier, and had seen service in tiie wars in Hungary. His term of office was embarrassed, like that of his predecessor, b)^ constant disputes with Laval, chiefly on the subject of selling liquor to the Indians, to which 8o Canada and the Canadian People. Laval, like all the rest of the clergy, was, on principle, opposed. D'Avau- gour at this time induced the French king to give up a project which many of the French court advocated — the abandonment of Canada. He also obtained for the garrison of New France a reinforcement of four hundred men. In February, 1663, a terrible earthquake affected the whole of Canada, the shocks being felt two or three times a day over a period of half a year. No damage, however, was done to life, and very little to property. The Indians believed that the earthquake was caused by the souls of their ancestors, who wished to return to the world. D'Avaugour induced King Louis XIV. to abolish the Richelieu company, and to take the govern- ment of Canada into his own hands. Under the King, Canada was to be governed by a Sovereign Council, consisting of the Governor, the Bishop, the '.' itendant, or Minister of Justice and Finance, and five leading colonists. Acadia, where the English, or rather the Huguenot Kirk under English colours, had destroyed every vestige of the French settlements, had been ceded again to France at the request of Cardinal Richelieu. It was divided into three provinces, under three governors, one of whom, a Huguenot adventurer named La Tour, intrigued and fuially rebelled against the governor in chief, Charnissey, in 1647. With the usual Huguenot tactics. La Tour asked for and obtained aid from the English colony at Boston against his own countrymen, although England and France were then at peace. Charnissey remonstrated with the English, who proposed an alliance between his government of Acadia and New England. Having learned that La Tour was absent from fort St. John, Charnissey attempted to take it by surprise. It was gallantly defended by Madame de La Tour, a Frencli lady of noble birth and of great beauty and accomplishments. Charnissey was forced to withdraw, after a loss of thirty-three of his men. He perceived during the siege that English soldiers from Boston, contrary to the treaty, were among the garrison. Enraged at this breach of faith, Charnissey seized and destroyed a ship belonging to New England. Alarmed at the danger to their commerce, the practical-minded Bostonian merchants sent no more aid to their unfortunate co-religionists. Again, and with a stronger force, Charnissey besieged fort St. John. Again, the Lady of the Castle, with a few faithful followers, beat back his thrice- repeated attack. The treason of one of the garrison enabled him to make his way, at an unguarded entrance, into the main body of the fort. But Madame de La Tour and her soldiers stood at bay in an outlying part of the castle, and Charnissey agreed to terms of surrender which he basely violated. He had the unspeakable wickedness to hang every one of 'mm The Guvcr)iiiic)il of Moiitmagny. 8i these faithful soldiers, and to force the noble lady whom they had served so well *"i witness the execution with a halter round her neck. Th(> shock affected her reason, and she died soon after. Her husband had better fortune. When Puritanism, under Cromwell, became the arbiter of Europe, La Tour was appointed one of the three governors of Acadia. By the trvjaty of Breda, Acadia was once more transferred to France. Its history at this time contains little worthy of record. With a meagre soil and a sea- board ever exposed to invasion it was held of little consequence, either by England or France. Chaptkr XIII. I CANADA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT. ARON D'AVAUGOUR was succeeded by the Chevalier de Mezy. In consequence of the continual (luarrels between the late Gover- nor and Bishop Laval, De M&zy had been chosen because, from liis ostentatious professions of piety, it was thought that he would be certain to act in harmony with the priesthood, so powerful in New France. This proved to be a mistake. Of De Mczy's government there is nothing left worthy of record. He quarrelled with two members of the Council, and, in utter contempt of law, dismisseil them from office. This was trenching on the royal prerogative, of which his master, Louis XIV., was so jealous. Worse still, knowing that Bishop Laval and the Jesuits were most unpopular in the colony, on accoimt of the tithes exacted by the Bishop, and the consta.it interference of the Jesuits in secular matters, he actually made an appeal to the people by calling a public meet- ing to discuss the conduct of the officials he had displaced. This was the worst of all sins in the opinion of the Grand Monarque. Louis resolved to make an example of De Me'zy. He was superseded, and death only saved liim from being impeached in the Quebec court. Alexander de Prouville, Marquis de Tracy, was appointed by King Louis as Viceroy. He reached Quebec in 1665, bringing with him one who was destined to succeed him as Governor, Daniel de Rcmi, Sieur de Courcelles, and M. Talon, who was to fill the new office of Intendant, and prove one of the wisest and most successful fosterers of industry and colonization that New- France has ever known. In the same year with De Tracy, arrived almost the entire regi- ment of Carignan, veteran soldiers of the war against the Turks in Hungary. With them caine their Colonel, M. de Salieres. The transport which con- vej'ed them brought a considerable number of new colonists, and of sheep, cattle, and horses ; the latter never before seen in Canada, although the Jesuits had imported some to their short-lived Acadian settlement. De Tracy's first care was to check the Iroquois. For this purpose he built three 11:; Canndrt iimicr Royal Government, 8j new forts on tlie Richelieu River, two of them called after his ofticers MM. Sorel and Chanibly, who were the first commandants. Meanwhile, three out of the five nations of the Iroquois had made peace. De Tracy and Sorel marched into the country of the other two Iroquois nations, who sued for peace, but who, with tlieir usual perfidy, could not resist the opportunity to massacre a party of Frenchmen who fell in their way. Among those murdered was a nephew of Martjuis de Tracy. It so happened that several envoys from the Iroquois had waited on De Tracy, and were being entertained by him at dinner. One of the savages, flushed with wine, boasted that it was his hand that had taken the scalp of De Tracy's nephew. All present were horrified, and the Marquis, saying that he would prevent the wretch from murdering anyone else, had him seized, a,nd at once strangled by the common executioner. This most righteous punishment of course broke off the negotiation. Meantime M. de Courcelles invaded the Iroquois country. Afler a toilsome march of seven hundred miles through wilderness and forest deep with snow, he marched at the head of his men, shod with snow-shoes, and, like the pnv.ite soldiers of his command, with musket and knapsack at his back. With him, under La Vallil>re and other French nobles of historic name, marched for the first time the representatives of that Canadian militia which has since gained such deserved fame for courage and every soldier-like quality. They found the Iroquois country a solitude ; the men were all absent on expe- ditions elsewhere ; the women had fled to the woods. But this expedition, made at mid-wintei, struck terror into the hearts of the savages, and showed them that they were contending with a civilization whose power was greater than they had supposed. It would exceed the limits of a work like this to give in detail all the benefits which Canada owes to the wise and virtuous Talon. It was he that discovered the existe': . of iron at Gaspe' and at Three Rivers; it was he that opened up trade with the Hudson's Bay Territory, and that suggested the mission of Joliet and Marejuette to the Mississippi. He and De Courcelles resigned office in the same year — 167 1-2. The next Governor was Louis de Buade, Count de Frontenac ; a noble of high reputation for ability and courage. Taking advantage of existing peace with the Iroquois, and with the consent of their chiefs, Frontenac built at the head of Lake Ontario a fort, called by his own name, It stood on the site of the present artillery barracks at Kingston. The discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet, although it took place in Frontenac's term of office, hardly belongs to Canadian History. Another explorer, La Salle, sailed down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He received a grant of Fort Frontenac, which he rebuilt with stone walls and bastions. A few miles ' V. 'iii! W -,%. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // tf ,.* •<'^.%' Mp, i/. c^ ^ 5r /^^/^ /A, 1.0 I.I 1.25 ^ IIIIM i_40 ■UM>- 1.4 IIM 1.6 Photograpllic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER NY. 14580 (716)872-4503 e. <^ C>;^^ :\ \ ^o ^^^^"^^ {'w n? L

M 1 m ; lii I f ■ fliliii \ ill m I 86 Canada and the Canadian People. artillery to the Canadians. In honour of this success a church was built in Quebec and dedicated to " Notre Dante des Victoires." Next year another attack on Montreal by the English was repulsed. This war between the colonies, which is called " King William's war," was brought to a close by the treaty of Ryswick in 1697. The veteran soldier De Frontenac died at Quebec in the year 1698, and was sacceeded by one of his lieutenants, M. de Callieres. In 1701 war broke out again between France and England, and, therefore, between their colonies. It is known as " Queen Anne's war." ■ In 1700 Callieres died at Quebec, and was succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, under whom the colony attained its greatest prosperity. The total population of New France was then 15,000. An attack was made by four himdred French on a border fort named Haverhill, which they captured. In 1710 seven regiments of Marlborough's veterans were sent under Admiral Sir Hovendon Walker to meet a force of four thousand under General Nicholson. But the fleet was wrecked among the St. Lawrence reefs, and Nicholson, when he heard of this, marched back to Albany. This war closed with the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, by which Acadia, Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay Territory were ceded to England. Canada was revained by France. In 1725 Vaudreuil, like his two predecessors, died at Quebec. He was succeeded by the Marquis de Beauharnois, in whose time t'le popu- lation rose to 40,000. This Governor, with consent of the Iroquois chiefs, built a fort at the entrance of the Niagara River. In 1745 war broke out again between France rnd England, but happily this did not affect Canada, as its operations were chiefly carried on in the Maritime Provinces, where a British force took Louisbourg. The next Governor was the Marquis de la Jonquiere ; but he was taken prisoner, his fleet being defeated by Admiral Ans'-n. For the two years that followed— 1747- 1748 — the war closed by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, when La Jonquiere, being released, assimied the government. As a defence against the British fort of Oswego, La Jonquiere built a fort near the River Humber on Lake Ontario, called, from the French Minister of Marine, Rouille', or by its Indian name, Toronto. This first feeble beginning of a great metropolis dates from 1749, a year for this reason one of the memorable ones of Canadian history. This fort, the germ of Canada's industrial and intel- lectual centre, was situated about a mile from the Humber, to the south of the present Exhibition Building, in West Toronto. Meanwhile the administration of New France was becoming more and more corrupt. The greed and dishonesty of Bigot, the last of the Intendants, did much to hasten the downfall of the colony. The wealth he accumulated by fraud amounted to the enormous sum of £400,000. La Jonquiere died at Quebec Canada under Royal Government. 87 in 1752, and was buried in the church of the Rdcollet Friars, beside Fron- tenac and Vaudr^uil. He was succeeded, in 1 752, by the Marquis Duquesne de Menneville. This Governor sent a force to destroy a fort named Fort Necessity, which was defended by a Virginian officer o*" militia known to history as George Washington. Washington was for^^ed to capitulate to the French commandant, M. de Villiers. The war which ensued is called the French war. Duquesne having applied for his recall, was succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudre'uil-Cavagnal, son of the former Governor Vau- dre'uil, and born at Quebec. He arrived in Canada in 1755. Every man in New France was now called to arms; the farms were deserted, the fields uncultivated, the fur trade was extinct, prices rose as provisions became scarce, and wretches like Bigot throve on the miseries of the people. But the English received a check by the almost total destruction of their army in the fight in which General Braddock fell. This, however, was partly retrieved in the victory gained by General Johnson over the French Generral Baron Dieskau, near Lake George. George the Second made Johnson a baronet, as a reward for his success. In 1756, the French King named the Marquis de Montcalm Commander-in-chief of the forces in New France. Thus, on the eve of her downfall, after suffering much from incompetent rulers and corrupt officials, there was given to New France a leader who, in the purity of his chivalrous nature, in his combination of the two-fold type of soldier and statesman, is not unworthy to be compared with the heroes of her earlier and nobler day, with Chomedey de Maison- neuve and Samuel de Champlain. In the autumn of 1756 Montcalm captured Forts Ontario an-' Oswego, and demolislied them. This gave the French command of the entire lake region which Fort Oswego had controlled, and diverted the fur trade from the English colonies to New France. Montcalm continued his victorious career until Fort William Henry — which a French force, under a brother of Var.dr^uil, had vainly endeavoured to take in the early part of the year — had surrended, and was destroyed. This brilliant success gave Montcalm the control of Lake George, which he utilized by capturing and sinking all the English war ships that sailed on it. The glory of these exploits was stained by a series of massacres of English prisoners by Montcalm's Indian allies and camp followers. But so great was th^ impression made by his exploits that the ever-faithless Iroquois meditated deserting their alliance with England, and would have done so had it not been for the influence of Sir William Johnson. The Pitt administration had now assumed power in England, and the war was carried on with greater energy. An expedition was sent to Nova •1' :.^!i ;vMi I'lf n* .frii III] i.Ui. d ii 88 Canada and the Canadian People. i I Scotia and Cape Breton in 1758, and, in the face of great difficulties, Louisbourg was taken. This was due in part to the skill and courage of a young officer, Brigadier-General Wolfe, who succeeded in marching a body of troops up a height which had been thought inaccessible — tactics which he was destined to repeat, with an ampler success, on a more memorable occasion. A second expedition, consisting of the largest army yet assembled in America, marched on Ticonderoga and Crown Point under General Abercromby. Montcalm in vain applied to the French King for succour ; the selfish voluptuary, whose political wisdom was expressed in the saying, " After me the Deluge," preferred spending the people's money on diamonds for his mistresses, rather than in an effort to redeem the national honour by preserving to France her finest colony. But Montcalm did not relax his efforts, though he knew that his cause was hopeless. " We shall fight," he wrote to th*^ French Minister, " and shall bury ourselves, if need be, under the ruins of the colony."' One final triumph awaited him, the greatest victory ever gained on American soil by a far inferior force over a magnificent army. Mont- calm, with 3,600 Canadians, had entrenched himself on a triangular space of elevated ground between a small river, called La Chute, and Lake Champlain into which it flows. At the apex of the triangle wa? a small fort, whose guns commanded lake and river. Abercromby ad- vanced with his army of 15,000 veteran troops in four columns. Mont- calm had defended his position on the only assailable side by a breast- work of felled trees, and had ordered the country in front to be cleared of woods, so as to afford no cover to an attacking force. The fight began by a movement made by a number of gun-barges on the river, which opened fire on the right flank of the French. They were speedily sunk by the cannon of the fort. Then the four columns of the British advanced, Montcalm writes, " with admirable coolness and order." The column, composed chiefly of Highlanders under Lord John Murray, opened fire on Montcalm's right wing, commanded by M. de L^vis, who, seeing the danger, ordered a porte'e to be made in order to assail the flank of the attacking column. This move succeeded. The column of Highlanders, in order to avoid a cross flanking fire, were forced to incline the column next their own ; thus the four columns of the British as they advanced to the breast, work became massed into a dense body of troops, an easy mark for the fire of their opponents. Montcalm took advantage of the disgraceful blunder in strategy by which Abercromby sacrificed the lives of so many gallant soldiers. He gave strict orders that his troops should reserve their fire till the English came within twenty paces of the entrenchments. His ■^^ Canada under Royal Government. 89 order was obeyed to the letter. When the densely crowded mass of the English columns came quite close to the breastwork of trees, a storm of shot and flame leaped forth at once from all the French line in front of them; the leaden hail tore its way resistlessly through their crowded ranks. In vain they attempted to return the fire against the Canadians, secure behind the entrenchments. FaUing back in some confusion, the EngHsh columns reformed and returned to the attack. They displayed the utmost valour. The Highlanders, in Montcalm's own words, " covered themselves with glory," the picturesque costume of the Scotch mountaineers being distinctly visible through the smoke in the foreground of the battle. But Montcalm held a position impregnable except by artillery, and Abercromby's artillery lay on board the gun-boats at the bottom of the river. For six hours the attack was renewed by the British columns, but whenever they advanced to the breastwork of trees they were -driven back by a murderous fire to which they could not reply with advantage. All through the battle Montcalm exposed himself to every danger. From his station in the centre he hastened to every spot where his men were most hotly assailed, bringing reinforcements, and cheering them by his voice and example. Such was the great victory which shed its lustre on the name of Montcalm and the declining fortunes of New France. This defeat was in some degree retrieved by the capture and destruc- tion of Fort Frontenac (Kingston) and of Duquesne by General Forbes, who changed its name to Pittsburg, in' honour of the great Commoner. Abercromby was now superseded by General Amherst, who made a success- ful move against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. At the same time General ^rideaux and Sir William Johnson attacked Fort Niagara, where Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a mortar. Johnson succeeded in taking the fort. Meanwhile, Mr. Pitt, with that instinctive appreciation of true genius which distinguished that great minister, had appointed young General Wolfe to the supreme command. James Wolfe was a typical example, to borrow Wordsworth's language, of " whatever man in arms should wish to be." Devoted to his profession, he declined lucrative staff appointments in order to go on active service. At the capture of Louis- bourg he had already distinguisiied himself. Unlike most of the military men of his time, Wolfe had an ardent love for literature and art. He was engaged to be married to a young lady of great beauty and considerable wealth ; but he left England with the germs of a mortal disease in his con- stitution, which would too probably prevent his seeing her again. Late in May, 1759, a fleet of twenty ships of the line and as many frigates conveyed Wolfe and his lieutenants, Townshend and Murray, with their eight thousand j'ii. * 'tii ■'•fii ■m ■ -M i w <:'y' i r .'!. ^ m S!i il,. I j. ail. r * ■ 1-^ 90 Canada and the Canadian People. regular troops, up the St. Lawrence to the Isle of Orleans, where the troops disembarked, and took up a position at the western end, facing Quebec. The fleet meantime reconnoitred, the oundings being taken by James Cook, afterwards the celebrated sea captain and discoverer. It is a curious coincidence that there were then present in the two opposing camps of France and England the two greatest explorers of that age — Cook and Bougainville. Wolfe himself ascended the river, above Quebec, in a barge, in order to make a general observation of their position. It is characteristic of him that he held in his hand, and read from time to time, a poem, then lately published in England, by Mr. Gray, of Cambridge—" An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." " Gentlemen," he said to the officers beside him, " I would rather have the glory of having written this poem than that of the capture of Quebec." ' None but God knows how to attempt the impossible ! " wrote Montcalm from his post within the beleaguered city. The king whom he had served with such signal success had abandoned him to his fate. His army was forced to subsist on horse-flesh and a small daily allowance of biscuit. In front of him, supported by a powerful fleet, was a well-appointed army abundantly supplied with provisions and munitions of war. The viceroy and his creatures thwarted him at every step ; yet, amid all discouragements, the victor of Carillon held his ground, firm as the rock on which he stood. A British force under Moncton defeated the French troops at Point Ldvis, directly opposite Quebec. From this commanding position, Wolfe, with his heavy artillery, proceeded to bombard the city. The cathedral and the best houses were destroyed, the whole of the Lower Town was con- sumed by fire ; a shell struck the garden of the Ursulines, ploughing a deep trench close to the wall. Meanwhile, Montcalm had taken up a position outside the citj', his army being entrenched from the mouth of the St. Charles, which was defended by a boom of ships, with masts chained together, to the mouth of the Montmorency ; every point where an enemy could land being defended by a small redoubt. Every point where access seemed possible was guarded by sentinels, especially one zigzag path that led from what is now Wolfe's Cove to the Plains of Abraham above the city. It seemed scarce likely that such a harebrained attempt would be made as to risk the ascent by such a narrow and precipitous approach. Still, sentries v/ere posted on the river bank below, and a redoubt with cannon com- manded the entire ascent. The command of the redoubt was intrusted to one Vergor, who, three years before, had surrendered Beausejour to the British, Brought to a court-martial for this unsoldier-like act, he was acquitted by the influence of the Intendant, Bigot, whose creature he was. .fit Canada under Royal Government. 91 Wolfe resolved to attack Montcalm's anT>y on the left wing, near the mouth of the Montmorency River. On July 31st, under cover of broadsides from the men of war, Wolfe, with eight thousand troops arranged in four columns, landed on the north St. Lawrence strand, crossed the Montmorency by a ford in the face of fire from a redoubt, which Wolfe captured. They were then within musket shot of Montcalm's entrenchments. Wolfe's troops, having formed once mre in column, attacked the entrenchments with fixed bayonets. But as at Carillon, the Canadian militia reserved their fire till the British were within a few yards of their position ; they then rose from the trenches and poured in their fire with unerring aim. The British soldiers fell fast before it. Wolfe's columns were broken, and they fled. Their retreat was covered by a violent thunderstorm. When the mist and rain cleared away, the British were seen re-embarking with their wounded. The glory of the victory of Montmorency belongs to De Levis, one of Montcalm's lieutenants. Anxiety at this defeat brought on a severe attack of Wolfe's malady. He called a council of war, and was in favour of renewing the attack from the direction of Montmorency. Colonel Townshend proposed the daring plan of marching the army up the steep ascent already referred to, and entrenching themselves on the Plains of Abraham, commanding the city. This plan Wolfe at once adopted. That night 4,828 men, with one field-piece, proceeded in barges to Wolfe's Cove. Wolfe Y id ascertained from deserters the watch-word which the crews of some provision barges, expected that night, were to give to the sentries on the river bank. Officers who spoke French were appointed to answer the challenge of the sentries ; thus the barges passed undiscovered. When they touched the shore Wolfe sprang out, followed by his light infantry. They quickly overpowered the French soldiers in the guard-house at the foot of the ascent. Noiselessly and quickly, company after company ascended the narrow and precipitous pathway. At the top was a redoubt. It was surprised. Vergor, the commandant, was taken prisoner in bed. At dawn Wolfe's army was ranged in battle array on the heights above Quebec. Montcalm, probably fearing that the British might entrench themselves, marched through St. John's Gate to attack them. His army advanced in an irregular line three deep, and began the fight with a well-sustained fire, which the British bore without flinching. Wolfe passed through the lines of his men to animate their courage. He ordered each soldier to put two bullets into his musket, and not to fire till the French were within twenty yards. So effective was the storm of shot that met the French advance that their lines were broken, on which Wolfe, though wounded in the wrist, led his Grenadiers to the charge. Presently he fell, shot through the chest. M '"m ■I i! _ . 9a Canada and the Canadian People. " They run!" cried one of the officers who was supporting him in his arms. " Who run ?" asked Wolfe. " The French," was the reply. " Then I die happy," were the last words of the hero. Quebec was won, and with Quebec was won Canada for English soeech, English law, English freedom of thought and utterance. The remains of' Wolfe were sent to England to be buried. Those of the conqueror of Caril- lon who had fallen about the same time with Wolfe, found a resting place in the garden of the Ursulines, being buried in a trench which a shell had ploughed close to the wall. On September 8th, 1760, the other French forces in Canada surrendere ' and all Canada was ceded to England by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. i r m Chapter XIV. THE ENGLISH MILITARY GOVERNMENT. OR ten years after the cession of Canada to England, the govern- ment of the colony was necessarily a purely military despotism. The first arrangement of any regular governmental machinery was made by General Amherst, who divided Canada into three departments, following the old division of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, in each of which martial law was to be in force, under the direction of General Murray at Quebec, General Gage at Montreal, and Colonel Benton at Three Rivers. Murray instituted a council composed of seven of his officers, which sat twice a week, and took cognizance of the more important civil and criminal cases. But in all, he reserved to himself the decision, without appeal. Gage, with yet more regard to the rights of the conquered French Canadians, estab'i'hed five justice courts, composed of former officers of the French CanaJiAn militia, reserving a right of appeal to himself. This military admini^-. ation of jus- tice does not seem to have been, in practice, offensive ; but to the naturally susceptible feelings of the conquered race it seemed an intolerable tyranny, and rather than appear before such tribunals, litigants generally settled their differences by referring them to the arbitration of the parish cure or notary. For some time, the hope was cherished that France would make yet another effort to regain her greatest colony. It was now seen that such hopes were vain, indeed. The court was only too glad to get rid of a source of constant expenditure. Madame de Pompadour made hon mots about the King having only lost a few acres of snow. The rising spirit of republi- canism rejoiced at the capture of Quebec as a victory of freedom over despo- tism. There was a considerable emigration from Canada to France during the years following the Conquest. Many Canadians obtained high offices at Court, and were in favour with Napoleon, and even with the Republicans of 1792. Those who resolved, come what would, to remain in Canada, sent envoys to London to represent their interests at Court. George III. was -if 4 ■m \\U ■- r = hhi I'll ■ M ,■'1 .Ml! r i'^' M 94 Canada and the Canadian People. ISII'mM struck with the beauty of the wife of one of their delegates, the Chevaher de L(Jvy, and said, " If all Canadian ladies resembled her, we may indeed vaunt of our beautiful conquest ! " In October, 1763, the King, by . 1 edict never confirmed by the English Parliament, and, therefore, not constitutionally binding, set aside the old French law, always hitherto in force, and put in place of it the law of Eng- land. This was from every point of view impolitic and tyrannical ; and in depriving the French colonists of the jurisprudence to which they were accustomed, the royal decree did not give them in exchange the rights of British subjects, since it declared that representative assemblies for Canada should be held only when circumstances allowed. In November, 1763, Murray was appointed Governor-General, and in accordance with orders, convened a council, which, in concert with himself, was to exercise all executive and legislative functions. It consisted of the chief military gover- nors, with eight of the leading colonists nominated by himself. In this council there was but one French Canadian. In consequence of this high- lianded treatment, there was much irritation among the Canadians, who did not consider that the Treaty of Paris had been carried out. To give them some measure of relief, Murray issued a proclamation to the effect that in all questions relating to landed property and inheritance the old French laws and customs should be the standard. For General Murray, though stern, was just, and was by no means willing to see the brave inhabitants of the conquered province trampled under the feet of the adventurers. Camp- followers and hangers-on of great men now swarmed into Canada, and, on the ground of being English-born and Protestants, tried to engross all preferment and power. These men, at first, carried everything before them. They tried to do v^hat the Family Compact, in after years, succeeded in doing. Thdy had, for a time, the ear of England, where they could always appeal to the rooted prejudices of race and religion, and they might have succeeded in making Canada another Ireland, had not the trumpet blast of American Revolution awoke the muddle-headed King and his Coun- cillors to the necessity ot keeping the faith pledged to the Canadians at the Treaty of Paris. For the present, the British Protestant clique had influ- ence enough to procure the recall of Murray, whom they charged with autocratic military rule. Their real reason for hating him was the justice of his rule, which they construed into partiality to the French Canadians- It is curious to record how these men, themselves the most unscrupulous of oppressors, posed as advocates of the rights of Britons, and demanded an elective Assembly in place of military rule. They wished for an Assembly to which none but their own clique could be elected, and it is certain that The English Military Government, 95 French Canada in those days of anarchy fared far better under military rule, which, if at times despotic, was for the most part well-intended, and often conciliatory. In 1763, a plot, surpassing in the magnitude of its scope any other ever known in Indian annals, was framed, under the instigation of certain French ex-officials, by an Ottawa chief nimed Pontiac. Believing, on the assurance of the French who made him their tool, that the King of France would send another army to Canada and expel the English, Pontiac matured a complicated and far-reaching plan to seize on the fifteen military posts from Niagara to Lake Michigan, The basis of operation was, as usual in Indian warfare, treachery and surprise. Pontiac, with a number of his warriors with muskets whose barrels had been cut short to admit of being concealed under the blankets of the Indians, was to gain friendly admission to the fort at Detroit, to overpower the sentries when once inside the gate, and admit a host of warriors who would be in readiness without. But an Ottawa girl was the mistress of the commandant, and put him on his guard. Besides Detroit, the forts of Niagara and Pittsburg were able to repel Pontiac's attacks. The other forts were surprised, and all the horrors of torturing and scalping were wreaked on the hapless women and children who were captured and deceived into surrender. One lady, the wife of an officer, after being struck in the face by an Indian, with the reeking scalp just torn from her husband's head, managed to escape in the confusion. She returned at night to her ruined home, and contrived, unaided, to bury her husband's body, after which she made her wa}' to a place of safety. It is humiliating to think that General Bradstreet, when, in 1764, he arrived with a relieving force, condescended to make peace with Pontiac. The wretch was killed soon afterwards, while drunk or asleep, by the knife of an Indian as treacherous as himself. In our day, a briUiant American historian has thought it worth his while to record, in two volumes of high-sounding rhetoric the life of this execrable savage. Sir Guy Carleton was appointed to the Government of Canada in 1766, and, acting under the instructions he had received from the home authorities, considerably relaxed the stringency of military rule. He also obtained a number of reports on various subjects connected with the French Canadians, and these being translated to the Home Government, were carefully examined and commented on by the Law Officers of the Crown ; the result of which was the framing of a law winch passed the British Parliament, and is known as the Quebec Act. This Act provided that the French law, consisting of the "Custom of Paris" and the edicts of the Canadian Inten- dants, should decide all but criminal cases ; that the French language should be m 1:^ :/% i'.l;! m m ly ' ■4^ !, ._,,j. % 1; :tT , 1* ' ■^ a 96 Canada and the Canadian People. used in the courts of law ; that there should be complete civil equality between the French and English ; and that legislative power, with the exception of taxation, which was reserved for the crown, should be vested in a council in concert with tiie governors, by whom its members were to be chosen. The Quebec Act was a crushing blow to the schemes of those who sought to erect a British-born and Protestant oligarchy. Many of these men were so angry that they became sympathizers with the revolutionary measures already maturing in the thirteen colonies. But this most righteous law secured the adherence to Britain, in the struggle that ensued, of the Canadian priests and seigneurs, and, through them, of well nigh the whole French Canadian people. » r ..i M:l I ^'"ll'H Chapter XV. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AS IT AFFECTED CANADA. T tlie commencement of the struggle between Great Britain and the American colonies, Congress sent broadcast over Canada printed documents dwelling on the advantages of independence, and urging the conquered race to assert their rights. These representations had some weight at first, and with a few ; but the wiser among the French colonists were of opinion that they had nothing to gain by alliance with those New England colonies, who were Puritans, and opponents of their religion, and who a few years back had been the worst enemies of their race. Franklin was sen*- by Congress to try his powers of persuasion ; but the Canadians remembered how, fifteen years before, he had been foremost in urging the British to conquer their country, and the philosopher's mission proved a failure. In the autumn of 1775, Congress and General Washington, at the instance of General Montgomery, resolved on the invasion of Canada. Montgomery, with three thousand men, besieged and tjok the forts of Chambly and St. John. A detachment of his army, a hundred and ten strong, under Colonel Ethan Allen, attempted to seize Montreal, by aid of sympathizers within the city ; but Allen and his force were sur- rounded and made prisoners by three hundred Canadian militia under Major Carden, who met them at Longue Pointe. Allen was ''•ent in irons to England. A second expedition of a thousand men marched from Maine, under Colonel Benedict Arnold, the Judas of the War of Independence. After enduring great hardships, they arrived at Point Levis, but, not having canoes to cross the St. Lawrence, and Colonel Maclean l)eing well on his guard at Quebec, a surprise was impracticable, and Arnold waited at Pointe-aux-Trembles. Meanwhile, Carleton, hearing that Quebec was threateijed, at once repaired thither. Montreal, being thus left without defence, was immediately occupied by Montgomery — a fact which sober 7 • /I ^1 -ii ,;iH P-- y : iii ' II i I 98 Canada and the Canadian People. history must set down as no valid ground for boasting. From Montreal Montgomery marched east, to unite his force to that of Arnold, for an attack on Quebec. Meanwhile, Carleton made great efforts to strengthen the defences of Quebec. The population in 1775 amounted to 5,000. The garrison num- bered 1,800, of whom 500 were French Canadian militia. The fortifications had been, to a great extent, rebuilt since the war of the Conquest, and additional artillery had been provided, both on the landward side and toward the St. Lawrence. The Lower Town was defended by batteries at the centre, and by barricades masking artillery. At the approach to the Upper Town, on Champlain street, a masked battery of seven cannon com- manded the entire street. When Montgomery arrived, the Americans pro- ceeded to invest the city, making their headquarters at Sainte Foye. It was impossible, without artillery adequate to the purpose, to attempt a regular siege. Montgomery's object seems rather to have been to watch his opportunity to capture the place by a sudden dash, when the garrison was off their guard. There is no doubt that he expected support from American sympathizers within the city. A considerable force of Canadians had joined him — men who had been alienated by Carleton's injudicious attempt to force the Canadian militia to take up arms. But, as the seigneurs, with- out exception, adhered to England, these men had to be officered by an American, Colonel Livingstone. Montgomery had met with a number of successes since he had invaded Canada ; but these were either against such forts, like Chambl}', guarded by an insufficient force, or against more important places, such as Montreal and Three Rivers, whicli he found altogether undefended, and occupied without any opposition. A successful attack on Quebec, even with a sufficient force, required — what Montgomery did not seem to possess— genuine- military skill. A competent general would have perceived that the American force was not sufficient to justify the attempt. Montgomery's men, ragged and ill fed, were unaccustomed to the rigour of a winter like ours ; they were also decimated by an outbreak of the most malignant form of small-pox. For the sick there was no hospital accommodation whatever. They were also almost altogether unprovided with funds. The Canadians, who had lost heavily by an, mconvertible paper currency, issued by Bigot during the war, would have nothing to do with the paper money issued by Congress. It is true that several of the Montreal English traders had undertaken to deal with Congress, as repre- sentatives of Canada ; but these men belonged to the clique already described as being so justly odious to the French Canadians, and had, of course, no influence whatever. Add to this, that the French who had sided 1« t ■ m .: 'I,.!' '■m m .i^ll il ill i^f if i ;^- .! ^:1 ' - '*ij , t^ 1 , ! • 'iiil ,i* ! ' i ' '1 i 1 ■ ' 'i i Slk GEOKGK E. CAKTIER ■m m ill I f , )- The American Revolution as it affected Canada. lOI with the Americans soon found that they were treated as an inferior race, their opinions never being asked. They foresaw thajt, if the Americans conquered Canada, they would be, in every respect, worse off than under British rule. The ragged and unsoldier-like appearance of Montgomery's levies, too, could not but excite the contempt of those who, in the British and French armaments, were well accustomed to the pomp and circumstance of war. Montgomery decided on attempting to carry Quebec by escalade, on the night of Decemoer 31st. The weather was suitable for his purpose : neither moon nor stars shone through the darkness ; a boisterous wind would serve to prevent the movements of the attacking force from being noticed. But several days before this, Carleton had been warned by deserters that a night attack was in contemplation, and was well on his guard. The cannon on the ramparts and barricades were kepi ready loaded, and the sentries warned to give the alarm at any sign of an enemy's approach. Montgomery sent two detachments to make a feint of attacking St. John's Gate and the Citadel, in order to divert Carleton's attention from his own movement. Arnold, with 450 men, was to enter the Lower Town from the suburb of St. Roche, and take the battery at the Sault au Matelot. He himself leading the strongest column, would carry the barricade of the Pres de Ville, and march by Champlain Street to the Upper Town. At 4 a.m., January ist, 1776, his troops were ready, but the signals agreed on, two rockets, answered by others from the other columns, were of course seen by Carleton's sentries, who at once gave the alarm. Montgomery's column had to move along a narrow path between the cliff and the strand, encumbered with ice-blocks and snow. However, they reached Pres de Ville in good order, and succeeded in passing the outer barricade. But as the column approached the next barricade a battery of seven cannon confronted it, manned bj' fifty men under Captain Chabot. Montgomery rushed forward, followed by the men of his column, when the battery opening fire, discharged a storm of grape shot through their ranks. Moiitgomery fell dead with his two aides-de-camp, and many others. The rest turneJ and ran away, not caring to face a second salute from the battery. Arnold, as he approached the outer barricade of the Sault au Matelot Street, was severely wounded in the leg by a ball, and had to be carried back to his camp. This column was efiiciently led by a Captain Major, who succeeded in passing the outer barrier, but the inner barricade was so admirably defended by a party of French Canadians, under Captain Dumas, that he could make no further way, and Carleton having sent round a strong force to attack the Americans in the rear, they were caught as in a trap, and obliged to surrender. "4 ii y ) 41, ' [9 1'^ i M I02 Canada and the Canadian People. Carleton then stormed the battery at St. Roche. The British general did himself honour by bjiirying the.remair.s of the brave but rash Montgonier}' with full military obsequies. The American forces continued to invest Quebec, but removed to a dis- tance of several miles. They tried to bombard the city from Point Levis, but failed, not having artillery of sufficient range. Carleton, with somewhat of excessive caution, did not take the field against them till the arrival of reinforcements from England, when he marched with a thousand men and six field-pieces, and defeated the Americans, who ran, leaving their stores, artillery and baggage, with the sick and wounded, in the hands of the British. But Congress did not relax in its efforts to hold the ground which Montgomery had won in Canada. They sent reinforcements both to Mon- treal and to General Sullivan, who was in command in the Richelieu district, so that the Americans iq Canada amounted to 5,400 men. But Carleton had been largely reinforced from England, especially by a corps of German mercenaries whose hereditary prince had sold them to George III., and who after the war made very useful settlers in Upper Canada. He took the field against Sullivan, defeated the American force, taking a number of prisoners, and finally drove the invaders from Canada by the fall of 1776. Elsewhere during this war the English arms were not as successful as in Canada. But the record of their reverses, and of the triumphs of the Americans when fighting on their own soil, does not belong to Canadian history. Peace was made, and the independence of the United States recognized by the Treaty of Paris, in 1763. Thus did the most momentous event in the annals of the civilized world, since the Reformation and the discovery of America, rivet the attachment of conquered New France to her British masters. In the American Revolu- tion, as in the European Revolution, which was its afterbirth. New France had neither part nor lot. Tlie peasantry, the soldier settlers of Montcalm and his predecessors, hated the Puritan enemy of New York and New Eng- land far more than the subjects of King George. The landed proprietors and the priests scented in the new revolutionary gospel all that resulted there- from in the Terror of 1793. Unlike the France of those days. New France was an island stranded by the wreck of the Middle Ages on the shores of North America. There were but two classes, the nobles — with whom v/e count the priests — and the peasants. There was no tiers etat. There were no newspapers. Means of education were scant and sparse. ri^l •It . »'■ :1: Assembly. Chapter XVI. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1791. HE party, mainly composed of traders and agents of English mercantile houses, who had been baffled by the Quebec Act in their scheme of making their own class supreme over the French Canadians, had never ceased to foment disturbance in the Legis- lative Council ; among those in England who were opposed to the war against the Thirteen Colonies ; and even among the seigneurs, some of whom were now desirous of an elective At the end of his term of office, Carleton, in accordance with instructions from the English Ministry, formed a sort of Camarilla in the Legislative Council ; a Privy Council of five members, nominated by the Governor. This caused some discontent among the members of the Legis- lative Council not included in this new Cabinet. Chief Justice Livius, in particular, questioned the action of the Governor, and demanded the nro- (luction of the instructions upon which he acted. Carleton, in consequence of this, deprived Livius of his office. On the matter being brought before the Board of Trade in England, it was decided that Carleton had acted illegally. In consequence of this dispute, Carleton resigned office and left Canada, to which he had done signal service in holding Quebec against Montgomery, in driving the American invaders from our frontier, and in conciliating by just treatment the French Canadian people at a most dan- gerous crisis, notwithstanding the pertinacious opposition of the English Colonial office seekers. Carleton was succeeded as Governor by General Haldimand, a Swiss soldier in the British pay, who took office in 1778. Unlike Carleton, he was of a hard, stern, and despotic disposition. In proportion as it became evident that the United States were about to succeed in their assertion of independence, so did Haldimand increase the severity of his rule in Canada. He forced on Canada the oppressive exactions against which the Puritans of England had risen in revolt a century before ; compulsory enlistment, 11 I 1 i m % w^ !: t'l i>!: 1;;; ^' 'fffi! -^[■■p If- » 104 Canada and the Canadian People. and enforced statute labour. On the slightest suspicion of discontent with his rule, or of sympathy with the American Revolution, even such sympathy as was openly avowed by the English Opposition, he committed the suspects to prison, and kept them there for months without the pretence of a trial. With a meanness characteristic of the crafty and suspicious race, which has furnished the mercenaries and lackeys of every European despotism, he descended to violate the sanctity of private correspondence. The Post- master-General had frequently found the European and other mail bags lying open in the Governor's office, and the letters, with broken seals, scattered on the floor. It must be remembered that in those days a Governor-General was not the mere titular shadow of departed power, not the harmless dispenser of civil speeches with which we of the Canada of 1884 are familiar. In those days the Governor-General ruled the country with an absolute authority permitted to no king of England since the Stuart tyrants were executed or expelled. Numbers of citizens were arrested on the merest suspicions ; the most innocent were never safe from a long incarceration ; a man would disappear, none knew how, and months might pass before his anxious familj' knew in what dungeon he was immured. The Swiss adventurer was careful, however, to confine his high-handed measures to the French Canadians. The English settlers, he knew, regarded him as an alien, and might, if roughly handled, turn the current of public opinion against his administration in England. As was the Governor, such were his imderlings. The mode of admin- istering justice had become a public scandal. Ruinous fines were imposed by judges who sat on the bench drunk, or who refused to hear evidence on the ground that they already knew all about the case, or declined to investigate a charge, because the person inculpated was, in the judge's opinion, incapable of anything of the sort. One stranger was arrested on suspicion, without any definite charge being brought against him. It was reported that he was a young French noble, one of Lafayette's suite. The sentry in front of the prison was ordered to watch whether the prisoner showed his face at the window of his cell, and if so, to fire at him. And when those who had been thus imprisoned were at length set free, they could get no satisfaction from the Government as to the crime with which they had been charged. But Haldimand, in one instance, mistook the man he had to deal with. A French Calvinist merchant of Montreal, named Du Calvet, is entitled to the honour of being recorded in Canadian history as the first assertor of Liberal principles in Canada. In the darkest time of tyranny, when the French majority had not an idea beyond their narrow exclusiveness of race and religion ; when the English minority .r^M The Constitution of 1791. 105 sought representative institutions only as a means of oppressing others, Du Calvet raised and has left on record his protest on behalf of equality for all races and creeds, for representative and responsible government, and for free public school education. This admirable citizen, of whom no mention is made in most so-called histories of Canada, was suspected by the Swiss Governor of correspondence with the Americans, on what grounds Du Calvet was never able to ascertain. He was suddenly seized by a body of soldiers, who carried him from his home in Montreal, taking also his money and papers. He was hurried to Quebec, where he was confined on board a ship of war, and afterwards in a dark and loathsome dungeon, called the " black hole," used for punishing refractory soldiers of the garrison of Quebec. He was thence removed to the Recollet Convent, which, under Haldimand's regime, had been turned into a prison for political offenders, the common jail not being large enough to accommo- date the victims. He was detained there for two years and eight months, and was then liberated, but could gain no explanation as to why he was imprisoned or why he was set free. The same thing, as has been stated, had been done in the case of many others, and none of them had the courage to challenge the constitutional right of the Governor to exercise this system of irresponsible inquisition. But Du Calvet was made of sterner stuff. As soon as the prison doors closed behind him, he travelled to London, and obtaining an audience of the king's ministers, stated the wrongs he had sustained, and requested that Haldimand might be recalled, in order that, being on English ground, he mii'^ht be prosecuted. But those were the palmy days of Toryism, when nut only the king, but his governors, could do no wrong. The ministers turned a deaf ear to Du Calvet's complaints. He appealed to another tribunal, the public. He published a volume of letters which he had scattered broadcast over Eng- land and Canada. They were terse, often eloquent, and bore the impress of truth. He detailed in simple, forcible language, the persecutions to which he had been subjected, and told how his enemy, the Swiss Governor, sought to influence the Court of justice against him by taking his seat on the bench beside the judges. He drew a striking picture of the corrupt and despotic government of Canada, the peculations of public money, and the persistent refusal to permit the use of French law, in violation of the English Parlia- ment's Quebec Act of 1774. Finally, he demanded for Canada constitutional government, as the basis of French law for French Canadians in civil cases; in criminal cases trial by jury ; permanent tenure of office during good conduct for all judges ; the Governor-General to be subject, like other citizens, to the law ; an elective assembly ; Canada to be represented in '^n yi -m I' J 106 Cnnada and the Canadian People. the English Parliament ; freedom of conscience for all sects alike ; liberty of the press ; and free education by parochial schools. Du Calvet's pro- position for Canadian representation in the English Parliament was indeed chimerical, though less chimerical than the form in which the same notion has been revised in the recent craze called Imperial Federation. But there was something to be said for it at the time. Canada was merely a dependency of England, governed by a satrap sent out by the Home Ministry. There were no newspapers worthy of the name ; no tele- graphs, no rapid transit to England, none of those thousand means by which in our days a complaint against official wrong-doing is sure to make itself heard. Dn Calvet was evidently a man far in advance of his time. His book did not produce any immediate result, but it was widely read, in England, and no doubt laid the foundation of that intelligent sympathy with Cana- dian aspirations for self-government which manifested itself so beneficently in Pitt and Fox in ♦^hat century, and in Melbourne and Lord Durham in the next. Haldimand's one service to Canada was his aiding in the settlement of the immigrants who sought a home here at the close of the American war. Of that immigration an account will be given i.i a subsequent chapter. A more questionable service was his granting to the Iroquois an enormous quantity of the most valuable land in Canada, six miles on either side of the Grand River, from its mouth to its source. It is true that these savages had sided with the British in the American war, but they were paid for their services, and as to their " loyalty," it seems absurd to talk of such a sentiment in the case of these unstable, shiftless tribes who were ever ready to turn against England or America, according to the changes of fortune, and whose atrocities disgraced whatever banner they fought under. Haldimand's action condenined to nearly a century's barrenness thousands of acres of the best land in Canada. Haldimand's term of office lasted for six years. The duties of Gover- nor were performed for a time by Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton and by Colonel Hope; but in 1785 the office was conferred on Sir Guy Carleton, now Lord Dorchester, who landed at Quebec in October, 1785. On his arrival Lord Dorchester found considerable political discontent. The Legislative Council was regarded as a mere court for registering the decrees of the executive. Allsop, who had led the opposition in behalf of the English settlers in Quebec, had been expelled from the Council. Petition after petition was now sent to the English Parliament. One, signed both by the English and French Canadian colonists, asked that the English law of habeas corpus might be introduced into Canada, in order to secure the The Constitution of 1791. 107 colonists, French and English, from such arbitrary arrests as those practised by Haldimand. They also prayed, in rather vague terms, but aiming, it is to be supposed, at an elective assembly, that all Canadians, without dis- tmction of race or creed, might enjoy the rights, privileges, and immunities of British subjects. Counter petitions were sent from th° Legislative Council, who, of course, did not wish any portion of their power to be shared with an elective assembly. An address was moved and carried, praying the king to maintain intact the constitution of 1774. Mr. Grant moved an amendment in favour of an elective assembly, but he was promptly voted down. The Tory ministers of George III. naturally took sides with the colonial oligarchy. Habeas corpus they would grant ; to demand trial by jury, or an elective assembly, was little better than disloyalty. In spite of this discouragement, petitions in favour of an elective assembly continued to pour in, and Lord Dorchester was directed to collect authentic infor- mation on the political and industrial state of the colorfy. An enquiry was therefore set on foot on such questions as the administration of justice, education, agriculture, and statistics ; to each of these, a committee was appointed by the Legislative Council. That appointed to consider the working of the existing system of administering justice ascertained that the grossest abuses and irregularities prevailed. Their investigation led to results which were strengthened by those arrived at by the Committee on Trade, the merchants examined before whom demanded the adoption in its entirety, of English law, including, in all cases, trial by jury. These merchants stated that no uniform system existed in the practice of the Canadian tribunals ; some decided according to French, some according to English law ; while some pursued an independent course of their own, which they called equity. The Committee on territorial proprietorship showed its British pre- possession by giving decisions that feudal tenures should be done away with. Such tenures, it was maintained, were anti-progressive, and hindered the settlement of the country. The seigneurs, however, made most deter- mined opposition to any change which would curtail their hereditary rank and emoluments as a privileged class, and it was resolved that no altera- tion of the feudal tenures should be recommended. The report of the committee on education manifested a more progressive spirit. At that time there existed no means of supplying education outside of the priest- hood and the religious orders. Even those were of the scantiest. There were absolutely no schools whatever in the country parishes. In Montreal and Quebec the seminaries still diffused a little " dim religious light." The excellent educational system of the Jesuit College at Quebec had vi i y m .ii i ! i '1 I I J- i i Chapter XVII. THE SETTLEMENT OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING CANADA. HE conclusion of tlie War of Independence saw a vast migra- gration of the defeated party in a political struggle between "Whig " and " Tory," which had aroused no less bitter feelings between faction and faction than the struggle between the armies of W;i hington and of George III. in the field. The "Whigs'" were not all of the same political complexion, and the word " Loyalist " imperfectly describes the attitude of many who entirely disapproved of the tyrannical acts of the Hanoverian king of England, but, like a large minority of the population of the Thirteen Colonies, did not approve of all the acts of the repablican executive. At this distance from the heroes of the crusade that first made republicanism possible, we can see that in all that they did, in all that they suffered, a true political instinct led them through obstacles that seemed impervious to light and air. But we must not refuse our sympathy to those who could not, at the time, see what W^ashington and Franklin saw : whom a strong sentiment of at( achment to the country of their birth or ancestry, or whom a survival of I hat loyalty to the personal government of a king, which had once been a genuine factor in the national life of England, led to risk life and fortune on a lost cause. Passions ran high toward the con- clusion of the Revolutionary War. The " Tories," or " king's friends," it must be owned, met With scant measure of justice. And we must remember the confiscations, the cruelties, the perpetual insults to which the families of the insurgent colonists had been subjected, during the war, by British officers. Action and reaction are equal in social phenomena, as in all others* Injustice to the Americans, fighting for freedom, produced equal injustice to the partisans of the mother country. Many were imprisoned, were treated with the greatest hardships ; the life of a returned " Tory," who had been fighting in the British ranks against the new Republic, was never srfe. w The Settlement of EuglisJi-Speakiitg Canada. Ill An effort was made by Lord Shelburiie's Government at the con- clusion of the war to obtain the restoration of their properties, in compen- ion for losses, to the adherents of England during the war. " The question of Loyalists or Tories," says Lord Mahon, " wac a main object with the British Government — to obtain, if possible, some restitution to the men who, in punishment for their continued allegiance to the king, had found their property confiscated and their persons banished." And this was strongly and persistently urged by those who represented ihe British Government. Dr. Franklin, representing the Americans, at :.rst refused point blank to entertain any proposal for compensation to partisans of England in the States. H( next devised an astute compromise by which he offered to take account of the losses sustained by Loyalists, provided account were also taken of the losses inflicted on the Americans, by the raids and other excesses in which the Loyalists had taken part during the war. As this would have led to endless disputes, the British commis- sioners were fain to be content with Franklin's assurance t!-,at Congress would do its best to induce the several States to make reparation for losses incurred by the adherents of Britain. In spite of the well-meant, but utterly ineffectual efforts of the American executive, the return of the Royalist partisans to their former homes was as unwelcome a^ the proposed reimbursement for their losses during the war. In many cases, com- mittees were formed, who with every resource of outrage opposed their continuing as residents among their former neighbours. So general was this persecution that over 3,000 of these American Royalists applied, through their agents, to the British Parliament for protection. The duty of providing for these faithful adherents of the mother country, engaged the serious attention of Parliament, and thti leading men of both political parties agreed that the national honour was pledged to succour and support them. The first effort to fulfil this duty was the transportation of a number of famihes to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, " countries," as a U. E. immigrant wrote in 1784 " where winter continues at least seven months in the year, and where the land is wrapt in the gloom of a perpetual fog." But with fuller experience of the climate and soil of the maritime provinces, these first prejudices were reversed, a sparsely peopled and imperfectly cultivated region was endowed with a new and vigorous population ; the chief families of these flourishing provinces whose coal mines supply half Canada with fuel, whose agricultural resources equal those of any other part of Canada, whose sea-board cities and trade facilities are a new element in the progress of our country, date from the advent of those half-hearted immigrants of a century ago. Many of those who at first settled in Nova Scotia and New w :::i i -;3 ^ % i ■ \ \ i:;!U ■ill % H^nm I -I I; ''1 W i 1 1 i ■'1 i 1 1 •^- I 112 Canada and the Canadian People. i Brunswick became discontented, and sought "fresh fields and pastures new" in Western Canada. The country west of Montreal was then an unknown wilderness of swamp and forest, the haunt of wild beasts and reptiles, the hunting ground of savages whose hatred of civilized man made its explora- tion perilous. Here and there along the chain of lakes, a few small posts Iiad been established, and with difficulty maintained. Michilimackinac at tlie entrance to Lake Michigan, Detroit, and Frontenac, were half posts, half trading depots. Beyond the clearings which fringed their palisades it was not safe for white men to penetrate too rashly the mystery of the wilderness. But in 1783, various causes co-operated to make the English Government wish to settle a new colony on the more accessible portions of that vast territory, hitherto only known as " Indian Hunting Grounds." In view of the incessant disputes between the British settlers and the older French Canadian colonists which had embarrassed every Governor of Quebec since the Conquest, it was felt that the large number of immigrants who iiad now to be provided for must be settled at a distance from those who insisted on the domination of the French law and French language. It was also thought politic to preserve the French Canadians intact and distinct as a separate element in the colony, who miglit be relied on to oppose all revolutionary tendencies. Governor Haldimand was, therefore, authorized to have a survey taken of the lands around the Bay of Quinte', in the neighbourhood of Fort Frontenac, and to found settlements on the Niagara and Amherstburgh frontiers. Grants of land were then to be made, the applicant producing proof, when possible, on the evidence of a single witness, of his having sustained loss or injury from the people of the United States, in consequence of attaclunent to British interests. From the nature of the case many of the most deserving were unable to produce the evidence required, but the cases of the genuine ajplicants for relief seem to have been entertained in a liberal spirit, and it is even thought that many Americans who had little claim to the rewards of self-sacrificing loyalty obtained grants of land in the new settlements. As an instance of the man- ner in which tliese settlements were formed, I take the following account of the first settlement of Kingston and of the neighbouring part of the Quinte coast, from Dr. Ryerson's Loyalists 0/ America : — " The government of the colony of Quebec found that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were over- crowded with Loyalist emi/jrants, and were beginning to turn their thoughts to the unexplored western part of Canada. The late John Grass, of the township of Kingston, had been a prisoner of war with the French at Fort Frontenac. The Governor liaving heard of this, questioned him as to the suitability of that part of tiie < ountry for settlement, and the account given JOSEPH HOWE. >i' ' 5'„Ui '■Li :;:M ' I ! 8 • ' *■: ' <^-' ^' • .': ■ 1 : Ml 1 i 1 1 1 ili ■Li ii 11 The Settlement of English-Speaking Canada. 115 of it by Grass being favourable, offered to furnish to John Grass, and as many of the Loyalists as he could induce to accompany him, means of con- veyance from Quebec, and the supplies necessary for subsistence till the settlers could provide for themselves. Grass accepted this offer, and with a considerable company of men, women and children, set sail from Quebec in a ship provisioned for the purpose. They were forced to spend the winter at Sorel, in Lower Canada, but in the spring reached Frontenac, pitching their tent on " Indian Point," where the pleasant village of Portsmouth is now built around its two caravanseries for crime and misfortune, the Penitentiary and Lunatic Asylum. The adjoining country was not fully surveyed until July. Other companies had meantime arrived at the new centre of colonization. The Governor, who had come to visit them, called on Mr. Grass as having the first claim to a choice as to which township he would choose for himself and his company. . Grass chose the first township, that of Kingston. In the same way Sir John Johnson chose the second township, Ernestown ; Colonel Rogers the third township, Fredericksburg ; Major Van Alstine the fourth township, Adolphustown ; and Colonel Mac- donnell the fifth township, Marysburgh. Those who, like the present writer, have lived for some time in Prince Edward County, know well how their names, borne, as they are, by worthy representatives of the Pilgrim Fathers of Ontario's settlement, are household words among the thriving populations of "the garden of Canada" at the present day ; and on those beautiful shores of the Bay of Quinte', where the wild beast and the prowling savage have long disappeared, where the masts of ships overtop the apple orchards and harbour, and harvest Tields are almost everywhere close at hand, the few survivors of the children of the first settlers have many a tale of the hardships and privations with which their childhood was familiar. Even to reach the new settlements in Western Canada was a matter of much time and difficulty. The journey was performed in " batteaux," large flat-bot- tomed boats resembling scows, calculated to contain four or five families and their effects. Twelve boats were counted as a brigade, and each brigade had a conductor, who gave orders for the safe management of the boats. These boats were supplied with but the bare necessaries of life. Shelter there was none. At night the immigrants slept, huddled close together, with only the sky above them. Grants, in a few cases of pensions, but for the most part of provisions, farming tools, oxen and seed, were made to the new settlers. Including the officers and men of the disbanded 8th regiment, the number of United Empire Loyalists who first settled in what is now the Province of Ontario may be estimated at between ten and twelve thousand men, women and • t . ,i\ : m 1, -n1. 1 Jnl •t; '' 'I i.' ' t. ' ' ' 1 nil i , i i 1 , ■ '^ ;' ih • Ji; ii6 Canada and the Canadian People. children. Thus was English-speaking Canada settled in the manner most advantageous for its future progress. That settlement was not like that of French Canada, a tentative and gradual process, feebly subsisting on the fisheries and fur trade ; it was a compact and organized invasion of the wilderness by an army of agricultural settlers. And these men, unlike later immigrants to Canada, did not need to be acclimated, they had nothing to learn of wood-craft or forest farming, they were no old country settlers glad to seek a home in Canada because they were failures elsewhere. They were of the distinct type of manhood which this continent had already begun to produce; energetic, self-helpful, and versatile. And the growth of their settlement of a century ago into its present greatness has been in geometrical proportion to the slow advance of the French Province. From the immigration in 1783 to the establishment of Upper Canada as a distinct Province in 1791, the settlement grew in silence; its only record during those years being that it strengthened the hands of those in the Lower Province who opposed the exclusive domination of the French Cana- dians. The Upper Province had been divided by Lord Dorchester, previous to 1791, into four districts, of whose uncouth German names, chosen to flatter the Hanoverian king of England, happily no trace re- mains. These were : Lunenburg, from the river Ottawa to Gananoque ; Mecklenburgh, from Gananoque to the river Trent ; Nassau, from the Trent to Long Point, on lake Erie ; and Hesse, which included the rest of Upper Canada and the lake St. Clair. A judge and a sheriff were appointed to administer justice in each of these districts. The first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was one who has left his mark for good deeply impressed on our country. General John Graves Simcoe was an English gentleman of landed property, and a member of the British House of Commons, m which he had voted for the constitution of 1 791. He had also served with distinction in the late war. He arrived at Kingston on July 8th, 1792, when the members of the Executive and Lcgis. lative Councils of Upper Canada were sworn in, and writs issued for the election of members of the Legislative Assembly. The capital of the new colony was at first fixed at Newark, now the old town of Niagara, then a straggling village at the mouth of the Niagara river. Here Governor Simcoe built a small frame dwelling which also served as a place of meeting for the first Parliament of Upper Canada ; which body consisted of eight members of the Legislative Council and sixteen membersof the Assemblj'—sturdypioneers of the settlements which were now beginning to trench, with here and there a clearing, on the surrounding sea of forest. The session lasted four weeks, from September 17th to October 15th, 1792. Eight bills were passed ; all ■•■iP7|l! The Settlement of English-Speaking Canada. 117 well considered and of practical benefit to the new colony. They enacted that English law should be in force throughout the colony, with trial by jury in all cases ; that the allowance claimed by millers should be limited to one bushel for every twelve bushels ground ; provided for the easy recovery of small debts; and for the disuse of the German names which Lord Dorchester had imposed on the divisions of Upper Canada. The district from the river Ottawa to the river Gananoque was now to be the Eastern District ; that from Gananoque to the river Trent was to be the Midland District ; from the Trent to Long Point on Lake Erie was to be the Home or Niagara District ; the rest of the Province, west to Lake St. Clair, was the Western, or Detroit District. Each of these districts was again divided into twelve counties, and it was enacted that a jail and court-house should be erected in each district. When Governor Simcoe found that the Niagara river was settled as the boundary between Canada and the United States, he judged it unwise to have the capital of the Province under the guns of an American fort, and desired to found a new London in the centre of the western peninsula, on a river formerly called La Tranche, but which he named the Thames. Lord Dorchester preferred Kingston, but Governor Simcoe would submit to no dictation from that quarter, and, after much deliberation, he fixed upon a site at the mouth of a swampy stream called the Don, and near the site of the old French fort Rouille. The ground was low and marshy, but it had the best harbour on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and was comparatively remote from the frontier of the United States. The Governor christened the place York, in honour of Frederick, Duke of York, one of the royal princes. Governor Simcoe's regiment, the Queen's Rangers, were employed to make a road through the forest, extending north to the lake which bears the name of the first Governor of our country. It was called Yonge Street, in honour of Sir George Yonge, Secretary of W^ar in the Imperial cabinet, who was 1 personal friend of the Governor's. This, and many other projects of Governor Simcoe's origin- ation, were interrupted by his removal to St. Domingo, in 1796. His suc- cessor, the Hon. Peter Russell, was a man of a very different stamp, and furnished the first instance of the abuse of political power to personal aggrandizement which afterwards assumed such vaSt proportions under the Family Compact. His grants of new land were sometimes Lo himself, and were worded as follows : " I, Peter Russell, Lieutenant-Governor, do grant to you, Peter Russell," etc. In the four years of Governor Simcoe's admin- istration, the population of Upper Canada increased to 30,000. Although Toronto was now the seat of Government and the capital of the Province, the Parliament of Upper Canada still met at Niagara. In the second •I i Mi t J .!rl '!^ ■ill 1 1 r. ;,i^ IV *::i < 1 ' Li l! I .i t in 'in ' , i « 11 ail I ii8 Canada and the Canadian People. i session of our first Parliament an Act abolishing slavery was passed, ten years in advance of the loud-professing philanthropy of Lower Canada. Another Act, for offering rewards for the heads of bears and wolves, indicates the primitive condition of a Province which required such legislation. Major- General Hunter succeeded President Russell, and directed the administra- tion up to the time of his death, which occurred at Quebec in the summer of 1805. Mr. Alexander Grant, a member of the Executive Council, temporarily took the direction of affairs. His successor arrived in 1806, in the person of Lieutenant-Governor Francis Gore, who had formerly administered the Government of Bermuda. He was a loyal and non- pro- gressive man, suited to the times in which he lived. He surrendered him- self to the domination of his Executive Council, and was a drag on the wheel of progress. Despite bad government, the Province had flourished. Its population now numbered 50,000. Ports of entry were established at Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, York, Niagara, Queenston, Fort Erie, Turkey Point, Amherstburg, and Sandwich. In 1807 Parliament appointed a grammar school for each district, the teachers to have a salary of £100 per annum. Meanwhile the tide of immigration continued to flow into Upper Can- ada, a land where taxes were unknown, where peace and plenty were the reward of industrj', and which was consequently attractive to the overtaxed natives of Britain, burdened, as they were, with the expenses of a long and costly war. •IF Chapter XVIII. LOWER CANADA FROM 1791 TO 1812. 4c?F. HE elections held for the first Assembly of the new Province of Lower Canada by no means swamped the British element, many of whose representatives were returned by French and Catholic constituencies. Nor did the new constitution put an end to the old issues, as the use of the French law and language were the first subjects of debate. Lord Dorchester, having obtained leave of absence, sailed for England, appointing General Alured Clarke as his deputy. Clarke fixed the time of meeting for the new Assembly in December, 1792. The Legislative Council and the Assembly met on December 17th, ii. separate halls within the Palace of the Bishops of Quebec, a building which, ever since the Conquest, had been devoted to secular uses. The first debate in the Assembly was on the choice of a President. Messrs. Grant and McGill, two traders of British origin, were put forward by their party, but M. J. A. Panet, a distinguished lawyer, well versed in both English and French, was elected by a majority of ten. An injudicious and premature effort was made b)^ the British party under Mr. Grant, seconded, strange to saj', bj' the President, M. Panet, to have the minutes of the Assembly drawn up in English only. It was rejected, and a resolution was passed that the minutes should be recorded in both French and English, but that the laws passed should be expressed in English or French, according as they referred to British or French legislation. A bill was then passed providing for a most important need, the establishment of parish schools. A warm discussion took place with regard to the illegal appropriation by the executive of the Jesuit estates. These, it was urged with much justice, had been granted not for the personal benefit of the Jesuits, but for the purpose of education. The principal result of this, the first session of the Assembly of Lower Canada, was the maintenance of the French language. In this year (1792) a monthly mail was established for the first time be^^ween New York and Quebec. m \ ■4 1 % ^- •M :s Ml 11' I'i, I T'li I ! 1/ ' 1 '' t1 ■1 1 -i 1 1 1 , 'Fill i 1 u,| I20 Canada and the Canadian People. In 1793, Lord Dorchester returned to Quebec for a third term of office. He brought instructions very conciliatory to the Lower Canadian French, that the seminaries of Montreal and Quebec should be permanently maintained, and lest the religious orders should create a revolutionary propa- ganda in Canada, he induced the assembly to pass a resolution authorizing the executive to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act. This, which was in fact simply an Alien Act, was renewed every year until 1812. M. Panet was re-elected President by a unanimous vote. The overthrow of the French State Church, and the expatriation of its clergy by the revolutionary government of France, had meantime thrown all the influence of the French Canadian priesthood on the side of the British. M. Plessis, parish priest of Quebec, in his funeral oration over the late Bishop of Quebec, used the strongest language in favour of loyalty to Britain. " Beneficent nation ! " he exclaims, apostrophising the English people, "which daily gives us, men of Canada, fresh proof of its liberality. No, no ! your people are not enemies of our people; nor are ye despoilers of our property, which rather do your laws protect ; nor are ye foes to our religion, to which ye pay all due respect. The maxim of M. Briand (the late bishop) was that even sincere Catholics are, and must be, all obedient subjects of their legitimate sovereign." The preacher gave thanks to Providence that Canada had been snatched, as it were, a brand from the burning, from dependence on an impious nation which had overturned His altars. In 1793, Dr. Jacob Mountain was appointed by the English Ministry to be the first Church of England bishop in Canada. He was sent out at the instance of a powerful corporation, the society for the propagation of the Gospel, and took the title upon himself of bishop of Quebec, which properly belonged to the Catholic bishop. Although the assumption of this designa- tion was both in the letter and the spirit an infraction of the Treaty of 1763 and the Act of 1774, the Catholic bishop met the Anglican on his landing with a fraternal embrace. Dr. Mountain was appointed by Royal Letters Patent, and had, therefore, a quasi right to the title of " My Lord," by courtesy ; to which modern Church of England bishops, not appointed by the Crown, have not the shadow of a claim. Dr. Mountain was a cautious, amiable man, of no very brilliant abilities. In 1804, a very commonplace- looking-building was erected as an Anglican Cathedral, on ground memorable as having been the site of the old church of the RecoUet Fathers. In the summer of 1796, Lord Dorchester returned to England, being succeeded as Governor, by General Prescott. In this year, one Black, having decoyed an American citizen named McLane to Canada, in the hope of spreading republican principles, betrayed Lower Canada from 1791 to 1812. 131 him to the executive, in order to receive the " blood money" offered in such cases. McLane was brought to summary trial and swift execution, all the barbarous customs which, in that day, degraded the white race to a level with the Indians, being fully observed. The body was lowered from the gibbet and cut open, the entrails were torn out, the heart burned, the severed head held up by the hangman, with the formula, "Behold' the head of a traitor!" It is satisfactory to ! low that the execrable wretch who planned this judicial murder was shunned by every one, and died in the most squalid poverty. In 1797, Governor Prescott got into some difficulty with the board for supervising Crown Lands, the president of which. Judge Osgoode, was (untruly) said to be a natural son of George III., and at all events had considerable influence in England. The board were accused of appropria- ting to themselves large tracts of land, to the great hindrance of the legiti- mate settlemr it of the country. In consequence of these disputes, Prescott, who had not been popular with any class, was re-called, and Sir Robert Shore Milnes sent as his successor. The new Governor thanked the Assembly for the money which the French Canadians had subscribed to aid in carrying on the war against the revolutionary government of France. A proposal brought forward at this time by Bishop Mountain was adopted. It was to the effect that school-masters should be employed in the towns and larger villages, to teach the English language free of charge, and writing and arithmetic at a small fee. The Assembly passed a bill for the establishment of free public schools, to be maintained from the funds which had belonged to the Jesuits ; but the Catholic priesthood were opposed to the measure, and it ended in grammai schools being founded in Montreal and Quebec only. In 1803, Chief Justice Osgoode ruled that slavery was con- trary to the laws and constitution of Canada, and all slaves then in the country, in number three hundred, were emancipated. A refusal to raise the salary of the French translator of the Assembly gave rise to some irritation, as the ever-watchful jealousy of race caused it to be regarded as a premeditated insult ; nor were matters soothed when Sir Robert Milnes, in a somewhat arbitrary manner, closed the dispute by proroguing the Assembly. But the bitterness thus evoked found expression next session, when the Assembly ordered the arrest of the publisher of the Montreal Gazette, in which paper an article had appeared censuring the action of the majority in the Assembly a session before. The publisher of the Quebec Mercury also had to apologise at the bar of the House. The popular party in the Assembly did not see that by thus assailing the liberty of the press, they were striking at their own best means of defence. In 1806, Sij: R. ^ ■■'**■ h ! .J f Ml .'!' 1: 9 'I' J •1 'V 'M. ■ ' \ Ml •Mil ^?*l. I'i " 122 Canada and the Canadian People. i I' 1 isiiilaa mi N Millies returned to England, little regretted by any class in Canada. A step in advance was taken by the French Canadian party in November of this year by the establishment of Le Canadien, a paper edited with great ability, but, under an elaborate profession of loyalty to the British crown, bitterly hostile to the advancement of the British race and language in Canada. By this time a growing alienation prevailed between the United States and England. The republicans of America, not unnaturally, felt a sympathy for France, their ally in the war of Independence, now hemmed in by the European despotisms with which the Tory Government of England had thrown in its lot. The right of search, too, claimed by England, which at that time was mistress of the seas, was exercised on American vessels, with scant courtesy or regard for the feelings of the new nation, which the English had not yet forgiven for contpiering in the late war. A new war was evidently at hand, the Americans, with characteristic shrewdness, calculating on being able to strike at England under the sword of Napoleon. In Canada preparations for defence were hurried on. Mr. Dunn, who was acting ar deputy Governor, held a grand review, and called out for service a fifth part of the militia. In 1807, Sir James Craig arrived as Governor for Canada. He was a distinguished military officer, but had narrow views, and stern and unpleasing manners. The clique of office-holders wh^ formed his court worked on his suspicious nature, to induce a belief in the existence of supposed disloyal conspiracies among the French Canadians. He was induced to make the Caitadien newspaper more powerful for mischief than it could otherwise have been by persecuting the shareholders, several of whom, including the loyal and influential M. Panet, were put off the list of militia officers. Of course this gave much offence, and at the session cT 1808, M. Bedard sounded the first note of the struggle for Responsible Government in an elegant and temperate speech, which however drew on him severe official censure as '• The Apostle of Revolution and Sedition." Craig met the Assembly's determined attitude of opposition by first . scolding, then dissolving it. But the people of Lower Canada replied to the Governor's insults by returning a House of a yet more popular character than in the last session. The Canadien justly animadverted on Governor Craig's conduct. " He had power by law to dissolve the Assembly when it seemed good to him. He had no constitutional right to address abusive remarks on the conduct of the Assembly in the discharge of its legislative duties, a matter over which the law gave him no control whatever." The agitation in the colony increased. At the next session of the Assembly, Bedard and Papineau, the chiefs of the constitutional party, proposed a committee of seven members to n Lower Canada from 1791 to 181 2. 123 investigate the Parliamentary precedents with regard to the Governor's late censures of the Assembly. It was also in contemplation to anticipate the recent action of the Dominion Government of Canada by sending an accre- dited agent to represent their Province in London. But these and other measures were interrupted by Craig, with a repetition of his former insult, proroguing the Assembly. In order to frighten the electors, this was fol- lowed up by another step, in what Craig's admirers in the Executive Council called " vigorous policy." A body of soldiers, accompanied by a magis- trate, entered the office of Lc Caiiadien, seized the printing press and type, and arrested the printer. After being subjected to a long inquisition, con- ducted with closed doors, before the Executive Council, the printer was sent to prison. The articles in the numbers of Lc Canadicn which were made the pretext for this foolish violation of the laws, appear harmless enough, absurdly destitute of anything like ability, their wnly evil tendency being to stimulate race prejudice, while the prosecution ot ' jc paper was certain to irritate much more than hundreds of Lc Canadieii .rials. One of them bore the mysteriously " disloyal " title of " Take 1' '1 ' of Your Nose by the Tip." The Dogberry in office detected treason in li an intention of vio- lent seizure and disloyal tweaking of the official proboscis. Craig did not stop at this. Supported by the Executive Council, associated with whom it is unpleasant to see the name of Dr. Mountain, the Anglican bishop, he issued warrants for the arrest of Bedard, Taschereau, and Blanchet. Others were arrested afterwards. The severity with the political prisoners was such as to cause the death of one of them, M. Corbeil, of Isle Jesus. In vain they demanded to know of what they were accused, in vain they demanded the British subject's privilege of being brought to trial. Meantime the Catholic bishop and his priests did all they could to allay discontent and promote attachment to British rule. This was difficult under the circumstances, and at the next election the popular delegates were once more returned in force to the Assembly. The English ministers had been influenced by despatches which Craig and his followers wrote to them, accusing the French Cana- dians of every kind of disloyalty, and it is plain that severe measures of repression would have been adopted, and tiie liberty granted by the consti- tution of 1791 still further trenched on, had it not been for the impending war with the United States. Lord Liverpool wrote to Craig unmistakable directions to adopt a conciliatory policy before it was too late. In conse- quence of this, the Assembly, when it met the Governor, was astonished to hear an address in which, after eulogizing the loyalty of Lower Canada, he expressed his hope that the utmost harmony might prevail between him- self and all branches of the Legislature. Bedard was soon after this released M ,1; I;) ' '! i ^•> 124 Canada and the Canadian People, from prison, but not till the session had closed, Craig fearing that the Assembly might claim the credit of having forced his hand. Soon after this Craig's health gave way, and the " Reign of Terror," as the French Canadians magniloquently termed his petty tyranny, ended with his depar- ture for England, where he soon afterwards died. The first steamboat was launched on the St. Lawrence in November, i8og. She was named the Accommodation, and was built by Mr. John Molson, of Montreal. The newspapers of the time contain glowing ac- counts of this wondrous ship which " could sail against any wind or tide." She was crowded with admiring visitors and passengers. The fare from Quebec to Montreal was ten dollars, which included meals on board the boat. Sir George Prevost, a distinguished officer, succeeded Craig. He was a man of mild and conciliatory disposition. His first act was to add seven additional members to the Executive Cabinet, which had hitherto been taken altogether from the l^egislative Council, and to appoint to a judgeship M. Bedard, the object of his predecessor's persecutions ; to another popular leader, M. Bourdages, he gave a colonelcy of militia. Thus the French Cfiiadians were conciliated, and their loyalty secured in the presence of i pressing danger. v'i Chapter XIX. THE WAR OF 1812- 15- |N the i8th of June, 1812, war was declared against Britain by the United States ; as regards Canada it may well be called the War of Aggression. The States' Government knew well that Britain needed all her armaments for the gigantic struggle in which she was then engaged with the greatest soldier of tlie age. They calculated on over-running Canada. A force of 25,000 regular troops was ordered to be enlisted by Congress. This was to be supported by 50,000 volunteers. General Dearborn, a veteran officer of the War of Independence, was appointed to command. Sir George Prevost at once ordered all Americans to quit Canada within four- teen days and made a tour of observation along the St. Lawrence and lake frontier. He found the settlers of Upper Canada, all of them good marksmen and trained to fighting as w°ll as farming, to a man ready to leave farming or clearing to the care of the women and hoys, and to take the field in defence of their newly-settled country. Had the United States Government confined itself to fighting England, as was done with a fair amount of success by their spar-decked corvettes, on the high seas which were the original scene of the quarrel, the people of Canada might have felt some sympathy for a brave people subjected to the wanton insult of the right of search. But to strike at England through Canada, a country whose manifest destiny it was to grow up into a free nation, was felt to be mere aggression. The spirit of Lower Canada, too, was roused to resistance. The insolence, the squalor, the exaction of Montgomery's troops, whom their officers allowed to seize on the farmer's stores, and who never pretended to pay for anything except in their worthless paper money, were remembered with disgust. The clergy gave the whole weight of their influence, all-powerful as it was, to kindle the patriotic resolution for the defence of altar and hearth against a heretic banditti. Although the Lower Canadian Assembly declined to pass an Alien Act, they gave a m^ ii m ' -'I i a 126 Canada and the Canadian People. !l most liberal grant for organizing the militia, and for the general defence of the Province. The money so voted vvas to be raised in the form of army bills, in order to prevent specie from being carried to the United States. In Upper Canada, the Lieutenant-Governor had temporarily left the Province, having gone to England, leaving the administration of public affairs in the hands of Major-General Isaac Brock, a name which has become inseparably woven with our history. Though a comparatively young man, he had had much military experience, and was admirably fitted by nature and training for the difficult part he was now called upon to play. He had at first some difficulty in gaining the desired grant from the Legislature, which did not believe that war would ensue. Biit as soon as hostilities were declared, they cheerfully passed a very ample militia bill. There were then in Upper Canada 3050 regular troops ; in Lower Canada, 1450. The Governor-General informed Brock that no further aid need be expected from England for at least some months. The war began with the capture of Fort. Mackinac, (Michillimackinac) by Captain Roberts, commandant of the small military post of St. Joseph, on Lake Huron. Mackinac was surrendered without bloodshed. It was an important position, commanding the entrance to Lake Michigan. On July I2th, 1812, the American General Hull invaded the western peninsula of Upper Canada with 2,500 men. He occupied Sandwich, and issued a procla- mation inviting the Canadians to join his standard, and " enjoy the blessings of peace and liberty," which he proceeded to illustrate by vaunting his country's alliance with war and despotism incarnate in the person of Napoleon I. Colonel St. George was stationed at the nL'i:h- bouring town of Amherstburg with a force of about 300 regulars. Had Hull advanced at once, St. George must have been overpowered. But Hull delayed, sent small detachments which St. George defeated, and meantimr the Indians from Grand River poured in to St. George's support, and Brock advanced in force from Toronto. Hull now recrossed the river, and took up a position at Detroit. Among the Indians present in Brock's command was one of the most remarkable of Indian chiefs, Tecumseh, who in physique was a typical example of the strength and versatile dexterity which the wilderness sometimes developes in its children. He was born in the Miami Valley, and having distinguished himself in war and hunting, became recognized as a chief of note among his countrymen. He devised a new scheme for uniting the Indians into a political confederacy under his sway. In concert with his brother, who claimed supernatural powers, he originated a religious movement, in part borrowed from Christianity ; but after some years the American troops attacked his town in Tecumseii's wm The War of i8i2-'i5. 127 absence. It was taken and destroyed, and this Mahomet of the Red Men had ever since hated the Americans with the implacable rancour charac- teristic of his race. In a council of war held opposite Detroit, Tecumseh traced with his scalping knife on a piece of birch bark a rude plan of the defence of Detroit. Brock then crossed the river, and opened fire on Detroit, which he was on the point of assaulting, when General Hull signalled his wish to capitulate. Hull and all his regular troops were sent to Quebec as prisoners of war. Brock returned in well-deserved triumph to York. But the Americans, anxious to efface the disgrace of Hull's unsoldierhke conduct, senr an army of 6,000 men to the Niagara frontier, with orders *-^ the General in command, Van Rensellaer, to force his way through Brock's lines of defence, and establish himself on Canadian territory. The British and Canadian force for the defence of this entire frontier of thirty-six miles was less than 2,000 men. The Americans succeeded in landing, after some opposition from a party of the 49th regiment under Captain Dennis, who was compelled to retreat. He was met by General Brock with his aide-de- camp. Colonel McDonnell. Brock at once put himself at the head of six hundred men of the 49th, and, drawing his sword, led them to charge tlie Americans on the heights above. They advanced under a heavy fire, which killed several ; among the first the gallant Brock. Infuriate at the fall of a leader universally beloved, the regulars and Canadian troops rushed up the hill, and swept before them a foe far superior in numbers. But the Americans were reinforced, and the British and Canadian force of three hundred, after a brilliant display of valour, had to retire. Meanwhile a vigorous attack had been made on General Scott's forces (he had succeeded Van Rensellaer) by a young Iroquois chief, John Brant, who came in command of a body of warriors from the Grand River Reserve. General Sheaffe now succeeded Brock, and after a sharp conflict for about half an hour, although with a force inferior in numbers, forced the enemy to surrender. Brock was buried side by side with the brave McDonnell, at Fort George, Niagara, the Americans as well as his own army firing minute guns during his funeral. Dearborn now threatened to invade Lower Canada from his position at Plattsburg. General Prevost then called out the entire Lower Canadian militia, and his summons was obeyed with such enthusiasm that Dearborn gave up the proposed invasion as impracticable. Meanwhile General Smith, who now commanded the American force on the Niagara River, made several attempts to cross to the Canadian frontier, in all of which he was so completely held in check by a much smaller force, that he had to skulk from his camp to avoid the anger of his own soldiers. These '■A Kin "111 t V i- ■ i 1 I 1 ( 1 ■ f I 1 ■ t - i J, ■ " if 128 Canada and the Canadian People. brave men deserved a more competent general. He was received in Buffalo with general execration, the very taverns being closed against him. He was soon after most deservedly cashiered. Meanwhile, in Congress, the repre- sentatives of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, who had refused to furnish militia for the war, were backed up by Maryland. Mr. Quincy denounced the war against Canada as piratical. " Since the mvasion of the buccaneers," he said, "there has been nothing in history more disgraceful than this war." In 181 3, once again the legislatures of both Upper and Lower Canada took ample measures to supply the Governor with funds for defence of the country. The campaign of this year opened with a victory of Colonel Proctor with five hundred regulars and six hundred Indians over General Winchester, in command of a detachment of General Harrison's army. Winchester, with five hundred of his men, was taken prisoner. This checked Harrison's advance. For the rest of the campaign, raids were made with varying success on both sides, upon either bank of the St. Lawrence. Ogdensburg was taken by Major McDonnell, who crossed the frozen river with a force of regulars. Fort Presentation, with seven guns, four field pieces, and a considerable quantity of arms, ammunition, and other stores, was taken by Captain Jenkins and Captain Eustace. In the next campaign, Commander Chauncey sailed from his naval stronghold of Sackett's Harbour, with 1,600 regulars on board of fourteen vessels. These troops, under Brigadier Pike, landed, after some opposition, three miles west of York. Meanwhile the fleet opened fire on the very insignificant defences on shore, where Pike had succeeded in carrying the first battery. As he advanced, a tremendous explosion from the powder magazine shook the earth, and killed many, mortally wounding others, among whom was General Pike. It was impossible for General Sheaffe, with the force at his command, to resist the American invaders. He withdrew in orderly retreat to Kingston, leaving, for some inexplicable reason, Colonel Chewett with two hundred and ninety-three militia, who, after a liard-fought conflict of seven hours, surrendered. Having fired the town andde stroyed what public stores were left, Chauncey, with reinforcemens from Sackett's Harbour, made a descent on Niagara, where General Vincent, with but fourteen hundred men, held Fort George. Those who have visited the dismounted earthworks, where now the Niaj^ara sheep, horses and chikken play in the casements and entrances, will have observed how completely it is exposed to the fire of the American Fort Niagara on the east side of the river. The fort now opened fire. ChaUncey's ships poured in a shower of grapeshot and shell from the lake close by. After three hours' fighting, Vincent spiked his guns, blew up his magazine, IJ^Ii The War of i8i2-'i5. I2g and retreated to a position on Burlington Heights, near Hamilton. On the Detroit frontier, General Harrison, who, notwithstanding Winchester's defeat, wished to retake Detroit and Michigan, received a severe check from Qeneral Proctor, with a loss of seven hundred men. But Proctor's Indians wished to return home with their plunder, the militia were unwilling to sustain a siege, and he was thus compelled to leave Detroit, carrying with him his stores and mimitions of war. Sir James Yeo was now sent from England with a naval force of four hundred and fifty men. In concert with him, Prevost led an expedition against Sackett's Harbour, which was partially successful, and would have been completely so, had not Prevost, mistaking the dust raised by the fugitive Americans for the approach of another army, ordered a retreat ; a disgraceful blunder for which he was deservedly condemned by public opinion. Dearborn was now established on the Niagara peninsula, where, however, he was held in check by the neighbourhood of Vincent, with his small army on Burlington Heights. Dearborn sent a force of six thousand regulars, two hundred and fifty cavalry, and nine field pieces, to attack Vin- cent. The latter resolved on a night attack upon the American camp, which was carelessly guarded. With but seven hundred men Vincent and Colonel Harvey surprised the camp, inflicted a heavy blow on the enemy, and took a hundred and twenty prisoners, with the Generals, Chandler and Winder. Dearborn now retreated to a position on Forty Mile Creek, whence Yeo's fleet soon forced him to fail back on Fort George, at Niagara. From thence Dearborn sent five hundred men, with fifty cavalry and ten field guns, to attack a British post at Beaver Dam, between Queenston and Thorold. Mrs. Secord, wife of oi?e of the soldiers of Queenston, heard of this expedition, and the night before it took place, walked nineteen miles through the woods to give warning to Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, who at once communicated with the commanders of regulars and Indians in the vicinity, and prepared to give the Americans a warm reception. After a sharply con- tested struggle, the Americans surrendered to a force not half their number. Meanwhile, Vincent, by a skilful movement, extended his lines from Twelve Mile Creek to Queenston, thus isolating tiie four thousand Americans at Fort George to the narrow neck of land between river and lake. But Chauncey had. now built another ship of war at Sackett's Harbour, and had the superioritj' over Yeo's squadron-. He attempted a descent on Vincents depot of stores at Burlington, but was prevented from doing anj' mischief by the militia regiment from Glengarry, which marched from Toronto to Burlington. They thus, however, left York unprotected. . Cliauncey sailed thither, burned down the barracks and stores, and set free 9 m ■u ^ « i r:|l: A\;\ U'i; 130 Canada and the Canadian People. the prisoners from the jail. Thus was the Provincial capital twice captured during this war of piratical raids. The Americans now put forth all the resources of their powerful country in order to stem the tide of Canadian success. Commodore Perry, with a well-equipped fleet of craft, out- numbering by ten the British squadron, and carrying guns of far heavier metal, encountered the British squadron, under the command of Captain Barclay, off Put-in Bay, on Lake Erie. The British ships were embarrassed by the insensate measure of having more landsmen than sailors on board. The fight began at a quarter before twelve, and continued till half-past two, during which time fortune seemed to favour Barclay's fleet. Perry's flag- ship, the Lawrence, being injured by the British fire, he went on board the Niagara, Soon after this the Lawrence struck its colours. But so defective was the equipment of Barclay's ships that there was not even a boat to enable him to board his prize. A change of wind, which occurred just at the crisis of the fight, enabled Perry to get at the weather-side of the British ships, into which he poured such a deadly fire that, the officers being all killed or wounded, a third of the crew killed, and the vessels unmanageable^ the entire squadron of Barclay surrendered. Perry showed the courtesy due from one brave man to another, to Barclay, whom he released on parole. The defeat and loss of the ships was a severe blow to General Proctor, who was now compelled to retreat. Having destroyed the fortifi- cations of Amherstburg and Detroit, he now commenced his disastrous retreat. His army consisted of eight hundred and thirty men, with an auxiliary force of 1,200 Indians, under the chief Tecumseh. General Harrison followed in pursuit with three thousand men, among whom were included one thousand dragoons and mounted Kentucky riflemen. Near Chatham, Harrison overtook Proctor's rear guard, and captured all his stores and ammunition. The only resource for Proctor now was to try the fortune of a battle. The ground he chose seems to have been well selected. Those who have visited and examined the field will remember that at this point the river banks are steep, descending some twenty feet to the water. There is still a swamp among the remains of the woods a few hundred yards from the river. The intervening ground is now level and open ; it was then covered with lofty trees. Proctor's left wing was pro- tected by the river, and strengthened by a field-piece ; part of his centre and all the right wing were defended effectually b}'^ a swamp ; in the swamp, lurking in their usual manner behind trees, were a large body of Indians, with Tecumseh. The battle may be said to have begun and ended with a charge which General Harrison ordered to be instantly made by Colonel Johnson with the mounted Kentucky riflemen. To ordinary cavalry the The War of i8i2-'i5. 131 ground, swampy as it was, would have been most unfavourable'; but the Kentucky horsemen had been from boyhood accustomed to ride at full speed through the forests and swamps of their own state. They swept in full career on the British ranks before they had time to discharge a third volley. The soldiers, exhausted by forced marches and hunger, were no match for fresh troops, well supplied with everything, and flushed with Perry's recent victory. The battle was lost. Proctor fled ignominiously, as did his men, nor did either stop till they reached the shelter of iBurlington Heights. Meanwhile Tecumseh and his Indians kept up a galling fire from behind trees in the swamp. The American Colonel's horse was shot, and he fell with it to the ground. A chief, conspicuous for his plume of eagle's feathers, rushed forward, knife in hand, to scalp him. Johnson drew a pistol and shot the Indian dead. He believed that he had shot Tecumseh, but his having done so is, to say the least, very doubtful. It is certain, however, that Tecumseh was slain at the battle of the Thames, though his body, was never found. The site of the battle is now marked by the site of a house, opposite the Indian village of Moravian Town, and formerly, used as a tavern. It is now a farm house called the Red House. Proctor's force was scattered to the winds. Some two hundred and twenty, with the General, answered to their names next day at Burlington Heights. Harrison set fire to the village of the unoffending Christian Indians under care of the Moravians. It has since been rebuilt, and still retains its name, a reminiscence not to be set aside of the good work done among the Indians by the " Uiiitas Fratriiin." For his conduct on this occasion General Proctor was brought to a court martial, severely censured, and fined six months' pay. But in Lower Canada the British arms had more success. Colonel Taylor, with his gunboats manned by artillerymen from one of his regiments, attacked the American naval force on Lake Champlain, and in a fight closely contested on both sides, all but annihilated the American naval power on that lake. In the same campaign two victories took place, each of which more than compensated for the rout of Proctor's army at Moravian Town — the battles of Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm. On September 20th, 1813, the American General Hampton, with a well- equipped army of five thousand infantry and cavalry, advanced towards Montreal by a road leading through the village of Odelltown. There was Mien a forest swamp of about fifteen miles square, which Colonel DeSalaberry, with his corps of Voltigeurs, had during the year before rendered impracti- cable by abattis. On account of these obstructions, Hampton changed his direction westward by the banks of the Chateauguay River. Colonel De ■ "1 ) m •If' • 'M m \'H 132 Canada and the Canadian People. Salaberry took up a position with his small force of four hundred men in a thick wood on the banks of this river, constructinj:( breastworks of felled trees, and covering his front and right wing with an abattis; his left wing being sufficiently defended by the river. There was a small ford, which he com- manded with a breastwork outpost. He rightly judged that, at whatever odds, this point ought to be defended against an Invading enemy ; for it was the only position where a stand could advantageously be made, all the rest being open ground as far as the St. Lawrence. On October 24th, Hampton advanced with three thousand five hundred men, led by General Izard. He sent Colonel Purdy, with a brigade, to march by a detour and attack the British in the rear. But Purdy got lost in the woods, and did not arrive in time. De Salaberry placed his men in extended order along the breastwork in front of their line, with orders not to fire till he discharged his own rifle as a signal. The Americans advanced in open columns of sections to within musket shot, when De Salaberry gave the signal by firing his rifle, with which he brought down a mounted officer among the enemy's line. A hot fire was now poured into the dense columns of the Americans. Thej- wheeled into line and attempted to reply, without much effect. De Sala- berry now tried a ruse which Dr. Ryerson compares to Gideon's nise de guerre described in the Book of Judges. He stationed his buglers as far apart as possible, and ordered them to sound the advance. This caused a panic among Hamptons troops, who thought that large reinforcements were about to aid the British. At the same time Purdy had been encountered by two companies of De Salaberry's men, who completely routed his force. General Hampton, disconcerted at the failure of Purdy to execute his orders, and not daring, though with a force so immensely superior, to attack the breastwork and abattis with the bayonet, withdrew in good order. Thus did this gallant French Canadian soldier, with a force of less than four hundred, defeat an American army of several thousand strong. Well may Lower Canada be proud of De Salaberry's memory, and honour those who bear liis name at this day. Meantime, Wilkinson, with an army of nine thousand Americans, liad moved from Sackett's Harbour, intending to take Kingston, form a junction with Hampton, and march on Montreal. But finding that Kingston was now garrisoned by ten thousand men, under General De Rottenburg, he did not attack it, but carried his army in three hundred boats down the St. Lawrence. Within three miles of Prescott he landed on the American side, in order to avoid the British batteries at that place, while his fleet of barges passed them in the night. By this time a force of 800 regulars and militia, had been sent from ' '^ ' . 'Ml 1- 1 ' " ' I 1 J' ■ •' ;' I 1 i D AKCV M'GEE. ■ ill ii m The IVar of i8i2-'i5. 135 Kinfjston to follow Wilkinson's movements. On the loth of November this corps of observation came up with Boyd's division of Wilkinson's army, consistinfi of between three and four thousand men, at Chrysler's Point. The British took up a position, the right flank resting on the river, the left on a dense growth of pine wood. A general engagement took place, during which the British stood firm against a charge of an entire regiment of American cavalry, whom they met with a fire so hot that the cavalry were driven to retreat in confusion. At half-past four in the afternoon the entire American force withdrew from the field. Such was the battle of Chrysler's Farm, the most elaborate military display of the war. On the Niagara frontier, the American General, McClure, after ravaging the surrounding country, by the barbarous orders of Congress, set fire to the village of Newark (Niagara). The darkness of the night of December loth, 1813, was lit up by the flames of the burning houses, the women and children were turned, shelterless, upon the snow. Of course reprisals followed this outrage ; General' Riall surprised and gave to the flames the American towns of Buffalo and Lewiston, and the worst passions of warfare being now aroused, both armies marched torch in hand. The Assembly of Lower Canada which met in the next year (181 4) impeached several of Governor Craig's subordinates as having been accomplices in his unconstitutional acts, more especially in the mission of the spy and traitor, John Henry, through whose agency, before the war of 1 81 2, Craig had tried to sow disunion in some of the northern States. No definite result, however, followed. In the spring of 1814, Colonel Williams, with a force of 1,500 men, was attacked unsuccessfully by General Wilkinson with 4,000 Americans. The British General Drummond captured Oswego in May, but Commodore Yeo sustained a defeat in the same month, when endeavouring to cut out some boats laden with stores, at Sackett's Harbour. In the Niagara district, General Riall having been reinforced from Toronto, resolved to assume the offensive against General Brown in the neighbour- hood of Chippewa. Brown's force amounted to over 4,000. On July 25th, 1 814, the battle of Lundy's Lane was fought. At first the British were worsted, and their general, Riall was taken prisoner. But the arrival of General Drummond from Toronto with a force of 800 men turned the scale, and the Americans made a hasty retreat to Fort Erie. After the victory of the British at Toulouse and the abdication of Napoleon, troops could be spared for service in Canada, and 1,600 of Wellington's veterans were sent over. Sir George Prevost, however, disgracefully mismanaged the abundant means thus placed at his disposal. He attacked Plattsburg with 11,000 men, and after some idle manoeuvring withdrew before a force of 1,500 hiii* I ■•; > ' V 1 1 ■ •If, I ! ; " f ■"! t i.. ""P 136 Canada and the Canadian People. Americans. For this misconduct he was to have been tried by court martial, but death savod him from the disgrace it mif:fht have inflicted. In the Niagara district, (ienerai Brown compelled the Hritish General, Drumniond, to return to Burlington ^' 'ir^dits. Dnunmontl being supported by Commodore Yeo with a squadn Lake Ontario, compelled Brown to withdraw from Fort Erie, and to i irp beyond the river. On December 24th, 1H15, this weary and unnatural war ended by the Treaty of Ghent, and the sword drawn for fratricide was sheathed, never, God grant it, to be drawn again. I> '.'' I M' ^\: Jl Chapter XX. LOWER CANADA, FROM THK PEACE TO 1828. ^^ENERAL DRUMMOND succeeded Sir George Prevost as Governor of Lower Canada. He had been before this Governor of Upper Canada. He speedily got into disputes with the Asseniblj', on the old vexed (piestion of the impeachment of the judges, which the Prince Regent had ordered to be set aside. He was succeeded in July, 1816, bySirJohn Sherbrooke,whohad been Governor of Nova Scotia. He saw. iind reported to the English Ministers, the great need there was for a conciliatory policy, and the bitter animosity that was growing up between the Assembly and the Executive Council. In 181 7 the Assembly chose as its Speaker the rising young orator. Louis J. Papineau,son of the constitutionalist leader before the war. In the sane year the Bank of Montreal, the earliest bank in Canada, was established in Montreal ; and, soon afterwards, the Bank of Quebec in the older capital. In 1818 the Governor informed tho Assembly that he was instructed from England to apprise them that their former offer to undertake the civil list of the country was now accepted. This was a most welcome announce- ment to the popular head of the Legislature, who had long desired the control of the public expenditure. Sherbrooke, disgusted with the reluc- tance of the English Tory Government to permit needed reform, returned home, much regretted by the Lower Canadians. He was succeeded by the Duke of Richmond, a dissipated and spendthrift noble, who had often " heard the chimes at midnight " " with the wild Prince and Poins." A year afterwards, the Duke's eccentric career was closed by an attack of that terrible malady, hydrophobia, the result of the bite of a tame fox. The Duke broke from his attendants, and ran furiously along the banks of the little tributary of the Ottawa which flows through the village of Richmond. Arrived at the nearest house, the unhappy nobleman died in the village that bears his name, which he had purposed to make a consider- able town. ill '■% X38 Canada and flic Canadian People. In June, 1820, the Earl of Dalhousie came from Nova Scotia, where he had been Governor, to Canada, as Governor-in-Chief. A stormy session of the Legislature took place in 1821. Inquiry was demanded into the accounts of the Receiver-General of the Province, who was suspected of having appropriated large sums of public money. Exception was also taken to the iniquitous system of making lavish grants of Crown lands to the favourites of Government. As the Council and the Assembly could not agree on these points, no money was voted by the Assembly ir r the civil list. Meanwhile the Province advanced ; no such freedom, no such prosperity, had been known vmder the French regime, as no less a witness than M. Papineau was free to own in a speech from the hustings. Montreal steamers were numer- ous on the lakes and the St. Lawrence. The Lachine and Rideau canals gave a great impetus to trade. The first beginnings of Ottawa were being advanced by Colonel By. The lumber trade was beginning to reap its harvest of rafts from the hitherto useless forests. The Eastern Townships alone now held a population as large as that of all Canada at the Conquest. There now arose a project for the Union of the two Canadas, to which the French Canadians were bitterly opposed. They sent John Neilson and Loi.is J. Papineau to England with a petition against it, signed by sixty thou- sand French Canadians. A gross case of fraud and embezzlement was now clearly proved against the Receiver-General, John Caldwell. The Govern- ment had been guilty of the folly of screening him, and were compelled to bear the odium of liis crime. In June, 1824, Lord Dalhousie was succeeded by Sir Francis Burton, his Deputy, till 1S26, when Dalhousie returned. The dispute between the Frencli and English colonists, between the oligarchy of the Executive Council and the popular '\ssembly, went on year by year with wearisome iteration, Papineau being in the van of the malcontents. At last the Governor refused to recognize Papineau as Speaker, and declared that he could listen to no communication from the Assembly till it got itself legally constituted by electing a Speaker. The ever-recurring wrangle between the Government and the Assembly at last attracted notice in the British Parliament, and a Committee was appointed to consider the Lower Canada question. They met and decided every point in favour of the French Canadians. The Assembly ordered four hundred copies of their report to be printed and circulated through the country. ^1 - 1; ■ : , 1 Chaptkr XXI. \ . '.iiiin:' UPPER CANADA, FROM THE PEACE TO 1828, MMEDIATELY after the war, measures were taken by the British Government to send a stream of immigration mto Upper Can- ada. A large number of vahiable settlers came at this vime from Scotland. In 1816 an Act of the Upper Canada Parliament established Common Schools, the first of a seres of measures destined to culminate into the present Public School system which has attracted the admiration of European nations. With increased prosperity the people of Upper Canada began to have leisure to observe the working of the maciiinerj' of Government. Mi;cii dissatisfaction was caused by the promised lands not being given to the militia who had sei ved during the war. The Executive Government, too, was in the hands of a few influential men, for the most part connected more or less by family ties, who kept all offices, all emoluments, and well nigh all grants of land in their own hands, and about this time became known by the name which has such sinister association in Canadian History — that of the Family Compact. At this time Robert Gourlay, a Scotch immigrant who was desirous of becoming a land agent, bethought himself of the expedient of addressing a number of blank forms containing each tiiirty-two queries as to agricultural matters in eacli district. Unfortunately he added another query : "Wliat, in your opinion, most retards the improvement of your township in particular, or t!ie Province in general ?" This alarmed the Government, who were in the habit of conferring large grants of land on tiieir own favourites, a practice which tiiey well knew was injuring the Province. Gourlay began to be denounced as a republican and preacher of disloj'alty ; while on the other hand, the generality of the replies that poured into his hands denounced the Clergy Reserves as the bane of provincial improvement. Tlie Clergy Re^'erves, set apart as an endowment for a State Church, took from the jK-ople one-seventh of the Province of Upper Canada. They were \l' iik t^ 140 Canada and the Canadian People. f n not in one place, but scattered here and there all over the Province. For the most part, they were waste, and this deteriorated the value of adjoining property, by their paying no tax, and infesting the neighbourhood with the wild beasts they sheltered. Finding himself the object of unjust attack, Gourlay proposed to the people of Upper Canada to petition the Imperial Parliament for an investigation of the aflfairsof the Province. On the ground of a passage in a draft of this petition, prepared by Gourlay, a prosecution was entered against him on a charge of libel. He was imprisoned for six months in Kingston gaol, but when tried was acquitted. He had every chance of becoming a popular leader, when he offended the Assembly by proposmg to assemble a rival body, "the Convention ; " and so lost popu- larity. The Family Compact were then able to hunt iiim down unhindered. A creature of their own basely swore that Gourlay was a seditious person. He was ordered to quit the country, and not doing so, was thrown into a cell at the old jail of Niagara whence he wrote some telling attacks on the Family Compact Government in the Niagara Spectator. But ill- usage and prolonged incarceration told on his health. He became almost insane, and after being brought to trial, and condemned, was allowed to quit the coimtry, where he owned a ':onsiderable tract of land. Thirty-five jears later an old man whom no one knew visited tiie villages and farms on what had once been Gourlay's estate. It was Robert Gourlay himself, come to reclaim his land. The squatters, great or small, were compelled to come to terms with him. In 1822 he published his book on Canada. It is full of bombast and ill-temper, but contains much valuable information for those who wish to picture to themselves the state of things in this Province during the palmy daj's of the Family Compact. Maitland, the Lieutenant- Governor, had completely identified himself with that party, and his unfair dealings with poor Gourlay made him more impopular than any previous Governor. Notwithstanding misgovernment. Upper Canada was now more flourishing than ever, with a population of 120,000. In consequence of this, there was an increase of representation in the Assemblj-. Five new mem- bers were added to the Legislative Council, bj' far the most remarkable and influential of whom Tvas the Rev. John Strachan, who afterwards became the first Church of England bishop of Toronto. This noteworthy personage made his first appearance in Canada as private tutor in the household of the late Richard Cartwright, of Rockwood, near Kingston, at a salarj- of fifty pounds a year. From this he was promoted to be teacher of the District school at the village of Cornwall, where he married a widow with some money. Young Strachan had been i)red a Presbyterian, but Presby- terianism at that time in Canada meant poverty. The Church of England Upper Canada from the Peace to 1828. 141 was the Church of the Family Compacf magnates, and to minister at its altars insured good pay and admission to the best society. So John Strachan threw aside his dislike to the "rags of popery," and the " kist o' whustles," and without difficulty was ordained. He became an extreme advocate of political absolutism and religious intolerance, and to the end of his long life hated non-episcopalian Protestantism with intense bitterness. In 1823, a new subject of contention arose between the Legislative Council and the Assembly, in consequence of the attempts of the Family Compact to set aside the election of Marshall Spring Bidwell, for Lennox and Addington. On one pretence or other they were successful for ihe time, and their creature, one G. Ham, was declared elected, but Bidwell was soon afterwards returned, and became Speaker of the Assembly. The Family Compact made themselves odious in every way. The Assembly, in 1823, passed a law enabling Methodist ministers to solemnize marriage, but the Upper House, acting under Dr. Strachan's influence, threw it out. On the 18th of May, 1824, the first trumpet note of reform was sounded in the publication of The Colonial Advocate of William Lyon Mackenzie. This remarkable man was the son of a poor Highland family of Perthshire. His grandfather had fought with the Cavalier Prince at Culloden, after which he had escaped with him to France. Young Mackenzie came to Canada in 1820, and for some time kept a small drug store in Toronto. The first few numbers of his paper showed a vigour and command of sarcasm hitherto unknown in Canadian journalism. It was eagerly read by the great body of the people in Upper Canada, and in proportion aroused the bitter hatred of the Family Compact ; for Mackenzie designated the Legislative Council as the "tools of a servile power," pointed out the injustice of o le church monopolising a seventh part of the Province, and freely criticised the unjust imprisonment of Gourlay. In 1826, the hatred of the Family Compact against Mackenzie rose to such a pitch that a mob of well-dressed rioters broke into the printing office in Mackenzie's absence, wrecked the printing machines, and threw the type into the lake. This outrage was almost openly sanctioned by the Family Compact. But Mac- kenzie was not to be thus suppressed. He sued the rioters, and gained his case, with £625 damages, and costs. Of course Mackenzie now became more popular than ever, and in 1828 ras elected to the Assembly for the county of York by a large majority. Meanwhile in Lower Canada discontent and ill-feeling became worse and worse, though the colony continued to flourish. In 1826, McGill College, Montreal, received a chartei-, and in 1828, a petition signed by 87,000 of the French Canadians, was sent by their delegates to the Imperial m iki''- (i ^ t 142 Canada and the Canadian People. Parliament, a committee of which recommended that its prayer should be granted, and the whole of the revenue be placed under the control of the Lower Canada Parliament. Lord Dalhousie was now recalled, and Sir James Kempt, formerly Governor of Nova Scotia, was sent to succeed him, charged with a mission of reconciliation. He confirmed the election of Papineau as Speaker, called into the Council representatives of the popular part}', and in 1829, raised the representation of Lower Canada from fifty members to eighty-four. In 1830, Kempt was succeeded by Lord Aylmer. In the same year, the entire control of the revenue was assigned to the Provincial Legislature. The property of the Jesuits, long the subject of dispute, was now definitely made over for educational purposes. In 1832, a terrible outbreak of Asiatic Cholera- passed over Canada, from a ship at the quarantine station on the St. Lawrence. A second visit of the same pest took place in the summer of 1834. By this time the popular party, kindled into enthusiasm by the fervent harangues of Papineau, began to dream of an independent Republic. Constitutional clubs were formed, and a convention was held. The Assembly also appointed the late Mr. Roebuck as their representative in the Imperial Parliament, where he was of the utmost service to Canada in explaining the tyranny of the execu- tive of Lower Canada, which, unless it were abolished, he affirmed, would drive the colony into insurrection. T^Mripi: Chapter XXII. 1 , CANADA ON THE EVE OF REBELLION. IR JOHN COLBORNE succeeded tlie unpopular Maitland in Upper Canada. When Parliament met, it was found that the Assembly consisted almost entirely of Reformers. Mackenzie was perpetually harassing the Family Compact Executive by asking all kinds of awkward .questions, no less than by hiseloquent advo- cacy of the Assembly's right to control all the revenues of the Province. For, with the growth of prosperity in the colony, the territorial revenues which were still retained by Government had increased so much that the executive had now a civil list of their own, and were inde- pendent of the popular branch of the Legislature. It will be observed that the grievances objected to by the Reform party in Upper and Lower Canada were the same, but it would be untrue to conclude that the political aims of Reformers in the two Provinces were identical. Both complained of the tyranny of the irresponsible executive ; and both wished the Legislature to have full control of the public revenue. But while the Upper Canada Reformers desired, as the result of a radical change in these respects, the equality of all citizens irrespective of creed or race, those of Lower Canada wished to get power into their own hands in order to tighten the bonds of race and creed exclusiveness, to isolate themselves more com- pletely in their Provincial-French nationality, to exclude from equal share of power and place those English-speaking settlers in Quebec and Montreal who had waked the slow-going old colony into active industrial life, but whom the Canadian sneered at as aliens and intruders. It would be an abuse of language to call Papineau and his followers " Liberal." A new member of the Assembly who had been elected to represent Toronto now began to exert considerable influence. His father, Dr. Baldwin, had left his native Cork in the heat of the troubles of 1798, and some time after his arrival in Canada had come to Toronto, near which lie built a house called by the name Spadina, a name still preserved by 1 Vf I. 144 Canada and the Canadian People, the stately avenue which stretches its broad highway from Knox College to the lake. Dr. Baldwin practised law as well as medicine, a union of several professions, not uncommon in those primitive times of Toronto's history. Dr. William Baldwin did not seem to be of aristocratic family, or to be received as such by the exclusive coterie of the Family Compact. His first venture in Toronto was that of a private schoolmaster. It is probable that his exclusion from what were then regarded as the aristocratic circles of the capital of English Canada deter- mined Dr. Baldwin's mind in the direction of that Liberalism afterwards so ably advocated by his celebrated son. But by the death of the Hon. Peter Russell, a large estate, in what is now western Toronto, fell into the hands of his sister, a maiden lady, who thought fit to bequeath it to Dr. Baldwin, who then became a rich man and a person of consequence. Like most parvenus, he seemed to be bent on " founding a family," and resolved that " there should be forever a Baldwin of Spadina." The original house thus grandiloquently desc;ribed stood on the corner of Spadina Avenue and Oxford Street. Having been built before the property was laid out, it stood with the gable end to the street. The son of this gentleman, Robert Baldwin, commanded general respect by his unimpeach- able integrity and honesty of purpose, no less than by his political good sense, which, while it made him side with the Reform party on all the main issues, preserved him from " the falsehood of extremes," and the Reformers of Upper Canada were now beginning to form into two distinct camps. On the one side, were the moderate men who were determined, come what would, to seek their constitutional aims by constitutional means. Of these Robert Baldwin was now the recrgnized leader. The other section of the Reform party was led by Mackenzie, whose influence was great, especially all through the county of York, and through most part of the counties of Brant and Oxford. Indeed, the farmer population generally, with the exception of the Orangemen, now a factor of some influence in the com- munity, and the Anglican Church people, were assiduous readers of the Colonial Advocate, and sympathizers with Mackenzie. Meanwhile, the stream of immigrants continued to pour into Canada. A large number of Catholic Irish settled in Peterborough and the central part of Upper Canada. These, as a rule, favoured the Reform party. Many Ulster Protestants also took up land, sturjjy and thrifty colonists, whose love of constitutional freedom inclined them to join the moderate Reformers, while the hatred they had learned to feel for the Irish " rebels," kept them thoroughly in the groove of loyalty. The population of Upper Canada in 1S31 had reached a quarter of a million. At the election of Canada on the Eve of Rebellion. 145 1830 the Family Compact exerted every influence that a large corruption fund placed at their disposal to secure a majority of their own supporters in the Assembly. Their tactics were successful. Mackenzie moved a resolution that the House ought to nominate its own chaplain, instead o.f liaving the choice of the Executive forced upon them. But the Assembly, by a three-fourths vote, refused to allow the motion, and the I'amily Com- pact Attorney-General, Boulton, compared the claim that the House should appoint its own chaplain to the conduct of a street assassin, to which rabid insult the Assembly tamely submitted. Mackenzie then moved for a committee of inquiry into the state of legislative representation in the Pro- vince of Upper Canada. It was bad indeed, a House packed with Family Compact officials, the mere creatures and mouthpieces of the Executive Council. Mackenzie's unanswerable exposure of the corruption of the existing system so alarmed the House that they consented to his motion for inquiry amid applause from the public in the gallery of the House. But Mackenzie would not stop there ; pension lists, fees, sinecurists, salaries, money abuses of all kinds so rife in that Augean stable of corruption, the Family Compact Government, were attacked and exposed in speeches whose scathing common sense struck home and were carried broadcast over the Province in the columns of the Colonial Advocate. At last, driven to des- pair, the Family Compact resolved to crush the man whom they could not answer. A committee headed by Allan MacNab, the Attorney-General, endeavoured to impeach Mackenzie for breach of privilege, but their case broke down. Mackenzie now continued to spread the agitation for Reform all through the Province. He spoke to excited multitudes in Gait, in Cornwall, and Brockville. His success in rousing the people's mind was great, even in the heart of such Family Compact centfes as Brockville and the Talbot settlement. He now prepared a petition in Toronto, asking that the Assembly might have full control of the public revenues and of the sale of public lands ; that the clergy reserves might be secularized ; that municipal councils might be established ; that the right to impeach public officials might be conceded ; that judges and clergymen might be excluded from Parliament ; and the law of primogeniture repealed. To this petition 25,000 signatures were appended. All that Mackenzie asked has long been part of the law of Canada. We scarcely realize the benefits of our free institutions, because we take them, like light and air, as a matter of course. It is well to remind ourselves of what we owe to those who struggled in the bitterness of patient battle, not fifty years ago, against corruption en- trenched in power. But the Family Compact, having now secured a majority of its own creatures in the Assembly, resolved to make use of it to 10 •,m. \ I 146 Canada and the Canadian People. ■1 *• I crush their enemy. Some pungent and not very judicious strictures on the Assembly's reception of petitions from the people were, by a vote of the House, construed as a libel. By another vote Mackenzie was expelled from the Assembly. In the debate on this question Attorney-General Boulton called Mackenzie "a reptile," and Solicitor-General Hagerman compared him to a spaniel dog. Mackenzie rose to the height of his popularity ; petition after petition poured in to the Governor entreating him to dissolve the cor- rupt Assembly. On the day of Mackenzie's dismissal nine hundred and thirty of those who had signed the petition waited on the Governor to receive his reply. It was given in two or three curt, contemptuous words. The troops were ready armed, artillery men stood beside the loaded can- non, prepared, at a moment's notice, to sweep the streets with grapeshot. It was well that the crowd of Canadian Reformers was perfectly orderly, as the chivalrous English Governor was fully prepared for the massacre of men, women and children within range of his guns. But the Assembly now attempted to bid for popularity ; they voted an address to the Crown, praying that the clergy reserves might be secularized for the purpose of education. They then issued the writs for York Count)% but Mackenzie was returned by acclamation. Again they expel'ed him from the Assembly; again he was triumphantly returned. In 1832 Mickenzie went to England with his petition. In 1834 the Lower Canadians embodied their grievances in the famous " ninety-two resolutions," chiefly drawn up by Papineau. The effect of these on the Imperial Parliament was to appoint a committee who reported that the successive Governors had done their duty ; that the troubles in Lower Canada were due to the quarrels between the two Houses of the Legislature. This was to shelve the diiificulty, and it was now evident that the Lower Canadian Reformers^ would, sooner or later, revolt. In 1835 Lord Aylmer was succeeded by the Earl of Gosford, but he did not pro- duce more effect than his predecessors on the heated passions of the P>ench. Papineau, who aspired to be the Mirabeau of Lower Canada, was, for the moment, all powerful. In 1837 it became evident that the revolt was inevi- table. Gosford learned that Papineau was organizing societies for the pur- pose of insurrectionary drill, and applied to Sir Colin Campbell, Governor of Nova Scotia, for a regiment, which was accoidingly sent. Meanwhile, throughout the country parishes, drilling and arming went on openly. But the priesthood, whom the abolition of the Catholic Church by the French revolutionists had taught to hate the name of Republic, were frightened at Papineau's republican projects. He had provoked the opposition of a power whose hold on the French Canadian peasant was mightier than his own. Canada on the Eve of Rebellion. H7 The first collision with the authorities took place in Montreal, where a republican society, called the " Sons of Liberty," were attacked while walking in procession. They were easily put to flight, and warrants were issued for the arrest of Papineau and twenty-six other leaders. Papineau sought shelter at the house of one of his Parliamentary colleagues. Dr. Wolfred Nelson, in the heart of the disaffected district. General Colborne, determining to check the insurrection at the outset, sent Colonel Gore, a Waterloo veteran, to attack St. Denis with a force of two hundred infantry, a troop of militia cavalry, and three field pieces. ■f,!,' vi: T j m m j ■ ' i Chapter aXIII. REVOLT. R. WOLFRED NELSON had for many years practised medi- cine in and around St. Denis. He spoke the language and thoroughly understood the character of his French neighbours. Considerable professional skill, freely exerted without pay or reward for all the poor among the habitants, had made him for years past exceedingly popular. He was elected to the Assembly, and there followed the leadership of Papineau, with whose republicanism he sympathized. Early intelligence was, of course, brought to him by the habitants of Colonel Gore's approach. Nelson had seen service as military surgeon during the late war, and had sufficiently the courage of his opinions to resolve on active resistance. Not so Papineau. The Mirabeau of Mon- treal had not a particle of the pluck that gave backbone to the somewhat bizarre eloquence of the Mirabeau of the great Revolution. He left his fol- lowers to their fate and made an inglorious retreat to the States. Mean- while Nelson rang the village tocsin, and the aroused habitants came flock- ing to its summons. Nelson stationed his men at the windows and loop holes of a large stone building, and at those of two others wherever a flanking fire could be directed on an attacking force. When Colonel Gore arrived he attacked Nelson's position from ten in the morning till four in the afternoon. But his one gun could make no impression on the thick- stone walls. He could not take the building by storm, his own men w^ere being shot down, and at last he was forced to spike and abandon his field piece, and retreat as best he could. This victory, the only marked success of the revolt of 1837, was gained on November 23rd. But at St. Charles, though the insurgents were in far greater force, they were badly led, and fell an easy prey to Colonel Wetherell, who had been sent with a strong force to attack the place. With the exception of a raid by American sym- pathizers, across the border, this was the last of the revolt in 1837. It is pleasant to record that Dr. Nelson, who had shown the greatest kindness Revolt. 149 to Colonel Gore's wounded soldiers, left on his hands, succeeded in escap- ing to the States, whence, in calmer times, he returned to his home in St. Denis. But next year a second insurrection took place in Lower Canada, led by a brother of Dr. Nelson. It was soon suppressed. Both insurrec- tions were severely avenged by gallows and torch. Numbers of men were hanged with scant form of trial, and the darkness of the December night, in the parishes of St. Denis and St. Charles, were lit up by blazing home- steads and barns. In Upper Canada, Colborne had been superseded at his own request, and was succeeded by Sir Francis Bond Head, a half-pay Major and an in- dustrious writer of second-rate magazine articles. This vain and self- opinionated officer was sent out with instructions to pursue a policy of con- ciliation, which he at first attempted to carry out by appointing three Re- formers, Rolph, Baldwin, and Dunn, to the Executive Council. But he never consulted these gentlemen, and they soon resigned in disgust. At the elections of June, 1836, the Family Compact put forth all their apparatus of corruption, and again secured a subservient majority in the Assembly. By this time the easily-flattered Governor was completely won over by the blandishments of the Family Campact clique. It was evident to Mackenzie that there was no hope in constitutional agitation, to wb'ch 'le and his fol- lowers had adhered while the faintest hope of fair-play remained. All which will be told at more length in the following chapter. v^'^I V it ..ilf' ■'"lii*'' 1 it- iii; T\y r/pn 1^*^ I 'j m .■ 1 cr Canadian movement was ported by the great mass of English 1 French Canada. The latter move- ort, for it was from the first under the Canadian is a Cathoii>. first, a patriot The Civil War. 151 programme which came very near being successful. The French revolt under Papineau never could have been a success. Its solitary success ih the field was gained under the English-speaking leader, Dr. Wolfred Nelson. Nor is the movement of 1837 to be confounded with the raids at Navy Island, at Amherstburgh, and at Prescott in tiie succeeding year, which were mere filibustering expeditions, for which no justification whatever is admissible. It is clear that Sir Francis Bond Head was sent to Canada on what was intended to be a mission of conciliation. He bore the reputation of holding Liberal, or rather Whig opinions ; he had been a zealous official as Assistant Poor Law Commissioner, in Kent ; he was chiefly known to the public as the author of several magazine articles describing his personal adventures, and written in a garrulous, egotistical, but good-humoured tone. His utter ignorance, frankly avowed in his narrative of his official career, of Canadian politics, was not likely to be regarded as a disqualifica- tion by his English superiors, it being then the custom for English insular officialism to ignore colonial interests. Sir Francis Head arrived at Toronto in January, 1836, and was greeted with inscriptions covering the fences on King Street of " Welcome to Sir Francis Head, the tried Reformer!" The "tried Reformer" soon showed the cloven hoof of partisanship. In reply to an address adopted at a public meeting of the citizens of Toronto, he snubbed the addressers as of inferior capacity, and requiring to be addressed "in plainer and more homely language," words which naturally gave much dissatisfaction. Head's manner, as he met the members of the Legislature, was also discourteous and haughty. A reply to the Lieutenant-Governor's official insolence was drawn up by Drs. Rojph and O'Grady. " We thank Your Excellency," it began, " for replying to our address, principally from the industrious classes of the city, with as much attention as if it had proceeded from either branch of the Legislature; and we are duly sensible in receiving Your Excellency's reply, of your great condescension in endeavouring to express yourself in plainer and more homely language, presumed by Your Excellency to be thereby brought down to the lower level of our plainer and more homely under- standings." The rejoinder, then deplored, with sarcastic humility, the deplorable neglect of their education, resulting from the misgovernment of King's College University, and the veto imposed by the Executive Govern- ment on the popular Assembly's resolutions that the Clergy Reserves should be applied to the needs of public education. This able document proceeded to recite other grievances, and concluded with what, according - ' . ^ • r - t I i \ ^ 152 Canada and the Canadian Pcofylc. hi to Mr. Charles Lindsey, "William Lyon Mackenzie, in a manuscript note he has left, calls the ' first low murmur of insurrection.' " " If Your Excellency will not govern us upon those principles, you will exercise arbitrary sway, you will violate our charter, virtually abrogate our law, pud justly forfeit our submission to your authority," ran the reply. The able and sarcastic rejoinder was left by James Leslie and Jesse Ketchum at the door of Government House, and its bearers were whirled out of sight before the irate Lieutenant-Governor could discover who thej' were. In one of his outbursts of undignified fury he sent the paper to Mr. George Ridout, a member of a distinguished Toronto family, whose name did not even appear among the signers. It was at once returned to Sir Francis bj^ Mr. Ridout. But the rejoinder was already in print, and in the hands of every member of the Legislature. But Head had not proceeded thus far without some >how of efforts to carrj' out his mission of conciliation. The Tory leaders had at first regarded Sir Francis with distrust on accou . of his presumed Reform tendencies. On this account, according to Sir Francis Head's own statement — no very reliable authority, as he repeatedly contradicts himself — he was more ready to make overtures to the popular side. He induced three of the popular leaders to accept office in his Executive Council, the Hons. John Rolph, John Henry Dimn and Robert Baldwin. But these gentlemen, finding that they were never consulted by Sir Francis, and that thus *hey were made responsible for measures which they had never advised, soon after- wards resigned. Hence Sir Francis threw himself into the arms of the Family Compact, and ruled avowedly as an Irresponsible Governor. . Soon after this the Lieutenant-Governor appointed four new members of the Executive Council, all members of the extreme Tory faction, one being the clever renegade, Robert Baldwin Sullivan. This heightened the people's indignation, the Assembl}' declared its entire want of confidence in the men whom Sir Francis had called to his Councils. A petition from Pickering, where the Reform party were ably led by Peter Matthews, protested against British subjects being reduced by tlie Lieutenant- Governor to a state of vassalage, aiid demanded the dismissal of tiie new Councillors. Other petitions to the same eff"ect poured in from other town- ships. In eff"ect Sir Francis Head now regarded the people of English Canada as belonging to two classes, the " loj'al " — i.e., those wlio supported the irresponsible executive in all its monopolies and the " rebels " — who demanded responsible govenmient — all of whom were put down by Sir Francis Head as " traitors and republicans." Yet in reality it was the HON. GEORGE BROWN. u Lie in si had the of 1 dist hea can Gle the subi was the Haj ridii sup] beyc supi inte; siihj by 1 intei had seen eleci nnd( of fc of tl cane righl the I It wi coun wish "Re] abov by ai The Civil War. 155 Lieutenant-Governor himself who was the " rebel/' if disloyalty to the instructions of his English superiors can be so described. Lord Glenelg had sent a despatch in which he instructed Sir Francis Bond Head that in the British American Provinces the Executive Councils should he composed of individuals possessing the confidence of the people. In despite of these distinct instructions from the English Government, his masters, this addle- headed Governor persisted in treating as " rebels " all who desired to carry into effect the very system of responsible government which Lord Glenelg had charged him with the duty of establishing in Canada. But the British Colonial Office had yet to find out that they had to deal with a subordinate who had no notion of subordination, and whose only guide was his own over-weening restless vanity. The able men who directed the Family Compact counsels, men such as Strachan, Robinson, Powell, Hagerman and Sullivan, soon took the measure of the conceited little riding-master, and flattered him into the notion that it was his mission to suppress " democracy." Head's next step was to dissolve the House, which was now completely beycnd his control, and to issue writs for a general election. He had the supreme self-conceit to write to his superior, Lord Glenelg, telling him of his intention, and actually requesting that no orders might be sent him on that subject. To the English Colonial Office he reported his policy as supported by the loyal inhabitants of Canada, and entreated that he might not be interfered with in carrying it out. For the moment these representations had weight at the Foreign Office, more especially as Head's account of things seemed confirmed soon afterwards by the success of his party at the general elections of 1836. It is of the utmost importance that we obtain a thorough and clear understanding of the fact that at the general election of 1836, the agencies of force and fraud were openly and unblushingly used to exclude members of the Reform party, and to compel or bribe 'constituencies to choose Tory candidates. The Canadian constitution was virtually abrogated, by the right of electing their representatives being wrested out of the hands of the people. It was this that made the crisis of December, 1837, inevitable. It was this that made civil war a sacred duty to all who were loyal to their country. Of this fact of the utter unconstitutionality of the elections of 1836, I wish to give the reader clear proofs. Lord Durham states in his famous "Report," an authority whose truthfulness is admitted by the parties to be above suspicion, that " in a number of instances the elections were carried by an unscrupulous exercise of the mfluence of the Government, and by a I I5b Canada and the Canadian People. I display of violence on the part of the Tories, who were emboldened by the countenance afforded them by Government ; that such facts and such impressions produced in the country an exasperation and a despair of good government which extended far beyond those who had actually been defeated at the polls." The Tories raised an enormous corruption fund, grants of land were freely issued to those who would vote on the side of Government. In the North Riding of the County of York a set of lots at 111,, mouth of the Credit Valley River were distributed during the election. It was well known that the great banking company, the Bankof Upper Canada, was at that time nothing more or less than a corruption machine, holding in Irust large sums of money to be used in bribing the electors. It was no secret in Family Compact circles that about a month before the elections of 1836 the manager of the Bank sent for Attorney-General Hagerman, and that the cashier handed to him a large bundle of notes due to the Bank, at the same time giving him explicit instructions to be very lenient with every voter in York County who would pledge himself to vote against Mac- kenzie, but to " put on the screws " in the case of any who refused to pledge themselves. The Tories could not control public opinion. The unbiased elections of twenty years had made that plain enough. But they could, and they did hire mobs of drunken ruffians armed with guns, stones and bludgeons, to overawe the electors. At Streetsville, the polling-place for the newly formed Second Riding of York County, the path of Mackenzie's friends was barred by a procession of Orangemen, w'th banners displayed and bands braying forth their party tunes. The refusal of scrutiny into election proceedings in many another case by the corrupt Parliament thus elected has hidden from record in how many another constituency the Tory Lords of misrule led forth their hired gladiators infuriate with loyalty and whiskey. There was many a polling-place where it was risking life to vote for a Reformer. At the head and front of these outrages on the constitution stood the conceited and unprincipled Lieutenant-Governor. He openly avowed him- self a partisan. He as openly denounced the Reformers. He stumped the country. He has been praised for the dexterity with which he threw himself into the role of an agitator, for his appeals to spread-eagle " loyal " senti- mentality, his bunkum stump oratory about the "glorious old flag of England," his ridiculous anti-climax, " let them come if they dare," to an iiuaginary enemy, in the name of militia regiments, not one of which had he common-sense to embody for the defence of his Government when it was threatened by a serious danger. But all this, justly regarded, is but the stock in trade of a political charlatan, without common sense as lie was mm^m The Civil War. 157 without principle, his ever restless self-conceit exulting in a little brief notoriety. None of Head's predecessors would have stooped to such a course, though some of them, such as Sir John Colborne and Sir Peregrime Maitland, were deeply attached to Tory principles. But they were high- minded English gentlemen. Head, whose real name was Mendez, had not a particle of right to the respectable English name he bore. His true surname was that of his grandfather, IMoses Mendez, the descendant of a Portuguese Jew, a quack doctor who had settled in England some genera- tions before. What has been said will, it is to be hoped, enable the reader to realize the iniquities practised by the Tories at the election of 1836. The constitution of Canada was gone, the elective principle was a thing of the past, hope of constitutional remedy there was none. Well might Samuel Lount, the late member for Simcoe, when asked why he did not appeal to the House for an investigation of the corrupt practices by which it was patent that he had been unseated, reply : " it would be only throwing away ;^ioo ; the present Parliament would give it against me all the same." To complain of bribery before the tribunal of the House would be to challenge immorality before a jury of prostitutes. Well might Mackenzie, in his address to the Second Riding of York, express his despair of redress by constitutional methods. " I have been diligent in the Legisla- ture; every proposition calculated to make you ho ppier I have supported ; and whatever appeared to me to be against popu ar government and the interests of the many, I have opposed, please or affect whom it might. The result is against you ; you are nearer having saddled on ^ou a dominant priest- hood ; your public and private debt is greater ; the public improvement^ made by Government are of small moment ; the priests of the leading denominations have swallowed bribes like a sweet morsel ; the principle that the Executive should be responsible to the people is denied 3'ou ; the means to corrupt our electors are in the hands of the adversaries of popular insti- tutions, and they are using them ; and although an agent has been sent with the petitions of the House of Assembly to the King and House of Commons, 1 dare not conceal from you my fears that the power tliat has oppressed Ireland for centuries will never extend its sympathies to you." The fiery orator little foresaw the day when both political parties in the freely-elected Parliament of Canada would unite their forces to petition the British Gov- ernment to extend to unhappy Ireland the system of Home Rule and Responsible Government under which Canada has thriven so well. But truly, at that time the outlook was dark indeed ; all constitutional landmarks were effaced, every vestige of electoral freedom was trampled under the hoof of oligarchy. Dominie Strachan's State church dominant ; the night-birds i t ) ,1 158 Canada and tlic Canadian People. of Tory corruption jubilant over the land ! There remained but a pale hope of redress in answer to petition, and what beyond? Mackenzie's last words were ominous enough : " If the reply be unfavourable, as I am apprehensive it will, then the Crown will have forfeited all claim upon British freemen in Upper Canada, and the result is not difficult to foresee. '♦' jiiii Chapter XXV. THE CIVIL WAR— CONTINUED. HE Reform party of Englisli Canada, hitherto describabie in scientific lanj^uaf^e as " homogeneous," now became " difler- entiated " into two distinct elements, those who still clung to constitutional methods, and the revolutionists. Many a staunch advocate of Reform principles sided with the former. In Toronto the Scotch shrewdness of James and William Lesslie, the mild wisdom of Robert Baldwin, impelled them to take the consti- tutional side. It is true that these men were denounced as "rebels" by Head and his colleagues, and that they suffered insult during the brief hour of the Tory terror. For instance, Mr. James Lesslie, still happily surviving in the city, had his offices occupied by a lawless gang of militia soldiers, who stole and destroyed everything within their rerxh. On the other side, that of revolution, were the most resolute leaders of the Reform party, prominent among whom was William Lyon Mackenzie. He had early been inured to poverty, and had all through boyhood been taught a daily lesson of unselfishness and self-help by the example of his widowed mother. He had received the usual excellent education of the primary kind obtainable in a Scottish public school. But the latter part of Mackenzie's mental training was self-given. He had the advantage of study- ing thoroughly a few good books. He read the Bible, Shakespeare, Milton ; then Plutarch's Lives, Rollin, and a few of Robertson's now forgotten his- tories, and these were the staple of his mental equipment for life. As a public speaker he had in a pre-eminent degree that power of carrying with him a large audience which is apt to follow from intense earnestness on the part of the speaker. His speeches are remarkable for an almost total lack of rhetorical ornament. They contain powerful passages, but these result from the intense convictions which form themselves into forcible expres- sion, and " form thick and fast the burning words the tyrants quake to hear." J t_ i 1 60 Canada and the Canadian People. Next in weight of character to Mackenzie came Marshall Spring Bid- well, he of the noble intellect and stainless life, statesman, orator, jurist, but above all Christian and gentleman. Born in Massachusetts, while it was still an English colony, Bidwell in early boyhood lived at Bath, near King- ston. It has been distinctly proved that never at any time did Bidwell overtly connect himself with the revoluionists, though it is pretty certain that he approved of their aims, and that he, on at least one occasion, advised them as to the legality of their proceedings. Though fearless in his opposition to evil, Marshall Spring Bidwell was moderate and discreet in word and action ; he was one of the most impressive speakers on the Reform side in the Assembly, and had a singularly clear and expressive voice. For many-sided talent it may be doubtful if any of the leaders of i836-'37, was the equal of the Hon. John Rolph. An Englishman of good education, Rolph was for some time settled on Colonel Talbot's estate, and according to Colonel Ermatinger was a special favourite with that eccentric old warrior till their political opinions separated them. Rolph began, like the first of the I^aldwin settlers, to practise law, and was equally distin- guished as a physician. As an orator the few specimens that remain of Dr. Rolph's Parliamentary speeches rank with the best Canada can boast of. In consequence of a quarrel that took place between Mackenzie and Rolph, subsequent to 1837, those who side most warmly with the former aje apt to undervalue Rolph's services to the revolutionary cause. After careful enquiry I can see no just evidence against Dr. Rolph. He certainly staked everything on the perilous game then about to be played. He knew that whoever else might escape, he certainly coidd not hope to escape the unfor- giving hatred of the Tory chiefs whose dearest plans his sarcastic oratory had thwarted so often. Dr. Rolph was singularly successful in his profes- sion, and succeeded in attracting the warm affection of the young men with whom he came into contact as their teacher. His features were pleasing, his figure tall and commanding, and up to the day of his flight from Toronto no one was more trusted by those bent on a revolt. Dr. Thomas D. Morrison, physician and member of Parliament, was another influential member of the revolutionary organization. He was a cautious, reticent man, a good speaker on political matters, and exceedingly influential with his party. Samuel Lount, formerly member for Simcoe, had gained much influence among the farmers in the northern part of York County, especially in the neighbourhood ot Holland Landing, where he resided. He combined with farming the business of blacksmithing, could make excellent horse shoes, 1 The Civil War Continued. i6i and if need be, pike-heads also. An honest, affectionate, generous man, a kind husband and father, mucli beloved of all men, he had been deprived of his seat for Simcoe by the unconstitutional outrages of Head and his Tory abettors. David Gibson, a land surveyor, and member of the Assembly, had a house on Yonge Street, at which Mackenzie's friends frequently met in council. The same may be said of the home of James Hervey Price, which was situated in the same neighbourhood. The city meetings were generally convened at the large brewery owned by Mr. John Doel, on the north-west corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets. Part of this building is still standing (1884) and is used as a planing mill. Mr. Doel was much respected by men of all political opinions. Even Dr. Scadding, a pronounced though never uncharitable Loyalist, admits that in giving what comfort he could to the persecuted insurgents of 1837, Mr. Doel did himself honour. It was at this brewery that the first overt steps were taken towards forming a revolutionary organization. Here a meeting of Reformers was held on July 28th, 1837, at which a resolution was passed which was afterwards known as the " Declaration of Independence of Upper Canada." This important docmnent (as we learn from Mr. C. Lindsey's " Life of William Lyon Mackenzie," Vol. II. p. 17) had been previously drawn up mainly by Dr. Rolph, at Elliott's tavern, at the corner of Yonge and Queen Streets. Its main features were a pledge to make common cause with the French Canadian Reformers, and "to summon a convention of delegates at Toronto, to take into consideration the political condition of Upper Canada, with authority to its members to appoint commissioners to meet others to be received on behalf of Lower Canada and any other colonies, armed with suitable powers to seek an effectual remedy for the grievances of the colonists." From this first measure towards revolution, it is evident that the thoughts of those who planned it were already moving in the direction of. a Union of the Provinces. A lack of statesmanlike insight as to the con- dition of the French, as compared with the English colonists, is apparent in the reliance placed on Papineau's frothy gasconades as a permanent political force. At the Brewery meeting of July 31st, a permanent vigilance committee was appointed, of which Mackenzie was to be agent and corresponding secretary. He was to hold meetings in various parts of Upper Canada, and organize branch vigilance societies which were to be so organized as to be easily available for militarj' purposes. Each society was to count not less than twelve, or more than forty members, as far as possible residents in II 1 62 Canada and the Canadian People. i the same neighbourhood. The secretaries of five of these societies were to form a township committee. Ten of the township committees were each to choose a representative to form a county committee, and these again were to elect a district committee, Upper Canada being divided into four districts. At the head of all was to be an executive committee. The secretary of each subordinate society would rank as sergeant, the delegate of five societies to a township committee as captain, the delegate of ten township committees to a district committee as colonel, at the head of a battalion of six hundred men. The public meetings, the first of which was held at Newmarket, in the county of York, were enthusiastically attended by excited multitudes, who eagerly drank in Mackenzie's fervid oratory. Among the chief pro- moters were Samuel Lount, of Holland Landing ; .Nelson Gorham, after- wards an exile in the United States ; Giles Fletcher, who also became an exile; Jeremiah Graham; Peter Matthews, a farmer of Pickering, who held the rank of colonel, and was executed in 1838. Mackenzie was appointed chief of the Provisional Government ; Dr. Rolph was invested with sole power as executive ; Gibson, besides holding the rank of colonel, was appointed comptroller ; and Jesse Lloyd as delegate to commimicate with the French Canadians. It will be seen that the military organization aimed at was of the loosest kind. Mr. Lindsey tells us that not even an oath of secrecy and fidelity was exacted ; all that was aimed at was to associate men from the same neighbourhood, who could trust each other, and to attain sufficient organization and discipline to enable its members to act together in the effort at surprising Toronto, which was from the first the main aim of the revolutionists. But the weekly drill on Yonge Street was regularly attended, bullets were cast, and old flint-lock muskets and pea-rifles carefully furbished ; and at Lount's forge, at Holland Landing, pike-heads were manufactured, and fitted to stout six-foot handles. It is hardly possible now to estimate the actual number of Mackenzie's avowed supporters. When the insurrection failed, numbers who would have joined Mackenzie had the attack on Toronto succeeded, multitudes who, in the London district, had actually taken up arms under Dr. Duncombe, made a pretence of offering their services to Colonel MacNab or Sir Francis Head, as the best means to secure their personal safety. Head's boasts of the numbers of " loyal militia " that poured in to support him, rested therefore on very slight foundations. It was well known that Mackenzie had a very large following in Toronto itself, where he was most popular, having been the city's first mayor in 1834. The intended rising wa; known, though not, it is believed, in all its details, to many gentlemen i^^ The Civil War Continued. 163 of hiph position, among others to Marshall Spring Biclwell and to the elder Baldwin. The latter, it is certain, did not communicate his knowledge of the revolutionary plans to his son Robert, who afterwards explicitly declared, in his place in Parliament, that he was in complete ignorance of what was going on. Sir Francis Hincks has also assured the writer that although everyone felt that a crisis of some kind was impending, he himself had no sympathy whatever with anything under Mackenzie's leadership. East of Toronto, Mackenzie had a considerable following — about Cobourg, Port Hope, and Pickering. With the exception of the Orangemen, with which powerful organization Mackenzie had made the great mistake of quarrelling, and the Irish Roman Catholics, whose clergy denounced Mackenzie (he had made another mistake in picking a quarrel with their bishop), all the farmers of the Home District, and most of those in the Gore and Niagara Districts, were in full sympathy with Mackenzie. These were for the most part steady, industrious land-owners, men who risked not only life, but all that for half a lifetime they had toiled to reclaim from the wilder- ness, on the doubtful issues of insurrection. Many took the precaution of deeding in trust to friends, or to their children, what land they possessed, as a safeguard ^Tgainst government confiscation, should the rising fail. Besides the Home District contingents which were levied by Mackenzie and his lieutenants, Lount, Anderson, Gil'son, Matthews and Lloyd, a very considerable force v/as raised in the Western Peninsula of Ontario, between the Detroit River and Lake Erie. This was one of the most fertile and best settled districts in English Canada ; consequently it was one where the grievance of the Clergy Reserves was keenly felt. It was, as it is, a centre of Reform influence in Upper Canada. The leading spirit in this phase of the revolutionary organization was Dr. Charles Duncombe, a resident of the village of Bishopsgate, on the town-line between Burford and Brantford townships, in the county of Brant. Like Dr. Rolph, like Dr. Wolfred Nelson in French Canada, this gentleman had gained considerable personal influence by his skill in the exercise of his profession, as well as by the self-sacrificing generosity with which he would ride for miles through swamp and forest to. visit pioneer patients too poor to give any fee but gratitude. Like the able physicians named above, Duncombe was a many-sided man, a lucid and impressive speaker, well read in history and general literature, and gifted with a personal magnetism which enabled him to exert no slight influence over the farmers of the sections of five or six counties into which (so energetic were the medical men of those days,) his practice extended. He had been for many years representative in the Assembly of the riding in which ' SiiO-- 164 Canada and the Canadian People. W' he lived. In Parliament Dr. Duncombe exerted a marked influence. He it was that transmitted to the British Colonial Office such an impeachment of Sir Francis Mead's misf^overnment, accompanied by proofs, as to cause the charges to be examined into, and the delinciuent Lieutenant-Governor recalled in something very like disgrace. Duncombe had acquired con- siderable wealth in the course of his practice, and owned much land in Brant and Oxford. On July 4th, 1837, a " significant date," as Mr. Lindsey says, Mac- kenzie began to publish a newspaper called The Constitution, which, as compared with the more moderate public criticisms of his former Colonial Advocate, must be regarded as the organ of revolution. It lasted with some intermissions till the very eve of the rebellion. It was the voice of Mackenzie's vigorous, incisive trumpet-call of insurrection, and openly recommended that new branch societies should be formed, and well supplied with " pikes and rifles." Chapter XX\'I. THE CIVIL WAR— MONTGOMERY'S FARM. mIR FRANCIS HEAD has in liis published writings made two contradictory statements with regard to his knowledge of the preparations for insurrection. According to one, he sent the troops out of Upper Canada in order to tempt Mackenzie to an overt act of revolt ; being well aware of the insurgents' design. According to the other, lie knew nothing about the rising till he heard of it at midnight, on December 4th. The truth jjrobably is between the lines of the two statements. Head was, as he said, extremely desirous of forcing into apparent rebellion men like Bidwell, whom he had been ordered by his superiors to promote to the judicial bench. He hoped that the outbreak of actual insiurection would justify his boastful despatches his ridiculous stump orations, his incessant denunciations of the advocates of Responsible Government as " rebels." As to the cost to the people of Upper Canada in blood and treasure, as to the sacrifice of life on either side in the struggle, this charlatan descendant of a Jew quack took no account whatever, provided he carried his point, provided his purposes were served, what did that matter to the descendant of Moses Mendez ? Meanwhile, trusting, as the political quack always does trust, to chance, and desirous above all things of self-displa}', this foolish coxcomb actually sent to Lower Canada the two companies of regulars which Sir John Colborne had left for the defence of the Toronto Government House and stores. Nor did he take the simple precaution of calling out a single regiment of militia ; it was enough that the winter seemed likely to be an open one, and a small steamer was kept moored in the harbour in case the gallant Lieutenant- Governor should find it convenient to fly from his post. Nor, if the insur- rection did not succeed, can its supporters impute any blame to Sir Francis Head. The force by which he apparentl}' proposed to defend his Govern- ment consisted of a single artillery-man. There were some ten field- pieces, which had been moved from the Fort to the City Hall. Four thousand stand of arms, muskets with bayonets, belts and ammunition, 1 66 Canada and tlie Canadian People, 1 ilr were deposited in the City Hall at the disposal of an^ one who might choose to take them, Mackenzie saw that the time had come for action. His first proposal, made at a meeting held in the beginning of November, at Mr. Doel's brewery on Bay street, was in effect to take a strong party of " Butcher's foundry-men, and Armstrong's axe-makers," go with them to Government House, seize Sir Francis, confine him in the City Hall, and take possession of the muskets deposited there, and at once arm the innumerable friends who would rally to their support. It will be observed that Mackenzie, in making this proposal, did not insist on a demand for independence, but would have been content with the grant of Responsible Government and a fairly elected Assembly, the verj- privileges soon afterwards conceded by the beneficent liberal legislation which followed Lord Durham's mission as Lord High Commissioner to Canada. The plan thus proposed, thougli bcld, was perfectl)' feasible. The prestige of Head and the Familj' Compact must have broken down under a bloodless coiif d'etat whicii would have made them ridiculous. But Dr. Morrison, apprehensive, as Mr. Lindsej-^ thinks (Life of Mackenzie, II., p. 56), of the fidelity of some one present at the meeting, threw cold w-ater on the proposal. A few days later a more daring plan still was adopted, with tlie concurrence of Dr. Morrison and the other leaders. The entire available forces of the insurgents were to be concentrated at Montgomery's hotel, on Yonge Street, a few miles north of the City Hall, and were thence to make a descent upon the city, capture Head, and seize the arms at the City Hall. The attack, which it was expected would be a surprise, was to take nlace at night, between six and ten o'clock. Dr. Rolph, as the executive, was to have supreme control of the enterprise, Mackenzie to carry out its details. Among the many deliberate falsehoods by which Head endeavoured to blacken the character of political opponents who were what no impartial historian can say that Head was, honourable ind high principled, was the charge that Rolph and Mackenzie intended to rob the banks and set fire to the city. As Mr. Lindsey well remarks in commenting or. this preposterous canard, the insurgents were, as a rule, of the wealthiest class of farmers in the county of York. Such men as Samuel Lount and David Gibson were supposed by Head to be mere bank robbers. Sir Francis Hincks, in 1838, a time when it was still perilous to defend the insurgent leaders even from unjust accusations, repels Head's mendacio.is charge against the personal character of men like Rolph and Mackenzie with an honest warmth creditable to his true Irish heart, more especially when we remember that Mackenzie had, Scotchman-like, regarded young Hincks with harsh distrust as " a mere Irish ? jnturer." I ^ The Civil War — Montgomery's Farm. 167 Head was repeatedly warned from the most reliable sources that pre- parations for a rising were taking place. The ablest of Canadian Methodist ministers, the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, with a brother clergyman, warned Attorney-General Hagerman of the incessant drillings and patrollings going on in that part of York County in which the^' had lately been ministering. Captain Fitzgibbon warned Judge Jones of the pike-heads and handles being distributed at Markham, and got snubbed for his over-officious zeal. Besotted in their self-conceit. Head and '""is Government would accept no advice, nor take any precaution. Meanwhile the breakdown of Papineau's movement in French Canada damped the ardour of Mackenzie's followers, who had very unwisely over- estimated that gasconading poltroon, and had overlooked the fact that the Catholic Church alone could control the action of the French Canadians. As soon as the work of actual fighting began, Papineau had basely with- drawn, leaving braver men to fight their way out of the difficulty into which he had led them. As to the Church, as soon as she had allowed the insur- rectionary movement to grow to such a sufficiently alarming proportion is might enhance the value of her own mediation, she spoke in decisive tones, and all good Catholics abandoned the standard which she denounced as rebel- lious and infidel. Late in November the last details of the military arrangements had to be settled, for which purpose Mackenzie made a hurried tour of the country north of Toronto, visiting Lloydtown, Holland Landing and other centres of the movement. He distrusted, without reason indeed, as was plainly manifested in the fight at Montgom :;ry's hotel, his own want of nilHtary skill, and secured the services of Colonel Van Egmond, a veteran Colonel of Napoleon's grand army. This gentleman had acquired a large property in Canada, all of which he risked and lost in his unselfish endeavour to serve the Canadian cause. Colonel Van Egmond, wlio was advanced in years, was captured subsequently to the battle of Montgomery's Hotel, and died in the hospital of the prison where he was confined. On the night of December 3rd, Mackenzie, having visited the house of David Gibson, one of the leaders already mentioned, learned, to his no small dismay, that the day of rendc. ,ous had been in his absence altered by Dr. Rolph's sole order, from Thursiiay, the 7th of December, to Mondaj', the 4th. This, of course, Mackenzie thought would throw all their plans into confusion, and was a violation n the undertaking into which all the leaders had entered, that the day of rising should not be changed except by general consent. But there is no reason to ihuik that Dr. Kolph acted otherwise than in perfect good faith. And the issuing of a warrant for i68 Canada and the Canadian People. Mackenzie's arrest, wliich followed n. once on the publication of rhe latest issue of the Constitution, and the issuing of arms to a citj' volunteer com- pany, seem to hr.ve full}' warranted Rolph's action. Had his plan been but privately carried out, Toronto would have fallen into Mackenzie's hands on the morning of Tuesday, December the 5th. Fifty resolute men could have done it. Nor can it be considered wise in Mackenzie to endeavour to change the day of rendezvous back to the original date. How much better to have accepted the situation than thus to play at cross-purposes. In vam aid he send messages to Colonel Lount, who sent word that the men were already on the march, and that no further change could be made. Mackenzie saw that the die was cast, and resolved, come what might, to abide the issue. Montgomery's hotel was a frame building of two stories, and of the type still familiar in many a backwoods settlement. Round the front aspect of the hoase, which faced towards Toronto, ran a platform, or " stoop," raised on three stej:>6 to avoic^ the slush in sjn'ng thaws. On one side of the door was the usual large bar-room, over the main entr;. r.ce a lamp, and before the house a huge sign-board raised on high, hearing the usual hospitable announcement. Thither Mackenzie repaired on the even- ing of the 4th of December, the day appointed by Dr. Rolph for tlie rendez- vous. The hotel belonged to John Montgomery, who had rented it to one Lingfoot, a man who, if anything, was a Loya'ist. Montgomery is stated by Mr. C. Lindsey to have had no direct connection with the insurrection. A strong contrar}- opinion has been expressed b}' ^Ir. Wilcox, the companion of Mackenzie's flight after the battle, and by Air. Brock, at present of Toronto, then one of Mackenzie's officers. It is evident, say these gentlemen, that Montgomery knew all about his house being constantly made a place of meeting by the jiatriots. Ihit the anticipation of the day of meeting had spoiled all commissariat arrangements. Mackenzie could procure neither beef nor bread til! the next morning, and when, late in the evening, Colonel Loimt arrived with some ninety men, dispirited by a tramp of thirty miles tlirough fhe Yonge Street mud, little comfort awaited them beyond wliat might be had from bare boards and bad wiiiskey. Mackenzie now advised two measures, one a most sensible one, to cut off all communication with the city by placing a guard across Yonge Street. This was done at once, and had well nigh succeeded in preventing the news of the rising from reaching the Lieutenant-Governor that night. The other was that an im- mediate advance on the city should be made by Lount's company of rifle- men and pikemen. Against this proposal Colonels Lount and Gibson and Jesse Lloyd protested. They seem, from a military point of view, to have been quite right. Lount's company were utterly exhausted by a thirty TJie Civil War — Montgomery's Farm. 169 mile tramp tliroui^h heavy mud. They had not received any provisions. Men in such a condition were not fit for a furtiier forced march, to conchide, perhaps, with a fight against fresii and well-fed opponents. Mac- kenzie then offered, if accompanied by three others, to ride into the city, ascertain the state of matters, and return with Dr. Rolph and Dr. Morrison. Captain Anderson, one of Mackenzie's mosl trusted officers, and two others rode with him towards Toronto. On their way they met a mounted patrol consisting of Alderman John Powell and Mr. Archibald Macdonald. Mac- kenzie explained that the rising had taken place, and said he must send them as temporary prisoners to Montgomery's hotel, where he would give orders that they should be well treated. He then put them on parole as to their being possessors of weapons. Powell gave his svord of honour that he was without a weapon, but he had not ridden far before he dropped be- hind his mounted escort, and, drawing a pistol, shot Anderson in the back. Anderson fell dead, his murderer gallopped away, and as he passed Mackenzie he fired the other pistol at him. The clumsy flintlock, however, failed to accomplisli his deadlj' purpose. Meanwhile a meeting of Loyalists was held dt the house of Colonel Moodie, near Richmond Hill, in consequence of the march of Lount's men having been observed on the neighbouring part of Yonge Street, at four o'clock in tlie afternoon of that day. Several of the loyal gentlemen resolved to ride- if necessary, through the guard at Montgomery's hotel, in order to carry the news to the Lieutenant-Governor in Toronto. The other members of the Loyalist part}' were stopped by the insurgent guard, and conveyed as pris- oners into the hotel, wliere, by Mackenzie's orders, they were treated with every respect. But Colonel Moodie had, most unfortunately, been drinking heavily. He acted like a madman, drew a pistol in either hand, and fired riglit and left upon the guard. It was not to be expected that the fire, under such circumstances, should not be returned. Moodie fell, and was removed to the hotel, where he died two hours afterwards. Mr. Lindsc}-, who certainly is the most reliable authority, says that the fatal shot was firtcl by a man named Ryan, who stood on the steps in front of the hotel, where the moonlight, falling fiiU on Moodie, gave him a good mark. But two gentlemen, who wn'o present when Moodie fell, state that the shot was fired from a crowd of men on the other side of the road, where there was an open clearing, and that the unhappily successful marksman was a farmer from Simcoe. When Powell had passed Mackenzie, after riding forward for a little, he (lisniounted, and, fancying himself pursued, hid for some time behind a log. He then proceeded to the city with the first news of the revolt. He first 1 // lyo Canada and the Canadian People. waited on the Chief Justice, together with whom he went to Government House, where courtly historians record that Sir Francis Head " had gone to bed with a sick headache." Hurried orders were given to assemble the chief government officials. Torches flared in the streets, where excited groups continued to gather until dawn, and the city bells, with loud clangor sounding the alarm, gave warning to the insurgent camp that the time for a surprise had gone by. It had, in reality, not gone by. In the city, the Lieutenant-Governor, terrified and incapable, put his family and household effects on board the small steamer ready for flight, should Mackenzie capture the city. A son of the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, then a pupil in Upper Canada College, thus describes the scene of that morning in foronto : " It was a curious sight to behold ; guards of civilians hanging about Govern- ment House ; the shops all closed ! People hurrying sile' tly in all directions, some with arms, some without. And then, at the Town Hall, where were assembled the cannon, with torches ready to be lighted, and the arms distributed. Melancholy exhibited in every countenance. All was new and strange ! Nothing was done that day, but various movements took place in their turn. All was exciting." The judges, the city aldermen, and otlier leading gentlemen, set the example of coolly forming themselves into a com- pany for defence of their Government. Siieriff Jarvis got together a small corps of volunteers who were supplied with arms. But still the condition of Head and his Government may be described as one of panic all the forenoon of Tuesday, December 5th. Two hundred resolute men, had that opportunity been seized, might have captured the Government House and sent the Lieutenant-Governor flying in the sieamer he had provided for the purpose. At the insurgent camp, at Montgomery's hotel, p!I the conditions were favourable for an advance on Toronto at that critical moment of the insurrection. Colonel Lount's men had recovered from the fatigue of their long march of the day before. New companies and straggling bodies of men had poured into the camp all night. On Tuesday morn- ing the insurgents mustered between seven and eight hundred men, an ample force to have carried all before them. The greater number were armed with pikes of Lount"s manufacture, a rude but most effective weapon, especially for street fighting. Many had the old heavy-handle pea-rifle, which those who possessed it were pretty sure to know how to use. \ suffi- cient commissariat, too, had been procured. Lingfoot, the " Loyalist" tenant of John Montgomery, was not unwilling to take the rebel money which Mackenzie most honourably paid for all expenses incurred. Requi- sitions were made on several neighbouring houses belonging to Loyalists, but Mackenzie and his lieutenants would permit no violence nor injury to 1 The Civil War — Montgomery's Farm. 171 property, in this respect showing a very different spirit from that displayed by the Loyah'st forces when their time came for reprisals. Ample supplies of fresh and salt beef, too, as well as of bread, had been procured from a " truly loyal" butcher, some two miles north of Montgomery's notel. If the men had been refreshed with a good breakfast, and then had marched on the city, the attack must have succeeded. For, by Head's own account (Sir F. B. Head's Narrative, p. 331), he had but three hundred supporters in the city that morning, besides which he was notoriously unpopular, while Mackenzie had many ardent supporters in Toronto ready to join his force had it once advanced. And Mackenzie himself strongly urged an immediate advance. He was overruled by his lieutenants, especially by David Gibson, on the ground that the detachments from the west had not yet arrived, and that nothing was known of the state of things in the city, where the alarm bells warned them, that their enterprise had been discovered, and would no doubt be resisted. . Thus was the favourable moment lost by the want of proper discipline, and of subjection to those in authority. In fact, one of the gravest errors of the insurgents in planning the rising had been the neglect of securing communication by means of emissaries who would not he suspected, and by devious routes. They had trusted too mucl-. to receivnig communications through leading men such as Rolph and IMorrison, every movement of whom was sure to be watched by the Government. Dr. Morrison did, it is believed, endeavour to ma«ke his way to the camp at Montgomery's on the night of December .^th. A Loyalist, Captain Bridge- ford, meeting him, is supposed to have caused his return to the city (see Lindsey's Life of Mackenzie, Vol. II. p. 80, a curious detail of circum- stantial evidence in connection with this incident as discovered at INIorrison's trial for high treason in 1838). All through the 5th every avenue which directly led to the northern part of Yonge Street was watched by armed patrols, who did not hesitate to fire on any one wi.om they saw approach- ing in the direction of Montgomery's hotel. Thus the younger Merritt, in his school diary, relates:--" In such a state of things human life is held at a very cheap rate. Next day, by going too near where the rebels were stationed, wt (several Upper Canada College students) were taken prison- ers. When in durance, I saw a sentry aim his musket at a person \>ho was running away." As a proof cf the abject state of panic to which Sir Francis Head was by this time reduced, he actually stooped to send a flag of truce to the insurgents' camp, thus acknowledging them as belligerents with whom he might make terms. In h'w, own account of this transaction, Head states that he sent the flag of truce on Wednesday, Decembei the 5th, and that his 172 Canada and the Canadian People. a motive was humanity. Both statements are false. It was on Tuesday, not on Wednesday, that the flag of truce was sent, and Head's motive was not humanity, but fear, and a desire to gain time till his reinforcements of militia might arrive. Instead of sending a couple of his own officials. Sir Francis further showed the while feather by selecting as his emissaries men who were believed to be deep in the confidence of the insurgents. He first, through Sheriflf Jarvis, appointed Mr. J. Harvey Price, well known to be a friend of Mackenzie's, but Price refused point blank, lest he should afterwards be said to have gone to join the camp at Montgomery s. At lengtli Mr. Robert Baldwin and Dr. Rolpli agreed to go, and arrived at Montgomerj''s about one o'clock. For Rolph to have undertaken this mission as the repre- sentative of Head's Government was a very great mistake. His appearance as the emissary of Head did much to discourage those whom he had urged on to take up arms. He should have declined the mission at all hazards to his personal liberty, or should have remained with his friends, leaving Robert Baldwin to carry back Mackenzie's reply to Head's message as to their demands: "Independence, and a convention to arrange details." But, ever given to subtle policj-, Rolph attempted a middle course. He went with Baldwin and returned with him, but sought a few minutes private conversation with Lount, in which he urged an immediate advance of the whole force on the city. It is due to Mackeiizie's military reputation to say that he took im- mediate measures for carrying their advice into effect. He rode westward b}' College Avenue to what is now the head of Spadina Avenue, where a large body of the insurgents were stationed, and led them towards Yonge Street. When he arrived at Yonge Street he met Baldwin and Rolph, who brought word of the Lieutenant-Governor's refusal to grant their demands. Here again Rolph advised an advance on the city, where they might expect to be reinforced by six hundred of their friends, by six p.m. At a quarter to six tlie whole of Mackenzie's force were mustered at the toll-bar on Yonge Street. Mackenzie on that occasion did all he could to animate his followers with his own intrepid spirit, but nothing he could say would supply the utter want of discipline in their disorderlj' ranks. They marched without order, those of Lount's men who had rifles, in front, the pikemen following. They met and disarmed a Captain Duggan of the volunteer artillery, but soon afterwards they were fired on by a party of Sheriff Jarvis's volun- teers, who aftor the first volley ran away. A disgraceful panic ensued. Had tlie insurgents shown anj'thing of the courage which, too late to save their cause, they showed when brought to bay on December the 7th, the The Civil War — Moiitgoiitery'^ Farm, 173 result wOuld have been very ditVerent. All but a score at most retreated to a considerable distance above Mie toll-gate. Mackenzie, aided by Lount and Alves, tried in vain to rally them, but Lount's men threw away their pikes. They said they would march no further that night. Next morning, Rolph, finding that all hope of success was lost by the failure of the insur- gents, left for the United States. The particulars of his escape, never before published, will be given in the next chapter. Many of the insurgents now went back to their farms, but some new arrivals kept up the force at Montgomery's to nearly five hundred men. Thenceforth, their history is but a record of divided counsels and consequent failures, redeemed, it is true, by the courage with which they confronted, on the morning of the 7th, a greatly superior force of militia, well-armed and supported by artillery. Another error was committed by Mackenzie, though as he says in obedience to Rolph's express orders, burning the house of Dr. Home, a loyalist spy. This unduly alarmed the citizens of Toronto, and gave colour to Head's accusation that Mackenzie and Lount meant to fire the city. This impru- dent act, Mr. Brock, one of Mackenzie's officers now surviving, tells me that lie and his two brothers strongly opposed. On Wednesday, Mackenzie, with Lount, Alves, Brock and others, gallopped to Dundas Street to intercept the Western mail, which they suc- ceeded in effecting. But meantime Sir Francis Head had received reinforce- ments on a scale that enabled him to assume the offensive. On the morning of Thursday, December the 7th, Colonel Van Egmond, as originally arranged, arrived to take command. He ,at once approved of all Mackenzie's mea- sures, and advised a delay till niglit, and meantime to divert the enemy's attention and prevent an attack by sending a party of sixty men, including forty armed with rifles, to destroy the bridge over the Don, and intercept the mail from Montreal. This plan was carried out successfull}', although tile Don Bridge was but partially burned. But divided councils and Gib- son's opposition to the measiu'es proposed caused a delay of two hours, which, as Mr. Lindsey says, proved fatal. Three steamers had conveyed ("olonel MacNab's and other bodies of militia to the Toronto .vharves. At noon on Thursday, Sir Francis Head's force marched from Toronto, (he calls it in his Emigrant " an overwhelming furcc"), led by Colonels MacNab, Fitzgibbon and Jarvis. They presented a motley appearance. Only the chief officers were moimied and in uniform ; the rank and file were ununi- forincJ ; they had a sort of extemporized military band, and were preceded by the two field-pieces from the City Hall. About one in the afternoon the attacking column came in sight of the outposts of the insurgent camp. Mackenzie rushed forward to reconnoitre. Returning to his men, he asked if " they were ready to encounter a force greatly superior in numbers to /- 174 Canada and the Canadian People. I ^ themselves, well armed, and provided with artillery ? They replied in the affirmative." (Lindsey's Mackenzie, Vol. II., 94.) On the west side of the Yonj^e street roadway was a second growth of pine wood, just soiitli of Montgomery's hotel. On the other side of the road was an open clearing, where a party of the insurgents were posted under cover of the fence. But the main body were now stationed by Mackenzie, who had by this time abandoned his horse, in the pine grove on the west side. Meanwhile, the militia had halted, a iittle more than a gunshot from the insurgents, and opened fire with grape and canister One or two of the shots knocked off an angle of the wall of a small building once used as a school house — a vestige of the battle which might have been seen till recently. The shot from the field-pieces crashed among the pine trees, throwing the splinters in all directions. Meanwhile, the militia, firing volleys of musketry as they went, with much effect, advanced both in front and on either flank, wherever they could find cover. They enormously outnum- bered the insurgents, yet, says Mackenzie, " never did men fight more courageously. In the face of a heavy fire of grape and canister, witli broadside following broadside of nuisketry in steady and rapid succession, they stood their ground firmly." Hard pressed and outnumberetl, tiiey were at length compelled to retreat, their leaders, above all Mackenzie him- self, fighting to the last. An eye witness, quoted by Mr. Lindsey (Life of Mackenzie, II., 96), states : " So unwilling was Mackenzie to leave the field of battle, and so hot was the chase after him, that he distanced the enemy's horsemen only twenty or thirty yards by his superior knoXvledge 01 the country, and reached Colonel Lount and our friends on their retreat, just in time to save his neck." Brock, who was with him all through the fight, has told me how Mackenzie, during the struggle, which lasted about an hour in all, exposed his person with the most intrepid courage. The battle was lost, and the insurrection was crushed under the feet of Head's " over- whelming force." Yet the bloodshed and the courage displayed by Mac- kenzie and his followers were not in vain. Their appearance in arms against tlie tyranny of irresponsible government drew upon English Canatla with enduring beneficial eflfect the attention of English Liberalism. Head, MacNab, and their " overwhelming force " did indeed gain a victory over the four hundred insurgents, but it was a victorj' which to them and their cause proved more disastrous than any defeat. On the side of the Loyalists all was exultation. Carts were ordered up to receive the wounded of both sides, of whom there were many, but the insurgents managed to carry away most of their wounded to friendly farm houses. Several of the insurgents were killed. Head, before marching back to the city, ordered Montgomery's hotel to be burned down. Chapter XXVII. THE FAMILY COMPACT TERROR. ICTORY in tlieir hands, the exultation of the Famil}- Compact knew no bounds. Tlie prisons were crowded witli unoffending citizens, arrested "on suspicion." To have been a Reformer of the mildest and most constitutional kind was sufficient to cause the man of a family to be imprisoned for months. When released, as arbitrarily as they had been arrested, they \tould find house and furniture wrecked by the brutal militia-men sent to occupy it. Rewards, to large amounts, "of blood-money were set on the heads of the leading chiefs of tlie late insurrection. Meanwhile the western division of the insurgents had met at the village of Scotland, in the southern township of Brant County. They were about five hundred, generally armed with rifles. On the news of the defeat of Mackenzie reaching them. Colonel Sackrider, who, as has been stated, was a veteran officer of 1812, wished to occupy the pine woods south of Burford, where they could have a friendly country as a base of supplies, and might make a stand against MacNab and the Loyalist militia. But Duncombe gave it as his opinion that they had better disperse, which was accordingly done. A full account of the interesting circvnnstances of Duncombe's escape from the Loyalist prison, as gathered by myself from Dr. Duncombe's daughter, and from the son of the gentleman who contrived the escape ; as also of the flight, under circumstances of great difficulty, of Mr. Hagel, one of Duncombe's officers, will be given at full length in a future work. As yet these stories, so characteristic of that period of Canadian history, have never been laid before the public. It is hoped, also, that in the advanced work a fuller account may be drawn from sources entirely original of Dr. Rolph's escape from Toronto. His opponents were thirsting for his blood, and he knew it well. Calmly, on the morning of Wednesday, the 6th of December, he sauntered along King Street, passing in and out 176 Canada and the Canadian People. of the houses of his patients, as if intent on his professional practice. In advance of him a favourite pupil of his, now one of Toronto's most eminent practitioners, had Rolph's best horse ready saddled. A little past the western city limits, however, they met a party of militia, commanded by an exceedingly zealous Loyalist. Most fortunate for a life yet destined to be most useful to Canada and science, he had just received a letter from a sister, who lived at some distance, and was dangerously ill. Rolph pro- duced the letter, said he was about to ride to see the patient, and was allowed to go on his way. He easily made his escape into the United States, where he resumed the practice of his profession with much success, until a pardon enabled him to return to Toronto. Of William Lyon Mackenzie's wonderful adventures during his flight a most graphic account is given by Mr. Lindsey. Less fortunate was the brave and generous-hearted Colonel Sanuiel I,ount. For a short time he retreated along with Mackenzie, at the head of about ninety armed men. It was then thought most judicious that the party should separate. The Hon. James Young, in his amusing and useful book on Gait and Dumfries, state's, on the authority of a militia officer still living, that Lount was secreted for some days near Gait. Mr. Young adds that Lount would cer- tainly have been captured were it not that his arrest would have involved all who had sheltered him in the penalties of high treason. Lount was next secreted in an almost impenetrable swamp, near Glcnmorris. Thence he was moved to the house of a political friend, near the village of Glen- morris ; a magistrate arrived at the front door of that house to arrest him, just as Lount left by the back-door. Samuel Latchaw, a well known South Dumfries farmer, conveyed him thence to Waterford, where he lay con- cealed in the hay-mow of Grovcr's hotel, while the Loyalist militia were scouring the country all round in search of him. At last, after many such adventures, he made his way to the Niagara river, where he was captured, as Mr. Young well puts it, "witliin sight of the United States and safety." He was next seen being led through Chippawa as a prisoner. His cap had blown off his head into the river, and a ragged old red night cap liad been jilaced on his head by his " loyal " escort in mockery of the Republican Cap of Libert}'. Though given in heartless insult, no better head-gear could have befitted the brow of Samuel Lount. He was tried soon afterwards at Toronto, with Peter Matthews of Pickering. They were found guilty, and an eminent physician of this citj' who was pres jnt in the court house during the trial tells me that Chief Justice Sir John Beverley Robinson pronounced the cruel death sentence with evident satisfaction. It was as if he was eating honey. Orders had been sent froui England lO The Family Compact Terror. 177 delay the capital sentence, but the Chief Justice and the Rev. John Strachan used all their influence to bring Loiint and Matthews to the scaffold. They died calmly, confident in the justice of the cause for which they gave their lives, on April 12th, 1838. Of a very different nature from Mackenzie's attempt to create a revolution by seizing the capital and overthrowing the Family Compact tyranny, and utterly unjustifiable on any patriotic ground, were the raids on Canadian territory by American sympathizers in 1838. The chief of these was made from the American side, whence a force of about a thousand Canadian and American sympathizers occupied Navy Island in the Niagara river above the Falls. They were, however, induced to disperse by the American General Scott. A steamer which they had used to convey supplies to the island was seized by MacNab, who set it on fire, and sent it to drift over the cataract. For this achievement MacNab was knighted. In 1838 Head was recalled, and Sir George Arthur came to Upper Canada as Governor. The Family Compact had triumphed, and had filled the prisons with the "rebels.'" Two of the leaders, Lount and Matthews, were executed ; rewards w-ere offered for the capture of Mackenzie, Dun- combe and others, dead or alive, and the frontier was haunted by prowling Iroquois from the Grand river, eager to take the scalp of the "rebel" chiefs and earn the Government blood-money. In October of this year a raid was made by a body of sympathizers under a Pole named Von Schoultz, who occupied a stone wind-mill near Prescott. They were attacked by a large force of militia, and compelled to surrender. Von Schoultz was taken to Kingston and tried for high treason, being ably, but unsuccessfully, defended by a young lawyer .lamed John A. Macdonald. Von Schoultz was exe- cuted. An attempt was also made by the insurgents to capture Windsor and Amherstburg, but they were dispersed with a loss of twenty-one by Colonel Prince. Four prisoners were taken, who were shot in cold blood by "the Colonel. In their triumph the insolence of the Family Compact knew no bounds. The Reign of Terror in France and the Bloody Assize in England seemed about to repeat themselves in Canada. But a great change had taken place in England. The Tory party, which had been supreme since Waterloo, had fallen from power, and their place wa.s filled by the great Liberal Administration of Lords Grey and Melbourne. By them Lord Durham was sent out as Imperial High Commissioner to adjust all questions and grievances in Canada. He stood between the political prisoners and the Family Compact party, who were made to see that their hour was past. Lord Durham, on his return to England, published hia 12 .T.^ ^^ #, /i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST Target (mt-3) 1.0 IM 1 2.8 112.5 ■ illM 12.2 .^ 1^ 1^ t i£ 2.0 1.8 1.25 U 111.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation I 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 11 iliii 178 Canada and the Canadian People. celebrated "Report," which must ever be regarded as one of the chief documents of Canadian freedom. In this he recommended nearly all the reforms for which Mackenzie had for so many years asked in vain. Thus the insurrection^ though as a military movement it failed, by arousing the attention of English Liberalism to the tyranny of the Family Compact, accomplished, in an indirect manner, all at which it aimed. . II III ■ r.i r^ f ', :.">N n (1 «. ^-i i ■;; ■ i Chapter XXVIII. THE UNION OF THE PROVINCES. ,N 1839 Mr. Charles Poulett Thomson, an English merchant, was appointed Governor-General. Colborne, who now returned to England, received the title of Lord Seaton. In accordance with instructions from the English Minister, Thomson proposed for acceptance a measure which united the provinces, provided for equal representation of both in the conjoint Legislature, and conr ceded the full acknowledgment of the long-wished-for right of Responsible Government. The Lower Canadians were, of course, bitterly opposed to the union, but no attention was paid to their 'opposition. The Family Compact saw in it the ruin of their supremacy, but the hour was gone b}' in which they could cajole the English Government, now in the hands of the Liberals, who, thanks to Lord Durham, were no longer ignorant of Canadian politics. In 1840 the vexed question of the Clergy Reserves was again brought iorward, and a bill passed authorizing their sale, but as it gave the lion's share of the proceeds to the Anglican Church, the Reformers were still dissatisfied. But a victory had been won for Con- stitutional Government which outweighed all minor grievances, and the knell of the Family Compact oligarchy sounded in Governor Thomson's message to the Upper Canada Parliament: "I have been commanded by Hex Majesty to administer the Government in accordance with the well-understood wishes of the people, and to pay to their feelings, as expressed through their representatives, the deference that is justly due to them." The union of Upper and Lower Canada came into force in 1841. Kingston was made the seat of Government. Mr. Thomson received the title of Baron Sydenham. He endeavoured to carry out faithfully the work of inaugurating the system of Responsible Government, and introduced, through the Executive Council, many useful measures. Unfortunatelj' when riding up the hill of Portsmouth, near Kingston, his horse fell, crpsh- ; 1 I : A J. - Kl V'- -nm ( ■!:'•».! 'J }<■ it? i8o Canada and the Canadian People. ing his leg, an injury of which, to the great sorrow of all true Canadian patriots, he died on September 19th, 1841. By his own desire, he was buried at Kingston. He was succeeded by Sir Charles Bagot, a High Churchman and a Tory, who was at first received with dread by the Reformers, and with exultation by the Tories, who hoped that the good times of Sir Francis Head were come again. But neither party knew their man. Sir Charles Bagot had been sent to Canada co administer Responsi- ble Government, and was, from first to last, faithful to his trust. He gave his confidence to the Reform Government, and refused to lend an ear to the blandishments of the Family Compact. Unhappily, he fell into iil health, aggravated by hard work, and e.^posure to the rigors of a Canadian winter, and he died at Alwington House, Kingston, in May, 1843. His successor. Sir Charles, afterwards Lord Metcalfe, was a politician of very different stamp. He threw himself wholly into the arms of the Tory party who were the heirs of the defunct Family Compact, and, mainly by his influence, a small majority for that party was obtained at the elections of 1844. A Tory Ministry under Mr. Draper now came into power, Sir A. MacNab being Speaker. In 1845, the Draper Government proposed to pay all losses sustained by Loyalists during the troubles of i837-'38 in Upper Canada. The French agreed to this, provided that similar compensation was given to Lower Canada. Commissioners were appointed, who reported that ;^ioo,ooo would be required. As a sop to his French supporters, Draper proposed a grant of $9,986 in part'al payment of Lower Canadian losses. This satisfied nobody, and the Draper Administration became unpopular on all sides. In 1846 conimon schools were established throughout Upper Canada, the germ of our present public school system being introduced by Dr. Egerton Ryerson. The history of this very able admmistration in connection with our public school system arose out of the following circumstances connected with the official acts of Lord Metcalfe. The Governor-General had, it is believed, received secret instructions from a reactionary administration in England to oppose, as far as possible, the growth of Responsible Government. In carrying mto effect these back-stairs instructions, Metcalfe had thrown all his personal and official influence into the support of Mr. Draper's Government, which, it was evident, did not possess the confidence of the people. Metcalfe, in consequence of this, was exposed to considerable unpopularity, and was justly criticised by the caustic pens of Francis Hincks and Robert Baldwin Sullivan. Meantime it was suggested to the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, at that time President of the Methodist University at Cobourg, that he might, with advantage to his church and the university. The Union of the Provinces. i8i employ his pen in defending Lord Metcalfe against the aspersions con- stantly thrown upon his pilitical course by some of our ablest public ministers. The person who made this suggestion was the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, of Welland Canal notoriety, in connection with which expensive enterprise he was more than suspected of serious malversation of public funds. The Rev. E. Ryerson was, at a time when such writing was more scarce than it is now, a vigorous and ver'-atile writer, and a man of great force of character. But his Metcalfe letters are the least pleasant reading of anything the late Superintendent of Education has left behind him. They contain an admixture of political special pleading with the unctuous phraseology of the pulpit, which would be intolerable in the pre- sent day, and was only bearable at the time from the more influential position filled by preacher"? in influencing public opinion. As the first editor of the Christian Guardian, as a convert for conscience sake from the rich Episcopalian Church of his fathers, as a devoted missionary to the Indians, as the ablest of the ministers and champions of his chuich, Egerton Ryerson was, at the time, a power, and Lord Metcalfe and his advisers knew it. As a direct result of the Metcalfe letters, the position of Chief Superintendent of Education was offered to Dr. Ryerson, pretty nearly on his own terms. He was certainly the best man for the position, and both as regards income and power, it was decidedly the best position the country could offer. In the course of his long autocracy, Dr. Ryerson established an eclectic system of public education, in part based on the Prussian and part on the New England school system, with a selection of non-denomi- national text-books similar to those used at tjie time by Protestant and Catholic alike in the national schools in Ireland. Whatever mistakes Dr. Ryerson may have made from time to time in matters of detail, however imperious his self-assertion, it was necessary to have a firm hand and a strong will at tlie helm in those troublous times that saw the establishment of our school system. To Dr. Ryerson we owe the establishment of the collection of works of art in the Normal School museum, the germ, it is to be hoped, of a Canadian national gallery. In the graded improvement of this collection, in the collection of an admirable series of specimens of engravings historically arranged, and in the completion of an art catalogue likely to be of use to art study. Dr. Ryerson's wprk has been well ca"ried out by his subordinates. Of Dr. Ryerson's work in our educational system it may be said, as we point to our city schools in Toronto, " if you seek his monument, look around you ! " Lord Elgin arrived in Canada as Governor General in 1847. The decaying Tory Government was now attacked with much effect by Mr. Wl ".: m :h i - Mr i :.;.ii t_ ill 1 82 Canada and the Canadian People. Francis Hincks in the Montreal Pilot. This able writer and speaker had much advanced the cause of Reform by his articles in the Toronto Examiner^ in 1839. The Clergy Reserves question was now again agitated. A famine in Ireland and Scotland caused an immense immigration to Canada m this year, as many as 70,000 having landed at Quebec. But these were the least valuable class of settlers. Too weak to be of use as labourers, they carried the seeds of pestilence and death broadcast f^ver the country. At the elections of 1848, the Reformers were once more successful, and, Draper being forced to resign, the Baldwin-Lafontaine Ministry came into power. In 1849, the strength of the two parties was tested by a new Rebellion Losses Bill, to which the Tories were bitterly opposed. Meantime the Governor announced that the British Government was prepared to hand over the control of the Post Office Department to the Canadian Govern- ment, and that it was optional with the Canadian Legislature to repeal the differential duties in favour of British maiiufactures. Dr. Wolfred Nelson and M. Papineau were now returned as representatives from Lower Canada, but the magic of Papineau's influence had rone with his cowardice at St. Denis, and the French Canadians followed n preference the leadership of the more moderate Reformer, Lafontaine. There was a memorable debate in Parliament over M. Lafontaine's Rebellion Losses Bill. Sir Allan MacNab's party entered the conflict with a will. The Knight led the attack, and his invective was unsparing and indiscriminate. He did not wonder that a pre- mium was put upon rebellion, now that rebels were rewarded for their own uprising; for the Government itself was a rebel Government, and the party by which it was maintained in power was a phalanx of rebels. His lieu- tenants were scarcely less unsp tring and fierce in the attack. But the Government boldly took up their position. Mr. Baldwin, Attorney-General West, maintained that it would be disgraceful to enquire whether a man had been a rebel or not after the passage of a general act of indemnity. Mr. Drummond, Solicitor-General East, took ground which placed the matter in the clearest light. The Indemnity Act had pardoned those concerned in High Treason. Technically speaking, then, all who had been attainted stood in the same position as before the rebellion. But the opposition were not in a mood to reason. The two colonels. Prince and Gugy, talked a great deal of fury. The former reminded the house that he was' " a gentleman ;" the latter made it plain that he was a blusterer. Mr. Sherwood was fierce, and often trenchant ; while Sir Allan reiterated that the whole French Canadian people were traitors and aliens. At this date, we are moved neither to anger nor contempt at reading such utterances as those of the knights, for it would be wrong to regard them as The Union of the Provinces. 183 else than infirmities; and it is deplorable that by such statements the one party should allbw itself to be dominated, and the other driven to wrath. But through all these volcanic speeches Sir Allan was drifting in the direction of a mighty lash, held in a strong arm ; and when the blow descends we find little compassion for the wrigglings of the tortured knight. It was while Sir Allan had been bestriding the Parliament like a Colossus, breathing fire and brimstone against every opponent, and flinging indis- criminately about him such epithets as " traitor " and " rebel," that Mr. Blake, Solicitor-General West, stung beyond endurance, sprang to his feet. He would remind them, he said, that there was not only one kind of rebellion, and one description of rebel and traitor. He would tell them that there was such a thing as rebellion against the constitution as well as rebellion against the Crown. A man could be a traitor to his country's rights as well as a traitor to the power of the Crown. He instanced Philip of Spain, and James H., when there was a struggle between political freedom and rOyal tyranny. These royal tyrants found loyal men to do their bidding, not only in the army but on the bench of justice. There was one such loyal servant, he who shone above all the rest, the execrable Judge Jeffreys, who sent among the many other victims before their Maker, the mild, amiable and great Lord Russell. Another victim of these loyal servants was Algernon Sidney, whose offence was his loyalty to the people's rights and the constitution. He had no sympathy with the spurious loyally of the honourable gentlemen opposite, which, while it trampled on the people, was the slave of the court ; a loyalty which, from the dawn of the history of the world down to the present day, had lashed humanity into rebellion. He would not go to ancient history ; but he would tell the honourable gentle- men opposite of one great exhibition of this loyalty : on one occasion the people of a distant Roman province contemplated the perpetration of the foulest crime that the page of history records — a crime from which nature in compassion hid her face, and over which she strove to draw a veil ; but the heathen Roman law-giver could not be induced by perjured wit- nesses to place the great Founder of our religion upon the cross. " I find no fault in Him," he said. But these provincials, after endeavouring by every other means to effect their purpose, had recourse to this spurious loyalty. " If thou lettest this man go thou are not Caesar's friend !" Mark the loyalty; could they not see every feature of it ; could the^ not trace it in this act ; aye, and overcome by that mawkish, spurious loyalty, the heathen Roman governor gave his sanction to a deed whose foul and impure stain eighteen centuries of national humiliation and suffering have been unable to efface. This spurious, slavish loyalty was not British stuff; this spurious bullying ,1 t ':'■!.' J .■?■ vi' ^m •\l ^H kl-: ^^^B ^ ■■■■■% ^- ^""1 ■ . I J -■ '' ' \ I Ill f! i ii'- 184 Canada and the Canadian People. loyalty never grew in his native land. British loyalty wrung on the field of Runnymede from the tyrant king the great charter of English liberty. Aye, the barons of England, with arms in their hands demanded and received the great charter of their rights. British loyalty, during a period of three centuries, wrung from tyrant kings thirty different recognitions of that great charter. Aye, and at the glorious era of the Revolution, when the loyal J jffreys was ready, in his extreme loyalty, to hand over England's freedom and rights into the hands of tyrants, the people of England estab- lished the constitution which has maintained England till this day, a great, free and powerful nation. So fierce was the animosity of the Tory party to the Rebellion Losses Bill that some of them broke out into threats of secession, and clamoured for annexation. The bill however passed on April 26th, 1849. On the afternoon of that day a riotous mob assailed the Governor, Lord Elgin, as he was leaving the Parliament House ; liut his carriage drove rapidly away, and he thus escaped. Baulked of their object, the mob then turned their attention to burning the Parliament Buildings, to which a torch was applied by a Tory member for a constituency in the Eastern Townships. The Parhament House, with its library, containing historical documents of great vahie, was totally destroyed. In consequence of this disgraceful outrage, in which the Tory party demeaned itself in a manner worthy of Guy Fawkes, the seat of Government was removed for the next two years to Toronto, the name of York having been changed for the more appropriate Indian designation in 1834. Subsequently, until Ottawa was fixed upon as the seat of Government, the sessions of Parliament were held sometimes at Toronto and sometimes at Quebec. A period of depression now set in, owing to the English market being opened to the importation of grain from all countries by the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. In 1849 municipal government was organized in Upper Canada, and in the following year in the Lower Province. In 1850 a treaty of reciprocal trade was proposed to the United States Government. At the same time the Clergy Reserves Bill was agitated anew, and a division took place on this question in the Reform ranks, those who advo- cated the secularization of the Reserves being called " Grits." This was Canada's Railway year. The first lines constructed were the Great Western, Grand Trunk, and Northern. In 1 85 1 Mr. Hincks became the head of the Ministry. In 1853 a bill for election reform extended the number of representatives in the Lower House from eighty-four to one hundred and thirty. The Reciprocity Treaty with the United States was concluded in 1854. In the same year The Union of the Provinces. 185 Lord Elgin was recalled, and the office of Governor-General filed by Sir Edmund Head. In 1855 the Clergy Reserves question was definitely settled by the secularization of the land, and the State in Canada was declared altogether independent of Church connection. In the Lower Province, all the remains of the feudal system, which had long been a hindrance to progress, were swept away, a balance of ;^656,ooo being paid as compensation to .the Seigneurs from the Treasury of United Canada. In 1856 a further reform was introduced, by the Legislative Council being made elective, and, as the population and general prosperity of the country increased, additional representation was from time to time secured. The abolition of the long- standing iniquity of the Clergy Reserves, the most bitter of all the oppres- sions against which Mackenzie had done battle, was effected. Perhaps no part of the community has been more a gainer by this great act of justice than the ancient historic Church which her bishops had wronged by tlieir persistent efforts to grasp property that was not rightly theirs. In 1859 the beautiful buildings of our Provincial University were completed amid the surroundings, not unworthy of such an edifice, of the people's chief park in Toronto. The University buildings are, next to the Ottawa Parliament House, the most beautiful in the Dominion, and worthily represent the progressive condition of University education since it was liberated from the mediaeval sectarianism of King's College, Toronto. At the same period the introduction of a decimal coinage put an end to the vexatious anomalies caused by the use of the foreign monetary system of " pounds, shillings and pence," and gave Canada a currency identical with that of the great continent to which she belongs. In i860 the magnificent bridge over the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, was opened for use. It ranks among the wonders of the modern world, and as a work of human art is well placed amid some of the finest scenery in Canada. In this same year was laid the foundation of the new Parliament House at Ottawa, a building of which any civilized nation might well be proud. In 1861 Sir Edmund Head retired from office. He had not been a popu- lar ruler — for rulers in some sense the foreign Governors of Canada still were in his day. But the principle of Responsible Government had been too firmly established as part of the Canadian constitution to be safely assailed, even by a Governor appointed by the Crown. Soon after his with- drawal to England, Sir Edmund Head died without issue, and his baronetcy expired with him. His successor was Lord Monck, an Irish Peer (and thus an inferior article in English view). 1* I., i86 Canada and the Canadian People, ill In 1861 broke out that great struggle which was to have such momen- tous results in the life of the great Republic, our neighbour. It was an hour of peril for Canada. The Jingo party in England, backed by the aristocracy and all the enemies of freedom, wished for nothing more than to involve Eng- land in war with the Republic, and more than once they seemed likely to gain their point. Had 'his happened, our country would have been the battle-field, our cities and homesteads would have fed the torch, our harvests have been trampled by the armies of England and the United States. War between England and the United States may always be looked on as a pos. sible though not as a probable event in the future, as long as the Jingo party is influential in England, and the Irish millions ,'.0 hate England increase, as they must increase, in numbers and power in the States. It is there- fore ever increasingly the interest of Canada to keep out of the quarrel, by securing, as soon as may be in her power, the right to stand alone and apart from the feuds of foreign nations. As it providentially happened, no great harm came to Canada out of this war — except that business was unhealthily stimulated during its continuance b}' a scale of demand and of price which could not last, and was of course followed by a reaction proportionately violent. The general sympathies of the English Canadians maj' be con- sidered to have been for the North and Freedom, against the slave-holding South, though the " shoddy aristocracy " at Ottawa thought it a fine thing to echo the English Jingo's hatred of the world's greatest Republic in the hour of her trial. In 1862 Parliament met at Quebec, and a new administration came into power under John Sandfield Macdonald and L. V. Sicotte. Their programme included the double-majority principle in legislation, and the maintenance of the royal choice of Ottawa as the seat of Government. Ottawa has unfor- tunately proved to be "out of the way" of the general current of Canadian intellectual and industrial life, whose true centre is in Toronto. Mr. George Brown, who had assumed the leadership of the moderate Reformers, now began to attack from his place in the House, and in the columns of the Globe, of which paper, established in 1844, he was proprietor. He assailed the new Ministry, and upheld with much eloquence the only rational system of representation, that by population, irrespective of a division between the Provinces. In this year died Sir Allan MacNab, who, in spite of his cham- pionship of an unpatriotic cause, had done much good service to Canada, and personally was much esteemed". He had long retired from political leadership, the torch of Family Compact and Tory tradition having been handed on to John A. Macdonald, the able and astute member for King- ston. The revolt of the slave-owning oligarchy in the Southern States was The Union of tlie Provinces.' 187 now in full progress. Fortunately, in spite of sympathy on the part of Enfflish Toryism, and the attempts of Southern refugees to abuse Canadian hospitality by making our country a basis for raids on the neighbouring Republic, Canada escaped being involved in the war. In the Parliament of 1863 Mr. George Brown appeared as member for the South Riding of On'" d. The Globe now led the battle in favour of Upper Canada obtaining her just share of increased representation, in con- sequence of its great advance over Lower Canada in increased population. Public opinion in this Province was, of course, on his side, but the action of the Ministry was then, as it has been so often since, to the detriment of our interest, hampered by the Lower Canadian vote. The Ministry also lost ground with Protestant Reformers, who justly condemned its weakness in yielding to the clamours of the French and Irish Catholics the right to a Separate School system. Sandfield Macdonald, on Parliament being dis- solved, tried to regain the support of the Brown section of Reformers by reconstructing his Cabinet. In consequence of this he lost the support of one of the most eloquent orators yet heard in Canadian legislative halls — the; Irish patriot, Thomas D'Arcy McGee. In 1864, the Reciprocity Treaty being withdrawn by the Government of the United States, a season of depression again occurred in Canada. When Parliament met, the Sandfield-Macdonald Ministry was evidently in a state of collapse. On its resignation a Tory or Conservative Administration was formed by Sir E. P. Tach^ and Mr. (afterwards Sir George Etienne) Cartier. In this Government John A. Macdonald held office as Attorney-Genei.-il. But when Parliament met in May, 1864, it was evident that Government could not be efficiently carried on. The scheme for the union of the prov- inces had resulted in continual dead-lock. Upper Canada would not forego its rightful claim to an increased representation. Lower Canada would not concede the passing of a measure which would force her into a second-rate position. At this juncture John A. Macdonald for the first time, and on a great scale, displayed the talent for which he has since been distinguished above all other modern politicians, except perhaps the late Lord Beaconsfield — the most valuable political talent of appropriating the ideas of other men, and utilizing them for the advancement of his party. John A. Macdonald had again and again ridiculed the scheme of joint Federal authority, of which Mr. Brown had been an advocate. It was seen by the wily party-leader from Kingston that his opponents had after all been in the right, and that the only escape from anarchy was the separate Provincial Government of Upper and Lower Canada, with a Federal Government of the whole country ■ \ Vi 1 88 Cdnada and the Canadian People. based on representation by population. But the history of Confederation is of so great importance as to require a chapter to itself. Meanwhile we must notice an influence from without, which had a considerable indirect share in bringing about the federal union of the Provi 3S which now bear the common name of Canada. Since the troublous days of " sad but glorious 'g8," the American Republic had furnished cities of refuge for the proscribed agents of Irish revolt. There Thomas Addis Emmett, brother of the more gifted but more unfortunate Robert Emmett, was welcomed by the members of the American bar, among whom he rose to eminence. There, without taking into account the unstable and capricious McGee, the really able leaders of young Ireland found a career. With every year, from the dismal 1847, which the writer so well remembers, the crowds gathered on the Dublin quays, eager to fly from Sligo, dark with famine and pestilence. Thousands upon thousands repeated and twice told over, carried the religion of their fathers, the love for their country, the undying hatred of her oppressors, into the new world. A new and greater Ireland had grown up beyond the Atlantic, whose sons had fought, with the valour which had beaten back the bloody Duke of Cumberland at Fontenoy, the battles of their protectress Republic against the slave-holding South. An organization having for its avowed object the establishment of an independent Irish Republic had been founded in Ire- land, and had extensive branches throughout the Northern States and army. It took the name of " Feriian " from the ancient militia of the tribal system of the Brehon era of Irish civilization. It attempted a revolt in Ireland, of course without any success, for England was then unhampered by foreign wars, and English gold and steel were free to gag and smite. But it cannot be denied, except by the merest haters of all things Irish, such as Mr. Froude and some of his L..ill more eminent literary confreres in England, that the Fenian movement in Ireland called forth the devotion, freely given through years of cruel imprisonment, of men like John O'Leary, Thomas Luby and John Martin. It is quite true that there has been in connection with the present Irish nationalist movement in the United States a great deal of misfortune, as well as many of those dynamite assassina- tion horrors which would disgrace any cause ; but in Ireland, and among the leaders there, this was not the case. Lever, who knew well what he was writing about, has described most truthfully the better side of the early Fenian movement in one of the most graphic of his later novels, " Lord Kilgobbin." It must always be remembered that one wing, and that the most respectable by culture and character, opposed from first to last any proposal to make raids on Canada. It must be remembered also that if The Union of the Provinces. i8g such raids were made there, they were out of no ill-will to the Canadians, but as an indirect means of striking at England. Had Canada been independent, no Fenian would have carried a rifle across her borders. But the guilt of entertaining such a proposal cannot be palliated. It was not only a, crime but a mistake. It tended to create bitterness between Canada and the United States, which would surely be the greatest loss to Irish nationalism, as it would tend to strengthen the hold of British connection in Canada, and perpetuate for the use of English Jingoism its only available basis of operations against the United States. Happily the raids of the banditti calling themselves Fenians have never produced that effect. Between Canadian Liberalism and Irish Nationalism there has never been a close alliance. O'Connell was the firm friend of William Lyon Mackenzie, and used all his great influence to advance the victory, in this country, of Responsible Government. And very recently both pohtical parties in the Canadian House of Commons joined forces to support the address expres- sive of a hope that Ireland might yet enjoy the measure of Home Rule possessed by Canada, which brought out so much British Billingsgate from the English journals, and aroused such intense sympathy in Ireland. As to the question between England and Ireland, a history of Canada does not enter into it, but this much is patent : the position of England is that of a strong man who has taken possession of his weaker neighbour's house. Out of the original wrong-doing has grown hatred, agrarian outrage, murder most foul in myriad-shaped atrocity; but whence come all these evil results, if not from the original wrong-doing ? The causes will continue to come home to roost till Ireland is granted the same Home Rule as is enjoyed by Canada. It is easy to declare against the plagues which afdict Egypt, but the plagues will continue till the oppressor ceases to harden his heart and let the oppressed go free. Fortunately for Canada, and fortunately for Irish Nationalism, the Fenian Raids in Canada were entirely premature, and could not have gamed the smallest measure of permanent success — a fact which showed that the motives of invading peaceful Canada in order to punish English wrong- doing was a military error, as well as a political crime. In American Fenianism there is no doubt that there was a great deal of misfortune and swindling, which desired to make cheap capital out of an easy and dangerless raid, and so be able to trade on the one intense passion of the Irish American race, hatred of the oppressors of Ireland. At the time it seemed to many people that the Fenian raiders might be dangerous foes. The great war against slavery had just been concluded, and the Fenian raids were mainly manned by veteran soldiers. But their numbers were quite insufiicient for any large operations. They were acting agamst the i . I ' li 'M 190 Canada and the Canadian People. prevailing sentiment in the United States, where it was felt that to invade Canadian farms, and frighten the hired girls, wac contemptible brigandage, and many a Canadian by adoption who was in thorough sympathy with the struggle of the Irish for Responsible Government and Home Rule, was glad to carry a rifle in the ranks of the volunteers who march' 3d against the Fenian marauders in 1866. In 1866 the Fenian movement in the States became divided into two parties ; one under James Stephens, who wished to confine their operations to the proposed liberation of Ireland ; the other led by Sweeney, who advocated the senseless plan of advancing Irish interests by making a raid on Canada. In June, 1866, a body of 900 Fenians, well armed, crossed the Niagara River, landing a little below the humble village, and once hotly-contested but now ruinous earthworks, of Fort Erie. They were commanded by a Colonel 6'Neil, and mainly consisted of veterans of the late war. They took pos- session of the village of Fort Erie, and wrought much destruction among the provision stores and whiskey shops, licensed and unlicensed. They destroyed a part of the Grand Trunk Railway track, cut the telegraph wires, and attempted to burn bridges, but did not insult the inhabitants or wan- tonly injure private property, except to levy forced requisitions for rations. At the same time the United States' armed steamer Michigan entered that part of the river, as if to prevent breaches of international law, but her commander did not trouble himself to interfere with G Neil's supporters as they crossed the river under his guns. When news of this " invasion " reached the Canadian cities, there was a general feeling of indignation, and the volunteers responded with enthusiasm to the call, promptly given, to march against the invaders of Canada. The present writer was then a lieutenant in the Lennoxville Company of the Sherbrooke Rifle Battalion, commanded by Colonel Bowen, a raid on Montreal being at this time expected on the Eastern Counties frontier. Most unfortunately, the military reserves of the country were at that crisis in the hands of a Minister of Militia whose habits were such that he was notoriously incompetent to perform his public duties for above a week. Contradictory orders were sent, and steamers bustled hither and thither in most admired disorder. But the volunteer authorities lost no time in hurrying their men to the front. Major-General Napier, without delay, ordered the troo; s of the regular British service in Toronto and Hamilton districts to the Niagara frontier. Six hundred of the finest young men in Toronto mustered under Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis and Major Gilhnor, of the Queen's Own. Hamilton furnished her quota, the 13th Battalion. Lieutenant-Colonel Booker was sent in charge of these volunteer corps to Port Colborne for the The Union of the Provinces. 191 purpose of securing the Welland Canal. Most unfortunately the entire armament was under the command of Colonel George Peacocke, of the i6th Regiment ; a brave officer, no doubt, but from his ignorance of the locality through which he had undertaken to direct the movements of his troops, and from the arrogance of temper, which too often in English officers of the " regular army " disdain to profit by the counsels of " mere colonials," seemed but too likely to make his expedition a second version of that disas- trous one of General Braddock, little more than a century before. He sent orders by Captain Akers, who knew the country as little as himself, to instruct the commanding officer at Port Colborne to join the troops under 'liis command to his own at Stevensville, a village a short distance west of Fort Erie. Akers duly communicated these orders early next day at Port Colborne. Meantime, at Port Colborne, Lieutenant-Colonel Booker had received intelligence that the Fenian force at Fort Erie was smaller than had been supposed ; that it was ill-disciplined and demoralized by drinking and plunder, and in fact afforded material for an easy victory. He accordingly took it on him to reconstruct the entire plans of the expedition . He, wi.h his volunteer force, would proceed by rail to attack the enemy at Fort Erie. Captain Akers and Lieutenant Colonel Dennis might, if Pea- cocke approved, support the attack wiih the Welland garrison battery. But Peacocke did not approve, and Booker, altering his plans m deference to his superior officer, took his troops by train as far as Ri Igeway station, whence he marched towards Stevensville. Soon after this his advance guard encountered the Fenian out-posts. O'Neil, having resolved before withdrawing to the States to destroy the locks of the Welland Canal, Colonel Booker and Major Gibson resolved to attack the enemy at once, not doubting that Peacocke and his regulars must be close at hand for their support. They did not realize the fact that by Booker's want of attention to Ins superior officer's orders, in leaving Port Colborne an hour before the time agreed on, he had thrown into confusion all Colonel Pea- cocke's plans for combining the movements of his troops. Meanwhile the order to advance was given; the Fenians came into view, some few on the road in front of our men, the others firing under the cover of the fences of fields on either side of the road. The volunteers attacked with spirit, and repulsed the enemy's out-posts and first line. Just at this crisis an orderly reached Booker with a despatch from Colonel Peacocke, ordering him to delay his departure from Port Colborne two hours from the time appointed. As Booker, contrary to all the traditions of military duty, had in fact started an hour before the time appointed, it was now but too plainly -jvident that 192 Canada and the Canadian People. he could get no support for at least three hours. Meanwhile the Fenian fire poured hotly on the companies of brave young volunteers, who, without any hope of support, were then exposed to a far superior force of veteran soldiers. A cooler head might yet have carried the day by a brisk attack on either flank, but Booker seems to have lost all presence of mind, and as a rumour reached him that a body of "Fenian cavalry" was approaching (it being well known that the United States army at that time had very little cavalry, and the Fenians none at ail), Booker ordered Major Gillmor to "form his men into square to resist cavalry," which manoeuvre massed the unfortunate volunteers into a dense phalanx, the easiest of targets for the enemy's rifles. When Gillmor noticed the mistake he tried to form int(^ line once more, but it was too late. Something very like panic possessed the troops, the rear companies fell back in disorder, and the word was given to retreat. It is only veteran troops that can be safely manoeuvred when under a heavy fire, and only these when they have full confidence in their leaders. The volunteers were a few companies of imperfectly drilled college lads, lawyers' clerks and business employees. I am told by more than one volun- teer captain present at that skirmish, that what contributed most to the panic was the certainty that " someone had blundered." Number One Com- pany, Queen's Own, held the rear guard, the post of honour in a retreat, and marched out of the field in good order. The Trinity College and University Companies distinguished themselves by their grand gallantry; they took skirmishing order and fired on the enemy as calmly as if on parade. The Fenians pursued, but did not, fortunately, understand the full extent of their advantage, or know that they had Booker's troops at their disposal, without hope of reinforcement for the next two hours, or they might have followed up their success with much more disastrous results to our brave volunteers. As it was, the loss to the Canadians was one officer and eight men killed, six officers and twenty-six men wounded. The officer killed on the field was the gallant young Ensign McEachren, whom the present writer knew well when he served in Number One Company of the Queen's OwUj fro»^ "'hich corps he exchanged into the Sherbrooke Battalion, having occasion to remo\e to the Eastern Townships of the Province of Ontario shortly before the Fenian raid took place. When McEachren fell. Dr. S. May, then serving as assistant-surgeon, rushed forward under a heavy fire to rescue him, but found life extinct. Worse consequences still may be expected from a system which makes the appointment of volunteer officers a political perquisite of the Ottawa Government, a Government of whom it is no breach of charity tc suppose that in the future, as in the past, they will The Union of the Provinces. 193 have no scruple whatever in committing the defences of the country to incompetent officers in order to subserve the omnivorous needs of party. It is well that a more disastrous defeat did not follow on drunkenness in the Council and incompetence in the presence of the enemy. In the following year the Dominion Government lost one of its most influential outside members (a phrase by which I mean to designate one whose political training had not been that of the party and its leaders), Thomas D'Arcy McGee. This eccentric luminary of Irish, New York, and Montreal politics, began as one of the many orators of the young Ireland movement in 1847-8. Helped to escape from Ireland by the kindness of a Catholic bishop, McGee next appeared as a journalist in New York, where he quarrelled with the Catholic Church. Thence to Montreal, where, from the way in which his name had been connected with Irish revolt against English rule, McGee was for a time all-powerful with the Irish vote. His first attachment was to the Reformers, whom he left for the camp of their opponents. His most successful speeches were in advocacy of Confedera- tion, but in proportion as he expressed admiration for English institutions his popularity with the Montreal Irish began to change into hatred. At two a.m. on April the 6th, he had left the House of Commons, after deliver- ing what was considered a brilliant speech. He had returned to his boarding house, and was about to open the door with his latch key, when, shot from behind by an assassin's pistol, he fell dead. It is a comfort to know that the cowardly murderer was detected and hanged. Canada showed her gratitude and regret by voting a pension of ^"300 to McGee's widow. McGee has left to Ireland and to Canada nothing that will live. He was here, as there, " the comet of a season." It is worth noting that poor McGee had, from the convivial habits natural to his light- hearted countrymen, fallen for some time into drinking habits. One of his best speeches just before Confederation was delivered while under the influence of liquor. When it was finished, the last firework of the perora- tion shot off", the actor sank back incapably drunk into the arms of a friend. It is possible that this, which took place at Lennoxville, in the Eastern Town- ships, may have been a mere tour dc force, the speech having been, as all McGee's speeches were, memorized previously to delivery, and ihus easily thrown off by the brain already charged with it. My authority for the anecdote was a captain of the Lennoxville Company, in which I was lieutenant. However this may be, the fact is sufficiently notorious, that McGce used to drink very hard. A year before his death he became a total abstainer, and not even when in a severe illness, and when his physician assured him that brandy was necessary, would he expose himself 13 ■•' H^''':';M^-fn '.-r^: ;-r| V vjrji'l:. 1 ""'•"■ i! 194 Canada aud the Canadian Pi'jple. to the temptation of its taste. McGee was, to the last hour of liis life, faithful to his pledge. In this he has set a good example to some leading statesmen of his partjs for of what use can it be for a party leader to make speechifications to temperance deputations, and catch the temperance vote, while his own life, that of a bar-room loafer from his first entrance into politics, continues its mockery of cynical comment in his professions, and makes men talk of the political corruption of those in high place ? What use can it be to expect anj'thing else from men who do not begin by being personally pure, whose conversation would pollute the ears of any virtuous young man, whose souls have been, for half a century, steeped in alcohol ? Can we exaggerate the moral effect for good on the English people of the life of such a ruler as Glad -tone, a life sincere, pure, temperate in all things ? Whoever would venture to repeat in Mr. Gladstone's presence some of the full-flavored anecdotes in which some of our Ottawa statesmen are said to delight would meet cold looks and prompt dismissal, . L ~^wm Chapter XXIX. CONFEDERATION , T had been for some time evident that under the legislative system which had existed since the union of Upper and Lower Canada, frequent deadlocks were inevitable, and that some new basis for the^ Constitution must be sought elsewhere. In the session of 1864 the Sandfield Macdonald Government had received the full support of Mr. George brown, and of the Liberal party, wlrich regarded him as their leader, and his newspaper as their organ and standard. Tired of the endless party wrangling that had impeded all useful legislation, that Government resigned — a mistake, as it has always seemed to many Reformers, in political tactics. To them succeeded the Tachtf-Macdonald Government, which led a hand-to-mouth existence from day to day on the sufferance ot Parliament, and in virtue of a majority of two. From this feeble Administration Mr. Browr succeeded in obtaining a Committee to " consider the best means of settling the constitutional changes which might be recomniended, to avoid trouble." The Committee adopted and presented to Parliament a report in favour of " a federation system, applied either to Canada or to the whole of the British North Ame- rican Provinces." John A. Macdonald was foremost in opposing the adoption of the report. But next day the decrepi-^ Conservatives fell into one of those pitfalls which their leaders have so often unwittingly prepared for the downfall of their own popularity. It " came out " — how many such things have " come out " since John A. Macdonald has been leader of the Conservatives — that A. T. Gait, Finance Minister in the Cartier-Macdonald Government, had, without the sanction of Parliament, lent $100,000 to the Grand Trunk Railway corporation. Tiiis of course inculpated, as they themselves did not attempt to deny, the whole of the Cabinet. Mr. Dorion moved a vote of want of confidence in this helpless Ministry, the two members whose votes alone sustained them in office having become hostile at this critical moment. What use did George Brown, for in those ii' ,! 1 1 ■ i r t I i 1 1 5 : 1 1 fr 1 \ i 196 Canada and the Canadian People. days George Brown and Canadian Liberalism were convertible terms, make of this signal victory ? His bitter political foes lay at his mercy in humi- liating defeat. A less high-minded statesman would have thought of party,- if not of personal objects. George Brown was above both considerations, and thought only of the opportunity now ready to his hand of carrying into effect the federation system which he and he alone had desired, which above all else he wished to see carried into effect, even if the glory of its achieve- ment should accrue to the Conservatives, who till the previous day had been its bitterest opponents. Immediately after the Ministerial defeat Mr, Brown sought an inter- view with J. H. Pope and Alexander Morris, Conservative members of the House. He did this after consultation with his principal friends and supporters, as to how far the Reform party would consent to forego mere personal and party advantage in order to ensure the carrying out of a con- stitutional change of great benefit to the country. He conferred next with Messieurs Pope and Morris. Alone of the Reform party, the French Cana- dian Reformers refused to follow his self-sacrificing course in this matter, preferring the ordinary course of party triumph on the defeat of opponents. Mr. George Brown was grieved at this defection of his so long faithful allies, out he would not for that reason swerve from the path of patriotic duty. In consequence of the conversation between Mr. Brown and Messieurs Morris and Pope, interviews took place between the Reform leader and members representing the defeated Government. John A. Macdonald exhibited a highly characteristic willingness to get his Government strength- ened by a coalition, there being no other possibility of prolonging its exist- ence, and proposed, with what motive it is easy to guess, that George Brown should himself become a member of the Cabinet. But the Father of Con- federation was too wary to act with precipitation, and proposed that all personal matters should be postponed for the present. On Mr. Brown asking what remedy the Government proposed, to do away with the present system of injustice to English Canada, Messieurs Macdonald and Gait stated that they proposed as the remedy a federal union of all the British North American Provinces, local matters being committed to local bodies, and matters common to all, to a Federal Govern- ment. It will be remembered that but two days before John A. Macdonald had voted directly against the proposal for a Federation of the Provinces. Truly, the conversion was sudden, and the neophyte zealous. In reply, Mr. Brown objected, not to the adoption of Federation, which had been his own ideal from the first, but to its too great remoteness and uncertainty, as a means of settling the injustice of which Enghsh Canada complained. As i\ ___ jP)^ TFV m Confederation. 197 a more prompt measure, he asked for representation by population for all Canada, with no dividing line. But ultimately a compromise was arrived at, on the adoption of the principle of Federation for all the Provinces, as the larger question, or for Canada alone, with provision for the admission of the Maritime Provinces and the North-West Territory. A general accord was reached, on the basis that as the views of Upper Canada could not be met under the present system, the remedy must be sought in the adoption of the federal principle. As a guarantee to the Reform party, three seats wi^re to be placed at the disposal of Mr. Brown and two of his friends. Parliament was now at once prorogued, and on the same day, the Hon. George Brown entered the Government as President of the Council, supported by the able but unstable Hon. William McDougall, as Provincial Secretary, and by the far more able and high principled Hon. Oliver Mowat, as Postmaster-General. The Hon. A. Mackenzie, in his " Life of the Hon. George Brown"* frankly states that the appointment of Mr. McDougall was one desired by very few of the party. During the ensuing summer the various members of the new Coalition Government made a general tour of the Provinces, and held a convention of the Provincial delegates in October at Quebec. ParHament met early in 1865. The debate which ensued was one of the most remarkable which had, as yet, taken place in a Canadian Legislature. Of the two great changes which had been effected in the constitution of our country, the first, in 1791, had been altogether the work of the English Parliament, where its details gave rise to one of the most memorable debates of a great Parliamentary Assembly. The union of the Canadas in 1841 was also both planned and put into practical form by British statesmen, the consent of the Canadian Legislatures being but a form, and a form which, in the case of the French Canadian, was very sum- marily dispensed with. But the inception, the adoption, and the practical working out of tiie Confederation Scheme was entirely the work of our own Canadian statesmen ; and the debating powers displayed when this question came before the Legislature were said to show a very marked advance in political insight and breadth of view from that shown in any previous discussions in the records of our Legislatures. A few yea s of that Home Rule which results from Responsible Government had already proved a political education. The leading speeches, those of Messieurs Brown, Macdonald, and Cartier, in support of the measure ; those of Messieurs John Sandfield Macdonald, Huntington, Dorion and Holton, •Chapter XVI., p. 95. The remark would be endorsed by most Reformers of the present day. .f':rt i I ;. ' i 7 1 i ■ ' • f i ' ' Ji « . i ' i 19.8 Canada and the Canadian People. against it ; the very exhaustive and himinous criticism with which Mr. Dunkin's remarkable oration examined its bearings from every side, are well put forward and accompanied with much apt comment in the Hon. John H. Gray's important historical work on Confederation — only the first volume of which unfortunately has been given to the public. John A. Macdonald's speech on this question was one of those rare oratorical successes which came on a few great occasions from one who had hitherto been regarded, even by those who knew him most intimately, simply as an adroit debater, a matchless Parliamentary whipper-in, and a retailer of obscene bar-room jests. More logical, more incisive, far more effective with thinking men, was the speech of the real founder of Confederation, George Brown. But the most remarkable of all the addresses delivered on this memorable occasion was that of Mr. Dunkin, Colonel Gray's criticism of which must be regarded by the impartial historian as utterly beside the facts. Colonel Gray says : " All that a \yell-read public man, all that a thorough sophist, a dexterous logician, a timid patriot, or a prophet of evil could arrp.y against the project, was brought up and pressed against the scheme." Of course Colonel Gray regarded Confedera- tion as the be-all and end-all of Canadian politics. Later students of Canadian political history, who see that difficulties have been left unpro- vided for, the distribution of authority between Federal and Provincial Governments unsettled, and a way left open to vast financial abuses, will see that Mr. Dunkin was right in supposing that the settlement effected by Confederation was no more a final one than that of the Union of the Canadas, or of the Act which created English Canada in 1791. A remark- able speech in favour of the proposed measure was also delivered on this occasion by Mr. Walter Shanly, member for South' Grenville. On Friday, ^larch loth, the debate had exhausted itself, and the Hon. John A. Mac- donald proposed the following motion : — " That an humble Address be pre- sented to Her Majesty, praying that she may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of uniting the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, in one Government, with provisions based on certain resolutions, which were adopted by a conference of dele- gates from the said Provinces held at Quebec on the i6th of October, 1865." After some further debate this resolution was carried by a vote of 91 to 33. The wish of John A. Macdonald in navigating the measure which he had with such consummate dexterity stolen from its legitimate author through the" shoals of Parliamentary debate, was well understood to have been to cen- tralize power as much as possible in the Federal Government, leaving the Confederation. 199 Provincial Legislatures in the position of mere municipal councils. This was in thorough harmony with John A. Macdonald's political character, his insatiate greed for power, and that clinging to every exercise of personal authority which makes him delay conferring an official appointment, even upon a personal friend. But in this matter he was, to a certain extent, backed up by a feeling on the part of all those engaged in the work of political reconstruc- tion, that Canada ought to take warning by what had recently seemed likely to be the break-down of the United States Constitution. It was thought, most erroneously, that what had caused the strain was the weakness of the central Federal authority. In reality the reverse was the case. The war was caused by one faction only, the opposition to slavery on the part of Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet. That Cabinet was unlike a Canadian one, utterly unrestricted in its exercise of authority. John A. Macdonald did not on the occasion of the inception of Confederation succeed in his wish of sowing the dragon's teeth of constitutional mischief, but never since then has he lost sight of his centralizing propensities, or neglected an opportunity to trample on Provincial Rights. A similar motion was introduced in the Legis- lative Council by Sir E. P. Tach^, and carried by a vote of three to one. In April Messrs. John A. Macdonald, Gait, Brown and Cartier made a visit to England, in order to confer with the Imperial Government, and arrange the final details of the scheme of Confederation. Meantime the feeling of the Maritime Provinces was increasingly manifested against the proposed Confederation. In Nova Scotia the opposing issues were advo- cated by two of the ablest orators that British America has produced, by Dr. Charles Tupper, erewliile a druggist at Amherst, and by Jos* i)h Howe, a Halifax printer, b<^ing the ideal and representative man of his native Province. New Brunswick, ever cautious and reserved in her isola- tion from the rest of English speaking Canada, dreaded increased taxation. The little Province of Prince Edward Island held aloof, and the bleak cod-fishing banks of inhospitable Newfoundland withdrew into their native hay. When in England, the Canadian delegates held conference after conference with the Imperial Ministers on the proposed measures, on the question of treaties and legislation, the defences of Canada, the settle- ment of the North-West Territories, and the claims for compensation put forward by the Hudson's Bay Company. And as one of the most cogent arguments put forward by the opponents of Confederation in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was that the aim of those who forwarded that measure was to effect the independence of Canada, and the severance of all connection with England, the Canadian delegates pressed on the British Cabinet the desirability of a strong expression from the Home Government 1 .. I . t ;1 III' ! :,;-■ rr'H^HnMlfl. : i ( ■ ii'* aoo Canada and the Canadian People. in favour of Confederation being conveyed to the Governments of the Maritime Provinces. It is a curious comment on the change tliat has come over public opinion, that in 1865 the mere mention of independence should have been regarded as offensive. Strong representations in favour of Con- federation were accordingly transmitted from the English Ministry to the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, a step which, curiously enough, drew forth from the anti-Confederationists many bitter expressions of what might most justly have been described as " disloyalty," and the British authorities were roundly denounced for attempting " an odious system of coercion of the colonies into the hateful bund." It required all the arts of which John A. Macdonald is so justly reputed a consummate master to induce the recalcitrant Maritimes to fall into line. This, however, was at last effected, and the long disjointed pieces of the Canadian fishing- rod at last received that accession of strength which comes from union. Of all the able speeches delivered on this question, the most remarkable is one delivered by the Hon. George Brown, a passage from which may well be quoted as an example of how this important constitutional ciiange was regarded by the first of Canadian Liberal statesmen, and by one who held no second place either as an orator or writer. " I venture to assert that no scheme of equal magnitude ever placed before the world was received with higher eulogiu.Tis, with more universal approbation, than the measure we have now the pleasure of submitting for the acceptance of the Canadian Parliament. And no higher eulogy could, I think, be pro- nounced tnan that I heard a few weeks ago from one of the foremost of British statesmen, that the system of Government now proposed seemed to him a happy compound of the best features of the British and American constitutions. And well might our present attitude in Canada arrest the attention of other countries. Here is a people composed of distinct races, speaking different languages, with religious and social and municipal and educational institutions wholly different ; with sectional hostilities of such a character as to render Government for many years well nigh impos- sible; with a constitution so unjust in the view of one section as to justify every resort to enforce a remedy. And yet, here we sit, patiently and temperately discussing how these great evils and hostilities may justly and amicably be swept away for ever. We are endeavouring to adjust har- moniously greater difficulties than have plunged other countries into all the horrors of civil war. We are striving to do peaceably and satisfactorily what Holland and Belgium, after years of strife, were unable to accomplish. We are seeking, by calm discussion, to settle questions that Austria and Hungary that Denmark and Germany, that Russia and Poland, could only Confederation. 20 1 crush by the iron hand of armed force. We are seeking to do, without foreign intervention, that which deluged in blood the sunny plains of Italy ; we are striving to settle for ever issues hardly less momentous than those that have rent the neighbouring republic, and are now exposing it to all the horrors of civil war. Have we not, then, groat cause for thankfulness, that we have found a better way for the solution of our troubles than that which has entailed on other countries such deplorable results? and should not every one of us endeavour to rise to the magnitude of the occasion, and eainestly seek to deal with this question to the end in the same candid and conciliatory spirit in which, so far, it has been discussed ? The scene pre- sented by this chamber at this moment, I venture to affirm, has few parallels in history. One hundred years have passed away since these provinces became, by force, part of the British Empire. I speak in no boastful spirit, I desire not for a moment to excite a painful thought ; what was then the fortune of war of the brave French nation, might have been ours on that well-fought field. I recall those olden times merely to mark the fact that here sit to-day the descendants of the victors and the vanquished in the fight of 1759, with all the differences of language, religion, civil law, and social habit, nearly as distinctly marked as they were a century ago; here we sit to-day seeking amicably to find a remedy for con- stitutional evils and injustice complained of — by the vanquished ? no — but complained of by the conquerors ! Here sit the representatives of the British population claiming justice ! only justice ! And here sit the repre- sentatives of the French population discussing in the French tongue whether we shall have it. One hundred years have passed away since the conquest of Quebec, but here sit the children of the victors and the vanquished, also avowing hearty attachment to the British Crown, all earnestly deliberating how we should best extend the blessings of British institutions — how a great people may be established on this continent in close and hearty connection with Great Britain. Where, in the page of history, shall we find a parallel for this ? " Some disturbance of the amicable relations between the parties to the coalition was caused by the death of the Premier, Sir Etienne P. Tache, and the accession to the position of Sir Narcisse Belleau. Mr. Brown and the Reformers, however, thought it their duty to acquiesce. The last Canadian Parliament opened in August at Quebec, and was occupied altogether with receiving the report of the delegates to England. The Government Jtieasure for Confederation was carried by overwhelming majorities. It was loyally supported by Mr. Brown and the Liberals, although that gentleman, whom the Tory tacticians vainly endeavoured to w 1 ! K u \ >■..: . , L f^i f \ (J ' 202 Oinada and the Canadian People. decry, havinp hecn studiously slighted when on a mission to Washington upon the reciprocity question, had tliought it due to his own dignity to withdraw from tiie Government. Thus was this great change accomphshed — a vast step in advance towards independence, although as passing events show more clearly every day, it cannot be regarded as a final one. The Hon. A. Mackenzie well observes (Life of Hon. George Brown, p. 107): "The first day of July, 1867, saw the great reform accomplished for which Mr. Brown had toiled so many years, and saw also that the Conservatives who opposed it to the last were reaping the fruits of their opponent's labour. Therefore, Mr. Macdonald would be able to boast that he was the father of (Confederation on the same ground that he boasted of carrying vhe measure to secularize the Clergy Reserve lands. He strongly opposed both measures, on principle, as long as it was possible to do so, and then joined the man who initiated and carried on the movement of both, and declared the work was all his own. Having no great work of his own to boast of, he bravely plucks the laurel from the brows of the actual combatants and real victors, and fastens it on his own head." Chapter XXX. PROSPEROUS DAYS. HE office of Governor-General had now becorrie practically a sinecure, and a sinecure of most noxious influence on social and political life in Canada. Lord Monck was the incumbent of Rideau Hall in 1867. He was an impecunious sportinj^ peer, and an Irish rack-rent landlord, glad to eke out an mipoverished income by the $50,000 a year paid by Canadian taxpayers. He v/asthe first, and, unhappily, noi ihe last, used by the Imperial Government to corrupt Canadian statesmen, by bestowing " tin-pot knighthoods," which, of course, bound the acceptor to prefer Imperial to Canadian interests whenever the two came iji conflict. The first recipients of this questionable distinction were John A. Macdonald and George Etienne Cartier. Now began a prosperous reign of Conservatism, under Sir John A. Macdonald, with the championship in French Canada of Sir George E: Cartier. The latter was a marked personage in the Conservative coterie, and few who have beheld that keen man's figure, and heard the tones of that strident, high-pitched voice, will forget either. In early life Cartier had sat at the feet of Papineau, and, showing a courage of which that frothy dem gogue was incapable, had fought bravely at St. Denis, when the French peasants, led by Dr. Wolfred Nelson, repelled a corps of the regular British • army, led by a veteran of Waterloo. Like his leader, Cartier withdrew to the United States, and when amnesty was proclaimed for political offences, returned to Canada, a sadder and a wiser man. In 1848 he supplanted the Rouge leader, M. Dorion, as member for Vercheres, and, having had the sense to see what the old Rouge leaders had not insight for, the absolute necessity of keeping on good terms with the clergy and the Church, Cartier became the most adroit, successful, and popular manager of the vote of Jean Baptiste. The Finance Minister in the new Government, Alexander I i.- 204 Canada and the Canadian People. Tilloch Gait, was the son of a second-rate writer who had attained a sort of second-rate reputation as the acquaintance of Byron, of whom he wrote a biography. The elder Gait came to Canada in the service of the Canada Land Compai.^, dnd resided at Toronto, of whicli place, and of Canada in general, he expressed the supercilious disdain with which foreigners who live on Canadian pay are apt to express their noble scorn of the people who are their paymasters. Sir Alexander Gait is chiefly noted for the quasi diplo- matic position held bj him lor comfe time in London, England, and as one of the chief promotors of that most impracticable of enterprises. Imperial Federation. The new Secretary of State, Hector L. Langevin, was formerly editor of lue Coiirrier du Canada, in Quebec. In 1855 he was awarded the first of three prizes for an essay on Canada to be circulated in Paris, and being elected to the Canadian Parliament as member for Dorchester, soon took a leading position, second only to Cartier, to whose leadership he rightfully succeeded. Not less noteworthy was Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley. An earnest, although not eloquent speaker, he did good service to the country by promoting the adhesion of the Maritimes to Confederation. Sir William Howland, another tin-pot creation, and the Hon. William McDougall were two of the Liberal members of the Coalition which had caused Confedera- tion, but were seduced by the siren blandishments of office to cast in their lot personally with " Sir John." But in all the Cabinet there can be no question that the most remarkable figure was that of the astute and versatile lawyer from Kingston who was at its head. His deep and intricate knowl- edge of all the men and interests engaged in Canadian politics, much tact, a felicitous readiness in debate or repartee, and a command of what might be almost mistaken for eloquence, gave the Tory leader a pre-eminence to which none of his English-speaking satellites could in the remotest degree aspire. But the habits of the Premier were those of the pot-house politician to whom John A. Macdcnald has been frequently compared — the English statesman Walpole, who first introduced into politics the infamous maxim, " Every man has his prite." Macdonald resembles W^alpole in his system- atic use of corruption, and in the coarse humour and full-flavoured stories for which both have such an unsavoury reputation. But here the likeness ceases. W^alpole's peace policy saved England. Macdonald has never originated a single measure for the benefit of his country save such as he stole from the Liberal repertoire. He has dragged the good name of Canada in the dirt with cynical disregard of public opinion, and has literally " sold his country" as well as himself. It is no excuse to say " that amid corrup- II tfii Prosperous Days. 205 tion he has continued personally pure," for we consider the crime of the bawd to lose none of its infamy because she may not herself practise the sin to which she entices others. But at the time we write of, John A. Macdonald's character was as yet comparatively untarnished. A Reform Convention was now held at Toronto, which endorsed enthu- siastically the patriotic and self-denying conduct of the Hon. George Brown, and declared that the deserters, Rowland and McDougall, deserved ostracism from the Reform ranks. Ilowland, however, made the amende for a temporary lapse, by heartily throwing in his lot with the cause of Reform. A general election was at once held, and returned a considerable majority in favour of Confederation, and, therefore, as a matter of course, in favour of " Sir John," the vessel of whose Cabinet was carried in over calm seas, its sheets distended by the wind which had been so adroitly taken out of the Liberal sails. From that general election to the Day of Doom, when Mr. Huntington thundered forth the first sentence of his Pacific Scandal indictment, Sir John and Sir George Cartier were " the great twin brethren" of Canadian politics, against whom no champion could avail. The Ministry were now supported by a new politician, destined to exercise no small influence, to rise to all the honours of the tin-pot, and become even a dangerous "brother near the throne" to Sir John himself. In the little town of Amherst, on the New Brunswick frontier of Nova Scotia, an humb'e wooden store, garnished with bottles and gallipots, long bore the legend of " Dr. Tupper — office-hours 8 to II a.m.'.' He alone of the advocates of Confederation was able to stem the torrent in his native Province. Another Blue-nose representative was returned to Ottawa in the person of Timothy Warren Anglin, a trenchant writer and speaker, but, like Tupper, given to overtax the patience of his hearers. A mightier figure was that of the popular idol of the Nova Scotia fishermen, the versatile, vigorous, vituperative Joe Howe. But the reactionary effort to undo the work of Confederation was now met by a statesman whose intellectual force and oratorical power were, in that Parlia- ment, and in many a succeeding one, to meet few seconds and no superiors. Edward Blake was now the leader of the Liberal phalanx on their slow but certain return to power. Mr. Blake is an instance of what is so rarely seen, hereditary talent, such as that of the two Pitts. He and his eminent brother, the Hen. Samuel Blake, are sons of the Hon. William Hume Blake, whose famous extempore reply to Sir Allan MacNab when the Tory chief taunted the Liberals of English Canada with the charge of rebellion, will be remembered as constituting such a brilliant episode in the history ■i.'^i nii,:!, Iffll J 206 Canada and the Canadian People. I of Canadian Parliamentary debate. Mr. Blake's luminous and crushing retort on Howe and the Maritime malcontents was ably seconded. A few- months later, Sir Francis Hincks, an able financier, a clear and forcible speaker, and one whose personal magnetism rendered him a welcome acquisition even to a popular administration, once more entered public life, and became Minister of Finance. Sir Francis, at once after entering on office, delivered Canadian currency from the nuisance of a depreciated United States silver currency. The year 1868 was saddened by the mur- der of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, of whose career some account has been already given. m * f-'-i '^i Chapter XXXI. RECENT YEARS. HE Hon. William McDougall had been rewarded for his defec- yi tion from the Liberal camp by being appointed Lientenant- Governor of the North-West Territories, and had proceeded with his family into that " far country," where none doubted that a suitable field would present itself for his undeniable abilities, and in demonstrating the interests of which, and its importance to Ontario and Canadians in general, some of the ablest efforts of his life had been directed. He was undoubtedly the right man to rule Manitoba. So every one thought, excepting the Manitobans themselves, who were then half-breeds, and like most half-breeds, inherited the vices of their double descent. They were voyageiirs and coiireurs des hois, hunters, horse dealers, a suspicious and irritable race, who were easily induced to believe that the plan adopted by the Ottawa Government was a device for dispossessing them of their lands, and were in revolt shortly before the arrival of Governoi McDougall. Their leader was Louis Riel, a half-breed, of considerable influence, of a daring, subtle, and malignant dis- position. Associated with him were Ambrose Lepine and John Bruce. They had soon a force of four hundred armed men, and seized Fort Garry and other points. Governor McDougall was notified to leave the territory under pain of death before nine o'clock the next day. He did not get a fair chance to sliow what he could do. The Hudson's Bay officers who, had they chosen to support him, could have stamped out this contemptible rebellion in a day, were only too much in sympathy with Riel and his cause. This dog-in-the- manger policy was about to meet a deserved rebuff by Ontario's assuming tlie management of the magnificent country of whose products they had long held the most selfish of monopolies. The only other power that could and would have pacified the rebels. Bishop Tache, was absent in Rome. Meantime some fifty Canadians banded themselves together under the leadership of Dr. Schultz. They were seized by Riel and confined in the fort, ■; .■**'f9 208 Canada and the Canadian People. whence after three weeks' imprisonment, Schultz managed to escape. Riel threatened to have him shot if recaptured, and events soon showed that the half-breed would have kept his word. Fortunately Schultz escaped to Ontario. A second attempt was made to vindicate the authority of Canada by about a hundred men under Major Boulton, but Boulton, with forty others, was captured and sentenced to death. The Catholic and Protestant clergy with much difficulty saved his life. But among the prisoners was a young man named Thomas Scott, a thorough adherent of the Canadian cause, a Protestant and an Orangeman, and for both reasons regarded by Riel with vindictive hate. Riel had him tried by ^ mock " court-martial," and sen- tenced to be shot on the following morning. In vain did Methodist Mis- sionary Young and others beg a reprieve. At noon Scott was blindfolded, and led to a spot a few yards from the fort. He was ordered to kneel, and a volley was fired, three bullets piercing his body. One of the firing party then put a revolver to the wretched victim's head, and fired. This, however, did not end the agony, for Scott was heard to groan as the coffin was carried away. It will hardly be believed that Sir John A. Macdonald had the temerity to condone this, the foulest crime known to Canadian history, and to allow the murderers of Scott to escape all punishment. He was the slave of his French allies, who of course sided with their cornpatriots and co-religionists. It will scarcely be believed that the Orangemen, instead of being true to their principles, and demanding justice for the murder of a member of their order, again and again voted into power the men and tlie Ministry on whose head rests to this day the unavengeti blood of Thomas Scott. A fiasco of Fenian revolt in 1871 once more alarmed the country, and another attempt at a raid was made on the Missisquoi frontier. The Imperial authorities were now under the influence of a doctrine most forcibly put forward in a series of letters by Professor Goldwin Smith, and publish d in the London Daily News, that the colonies would be better ofl", more self-reliant, and less burdensome to England, if they were independent. In accordance with this just and statesmanlike view, it was resolved to withdraw the soldiers employed to garrison Canadian citi.:;s, with the exception of a few troops stationed at Halifax, on account of the necessity for that port being retained as a naval depot. Tiiis withdrawal of the foreign soldiers was, in every respect, a gain to Canada. Every vice followed in the train of the regi- ment. Drunkenness and prostitution are notoriously most prevalent in garrison towns, and the artificial would-be aristocratic manner of the men tended to create a vicious social tone, to disgust young Canadians with the industries of peace, and to teach our fine ladies to disapprove of the simpler ways of their own countrymen. It was a good day for Canada when the Recent Years. 209 last regiment marched down the historic hill where Wolfe and Montcalm and Montgomery fell. New retribution fell on the Macdonald Cabinet in the revelation of its full connection with the Pacific Scandal disclosures, which are too recent in the public mind to need repetition here. The history of Ontario, the premier Province of Canada, the only one entirely solvent and entirely Liberal, is that happiest of all histories, one with few marked events, and a quiet progress of self-improvement and beneficent, because practical, administration. Under Mr. Mowat's Govern- ment economical rule has been carried out to a degree unapproached as yet by any Province in the Dominion. Party,' at least on the main issues which divide the contending factions at Ottawa, has been banished from the Provincial Councils, appointments in the Civil Service have been made, not from a party standpoint, but on the sole grounds of efficiency for the public service, and, as a consequence, a Government has been established solid in the confidence and in the affections of the people. The ghost of the Family Compact has, in vain, attempted to do evil with its old weapons, calumny and corruption — the former has proved its own refutation, the latter is now in the criminal's dock of our Police Court. H : i" H it- I 11 T^rm. 'H! SIR FRANCIS IIINCKS. If Ci ««(:" It'': PART II. Countti mti l!^ouin of Peterborough ^ii i |[ .111 lit ill ! COUNTY AND TOWN OF PETERBOROUGH. 0< Chapter I. COUNTY OF PETERBOROUGH. Lakes and rivers — mineral resqnrces — early settlement — organisation — railroads. HE County of Peterborough is one of the largest in Ontario, occupying an ahnost central position between the eastern and western counties. It is bounded on the south by the chain of waters known as the Oton- abee River, Rice Lake, and River Trent, which sepa- rate it from the Counties of Durham and Northumberland ; on the east by the County of Hastings; on the west by the Coun- ties of Durham and Victoria ; and on the north by the County of Haliburton. This extensive tract of territory presents us with a view of every stage and condition of Canadian pro- gress, from the wild lands in the unsettled townships of the north, where the Indian hunter still camps in the unbroken forest, to the glories of the "plate glass city," the richly settled country, and the comely villages of the south ; from the lakes and lakelets, only traversed by the birch-bark canoe of the red man, and ruffled only by the paddle in his brawny hands, to the southern water-highway, astir with steamship and barge. Generally speaking, the surface of the land is undulating, the k 2l6 History of the County of Peterborough. southern portion being decidedly hilly. It is covered, for the most part, with oak, maple, and other hardwood, intermixed with pine, with birch and cedar preponderating in the region of the numerous swamps and "drowned land." The County of Peterborough is one of the best watered of the counties in Ontario. In all of its fifteen townships, with the exception of three or four in the south, are found picturesque lakes, large and small. The townships — North Monaghan, Otonabee, Asphodel, and Dummer — which cannot boast of having these lovely sheets of water within their boundaries, can at least claim to have some of the largest lakes and the swiftest rivers for their boundaries. At the western centre of the county, a chain of lakes, the principal of which are Pigeon, Buckhorn, Chemong, and Stony Lakes, enters it from the County of Victoria, extending, with many bays, inlets, and smaller lakes, across the country to the extremity of Stony Lake, about twelve miles from the eastern boundary of the county. Then, from the western extremity of Stony Lake, this large body of water Hows in a south-westerly direction in the shape of the letter Z, through Clear Lake and Katche- wanooka Lake, both of which are really contractions of Stony Lake, through the River Otonabee, and past Lakefield and Peterborough, into Rice Lake, whence its outlet, the River Trent, Howing onwards through the beautiful Trent Valley, leaves the county at the south line of the Township of Bel- mont, to go, "through cataract after cataract," to the Bay of Ouintti. There is something enchantingly beautiful and pic- turesque in the scenery about these lakes. Stony Lake, the principal of the chain, is dotted from one end to the other along the south shore with islands of every size. These afford excel- lent accommodation for camping parties, which lend to the lonely The Lakes of Peterborough. 217 waters a liveliness unknown since the clays when the Indians shot to and fro in their canoes between the islands. In the summer of 1883 this beautiful inland archipelago was invaded by a merry crowd — probably the largest that it has yet seen, or may see for years to come. Reference is made to the annual meet of the American Canoe Association, the members of which are spread over all parts of the United States and Canada. The peculiar charm of Stony Lake is that we admire, no longer, as in Mrs. Moodie's day,* in the heart of the wilderness, but, with its idyllic beauty still unimpaired, "another Lake of the Thousand Isles in miniature." Here were it fitting to read over and over again, from " Roughing it in the Bush," the graphic picture of the scene as it was before gay pleasure boai and white and gold steamers, laden with many a (lower of Canadian youth and beauty, come to enliven — not to change — its loveliness. W^ith what warmth of colour this scenery of lake and islet is depicted ! and how vivacious is the story ! how mother and children rise before us in the enjoyment of their holiday among the islands ! Clear Lake, at the south-western extremity of Stony Lake, is a handsome expanse about three miles long by half a mile wide, It might aptly be called the Lake of Storms, from the frequent and dangerous squalls which have long made it dreaded by lumbermen and hunters. It is, however, as lovely as it is dangerous, especially at the entrance to Stony Lake, where it expands into a width of about a mile. Below Clear Lake is Katchewanooka Lake, about four miles long by a-quarter of a mile wide. Through this, as mentioned before, the waters of the chain of lakes flow into the River ilil^ See " Roughing it in the Bush," Rose Belford edition, p. 338. I ) m i: 218 History of the County of Peterborough. Otonabee. The shelving banks of crumbling and stratified Umestone are gay with the cardinal flower and tiger-lily, while the water is as blue as a transparent turquoise. In the north-west corner of the Township of Methuen and about eight miles north-east of St*)ny Lake, with which it is connected by Jack's Creek, is a lake the real and common name of which is Jack's Lake, although on one map, at least, it is called White Lake. It derived its name from Handsome Jack, an Indian chief, who claimed all the streams and l^nds in this locality as his fishing and hunting grounds. He was considered the handsomest man among the Chippewas, then commanded by " Cap." Paudash, of Rice Lake; he stood six feet four inches in height and weighed fully 250 pounds. He belonged to the Cow family, and among the whites was known as Jack Cow. Stony Lake, Loon Lake in the Township of Chandos, and all the streams south. of Loon Lake were claimed by him as his inherited property. He was most tenacious of his rights, and would inyariably destroy all the traps of white men he found set on his streams. But he would allow the pale face to hunt for deer and partridge, or to fish in the streams, so long as no furs were taken. Handsome Jack usually lived in a birch-bark , wigwam, which he moved from place to place as circumstances required. Although he never missed an opportunity of rather greedily asserting his right to his streams and ii^nting grounds he, nevertheless, was very hospitable to those who were friendly with him. He would often invite the whites to his wigwam and would order his squaw to prepare a good meal of rice, beaver, and partridge boiled with a little pounded corn. This was " Te Pake," a hodge-podge mixture, somewhat akin to an Irish stew. The hospitable Indian would sit by and apparently enjoy seeing the white man eat at his fireside. When the repast was finished An Indian Anecdote, 219 he would light his pipe and relate thrilling scenes of his wild life in hunting the bear, wolf, aeer, and other animals with which the woods were alive. Handsome Jack was the father of two lovely girls named "Baby Cow" and "Polly Cow," both of whom inherited their father's extreme beauty and perfect sym- metry of form. The latter grew up a most beautiful maiden ; her soft-tinted complexion, heightened by the rosy-hued blossom of health, and her long black hair reaching nearly to the ground, rendered her an object of envy to other dusky damsels. She possessed a fine voice, and on many a moonlight night have the pine-crowned islands of Stony Lake re-echoed the sweet melody of her quaint and weird native songs, the faint ripple of the waters keeping time as she paddled her canoe beneath the shadows of the overhanging boughs or out on the open lake in the splendour of the full moon. She was the ever-worshipped idol of her father and of many others, who were alarmed when, at the age of sixteen years, she grew ill of a fever. The best efforts of the " medicine men " were futile to stay the ravages of the disease, and Handsome Jack was- inconsolable. So died the beautiful Polly Cow on an evening when the setting sun shot golden shafts through the frost-bitten leaves that fluttered in the autumn wind. The old Indian chief was heart-broken. He was determined that his darling daughter should sleep in a fitting grave, and accordingly repaired to one, the most southern, of the three islands at the point where the waters of Clear Lake run into Katchewanooka — the Water of Many Rapids. On this island, about ten feet from the water's edge, he dug the grave with his own hands and walled it up with stones. Then, placing the body in a birch-bark coffin, he paddled it down the lake in his canoe and buried it in the grave he had prepared beneath a balsam tree, which is still standing to mark the lonely grave <^g^g 1 ^■""^.y;if'i 'v^^sff^ffi HHUH 11 tl/li: JTiLkXH-M ™' ""m II 'ii i ' <» nl il pi il'sj't , f > • ! - ,„ •.■■■^i':-i^! ' lli ' X' m ifii I II :20 History of the County of Peterborough. of Handsome Jack's daughter. The disconsolate father then cleared away the tree^s and brushwood between the grave and the water's edge, so that the dead girl's spirit could wander there daily for water, as was the Indian belief. Night after night did the sad-hearted chief watch by the grave, until he joined his daughter in the Happy Hunting Grounds in 1835. Since the occurrence of this touching incident, these islands have been called the Polly Cow Islands. They are only about half a mile below 'the small village of Young's Point, and can be easily visited by the tourist or others who would like to stand under the balsam tree that shades Polly Cow's grave. A few years ago, some young Englishmen who were residing in the neighbourhood arranged a plan to steal the remains of the lovely Indian maiden and send them to England, as a curiosity, together with the story of her marvellous beauty, her death and burial ; but, happily, the act of vandalism was frustrated. The squaw of Handsome Jack survived him many years, and married an Indian named Snow-storm. Chemong Lake, which separates the Township of Ennismore from those of Smith and North Monaghan, is a fine straight stretch of water, twelve miles long by one mile wide. From the high banks on both sides, and especially from the road along the eastern shore leading from Bridgenorth to Selwyn, a lovely view is obtained of tree-covered hills rising abruptly from the water's edge, and of thriving farms, until the view is lost in the purplish haze hanging over the far distant trees to the right and the lake to the left. This lake offers a splendid stretch for boat-racing, and is often used for that purpose by Peterborough's Hanlans, it being only six miles from that town. From the Village of Bridgenorth, a floating bridge one mile in length crosses the lake to the Ennismore side. Unfortunately, it is I; Cliemoiig aiid other Lakes. 221 not kept in anything like such decent repair as should be given to the only highway between Ennismore and Peterborough. Some of the people in this district are guilty of a terrible uarbarism. They overlook the euphonious beauty of the Indian word Chemong and call this lovely piece of water Mud Lake, thus giving to strangers, who have never seen it, the idea of a dirty swamp or marsh being located in their vicinity, instead of a deep expanse of clear and fresh water, as it really is. The area of Buckhorn Lake, between the Townships of Ennismore, Harvey and Smith, is about that of Chemong Lake. Pigeon Lake, a large body of water, is partly in Peterborough and partly in Victoria county. The northern portion of the County of Peterborough contains chains of small lakes nearly one hundred in number. Some of these possess names of historic character, being the names of Indian chiefs by whom they were claimed, with the land sur- rounding them, for hunting and fishing purposes. The first, worthy of mention, is Eels Lake, located in the north-east corner of the Township of Anstruther. It derives its name from " Eels," a subordinate chie^ of the Chippewas. Its outlet is Eels River, a deep and swift-running stream of much import- ance for milling and log-floating purposes, which flows directly south for about forty miles, until it enters Stony Lake, about seven miles east of Burleigh P^alls. " Eels " was a brother of " Handsome Jack." In the Township of Methuen, to the south-east of Jack's Lake, is Bottle Lake, so-called from the resemblance of its shape to that of a bottle. It empties itself into Kashabogamog Lake, also in Methuen township. " Kasha- bogamog" means "lake of many passages," and like all Indian names is particularly 'appropriate. Its shape resembles very- much a hand with wide outstretched fingers, each finger being .i- 222 History of the County of Peterborough. a long and narrow piece of water. Some years ago, a wealthy young Englishman named Falaasa met his death by drowning in this lake. This chain of lakes, together with Clear Lake three miles eastward, was formerly owned by John and Moses Taunchay, tv/o Indian brothers, who held it and the surrounding land for many years as hunting and fishing grounds. Mas- sossaga and Kitcheoum Lakes, in the southern portion of the Township of Cavendish, on the east side of the Buckhorn Road, were at one time the hunting and fishing grounds of a Chemong Lake Indian named Isaac Irons, whose squaw was a sister of Handsome Jack. Loon Lake, situated in the centre of the Township of Chandos, is a beautiful lake of very irregular shape, having no less than twelve distinct bays. The water is from twelve to twenty-five feet in depth, and is very clear and cool, its supply being principally derived from springs. It was originally called, by the Indians, Mongosogan ; but, when the white man reached it, after making his way through the forests that lay between it and civilization, it received its present name out of respect to the thousands of loons that annually repaired to these waters, about the first of June, for the purpose of rearing their young. When full grown, the loon is about the size of a goose, and of a speckled white and black colour ; the head is jet black, and the long neck white. The nests are built along the banks, upon rocks close to the water's edge, and contain but two eggs, of a dark greenish-blue colour, with black spots, and nearly as large as those of the goose. Whenever the loon is alarmed during the hatching season, it immediately dives under the water, where it will often remain for five minutes. After the young are reared, they usually disappear on the approach of the autumn frosts. One peculiar characteristic of the bird is its inability mm ''■ rm risk in the Northern Lakes. 223 to rise from the water without the assistance of a strong breeze. This is owing to their weight, which is about seventeen pounds. They feed altogether on fish, devouring such quantities that they are totally unfit for food, the meat being so impregnated with the smell of fish. They have often been caught on a fisherman's night line, the hooks being baited with minnows. Loon Lake has no inlet, except Tallan's Creek, which rises in Tallan's Lake, four miles north. Its only outlet is at the north- east angle, whence a small stream, called Paudash Creek, flows about a mile anc' a half into Deer River, thereby becoming a a tributary to the Trent River. Notwithstanding the purity of the water of this lake, so far as can be ascertained, even from the oldest traditions of the Indians, it is entirely destitute of salmon, bass, maskinonge, and such like fish as are caught in the other lakes of the county. The few fish it contains are small, such as chub, perch, suckers, cat-fish, and sun-fish. The perch alone are of a fair size, but, owing to being infested with a small worm which lies along the back bone, they are entirely unfit for food. About seven years ago the Government made an effort to stock this and other lakes in northern Peter- borough with salmon. They deposited 5,000,000 small fry of white fish and California salmon. Last fall the first of the salmon that have been known to be caught were caught in Stony Lake, but none have been found in any of the other lakes. Those caught at Stony Lake weighed about five pounds. It is the opinion of Samuel Edgar, who resides on the south shore of the lake, and who made the deposits for the Government, that the greater portion of the fry were nearly dead when they were deposited, owing to the long distance they had been transported. If the Government would spend a few hundred dollars in transferring some of the large salmon and V- i\ i!i ^■\\ a ', 224 History of the County of Peterborough. I I bass to this and Tallan's Lake, .thereby allowing the fish to deposit their own spawn, only a few years would be needed to stock the lakes with the choicest food for the settlers, who would greatly appreciate such a boon. The sand along the shores of the lake becomes as black as gunpowder after having been out of the water a short time. It is the opinion of many that the whole bottom of the lake is an iron deposit, iron ore being found in many parts of Chandos township. This may account for the scarcity and poor quality of the fish. The Indians claim that the lake contains plenty of salmon and bass, but that only an Indian can catch them. Many white men, who consider themselves as good fishermen as the Indians, have sought in vain for salmon and bass in this lake, and are now satisfied that it contains none whatever. In the centre of the Township of Belmont is Belmont Lake, about five miles long by three wide. Round Lake, about two miles to the west, is connected with it by a wide but short river. It also receives the waters of another small lake to the north. Its outlet is from the south-western angle, by a river, which ultimately causes its waters to empty into the Trent River. Rice Lake, which is part of the southern boundary of the County of Peterborough, is a very large body of water, about thirty miles long by five miles wide. Through it, into the Trent River, passes the water from the great chain of lakes in the centre of the county. The people of the County of Peterborough may well be proud of, and thankful for, the lovely lakes and magnificent water-powers given to them by ever- bountiful Nature. The County of Peterborough presents a varied and fruitful field for the researches of the geologist. In all the townships the structure of the earth is such as to make it interesting for The Minerals hi the Cotoity. 225 the scientist ; while in many the prospector, who seeks something more profitable than the study of science for itself alone, finds in the depths of the earth minerals of great value. Speaking geologically, the southern townships, including North Monaghan, Otonabee, Asphodel, Belmont, Dummer, Douro,' Smith, and Ennismore, are all on what is known as the Trenton limestone formation, the only exceptions being the extreme northern parts of Smith and Dummer, and north-east part of Belmont, which are on the borders of the Laurentian formation. The lower strata of the Trenton formation outlyings are also found in the southern parts of Harvey and Burleigh. All the other townships are in the Laurentian formation. The mineral deposits of this county have not been as well explored as those of more eastern counties ; this may be accounted for by the fact that it is not as well opened up by roads or railways. In the north, where there are very valuable deposits, the land is heavily timbered and the means of getting out the ores very limited. The discoveries that have been made so far in this district are by amateurs, but there is little doubt that as it becomes more settled, new roads opened and old ones improved, it will become the scene of great mining industries. Some of the eastern counties of Ontario have become noted for the valuable ores they contain. Peter- borough County will yet have such a reputation, for in it have been struck the minerals, gold, iron, lead, yellow copper ore, plumbago, mica, white and grey marble, that are found in the counties spoken of. So far, the mineral that has been most worked in this county is iron, the principal explorations in which have been made in Belmont and Galway, two corner townships dieigonally opposite each other ; iron has also been found in Methuen, Harvey, Burleigh and Chandos, In Marmora Township, County of 15 '■'■"'! ■ 'i \ ■■^^'■■■1.;| m F. ■ . . 226 History of the County of Peterborough. Hastings, very valuable iron mines owned by an enterprising American company, are being worked with most gratifying results. This ore is declared by experts to be of the best quality in the world. As Marmora adjoins Belmont, there is good reason for anticipating for investors in the latter the same results that have rewarded the enterprise of those in the former town- ship. Up to the present time large deposits of iron ore have been found in Belmont. The Blairton mine on lots 7 and 8, in 1st concession, belonging to the Cobourg, Peterborough and Marmora Mining and Railway Company, has produced large quantities of ore, the yield at one time being as much as five hundred tons a day. The Company just named is an amalga- mation of two distinct organizations having no connection. The mining company was one thing, the railway another. But, either from want of practical knowledge or from some other cause, the mine was found to be unprofitable; and the railway collapsed, as so many other things have fizzled out, because it was built" in ignorance of certain natural laws, the bridge across Rice Lake, which was built on timber piles, being unable to stand the stress of expanding and contracting ice. In 1866 an Act of Parliament was passed authorizing incorporation, and the new company came into existence with an English and Canadian and United States proprietory. From 1 867 the company worked at the mine steadfastly and energetically, but at a considerable loss during the first two years. After that the mine paid its expenses, and in 1871 began to yield a profit. A great draw- back to be contended against was the fact that the ore contained a large amount of sulphur ; but a scientific expedient reduced this almost to nothing. The iron taken out was found to be of excellent character, possessing some special qualities so valuable that great American smelters are anxious to get the ore to mix The Minerals in the' County. 227 with others — such mixture being found to produce a very superior kind of iron. In order to convey the ore to its destina- tion this company built a short railway nine miles in length. Starting from the mine on lots 7 and 8 of the ist concession, it ran south-west through the small village of Blairton, a mile distant ; then, continuing south-west, it met the River Trent at a point near the " Narrows," where a bend in the river touches lot I, in the loth concession of Belmont. After being taken along this line in flat cars the ore was dumped into scows and towed up the Trent and through Rice Lake to Harwood, whence it was conveyed by the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway to Cobourg ; from Cobourg it was taken in schooners to American lake ports. Unfortunately this industry, which promised such bright results, succumbed to the depression in the iron trade in 1878. The main shaft of the mine is now filled with surface water, which ran into it after it had ceased to be worked, but it could, and no doubt will, be again put in proper working condition. Now that the Ontario and Quebec Railway, which runs through Belmont and is only three miles distant from the Blairton mine, is completed, it is almost certain that this and other like industries will ere long be in full blast. A large deposit of valuable magnetic iron ore has recently been found on lot 19, in ist concession of Belmont, being about four miles from the Cobourg and Marmora Railway, six miles from the Ontario and Quebec Railway, and five miles from the Ontario Central Railway. The following analysis will show the quality of this deposit, and may also be accepted as regarding other deposits in the township : — till? ! 228 History of the County of Peterborough, ' Certificate of Analysis of sample of Magnetic Iron Ore, from Lot ig, in the I'irst Concession of Belmont, County of Peterborough, Ontario, fonvarded for analysis by T, D. Ledyard, Esq., Toronto. Sample dried at 212 deg. | Average specific gravity 4-01. The ore contains : Ferrous oxide 27*22 = Iron 21 "17 Ferric oxide 61 '56 = Iron 43*09 Alumina, etc. (by difference) 0*84 Titanium None. Sulphur 0*04 Phosphorous Faint trace. Pyroxenic rock-matter 10*34 lOO'OO Metallic Iron, 64*26 per cent. This is an exceedingly good ore ; not too dense in texture, rich in metal, quite free from titanium, and practically from phosphorus and sul. phur. It is well adapted for final treatment by the Bessemer process. The intermixed rock-matter would be almost self-fluxing. EDWARD J. CHAPMAN, Ph.D., Professor in University College and School of Practical Science, Toronto. Toronto, May 7th, 1884. When the fact that the very best iron ore can contain no more than 72 per cent, of metallic iron is taken into considera- rton, it will be seen at once how valuable are the deposits in the township, which average 64"26 per cent. On lots 27, in the 13th and 14th concessions of Gal way, there are deposits of magnetic iron ore which, by Prof. Chapman's analysis, yield over 62 per cent, of metallic iron, with no titanium and only slight traces of sulphur and phosphorus. On lots 23 and 25 in 12th concession of Galway, are also deposits of excel- lent magnetic iron ore similar t the above. All of these are first-class Bessemer steel ores. In Chandos, on the 2nd conces- sion, is the Clydesdale mine, owned by Mr. Coe, who is engaged in mining very extensively in the adjoining County of Hastings. The Minerals of the County. 229 The mine was opened in the fall of 1883. During the present spring (1884) a steam drill was put in and preparations made for thoroughly opening up the deposit. On the Bobcaygeon Road, about six miles south of Kinmount, are most promising lead mines owned. and operated by the Galway Lead Mining Company of Peterborough. Gold has been found in Belmont some time before it was struck in Madoc. and also in Chandos ; in Belmont a Canadian company did a litde working, but subsequently sold out to an American com- pany, who allowed it to drop. Plumbago occurs in several places in the Township of Galway ; lot 2, in 1 5th concession, about three miles from Kinmount, appears to contain it in ([uantity. The northern and north-eastern pans of Belmont contain large and valuable beds of marble ; some of it is of very fine grain and appears to be fine enough for sculpturing purposes while other kinds are coarser. Both white and grey varieties' are found in general abundance. In the east part of Belmont a good quality of marble is foimd. It is rather gritty, render- ing it difficult for engraving purposes. Mica is found in the County of Peterborough, but of such a poor quality as to be quite useless. Copper has been found in Chandos and other northern townships. All along the line of the Trent Valley Canal are found quarries of excellent Trenton limestone, which is being utilized for building locks. Up to the partial settlement of the Township of Smith in 18 18 the County of Peterborough was a wilderness, known only as the Indian hunting grounds beyond Rice Lake, and but rarely explored even by the adventurous hunter from the front settlements of Lake Ontario, who went forth with Indian guides to invade its solitudes in quest of game. But in 1818 a small colony of mountaineers and " dalemen " from Cumberland, in IM m. H 230 History of the County of Peterborough. li the north of England, obtained grants of land in the newly- surveyed region now known as the Township of Smith. As there was no road, not even a track marked by the "blaze" of the woodman's axe, through the forests from " Smith's Creek," they made their way in boats across Ric ike and up the Otonabee River, surmounting with difficulty 'us numerous por- tages. Reaching the southern part of the 'jiresent townshij), they erected a rude log hut just outside the limits of the present Town of Peterborough. This served as a temporary abode for the entire party, till, aiding one another in the work, they could erect a log house on each man's grant of land. The names of the men comprising the first settlement were as follows : — William Dixon and family of five sons ; Joseph Lee and his sons John and George ; Robert Millburn, Robert Walton, John Walton, Walton Wilson, Thomas W. Millburn, John Smith, and Joseph Smith, his son. Other pioneer se*^ s who arrived in the same season of 18 18, but a little la. .an those above enumerated, were ; — John Harvey, Ralph Bickerton, Alexander Morrison, Jacob Bromwell, Robert Nicholson, James Mann, and his son of the same name, Thomas Lockhart and John Yates. During the next two or three years arrived Walter McKibbon, Samuel McKibbon, William Tully (ancestor of the gentleman elsewhere referred to as being at the head of the Engineer's Branch of the Public Works Department, Toronto), Thomas Robinson, Isaac Nicholson, Silas Pearson, Joseph Walton and sons (this family was quite unconnected with the Walton whose name is given in the former list — the eldest of the sons became Reeve of Smith Township); Matthew and Richard Bell, John Edmison, Ephraim Jackson and sons, and Thomas Millburn. It may seem tedious to set down what may appear to out- sidcx s a mere barren list of names, but to those who have watched Early Settlement. 331 with intelligent i iterest the history of the settlement of this county, every one of the foregoing names tells its own story of patient endurance and victorious industry. Every one of them is a condensed biography, a lesson in self-help ! The first step to be taken by the intending settler of those days was to take the oath of allegiance before one of the ofificials appointed for the purpose, and obtain a certificate of having done so. This was by no means as easy as it may appear. For if, for any reason, and the merest caprice in many recorded instances served as a reason, the Family Compact official refused to administer the oath, the intending settler had no redress; the ground was, literally enough, cut from under his feet! Next, a " location ticket " was granted for the lot of land. For this a merely nominal fee was charged. In the early days of the settle- ment, as the stream of immigration began to enter the county, a fee of $25 was paid. That done, a full title deed securing absolute property in the land, was granted on the production of an affida t signed by two witnesses, that what was called "set- tlement dui.fis " had been performed, and a house of at least 18 feet by 20 built on the lot. This the settler had to present in person at the land office, and thus was obliged to undertake the separate journeys to the capital, Little York. Those who, like the present writer, have visited the remote backwoods districts north of the settled parts along the Ottawa and its tributaries, where pioneer farm settlements follow the track of the lumber camp, can form some idea of the hardships undergone by the first settlers of Peterborough County at a period still within the memory of living men. Around them — north, south, east and west — surged an illimitable forest sea, through which for years they had only the precarious guidance of the axe-hewn " blaze " upon the trees, a mode of marking vlMl|ji 'k\ 232 History of the County of Peterborough. i the path easily missed even by a practised eye. Even the rudest and remotest backwoods settlements now have appliances and advantages that were then unknown — handier tools, better weapons, easier methods of obtaining supplies. With difficulty and by slow degrees a clearing was effected here and there, and a patch of corn, or wheat, or potatoes, sown in the rich, virgin earth between the blackened tree stumps. In those earliest years of settlement, it was indeed an anxious time when the first winter supplies were exhausted, and the settler and his children watched the slow growth of their little harvest, " First the blade, then the leaf, , Then the full corn in the ear." Those, who could afford to procure supplies of provisions had to convey them, on an ox team, from the Lake Ontario shore through trackless swamps, and by canoe across Rice Lake to the frontier settlement. But few could afford this. Many a family has been without bread for weeks, and old settlers tell of all manner of contrivances which their parents devised to procure sufficient food to sustain life. The mother of one leading land- owner in the richest part of the county, was accustomed to go into the woods and gather and eat the green buds of the basswood tree, of which she would then bring an apronful home to her children. As an instance of the hardships to which their isolated position and want of roads exposed these immigrants, the following facts are given, on the respectable authority of Dr. Poole, of Peterborough : " Late in the autumn, a number of the younger men of the settlement started in company for Port Hope (then Smith's Creek), to bring in a supply of provisions, of which their families began to be sorely in need. The journey was made by way of the Otonabee River and Rice Lake, and on their way back to their expectant households, they If ' Difficulties and Privations. 233 encamped on an island in Rice Lake. The season was already advanced, and a keen frost setting in, what was their surprise and mortification to find themselves next morning hemmed in by an icy barrier which stretched away in the distance and blocked up the mouth of the river through which their course lay. Imagine their impatience at being thus delayed, well knowing that during their absence their loved ones were living on short allowance, and their children vainly stretching out their hands for bread. On the next day the ice became sufficiently firm to support them, and they proceeded on their way over its glassy surface dragging their canoe with their provisions behind them." Even when the clearings began to widen and the virgin soil, unwooed for centuries, began to give abundant harvests, their difficulties as to "daily bread " did not cease. There was as yet no mill in the county, and to drag the sacks of grain through the leagues of forest to Port Hope or Cobourg was impossible. Many were the contrivances to pulverize the wheat grain, into some resemblance to Hour. The wheat was pounded between two stones, or in mortars made out of the hollowed stumps of hardwood trees. Happy were they who possessed a handmill such as we use for grinding spices ! The wheat was roasted, boiled, even chewed as food for little children, as was mentioned by the deputation from Smith Township (elsewhere referred to) to Sir Peregrine Maitlaid on his visit. As time went on and pathways were cleared on the lines of communication, it became possible, though at the expense of labour which severely taxed the strength of a strong man, to drag a sack of grain through the woods to Smith's Creek. Soon a very poor attempt at a water-mill was set up on Gallo- way's Creek in Cavan, and Dr. Poole states that a wealthy rv «'■■ 234 History of the County of Peterborough. n^ farmer in Smith Township informed him that on one occasion he, with his father, started with an ox sleigh laden with grain by the paths cut through the woods to Galloway's. They found the creek frozen hard and the mill wheel fixed immovable. But their family had been two weeks without bread, and they toiled all night in chopping away the ice; a few revolutions of the wheel was all they could obtain, and they were compelled to return disappointed. The beginning of the prosperity of this county was when Sir Peregrine Maitland, in response to the petition of the Smith deputation, built the Government grist mill at Peterborough. From this date the county began to be regarded as one of the most eligible localities for intending settlers. About this time two steamers began to navigate the waters of Rice Lake and plied daily to Peterborough. In 1833, was con- ceived the vast undertaking of the Trent Valley Canal which should connect the waters of Lake Simcoe, and ultimately of Georgian Bay, with Lake Ontario through the Bay of Quinte. Mr. N. H. Baird, C. E., who had been appointed to make the survey, estimated the total cost of the canal at ^495,515. A committee of the Upper Canada Legislature was appointed to consider the subject. This body recommended that the construc- tion of the upper portion be proceeded with, and important works were undertaken and completed at several points. Below Rice Lake ^90,000 was expended. The locks at Whitlaw's Rapids, just below Peterborough, were completed, and considerable sums expended in improving the navigation of the river between Rice Lake and that place. The locks at Bobcaygeon were under- taken as early as 1833-4 by Messrs. Pearse, Dumble and Hoar, contractors, for ^1,600; but owing to the unsettled state of the country, caused by the rebellion of 1837, and the union of the The Trent Valley Canal. 235 provinces, which followed, the attention of the Government was withdrawn, and no effort made to carry on the work to its completion. Since then (quotation is made from the Special Report for 1880 of Mr, T. D. Belcher, the Superintendent En- gineer, and embodied in the Annual Report of the Minister of Railways and Canals) extensive works have been constructed by the Government at Port Perry, Lindsay, Fenelon Falls, Bobcay- geon, Buckhorn Lake, the big chute of Burleigh, the Lakefield dam, as well as in the river below Peterborough. Mr. Belcher, a most competent authority, declares, at the conclusion of his report, that "there seems to be now life and activity along the entire route of the extensive navigation, which is nearly 200 miles in length." That the near future will see the completion of this work there can be no doubt, as every effort is being made to push it forward. At Burleigh Falls, Lovesick Rapids, Hall's Village, Bobcaygeon, and P'enelon Falls, active prepa- rations are being made for the construction of the locks. At the first named place, a large gang of men are busy getting out the stone, a fine limestone, for the locks In the vicinity, which will be 134 feet long by 33 feet wide. No more picturesque trip can be recommended to the tourist than that from Peterborough along this intricate chain of lakes. Everywhere the mirror-like How of lake, turquoise-blue as the sky, or saddened into sombre green by impending woods ; every- where the same not unpleasant monotony of v/ater and forest- fringe ; here and there a thriving village brings one back to the associations of human life, or pleasure seekers from the cities ply their skiffs or canoes : " Youtli at the prow, and pleasure at the hehii." In strange contrast to these more agreeable aspects of our trip, we see acre upon acre of drowned land, something that is neither ■4;' ■ Ib^ 236 History of the County of Peterborough. land nor lake, but a most unpleasant compound of both, where the ghastly tree stumps give a secure station to mud turtle or fish hawk, and where myriads of dead trees spread their grey skeletons in the summer sun. In 1839, the townships surrounding the town of Peter- borough were formed into a new district, to which, in 1841, was given the name of the Colborne District. This included what are now part of the border counties. A new council was therefore elected in 184 1. Its members were as follows: — George A. Hill, Warden. Monaghan Thomas Harper. Smith Stephen Nichols. Doiiro S. D. GiBBS. Otonabce Thomas Carr, James Davis. Emily Josiah L. Hughes, Wm. Cottingham. Asphodel Richard Birdsall. . Ops r. Kelly. Fenelon John Langton. Verula>ii and Harvey ...Thom\s Need. Eniiismore D. Costello. Mariposa S. Davidson. Eldon Alexander Campbell. Dnmmer Alexander Kidd. John Darcus, Clerk. Dr. John Gilchrist, Treasurer. In 1863 the County of Peterborough was separated from the County of Victoria. The Railway Kings who, about 1850, directed the current of the country's capital by their choice of centres for converging- lines early fixed their favourable attention on the town of Peter- borough. In 1 85 1 the Grand Junction Railway, to connect tht; River St. Lawrence and the Georgian Bay, began to be discussed. The County Council voted ^950 towards the expenses of a preliminary survey and report in reference to it. In 1853 a by-law pledging the county to take stock in the The Railway Era. 237 new railway to the amount of ^100,000 was passed. All the townships in the united counties voted for the by-law with the exception of Otonabee which went solidly against it. Some reckless speculation in land accompanied the hopes of the construction of this road ; but, owing to the breaking out of the Crimean War and the stringency of the money market attendant thereon, the building of the railway was not undertaken. During the session of 1853 a charter was granted to the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway ; at the same time an amendment was added to the former charter of the Port Hope and Peterborough Railway, authorizing that company to build an extension from any point on the main line into the County of Victoria as far as the western boundary of the Township of Mariposa. Peterborough, although she was the proposed terminus of both these railroads, persistently refused to render the slightest aid to either of them. However, through the enterprise of Cobourg the road from that town was pushed on and opened in the fall of 1854; the Port Hope company turned towards Lindsay, and in 1855 completed the railroad to that town. Unfortunately the Cobourg and Peterborough line proved not as permanent as was expected. The bridge across Rice Lake, three miles in length and built upon piles and piers, was found, during the winters of 1855-6-7, to be unable to withstand the action of the ice, thus leaving Peterborough for weeks without railway communication with the front. What made matters worse was the fact that the trade of the western townships of the county, which might have been centred in Peterborough had that town aided the Port Hope railroad, was being done in the towns along the line of the Port Hope and Lindsay road. After the completion of this road its lessee and managing director, John Fowler, commenced a vigorous ;'' iiii 238 History of the County of Peterborough. agitation for the construction of a line connecting Peterborough with his road at Millbrook. Port Hope, anxious to secure a part of the new trade that would result from the building of the branch, subscribed ;^io,ooo stock; Peterborough, after much discussion, followed suit to the amount of ^30,000. Both towns were guaranteed six per cent, on the stock subscribed, to be paid annually. Messrs. Tate and Fowler also supplied ^10,000. The road from Peterborough to Millbrook was completed in the fall of 1857, and on the 20th May, 1858, a train passed over it with the Government Inspecting Engineers. During the summer of 1857 Walter Shanly, C.E., was employed to report on the feasibility of making a permanent embankment of the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway bridge across Rice Lake, by filling it up with earth. Mr. Shanly estimated the cost at ^50,000. A portion of the bridge at the south shore was filled in, but the embarrassments of the road and the expense of the undertaking put a stop to further outlay. In the fall of i860 the road was finally closed after being in operation at intervals for six years. What may be called the skeleton of the bridge may still be seen stretched across Rice Lake. The original charter of this company empowered it to extend its road to Chemong Lake, but from non-usage this right expired in 1854. A separate company then obtained a charter to build a road to Chemong Lake from Peterborough. During 1857-8 this road was commenced as an extension of the Cobourg road, and completed as far as A, H, Canipbell & Co.'s mills, three miles up the river. From i860 the road became useless to either the Port Hope or Cobourg lines, both of which at times held the controlling stock in it. In 1880 the Grand Junction, connecting Peterborough and Belleville, was built ; and in 1883 the missmg link " between Peterborough and Omemee was • t I The Ontario and Quebec Railway. 239 supplied. The Ontario and Quebec Railway, the Ontario branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was completed in the spring of the present year (1884), and opened for traffic on July I St of the same year. This road, running from Toronto to Mon- treal, is destined to do an immense amount of good by opening up a large track of country rich in minerals, timber and grain. It runs directly east and west through the four southern town- ships of the County of Peterborough, crossing the River Otonabee at the Town of Peterborough on a most substantial bridge erected at considerable cost. In building the road care has been taken that nothing but what was first-class should be used. Heretofore it has taken four hours to go to Toronto from Peterborough, but now, owing to the more direct line of the Ontario and Quebec, the distance is made in about two hours. Probably the most comprehensive general view of the county scenery and farming capabilities may be obtained by driving over some of its most remarkable roads. In doing this let us begin at its north-western border, and drive leisurely from Bobcaygeon through the Township and Village of Ennismore, over the bridge across Lake Chemong to the prettily built summer resort of Bridgenorth, and so on past Peterborough town to Keene to the south, visiting also the Indian Reserve on Rice Lake which is named Hiawatha, after the Indian hero of Longfellow's cele- brated poem. Lakefield should be visited for its scenery, and literary associations with the gifted family of the Stricklands and Mrs. Moodie's delightful autobiographical books. From Peter- borough it is a pleasant drive to the village of Norwood, thence to the hamlet of Westwood in the same township (Asphodel), with its pretty Gothic church nestling amid the trees. From Norwood a drive of six miles takes us to the village of Hast- ings, thence to return by steamer to Peterborough, after visiting J inl I 1 ,,■1 1 ' ' ■ i : 1 . i r?iaa 2 Ilffl« II. ''■S \m 240 History of the County of Peterborough. the smaller villages of Dummer and Asphodel. Of the northern townships, the best idea is obtained by proceeding on the Victoria Division of the Midland Railway to Kinmount, a picturesque hamlet in Galway, and driving east to Cavendish, Anstruther and Chandos. Such is Peterborough County. Its remoter townships are still heavy with uncleared forest, while those to the south have suffered by the fixed idea which everywhere possessed the earlier settlers, that the forest trees were an army of foes whom it was the settler's first duty to destroy. On this subject it would be well to impress on such of our readers as may be engaged in farming new lands, the duty and the prudence of paying some heed to the warning contained in a passage below quoted from a work which ought to be in the hands of every practical farmer, as well as of every student of scientific agriculture, and, it may be added, of every one who admires a brilliant and forcible literary style — the Report on Forestry of Mr. R. W. Phipps. lately published by the Ontario Government : — "If the lord of these servants should at any time return from .a far country, and demand to know the use the Canadians had made of his talent of timber, we should be puzzled to extricate it from the napkin of fire in which we had wrapped it. For the advance of the Anglo-Saxon across the North American region has been, so far as the trees are concerned, like that of Attila, who boasted that no grass ever grew where his charger's feet had trodden. No destruction was ever more ruthless, more injurious, more lasting in its effects, or more difficult of repair, than that to which Canadians, for the past hundred years, have cheered one another on. Among all the politicians who have in turn saved our country, few of them have thought it worth while to attempt to save the timber. And yet much might very The Destruction of Forests. 241 easily, very valuably, have been done towards that end. But the Genius of Preservation was absent, while that of Destruction filled the land with his voice. Here might have been seen a rustic, placidly destroying a grove of white pine, worth a million of dollars, in order to uncover a barren waste of sandy land, which at first gave but little wheat, and has since pastured but a few cows ; there another, devoting to the flames a district of red oak, which would have kept Malaga five years in wine puncheons, that he may bare a piece of hard red clay on a mountain slope, which he shall try to cultivate for a few years, and shall abandon when the winter torrents have washed the scanty humus away from the hard pan which all impenetrable lies below. Here is yet another who, to advance himself a little by burning in June a fallow which should have lain till fall, and thereby save a matter of ten or twenty dollars, has let fire run through five hundred acres of good hemlock bush, killing the young trees, girdling the old, and half ruining the soil for future agricultural purposes. Here you might have seen one rolling together and burning great logs of black walnut (a wood invaluable for furniture, of which the Canadian supply is long since exhausted, and the United States >supply almost so), in order to make a farm, all the profit of which for forty years would not reach one-tenth of the sum the walnut, if left standing till now, would easily have drawn. Nay, an item which will be more comprehensible by every one, I have myself seen, on the sandy lands near Toronto, great heaps of almost clear pine, worth to-day forty dollars a thousand, given over to the flames." This is the warning. It comes too late in most of the settled parts of the Province ; and when this is so the only remedy is a careful system of forest culture. But while the forests remain let us take heed to the following from the same authority : — 16 <> i ■ ' V' i '^ |bK'4 1 M ■1 ^^^H' ' ■ ' : ■ ii ^H^H-\ :' ;i ifl|||H - _ ^ II ^t', , 242 History of the County of Peterborough. "But one will say, 'the land has to be cleared.' Yes, and no. It was necessary indeed to obtain land for the plough, but what I shall endeavour to show in these pages, is that, had great reserves of the inferior lands, and of the mountain lands, been spared the axe, in proper and intermediate positions, good and constant succession of trees, and large supply of timber might have been obtained therefrom, while the land which was cleared would not only have yielded larger crops than the present much broader acreage affords, but would have yielded them at a much smaller cost of anxiety and labour. This point once demon- strated, we shall probably obtain some valuable ideas as to the road to be travelled in utilizing the forests which yet remain to us. Before despatching this subject we may be pardoned giving a further quotation relevant to this important matter from the valuable " Report on Forestry in Canada," by the Honourable H. G. Joly. He says : — "As far back as the year 1696 the attention of the French •Governors of Canada was drawn to the wasteful destruction of the forests, and they were called upon to check it. Nothing, however, was done by them, and little has been done since. The result stares us reproachfully in the face, especially in the Prov- ince of Quebec, the oldest in the Dominion. The old settle- ments are painfully bare of trees ; you can sometimes go miles without seeing any trees worth looking at, and the passing stranger fancies himself in a country more denuded of trees than the oldest parts of Europe. There is a large district of very good agricultural land south of Montreal, where the scarcity of firewood, which is a matter of life and death in our climate, has compelled many a farmer to sacrifice a fine farm and leave the country. There are many other spots in the Province nearly as The Destruction of the Forests, 243 bad, and unfortunately the process of destruction is going on even now in more places than one." Some of the natural resources of the county may be gleaned from the following statistics which are official, being extracted from the various reports of the se^'eral municipal officers up to the present time, and therefore, as near as practicable, correct :— Municipalities. Ashburnham Lakefield Norwood Asphodel Belmont and Methuen Burleigh,. Anstruther and Chandos Douro Dumnier Ennismore Galway and Cavendish H arvey Monaghan Otonabee Smith Acres. Popula- tion. 959 1,308 508 996 3«3 756 37.819 1,782 47,800 1,650 17,669 1.395 38,212 1,889 64,428 1,961 17,711 980 31.390 669 59.904 954 13.947 750 64,941 3.671 57.230 2,633 Total Assessment. 374,240 288,000 107,810 780,085 194,698 85.605 832,008 481,115 36,845 40.736 189,783 617,723 267,109 1,403,882 »■ ■ % '»f .1 i ... 244 History of the County of Peterborough. MUNICIPAL OFFICERS FOR THE FOR THE AS PER TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS AND Municipalities. Ashburnham Village Lakefield Village Norwood Village Asphodel Belmont and Methuen Burleigh, Anstruther, Chandos Dunimer Douro Ennismore Galway and Cavendish Harvey Monaghan Otonabee Smith , Reeves and Deputies. John Burnham, Reeve K. C. Strickland, do Thomas Eraser, do John Walsh, do J. Stephenson, Deputy-Reeve. iohn Brown, Reeve ', Elnihirst, do A. R. Kidd, do John Moloney, do J. McCliggott, Deputy-Reeve.. P. Crough, Reeve M. Mansfield, do Geo. Oliver, do Joseph Foster, do John Lang, do Geo. Stewart, Deputy-Reeve... M. Sanderson, Reeve T. E. Eitzgerald, Dep-Reevc. Post Office. Peterboro... Lakefield ... Norwood.... Westwood.. Norwood.... Blairton Clanricarde Warsaw .... Peterboro... S'th Douro. Ennismore. Kinmount .. Bobcayge'n Peterboro... Lang Peter bpro... Peterboro... OFFICERS APPOINTED BY Warden John Lang. Esq., Lang P '') Treasurer and Clerk » Edg. Peaksk, PeterboroMgh P.O. Inspector of Schools James C, Brown. K' .uod P.O. Sessional Clerk W. A. Stratt'^ ct. rborougl' !\0. County Engineer John ^ -. Rf' >orough P.O. W. E. Roxborough. N' > vVOoD GRAMMAR To retire January, 1885. Thomas Rork ! ! County Officers. COUNTY OF PETERBOROUGH. YEAR i8«4. COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP BY-LAWS. 245 Clerk. Post Office. Treasurer. Post Office. John Wood Alex. Bell, M.D W. H. MuUihs Peterboro Lakefield Norwood Westwood Blairton A. H. Peck Peterboro. Alex. Bell, M.D W. H. Mullins John Powell Lakefield. Norwood. Tohn Powell Westwood. Wm. Anderson as. B. Peoples '3uncan Anderson... F. T. Lumsden John Leahy Blairton. Peyton Shewen William Darling William O'Brien Anslev Apsley. -"' Warsaw. South Douro, Hall's Glen.... South Douro... Ennismore Kinniount Bobcaygeon . . . Pfcterboro Keene John Crough M. Hartnett John N. Telford Charles Cobin Ennismore. ^ Kinniount. J. S. Cairnduff. John Wood George Reid F.J. Bell William Weir Lakeliurst. T. Bradburn Peterboro. George Read Keene. Selwyn F.J.Bell Selwyn. THE COUNTY COUNCIL : Jail Surgeon Dr. Kincaid, Peterborough P.O. Auditors ( J J Hall, Peterborough, P.O. [ F. J. Bell, Selwyn P.O. B. OF Audit, Ad. Justice Ac ' J- C^^negie, Peterborough P.O, 'J t M. Sanderson, Peterborough P.O. SHOOOL TRUSTEES. S. P. Ford, M.D To retire January, 1887. .To retire January, 1886. t.:f 'M" '■; ;fS;-1 a ii III I) ■:: Ii H Chapter II. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PETERBOROUGH. Early settlement — T/ie first resident and the first building — The Robinson Emigration. C,-'i» HIS flourishing town, now possessing nearly ten thou- ){ sand inhabitants, stands on a site "'hich as late as the second decade of the present century was an unbroken wilderness. Over its seven hills — for in this the City of the Otonabee resembles the City of the Tiber — over the undulating slopes between them, and ovf r the level land beside the river, rolled to the encircling horizon a vast sea of forest — maples, oaks, and other hardwood trees such as generally indicate a good soil. Some of the venerable trees are yet standing on Court House Hill. But the wilderness had its human inhabitants before Scott, the first white settler here, kindled his camp-fire in the woods skirting the little creek that still flows through the town into the Otonabee. Wandering hordes of Massassaugas and other Indians, more or less of the great Algonquin or of the Chippewa tribes, were familiar with the hunting-grounds and followed the course of the Otonabee River from the tortuous chain of lakes extending north-west to Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay. These were among the less warlike of the Indian race. They did not, like the Iroquois of the shore of Lake Ontario, live The First Building. 247 in settled towns, but wandered from one camping-ground to another, carrying with them the poles of their huts, and the sheets of birch-bark which were their sole defence against rain or snow. In the summer, the birch-covered dwelling was permanently fixed where waters, as yet unpoisoned by the refuse of lumber mills, teemed with fish — the delicious brook- trout of the smaller creeks, the maskinonge, stui^eon, salmon, white fish, eels, and bass of lake and river. Then the canoe, hidden with care in the long grass, might be launched for visits to more distant hunting grounds. In winter, the deer then abounding in those woods, were pursued by hunters who had the speed and persistency of wolves into the deep snow drifts when they were easily despatched by tomahawk or spear. The smoke-dried venison was hung up for future provision. Almost all the other creatures of the forest were utilized for food, not only those which the back^voodsmen of the present day still occasionally use as food — such as the flesh of the bear, which resembles corned beef; of the chipmunk or ground-hog, which resembles mutton ; of the black, grey, and red squirrel, which are more delicate than rabbit ; and the terrapin, and mud and other turtles, all of which are as good food as the Maine turtle : — but they ate the flesh of wolf and dog,and in the winter would ravenously consume any carrion that fell in their way. Old residents in Peterborough County tell how a party of Massas- sauga hunters eagerly feasted on the putrid carcass of a horse that lay near the farmer's hou-^e, and gave proof that they could be better scavengers than wolf or vulture. But the Indians were always friendly to the white settlers who began to group their log huts around the mill which Adam Scott built in 1820 on the spot now occupied by Henry Denne's mill, at the foot of King Street. Portions of this mill % Ih' ', 248 History of the County of Peterborough. i ! lasted until a few years ago, while the dry bed of the raceway leading from the creek to the river, and some old timbers of it are still to be seen. In the settlements in Peterborough County, as indeed in all English-speaking Canada, the settlers had not to contend against the same obstacles which above all things else retarded the advance of colonization during the two first centuries c-" Quebec and Montreal. The son of Mr. Scott, who, first of white men, settled amid the hills on which Peterborough stands, is still living (1884), and has furnished much valuable information to the present work. In May, 18 18, Mr. Adam Scott crossed Rice Lake, coming from the lake front, and made his way along the Otonabee to the spot which is now a steamboat landing, near Spaulding's Bay, now a shallow and muddy piece of water. He was accompanied by a party of young men, all of whose names are associated with positions held in the County of Peterborough. With Adam Scott were John Farrelly, surveyor ; Thomas Ward, of Port Hope, afterwards Clerk of the Peace ; Charles Fothergill, who became M.P.P. for Durham ; Barnabas Bletcher ; and John Edmison, who settled in the Township of Smith. These young men were of energetic and cheerful spirit, and well versed in the mysteries of woodcraft and pioneer life. Having landed close to the site of the future city, young Scott obtained a light by catching, in a heap of dry leaves, a spark from the flint lock of his gun, and, a good fire being lighted, their supper was cooked. After a hearty meal, they lay down to rest under the shelter of the spreading oaks and maples. Next morning Ward, who had purchased the land which is now the Village of Bridgenorth, started with Edmison for Lake Chemong, in a north-westerly direction from their place of landui^. There was not even an Indian track through the An Anecdote of the Founder. 249 forest ; but they were guided to the huts, few and far between, of those who had settled in Smith township during the last two years, by that primitive contrivance, the "blaze," or the rude markings of the settlers' axes in the trees along the line of travel. Having made a rough survey of Ward's land and "prospected," to use a lumberman's phrase, the timber growing there, and, of course, indicating to practised eyes the nature of the soil, they returned, along the line of " blazed " trees, to the camp. They found Scott and his companions in good spirits at having discovered a creek, then, of course, much larger than that which now flows through Peterborough, and of amply sufficient water power to work the mill which it was Scott's intention to build. This could be done on the creek by the simple process of damming up the stream, and conveying it, by a new channel, to the steep bank of the Otonabee. To attempt to utilize the powerful current of the larger river would have been too great an undertaking at that time, and with their resources. They made their way back, as they had come, across Rice Lake, Two years afterwards Adam Scott had built a double mill for lumber and grain, both being worked in the same building and by the same water power. As an illustration of the many difficulties which this sturdy pioneer had to contend against in the running of his mill, it may be well to record the following incident, related by Mr, Thomas Chori«-e, of Warsaw, an aged gentleman, who was the first to .settle in that village. In March, 182 i, Mr. Choate, then a boy of eleven years of age, accompanied his father, Jacob Choate, a farmer living near Smith's Creek (now Port Hope), on a visit to .some Engl'-^h settlers, near Chemong Lake, with whom they were well acquainted. They also were bringing to the settlers TT^^H^ lit \ I m If m \i ■ f 250 History of the County of Peterborough. 11 some su^)plies of which they were in urgent need. The country from Smith's Creek to Chemong Lake, which was a perfect wilderness, was co\ered with snow to the depth of ten inches. If there were no snow it would be almost impossible to get over the ground with a heavy vehicle laden with supplies. When about ten miles on their journey the Choates were sur- prised to see coming towards them a man labouring under a heavy load which he carried on his shoulders. This man proved to be Adam Scott, the pioneer miller, and his burden, the crank of his mill, a piece of iron weighing 250 pounds, which had broken down, and which he was carrying to Smith's Creek for repairs. Mr. Choate relates that so earnest was Scott in pushing on to his destination, that he had failed to notice the downfall of his woollen stockings which he wore below his corduroy breeches, and which were hanging around his feet. Thus he was tramping through ten inches of snow, and bearing a weight eqiial to a barrel of pork. Scott rested his load on the sleigh, and after a good chat about affairs at the front and in the bush — for they were old friends, Scott with his wife and child having lived in Jacob Choate's house for some time — he continued his way. Compare this one incident with the "tremendous difficulties" com- plained of by the pioneers of to-day. Mr. Choate further relates that he and his father reached Chemong Lake after being on the road a day and a half. After seeing their friends and delivering their supplies they turned towards home, and on the way back called at Scott's house. It was before daybreak when they rapped at the door. Mrs. Scott opened it and received them most CO '^ially, but in the dark, for at the time she had no such luxury as a candle in the house. On their route home the Choates again met Scott, who was returning with his crank which he had succeeded in having mended. The Robinson Eniigi'ation. 251 As late as 1825, the town of Peterborough was inhabited by but one family, that of Adam Scott, with a few workmen engaged as assistants at his mill. Even then, however, the mill had become a centre of trade to the few settlers already possessed of farms which had now begun to be remunerative, in the townships of Monaghan, Smith and Douro. Thither through narrow forest paths hewn by the woodman's axe, the slow-moving ox-team would convey the piled-up sacks of grain ; thither were rioated on rafts down the river the produce of the settlements on Katchewanooka, Clear and Stony Lakes. And during the first years of struggle, many a farmer has been forced to carry his sack of grain on his shoulders to and from the mill, along paths which the jagged tree-stumps made inaccessible even for a hand-sleigh. Up to 1825, the number of settlers in the town- ships north of Rice Lake and the River Trent through what is now the County of Peterborough, was estimated at five hundred. In Douro, two families, the first in the township — hav'ng located there in 1822 — had succeeded in establishing fai "ly- promising farm-settlements ; those of Mr. Robert Reid, a)id Mr., afterwards the Honourable, Thomas Alexander Stewart, and a life member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. Mr. Stewart was a near relative of the Strickland family, so well known in literature and as leading residents at Peterborough and Lakefield. Besides these, a few clearings had been made in Otonabee, Asphodel, Monaghan and Emily, but very little progress had been made in cultivation, nor, notwithstanding the population of Upper Canada at this time, did there seem much hope of development in the colonies north of Rice Lake. But, in 1825, the Hon. Peter Robinson paid a visit to England and, while there, was spoken to by Sir Wilmot Horton as to the advisability of directing a large tide of emigration 252 History of the County of Peterborough. w from Ireland to the wilderness of English-speaking Canada. Mr. Robinson thought favourably of the scheme and was induced to take charge of the whole matter, which, as subse- quent events will show, he did most satisfactorily. In the autumn of that year, four hundred and fifteen families availed themselves of the offer of free grants of land and all necessary aid for settlement in Upper Canada. This large and important immigration was the true foundation of the Town of Peterborough, and thence the rising prosperity of the sur- rounding townships. As there are several of these early settlers and hundreds of their descendants now living in the Town and County of Peterborough, a list of the names of the immigrants may prove not wholly uninteresting and will certainly be a valuable record, hitherto unpublished. The following names and ages of the immigrants who were located in different townships, together with the numbers of their lots, may be regarded as undoubtedly authentic, having been taken from the records and books kept by Hon. Peter Robinson and now in the possession of his nephew Christopher Robinson, Q.C., of Toronto : In the Township of Douro, were located: — John Maloney (50). wife and seven children, west half lot 10, in ist concession, the east half being given to his son Thomas, aged 24; Michael Condon (24), his mother and six brothers and sisters, east half lot 10, in 2nd concession; John Tobin (28), wife and three children, west half lot 10, in 2nd concession; John Tobin, Sr. (49), and Johanna Tobin (27), location not given; John Sheehan (40), wife and six children, east half lot i, in 4th concession, his sons Cornelius (22) and Timothy (20) being allowed east half lot 2, in 4th concession, and west half lot 3, in 3rd concession respectively; Michael Elligot {2)2,), wife and three children, east The Robinson Emigration. 253 half lot 9, in 3rd concession; Michael Keane (35), wife and five children, west half lot 9, in 3rd concession ; Richard Meade (38), wife and three children, west half lot 7, in 4th concession; Thomas Tobin (30), his mother and wife, child, and two sisters, east half lot 10, in 3rd concession; Charles Crowley (36) and five children, west half lot 10, in 3rd concession; Maurice Chancy (26), east half lot 5, in 4th concession; George Byrnes (25), wife and child, west half lot 5, in 4th concession; James Casey (50), wife and seven children, east half lot 7, in 4th concession, also west half of lot 7, in 3rd concession, for his son Michael, aged 23; William Torpy (54), wife and eight children, west half lot lo, in 4th concession, his sons Thomas (22) and Michael (21), receiving east half lot 10, in 4th concession, and east half lot 11, in 4th concession respectively; Patrick Trihie (34), wife and four children, west half lot 11, in 4th concession; Daniel Sheehan, Jr. (34), wife and four children, west half lot i, in 5th concession; Dennis O'Brien (35), wife and two children, west half lot 3, in 5th concession ; Michael O'Brien {'•iZ)^ wife and five children, east half lot 3, in 5th concession; Maurice Brien {2,']\ wife and six children, east half lot 4, in 5th con- cession; William Williams (20) and Michael Williams (19), brothers, west half lot 4, in 5th concession, and east half lot 5, in 6th concession, respectively; John Ouinn (40), wife and three children, east half lot 9, in 5th concession ; John Barry (32), wife and two children, west half lot 9, in 5th concession; fohn Walsh (26), mother, three sisters and one brother, east half lot 12, in 5th concession; James Flynn (24), mother, sister and brother, east half lot 10, in 5th concession; James McCarthy (35), wife and three children, west half lot 10, in 5th concession; John Cranley (30), wife and two children, west half lot 12, in 5th concession; Daniel Sheehan (44). wife and six children, east . * 254 History of the County of Peterborough. I I ' half lot I, in 6th concession; Timothy Swf^eney (34) and three children, east half lot 2, in 6th concession; Widow Sullivan (50) and ten children: Michael (22), west half lot 2, in 6th con- cession; Timothy (28), east half lot 34, in 6th concession of Otonabee; John (18), broken lot 32, in 6th concession of OtOnabee — Widow Maloney and four children: William (26), west half lot 4, in 6th concession, and Michael (24), east half lot 4, in 6th concession ; Dennis McCarthy (50), wife and seven children, west half lot 8, in 6th concession; James Cotter (45), wife and eight children, east half lot 10, in 6th concession — his sons Edmond (22), Maurice (21), and Patrick (21), receiving west half lot 10, in 6th concession, east half lot 11, in 6th, and west half lot 11, in 6th concession; Michael Leahy, Jr. (25), east half lot 8, in 6th concession; John Flemming (66), west half lot I, in 6th concession ; Edmond Allan (39), wife and seven children, east half lot 3, in 7th concession, his son John (19) receiving west half lot 3, in 7th concession; Michael Leahy (56), wife and nine children, east half lot 10, in 7th concession, his sons William (28), John (25), Patrick (23) and Timothy (19) receiving east half lot 9, in 7th concession, west half lot 7, in 7th concession, east half lot 7, in 7th concession, and west half lot 6, in 7th concession, respectively ; Patrick Leahy (40) and two children, east half lot 6, in 7th concession ; William Hogan (30), wife and three children, west half lot 2, in 8th concession ; Daniel Conry (34), wife and three children, east half lot I, in 9th concession; Michael Sullivan (34), wife and six children, east half lot 9, in 9th concession; Daniel Maloney (41), wife and six children, west half lot 9, in 9th concession; Menry Couche (41), wife and eight children, east half lot 2, in loth concession; Robin Walsh {z'^\ wife and six children. West half lot 2, in loth concession. ■f !l The Robinson Eviigradon. 255 In the Township of Smith were located : — Daniel Shine (46), wife and seven children, east half lot 3, in 3rd concession, his son Michael (22) receiving west half lot 3, in 3rd concession ; Daniel Burgess (50), wife and eight children, east half lot i, in 4th concession, his sons William (23) and Emanuel (22) receiving south half lot 2, in 4th concession, township of Smith, and east half lot 23, in nth concession, township of Emily, respectively ; John Sullivan (41), wife and four children, west half lot 10, irt 3rd concession ; Daniel Connell (35), wife and four children, south half lot 4, in 4th concession; John Bolster (41), wife and six children, south half lot 8, in 4th concession ; Henry Gardiner (38), wife and family of five, west half lot 23, in 4th concession, a member of his family, Eugene Callaghan (18), receiving west half lot 23, in 6th concession ; William McDonnell (34), wife and five children, north half lot 21, in 5th concession; Thomas Fitzgerald (42), wife and eight children, east half lot 21, in 6th concession, his son Edward (18) receiving west half lot 21, in 6th concession ; Owen Daly (43), wife and seven children, east half lot 20, in 7th concession, his son Andrew (19) receiving west half lot 20, in 7th concession ; Thomas McCarty (40), wife and two children, south half lot 23, in iith concession ; Dennis Hanan (21), mother, two brothers and two sisters, south half lot 24, in 1 2th concession, his brother George (19) receiving north half lot 24, in 12th concession ; Cornelius Crowley (34), wife and three children, south half lot 25, in 12th concession ; Jeremiah McCarthy (45), wife and five children, north half lot 25, in 1 2th concession ; John Walsh (36), wife and five children, east half lot 33, in 12th concession ; F"rancis Young (44), nine children, east half lot 35, in 12th concession, his sons William (24), John (20), and Samuel (18), receiving west half lot 2il^ hi 13th concession, west half lot 35, in 12th concession, and east i' I mm 256 History of the County of Peterborough. half lot 2il^ if' 13^^^ concession, respectively; John Daly (46), wife and five children, east half lot 34, in 13th concession, his son Henry (19), receiving west half lot 34. in 13th concession ; Patrick Bourke (34), sister and two brothers, east half lot 43, in 14th concession, his brother Dennis (20) receiving east half lot 36, in 13th concession ; John Lane (46),. wife and four children, east half lot 39, in 13th concession, his son Cotterel (22) receiv- ing west half lot 39, in 13th concession. In the Township of Otonabee were located : — James Keefe (40), wife and six children, east half lot 17, in ist concession; William Ryan (35), wife and two children, west half lot 27, in I St concession; John Galvin (19) and sister, east half lot 27, in I St concession; John Condon (30), wife and three children, east half lot 25, in 2nd concession ; John Kenely (34), wife and three children, east half lot 19, in 3rd concession; John Leary (45) and six children, east half lot 29, in 3rd concession; Lawrence Kent (43), wife and seven children, west half lot 19, in 4th con- cession ; John McCoy (27), wife and two children, east half lot 28, in 4th concession ; Patrick Bryan (30), wife and five children, west half lot 23, in 5th concession ; James Slattery, Jr. (26), wife and child, west half lot 26 in 5th concession ; James Condon (43), wife and five children, west half lot 27, in 5th concession, his son Richard (24) receiving east half lot 28, in 2nd concession ; Michael Londergan (25), and wife, west half lot 28, in 8th concession ; Maurice Londergan (40), wife and daughter, west half lot 29, in 8th concession ; Dennis Kearney, (36) and wife, east half lot 31, in 8th concession ; Thomas Rawhaley (36), wife and two children, west half lot 31, in 8th concession ; Thomas Murray (35), wife and three chilc'ren, broken lot 32, in 8th concession ; Patrick Heffernan (28) and wife, east half lot 29, in 9th concession ; David Long (35), wife il The Robinson EmigraHon. 257 and three children, west half lot i8, in 9th concession ; Thomas Casey (35), wife and five children, east half lot 19, in 9th concession; James Hanlon (42), wife and six children, west half lot 30, in 9th concession, his sons, Michael (20) and Maurice (18), receiving east half lot 30, in 9th concession, and west half lot 29, in 9th concession, respectively; David Hogan (23), wife and two children, broken lot 32, in 9th concession ; George Buck (45), wife and seven children, east half lot 19, in loth concession, his son Thomas (18) receiving west half lot 19, in loth con- cession ; Thomas Hallahan (45), wife and four children, east half lot 21, in loth concession; Edmond Dillon (45), wife and five children, east half lot 22, in loth concession, his son Michael (22) receiving west half lot 22, in loth concession ; William Cleary (45). wife and six children, west half lot 23, in the loth concession, his son Timothy (20) receiving east half lot 23, in 10th concession ; John Sargeant (40), wife and seven children, west half lot 28. in loth concession ; John Sargeant, Jr. (36), east half lot 28, in loth concession ; Patrick Crowley (45), wife and seven children, east half lot 19, in i ith concession ; his son James (18), east half lot 20, in 13th concession; John Clancy (30), wife and four children, north-west quarter lot 19, in 1 ith concession, and north-east quarter lot 19, in 12th concession; David Magner (32), wife and four children, east half lot 24, in 1 Ith concession; William Meany (49), and three children, east half lot 29, in i ith concession ; Thomas Egan (32), wife and three children, south half lot 23, in 12th concession ; Richard Power (40), wife and three children, north half lot 23, in i 2th * concession ; Thomas Condon (42), wife and six children, east half lot 25, in 12th concession, his son James (21) receiving west half lot 25, in 12th concession; James Slattery (35) and five children, east half lot 22, in 13th concession; Patrick Kearney 17 -58 History of the County of Pctcrboroiii:^/!. (36), wife and four children, east half lot 14, in 14th concession ; I'Morence Driscoll (32), wife and two children, east half lot 15 in 14th concession ; Maurice Roach (23). two brothers and two sisters, west half lot 14, in i6th concession ; John McGrath {^7), wife . and four children, east half lot 15 in i6th concession; Thomas McGrath (35) and wife, west half lot 15, in i6th concession. In the Township of Asphodel were located : — William Ryley (35), wife and five children, east half lot 10, in ist concession ; John Grady (35), wife and seven children, west half lot 19. in I St concession; William Murphy (44), wife and four children, east half lot 19, in ist congession, his son John (18) receiving the south-west quarter lot 19, in 2nd concession; John Vw/.- patrick {^o), wife and three children, west half lot 20, in 1st concession ; Dennis Keefe {T)2>)y wife and four children, east half lot 20 in ist concession ; John Reardon (3S), wife and seven children, east half lot 19, in 2nd concession ; Patrick Ouinlan (44), wife and four children, west half lot 16, in 3rd concession; Dennis McMahon (42), wife and six children, east half lot 16, in 3rd concession ; Dennis Sheehan (38), wife and three children, east half lot 19, in 3rd concession ; James Mason (43) and three children, east half lot 20. in 3rd concession, his son Charles (21)," receiving north half lot 20, in 1 ith concession ; Patrick Ouinlan (38), wife and four children, east half lot 15, in 4th concession; riichael Leahy (41), wife and six children, west half lot 17, in 4th concession, his son David (20) receiving the west half lot 19, in 5th concession ; Dennis Hurly (40), wife and six children, east half lot 19, in 5th concession ; Richard Walsh {ZZ)y w'^^ '^^'^ child, west half lot 11, in 6th concession; Nicholas Keating (21), east half lot 13. in 6th concession; Thomas Purcell (24). mother, three brothers and three sisters, The Robinson Emigfuxtion. 259 west half lot 14, in 6th concession; Richard English (45). wife and five children, east half lot 16, in 6th concession; Charles McCarthy (35), wife and three children, east half lot 19, in 6th concession ; Thomas Miles (35), wife and four children, west half lot 19 in 6th concession; Daniel Healy (48), wife and five chiKlren, west half lot 13, in 7th concession, his son Thomas (22) receiving west half lot 14, in 7th concession ; Patrick Daly (30), wife and child, east half lot 19, in 7th concession ; ^fichael Sullivan (28), wife anil three children, west half lot 19, in 7th concession ; James Barry (36), wife and five children, east half lot II, in loth concession ; William Scandlan (42), wife and five children, west half lot 13, in loth concession; Patrick Healy (46). wife and seven children, west half lot 11, in 10th con- cession ; John O'Brien (40). wife and four children, east half lot 13, in loth concession; Daniel Egan (30), wife and three children, east half lot 14, in loth concession; Patrick Egan (26) and wife, west half lot sixteen in iith concession; Michael Mullane (43), wife and six children, west half lot 15, in loth concession, his son Maurice (20) receiving the east half lot 15. in loth concession ; Timothy Callaghan (34). wife antl five children, west half lot 11, in 12th concession; Timothy Leary (50). wife and family, of six persons, west half lot 1, in ist con- cession. In the Township of Belmont were located : — Daniel Finegan (39), wife and five children ; John Ouinlan {z^). wife and five children ; William Wall (4H), wife and four children ; Edmund Hourke (34), wife and three children ; Timothy Bourke (34). wife and four children. The direction of this emigration, as already mentioned, was intrusted by the British Government to the Honourable Peter Robinson, brother of the late Sir John Beverley Robinson, ! :/ 26o History of the County of Peterborojigh. n Baronet of the United Kingdom, for many years Chief Justice of Upper Canada, and uncle of the present Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. The emigrants to the number of two thousand and twenty-four men, women and children, sailed from Cork in May, 1825. Closely packed in the hold of an emigrant ship, dispirited at leaving forever their native country, which, despite all their misery, they loved so well, and unable to eat the coarse ship's provisions which were such a change from the simple potato diet of the Irish peasantry, the poor Celtic emigrants suffered griev- vjusly during the outward voyage. Fortunately the passage was accomplished in the unusually short period of twenty-one days. Having reached Quebec, they were then forwarded to Kingston. Here the summer season had already set in with unusual heat ; the emigrants were for two weeks accommodated in tents; many of them suffered' severely from fever and from the ague, which at that time frequently attacked those newly-arrived in Canada. From the pastors and Sisters of Mercy of their own church in Kingston, those so afflicted received every care and encourage- ment, and the emigration v/as helped on its way by kind acts and hopeful words. Meantime Mr. Robinson had sailed from Liverpool to New- York, whence he proceeded to Little York, now Toronto, by way of Niagara, then the usual and most expeditious route to Upper Canada. Thence he made his way from Cobourg across Rice Lake and by the Otonabee River to Scott's Plains, as Peterbor'^'ugh was then called. He had alre.idy gathered from the Surveyor-General of Upper Canada, what information he could give as to the country about to be settled. And now, assisted by Mr. McDonnell, afterwards Colonel McDonnell, nephew of the lat-; Bishop McDonnell, of Kingston, he spent a week in examining the three townships of which the new town The Robinson Emigration. 261 •lil was to be the centre. Colonel McDonnell was destined to bear a leading part in the history, not only of the county, but of the province. He is described by Mr. Robinson, who to other gifts of leadership added the important one of knowing administrative talent when he met with it, as "an intelligent and respectable young man well acquainted with the country." The subsequent proceedings are best described in the words of the Hon. Peter Robinson in his evidence given before the Emigration Committee of the Imperial Parliament (3rd Report, London, 1827), from which the following graphic passage is" quoted: — " On August iith, 1825, I embarked five hundred on board of a steamboat, and landed them the next day at Cobourg. on Lake Ontario, a distance of one hundred miles; the remainder of the settlers were brought up in the same manner, the boat making a trip each week. Our route from Cobourg to Smith, at the head of Otonabee River, lay through a country as yet very thinly inhabited; the road leading from Lake Ontario to Rice Lake, twelve miles, barely passable; and the Otonabee River in many places very rapid, and the water much lower than it had been known for many years. The first thing I did was to repair the road so that loaded waggons might pass ; and in this work I received every assistance from the magistrates of the district, who gave rjie fifty pounds from the district funds, and this sum, with the labour of our people, enabled me to improve the road so that in ten days our provisions and baggage could be sent across with care, and three large boats were conveyed on wheels from Lake Ontario to Rice Lake. The Otonabee River is navigable for twenty-five miles, although in many places it is very rapid, and at this season there was not vvater enough to float a boat of the ordinary construction over some of the shoals. To remedy this difficulty, I had a boat built of such dimensions I 262 History of tlic County of PetcrboroKgh. r as I thought might best answer to ascend the rapids, and had her completed in eight days. So much depended upon the success of this experiment that I felt great anxiety until the trial was made; and I cannot express the happiness I felt at finding that nothing could have more completely answered our purposes; and this boat, sixty feet in length and eight feet wide, carrying an immense burthen, could be more easily worked up the stream than one of half the size carrying comparatively nothing. Now that I had opened the way to the depot at the head of the river, there was no other difficulty to surmount than the prevailing sickness, the fever and ague which at this time was as common among the old settlers as among ourselves. The first party I ascended the river with consisted of twenty men of the country hired as axemen, and thirty of the settlers: not one of these men escaped the ague and fever, and two died." The boat used by Mr. Robinson had a fiat bottom, was wide and capacious enough to hold thirty persons with a consid-^rable bulk of baggage; it was propelled by long oars, or in shallow- water shoved along with great labour by poles; it would make the passage from Gore's Landing to the original landing place of Adam Scott, at Spaulding's Bay, in twenty-four hours. The laborious passage over, no sooner had each group of immigrants landed at "Scott's Plains" with their store of furniture, tools, and provisions, than they were at once set to ■vork to construct rude temporary huts of slabs, bark, tree branches and whatever other material could be extemporized, to shelter them from heat and rain until they could be settled on their grants of land. Thus an increased amount of clearing was eftected on the site of the future town, already a village of no inconsiderable size. On the plain beside the river, groups of old-country neighbours met for that "di:icoorsin"' which $^^\-'^.0i^''^ HON. EDWAKU HLAKE. if! The Robinson Emigration. 265 is so dear to the Irish peasant ; the smoke curled upwards from many a cabin when Kathleen or Bridget was cooking thf^. good food distributed by Mr. Robinson, and waiting the time when her husband should return hungry after a morning spent with the other "boys" in swinging the axe in the woods ; the river strand was gay with groups of chattering "colleens," each erect as a statue with water pitcher on head, and not unpicturesque in the short skirt of blue or scarlet flannel which allowed a liberal display of well-shaped limbs. But there were other and sadder sights and sounds: the mother crooning over her fever-stricken child some Irish lullaby; or at the burial of a dead son or brother, that wildest of all human cries of grief, the Irish "keen" startling the echoes of the lonely hills. Mr. Robinson was very materially assisted in the work of settlement by a veteran naval officer. Captain Charles Rubidge, of whose adventurous and honourable life an account will be given elsewhere in this history. This gentleman's long experi- ence in disciplining and comm-mding large bodies of men was of the utmost use in the difficult work of directing the combined efforts of men litde accustomed to discipline. Captain Rubidge was truly what Carlyle calls "a Captain o^i Industry." So were Mr. Robinson's other assistants, Mr. Wesley Ritchie and Captain John Armstrong, both of whom afterwards becaine successful settlers in the Township of Douro. The following account of the proportion of rations and other supplies is given on the authority of the evidence of Captain Rubidge before a committee of the British Parliament. (See Rubidge's evidence before the Imperial Emigration Committee: Ouestion 2675; London, 1847). To each emigrant over the age of fourteen was issued a daily ration of a pound of meal (pork) and a pound of flour; to each ciiild between the age of ''■% ^ til 1 I.- 266 History of the County of Peterborough. five and fourteen, half a pound of meat and flour; for every four children under the age of five, a pound of meat and flour was also allowed. This diet was far better and more strengthening than that of the average Celtic peasant — potatoes all the year, with a piece of smoked pork hung up, at which the children were supposed to "point" their potatoes to obtain an imaginary relish; as Goldsmith, well acquainted with <:he humours of Irish poverty, describes it : " In some Irish houses, when things are so-so, A gammon of bacon hangs up for a show ; But as for their eating the thing they take pride in. They'd as soon think of eating the pan it was fried in ! " In those days, when a prohibition orator was yet unborn, and the Government did not indite temperance speeches with one hand while with the other it clutched the millions of dollars gained by taxes in the manufacture of strong drink, whiskey was plentiful and cheap. That made at the better appointed distilleries in Little York, Dundas, and other towns sold at seventeen cents a gallon. At Scott's Plains, the sagacious mind of Adam Scott had grasped the idea that the manufacture of whiskey would thrive in a new settlement. He contrived a rude distillery a a small house near his mills; but not being able to procure a proper worm, the spirit-laden vapour was passed through a long wooden tube, where it was cooled by the constant application of water, till duly condensed the fiery fluid streamed into the receiving barrel. Unlike the mellow, malt- flavoured "poteen," with its taste, not an unpleasant one, of the turf fires amid which its illicit manufacture was carried on, this whiskey was coanse and impure, the empyreumatic oil and other impurities not having been extracted. It was sold at ten ill The Robinson Emigration. 267 or fifteen cents a gallon, or more often for the jpund of pork or tlour which the peasant, accustomed to far poorer fare, found it easy to save from his daily ration. Thu^ did a paternal Govern- ment supply these "Exiles of Erin" with whiskey as well as food ! The rations were continued for eighteen months, the pro- visions being brought from Toronto and Cobourg by way of Rice Lake, and the ready money paid by the Government agents contributing not a little to the general prosperity of the Province at a time when want of specie was an ^vil seriously felt in Upper Canada. Here and there a settler had brought out an ancient Hint-lock musket, whose use might have served far more questionable purposes in the "ould counthry," and was able to vary his daily fare with the flesh of deer, which he found as plentiful as landlords in Ireland. Fish of all the kinds known to Ontario waters abounded in the creeks and river; the children gathered, without price, pailfuls of raspberries on the slopes of Court House Hill, and of the "frochan," familiar to Irish moors, on the marshy flats opposite Ashburnham. A more arduous task, as Mr. Robinson himself stated in his evidence, was that of settling the immigrants on their allotted grants of land. Here it was that the experience of Captain Rubidge aided Mr. Robinson most, as Captain Rubidge had a thorough knowledge of the country, having been settled in Otonabee, nine miles south of Scott's Plains, since May 8th, 1820. Each family of five was allotted one hundred acres of land; and a lot was chosen in the name of each head of a family. Sons grown u[) and of age received a 'hundred acres also. Log houses were buib for each settler by contracts, generally amounting to ten dollars, entered into by Mr. Robinson with former settlers, who were practised hands at this kind of work; -c 268 History of the Coitnty of Peterborough. \ i assisted by the willing labours of the immigrants, axe-hewn roads established lines of communication through the forest ; oxen and horses purchased by Mr. Robinson conveyed each family to its new-built home ready for use, clean as had been few Irish cabins they had known, and furnished with all that was needful for their simple mode of living. Captain Rubidge stated in his evidence before the Parliamentary Committee already quoted, that "much inconvenience and expense might have been avoided, had roads been previously cut, and houses of accommodation provided at several points. But all these requirements had to be provided simultaneously, and at a time when provisions were unusually dear." Besides the provision of food, of houses, of road-ways, so liberally made for them, each family was supplied with a cow, an auger, an axe, a hand-saw, a hammer, one hundred nails, two gimlets, three hoes, one kettle, one frying-pan, one iron pot, three bushels of seed-potatoes, and eight quarts of Indian corn. But all the wise forethought of Mr. Robinson and Captain Rubidge could not avert the effects of the fevers and sickness by which swamp and forest avenged themselves on their invaders. Fifteen had already died during the passage from Ireland; eighty- seven more during their first year in Canada up to March, 1826. All, without exception, were affected by that scourge of the new settler, malarial fever ; as has been said, many died ; the Govern- ment had made the fatal mistake of neglecting to provide any- thing lii:.e adequate medical attendance, one surgeon, Dr. Readc. being the only medical attendant. Yet, perhaps, although it must be owned that in the state of medical science at that time as to the treatment of this class of ft vers, it may be doubted whether the settlers were much the worse for the omission ! The use of quinine was as yet unknown ; but camomile, at two \ The Robinson Emigration. 269 shillings a pound, would have been freely exhibited, and Doctor Sangrado would have plied his lancet. But the woodman's axe supplied the place of quinine as the sources of malaria were hewn down ; the new comers learned from the older settlers the use of certain remedies ; wild sarsaparilla, peppermint and tansy, flavouring the contents of the whiskey bottle, supplied a remedy that often proved worse than the disease. To these simple-minded Irish peasants, after all that had been done for them by the State, one thing was wanting — the ministrations of the Church to which they, like their forefathers, had clung so devotedly. Those ministrations were not long withheld. In 1826, less than a year after the settlement of the immigrants, the Reverend Father Ahearn became the first resi- dent Catholic priest in Peterborough. From there he attended as far as was possible to the spiritual needs of a vast mission comprising the counties of Victoria, Durham, Northumberland and half of Hastings. During his stay in Peterborough, which was but for a few months. Father Ahearn lived in a log house which stood on the lot now occupied by Mr. Edward Phelan, facing George and Charlotte Streets. After Father Ahearn there was an interregnum followed by Father James Crowley. Several log houses, one of larger size than the others, had been built by Mr. Robinson's order on the west side of what is now Water Street, opposite where the Montreal Bank now stands ; in the largest of these Father Crowley was wont to say mass ; in one of the others he lived. As soon as the growing prosperity of the town increased the value of land, these old and unsightly buildings were burned, most probably by incendiaries ; the Catholic service was then held in the Court House. Thus were the struggling Irish settlers consoled in their exile and encour- aged in efforts for self-help which have proved so successful. *' 'O History of the County of Peterborough. John Baniiii. ;i writer of i^^rcat though Httle recoj^ni/cd genius, has well described the loyalty of the priest and peasant to each other. "Soggarth" is the Irish word for "priest," "aroon" for "dearest friend": " Wlio on our cabin floor, Sog^'arth arooii ! Bless'd the bride, cliaste though poor, Soggarth aroon ! Who with his kind words' ring Alade our sad liearts to smg At the poor christening, Soggarth aroon ! Loyal and brave to you, Soggarth aroon ! I am no shive to you, Soggarth aroon ! Nor out of fear to you, Stantl up so near to you, Och ! out of fear to you ! Soggarth aroon ! " Since then the scanty flock has grown to several thousands; the missionary pastorate is now a bishop's diocese; the log chapel is a cathedral ! A further history of the progress of the Roman Catholic Church in Peterboroucfh will be ^iven elsewhere with that of the other churches. ClIAI'TKR III. « PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT. The immigrants attacked by Mil Ham Lyon Mackenzie — Hon. Peter Robinson and Captain Rid)idgc, their zuorhs and lives — T/ic settlers' grievances. fi> ^ T is not strantje that the iminitjrants should have been ^ distrusted by the older settlers of English Canada. For the harbouring of such feelings an evil precedent ■?j' had been set almost since the first settlement of the *^^ Province. The U. E. Loyalist settler, from 1783 till about 1790, the date of the virtuous Governor Simcoe's depar- ture, had lived and legislated in harmony. Then began a contest between the few in place and power, who formed the nucleus of what was afterwards known as the " Family Compact," and the many who were left out in the cold. In the course of the struggle that followed to its bitter end in [837-38, the Reform party distrusted the Irish Rt)man Catholic immigrants, whose solid vote, wielded as it was solely by the priesthood, the clique in power were able and willing to secure. This consideration will account for the attack made upon the loyalty and patriotism of the immigrants by William Lyon Mackenzie in his newspaper, the Colonial Advocate, of December 8th, 1826. The following is the paragraph referred to: — I' 1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) j^ ^ V. <^ //, ^m' /•/m M / op. 1.0 iiM iiiia tt IIIII2.2 .i m I.I 12.0 1.25 III™ lA 11.6 6" Pnotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. KSSO (716) 872-4503 iV ^v ^^ o ^ , ;\ %^>- %'■ ^ (p., v^. fli : i m nm- 272 History of the County of Peterborough. "Mr. Robinson's Irish Settlers. — We have information which may be depended upon, stating that these people have an ardent desire to go to the United States and that they frequently desert. No less than thirty of them decamped lately in one night. To how much more useful a purpose might ^30,000 have been expended than in recruiting in Ireland for the United States by Canadian councillors!" In making this fierce onslaught, Mackenzie, a man well known for his sympathy with, the oppressed poor of Ireland, seems to have been misled, by information that was altogether groundless, of the general wish of the Peterborough settlers to make an exodus to the United States, and by some other infor- mation that some of the new settlers were improvident and intemperate. The charges in question were fully disproved in an able letter, which afterwards was republished in the report of the select committee of the British Parliament in 1826, by the Hon. Thomas Alexander Stewart, then a member of the Legis- lative Council of Upper Canada. Mr. Stewart gives evidence that the report of an exodus to the United States was untrue; that he knew, from almost daily visits to the settlement, that content and prosperity prevailed there. But a final and indis- putable proof of industry and good conduct of the Peterborough settlers lies before us in the following official " Estimated value of the produce of the immigrants of 1825, made on the 24th oj November, 1826'': — 1,386^ acres of land cleared @. £\ per acre £5)548 o o 67,799 bushels of potatoes @ IS 3>389 19 o 25,623 bushels of turnips (77^ 6d 640 11 5 10,438 bushels of Indian corn @ 2s. 6d i)395 16 3 363^ acres of wheat, sown in the autumn of 1826, @ £"2 per acre 828 o o 9,067 pounds maple sugar @ 4d. per pound 151 2 4 The Robinson Emigration. 273 . 4.0 oxen, purchased by labour, @, £'] each, .... £280 o o 80 cows, purchased by labour, @ £\ los. each. 360 o o 166 hogs, purchased by labour, @ 15s. each 124 10 o Total (Halifax currency) £12,^2^ ig i In all this successful direction into new channels of the energy of a people not famous for energetic work in the unhappy land from which they had emigrated, the chief credit is due to two men, Peter Robinson and Charles Rubidge, men whose memory can never be forgotten in the flourishing young town which perpetuates both their names. This can be abundantly proved. In the year 1830, Mr. John Richards was sent out as Com- missioner by the British Government, to enquire into the condition of the emigrants sent out in 1825. He states, in an official letter, "I was in Peterborough two or three days, during which time perhaps thirty or forty settlers, and some with their families, came in to see Mr. Robinson, and the manner in which they met him was quite affecting ; it was more to bless him as a benefactor than to welcome him as a visitor." In view of the great services rendered by these two gentlemen to the town, whose history we are endeavouring to lay before our readers, it seems a fitting occasion to give some account of their personal career and ancestry. The Honourable Peter Robinson was descended, through his grandfather Colonel Beverley Robinson, from the Honourable John Robinson, of Virginia, who, according to Colonel Sabine, was Prc;sident of the Colony of Virginia on the retirement of Governor Gooch. Colonel Beverley Robinson emigrated to New York, where he married the daughter and heiress of F"rederick Phillips, from whom he inherited an immense estate on the Hudson River. He belonged, by descent and social position, to the aristocratic party so powerful in New York State, which became first Tories and then 18 y^-'^ fe<- ^^^^Wi HBHHni'- iii \ ' H' \ M: Mfl ' ' ' ;. ,,, :1 ; jj i ^1 'J i /♦/ lUk ! ; i* t^,i 274 History of the County of Peterborough. Royalists. Notwithstanding this, he was at first opposed to the arbitrary measures of the British Government of the day, and joined the party headed by Washington and Adams in giving up the use of imported merchandise; he clad himself and his household in American-made homespun. But he recoiled from the movement of independence, which he regarded as rebellion ; he entered the service of the Crown and commanded the Loyal American Regiment of New York. He was in company with the gallant and ill-fated Major Andre, when that officer proposed going on shore to meet the traitor Arnold, the Judas of the American Revolution. The honourable nature of Colonel Robinson recoiled from the thought of a gallant soldier like Andre holding any intercourse with "a man who was seeking to betray his country;" he earnestly dissuaded Andre from going on shore. But the zealous young officer would not be counselled, and went forth upon the duty from which he never returned. After the peace of 1783, Colonel Robinson withdrew to England, where he died. His son, Christopher Robinson, had been an officer in the famous Queen's Rangers commanded by Colonel Simcoe, afterwards the first Governor of Upper Canada. After the peace, he withdrew to the new Province of New Brunswick, and received a large grant of land on the River St. John, a few miles east bi Fredericton. Thence he removed to Berthier in the Province of Quebec, where his son John Beverley Robinson was born July, 1791. The family afterwards removed first to Kingston, then to Little York. John Beverley was the favourite pupil of Dr., afterwards Bishop, Strachan, under whose influence he remained all through life. His career at the Bar, in the Legislature, and as Chief Justice was most brilliant and suc- cessful. He was a prince in the aristocratic clique of the Family Compart. Captain Charles Rubidge. 275 ■■i' Attention may be here directed to the brilliancy of talent, the unimpeachable integrity, and the marked practical ability which have distinguished the leading representatives of this honourable family from the time they entered the country until now. On a somewhat less distinguished stage than the late Sir John Beverley Robinson and his son, the present Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, the founder of Peterborough, displayed the same high qualities. One family trait was well marked in the Hon. Peter Robinson, the taste for athletic sports and the muscular strength which is said to distinguish others of his house. Charles Rubidge, the noted friend and coadjutor of Peter Robinson, late Registrar of the County of Peterborough, was for many years one of the chief promoters of the rising interests of the town. He was the son of Robert and Margaret Rubidge, and was born on April 20th, 1787, in the parish of St. George's- in-the-East, London. In October, 1796, he entered the navy as a midshipman on board the Arrow, Sloop of War. He saw much service under Lord Nelson and Lord Cochrane, the latter of whom publicly congratulated Mr. Rubidge, then a lieutenant, on his gallantry in action. He was present at the victories of Aboukir Bay and of Copenhagen. At the destruction of the enemies' fleet at the Basque Roads in 1809 he was severely wounded in the right leg.* At the beginning of the American War of 1 81 2, not knowing that war had been declared, Com- mander Rubidge had landed near Annapolis, but was honourably released, as his arrest was, under the circumstances, not considered justifiable by the American authorities. Great as were his services, the gate of promotion was in those days closed against '■'■ These details are taken from a rare tract by the late Captain Rubidge, entitled " An Autobiographical Sketch," for the loan of which this work is indebted to the Rev. V. dementi, of Peterborough. ""M, . I r 276 History of the County of Peterborough. all who did not hold the key of political interest, and after the peace which followed Napoleon's downfall at Waterloo every effort was made to reduce as far as possible the number of officers in both army and navy. This led to the emigration to Canada of many retired officers of both services, who in most cases formed a most valuable element, socially and intellectually, ii. the growth of English-speaking Canada. A number of these settled in Peterborough County, chiefly around Lakefield, Stony Lake and the neighbourhood. It, too, after happened that the habits of aristocratic indulgence, engendered by the life in camp and barrack, were transplanted into a country to which they were little suited. Work of any kind was looked on as degrading, and the inevitable result followed in ruin and loss of self-respect. But such was not the character of Captain Rubidge when in June, 1 8 19, he emigrated to Upper Canada with his wife and three children. This life was for many years one of hard work, manual as well as mental; how energetically he assisted the Hon. Peter Robinson in the early settlement of Peterborough has been told. The story of his first settlement in Peterborough County can, it is confidently felt, be best put before our readers in the simple yet graphic words of this brave old officer himself: "In those days there was no conveyance from La Chine to Prescott except by Bateau or Durham-boats, and only two steamboats plied between Quebec and Montreal and they took two days and a half to accomplish the distance; the names were the Quebec and the Swiftsurc. On landing from the schooner at Quebec we met with a warm reception from our worthy old friend, Captain Boswell, R.N., and his family, and received houseroom under their hospitable roof until the spring of 1820. During the winter I employed two men to put up the logs of a house, and in the spring, on the 8th of May, I took my wife and Captain Charles Rubidge. 277 three children out into the bush. Mr. George Kent being the first actual settler in Otonabee, I was the next. Nothing more than the bare walls of my house were up and the shingle roof on. At once I began to clear off about an acre of land and got in some potatoes, Indian Corn, turnips, etc., and throu;;h the summer and autumn employed two Americans to chop and clear off about four acres more, whilst my time was occupied in pre- paring my log house for the winter, doing all the carpentering work myself. The late Mr. Covert and the Hon, Chief Justice Draper, C. B., came out to see us in June, the latter at the time thinking to put up a shanty on one of my wild lots in which to pursue his studies, but all the charms of settling in the woods faded away before the next morning. We had all to sleep above, only a few loose boards being placed for bedsteads; the house was quite open, without door or windows, and the mosquitoes and blackflies vvere as bad as they well could be. At once I was placed on the Commission of the Peace, and am now, in 1870, the oldest magistrate in the whole of the old Newcastle District, which now forms the Counties of Northumberland, Durham, Peterborough and Victoria." It is pleasing to be able to record that Captain Rubidge's services to Canada did not, like these he rendered to England, pass without due recognition. Governor Maitland, a man who, whatever may have been his political errors, was certainly most sincerely desirous of promoting the welfare of the Province, was so pleased with the skill displayed in the construction of a road which Captain Rubidge had cut through the woods, from Rice Lake to Peterborough, and now called Keene Road, that he presented him with a town and park lot of considerable value. In 1831, Captain Rubidge was appointed by Lord Seaton, the Governor-General of Canada, Immigrant Agent at : 1"; • I*'! fit m ' ■ T n ■i'M h :^-|i rr^rr ? . ■: I. I 278 History of the County of Peterborough. Peterborough, and, during the course of that year, located in Peterborough County, four thousand people from England, Scotland, and Ireland, giving general satisfaction by his persist- ence in a strict impartiality, which was by no means a general characteristic of those at that time entrusted with the allotment of government land grar ts. The closing passage of this fine old sailor's modest autobiography, dated 1871, is worthy of quotation: — "I conclude this statement of some of the events of my life, with most devout thanks to Almighty God for His goodness to me and all my family. For twenty years, I served afloat as an officer in the navy, and during that time had many narrow escapes from death. Now, in 1870, I am in my eighty- fourth year, and am one of the oldest officers in the British Navy. From 18 19 to 1841 I made a farm and worked hard on it, until appointed Registrar of the County of Peterborough, which situation I still hold." From the date of his autobiography, 1870, Captain Rubidge continued to hold the registrarship until his death, in January, 1873. He left three sons and three daughters. Of the sons, the eldest, Charles, father of George W. Rubidge, tobacconist, Peterborough, died in 1870; the second son, John, is a farmer in Otonabee Township; the third and youngest, Walter Rubidge, resides at Brantford, where he occupies the position of Clerk of the Court. The three daughters of Captain Rubidge are: Mrs. dementi, wife of Rev. V. Clementi, Peterborough; Mrs. Duns- ford, wife of Hartley Dunsford, Registrar of the County of Victoria, Lindsay; and Mrs. Ord, widow of the late George Ord, of Otonabee, now residing in Peterborough. Such were these two men, not the only ones who showed a similar spirit, among the leading men of the Town and County of Peterborough. The Settlement Progressing, 279 The new settlement progressed and grew. The primitive old mill, built by Adam Scott, was improved and enlarged in 1834, by Messrs. Hamilton and Fortye, and a brewery and distillery were added. These were burned down in the next year, but were at once replaced by a still larger edifice. F'rom the first, its unlimited command of water-power, and the vast facilities of its access, by the Otonabee, to the chain of lakes which stretch their entangled mass of water-course across the counties of Peterborough and Victoria, made the town an attraction to the better class of settlers, those who united a small capital to much enterprise and capacity for work. From its earliest beginnings, this settlement was free from an element of discord or political strife. It was founded at a critical time. A year before, on November 24th, 1824, the first number of the Colonial Advocate was published at Toronto, by William Lyon Mackenzie. F^ive years before Peter Robinson landed his first batch of immigrants, a deep although suppressed feeling of indignation had pervaded all the older settlements at the cruel injustice dealt out on evidence which was known to be the rankest perjury against the ill-starred Gourlay. And the tide of discontent was rising higher each year against abuses the very existence of which was unfelt in the isolated settlements already growing into vigorous life on the banks of the Oton- abee. The setilers had other things to occupy their minds than political grievances. They did not, as yet, enjoy the inestimable benefits of a newspaper and regular mails ; what news reached them was in two-months'-old journals from New York. They were engaged in the pioneer work which in the older settle- ments of the frontier and Lake Ontario shore, had been accom- plished more than twenty years before; and there were few of the dwellers on the seven hills beside the Otonabee, who \\'\ \ w IT '! 280 History of the County of Peterborough. would not have said with the knife-grinder of Cummings' immor- tal verse: "But, for my part, I never like to meddle with politics, sir! " The chief grievances that oppressed the older settlements were first the clergy reserves, one-seventh of the land in the entire Province being engrossed by an exclusive church, the selfish greed of whose champions excluded from that vast portion of the Province, the settler's axe and the farn.er's plough. But in the Peterborough district settlement had not reached the stage of advance when that grievance was felt. A second complaint of the Upper Canada people was the mismanagement of the government land grants by the Family Compact officials. But in Peterborough County the lands were allotted, by Family Compact officials, such as Peter Robinson and Captain Rubidge, with the strictest equity and a single- minded aim for the good of settlement and settlers. Mr. Robinson's personal influence attached them to the Tory Gov- ernment, in which the gentlemen of the House of Robinson played always a leading, and never a dishonourable, part. And, as a rule, the Catholic clergy were opposed to any movement which struck at church endowments, and dreaded above' all things a Republican form of Government, tendencies in the direction of which were already apparent in the utterances of Mackenzie, Dr. Rolph, and the Bidwells. Chapter IV. A PATERNAL GOVERNMENT. The Governor s visit to the settlers — An amusing incident — An address from the Irish Immigrants. 1. IT.HOUT trenching on the domain of politics, it may be remarked that the history of Peterborough all throughout its early stages gives proof that, like most other public institutions, the Family Compact plan of government was, at one time, not without a good reason for its existence in Canada. An arbitrary form of government appears to be the best suited for the pioneer stage in the formation of a new colony. And in the hands of an able and conscientious Governor, such as General Simcoe, this method of government was attended with the best results. The County of Peterborough, under Sir Peregrine Maitland, was exactly in the same pioneer stage that all the rest of Upper Canada was in, during General Simcoe's rule. And very much the same bene- ficial results followed as Simcoe's personal government secured lor the older settlements. Maitland appears arbitrary if not tyrannical, in his treatment of those who agitated for Responsible Government, but it must, in all fairness, be remembered that Responsible Government formed no part of the programme which he was sent, by his superiors in the Colonial Office, to carry out as Lieutenant-Governor. A far-seeing statesman, such as Lord * I IF Ml 1 1 1 28? History of the Cotmty of Peterborough. Durham, might have read the signs of the times, might have discerned that the demands of Mackenzie and his associates were not only just but inevitable, if British connexion was to b maintained ; the representations of such a statesman to the British Government would no doubt have obtained the con- cessions suggested by the famous Durham^ Report. But it was no fault of Sir Peregrine Maidand that he was jp^t gifted v/ith the political sagacity of Lord Durham. Sir Peregrine was not deficient in ability; he conscientiously pursued what he believed, and what, from his point of view, actually was the path of political duty. He showed himself, on all occasions, most anxious to promote the good of the Province, more especially in those districts where, as in Peterborough, his efforts were not thwarted by the opposition of what he considered factious demagogues. In the winter of 1826 he conferred on the new settlement the honour of a visit of state ; and his gracious and encouraging demeanour during this visit not only called the favourable attention of other parts of Canada to the district so distinguished, but had a most useful moral effect by giving increased hope and courage to the settlers themselves, who saw the interest taken in their welfare by the Lieutenant-Governor, and who, soon after his visit, received practical proofs of that interest by the construction of several important public works for which they had asked. During the brilliant festivities which drew all Europe to Paris, when the allied sovereigns met at that city to celebrate the downfall of Napoleon, no slight sensation was caused by the elopement of a dashing cavalry officer with one of the most beautiful of the many ladies of high rank whose presence graced those festivities — the only daughter of the Duke of Richmond. That officer was Sir Peregrine Maitland. The good-natured Duke The Governor s Visit. 283 was easily induced to forgive the lovers, and, on being appointed Governor-General of Canada, naturally procured for his son-in- law the then lucrative appointment of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. The melancholy circumstances of the Duke's death at Richmond, by hydrophobia, in the summer of 1820, will be remembered. They are most graphically described by Mr. J. C. Dent in his admirable "Canadian Portrait Gallery." It will be remembered that the settlement of Peterborough, at the time of Sir Peregrine Maitland's visit, was in the roughest pioneer condition ; the log houses scattered here and there, as if — to use the words of an old settler who has published his recollections of that period — " they had been sown broadcast ; " the blackened tree stumps still impeding the streets, the ox- waggon the only vehicle ; no church, scarce a store, everything in a state of primitive roughness that a visitor to the Hudson's •^ay Company's station at Mattawa might have remarked two years ago, when the extension thither of the Canada Pacific Railway was beginning to turn that lonely fort into a village. However, the leading men of the village, as it then was, made every preparation in their power to receive the Governor with the respect due to his rank and character, and were seconded by all the inhabitants with the most loyal good will. An evergreen arch of triumph was constructed, and made gay with flag and Union Jack. The sleigh track was cleared carefully, and strewn with cedar boughs. A log building, of more pretensions as to size, at least, than the others, which had been the residence of the Hon. Peter Robinson and of Captain Rubidge, and which was accordingly known as "Government House," was made ready for the honoured guests. His Excellency brought with him as his companions in this journey several of the most illustrious men of that generation in iM i'i i;i I , i i : \ !' I f u 284 History of the County of Pster borough. Upper Canada : John Beverley Robinson, afterwards Baronet and Chief Justice, of whose brilliant and successful career men- tion had been already made ; George G. Bethune, founder in Canada of the honourable family which has given to the English Church in Toronto its most able Bishop since the death of the founder of the diocese ; the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham, 'ather of a Church of England Rector of Peterborough, and grandfather of the present able and popular representative of one of the Peter- borough ridingsiin the House of Commons. With them was also a remarkable founder of an Upper Canadian settlement, the late Colonel Talbot. This gentleman had, in his early manhood, been a fellow soldier of the great Duke of Wellington, and had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel ; but, from some unex- plained reason — it is probable an unrequited attachment — left his native land, where he belonged to an ancient and noble house, the Talbots of Malahide, and withdrew to the wilds of western Canada, where, adopting a celibate, but by no means ascetic, life, he occupied his remaining years in founding the Talbot settlement on Lake Erie. This he did with wisdom and generosity. He was a stern old Tory and High Churchman, and, although in later days he quarrelled with ev^^^ryone who wore a clerical black coat, he used, at one time, to read the Church service and a sermon every Sunday to the people, closing the sacred rite by the generous circulation of a stone whiskey-jar. It need not be added that few congregations were more regular in their attendance. Colonel Talbot was one of a noteworthy class of pioneers and builders up 01 new settlements peculiar to those days of Upper Candida : such were John Graves Simcoe ; such William Dickson, of Gait and Dumfries ; such the Hon. Peter Robinson, who. in Colonel Talbot, must have felt that he met a kindred spirit. The Governor s Visit. 285 The Governor and his suite crossed FLice Lake, where, although it was but early in the winter, the shallow water was already frozen hard enough to bear the sleighs. Thence they drove, on good "old-fashioned" snow roads, through Otonabee Township, nearly in the track of the present Cobourg and Peter- borough Railway. On their way they halted at the comfortable residence where Captain Rubidge had made his home since 18 19, and were entertained at dinner with the respect due to their rank. On their arrival at the settlement they were met by the Hon. Peter Robinson, Colonel McDonnell, and all the leading men of the new settlement. They were then escorted to the large log building already described, which had been prepared for their reception as well as the circumstances of their enter- tainers would permit. The Governor and his suite remained there for several days, during which they made themselves intimately acquainted with the circumstanc^\s of the settlement, and the needs and wishes of the people. During their stay they were waited on by the Hon. Thomas Alexander Stewart, Captain Rubidge, Robert Reid, and what other gentlemen of position had setded in the neighbourhood. His Excellency held a sort of state reception in the central room of the log building, which was an apartment of some size, and could accommodate a considerable number of visitors. The Goveriior sat in the place of honour, at the further end of this room, and the visitors, as deputation after deputation arrived to present their loyal addresses, were introduced to his Excellency, having entered at one door, and passing out through another. Among others, an address was presented by " the magistrates, clergy, and other inhabitants of the County of Northumberland," which, after due acknowledgment, in courtly phrase, of their high sense of the honour conferred on the Newcastle District, and ■«ti- ■ ■•a m. ■\ % ' J 7 f i ! I 1 1 \ 1 fw'' 286 History of the County of Peterborough. the interest shown by his Excellency in the prosperity of the Province, bore testimony, in high terms, to the good conduct of the Robinson immigrants during their stay at Cobourg ; such good conduct, they said, " fully warranted the expectation of their becoming a valuable acquisition to the Province." A similar deputation was sent from the Township of Smith, immediately north-west of Peterborough. An unusually amusing characteristic incident is recorded as having taken place at the reception of this deputation. One of the oldest settlers, a Mr. Walter Wilson, had been induced to undertake to deliver a verbal address, the subject matter of which he and his col- leagues had agreed on beforehand. The chief object of the deputation was to ask the Governor to erect a mill in their township at the public expense. Mr, Wilson began his address, but, "unaccustomed, as he was, to public speaking," after stam- mering out, "We hae a mill, and we hae nae mill," the courage of the orator deserted him, and he relapsed into inglorious silence. Then, turning to Mr. Jacob Bromwell, a neighbo'T of his, and a member of the deputation, he exclaimed : " Speak it you, sir." Mr. Bromwell promptly took up the address of the broken-down orator, and, in a speech of manly common sense, laid before the Governor the privations and difficulties which the settlers suffered from, especially their want of a mill in their own township. He proceeded to explain the meaning of his colleague's mysterious and apparently contradictory utter- ance, "We hae a mill, ?."^' we hae nae mill," in the following words : " Saving your presence, sir, I have to get up at night to chew corn for the children " — a vivid, if coarse, presentation of the hardships to which these early settlers were exposed, who did not even own a hand-mill. The speech had its effect, how- ever. Sir Peregrine promised that the Government would build An Address from the Immigrants. 287 them a mill, which promise he took care should be promptly carried out. An Irish schoolmaster, named Patrick Barragan, presented a loyal address on behalf of the Irish immigrants, who then formed the greater part of the Peterborough population. • This address is an amusing specimen of the mannerism of a class of "philomath" school teachers, who have been long extinct, both in Ireland and Canada. Its good sense and loyalty — so we have heard from an old settler, who remembers the occasion — made a favourable impression on the Governor. It is the only address delivered on the occasion which has been preserved. It may be well to lay it before our readers. To His Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland, etc., etc. : We, the Irish emigrants recently brought out by Colonel Robinson to this country, feel grateful to our gracious good King, and to His Majesty's worthy, good and humane Government, for all they have, and we hope yet intend, to do for us. We are also well pleased, and entertain the best wishes for our Worthy Chief, Mr. Robinson, for all he has done for us; and we are fully sensible that his fine and humane feelings will not permit him to leave anything undone that may forward our welfare. Please Your Excellency, we are totally at a loss for words adequate to express the thanks and gratitude we owe Doctor Reade, for his active, skilful and unremitting care, etc., of us. We are likewise thankful to, and well pleased with, the officers placed over us. Please Your Excellency we agree very well, and are pleased with the proceedings of the old settlers amongst us. as it is the interest of all of us to do the same. And should an enemy ever have the presumption to invade this portion of His Majesty's !i I \ 1' ^ i 288 History of the County of Peterborough. dominion, Your Excellency will find that we, when called upon to face and expel the common foe, will to a man follow our brave commanders; not an Irish soul shall stay behind; and if we have no better weapons in our hands, mow them down with our Irish shillelahs. Please Your Excellenc)^, we labour under a heavy grievance which we confidently hope Your Excellency will redress, and then we will be completely happy, viz: — the want of clergymen to administer to us the comforts of our Holy Religion, and good schoolmasters to instruct our children. We now beg leave to retire, wishing Your Excellency long life, good health, and every success. The Governor's reply was gracious, and accompanied with a promise that a Catholic clergyman should be sent to them, which promise, as has been seen was at once fulfilled. The request for school teachers was not so palatable to the Family Compact, whose chief, John Beverley Robinson, had expressed himself to the effect that the less the lower grades were educated, the better it would prove for the community. During Sir Peregrine's stay he drove, accompanied by the Hon. Peter Robinson and Colonel McDonnell, across the frozen road of Chemong Lake to visit the new settlement in the Town- ship of PInnismore. Having crossed, they drove to the house of the leading man in the settlement, Eugene McCarthy, father of Jeremiah McCarthy, who afterwards became Reeve of Ennismore. At this gentleman's house they were most hospitably entertained. At the Governor's departure he carried with him numerous addresses from all the townships in which the Robinson immi- grants were settled, all expressing gratitude and loyalty to the Crown. These were, in due time, forwarded to Earl Bathurst, Colonial Secretary in London. <^ *.i:;nts, and is being enlarged and remodelled at a cost of $25,000. The Wesleyan Methodists "n Peterborough, as in all other parts of Canada, were foremost in the work of pioneer evangel- ization. For some years, indeed until the wise policy of the late Reverend Egerton Ryerson effected a separation between the Arierican and Canadian organizations, this church and its mem- bers were looked upon with suspicion by the Family Compact Government, who entertained a mistrust, which, in our day, seems absurd, against all men and institutions in any way connected with the United States. In those early days the Methodist itin- erant minister went through many a perilous journey through swamps hazardous to cross, and amid the gloom of forests where famished wolves might scent the solitary horseman, or lynx, or wildcat, by hunger made almost desperate enough to risk an attack, couched irresolute on the tree branch as he passed. The preaching was generally held in the open air or in a school- house, when schools began to be built. The Methodists have now a church in Peterborough, grand enough for a cathedral, The Methodist Church. 305 where sermons of cultured eloquence succeed musical services worthy of Mercandante or Gounod. But it may be doubted whether more fervent passion of devotion was not aroused in the rude school-house on the site of the present Union school, where a dense packed throng of home-spun clad farmers and their wives, kindled or trembled at the earnest words of some but im- perfecdy educated preacher of the Word. As an aged Methodist said, referring to the grandeur of their great church, " there were more tears shed at the sermons in the old log school-house !" The first building used by this denomination for divine service in Peterborough, was an unpretending frame structure erected in 1834, on land granted by the Legislative Council, who had begun to regard the Methodists with much more favour since the determined attitude cf opposition assumed by Egerton Ryerson against the agitation for reform of his former ally William Lyon Mackenzie. This land is described as "lots i and 2, north of McDonnell and west of George Streets." The grant is dated November 27th, 1834. This building when disused as a church was utilized as a parsonage. The increase of the congregation soon required a larger church ; this was built in 1844, being sixty feet by thirty feet. As has been well remarked, it is somewhat remarkable that the successive steps of marked advance made by this congregation has taken place at regular intervals of ten years. Thus in i»54 the structure was enlarged by an addition of twenty feet. In the next decade, 1864, a handsome and powerful organ was procured. In the following decade the present costly church was erected on George Street at a cost of over $60,000. The basement alone, of the finest cut stone, and furnished with every requisite for Sunday-school or church social, cost $20,000. The architecture of this church is modelled on that of the Metro- politian Methodist Church in Toronto ; it is like that pile of 20 • I M m II 306 History of the County of Peterborough. elaborate but unecclesiastical Gothic, an undeniably fine edifice. But somehow the great historical Churches of Rome and England alone seem to have the true secret of building Gothic churches. The Metropolitan is good in the details, but misses the unity of motive which one recognizes in a Gothic cathedral. It is not easy to obtain the dates for a list of the succession of ministers who have preached in this church, as the itinerant system of the Methodist Church necessitates such frequent changes. A second Methodist Church, in a somewhat less ambitious style, has been built on Charlotte Street, near the Midland Rail- way Station. It is a plain building, in the usual quasi-Gothic style, with light side windows of lancet shape, and a wheel window over the door ; it was built about ten years ago, and has been recently enlarged. The two churches are served on alter- nate Sundays by the two ministers for the time stationed at Peterborough. ♦ The Baptists organized a society and erected a church in Aylmer Street, in 1845. The building cost $1,400. A few years after this, some difference of opinion arose in the congregation, in consequence of which a portion of the membership seceded, and erected a second and still smaller church in the North Ward of the town. Fortunately the schism was not lasting ; the mis- understanding was adjusted, and the small church was utilised as a primary school. Within the last few years the original church in Aylmer Street has been considerably enlarged and improved. The Bible Christians, being of the Methodist denomination, have a handsome and commodious church of white brick on Murray Street. They purchased the site as far back as 1832-3, when their society was organized in Peterborough, the Rev. Mr. Ewan being the first minister. The church becoming insufficient in accommodation was utilized as a residence for the minister ; The British Methodists. 307 a large church was built in 1853, and this was in turn superseded by the present brick edifice, which was bui't in 1874.* Besides these churches, the British Methodists had at one time a considerable following here. Their church was erected on the rising ground a little west of the Otonabee bridge ; but when this body united with the Wesleyan Methodists, the church, which had become insufficient to their needs, was no longer necessary, and was utilized for school purposes, and finally sold. A branch of the "Saved Army" was established in Peter- borough in March, 1884, by a Mr. Munt ; the meetings are held in the Opera House. ••■ Since the matter in the preceding pages regarding the different Metho- dist denominations has been written, the Union of the Methodist bodies has taken place. The Bible Christian Church in Peterborough is about to be sold. Its members will worship in the other Methodist churches. li Chapter VI, MILITARY PETERBOROUGH. The part it played in the Rebellion of \%2,1-Z'^ — Some interesting Anecdotes — The Rogers Family. T has been mentioned that from the circumstances attend- ing the foundation of the setdement, under the Hon. Peter Robinson, the general feeHng among the people of Peterborough was Conservative and favourable to British connection. At the crisis of 1837, when the Family Compact Government persisted in refusing that concession of responsible government which the vast majority of our people demanded, and which the English Government were willing to concede, public feeling was violently excited through the Province, and it was evident to those who could read the signs of the times that the more determined of the Reformers would risk an- appeal to arms. The leaders of the latter section mean- time spared no efforts to agitate every part of the Province into sympathy with their designs. Above all, the fiery eloquence of William Lyon Mackenzie, at meeting after meeting, convened throughout the Province, appealed to the self-interest, to the self-esteem, and to the nobler feelings of pride and patriotism in his hearers. But in the county, and more especially in the town, of Peterborough, the following of the insurgent chief hardly equalled more than a corporal's guaj*d. And when the smoulder- The Rebellion of 1837-38, 309 ing disaffection burst forth into fierce flame for a moment at Montgomery's farm, the men of Peterborough were the first to rush to arms in support of the Government. In the winter of 1836-7, when the theatrical declamation of Sir Francis Bond Head had marshalled the hitherto united popu- lation of English Canada into two hostile camps, arming for internecine strife, many outrages took place on both sides. At Hamilton an attempt was made to assasinate Mackenzie, in which there seems to be no doubt that Head and his colleagues were at least accomplices after the fact. And Mackenzie was signally foiled in an attempt to hold a public meeting at the Town of Cobourg, which was then known as Amhers' ; of which dis- comfiture the Peterborough Loyalists were in a main degree the Having heard of Mackenzie's intended meeting, they cause. resolved to interrupt it, by main force if necessary, just as the Orangemen and other Loyalists have done on several late occa- sions in Ireland. In order to disguise their real purpose, they agreed to give a grand ball at the " Government House," Peter- borough, on the night of the meeting. The ball was largely attended, " And bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men." When midnight had passed, the plan for interrupting the " rebel " meeting was avowed and discussed, and inspirited by not a few glasses of wine, a large party started in their sleighs, and directed their course to "the front." Abundant reinforcement joined them from the loyal and Conservative townships of Monaghan and Cavan ; when they recalled Bloomfield, George Elliott, a Major in the militia, afterwards M.P.P, for the County of Dur- ham, joined them on horseback. He was recognized by all as their leader. 1! ■•,\lk] 310 History of the County of Peterborough, When they reached Amherst they made for the Court House, where Mackenzie had announced that he would hold his meeting. The Court House, as had been preconcerted, had beisn seized, and occupied by their friends in Amherst, and Mackenzie and his friends angry at being thus checkmated threatened to force their way in, at the head of a turbulent crowd. Major Elliott, followed by a compact line of sleighs, defended by resolute men, swept in between Mackenzie's men and the Court House, securing the latter to their friends by a cordon which their opponents had no power to face. Mackenzie tried an open air meeting, but was defeated in his efforts by all sorts of discordant voices. The Reform leader was not only compelled to abandon the meeting, but found it necessary to secure his own personal safety by leaving the village. Every student of the history of our country knows how the rash vanity of Sir Francis Bond Head precipitated the insurrection of which, according to wise and good men like Lord Durham, he was the most guilty author. When that insurrection threatened the existence of his Government in the first days of December, 1837, it found Sir Francis without a single regiment of militia embodied. Then, when it might easily have proved too late, he called on the militia of the Province. When this order was promulgated in Peterborough, within less than a single day, some two hundred volunteers had started for "the front," with such arms and equipments as they could procure, under command of Colonel McDonnell and Captain Corval. All along their line of march they were joined by company after company of volunteer militia, till when they arrived at Port Hope their force had reached the respectable strength of a thousand men. The crisis had passed at Toronto. Mackenzie's opportunity for surprising the incompetent and terrified Lieutenant-Governor The Rebellion of i8j7-j8. 311 had been lost by a counter-order altering the day appointed for the descent on the city. "The men of Gore" had arrived by steamer, under Mr., afterwards Sir Allan, MacNab. On the first organization of the Upper Canadian militia, which had taken place in a loose and informal manner some time before the outbreak, about two hundred and fifty muskets had been sent to Peterborough. They were of the old " Brown Bess " pattern with which all Wellington's victories had been won, and were equipped with flint-locks and the ancient tri- angular-bladed bayonet. These were served out to the assembled volunteers, the majority of whom, however, were armed with their own heavy-barrelled rifles, or with fowling-pieces. Am- munition they had to provide for themselves. Many a lump of lead was melted down that day to be poured into rusty bullet- moulds, or shaped into rude slugs. When this militia force reached Port Hope they anxiously looked out for the means of transport to Toronto ; but in vain ! Even the passenger-steamer Traveller passed on her trip eastward disregarding their firing of guns and hoisting of signals. They were on the point of setting out to march on foot to the scene of danger, when a despatch arrived telling of the break down of the revolt, the flight of its leaders, and the consequent permission for- the militia to disband and return to their homes. A party was, however, sent into the adjoining County of Victoria, to Lindsay and the neigh- bourhood of the Perry Settlement on the River Scugog, where it was known that Mackenzie had a following, among whom it was thought that he or some of the other fugitive insurgents might seek shelter or escape. Some ludicrous anecdotes are told of the conduct of these improvised heroes, and not a few unoffend- ing citizens have been annoyed by their illegal and tyrannical proceedings. An old farmer was driving with a scanty portion ■\'h \]\ r^ ' S. li r ?i I m. ^ '-^ Mm 312 History of the County of Peterborough. of hay, which he had bought as fodder for his cattle, when he was stopped on his way by a company of militia, whose over- zealous loyalty moved 'them to ascertain whether the hay con- cealed a "rebel." The brave fellows stopped and surrounded his team, and diligently prodded the hay in hopes to imbue their bayonets in rebel biood. When soon after this a body of ill-advised invaders occupied Navy Island in the Niagara River, orders were sent for a bat- talion from the Newcastle district to be immediately embodied and to proceed to the Niagara frontier. At Qnce a force, com- posed of militia companies chiefly from the settled townships in the County of Peterborough, mustered to the number of eight hundred strong, under Colonel Brown, and were to march to Toronto. Colonel Brown's battalion was mainly composed of the militia companies of Otonabee, Douro, Dummer and Aspho- del. They were billeted for one night at Peterborough, and were most hospitably entertained by the citizens. Next morning they were paraded in front of Colonel Brown's quarters at Ashburnham, and the three hundred and fifty most serviceable men being picked out, were furnished with the available supply of muskets, bayonets and cartouch boxes, as far as the contents of the armoury would allow. Vacancies in the various military ranks being filled by appointments made by Colonel Brown, they at once began the march for the Niagara frontier. The rest of the companies were left behind on a reserve, under command of Colonel Crawford. Colonel Brown's detachment on the first day marched seven- teen miles, and bivouacked for the night at Cavan, now Baili,eboro, finding shelter in the tavern kept by Mr. Joseph Graham, of that place. On the next day they marched to Mr. Bletcher's hotel, within three miles of Port Hope. On the day after, although they The Rebellion of iSjy-jS. 313 had been compelled to delay in order to purchase necessaries at Port Hope, they accomplished a further march of sixteen miles on the road, between Port Hope and Toronto. Here they achieved the capture of an American priscfier, who was put into their hands by the magistrate, charged with having used treason- able language. But next day the prisoner jumped from the sleigh in which they were conveying him, and darting into the woods endeavoured to hide himself under a log. He was, how- ever, recaptured and with several other prisoners put under strict guard, and taken to Toronto for trial before the Treason Com- missioners. When they reached Highland Creek, being alarmed by rumours of an insurgent force being raised in the neighbourhood Colonel Brown kept his men under arms all night, and employed the greater part of them on scouting duty. This was found unusually severe, as the roads were heavily blocked with snow- drifts. No foe, however, appeared to test their valour. It was late in the evening of the fifth day after leaving Peterborough that they reached Toronto, where they were kindly received and supplied with good food and comfortable quarters. Having rested one day after their long and toilsome march, they were inspected, an ordeal through which they were said to have passed with great distinction, and subsequently received whatever honour is to be attached to the praise of Sir Francis Bond Head. At this time a new battalion was formed from the sevei"al detachments at that time in Toronto, the officers being chosen from the officers of those detachments. The chief command was given to Colonel Kingsmill, Colonel Brown acting as major of the provisional regiment, and Captain Bentley as adjutant. Colonel Kingsmill had been a captain in the regular army ; he was a regular supporter of the Church of England, and was a remarkably fine specimen of the old soldier. The new regiment liilii 314 History of the County of Peterborough. \\ . recc'.^d the title of The Queen's Own, a name whose proud eminence on the muster roll of our militia has been proved since then on more than one field of battle ! It is noteworthy that some of the best soldiers in the Queen's Own when first raised were men from the County and Town of Peterborough. Those not selected to join the new regiment were now permitted to return to their homes ; those selected proceeded with their com- rades of the Queen's Own to the Niagara frontier, where they remained all through the exciting time of the insurgent occupa- tion of Navy Island, and the " cutting out" and destruction of the Caroline. In the May following the battalion was disbanded, and all returned home. But the expedition directed by American sympathizers, ignorant of the true state of Upper Canada, against Prescott, which ended in the Battle of the Windmill and the capture and subsequent execution of the unfortunate- Van Shultz, caused such apprehension that leave was sought from the military r.uthorities to organize another regiment, in case the County ot Peterborough should need defence. Permission was granted, and a number of companies were raised for what was styled " The /th Provincial Battalion of Peterborough." This was comprised of volunteers from the militia of the county, who were ceilled out en masse for drill and other service from January to May, 1839, their headquarters being in the Town of Peterborough. Theii: six months' service ended, they were inspected, received what appeared to have been well- merited praise for their soldier-like appearance, and were dis- missed. Colonel Alexander McDonnell held the chief command, but the practical training of the battalion was carried on by Major Cowall. It is of such paramount importance to permit no record to be SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Il 1 II The "ph ^-t.iloioughr 317 lost which 'may in any way tend to keep alive a patriotic military spirit in our country, that we think it a duty to preserve in this History of the County of Peterborough the following list of pro- motions and official appointments in the " 7th Peterborough," which we copy from sources certainly not accessible to most of our readers, and likely soon to be wholly lost. The battalion consisted of six companies of fifty men each. Adjutant-General's Office, Toronto, 28th December, 1838. MILITIA GENERAL ORDERS. His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor is pleased to make the follow- ing appointments in the Embodied Militia Force, Seventh Provisional Battalion : — To be Captains : ' Date of Rank. Captain S. F. Kirkpatrick, from the Second Northumber- land Regiment 12 Nov., 1838 Captain J. C. Boswell, from the Second Northumberland Regiment 16 " «' Captain John T. Benson, from the Second Northumberland Regiment 16 " " Lieutenant Thoi las Murphy, from the Second Frontenac...2o " " A. S. Eraser, Esq., half-pay lieutenant, 42nd Regiment i Dec, " To be Lieutenants : Lieutenant S. J. Carver, late Queen's Own 20 Nov., " Ensign James Ferguson, from the Fourth Northumberland... 20 " " Samuel Strickland, gentleman 25 " " George W. Caddy, gentleman i Dec, " Thomas Need, gentleman i " " To be Ensigns : Wheeler Armstrong, gentleman 25 Nov., " George B. Hall, gentleman 15 " " George Love, gentleman 15 " " Ensign Robert Brown, late of Queen's Own 15 " " Charles P. Rubidge, gentleman 15 " " ,j|^^«^^H' 1' 318 History of the County of Peterborough. To be Adjutant with the rank of Captain: Lieutenant J. G. Armour, late of the Queen's Toronto Guards. .20 Nov., 1838 To he Paymaster : W. H. Wrighton, Esq., subject to his finding sufficient security 10 Dec, " To be Surgeon : Surgeon J. Hutchinson, from the Second Northumberland. ..20 " " To be Quartermaster : Lieutenant H. B. Holland, from the Second Northumber- land 10 Nov., " The late Richard Birdsall's name does not appear on the fore- going official list; it is, however, a fact that he served with his company all through this most honourable, though bloodless, campaign. His military skill enabled him to be of considerable use in organizing the company, in which he held the rank of lieutenant " attached." He served his country none the less efficiently and honourably because he received no pay and is not mentioned on the official list. A non-political work like this County History is not the place in which to discuss the question of how far Mr. Mackenzie and his followers were justified by the oppressive Government under which the country groaned. But there can be no ques- tion whatever as to the folly and criminality of the various raids made on Canadian soil by American sympathizers in 1838. It was impossible that they could have succeeded. They could only strengthen, by justifying in the sight of England, the oppressors of Canada. But had Mackenzie marched down Yonge Street on the morning of December 5, 1837, with two hundred well-armed men, nothing is more certain than that he would have taken Toronto, including the addle-pated Governor, who the night before had, as he tells us, "gone to bed with a Peterborough " Rebels': 319 sick headache." The result would have been not independence, for which the Canada of that day was not ripe, but an earlier grant from England of the free institutions which Lord Durham's Report has gained for us, and the saving of much expenditure of blood and treasure. Not very many in Peterborough, as we have elsewhere said, sympathized with the eager longing for redress felt by a large majority of our people as they witnessed Mackenzie denounce with voice and pen '^ a faction nioix piti- less than death itself, who sit in high places, and grind the faces of the poor.'' But there were some that did so sympathize, and these were not of the least intelligent and honourable class; chief among these was Dr. John Gilchrist, afterwards Member of Parliament for the county, a man who may be classed in the same category with several other remarkable men, members of the same noble profession, who at the time risked fortune and life to take a leading part in an insurrection which they believed to be a duty. Like Dr.- Charles Duncomb, of Bishopsgate, Brant County, who led the insurgents at "Scotland;" like Dr. Rolf, of Toronto, or Dr. Wolfred Nelson, of St. Denis, who defeated in pitched battle a veteran Waterloo Colonel in command of regular soldiers ; Dr. Gilchrist was known far and wide for his professional skill and the generous goodness of heart that made him the local Man of Ross, a Good Samaritan. He, with some eleven others were arrested, but these twelve apostles of Reform were the only ones furnished by the whole Newcastle District. As a matter of local interest their names, as found in the official documents of the time, are here given : — William Purdy, miller, arrested December 13, 1837, released January 8, 1838; William Richardson, farmer, arrested Decem- ber 10, 1837, released January 8, 1838; Joseph Pearson, farmer, arrested December 10, 1837, released January 3, 1838; Jacob ./-I ' ./ •J.'lii! Ja:it!i 11 1.* 320 History of the County of Peterborough. m i 5. Kellar, labourer, arrested December 31, 1837, released January 3, 1838; John Davis, labourer, arrested January 27, 1838, released February 22, 1838 ; S. V. Wicklin, blacksmith, arrested February 6, 1838, released March 19, 1838; Francis Ferguson, labourer, arrested February 24, 1838, released March 10, 1838 ; Peter Nix, farmer, arrested January 11, 1838, released April 6, 1838. All the foregoing were discharged by the magistrate, with the exception of Peter Nix, who was discharged at the assizes. The following were merely arrested on suspicion of "seditious practices," but were all discharged by the magistrates without imprisonment : — John Gilchrist, physician, arrested De- cember, 1837 ; Charles Powers, iron founder, arrested December, 1837; Munro Merriman, labourer, arrested December, 1837; Robert Waller, merchant, arrested December, 1837. For many years after its creditable rally to the call of duty in repelling the Yankee invaders of 1838, the "Seventh Peter- borough " held together. But their annual meetings resembled the military service of the militia corps described by an American poet : " Our October trainin' Where the Kurnel sends the banners in if it only looks like rainin'." Still these annual meetings for drill served to keep up the esprit de coi'ps, and were the source of a great deal of harmless amusement. They were held every year at the hospitable house of Major Anderson, on the north shore of Rice Lake, where the militia of Peterborough town and county gathered. Here they were put through several hours of what was called " training ;" that is, the men were drawn up in line, went through the manual exercise, formed fours, and were put through some simple military manoeuvres of marching and counter-marching. Very few had muskets, in many cases a stout stick did duty for that firearm, ''Daft Donald" of the yt/i. 321 but every now and then the firm step and erect figure showed the trained soldier beneath the home-spun dress which was their only uniform. The officers, of course, wore military dress, though generally of the most faded description. But Major Anderson, the " Colonel," as they called him, was on that day in his glory ; it was to him the proudest day in the year. Many stories are told of him on these occasions. Like many old com- manding officers he could ill-bear any disrespect to military rank, and should such occur would indulge freely in that kind of language which is said to have prevailed amongst "our army in Flanders." But when the few simple manoeuvres had been got through, no one was more kindhearted than their old commander, who provided all sorts of entertainment for officers and men. Now it unluckily happened that in one of the companies of the gallant " 7th Peterborough " there was a youth who went by the name of "daft Donald." Donald was strong physically, but was a simple-minded, good-natured fellow, the perpetual butt of both his comrades and "the girls," to which ensnarers of mankind he had the same aversion that a certain fallen angel is said to enter- tain to holy water. Now when "daft Donald" came up with the rest for the yearly training, some graceless scamp in the company succeeded in persuading him that he was made Adjutant, and fully instructed him in the duties of -that office, which were to ride behind " the Colonel ;" they promised to lend him a horse. Whatever he saw the Colonel do, he was to do the same, and whatever order the Colonel gave, he was to repeat. They got him an old undress uniform cap such as officers wore, of which poor Donald was immensely proud. They kept him in concealment till the line was formed and the Colonel was about to ride along in front of the men. Then being instructed what to do Donald rode forth in all the glory of his forage cap, taking 21 m\ nmm' \ 322 History of the County of Peterborough. station immediately behind the Colonel, and imitating his every gesture to the inexpressible amusement of the men. "What are you men grinning at? Order there! you, number three company, damn you, order in the ranks, I say ! " By a supreme effort the men settled their countenances once more, when the Commandant exclaimed, " Fix bayonets ! " " Fix bayonets! " was echoed in as bold a voice by his double in the rear. A roar of irrepressible laughter followed from the line, in which, fortunately for poor Donald, the good-natured Major joined. But the present efficiency of the Peterborough Militia is the result of more systematic drill and officers of undoubted soldier- ship. In all respects it is indebted to the exertions of such men as the Colonels Rogers, Lieutenants Strickland and Sanderson. At the time of the Fenian raid of 1866, Peterborough sent to the post of danger what was pronounced to be one of the best equipped and most soldierly regiments ever seen at a gathering of our Canadian Militia. The order to move to the front arrived one evening at that critical season; the men stood in their ranks, uniformed and armed, next day by the hour of departure of the morning train. For his activity in getting through the work necessary to enable this to be done, the regiment is largely indebted to Lieutenant Strickland. The Peterborough men should have received an earlier summons to the field, but by some of that official bungling, of which there was so much at the time, the early registered number for which application had been made by the officers, was not sent, and the Peterborough regiment was numbered by as late a figure as 57. If that error had not occurred, the Peterborough Battalion would, it is surmised, have numbered somewhere about the i6th. At present its style and title on the Militia rolls is, " The 57th Regiment, Peterborough ' "^-j Cavalry and Artillery. 323 Rangers." In 1867 the Government ordered the erection in Peterborough of a spacious drill-shed. In addition to the infantry companies, a fine troop of cavalry has been organized, under the command of Colonel H. C. Rogers. Considerable care has been taken by this experienced officer to preserve a high tone in his troop. It is not an easy thing to obtain admission to this crack corps, all the members being picked men, of respectable family ; as to .he horses, they would do credit to any regiment of cavalry in the regular service. When the Colonel and his troop turn out — with ring of sabre, champing of bits, and clanking of spurs, in the neat and soldier- like uniform of the Third Cavalry Regiment, " Prince of Wales Royal Canadi'in Dragoon Guard," of which they comprise "C Company, it is a sight to cheer the heart of an old volunteer officer. A detachment of the Durham Field Battery is also organized here under charge of Lieutenant Sanderson ; the men are well up in their drill, and it is said by those who are likely to have access to accurate information, that it is not improbable that a new- battery of field artillery will soon be established, with its head- quarters in Peterborough. The present condition of the Peterborough volunteers is one of marked efficiency, "horse, foot, and artillery." Any one who takes interest in the well-being of an organization of such vital importance, cannot but feel cheered at the patriotic zeal with which the officers of the Peterborough troops maintain a task which some regard as thankless. They have had their reward in the exceptional efficiency and more than local reputation of the Peterborough volunteers. The " Field and Staff" of the 57th Regiment is as follows : — Lieutenant-Colonel J. Z. Rogers ; Major T. M Grover ; 324 History of the County of Peterborough. Adjutant R. W. Bell ; Paymaster John Burnham, M.P. ; Sur- geon R. Kincaid, M.D., ex-M.P.P. ; Assistant Surgeon C. O. Gorman, M.D. ; Quartermaster J. W. Miller. The "line" offi- cers are: — No. i Company (Peterborough), Captain E. B. Edwards, Lieutenant Maxwell Dennistoun ; No. 2 Com Captain W. Langford, Lieutenant R. J. Lee ; No. 3 CompaP) (Ashburnham), Lieutenant R. B. Rogers in command, the popu- lar Captain of this Company, G. C. Rogers, having been drowned in the River Otonabee, April 20th, 1S83 ; No. 4 Company (Keene), Captain R. E. Birdsall, Lieutenant W. Campbell ; No. 5 Company (Norwood), Captain Thomas Burke, Lieutenant F. Brennan ; No. 6 Company (Hastings), Captain J. A. Howard. The officers of the Peterborough Troop of Cavalry, forming part of the 3rd Regiment of Cavalry, are : — Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Rogers; Lieutenants R. A. Morrow and W. H. Rackham. Lieutenant-Colonel Rogers, of the Cavalry Troop, w? r- merly Major of the 57th Battalion; Colonel Rogers, of the is his cousin. To the patriotic exertions and personal popularity of the Rogers' family the various corps of Peterborough volun- teers have been always deeply indebted. They are descendants of a remarkable race of loyalist soldiers, the remembrance of whose deeds of heroism was of late vividly brought back to the memory of the Canadian branch of the family by a visit to New York State. It so happened that Colonel H. C, Rogers was present at a rendezvous of the American Canoe Association, of which further account will be given in this work ; Colonel Rogers then held, and still holds, the position of Rear Commodore of the Canoe Association. The meeting took place on Lake George, near a place called " Rogers' Leap," from a romantic but true story of an escape gallantly effected under circumstances that seemed hopeless, by Colonel P.obert Rogers, a direct Colonel Robert Rogers, m ancestor of the Peterborough f;unily,of that name. As the ac- count given of this loyalist gentleman by Colonel Sabine * is tinged with the bitterness that an American of the last generation would feel against a successful loyalist partizan, the following account is given from the lips of an independent and entirely reliable informant : — Colonel Robert Rogers was the son of James Rogers, one of the pioneer settlers of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Being inclined towards military life he entered the British Colonial Service in the war which ended in the conquest of Quebec by Wolfe. During this war he organized and commanded the cele- brated Frontier force known as " Rogers' Rangers," which took such a prominent part in the war, gaining wide-spread fame for their invaluable services. At the conclusion of the war he was selected at Montreal by the Commander-in-Chief to command an expedition that was to recei\ c the surrender of the upper lake forts, which he carried 'Ut satisfactorily. He thus had the honor of commanding the fir.- British I'orce that traversed the great chain of lakes. In 1766, i»n the surrender by the French of the Fort of Michilimackinac, he was appointed its first Governor; he afterwards returned to New Hampshire, where he lived on hall-pay. In 1769 he visited England and was presented to the King. As the outbreak of hostilities, which resulted in the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, drew near in 1775. Colonel Rogers, from his being a half-pay officer of the King, was regarded with suspicion by Washington and the other revolutionary authorities. He Was arrested and kept under surveillance. Shortly after this he made his escape, and, receiv- '■' Sabine's " Loyalists of the American Revolution," vol. ii, p. 233. Dr. Ryerson's version is copied from Sabine. ^ 326 History of the County of Peterborough. ing a commission in the Royal service, raised the corps known as the " Queen's Rangers,'' celebrated for its dauntless bravery no less than for its unrelenting hatred to the American cause. The officers and men of this corps, when disbanded, settled mostly at York, under General Simxoe, the first Governor of Upper Canada, who succeeded Colonel Rogers in the command of the " Rangers." The axes of these men hewed through the pine- woods the roadway from Toronto to Lake Simcoe, which is now known as Yonge street. Their descendants revived in 1837-8 and later in 1866, the glory and discipline of the old regiment which they still maintain in that of the justly-famed " Queen's Own." On an occasion during the Revolutionary War (this is the incident connected with " Rogers' Leap") Colonel Robert Rogers was taken prisoner by a party of the Seneca Indians, who were on the warpath in alliance with Washington. He was compelled to " run the gauntlet " prior to being tortured to death at the stake. "Running the gauntlet" consists in the prisoner being com- pelled to run, naked, through a double line of his Indian captors, each of whom cuts or strikes him, as he passes, with knife, tomahawk, or thorny stick. The scene of this torture was on the summit of a wild bluff of rock projecting into the blue waters of Lake George. The Indians thought that escape was impossible ; but, as their captive neared the verge of the cliff, he sprang with a sudden bound into the deep water below, and diving out of reach of Indian arrows, swam to the opposite shore and made his way to a friendly shelter. Such were the warriors from whom not a few of our Canadian Militia chiefs arc descended. Chapter VII. EDUCATION AND JOURNALISM. History of the schools, their development and work — Newspapers past and present. E have already referred to the humble log building which was the first school-house in Peterborough. It stood on the site where no.v stands the play- ground shed of the new Central School building. As has been stated, the Reverend Samuel Armour, the first Church of England Rector in Peterborough, also filled the office of school teacher, in which he -was succeeded by other clergymen, notably the Reverend Robert J. C. Taylor, at whose school several of our most estimable citizens received their education. In the time of these gentlemen the school course included not only primary education, but classics and a portion of the higher mathematics. As the town of Peterborough grew, and the growing popula- tion needed a purely primary school for thobc to whom Latin and quadratic equations were useless, other schools were set on foot, and the old log school-house was used as a grammar school only, a liberal grant of public money from the municipal- funds being annually allotted for its support. The earlier history of the common schools is difficult to trace with accuracy, nor can the names of the teachers be obtained. v\ t Ipfi- m fi.; 328 History of the County of Peterborough. They were under the direction of an irregularly constituted com- mittee, generally including the clergy of the churches in the neighbourhood ; the teachers, too, were persons of but scant qualification as compared with those trained by the elaborate methods of the present day. Still a sufficient plain education was given in reading, writing, and arithmetic. But in 1852 all the primary schools were united under a com- mon board of school trustees, and the old church now disused by the British Methodist body was leased as a school building. The old grammar school building, after long years of service, at length became quite unsuitable for school purposes, especially in the winter time; and in 1854 the grammar school board of trustees applied for leave to amalgamate with the boards of the common schools, which had already been united. This proposal was adopted, and in February, 1854, John Langton was appointed Chairman ; Dr. Hay, Secretary, and William Cluxton, Treasurer of the United Board. The Union School so formed was carried on- in the church building, which had been'leased for the purpose. But from the vast increase of the boy and girl population which attended the growth of Peterborough, it was found that the old church had quite insufficient accommodation, and a ' movement was inaugurated for the erection of a new Union School building on a scale worthy of its objects and of the town. There was much dispute as to the site to be chosen, but finally it was resolved to select one which was at once the most central and the most salubrious in the town, the vacant ground fronting on Water street, and known as the Court House Park. These acres were most generously appropriated for this purpose by the Town and County Councils, but fortunately it was discovered that these bodies had not power to grant the land, a special Act The Union School. 329 of Parliament being necessary. This, we say, was fortunate, as otherwise the citizens would have been deprived of their park, and the whole effect of the commanding position occupied by the Court House buildings would have been spoiled. The plans were furnished by Mr. Sheard, Architect, of Toronto, and the building contract awarded to Messrs. Mitchell, Graham & Macdonald. The process of building, which was energetically carried on for two years, was finished in January, i860, when the Union School was opened. The building committee were Messrs. James Hall, chairman, W. S. Conger, William Cluxton, Thomas Fortye, James Stevenson, Frederick Ferguson and the Reverend Mark Burnham, Church of England Rector. The funds for building purposes were raised partly by the sale of several town lots which had been originally set apart for school purposes ; and partly by debentures bearing interest at six per cent, per annum. The actual cost of the building was $16,258, a slight excess only over the estimated expense of $16,000. The Central School, situated on Murray street, is truly an ornament to Peterborough. It is of fine white brick, built in the Italian style, with wide corridors and lofty class-rooms. The names of the Principals of the Grammar School from its inception to the union, were as follows : Reverend Samuel Armour, (Church of England); Reverend Moses Williamson* (Presbyterian); Rever- end Robert J. C. Taylor, (Church of England), and Bolton W. O'Grady, A.B., Trinity College, Dublin. The Principals between the union of 1854 and the year 1867, were the following: Messrs. John Gordon, T. W. Kerr, Stewart Foster, Reverend John Mc- Clure, Messrs. James M. Dunn, and John King, B.A., Trinity College, Dublin. The present principal of the Central School, Mr. H. Kay Coleman, has been but recently appointed ; he has, however, already gained the repute of being a good disciplinarian, mill J-iJ ;;■ !Vi 330 History of the County of Peterborough. as well as a well qualified instructor. The trustees of this school have for some time adopted the very sound principle of employ- ing none but the best qualified teachers and treating them liberally. There are also two Ward schools. The average attendance at the three public schools for the month of April, 1884, was 790. The Peterborough Collegiate Institute, as tested by its results in the public examination carried on by the Education Depart- ment of the Province, has won an exceptionally high position, and its pupils have taken higher honors at the University than those of any school within our knowledge. The head-master, Mr. William O'Connor, is ably assisted by four teachers in the management of about 135 pupils. The present Inspector of Schools is Mr. James Stratton, father of the well-known editor of the Peterborough Examiner. The members of the Board of Education are (1884) as follows : James Stevenson, chairman; W. A. Morrow, secretary-treasurer; Messrs. George A. Cox, James R. Stratton, W. H. Wrighton, R. W. Errett, Henry Denne, D. W. Dumble, Arthur Ruther- ford, Henry Best, John Sawers, George B. Sproule, James Kendry and Robert Wier. Of the Roman Catholic schools an account has already been given. The following gentlemen comprise the Separate School Board : John McGrath, chairman ; John Corkery, secretary- treasurer ; Messrs. Thomas Cahill, .Cornelius Halpin, Michael Quinlan, Bernard Morrow, John Garvey, T. B. McGrath and Henry Carveth. The newspaper is to the adult population of a new settlement much the same educating influence that the primary school is to the children. The first setdement of Peterborough took place when the nonage of Canadian journalism had already passed, and The Peterborough Press. 331 the press of the town was from the first superior to the Gazettes and Chronicles of the old time cities of Canada. A newspaper, the Peterborough Backwoodsman and Sentinel, was started as early as 1837, by Mr. John Darcus, of whose unhappy death by his own hand, under a fit of mental abberation, we have already spoken. The Chronicle was first published in December, 1842, Thomas Messenger being proprietor and James McCarroll editor. Its office, a frame house on Brock Street, being burned in 1846, the publication ceased, and its place was filled by the Peterborongh Despatch, the first issue of which appeared in November, 1847. Mr. George Hazelhurst was the publisher. But in August, 1856, the present ,j£';r«?«z«^r took its place, of which the proprietor and editor was Mr. Augustus Sawers, from whose hands it passed first into those of Messrs. Alexander, Graham and Renfrew; in October, 1863, Mr. James M. Dunn became partner with Mr. Graham ; in 1864 his place was taken by Mr. James Stratton, whose son, James R. Stratton, is the present editor and proprietor. The Peterborough Review was first published in 1853 by Mr. Thomas White, now M.P. for Cardwell, and Mr, Robert Romaine. li was afterwards con- ducted by Messrs. Thomas and Richard White, and still later by Mr. Romaine. In 1878 it was purchased by Messrs. Toker and Co., the partners being Mr. E. J, Toker and Mr. John Carnegie, now M.P, P. for West Peterborough. Since the beginning of the present year it has been published by the Peterborough Review Printing and Publishing Co. It is issued every Friday. The Daily Evening Review was established in 1878, and is issued every lawful evening by the same Company. The Weekly Review is, possibly with one or two exceptions, the largest weekly paper published in the Province, Its typography and general make-up give it a very neat appearance. Water is the y 1 i^ilHH 1* , .1 i il^^^^^H ',u ii^^^H + "^^^1 'I '■•M^^M ' tISHhI ' 332 History of the Comity of Peterborough. motive power used in the Review establishment. The Review is Conservative in politics, but has set an example of impartiality which some of the greater party organs in Toronto would, in the opinion of their own supporters, do well to follow. In fact it has been more than once taken to task by the more reckless factionism of the Toronto Mail for having the presumption to praise any work of a Reformer. It is most ably edited and holds a deservedly high place in the provincial press. Its principal editorial writers are Mr. E. J. Toker and Mr. Carnegie, M.P. P. The Exa7)tiner is a good sized eight-page paper supporting the Reform interests, which of late years has assumed respectable proportions in Peterborough. The Examiner is an able exponent of its political creed, and its editorials are incisive and telling. The editor is Mr. James R. Stratton, son of the former editor. It is published every Thursday. The Times is issued every Wednesday, its proprietor and editor being Mr. VY. H. Robertson. In politics it takes the attitude of Independence or Canadian Nationality, which is becoming increasingly popular throughout this portion of the Province, as all others. The Times has, according to the current Peterborough Directory (1883-84), "a large and increasing circulation." It is a lively and well-written journal, and takes a foremost i^lace in the ranks of the Independent press of Canada. During the present year Mr. Robertson has commenced the publication of the Canadian Agriculturist, a monthly magazine. The Canada Lumberman, a journal devoted, as the name implies, to the special interests of the lumber trade, is also published at the Review office on the first and fifteenth of every month. It circulates widely among the numerous and influential class to whom it is addressed. Among the educational influences of a growing city, if used as they ought to be, we must surely class the Mechanics' Institute The Mechanics' Instittite and Opera House. 333 and the Theatre. The Mechanics' Institute of Peterborough — established in 1868, and situated on Water Street — is in a flourishing condition ; it has a good Hbrary and reading- room, in which are found the leading Canadian and American papers, periodicals and magazines, and from time to time provides a course of lectures on historical and scientific subjects, besides conducting evening classes. The following are the officers for the present year : — President, Andrew McFarlane ; First Vice-President, William English ; Second Vice-President, George Munro ; Secretary-Treasurer, J. Corkery. Directors — J. E. Belcher, A. W. Brodie, E. J. Toker, Dr. Clark, Rev. V. Clementi, E. Courtney, S. English, Richard Hall, W. H. Law, F. J. Lewis, A. P. Poussette, and Robert Robertson. The enterprise and public spirit of Mr. Thomas Bradburn, in 1875, provided the people of Peterborough with a handsome Opera House. Considerable outlay has been, since then, expended on the scenery, decoration, and sitting accommodation. It is now a well-appointed theatre, equal to the representation of any of our great works of dramatic art, so that in this respect also, Peterborough can hold her own with any city in the Province. Chapter VIII. INCORPORATION AND ROYALTY. The erection of the Tozun Hall — Increased Develop7nent — Visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, :ETERBOROUGH continued for the first twenty years of its existence a mere village, for municipal purposes forming a part of the Township of North Monaghan. But from the date of its incorporation as a town, January ist, 1850, it took a new stride on the road of progress, the pace of which she has never since relaxed. The population at that time was 3, 180. The first Mayor was Thomas Benson, and the first Town Clerk, C. J. Vizard. Property increased in value, the old wooden buildings were demolished, and blocks of red and white brick took their place, public spirit was unanimous in the wish to promote every municipal improvement, a wish which was well carried out by the newly-elected council. A prize of $100 was offered for plans and estimates for a new town hall and market house, also for a uniform series of buildings to occupy three sides of the Market Square. Plans were sub- mitted by Mr. Thomas, of Toronto, and by Mr. Kivas Tully ; those of the former gentleman were accepted, not without sus- picion on the part of many, that the council had been unfairly biased in their decision. The corner-stone was laid with much ceremony on September 25th, 185 1, by the Mayor, Charles The Erection of the Tozvn Hall. 335 Hudson. The following inscription, on parchment, was deposited in the corner-stone : " On the 27th day of September, A.D. 1851, Charles Hudson, Esq., Mayor, laid the foundation of this build- ing, erected by order of the Town Council of the Town of Peterborough. Members of the Council : Charles Hudson, Esq., mayor, James Harvey, Joseph Spenceley, John Reid, Thomas Chambers, Clark Spalding, James T. Henthorn, Edmund Chamberlin, Egerton Perry, M.D., Thomas Hutche- son, Robinson Rutherford, and John Haggart. Members of the Building Committee: Edmund Chamberlin, James T. Henthorn, Thomas Chambers, John Reid and James Harvey, Esquires. Walter Sheridan, Esq., architect ; Mr. David Taylor, contractor. (Signed) W. H. Wrighton, town clerk." It will be noted as a mark of social difference between Canadian manners of 1851 and 1884 how the title of Esquire is lavished on the members of the council, while plain " Mr. " is good enough for David Taylor, the contractor ! So in Dr. Poole's book, every man who has opened a country tavern is dubbed Esquire, while the " mere farmers " are Mr. Tom, Dick or Harry. The tendency at the present day is to equalize all to "the plain Mr.," except when, for convenience, a professional prefix is used. Great were the rejoicings at the ceremony of laying the corner-stone. They included the good old ceremony of roasting an ox whole for free entertainment of the public. Unfortunately the ox while being roasted, as in the case of the oxen of the sun god whom the sailors of Ulysses had profanely attempted to roast, disappeared suddenly from the spit by unknown agencies ! Strange to relate, the parties who worked this miracle were never found out ! At the same time the council made a wise decision in resolv- i ■ w "1 » 1 336 History of the County of Peterborough. ing to memorialize the Governor-in-Council in respect to the wild lands in the rear of the county, and prayed that these lands might be offered for sale at low rates to actual settlers, and that the proceeds of sales of such lands might be spent in opening up roads through the back country. Their request was at once acceded to, and the work of settlement in new townships much promoted thereby. In 1852 a fine block of buildings was erected on Market Square, but these were burned down in 1857. Soon afterwards the present tastefully designed market block was erected on the ruins. In 1852 the first three stores in the Burnham block were finished, and the remaining part of the block, including what is now the Grand Central Hotel, in 1858. In 1854 two separate grammar school districts were formed out of the County of Peterborough, eastern and western, each of which is now pro- vided with unexceptionable facilities for furnishing to all who wish it, girls as well as boys, a first-class secondary education. After July, 1854, Peterborough enjoyed the advantage of a daily mail, by the steamer Otonabee from Rice Lake. In 1856 an unusual amount of energy was shown in the erection of new buildings. The Peterborough Reviezo for September, 1856, thus chronicles what was done : — " First we have a couple of stores erected by Peter Ryan, Esq., on his property on South George Street. The building is of brick, three storeys high, the front is ornamented with raised brickwork, in the form of pillars, sur- mounted by a neat brick cornice, and supported upon cast-iron pillars. With one exception, the building is the neatest yet erected in town. . . . Next we have the buildings erected by W. Cluxton, Esq., on George Street. These buildings are very much superior to anything of the kind hitherto known in Peterborough. . . . They are four storeys high, the front Visii of the Prince of Wales, 337 being of white brick, and supported on cast-iron pillars and stretchers. The windows of the second and third storeys are slightly arched at the top, while those of the fourth are circular topped. . . The shops will be spacious, and being on the west side of the street will be shaded during the greater part of the day." Mr. J. T. Henthorn's fine buildings on Hunter Street, those of Messrs. Hull and R. D. Rogers on the same street, also receive a well-deserved meed of praise. By this time the " old standards " of the pioneer stage of Peterborough began to be removed; in March, 1857, occurred, the death of Dr. Cousins, a veteran medical officer of the British Navy, who had accompanied the Hon. Peter Robinson's immigration in 1825. In February, 1858, died Mr. George Benton Hale, for several years Judge of the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, at his house, Beavermead, in the vicinity of the town. In September, i860, occurred the visit of the Prince of Wales to Peterborough. It was natural and fitting to receive with honour and courtesy the son of one who, both as a woman and a Queen, has set an example rarely seen in " that fierce light that beats upon a throne." The Prince was a youth of whom it was possible to hope that if he were not to display the brilliant military talents of his ancestor, the Black Prince of Wales, he would at least inherit the unblemished morals of his father. The people of Peterborough made great preparations for his reception. The Town and County Councils placed $2,400 in the hands of a committee who were given full charge of the arrangements. The Peterborough Rcvieiv, issued on the day after the visit, says : — " There were three arches erected by the Committee, one in Ashburnham, nearly opposite Mr. Rogers' store ; one on Hunter Street, nearly opposite St. John's Church, Ini ,^^-m . 1 22 I I. 338 History of the County of Peterborough, and one on George Street, nearly opposite McGregor's Hotel. " The Ashburnham arch was of Roman design, that on Hunter Street was in the Tudor style of architecture with towers, battle- ments, etc., while the third, the finest of the three, was built in the Gothic style ; a lumberman's arch was also erected on George Street. Besides these, poles surmounted by flags and festooned with evergreens were erected at several points. The streets presented a handsome appearance, every building being decked out with bunting, Hags, streamers, and evergreens. At about half-past eleven the train bearing the Prince and suite arrived at the station in Ashburnham, and as soon as possible the procession was organized and started in the following order : — Marslial on horseback. Two Deputy Marshals on horseback. Warden and County Council in carriages. Mayor and Town Council in carriages. Sheriff and County Judge. Carriage containing The Princi of Wales and the Governor-General. The Rifle Company forming a Guard of Honour on eacli side of the carriage. The Duke of Newcastle, Earl St. Germains, General Bruce and others of the Prince's suite. Members of the Legislature. Executive Committee. Band. Two Deputy Marshals on horseback. Temperance Organizations. Citizens. The procession moved forward- in this order t' i;. ' burnham, under the arch on Hunter Street, and o j House grounds, where a handsome pavilion ha- w erci As soon as the Prince appeared on the platform ili voices of a thousand children, who occupied seats in front, broke forth in M 1 Visit of the Prince of Wales. 339 "God Save the Queen," a verse being added in honour of His Koyal Highness. The sloping ground in front of the pavilion gave the 15,000 people assembled there an excellent opportunity for viewing the scene. After the singing had been concluded, addresses were read by William Lang, Esq., Warden, and by Augustus Sawers, Esq., Mayor. To these the Prince replied as follows : — " Gentlemkn, — I thank you sincerely for the addresses which you have presented to me. In the Queen's name I acknowledge the expressions of your loyalty to her crown and person ; and for myself I am grateful to you for this welcome to your neighbour- hood." A deputation from Cavan Township, headed by John Swain, Reeve, also presented an address. After the presentation of these addresses the procession re-formed and passed through the principal streets. In less than an hour after his arrival the Prince stepped on board the train, leaving behind him, as the Review of that date states, "thousands of hearts beating not only with a warm loyalty to his Royal Mother, but with a whole- souled personal attachment to himself." it !1lili Chapter IX. • THE LIVING AND THE DEAD. TJie Cemeteries of Peterborough — Statistics shoioing tJic population and its increase. ITHIN easy distance of the City of the Living, but out of reach of the noise and turmoil of its busy streets, is situated the City of the Dead, the Little Lake Cemetery. The position and surroundings are so bea'^tiful. as to make the visitor, to use Shelley's words when referring to the cemetery at Rome, "almost in love with death !" The priniicive Canadian custom of setting aside a portion of ground on each farm as a private burial ground, has been the cause of much desecration. By death or improvidence the best managed properties change owners, the old board-fence which once kept the sacred spot inviolate, becomes a ruin, and sooner or later the remorseless ploughshare demolishes the last resting place once regarded with affectionate venciation. The practice of having burial grounds within the precincts of towns, besides its hygienic ill effects, leads sooner or later, to desecration ; it is a chanCe if re-interment is carried out ; where it is, the bones of the uncoffined dead are piled in a common grave. Stacks of tombstones lie neglected piled one above the other in some obscure nook. Little Lake Cemetery. 341 Wisely, therefore, both as a matter of health and in regard to some of the best feelings of our nature, a leading citizen of Peterborough, Mr. \V. S, Conger, in 1851, formed a Joint Stock Company for the purpose, of purchasing and laying-out with proper regard to appropriate decoration, the site for a public cemetery, sufficiently near the town for convenience, but suffi- ciendy remote to be secluded from secular associations, and from risk of endangering the public health. The site selected was the lovely wooded promontory, formerly known as Mole's Point, just below the expansion of the Otonabee, which is named the Little Lake. So fully were those engaged in promoting the Litde Lake Cemetery impressed with the importance to the people of this county, of securing suitable resting-places for the dead when their surviving friends might have the consolation of feeling absolutely assured that they would remain undisturbed for all time to come, that they prepared A Bill, which, having passed through Parliament, has now become law, authorizing the formation of Cemetery Companies throughout the Province. Under this Act, passed loth August, 1850, the Little Lake Cemetery was established. The cemetery is about a mile from the market place. It forms a promontory jutting out into the kdital of $100,000. The follow- ing are the Directors : — A. P. Poussette, Thomas G. Hazlitt, Richard Hall, Wm. Davidson, Wm. Walsh, and H. E. Irvine, of the Royal Electric Company of Boston. Manager. The business interests of Peterborough are well looked after, by four banks. The Bank of Montreal, a large two-story white brick building, is situated on the corner of Simcoe and Water Streets, only a short distance from the market and town offices. About 1S49 or 1850, the Bank of Montreal established an agency at Peterborough, as an offshoot of the Cobourg branch, Mr. Robert Nicholls being the agent. In 1854, the agency was raised to the dignity of a branch, Mr. Nicholls being continued as manager. On his death in June 1858, he was succeeded by Jackson Rae. Since Mr. Rae's time the following gentlemen have had charge : — Messrs. J. N. Travers, R. J. Dallas, Robert Richardson, W. B. Knowles, F. J. Tate, and V. J. Lewis, the present efficient manager. The Peterborough branch of the Bank of Toronto was estab- lished in 1856, the first manager being the late ex-Sheriff" James Hall. After him came Messrs. Alexander Munro, Alexander Smith, J. Murray Smith, and J. H. Roper, the present manager, who has held the position since 1876. The Bank's office, a very commodious one, is situated in the Cox block on George Street. The Ontario Bank opened a branch here in 1866. This was done through the instrumentality of Mr. Robert Nicholls, who was a local director. The first manager was Mr. D. S. East- wood ; he was succeeded by Mr. George E. Shaw, on whose death, in October, 1880, the present manager, Mr. C. McGill, took charge of the branch. The office was at first in the 23 'I J 'ij 354 History of the County of Peterborough. Nicholls bu'lcling, north of its present location. It is now in a handsome three-storey white brick building, diagonally opposite the Bank of Montreal, on the corner of Simcoe and Water streets. The Peterborough branch of the Bank of Commerce, estab- lished in 1870. was at first located in the building now known as the Croft House, on the corner of Hunter and Water Streets. It now occupies a handsome well-lighted office in the Cox block, on the corner of Hunter and George Streets, opposite the Post- Office and near to the Court House. The first manager was James A. Hall, now Sheriff. Mr. Hall's successors were Mr. R. W. Smylie, now managing director of the Huron and Erie Loan & Savings Company, London, and Mr. W. Manson, the present manager. There is also in Peterborough a large money and broking firm, of which Mr. Thomas Menzies is the head. The Town Council for 1884 is as follows: — George A. Cox, mayor ; councillors : Thomas Cahill, A. Rutherford, Robert S. Davidson, John Douglas, Samuel F. Allain, \\^illiani Yelland, Robert H. Green, Melville Miller, Thonias Kelly, Thomas Menzies, James Kennedy and John J, Hartley. The following are the names of the Town Trust Commis- sioners io' Liie current year : James Stevenson, chairman ; Edge- combe i'earse, secretary ; E. Chamberlain, John J. Lundy, W. Cluxton and W. Paterson, Jr. The town officials are : Charles D. Macdonald, clerk and treasurer ; W^illiam Cumnnng, collector ; T. Jleavis, license incpsctor ; J. E. Belcher, town engineer; W^illiam Aldridge and C. McGrath, assessors ; E. B. Edwards, to.wn solicitor ; David W. Dumble, police magistrate ; Edgecombe Pearse and James Stratton, auditors ; George Johnson, street inspector ; George # -l/ll The Fire Brigade. 355 Johnston, chief of police ; R. Pidgeon and R. H. Adams, patrolmen. The names of the members of the Board of Education as well as those of the Roman Catholic Separate School Board, have been given, as have also those of the officials of the Peter- borough Mechanics' Institute. The usual County offices are held in a spacious building with four stone pillars in classical style, situated in a commanding position on the summit of " Court House Hill," and from a distance looking like the "Capitol" of some ancient Roman city. In the upper part of the Opera House, for which, as we have mentioned, the town is indebted to the public-spirited enterprise of Mr. Thomas Bradburn, are situated the Council Chamber, Clerk and Treasurer's offices. Collector's office, Police Station, etc. In the tower that surmounts this building a fine clock has been placed for public convenience. It can be seen from all parts of the town and surrounding country. The Fire Brigade consists of the following members : Chief, Thomas Rutherford ; Assistant-Chief, Samuel Clegg. Number One Company — Captain', Samuel Clegg. Number Two Com- pany — Captain, C. Rutherford ; Brigade Secretary, John D. Craig. The Peterborough Fire Brigade is regarded as one of the best organized in the country. We witnessed a striking proof of its efficiency on the evening of .September 19, 1883, when a dangerous fire broke out in the stables behind the Kineelly House, on George Street. The building was of wood and filled with hay and other imflammable materials. In a moment all was in a blaze, the glare of a confiagradon that threatened the business centre of the town fell on the terrified faces of the crowd who stood by without help. The flames spread, borne on a wind that blew them with violence on the I C!!! ill 3^ 1 356 History of the County of Peterborough. premises of Hopkins and Montgomery's Livery Stables on Water Street. These, too, were filled with material that fed the flames, and were consumed in an instant. The heat was over- powering, and the blaze had caught the large carriage factory of Fi'.zgerak! and Stanger, when, by the exertions of the Fire Brigade, the conflagration, which it had seemed impossible to check, was wholly overpowered. The Band attached to the Peterborough Fire Brigade is considered one of the most efficient musical organizations in Canada, and much credit is due to the present Bandmaster, Mr. F. W. Miller, for the care and skill he has exerted in brinofiiip il:^ band to its present high state of excellence. This band has a fame that is not merely local. They won first prize not only at the Peterborough Central Exhibition, but also when matched against no less than eighteen of the principal bands of the Province at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition they carried off the first prize, and thus became the Champion Amateur Band of the Dominion. The instruments number twenty-one. There is also the City Band, sixteen men, under the leadership of Mr. A. Freeman. The Peterborough Gas Company was organized in 1869. The capital is now $50,000, of which $40,000 is paid up. Nine miles of pipes and about 100 gas lamps are used in lighting the streets. The officers are : D. W. Dumble, President ; Secretary, Fred E. Bell ; Managrr, James Stevenson. There is a branch of the Bell Telephone Company, under the management of Mr. A. T. Smith. It was established in March, 1880. At first the Company had twenty-five subscribers, now they have seventy-five. The Dominion License Commissioners are : Judge Dennis- toun, Warden John Lang, and James Stevenson. Dr. Barnardds Home. 357 The agricultural interests oi Peterborough are represented by the West Riding Agricultural Society, of which the President is James Campbell, and the Secretary-Treasurer, John Carnegie, M.P.P. There are several benevolent institutions, two of the most important being the Hall Protestant Poor Ti'ust, and the Protestant Home. Through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Cox another charitable institution has this year been established in Peterborough. This is Dr, Barnardo's Home for Destitute Children. Dr. Barnardo has established several of these homes in Englrnd, and for some time has had a distributing home for boys at Toronto. When Mr. Cox and his lady presented the charming mansion and grounds known as " Hazel Brae," it was decided to close the house in Toronto and make the Peterborough Home the distributing point for boys, and the home for girls, who will there be taught those things that are useful in house- keeping, besides receiving an education. About one hundred and fifty girls between the ages of six and twelve, and fifty boys, aged from twelve to sixteen, were brought from England this year and placed in the Home. Of the Peterborough Young Men's Christian Association the President is Dr. J. Fife ; Vice-Presidents, Messrs. W. J. Minore and J. PTith Jeffers ; Secretary, George E. Williams ; Treasurer, J. C. Turnbull. The legal talent of Peterborough is represented in the Law Society, comprising twenty members. The President is Mr. C. A. Weller; the Vice-President. Mr. D. W. Dumble ; the Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. E. B. Edwards ; Trustees, Messrs. A. P. Poussette and W. H. Moore. *' nai 358 History of the County of Peterborough. There is no want of athletic associations for the voung men of Peterborough. The Peterborough Lacrosse Club, has the fol- lowing officers : Honorary President, R. A, Morrow ; President, H. Le Brun ; Captain, W. A. Sanderson ; Secretary-Treasurer, G. H. Giroux; Treasurer, C. Rutherford; Executive Committee, John Sheehy, J. Coughlin and M. Tierney. At present this c'ub holds the Central District championship. The Cricket Club has for President, Mr. C. A. Weller ; for Vice-Presidents, Hon. Robert Hamilton and Rev. V. Clementi ; for Secretary, Mr. E. A. Peck. The Peterborough P^ootball Club has the following officers : President, F. J. Lewis ; Vice-Presidents, H. Kay Coleman and A. St. A. Smith ; Captain, W. H. Budden ; Secretary- Treasurer, J. Morris. The Curling Club has for President, Dr. Boucher ; for Vice- President, Ro>ert H?ll ; for Secretary -Treasurer, C. McGill. The Peterborough Bicycle Club was organized in 1883, and has nov/ twenty members. The following are the officers : President, D. W. Dumble; Captain, Frank Hilliard; Lieutenant, Charles McLenaan ; Secretary-Treasurer, W. F. Kingan ; Execucive Committee, A. Mercer, C. H. Clementi and W. F. Kingan. The Boating Club has for its President, E. B. Edwards; Vice-President, John McLelland; Captain, Mr. A. J. Belcher; Secretary, Mr. Geo. Stever.son ; Treasurer, Mr. Alex. Elliott; Executive Committee, Messrs. F. Cox, F. Rutherford, J. Mercer, and J. E. Hawkins. The Temperance fort is held by the Friendship and Carswell Lodges of the Independent Order of Good Templars ; also by a Council of the Royal Templars of Temperance, and by a branch of the Church of England Temperance Society. Secret and Benevolent Soeieties. 359 The fashionable amusement of Lawn Tennis is represented by a club, of which the President is Miss Dennistoun, the Treasurer, A. St. A. Smith, Secretary, F. W, Hamilton. There is also a branch of the organization known as the " Grange," established in 1873, and connected with a Fire and Life Insurance Association. There are three Orange Lodges, one of True Blues, one Scarlet Chapter, one Young Canadian. The Canadian Order of Foresters is represented by two Courts. There are two Lodges of Freemasons, besides a Royal Arch Chapter, a Preceptory, a Chapter of the Oriental Rites, and a Consistory of the Scottish P^ite ; two Lodges of Oddfellows, and one of the Ancient Order of United Workmen ; a St. Andrew's Society, and a St. Crispin's Society. Such, reader, is this great and progressive industrial centre — the Manchester and Birmingham of Central Ontario. Her future history, like her past, is bound up with the interests of the great county which shares her name ; essentially a railway centre, she belongs to an age and a country in which the railway system is but in its infancy ; the, as yet, neglected backwoods townships of the County of Peterborough contain each of them within her granite womb a yet embryo iron industry, whose central depot ■M\(S whose various ramifications of manufacture shall be in the forest of "tall chimneys," in the park-like expanses of luxurious villas, in the opulent and stately st -cets of the Plate Glass City. // CiiArniK XII. / ASHBURNHAM. The Pretty Village Across the Otonabee — A Sketch of its History and its' Prosperous Industries. T is impossible to separate the history of Ashburnham from that of Peterborough : their fortunes are insepar- ably joined together : they form in reality as much one cit)' as the Upper and Lower Town of the political metropolis of Canada. Several of the most valued citizens of Peterborough are re-sidents of Ashburnham, and have been so from the time that the two banks of the Otonabee have been joined by a bridge : such was the Reverend Mark Burnham, of whom it may be said that if the English Church in Canada had more ministers of his calibre serving at the altars this day, she would stand far higher in the estimation of the Uiity of her own as svell as o^ all other denominations ; such also is the grandson of Zaccheus Burnham, John Burn- ham, M.P., the justly popular representative of the East Riding in the House of Commons. In the year 1658 Ashburnham, which had until then been regarded as part and portion of Peterborough, was incorporated as a village. It seems probable that the Peterborough side of the river will continue to be the seat of the manufacturing interest, and will contain the hiost brilliant streets ; yet the The Village of Ashbtirnhavt. 361 beauty of situation and comparatively unoccupied area of Ash- burnham will make it the fashionable quarter — the "East End" of Peterborough taking the place of the "West End" of English London. From no part of Peterborough is the view of the exceptionally beautiful scenery, extending over lake and sur- rounding country, more varied and comprehensive than from the lawns adjoining the residences of Messrs, Lundy, Burnham, and Strickland, in Ashburnham ; it has also an advantage from the hygienic point of view, being untainted with the miasma which clings around the more low-lying parts of Peterborough. The Village of Ashburnham, as it is now designated, is situated on the slope of a hill, called from the first rector of the Church of St. John, "Armour Hill." For the present year, the officials are: Reeve, John Burn- ham, M.P. ; Clerk, John Wood; Treasurer, A. H. Peck; Col- lector, Absalom Ingram; Assessor, Johnathan Stephenson. The population is, at present, 1,308; the total of the assessment about $360,000. The village has its share in the busy life of Peterborough ; but it is provided with resources of its own: it has grist mills, worked on what is called the "New- Process" plan, and belonging to the estate of the late G. A. Rogers; saw mills owned by another member of the same pioneer family, J. Z. Rogers; a large foundry, which is doing an increasing trade, in the hands of Richard Mowry; an extensive brewery, whose "make" has long since obtained more than local fame, owned by Henry Calcutt; the planing mill of W^m. Wand, a tannery, a carding mill, and a furniture factory — all of large dimensions, and doing a prosperous business — make up a list of local industries, which has every piospect of increasing. There are two churches: a Bible Christian, and one of the Church of England. The Bible Christian church is a neat ^> 362 History of the County of Peterborough. and unpretending structure, with a fair congregation, and Sunday-school. The Church of St. Luke was built some eight years ago, as a chapel of ease to St. John's Church, Peterborough. In the person of Rev. Mr. Bradshaw it has the advantage of an incumbent who has the gift — rare in the Church of England, in which sermons are not the strongest point — 'Of preaching in such a manner as to bring the pew in harmony with the pulpit. The church is a correctly rendered specimen of early English Gothic; it has a neat chancel, with all things furnished as they should be, except that there is no credence, and the altar decoration is by no means equal to that of St. John's Church, Peterborough. The singing of the choir is remarkably good. The Village of Ashburnham has also a fine Public School building and a Town Hall. It boasts of some of the hand- somest private residences in the county — those of Messrs. J. J. Lundy, H.. C. Burritt, J. Ludgate, H. T. Strickland, and John Burnhani, M.P. ^il|i I t ClIAITKK XI Ij. LO! THE POOR INDIAN. The Indians on the Rice Lake and Chcniong Lake Reserves — Their history and their present condition. HE American historian, Parkman, has remarked that the Indian "has been utilized by the French, en- slaved by the Spanish, and neglected by the English;" to which may be added that he has been protected by the Government of Canada, cheated and dispossessed by the United States. The consequence is apparent in the very great difference in the conduct of Indians in Canada and the United States. Whenever the word " Indian " occurs as the heading of a paragraph in a United States journal, we expect to read some record of atrocities committed or reprisals inflicted ; of trains wrecked upon the prairies, or the unoffending passengers in a river steamer journeying westwards pierced by Sioux arrows. The reprisals are as bad as the provocation. Whole districts are devastated by an overwhelming force of that army which the American Republic seems to maintain for no other purpose than to achieve an occasional massacre of the original lords of the soil. But their "Great Mother," Canada, treats her Indian chil- dren very differently. It may be true, perhaps, that she treats them too much as mere children, never to be trusted with the /> 1 1 i i ' M . , -j 'in ilH ■ 1 N^H f fl 1 1^1 » il IH V 364 History of the County of Peterborough. management of their own property, never to emerge from their poHtical nonage, never to be allowed to sell or alienate the reserves which have been secured to them. Had this been allowed, the reckless savage nature, heedless of to-morrow's famine amid the plenty of to-day, would long ago have been plundered by speculators of all that he possessed. It has been the lot of the present writer to visit all, or nearly all, the Indian settlements in the Province of Ontario, and to have travelled amongst the Indians engaged in hunting in the remote wilds of the Upper Ottawa; in all cases he has noticed the same condition of things, and has heard the same comment from Indian agents and superintendents. The once ferocious Mohawks — peaceful and contented in their villages and hunting-grounds on the Grand River, or tending their farms on the Bay of Ouinte around their church, on whose tower is displayed, carved in stone, the wolf's head, which was once their totem — give evidence of the com- parative wisdom, as well as humanity, of the Canadian system of Indian management. Previous writers on this subject, notably Dr. Poole, have stated that the Indian reserves in the County of Peterborough are in the hands of the Missasauga tribe. Mr. Hirschfelder, of Toronto, who is admitted to be our best authority on all matters connected with the Indian race, states positively that this is a mistake. The Indian reserves in Peterborough County belong to no one race, but are made up of scattered tribes and broken bands, many no doubt being of Missasauga origin, many of the Ottawa Algonquins and the ruined remains of the great Chippewa . will be remembered by those who have made a study of Indian history that there has always been considered to be vast generic difference between all the Indian tribes above named, i- The Indians in Peterborough County. 365 and what may be called the historic tribes, such as the Iroquois, or Six Nations, the Hurons, the Erie race, and the Neutral Nation. All these former have a continuous and distinctly- marked history, from the first time that they came in contact with the French missionary or soldier-noble to the present day, or to their extermination by the Irocjuois. All of them had attained to a certain political organization ; they lived in fortified towns, and acted in concert for the common benefit. Not so the Missasauga or Algonquin hunters : they roamed the forest in a single family, or a few associated clans ; they had no permanent towns ; while summer and plenty lasted, they enjoyed their favourite luxury, idleness ; when the Manitou of Death rode forth on the winter storm wind, and pestilence or famine invaded the frail wigwam, there was no resource but to die with the unintelligent apathy of one of the lower animals. It is evident that the prospect of civilizing this description of Indians would ' seem much less than in the case of the noble races settled in the reserves on the Grand River and the Bay of Ouinte. Notwith- standing this antecedent improbability, much has been done, and many good results effected. There are two Indian reserves in the County of Peter- borough, one on a projection of the Township of Smith, which may be distinctly observed in the upper part of Chemong Lake, the other on a peninsula between Rice Lake and the eastern bank of the debouchment of the Otonabee River. These Indians, through their chiefs and agents, in 1818, surrendered to the Governor of Upper Canada 1,951,000 acres of land, in what was then the Newcastle district; receiving in return up to the present day an annual present of $2,960, which, if equitably divided by the chiefs, would give to each Indian a sum of about $9. The interest which, from the time of the Conquest of 1764, m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) P>- '^■ /y °>^ ■> // o 7 # r 1.0 I.I 1.25 |36 I'" Photographic Sciences Corpomtion 2.2 1.8 U IIIIII.6 iV # Ws^ \ \ % V # ^ \ n^ ^o^^ ^^. *f^ pt; '^L 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 ( 716) B/J-'.SOa I T W"" I i iniMi. m 366 History of the County of Peterborough. was ^^enerally felt in England for the conversion and civilizing of those who had now become England's Indian subjects, led to many efforts being made by individuals and societies for that philanthropic purpose. The New England Company in particu- lar from the first took measures for the spiritual enlightenment of the Indians, and they have for the most part chosen as agent a clergyman of one or other Protestant denomination. Indians of both these Peterborough reserves have for the most part adopted the Methodist Church, whose simple worship and emotional system of preaching is perhaps better adapted to their impressible natures than the antique grace and complicated forms of Church of England worship. It has btcn observed that the two great emotional religions, that of the Church of Rome and the Methodists, seem best suited to the Indian temperament. As a rule those missionaries who preach to these poor people do so through an interpreter, who is maintained by Government for the purpose. According to the official returns the Indians who on Rice Lake inhabit the peninsula known by the romantic name of Hiawatha, own some 1,550 acres of land, of which, in 1834, 1,120 were placed under the control of trustees "for the benefit of the Indians, and for their conversion and civilization." The Reverend Mark Burnham was one of these trustees, the late reverend and regretted Bishop Bethune, of Toronto, another. Both took an interest in the poor children of the lake and forest that was not confined to fine phrases at missionary meetings. Mr. Burnham paid many visits to both reserves, and his good influence over the Indian converts was not the least of the many good results of his unobtrusive but beneficent life. The Rice Lake Indians have since had the wisdom and forethought to purchase, in the name of both their bands, several hundred I ' k" SIR S. I.. TILLEY. RRB '' ! I ( 1 . i 1 ■ 1 ''I'iif ■J ■ iii 1 f i i : K f pBTT1|» s If The Rice Lake Indians, 369 acres of land in Otonabee and elsewhere for their common benefit. , The Rice Lake Indian reserve of Hiawatha, — " Laughing Water," is situated in a picturesque part of the northern shore of Rice Lake, close to the entrance of the Otonabee River into the lake. The land is remarkably good. In many instances the Indians have become successful farmers, though the old savage nature still asserts itself in their evident preference for hunting. But the game they long found so superabundant in the woods and among the swampy shores and multitudinous islets of Rice Lake is fast disappearing before the advance of civilization and the breech-loading guns with which the white man makes holiday. Soon none will be left, and soon too, with his quest of quarry and wild bird, the red hunter must be extinct ! They have a pleasant village at Hiawatha, a neat Methodist church, with a resident minister, z. store and post-office, a school-house and teacher's residence. The minister preaches earnestly in favour of temperance and morality. Benevolent societies offer prizes for good crops, mammoth pumpkins, and pigs meritoriously fat! It is all very well meant, and sanguine people boast of its success, but — the accursed fire-water will make its way into the Reserve. The other reserve is known as that of the Chemong Lake Indians, and is situated at the head of Chemong Lake on a peninsula which forms part of the Township of Smith, Until 1830 these Indians were roaming through the bush ; but in that year the New England Company, an English organization which was established to help the poor Indians, received from the Government a grant of 2,000 acres, which form the reserve, and undertook to teach the Indians to follow agricultural pur- suits, to educate the children, and to bring all up in the Christian 24 370 History of the County of Peterborough. faith. The first agent of the New England Cpmpany was Rev. William Scott, who lived in Cobourg. In 1830, on the establish- ment of the agency, he gathered the Indians together and built a log house for each family. On Mr. Scott's death, in 1837, he was succeeded by the Rev. John Gilmour, who, in 1868, was succeeded by the Rev. Edward R. Roberts, the present agent. The colony now has about thirty farmers, who with their families make a total of about 1 80 souls. Each farm consists of four acres, on which is erected a log house, 16 by 24 feet, one storey high. The Chief, Joseph Whetang, a fine old man of sixty-five years of age, lives by himself in a neat frame house The land is rather stony, so much so that only about two hundred acres have been improved, at a cost of $2,280. Not- withstanding all that has been done for them, these Indians, like all others, are a shiftless lot. They are always in debt and would far sooner spend their time in fishing and hunting than in farming ; they would rather work for any strange white man than work upon their own farms. It is the opinion of one who knows them well that if they had the right of franchise and had to rely upon their own resources, they would be ruined in a short time ; if it were not for the support of the Christian white people they would soon sink into wretchedness and degradation. Their principal occupations are farming, making fancy-work, hunting, and shooting. In the winter they fish through the ice, and take their fish to market. The following statistics as to the value and extent of their property and the products of their farms may prove interesting : — Value of personal property, $14,048; value of buildings, $7, 7 '50; value of fish caught in 18S2, $1,362; in 1883, $1,000; value of furs in 1882, $1,000; in 1883, about the same; value of basket work, $700; money paid to them for work done outside the reserve, $1,500; number of horses. The Chemong Lake Indians 371. 12; cows, 16 ; sheep, 30; pigs, 14; oxen, four yoke; young stock, 12 head. In 1883 they raised 550 bushels of wheat, 500 bushels of oats, 50 bushels of peas, 300 bushels of potatoes, and 50 tons of hay. Four times a year a Government agent visits the reserve and pays the Indians an annuity which amounts to about ten dollars a head. There is a school on the reserve which is attended by about thirty children, and which is presided over by Alfred McCue, an Indian teacher. All can read and speak English. To induce them to attend regularly they are daily served with a good dinner. It is needless to add that, by this system of attending to the wants of the stomach as well as to those of the brain, there are few truants. The children are all members of the Band of Hope, and have pledged themselves to abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors. It is to be hoped that they will adhere to the good resolution adopted in youth, for there is nothing that demoralizes the Red man more quickly than the potent fire- v/ater. Every second Sunday ther-s is a religious service held in a frame church, 60 by 40 feet, also a Bible class ; they also hold a service among themselves in their native tongue. Mr. Roberts lives in a fine brick house, picturesquely situated on the bank of Chemong Lake. He is a very courteous gentleman and most hospitable. These people show no tendency to increase ; do what we will to civilize and n'.ake them comfortable, it seems as if it were not given to the savage race, in any case, to overleap at a bound the interval between savageness and civilization. They have served their purpose, it may be, as guides e id pionee':s to the white man when by right of his civilization he entered on his inherit- ance of this goodly land. The old law holds good : the doomed races disappear before the predestined inheritors of the land of 372 History of the County of Peterborough, promise, the red race dwindles in spite of all the efforts we make to preserve them, and soon no record will remain of the original lords of the forest save the strange music of their Indian names for the rivers and cities whicli are ours. ft ititiii' PART III. ^autn$f|il^$ of p^tetbotausli. : ■ 1 i i 1 m lilt liif TOWNSHIPS OF PETERBOROUGH. THE TOWNSHIP OF SMITH. HE well-settled and prospemus Township of Smith is a peninsula, bounded on the east, north and west by Chemong, Buckhorn, Deer and Clear Lakes and the Otonabee River. At the eastern, corner of its isthmus is the Town of Peterborough. The history of the early settlement of Smith is identical with that of Scott's Plains or Peterborough, this township being the first in the district to be opened up by the settler. The surveying party had just completed their labour in this township in 1818, when a number of Englishmen, whose names have been given elsewhere in this work, settled there. This party of "colony" settlers, as they were called to distinguish them from other early settlers, reached their forest homes by means of Rice Lake and the Otonabee River, there being no roadway whatever from Port Hope. The first thing done on arriving at Smith was to erect a temporary log house, which was built on the first lot west of the Communication Road, which is now a triangular piece of ground just outside the town of Peterborough. Here they lived together until each man had a log house built on his own lot. Innumer- 376 History of the County of Peterborough. able were the difficulties and privations which surrounded these hardy men. The procuring of provisions was in itself a great undertaking. In those da there were no smooth gravel roads with substantial bridges; x.\.i only means of getting to the front being by the "blaze" upon the trees through the forest that covered the country. Many of these settlers have frequently shouldered a bag of grain and carried it through the woods of Monaghan, Cavan and Hope to Smith's Creek, as Port Ho|)e was then called, to be ground ; and with what joy they were received when they returned to the settlement with the highly prized flour ! On these journeys it was usual to take along a supply of potatoes for food ; some were concealed within the trunks of fallen tree^ to be used when homeward bound. This troublesome work of carrying grain to Port Hope to be ground did not continue for many years, for a small mill of most primitive construction was erected on Galloway's Creek. This was really of little use, as its working gear was continually getting out of order. When, in 1821, Adam Scott built his little mill on the bank of the Otonabee at Peterborough, the settlers in Smith Township thought themselves very fortunate. About 1826 Jacob Bromwell, one of the "colony" settlers, built a small mill at che mouth of a creek which entered the Otonabee at a point near where Mr. John Carnegie's residence now stands. The necessity for this mill, which was about the size of Scott's, was done away with by the erection at Peterborough of a larger mill by the Government in 1827. From that date the Township of Smith commenced to prosper rapidly. The roads in the township are of a first-class order, but they have not been always so, as we read in an issue of the Cobourg Staroi 1 83 1, that the Communication Road was scarcely passable for ox-teams, being covered with boulders, stumps and other ob- The Tmvnship of Smith. Z77 structlons. In the following year the Upper Canada Legislature granted /^loo to improve the road. This road is now in splendid condition. One of the most enjoyable drives in the county is along it from Peterborough to Bridgenorth, a distance of six miles. On each side are seen thriving farms the farm houses in several cases ap^/earing palatial. Then from Bridgenorth to Selwyn is another fine drive on ?l good road, which runs along the high bank of Chemong Lake. The following is an extract from the official returns of Smith for 1832 : — Number of persons assessed, 116; acres cultivated, 2,181 ; horses, 23; oxen, 160; cows, 232; horned cattle, 143. Total assessed value, ;i^8,099 ; total rates levied, ^^38 lis. id.; total population, 753. The first school-house in Smith Township was that erected on Isaac Millburn's lot, in 1831. The official school returns show that in 1832 there were two schools, taught by William Lalley and P. Wood, the average attendance being twenty-one and twenty-seven respectively. Daniel Dove, James Brennan and Orran Movey, were three schoolmasters, who flourished about 1835. The township is now well supplied with schools. The buildings are nearly all neat red brick structures. The first clergymen who visited Smith were the Rev. Mr. Thompson, Episcopal minister from Cavan ; the Rev. Wm. Case, Rev. George Tar, and Rev. Henry Ryan of the Methodist Church ; Rev. Samuel Armour, who came shortly after the immigration of 1825 ; and the Rev. J. M. Roger, who located in Peterborough in 1833. ^^ those early days religious services were held in the houses of the settlers, such a thing as a church being unknown. But now there are neat, and commodious churches in the township. Besides the churches in the villages of Bridgenorth and Selwyn, there are the following in the town- J^ls t ' 378 History' of the County of Peterborough. ship: — A Methodist Church on lot 27 in the i6th concession; a Methodist Church, a neat red brick structure, on the 4th concession on the middle line ; Zion Church on the 7th con- cession ; a Baptist Church on the Communication Road, 4th concession, midway between Peterborough and Selwyn. The nature of the soil in Smith is such that it is doubtful if there is another township in Ontario that excels it as an agricul- tural district. For nearly seventy years the soil has been tilled and improved, until now it yields abundant harvests of grain and fruit. One of the most promising of the industries of the town- ship is the manufacture of cheese. In 1866 the first cheese factory was established by John Walton. This proved such a success that others followed it, until now immense quantities of cheese are sent from this township. The Village of Bridgenorth has grown with the growth of steam navigation on the lakes. Its site in 1837 was still a wilderness. But it was not to be always thus, for Messrs. S. S. Kelly and W. Scott settled there and erected a sa\v^-mill. They were followed by Mr. M. S. Dean, who built a grist mill, steam saw and shingle mill. Mr. Dean also opened out a general store, and, on Bridgenorth being made a post-office in 1854, he became first postmaster, which position he still holds. This is now a thriving village, having a population of about 150. Besides Mr. Dean's, there are three stores kept by Mrs. Moore, Wm. Mofifatt and Alex. Morrison ; Mr. W. B. Kelly is building a fine new saw-mill to replace the one burned down in May of the present year. There is another saw-mill, owned by Jacob Brummell, about half a mile up the lake shore. The village also supports a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a tailor. The hotel kept by L. G. Fobert contains excellent accommodation, and is much patronized by tourists. From Bridgenorth there is spleiidid The Township of Smith. 379 water connection with Bobcaygeon. Mr. W. B. Kelly is the ovvner of the Bella Fair, a very comfortable steam yacht, which can carry twenty persons. The town hall is a small red brick building. The only church in the village is a frame structure, occupied by the Methodists. The school of School Section No. 5 is located at Bridgenorth, and has an average attendance of sixty pupils. As has already been mentioned in this work, there is a floating bridge, one mile in length, across Chemong Lake at Bridgenorth, thus causing all the traffic of Ennismore Township to pass through this lovely little village. Selwyn is a small place, containing about fifty inhabitants. It is situated in the nth concession of Smith, about three miles east of Chemong Lake. It has a postoffice, kept by James Bell, who also keeps a general store; there is also a blacksmith and p carpenter; the hotel in the place is kept by John McKenty ; a cheese factory, owned by Wellington Manning, Robert Broden, M. E. Sanderson, and F. J. Bell, is doing a very good business. The village contains two churches, Methodist and Baptist ; service is held in these every Sunday. There is a Presbyterian church one mile east of Selwyn, on the road to Young's Point. There is also a temperance society. Young's Point is a busy little hamlet in the north-east por- tion of Smith, where the waters of Clear Lake flow into Kat- chewanooka Lake. It is so called after Patrick Young, the postmaster and lockmaster. Mr. Young came out with the Peter Robinson emigrants in 1825, being then a boy. He has watched with pride the growth of Peterborough County. Mr. Young relates some very interesting anecdotes about life in the bush fifty years ago. After his father and family arrived at Peterborough they selected their land, what is now Young's Point, and started on foot to reach it, occupying a day and a-half in the journey. iiiiii mm' 380 History of the County of Peterborough. His father brilt a log house, and there the family settled. Some years ago, Mr. Young built a grist mill, and in a short time added a saw mill. In 1835 he built the dam across the river. Since that, he has built two more dams of a very substantial character. The last one, built twenty years ago, is thirty-three feet wide at the bottom, and rests on the solid rock, to which it is bolted down. Mr. Young's father brought from Toronto the first horse in Smith Township. The population of Young's Point is about one hundred persons. The Costello House, kept by Daniel Costello, has first-class accommodation. There are two general stores, kept by William Pope and P. Phalen. Geo. J. Chalmers owns saw, shingle, and grist mills, which are i:ept very busy. The output of the shingle mill is 45,000,000 a year, principally to the United States; the saw mill turns out about 15,000 a day; the grist mill has a capacity of 100 bushels a day. Young's Point boasts of two churches. In the Roman Catholic church, a neat white frame structure with a steeple, service is held twice a month. The Methodists occupy the other church. Taken on the .whole. Young's Point is a pleasing little hamlet, and is justly admired by the many tourists who visit that part of the county every summer. At Hall's Bridge, in the extreme northern part of the township, there is a postoffice and one or two mills. The Burleigh Road, which is the great highway opening up the new townships in the north of Peterborough County, commences on lot 39, in the 13th concession of Smith. From there, it runs north-east until it enters the-Township of Burleigh, at Burleigh Falls. The Township of Otonabee. 381 THE TOWNSHIP OF OTONABEE. This township, which is one of the best and most fertile of the townships in the County of Peterborough, is bounded on the north by Douro, on the south by Rice Lake and the Riv^r Otonabee, on the west by the River Otonabee, and on the east by Asphodel. In 18 19 Otonabee was surveyed, and in the same year the first settler, Mr. George Kent, located on his land. A number of other immigrants accompanied Mr. Kent, but these did not stay long. Captain Charles Rubidge, who did so much in the settling of the Robinson emigrants, visited the township in 1 8 19, and in the May of the following year returned with his family and settled there permanently on lot 13, concession 11. The old Rubidge homestead is now owned by Robert Taylor. Captain Rubidge was the first man in the township who performed setdement duties and thus secured a title to hfs land. During 1820 a considerable number of settlers entered the township. Some of these were John Nelson and his sons Andrew and Wil- liam, Thomas Carr, Major Design, John Walstead, John Mac- kintosh, Ambrose Mayett, James Beckett, — Lindsay, Thomas Nelson, George Esson and his sons Thomas, Alexander, Daniel and Robert, John Fife and six sons, James Foley, John Stewart, William Sowden, Ralph Davidson, Robert Redpath, James Hunter, Nicholas BuUen, George Banks, Robert Ferguson, Robert Hyatt, Lieut. Jenkins, and — Collier. - Many years before the white man iuvaded the forests of Otonobee there was an Indian trading post, kept by an Indian named Herkimer, and afterwards by Major Charles Anderson, on a point on the northern shore of Rice Lake, near what is now the Indian Reserve at Hiawatha. This Major Anderso: mar- •38: History of the County of Peterborough. ried a Mohawk squaw by whom he had a son, who was for many years chaplain at the Mohawk reserve, at Tyendenega, and later Church of England incumbent at Penetanguishene. Thus the enterprising trader would paddle across the dangerous shoals of Rice Lake to exchange his tempting bales of coloured flannel, pork, or too often fire-water, for the piles of valuable furs, out of the sales of which he could make a rich margin of profit. Since the construction of the dam across the River Trent, at Hastings, the point of land on which the trader built his lonely home has become an island. Even now the stone chimney and traces of the old house are still to be seen. In those early years a number of retired army officers made application for land in this township, and as the Family Compact Government regarded the class to which they belonged as de- serving of especial favour, they obtained the best lots along the front of the township; thus obliging settlers less aristocratic and influential to take up land in the rear. Many of these officers were not actual settlers, but they hired men to perform the settlement duties for them. A number remained on their land but for a few years, and then left for places more civilized. The settlement duties consisted in chopping down and clearing out all the trees and brushwood along the concession line in front of the lot, to the width of two rods, and cutnng down the timber four rods wide along the side of this, thus making a passage through the forest six rods wide along the entire length of a lot of one hun- dred acres, which, with similar work on the part of the owner opposite, opened to view the whole breadth of the concession line. This clearing would cost the absentees about $25 per hun- dred acres. Having thus obtained a title to the land they waited till the labour of actual resident setders in the vicinity had made their own land of value, when it was sold at a profit. The Township of Otoiiabee. 383 A great drawback to the settlement of this township was that the, only way of entering it was by crossing Rice Lake, which, by reason of its breadth and shallowness, was exceedingly dan- gerous whenever even a slight wind was blowing. Many fatal accidents and some narrow escapes are recorded as having occurred on this lake. In the fall of 1820 four intending settlers in Asphodel, named Houston, father and three sons, arrived at the south side of the treacherous sheet of water with their goods. Refusing to pay an extrayagant sum which was demanded by a man who owned a large boat in which they wished to be ferried across, they made arrangements with Lieut. Jenkins, one of the earliest setters in Otonabee, and a man named Collier who had just returned from Kingston with a new sail boat. Passengers and goods were placed on board the boat, which was very heavily laden. As the first island appeared in view a squall suddenly arose, the boat was swamped, and the five men were struggling in the water amid floating boxes and bedding. Jenkins, who could not swim a stroke, sank at once ; Collier could swim, but, alas, his pockets were filled with shot, and as he bravely attempted to swim to the shore he became entangled in the rice stalks and thus met his death. The three others clung to their lloating baggage until they were rescued by the larger boat, which put out from the south shore to their assistance. Not long after the above sad accident a man named John Mcintosh, and his daughter Margaret, were drowned while attempting to cross on the ice. The father's body was found during the following spring at Foley's Bay, and the daugnter's at a point of land which ever since has been called Margaret's Island. Owing to the frequency of accidents of this kind the lake obtained a bad reputation, which very much retarded the advance of the settle- ment. Many young men, rather than endure the exertion. 11 r i 1 1 1 i ?' r^T ' i.'!ii- J nli 384 History of the County of Peterborough. expense and risk included in bringing in supplies, and on account of the absence of milling facilities, left the township and took up land elsewhere. So much was this the case that at the end of the year the settlement had lost some of the prosperity which it was beginning to enjoy. In the winter provisions and neces- saries were brought across the lake on hand sleighs and then along a crooked road through trackless snow to the pioneer houses north of the lake. In the summer months the taking of grain to Scott's mill at " The Plains " to be ground was a most arduous task. It had to be carried some miles to Rice Lake, then paddled in a canoe to the mouth of the Otonabee and up that crooked river to where the mill and a couple of houses marked the site of the future Peterborough. Cattle were also taken across the lake in small boats; one settler conveyed down the lake a distance of fourteen miles four head of two-year old cattle, he paddling all the way, seated in the stern. Many and strange were the devices adopted by the settlers to provide themselves with what were akin to the conveniences which they found difficulty in obtaining from the front. After killing their hogs, they took the skins and, turning the hairy side in, used them for shoes. Real tea was a most costly luxury, but what was called Foley's tea was madfe out of wild peppermint, sweet balm and other herbs. In 1825 fifty families of the Peter Robinson immigration were located in Otonabee. Among other early settlers were Mr. John Blezzard, father of Mr. Thomas Blezzard, the present very popular representative of East Peterborough in the Ontario Legislature. What a change from the thick, monotonous forest growth that covered the land where the eldest Blezzard first built his log shanty, to the rich meadows and abundant stbck farm now surrounding his son's elegant mansion! Yet all this has Hi The Toivnship of Otonabee, 335 been done in less than fifty years by the energy and industry of two generations. One of the greatest helps to the progress of this township was the road constructed by Captain Rubidge from Bannister's Point, near Hiawatha on Rice Lake, to Peterborough. For this he received, as has been already mentioned, both thanks and reward from Sir Peregrine Maitland, who personally inspected the road. The first post-office in the township of Otonabee was kept by Captain Rubidge at his house. The mail was never very large. One of the oldest settlers relates that the Captain used to carry the letters in his hat, and when he met a person for whom he would have a letter he had simply to take the post- office off his head and pick out the welcome missive. The first school-house in Otonabee was of logs, and stood on the east half of lot 20 in the 4th concession; it was built in 1829. The first schoolmaster was David Housten, a Scotchman, who came from Cobourg. ■ What better proof of the advancement of the settlement can be given than to mention the improvements in educational facilities? Where fifty years ago there was but a small ill-accommodated log shanty in which the children of a whole township might receive an education, there are now a dozen handsome brick school houses, having good fittings and good teachers. There are thirteen school sections and four union school sections; these are supplied with twelve schools, the two largest of which are in Keene and Allandale. The first clergyman who visited the settlers in Otonabee was the Rev. Samuel Armour, Episcopal minister at Peterborough, who held a service once a month at the house of John Nelson, sen'r. The Rev, Mr. Evans, missionary to the Rice Lake Indians, and the Rev. Daniel McMullen, two Wesleyan Methodist 25 If i Bi ■'-] 386 History of the County of Peterborough. ministers of the Cobourg Circuit, followed in the Rev, Mr. Armour's wake. They preached once a month at the house of John F"ife, jun'r., and afterwards at the houses of John Stewart and George Howson. In 1834 the first Presbyterian minister visited Otonabee. This was the Rev. Archibald Colquhoun, who resided among his parishioners for five years, when he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Wallace. On the retirement of this gentleman, owing to ill-health, the Presbyterians were visited by missionaries until the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Andrews. The first churches erected in the township were the Methodist and Presbyterian churches at Keene. There are now in the township, outside of the villages, five churches, as follows : Bible Christian, in the western part, near the i6th concession; Bible Christian, on lot 26, loth concession ; Methodist church, on lot 17, nth concession; an English church on the same lot; a Methodist church on lot 22, 5th concession. The only considerable village in the Township of Otonabee is that of Keene, in the south-eastern section and on the line of the Grand Junction Railway. Its founder was Thomas Carr, a gentleman who, after having spent ten years in the West Indies, was obliged to return to Scotland, his native land, owing to a swelling of the right knee. The diseased limb had to be ampu- tated, and on his recovery in 18 19, he, with his brother Andrew, came to Canada and settled in Otonabee in the following year. They took up the land on which the village of Keene now stands, Thomas owning the 100 acres to the south and Andrew the same on the north of the intersecting line. The latter was soon after killed by the falling of a tree, but the former continued to prosper, investing his means in farming and store- keeping. Mr. Carr was the first postmaster at Keene. Having considerable literary taste his frequent contributions to the The Township of Otonabee. 387 Cobourg Star did much to promote the settlement of the town- * ship. Although prosperous in business and respected by all who . knew him, he sank into an incurable melancholy, which ended in his death by his own hands. It is quite certain that this was the result of an affection of the brain, most likely caused by a recur- rence of the scrofulous taint which had caused the affection, of the knee-joint. As in recording the history of the County of Peterborough it is fitting to preserve some record of its earliest literary pioneers, we present the following poem, written by Mr. Thomas Carr, and published in a local paper. Besides striking one as being of unusual melody, pathos and naturalness, it is 'sadly applicable to his own end, which occurred in November, i860, at the home of a friend, for he had never married. ELEGY. On the lamented death of ■ Esq., who fell by his own hand. Why didst thou stop the vital stream ? Oh ! say what pang thy bosom tore ? Had life's fair prospects ceased to beam ? Or cherished friends did; thou deplore ? Did love his golden shafts employ, And in thy bosom leave a dart. To pierce thy hopes of earthly joy, And rankle in thy bleeding heart ? Or did ambition fire thy breast, To tread the thorny paths to fame ? — Alas ! ambition mars our rest, And envy blights the fairest name. Thou had'st not toil'd through life so long, To find that all its scenes are vain ; — That love belies the poet's song, And earthly pleasures end in pain. 388 History of the County of Peterborough. Could not fair fame — connections high, Thy heart -corroding cares beguile ? Ah ! what can stay the heaving sigh, When mental pleasures cease to smile ? Where art thou, now ? what scenes contaui Thy viewless form, from dust refined ? Does memory still her sense retain ? What cares employ thy active mind ? Yon beauteous orb that beams on high, Know'st thou its nature and its frame ? Its kindred spheres that deck the sky, What sources feed their ceaseless flame ? The world, conceal'd from mortal sight. Thou knowest now — we soon shall know What scenes adorn yon realms of light. Far from this earth, and earthly woe. A few short years shall pass away. And Hfe's vain tumults all shall cease ; I too shall hail my latest day. And sleep, like thee, at last in peace. Otonabee, November 15, 1831. T. C. Another and more noteworthy settler at Keene was Dr. John Gilchrist, of whom mention has already been made. He was much byeloved for his great benevolence in attending all who needed his professional services whether they could pay him or not. On one occasion after having attended David Housten, the first teacher in Otonabee, he received a letter from his patient thanking him and regretting, that he had no money with which to pay him. Dr. Gilchrist replied with the following letter : — i' The Township of Otonabee. 389 " Reply to the Moneyless Patient. "Sir, — When you see a fellow-creature in distress relieve him as far as your abilities will allow ; and in so doing you will discharge the debt you owe to "John Gilchrist. "Otonabee, 1830." In 1825 Dr. Gilchrist erected a grist mill at Keene, with one run of stones ; to do this he made an excavation for a water- course of half a mile at his own expense, though pardy aided by volunteer labour. In the winter of 1829-30 he opened the first 5itore at Keene. At about the same time Mr. Dougal Campbell, of Cobourg, opened a branch store under the management of James Cummings. Other pioneer merchants were Foley and Grover, and Thomas Stewart. The first taverns were kept by Archibald Nelson and Mrs. Hartley. Keene is now a thriving village, having a population of about 400,^ Its chief building is the town hall, a fine two-storey red brick building, the upper storey being used for a Council Chamber and offices, and the lower one for a public hall. It was built at a cost of $3,300. Next to it is the drill-shed and armoury, which is yearly used as an exhibition building. The Presbyterian is the largest church in the village ; it is rough- cast, and was built in 1846. A new Presbyterian church of red brick with white brick facings, and a steeple 100 feet high, is being built at a cost of $11,000. The minister is Rev, Frank Andrews. The Methodists have a neat red brick church with a steeple. The pastor is Rev. John Tozeland. The Catholic church, a small red brick structure, is supplied from Peter- borough every second Sunday. The first school in Keene was opened in 1832, by Mr. Thomas Dennehy. The present school is •I: ■•< f 390 History of the County of Peterborough. a large two-storey white frame building ; two teachers are engaged in imparting instruction to about seventy children. The leading hotel, the Victoria House, is kept by John Gall ; the others are kept by Martin Kennedy and John Frost, or, as the villagers call him, "Jack PVost." Three general stores are kept by Campbell, McNeill & Co., Alexander Campbell, and Robert English. The postmaster is W. Campbell, merchant tailor. The saw and grist mills owned by Henry H. Burnham, of Port Hope, do a good business. The village boasts of one Orange and one Masonic Lodge. The Grand Junction Station is one and a half miles from the village, which is just ten miles by rail from Peterborough. There is no other village of much importance in this town- ship, with the exception of Allandale, also on the Grand Junction Railway. The following are small country post-offices : — Lang, Villiers, Hiawatha (the Indian reserve), Graystock, and Indian River. THE TOWNSHIP OF DOURO. The Township of Douro is in the shape of a right-angled triangle ; the apex joining that of Asphodel, the south side bounded by Otonabee Township, its east side bounded by Dummer Township, and its base formed by the Otonabee River. It is about fourteen miles north and south by twelve east and west. Like the other southern townships the surface of the land is quite undulating, but not so much so as to make it unsuitable for agricultural purposes, for a drive through this flourishing township will convince one that no better farming land could be desired ; on every side through dale and over hill The Toxvnship of Doiiro. 391 stretch acres on acres of rich cultivated land yielding the gifts of Mother Earth in abundance. Only one lake is found in I )ouro, this is Berkeley Lake in the north-west, and two or three miles east of the Village of Lakefield. The outlet of this sheet of water is a small creek (lowing into the River Otonabee a little below Lakefield. The south-east portion of the township is traversed by a small stream called Indian River. The first settlers located in Uouro before it was surveyed. This was in consequence of its having had the advantage of being put into the hands of two gentlemen of means and position, Mr., afterwards the Honourable, Alexander Stewart, and Mr. Robert Reid. It was in 1822, one year prior to the survey of the township, that these men, with- their families, settled in what was then a tract of country as wild as nature could well make it, but what was destined to be a charming stretch of teeming fields in which one never loses sight of a cheerful and comfortable looking farm-house. On arriving in Canada from Ireland Messrs. Stewart and Reid presented to the Governor of the Prov- ince letters of introduction with which they had been furnished. The former received a grant of 1,200 acres and the latter 2,000 acres in Douro, then a howling wilderness, on condition of actual settlement and the performance of settlement duties. This sort of favouritism towards those who came recommended by "persons of quality," in the Old Country, was but too common in the days of the Family Compact, which in 1823 was at its zenith; as a rule it resulted in these immense grants of public lands being made over to land speculators whose only object was, not to settle there, but to sell it over again at a profit. But Messrs. Stewart and Reid were men of another stamp. They lost no time in making their way, by the usual tedious and difficult route, to their grant, as yet unsurveyed. Having gone zvith hired men (the poorer settlers \ , 392 History of the County of Peterborough. of Smith, Ennismore, and Otonabee had no " hired men "), they made, or had made, two clearings in the woods some miles above the Ashburnham landing. Two shanties and a substantial log house were built. The ladies with their servants and children, in all about twenty persons, underwent, what seemed to them, great hardships, but against which they were shielded by their hired help and the means of transporting provisions — comforts entirely unknown to the poorer settlers. Still, no doubt, these delicately nurtured ones did experience great discomforts which they withstood bravely. Besides the large grants of land which have been mentioned Messrs. Stewart and Reid also received permission to control the entire township for five years, so that they might promote its settlement by inducing relatives, friends and others to settle near them. However, they cheerfully gave up this right at the request of the Hon. Peter Robinson when that gentleman arrived, in 1825, with the immigrants under his charge. The difficulties with which the Stewarts and Reids had to contend are graphically described in a letter signed " F. S.," which is found in Dr. Poole's History of Peterborough. If any part of an implement was broken it could not be repaired but by being taken to Port Hope. In a previous portion of this work mention has been made of Adam Scott having to carry his mill crank from " Scott's Plains " to Port Hope for repairs. Mr. Reid experienced something of almost an identical nature, having had to drag, from his house in Douro to Port Hope, a logging chain one link of which had been broken. In September, 1831, Col. Samuel Strickland, who, since 1825 had resided in Otonabee, near Peterborough, settled near the site of what is now the Village of Lakefield, which village owes much to his energy and talent. Col. Strickland was accompanied by an Englishman named Rawlinson and an immigrant black- 'ii The -Toivnship of Douro. 393 smith named Copping, who secured lots of land farther north. The terms on which these lands were obtained were, the pay- ent to the Government of five shillings an acre within a term of five years, and the performance of settlement dvties. When these three settlers located on their lands in the autumn of 1831 there were no other settlers witt.in miles pf them. Nor was there the slightest resemblance of a road to Peterborough, nine miles distant, until under Colonel Strickland's direction and partly by his own hands the present fine road was laid out along the Otonabee. Colonel Strickland's work, "Twenty-seven Years in Canada," published in London, Eng,, in 1853, is full of graphic descriptions, which are already of no small historical value. Its literary merits are great. The writer has the same gifts of easy v/ord picture and of telling a good story that distinguish the various works of his relative, Mrs. Moodie. Among the descriptions of his adventures in pioneer life in Douro he tells one particularly amusing anecdote of how the Enemy of Mankind, as he thought, appeared to him one night with flaming beard, long horns, eyes that shone like coals, and forepaws resting on his (the Colonel's) breast. We will finish the tale in the words of the gifted pioneer : — • " I had, however, no time for reflection — a stamp on the breast soon roused me to action. Seizing hold of the shingle- beetle, I dealt His Majesty such a blow on the head that it sent him straight into the fire. His rough, shaggy coat was instantly in a blaze, and uttering the most unearthly yells, he rushed into the woods and literally vanished from sight in a flame of fire, " I have heard and read much of His Satanic Majesty's being painted in all colours, — but I never heard of his wearing a whife beard: and, besides, he did not stand fire well enough for a k,!. 394 History of the County of Peterborough. person brought up in that element, though he certainly had the horns and the cloven feet, and his general appearance was not unlike the pictures I have seen of the gentleman. " Well, the next day cleared up the mystery. . On my road to Peterborough I had to pass the residence of the C ds, two young gentlemen who had recently settled in the township ; when, to my surprise, I saw, standing by the roadside, a large billy-goat, whose coat, burnt in large patches all over, explained at once the nature of my nocturnal visitant." In 1832 there were neither factories nor mills in Douro ; the nearest mill being nine miles away, at Peterborough. It took two days to get a load of provisions from one place to the other. The entire population then was 571 ; this was largely made up of the immigrants who were located there in 1825. The number of persons assessed was 126, and the number of acres under cultivation 990. The live stock in the township consisted of three horses, 82 oxen, 105 cows, and 44 other horned cattle. The total assessed value of property was $21,312, and the taxes for all purposes $102. On the leading Douro road, by which the settlers in Dummer and Douro reached Peterborough, was a tavern, kept by one Abel Perry, who performed kindly acts for the weary pioneers, who often passed, carrying their scanty stores of grain or Hour on their shoulders to mill or market. The old settlers are now dropping off and giving way to new generations, who" are enjoying the fruits of the tree planted amid difficulties and hardships half a century ago. The few who are still living were mostly children at the time when the townships were first settled, in the "teens and twenties." But there is still living one who settled in Douro in 1825. It is not difficult to find pioneers who settled in the County of Peter- The Toivnship of Douro. 395 borough in 1825, for a number of them, who came with the Peter Robinson immigration, are to be met in various parts; but it is difficult to find many who were forty years of age when they came in 1825. To the latter belongs Daniel Sheehan, the veteran schoolmaster, who has reached the age of nearly one hundred and four years. A visit to this aged sage, to whom scores of well-to-do farmers, who are now grandfathers, have gone to school, was one of the many pleasing incidents of a trip through the .County of Peterborough. At the residence of his son-in-law, James Mohar, lot 5, concession 6, in Douro, the writer was introduced to a pleasant-faced, stout old man, whom age had deprived of eyesight. Mr, Sheehan was born in the Town of Newmarket, County of Cork, on October 17, 1781. For twenty years before he came to Canada, he taught school in his native county, and at Bradford, in the County of Limerick. The Irish schoolmaster! who has not read of him, his well-meant severity, tempered with twice the amount of good nature and geniality ? How well does Goldsmith, who knew the Irish character so well, present him to us in "The Deserted Village"! " Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay. There, in his noisy mansion skill'd to rule, The village master taught his little school. A man severe he was, and stern to view, I knew him well, and every truant knew. Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace The day's disasters in his morning face ; Full well they laugh'd with counterfeited glee At all his jokes, for many a joke had he : Full well the busy whisper, circling round, Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frowned. Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught, The love he bore to learning was his fault : it i w. im 396 History of the County of Peterborough, The village all declared how much he knew ; 'Twas certain he could write and cipher too ; Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And even the story ran that he could gauge ; In arguing, too, the parson own'd his skill , , For e'en though vanquish'd, he could argue still; While words of learned length and thundering sound Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around ; And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew. That one small head should carry all he knew. But pasc is all his fame. The very spot. Where many a time he triumph'd, is forgot." After coming to Canada with the Peter Robinson emigration, Mr. Sheehan was located on lot i, concession 5, of Douro, which he farmed until June, 1883, and which he still owns. His wife died in March, 1882, at the age of ninety-seven. For twenty years, from 1826 to 1846, after he came to Peterborough County, Mr. Sheehan taught school in Douro and Otonabee. The first school which he taught was No. 2, lot 3, concession 5, Douro; the last was No. 9, Union School, between Otonabee and Douro, For nearly the last twenty years he has been in receipt of a pension of $120 a year from the Government. Mr. Sheehan is undoubtedly the oldest of the early settlers in the county now living. Douro is now well supplied with schools. There are eleven school sections, each of which has a neat red brick school-house, presided over by a competent teacher ; the average attendance is about forty-five. Little more can be said regarding Douro. The early settlers have overcome these obstacles, and have made it a smiling land of peace and plenty for their descendants. As a matter of course the township grew with the growth of Peterborough, the land was cleared, roads spread out on all sides like arteries through a The Village of Lakefield. 397 new tissue, school-houses and churches were built as needed- and Douro assumed its present aspect of prosperity. LAKEFIELD. This is the largest and most prosperous village in the county, and may almost be considered a part of Peterborough, with which it is connected by an extension line of the Midland Rail- way, about. nine miles in length. It is situated on either side of the Otonabee River, where it receives the vast volumes of water that flow through Lake Katchewanooka. The early history of Lakefield has already been given in speaking of Col. Strickland, who settled on its site in 1831. To that gallant and gifted officer this beautiful lake-town owes its origin, while to the business energy of two gentlemen of the same family, Messrs. R. and G. Strickland, the present prosperity and the large prospect of the future progress of Lakefield are in no small measure to be attributed. Fifty years ago this fair scene — where the goodly mansions of the Stricklands, amid lawns and gardens, overlook the blue expanse of lake ; where many another tastefully built villa nestles among such woods as are spared to adorn the landscape ; where the steam and noise of lumber mills, and the glitter of gaily- furnished stores attract visitors to the rising village — was a wilderness of sombre forest into which the settler's axe had begun to hew its way. To the energy of one family all this is due, proving with all deference to the now venerable author of " Roughing it in the Bush," that culture and social position are not always inseparable obstacles to successful settlement and triumph over the perils and hardships of pioneer life. m 398 History of the County of Peterborough. Mr. James Thompson was one of the first settlers at Lake- field, then known as Nelson's and afterwards as Herriott's Falls, until in 1851, when it was known as Selby ; some years after that it received its present name. A bridge was thrown across the Otonabee at this point at an early date, being built entirely by private subscriptions ; but like most other pioneer bridges it succumbed to the jams of timber passing down the rapids which flow past here. The river is now spanned by a most excellent structure of iron and wood. The first saw-mill was built on the Douro side of the river ; this was destroyed by fire, and the village which had begun to prosper, fell into a decline, from which it did not recover for several years. Other mills were built by Strickland apd Reid, Shaw and Waite, and John Sherin. These being solidly established, did the village invaluable service. The first store in Lakefield was opened by John Sherin, and the first tavern about 1855. In 1862 the Wesleyan Methodists built a frame church. This was followed in 1863 by a stone church, erected by the Episcopalians, and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It is now used as a Sunday-school, a much more commodious and elegant stone church having been built almost opposite it. There is also a Presbyterian, a Baptist and a Bible Christian church in Lakefield. The first school was opened in 1853, the teacher being a lady. The Public School is now a large building, accommo- dating over 400 pupils, who are under the charge of Mr. F. A. August, the efficient principal, assisted by three lady teachers. The present Reeve of Lakefield is Mr. Roland Strickland ; the Clerk is Alexander Bell, M.D. The population, which is evidently on the increase, is fully 1,500. Besides stores of all kinds, there are four licensed hotels, the principal of which are iii The Village of Lakefield. 399 those kept by Richard Purser and George Berube. There is one Masonic, one Forester's, one Royal Templars of Temperance, and two Orange Lodges ; there is also a branch of the Y.M.C.A. A most delightful trip for the tourist is from Lakefield — by either of the steamers Cruiser or Fairy, which leave daily — through the clear waters of Katchewanooka, from whose level rise hills dotted with cosy farm-houses ; on past the Polly Cow Islands, below Young's Point, where may be seen the resting place of the beautiful Indian maiden, Polly Cow, already referred to in this work ; and on through Clear and Stony Lakes to Burleigh Falls. The principal business in Lakefield at present is sawing the abundant supplies of lumber which are carried in barges, or floated down the back lakes of Peterborough, and from the vast area of lake which traverses Victoria. The unrivalled water- power of Lakefield has passed through many hands. It originally belonged to the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham ; it is now owned by the lumber firm of Messrs. Strickland, who show every wish to attract capitalists by offering to dispose of a share of it on liberal terms. They are evidently above the dog-in-the-manger policy of excluding enterprise by asking virtually prohibitive prices. Those who have never seen a lumber mill, should visit the large establishment owned by the Messrs. Strickland, at Lakefield. Here every kind of saw may be seen at vork ; the huge logs are dragged one by one irresistibly into position before the saw, and still drawn on while the keen saw, " unhasting, unresting," Bashes around, shaping the rough timber with effortless ease into so many smooth boards of lumber. There also are at work, the circular saw, the stock, gang, slabber ; there too may be seen the machines thai turn out lath and shingle with a speed that leaves the old clumsy processes of human labour hopelessly ■ . ¥\ 400 History of the County of Peterborough. behind. This mill has been long established, but new and improved machinery has constantly been added. It gives employ- ment to forty mill-hands, and has a capacity of turning out 75,000 feet of lumber per day, to say nothing of lath and shingles. Besides this establishment, the Messrs. Strickland's firm is one of the chief lumber firms in the Dominion. Last winter they had eight shanties, employing over 250 men in their vast timber limits, and took out, besides an immense number of logs, 300,000 cubic feet of square timben It is thought that in the winter of i884-'85 their lumber operations will be even more extensive. While in Lakefield the writer paid a visit to Mrs. Catharine Parr Traill, a sister of Col. Strickland who founded the village. This aged lady, as well as her equally gifted sister, Mrs. Moodie, has published several works on pioneer life and nature as found in Canada ; even now she is preparing for press a valuable work entitled "Floral Gleanings from Forest, Lake and Plain," which will be published shortly. Among many other interesting things oi a literary character, Mrs. Traill has the proof-sheets of "The Tudor Princesses of England," annotated and corrected by the author, the world-known Agnes Strickland, made famous by her "Queens of England." Agnes Strickland, who died in 1874, was Mrs. Traill's sister. The visitor to Lakefield in the month of September will notice in its streets the presence of a "peculiar people," who somehow do not seem natives of the place. Young men, for the most part tall, in all cases powerfully built, saunter through the street dressed in blue or scarlet shirts, their trousers tucked into huge top-boots and tied round the waist with a scarlet sash ; no collar trammels the sun-burned neck, but each wears a gay coloured scarf. These are lumbermen, who are The Village of Lake field. 401 making ready to go to the shanty to make the various prepara- tions for the winter's work ; some to " prospect " for the best locaHtics to cut logs of the stoutest timber ; some to make " roll- ways " from the shanty to the nearest stream ; some are " river drivers," and will adventure in those red painted boats — that you see there, pointed at each end — on creek and river pulsating with the fierce life of spring. Many of the finest young men are French from the Lower Province — French with a stray dash of Indian blood derived from the earlier days when so many a stout couretir des bois was certain to woo and wed the dusky nymphs of the forest. What a noise they make ; someone is singing one of the national chansons so characteristic of their mode of life. Hark ! it is Vive la Canadienne. Do our readers know that fine old refrain "^ The following is a verse : Vive la Canadienne ! Vole ! mon cceur, vole ! Vive la Canadienne ! Et ses jolis yeux doux ! Et ses jolis yeux doux, doux, doux, Et ses jolis yeux uoux ! On danse avec nos blondes ! Vole ! mon cceur, vole ! On danse avec nos blondes ! Jslous changerons tour ^ tour ! The Messrs. Strickland have greatly increased the value of their unsurpassed extent of water power by the race-ways they have lately constructed, which enable them to offer to manu- facturers facilities which elsewhere could only be obtained at a great outlay. It is thus likely that the present era of "tall chimneys " will see a great extension of manufacturing enter- prise to this beautifully situated village, which is also so advan- tageously situated with regard to the Trent Valley Canal, now 26 ^iiliil |, V 'ill t w \ 1 111 t i lipiin 1 1 . ::i:!'.^'i/ 402 History of the County of Peterborough. under construction, and of which it is the base. There is no reason to fear for the Lakefield scenery, when one remembers that the construction of a number of handsome stone and brick factories on the Grand River has, if anything, enhanced the natural beauties of picturesque Brantford and Paris ; and he would be no presumptuous prophet who should predict that the near future will see this charming village become a most important industrial centre. The only other village in Douro is a small hamlet called South Douro, on lots 5 and 6, in the 4th and 5th concessions. It has a large frame Catholic church, with wings and sacristy. This church was built about forty years ago. Close by is the house of the Rev. Father O'Connell ; it is a very commodious and neat looking stone structure. The Catholic church here has a large attendance, as the surrounding country is largely peopled by the descendants of the Irish Catholic immigrants of 1825. The post-office is kept at the store of Mrs. Hanrahan. There is also another store and a blacksmith shop. At Indian River, on the ist lot of the 4th concession of Douro, and on the boundary line between Douro and Otonabee, is a post-office. Two concessions west of this, on lot i, conces- sion 6, a very neat red brick Methodist church was erected about two years ago. NORTH MONAGHAN. This small township, which occupies the south-west corner of the County of Peterborough, is bounded on the north by the Township of Smith, on the south by the County of Northum- berland, on the west by Cavan Township in the County of Durham, and on the east by .the River Otonabee. Its history is The Township of North Monaghan. 403 blended with that of the Town of Peterborough, from which it was separated in 1850 on the latter's incorporation as a town. Until that date the population and general statistics of Peter- borough were included with those of the township, so that neither can be given independently of the other. Like the other southern townships of the County of Peterborough the surface in this is hilly, but not inconveniently so, it being on the whole excellently good rolling farming land. In the eastern part of the township in the neighbourhood of the River Otonabee it is some- what swampy. North Monaghan is traversed from south-west to north-east by the Millbank and Peterborough branch of the Midland Railway running parallel with the river. The roads are of an excellent character, the township having had the advan- tage of the expenditure of a large amount of Clergy Reserve money. The principal is the gravel road, built in 1850, which runs from Peterborough in the north-east, through the township and away to Millbrook in the south. Monaghan was surveyed in 1818, and received its first settlers during that and the following year. Among" these early settlers were William Fowler, Robert Morrison, Robert Thomp- son, John TuUy, William Birdwhistle, Thomas and Robert Leadbeater, Richard Alexander, Robert Cross, John Foster, James Wilson, Matthew Wilson, William Wilson, Wilford Drysdale, John Birney and Thomas Spiers. These settlers came into the township singly or in small groups, and, making their way through the thick underbrush of the forest, selected lots of land which they judged would prove suitable; after learning the number of the lot and the concession, from the marked posts which had been but recently placed there by the surveying party, they returned and made the necessary applica- tion to the land agent. More than one night did these hardy niiif m 404 History of the County of Peterborough. pioneers have to sleep in the open air, tired and footsore. But having at last received their lands, they returned with their families. Then did the grand old forest, silent but for wild beast and bird, re-echo with the sound of the settler's axe as it was swung from morning till night by strong hands anxious to make a cjearing where he could put up his shanty. Soon was the wilderness dotted with humble log houses whose blue smoke curling upwards towards the evening sky told of peace, happiness and hope in a new and lonely land. Little by little the tree- covered acres gave way to new clearings, which in their turn stretched out into wide and prolific farms; the "blaze" of the pioneer's axe, the only means by which provisions and imple- ments could be brought from Port Hope, became a narrow and crooked footpath, which in its turn was improved until fine wide giavel roads stretched throughout the township. On account of its proximity to Peterborough, Monaghan has at all seasons an excellent market. This, together with the fact of its being so small, the smallest township in the county, will account for the scarcity of villages, churches or stores. There is but one village in the township, and that is Springville, on the boundary between it and Cavan Township in Durham Ci^unty. This village contains a hotel, a post-office, a Presbyterian church, built in 1858, and a few stores. There are three schools in the township, and a fourth on the boundary line near Spring- ville, which is a union school supported by both townships. TOWNSHIP OF ENNISMORE. This township, which is almost triangular in shape, is bounded on the north by Pigeon and Buckhorn Lakes, on the south-east The Towtishij' of Ennismore, 405 by Chemong Lake, and on the west by the County of Victoria. Next to North Monaghan it is the smallest township in the county, but it is by no means the least thrifty or productive, Knnismore was surveyed in 1825. It had for its firsi settlers some of the immigrants who were brought out from Ireland in 1825 under the supervision of the Hon. Peter Robinson. The number of settlers was ninety-seven ; these, with their families, numbered 297. During the first year of their settlement, includ- ing the journey from Prescott, there were among these settlers nine births and twenty-three deaths. During the first year of their settlement their produce amounted to 8,900 bushels of potatoes, 3,000 bushels of turnips, ami r ,042 bushels of Indian corn. They had cleared 195 acres, 44 f which were in the fall of 1826 sown with fall wheat. Th had also made 1,330 pounds of maple sugar. Their live stock, consisted of four o.Ken, nine cows and ten hogs, all purchased by themselves. Highly creditable indeed is the above record of the results of the labour of these poor Irish immigrants, who at first knew nothing what- ever of the proper method of clearing land and very little as to how the soil might be profitably tilled. So scarce were oxen during the first year or two that instead of harrowing in the grain it was worked into the soil with hoes. These settlers, from the stories recounted of their ignorance of pioneer farming, seemed to have faced difficulties that would have discouraged less patient men. Another great difficulty with 'A-iiich the settlers had to con- tend was that Chemong or Mud Lake offered a serious obstacle to the procuring of supplies. Too inexperienced to build canoes for themselves, by which means they could have paddled across the lake, one mile in breadth, they were forced to go around the head of the lake, and, as there was no such thing as a road at II'' 1$ ti IN) m W: 406 History of the County of Peter borough. that time, the;, had to follow the " blaze" on the trees, over hills, rocks, stumps and fallen trees, and through miry swamps and morasses. As has been related in connection with other town- ships, these settlers had to carry their grain on their shoulders to " Scott's Plains " to be ground. Nor were these laborious tramps performed by the men alone ; hardy women found it necessary to do the same and other feats of endurance. As has been mentioned, Sir Peregrine Maitland visited this township in the winter of 1826, being driven, with his suite, across the frozen lake. They were received with what hospitality backwoods life could supply, by Mr. Eugene McCarthy, whose log house was then the most comfortable dwelling in the town- ship. Instead of increasing, the population of Ennismore diminished during the first ten years of the settlement. This was no doubt owing to the fact that many of the younger men were obliged to leave for older settlements where they could procure remunerative employment. But soon came the era of steamers, giving an easy outlet for produce and stock. The soil of Ennismore, naturally rich and fertile, needed only the application and perseverance of the tiller ; these it received, and in a short space of time the settlers and their families were living in comfort and plenty. The direct route from Peterborough to Bobcaygeon lies through the Township of Em: nore. Having to pass around by the head of the lake made matters most inconvenient and cost a good deal of time. Owing to the influx of settlers and the extent to which the lumbering industry had spread in the new townships along the Bobcaygeon Road, it became evident that an effort would have to be made to build a bridge across the lakes which bounded the township on both sides, Chemong and Pigeon Lakes. Several attempts were made to construct these The Township of Ennismore. 407 bridges, but to no purpose ; the matter dropped. In February, 1844, the District Council passed a by-law by which the sum of twenty-six pounds, currency, from the wild land assessment fund of Ennismore, was set apart " for the purpose of building a scov/ and ferry boats on Mud Lake, to ply from Gait's Landing in Ennismore to Edmison's Landing in Smith," Three com- missioners were appointed to control the establishing of a ferry and to contract with a ferryman to run the same. These com- missioners were the township councillor and two other persons who were chosen at a meeting. The following were the tolls which were to be charged : — A span of horses and waggon, one shilling ; a single horse, with or without a waggon, sixpence ; a yoke of oxen and vehicle, ninepence ; horned cattle, per head, threepence ; pigs and calves, per head, twopence ; each passen- ger, threepence. This ferry was kept running for a few years, but owing to the expense attending it, although a very great con- venience, it was discontinued. Many years passed before a bridge was built, but, as has been before mentioned in a previous part of this work, iloating bridges were eventually built across both Chemong and Pigeon Lakes. In 1832, the number of ratepayers in Ennismore was 32, and the number of acres cultivated 118 ; the assessed value of property was $7,088 ; and the amount of the taxes levied $34. The only village in the township is that of Ennismore, which is situated in the very centre of it. It is very small, containing only a general store and post-office, kept by Samuel Young, a carriage shop, and a blacksmith shop, besides a school and a church. As would naturally be supposed from the fact that Ennismore was at first largely settled by Irish Catholics, the township is to-day nearly altogether peopled by the decendants of those 1 _SLMJiajL'SulllLj III: ( 4o8 History of the County of Peterborough. |ii > early settlers. But these do not endeavour to " lord it " in a domineering way over the few not of their creed who have settled among them. On the contrary, the best of feeling exists. For instance, out of deference to the Protestants, the people have not introduced Separate Schools into the township. There are four school sections : No. i, four miles east of Ennismore ; No. 2, two and a-half miles north of Ennismore ; No. 3, three miles south of Ennismore, and No. 4, in the village of Ennismore. These are attended by Catholic and Protestant children alike, one or two of the schools being altogether Catholic. From the time that the immigrants settled in the township in 1825, the spiritual wants of the parish were attended to by the Rev. Father Butler of Peterborough. When ecclesiastical changes were made, and a priest appointed to reside in the township of Emily, Ennismore was visited at periods by Fathers Burke and Coyle, and for a short time by Father Hogan, now of Erinsville, in the Diocese of Kingston. In 1879, the present resident priest. Rev. Father Keilty, was sent by the late Bishop O'Brien, of Kingston. When the Diocese of Peterborough was created in 1882 matters remained the same. The parish properly extends only o /er the Township of Ennismore, but about Iwenty- five families, who live in Emily on the east side of the creek which intersects that township, also attend the Ennismore chu' h, as it is more convenient. The parish is much like an old country parish, the farthest house being only eight miles distant from the church. Nowhere throughout the length and breadth of Canada can a more prosperous and peaceful community be found. The cause of all this can be expressed in one word^-temperance. Influenced by the good priest whose work is among them, the Township Council in 1881 submitted to the ratepayers a by-law, by which it was proposed to raise the license fee to $600. The The Tozvnship of Ennisniore. 409 Municipal Act gives municipalities the power to raise it to $1,000, but the people of Ennismore thought that $600 would frighten away King Alcohol ; and it did. The by-law was carried by a great majority, there being but few opponents. The desired object was gained, for there is not now one drop of liquor sold in the entire township. Up till 1881 the small village of Ennismore had four taverns ; they are now closed. The people, of course, are free to drink liquor when they visit the town, or to bring it to their homes, but as a general ruie they will have nothing to do with it. The time was, about twenty years ago, when if an Ennismore Catholic dared to go to Bobcay- geon he ran the risk of being carried home dead, so bitter was the feeling between the Orangemen of that village and the Irish of Ennismore. When the Orangemen of Bobcaygeon wished to visit Peterborough they had to pass through Ennismore where they were certain of getting into a row with the Irish who were bound to retaliate ; thus was ill-feeling kept up. But that is all past, and both parties are now upon the best of terms. Too much praise cannot be given to Father Keilty for his efforts to make his parishioners what they are — a happy, contented, peace- ful and prosperous people. The first church in Ennismore was a log structure, built at what is now the rear of the handsome Church of St. Martin's, which was built in 1874 by Father Coyle. It is a neat red brick Gothic structure, 80 by 140 feet, having a steeple 150 feet high, which, as the church is on a hill, can be seen for some distance. It is lighted by five windows on each side. In the interior the wood-work and pews are painted drab. The altar, a handsome Gothic erection, was built by Beullac, of Montreal, about two years ago, and was presented to the church by the late Michael Crough. It is the intention to make the church twenty feet rnr IL 410 History of the County of Peterborough. longer. Through the generosity of the people a really fine white brick house was erected for the priest in 1880, at a cost of about $5,500. It is very large, having six bedrooms, besides drawing- room, dining-room and study. It is heated by hot-air, and finished and furnished in the best style. . TOWNSHIP OF ASPHODEL. This prosperous township is one of the most important in the County of Peterborough, having within its boundaries three thriving villages of no inconsiderable importance. It is bounded on the north by the Township of Dummer, on the west by the Township of Otonabee. on the east by the Township of Belmont and the County of Northumberland, and on the south by the River Trent which separates it from Northumberland. The surface of the land is of a hilly character which greatly tends to make the land excellent for farming because of its being well drained. Asphodel is cleared about as much as it is likely to be, and is thoroughly well settled by an industrious, and consequenti / prosperous, class of people. The Township of Asphodel was surveyed in 1820; but, owing to its remoteness from markets and mills, settlement was very sparse for some years. Soon after the survey Mr. John Beckett and family and a few other settlers came into the township by way of Rice Lake and the River Trent. About 1821 others came from directly south, and, after passing through the then equally wild township of Percy, in the County of Northumber- land, crossed the deep and swift-flowing Trent, and landed in the township which was to be their future home. Among these pioneers were Hugh and Alexander McColl, Job Humphries, The Township of Asphodel. 411 Robert Humphries, Walter Scott, W. Kirkpatrick, Richard Bird- sail, Charles Parker, and William Housten. Mr. John Camp- bell, sr., with his five sons — James, John, Duncan, Donald and Ewen — settled in the south-western portion of Asphodel, but subsequently removed to Otonabee. In 1825 the settlement received a further increase by the addition of thirty-seven families of the Peter Robinson emigration. Many were the difficulties with which these pioneers had to contend until they aluiost des- paired, and it was not until they could enjoy the boon of mills and roads thereto that they felt they were on the way to pros- perity. The first mill in the township was erected by Joseph A. Keeler, at what is now the Village of Norwood ; this was, indeed, a great blessing to the early settlers who hitherto had to convey their grain many miles to have it ground. It contained only one run of stones driven by a tub water-wheel, and a bolt which was covered with muslin. Although a very unpretentious affair its erection was hailed with delight by the settlers n-«2..iy of whom came from all parts of the surrounding country, carrying sacks of grain on their back to be ground at " Keeler's mill," as it was then called. About the same time Mr. Keeler erected a saw mill, using the same water-power for both mills. Until 1826 the only means by which the settlers could cross the river or convey their stock and supplies was by means of boats and scows ; but in that year the townships of Asphodel and Percy were connected by a wooden bridge built about a mile above where the village of Hastings now stands. ^ But it could not withstand the attacks of the ice and high water in the follow- ing spring, and was carried away. It was replaced by a more durable bridge, erected partly by Government money ; this, after undergoing many repairs, gave way, in 1845, to a new bridge i}i': PTT 412 History of the County of Peterborough. 1 1 which was built lower down the river. In 1858 the present bridge was built at a considerable 'cost, the County of Peter- borough contributing ^500. The second bridge received many a jar and many a blow from the rafts of timber which passed down the river. In the Cobourg Star, of May loth, 1831, appeared a humorous letter, written by Thos. Carr, of Otonabee, whose literary ability has already been noticed, in which the old bridge complained of the treatment it received. The desired object was gained, for in the Parliamentary Session of 1832-3 the Upper Canada Legislature made a grant of ^300 towards its repair ; this was followed, in 1834, by a grant of ;^ioo. In 1832 the entire population of Asphodel was 265, and the number of persons assessed, 55 ; 767 acres of land were under cultivation ; the total assessed value of property was ^3410, and the total amount of the taxes £16 is. ;^d. What a change in population, valuation, and taxation fifty years have made ! The scarcity of horses may be judged from the fact that in 1835 the only settlers who could boast of owning one of these useful animals were Walter Scott, Robert Humphries, John Beckett and John Cameron, sen'r. The first post-office in the township of Asphodel was kept by Thomas Walker on his farm, near what is now the village of Westwood ; it was opened about 1837-38. The second was that opened at Norwood by James P"oley. The first mail carrier was a man named Joseph Hunter, who lived in Peterborough, and who, as an old settler still living says, " was an Irishman and a Quaker," truly an odd combination. He used to carry the mail, which was certainly not very bulky, on horseback, once a week, from Peterborough to Walker's farm and to Poley's, thence south across the Trent to Warkworth, in Northumber- land County. The Toxvnship of Asphodel. 413 In 1833, when the Trent Valley Canal scheme was pro- jected, the Government deputed N, H. Baird to report as to the practicability of making the Trent River navigable from the Bay of Quinte to Rice Lake. Mr. Baird reported favourably, estimating the cost of the locks at Crooks' Rapids (Hastings) c^t £'jo62. Two years later the same gentleman reported on the second part of the proposed canal, viz., from Rice Lake to Lake Simcoe. During 1837-8-9 work was proceeded with on the first part of the canal. A iine lock, together with dam and slides, was built at Crooks' Rapids ; the employment which was given to a large number of persons, and the expenditure that was necessary, laid the foundation of the Village of Hastings. Among the less laudable signs of improvement in Asphodel was the establishment of two distilleries, one by Patrick C. Foley, a mile or so west of Norwood, and another by John Beckett, a short distance south of Westwood ; neither of these are now in existence. When the militia were called out in 1837 the Asphodel company mustered in full force, considering the sparse popula- tion. They were commanded by Mr. Richard Birdsall, one of the first settlers, and the owner of considerable property between Rice Lake and Westwood. Strange to say, his name is not mentioned in the muster-roll. However this may be accounted for. it is certain, on undoubted authority, that Mr. Birdsall commanded the company and rendered most valuable services ; the more to his honour, if it be true, that he received neither reward nor pay. During the next decade the fortunes of Asphodel began to mend. As has already been said, the township is now well cleared and thoroughly settled ; the soil is a good grain-growing I I 414 History of the County of Peterborough. loam over a limestone bed ; the roads are in excellent condition, large sums of money having been expended on them. There are now in Asphodel thirteen school sections and nine schools, having an average attendance of about thirty pupils. The first school in the township was a small log building at Norwood. The school returns for 1832 show that J. Wilkins was the teacher, and that the number of pupils was twenty-two. The three principal villages in Asphodel are Hastings, Norwood and Westwood. Besides these there is a post-office at " Birdsall's," formerly Asphodel post-office. THE VILLAGE OF HASTINGS. The best point at which to enter the Township of Asphodel is by the road which leads from Norham and Warkworth in Northi'mberland, the latter village ten miles distant, to Hastings, a most picturesquely situated and prosperous village on the River Trent, and also on the Grand Junction Division of the Midland Railway. The River Trent, which is a wide, swift- flowing stream, separates the Counties of Peterborough and Northumberland. The village is on the north side of the river, and to all appearances is a part of the County of Peter- borough, but such is not the case — it is now in the County of Northumberland. Up tiil April ist, 1874, the date of its incor- poration as a village, it was in Peterborough County, that is the larger and business portion of it, only a few houses were on the south side, in the County of Northumberland. On that date, thinking that financially it would be better off by severing its connection with Peterborough, it became a part of Northumber- land. For some years after 1874 the north part of it was still The Village of Hastings. 415 attached to Peterborough for electoral purposes ; but it now helps to send to Ottawa and Toronto the successful candidates for public honours who represent the County of Northumberland among the other political sages and sachems who yearly meet in those cities ; it is also a part of Northumberland for judicial purposes. In fact there is but one tie that binds it to its natural mother, the County of Peterborough ; that tie is No. 6 Com- pany of the 57th Battalion, the headquarters of which are at Peterborough. The land on which Hastings is now built was purchased early in the "thirties," by the Hon. James Crooks, who had it laid out in lots. In 1835 there was but a single house on the site of the village. That was a small building on the north bank of the river, opposite what is now the Coughlin House. It was destroyed by fire in 1871. This building had some claim to being called a mill, as it contained one run of very inferior stones. It was seldom used to grind grain, having been built there mainly to secure the valuable mill privilege of the place. In 1835 Timothy Coughlin, with two brothers and sisters, settled in Asphodel, near the site of Hastings. A few years after that he bought from Mr. Crooks the two lots on which the Coughlin House now stands. On one of these he built a house, in which he kept the iirst hotel and the first store in Hastings. This house stood till 1882, when it was burned down. In about ten years after he built this house Mr. Coughlin left it and built the first house on the hill. In 1840 Mr. Crooks built a house for his agent on the spot where the Clarendon House now stands ; it also met the too common fate of houses in Hastings and was burned down. After the building of the locks at what was then Crooks Rapids, that place began to grow wonderfully. In 1857 Henry ■PfT 416 History of the County of Peterborough. Fowlds and his sons took up their residence there, and immedi- ately the village felt the influence of these enterprising men. A new grist and flouring mill was added to the old one ; a saw-mill of great capacity soon followed. Then came other factories worked by the most improved machinery. Among these were a woollen factory, a planing-mill, a sash and door factory, a cotton- mill, a wool, carding and knitting factory, all of these giving the village the appearance of a miniature Manchester. Churches were also erected. The first was the Presbyterian church, a frame building erected in 1858, Rev. James Bowie being the first minister. In 1858 the Episcopalians erected a frame building on the south side of the river. Rev. M. A. Farrar being the incumbent ; this church is still used by the Episco- palian body. In 18-64 'he Methodists built a very neat red-brick church ; the minister of this church is now Rev. E. D. Lewis. Through the zeal and exertions of Rev. J. Quirk, the Roman Catholics erected a very commodious and well-iinished edifice of stone in 1865 ; the present resident priest is the Rev. Father O'Connell. Three of these churches — the Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist — stand side by side on the summit of the hill, looking as if they were on the best of terms with each other, and as if theology had there entrenched itself, aloof from the busy worldliness of the village below. On the north side of the village is a goodly thoroughfare, on each side of which are. stores, whose plate-glass windows glitter with brilliant wares. Pretty ladies elegantly dressed, and gentle- men on horseback, come and go through the village, which fifty years ago had but a single house ! The road through this street leads due nortn to Norwood, ascending a hill on the skirts of the village and leaving the charming panorama behind. The Town Hall, which was built in 1881, is a two-story red- HON. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. 27 1 1 ; 1 m .'* ■lil^l'l' I .: in ilii The Village of Hastings. 419 brick building, with stone foundation. In the basement are the council chamber, caretaker's rooms and cells ; above these is & large public hall. The cost of this erection was $5,000. As already mentioned, Hastings was incorporated as a village April ist, 1874, the first Reeve being Mr. Timothy Coughlin. the oldest resident in the village. This gentleman held the position for five years. He had previously been Reeve of Asphodel for twelve years, and in 1858 was commissioned a Justice of the Peace. The present Reeve of the village is H. M. Fowlds, and the village Clerk, John Sharpe. The Council is composed of : Henry Johnson, John Coughlin, A. M. Patton and Alexander Wilson, jun'r. The population of the village is about 1,200, and the assessed value of property $160,000. Hastings has suffered very severely by fires. In the fall of 1863 a fire took place which destroyed a woollen factory, -a saw mill, a planing mill, and a sash and door factory. In the spring of the following year another fire destroyed one of the largest stores in the village. Since then successive fires have occurred. In May, 1882, and January, 1883, two tremendous conflagrations took place. These destroyed the Coughlin House, the Royal Hotel (now the Clarendon), the post-office, and telegraph office, waggon, saddle, drug, and blacksmith shops, also Fowlds Bros.' woollen mills. And in spite of all these terrible visitations of the fire fiend, the fact must be recorded that Hastings is still without the slightest protection against fire ! These disasters were increased by the waves of depression which have passed over Ontario, caused by bad harvests. But Hastings has now recovered. The railwa) which passes through it on the Percy side, and which was opened in 1879, brought addi- tional traffic. The village has a prospect of still further advan- tage in what it is hoped will soon be the completion of the 1 ,1.' ''X m ■ % T - ||U 'iiii jji| 1 w \ HTIIJ t 420 History of the County of Peterborough. Trent Valley Canal. Hastings has now a very neat brick Public school supplied with two teachers ; there is also a good Separate school having one teacher. At present matters seem to be very prosperous in this village. The five-storey stone building, which Fowlds Bros, use as a grist- mill, John Walsh & Co.'s new tannery, on the Asphodel side ; and the planing-mill, the sash and door factory, and the stave- factory on the Percy side, are all doing good b isiness. The principal hotels are the Coughlin House, owned by Timothy Coughlin; the Clarendon House, kept by Sydney Smith, and the Royal Hotel, kept by Patrick Brennan, the latter on the south side of the river. In 1864 the publication of the Hastings Messenger was begun, but the paper was short-lived. In 1878 John A. Howard estab- lished the Hastings Star, a neat-appearing, eight-page, forty- column paper, which is well supported. Mr. Howard is also captain of No. 6 Company, 57th Battallion, which has a strength of forty-two men. The pathmaster is H. M. Fowlds, who succeeded his father twelve years ago. In the summer the village has water connection with Peterborough by means of four steamers. About the only society in Hastings is a lodge of Free- masons. i! 'I . THE VILLAGE OF NORWOOD. Norwood lies in a basin, through which flows a branch of the Ouse, one of the smaller tributaries of Rice Lake. It is built in a well-cleared country, and on first view from the summit of one of the surrounding hills, its spires and streets present a pictur- esque appearance. A bridge crosses the tiny streamlet, which, '1! !i!ll The Village of Norwood. 421 in spring, is almost a river, and the road leads to the main street of the village. Al. has been mentioned, the first grist-mill built in Norwood, and which was the great source of benefit to the entire township of Asphodel in its early settlement, was owned by Mr. Joseph A. Keeler. This gentleman had served as major in the War of 1 8 1 2, and received as a reward for his services a grant of 400 acres of land in the 9th Concession of Asphodel. In 1836 Mr. Keeler put a second run of stones and improved machinery into his mill, which was in charge of Peter Pearce, who was also Mr. Keeler's agent for the sale of his property, which had been measured off into village lots. A regular and systematic survey was made arid registered in 1853. Besides the saw-mill at Norwood, there was another built in 1848, on lot 20, in the 9th concession, and on the same stream. James Foley set up the first store in Norwood in 1837, and for many years carried on a good business ; the second store was that of Messrs. Carr and Rose, on Belmont Street. The first tavern was opened by Robert Hartley in 1842. Till that house of public accommodation was built, travellers were at all times kindly received, free of expense, at the hospitable dwelling of Mr. Peter Pearce, where also all public and religious meetings were held. Mr. Thomas Nith was the first carpenter, and Mr. Thomas Mullins the pioneer shoemaker in Norwood. As already mentioned, the earliest buHt school-house in Asphodel was at Norwood, a log house, where J. Wilkins was teacher. There is now a well built Union school-house, and a Collegiate Institute of well-deserved celebrity. The Wesleyan Methodists built the earliest church in this village in 1836. It was a modest frame building, and has long been superseded by the present handsome church. The latter IMII< 422 History of the Coimty of Peterborough. was erected in 1856, The first minister of this denomination was the Rev. William Young, who was also the first in the township to own a buggy. The Presbyterian Church at Norwood dates from 1840. The Rev. D. McAleese was the first resident minister. The Church of England had in the earlier times a more con- siderable following than at present. The Rev. Mark Burnham, rector of St. John's Church, Peterborough, was accustomed to drive once in three weeks to Norwood, and hold service. Being a clergyman of much weight of character as well as considerable ability as a preacher, he exercised much influence for good and drew together large congregations. These ministrations were entirely gratuitous. He was succeeded, in 1854, by the Rev. John Hilton, who after two years resigned, and Mr. Burnham resumed his missionary labours. In 1863 the Rev. M. A. Farrar, B.A., of Trinity College, Dublin, was appointed incum- bent of Norwood and Westwood, residing at the latter village. This gentleman was a ripe scholar, and a most worthy clergy- man. He died in 1864, greatly regretted. In i860 a substantial red brick church was louilt, and a bell presented by a generous lady member of the congregation, aided by some friends. It is neatly finished, and has had for a time a good choir, conducted by Miss Grover, daughter of a leading resident ; the lady in question also acted as organist. The congregation is respectable, but not large ; it includes Mr. Grover, and the family of the late venerable Colonel Robert Wigmore, and others of influence and position. A Roman Catholic Church was built in 1 840. The present church was built about 1870. It is of stone, with a steeple, and has six windows on each side. The congregation is very large. Father Quirk is the present pastor. The Village of Norwood. 423 The village of Norwood is a most enterprising looking little place. In driving through the street which leads into the village we pass an iron foundry, and several carriage manufactories. Here amid pleasant gardens well stocked with flowers is the house, a most hospitable one, of Mr. J. A. Butterfield. a leading merchant and property owner, and for many years Postmaster and Clerk of the Division Court, both of which positions he still holds. Passing this house eastward, we turn north and go up the main street, which is lined with stores of all kinds, and which presents a most pleasing appearance. Besides the industries already noticed there are two grist mills, one saw mill, a woollen factory, and a pump factory in the village. The principal hotels are- those kept by Mr. D. Brennan and Mr. MaLolm Macgregor. There are several shops where liquor is sold, but the exertions of the several churches, and of the Good Templars' Lodge, of which Mr. But'terfield and his daughters are, and have long been, the main promoters, are doing much to push forward the work of temperance. There is also a spacious drill-shed for the volun- teer company. Norwood was incorporated as a village in 1877. Its popu- lation is now about 1,000, and the assessed value of its property $130,000. The town hall, a red brick building with white facings, was built in 1870, at a cost of $3,000. Besides a large public hall, it Contains a council chamber and a lock-up. A commodious station has been erected to meet the requirements of the many who will patronize the Ontario and Quebec Railway which passes through the village. This railway will give such an increased impetus to business that it is not extravagant to anticipate the growth of Norwood into a good-sized town before many years will have passed. 424 1^ History of the County of Peterborough. VILLAGE OF WESTWOOD. Westwood is a small but prettily situated village in the central part of Asphodel, near the western town line, having a population of about 150. It is distant about seven miles from Norwood, and the same distance from Keene. It is three miles from the Grand Junction Railway Station, at Villiers, in Otonabee. The village consists of some two dozen houses, one good store, and the mansions of several resident families. Conspicuous among them is that of the late Rev. W. A. Farrar, B.A., Trinity College, Dublin, now occupied by his widow, who cherishes the same spirit of kind hospitality to strangers that distinguished her husband. Chiefly by Mr. Farrar's exertions a handsome English church was built close to the village. It is the only correctly designed ecclesiastical edifice in the township, is provided with a chancel neatly proportioned and duly furnished with altar and credence. The style, correctly carried out, is " first-pointed '' gothic. At the east end of the chancel is a triplet window, of lancet lights, which it is intended to fill with stained glass as a memorial to Mr. Farrar. Shortly after Mr. Farrar's death, a newly ordained deacon, Mr. E. Soward, was appointed to the cure of Norwood and Westwood, an interesting, but not very remunerative sphere of duty. In January, 1866, the Westwood* Church was opened for Divine service. The Presbyterians have a white brick church, with a good attendance. The Methodist church is a red brick building. The township school. No. i, is situated at Westwood. and has an attendance of about forty pupils. The town hall is a small, red brick structure, built in 1883. The Ontario and Quebec Railway passes two and a-half miles north of Westwood ; the nearest station is Lonergan, six miles distant. The temperance interests are looked after by a The Village of Westwood. 425 body of Good Templars. The store is kept by John Powell, who is also postmaster and township clerk. Mr. Powell also owns two grist-mills and a saw-mill. A cheese factory owned by Thomas Pearsall is doing a good business. There is also a carriage shop, a blacksmith shop, a tailor shop, and a boot and shoe shop. There are two hotels, kept by Chas. McDonnell and John Doherty. As has been mentioned, the first post-office was kept in this village by Thomas Walker. It was for some years taken charge of by the Rev. Mr. Farrar. There is a communica- tion by mail stage both with Peterborough and Norwood. Be- tween Westwood and Rice Lake is a considerable landed property of well-improved farm land, owned by the late Mr. Richard Bird- sail. This gentleman took a prominent position in county and township affairs ; his name is on record as District Councilloi for the years 1842 and 1.S43. He was County Councillor for [850 and 1851, and a Justice of the Peace in Asphodel. His kinsman, Mr. Francis Birdsall, was a County Councillor in 1 86 1. He was succeeded by his son, Richard T. Birdsall, who was educated at Peterborough Grammar School, by the Rev. Robert Taylor, and who was a County Councillor in 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1865. In the last named year he died suddenly of heart disease at his own house, and was deeply regretted by all who knew his hospitable and liberal disposition. His funeral took place from Westwood Church, the service being conducted by the Rev. E. Soward, incumbent of the mission, who had received much kindness from the deceased gentleman. i 426 History of the County of Peterborough. THE TOWNSHIP OF DUMMER. This township, which is rectangular in shape, is bounded on the north by Stony Lake, on the south by the Township of Asphodel, on the east by the Townships of Belmont and Methuen, and on the west by the Township of Douro. Gener- ally speaking, the land throughout the township is well suited for agricultural purposes, the extreme northern part being not quite so good as the rest, on account of the rocky formation of the country around Stony Lake. Dummer is traversed by a good- sized stream, now called Indian River, which, from its source in White Lake, south of Stony Lake, to where it empties into Rice Lake, has many excellent sites for mills. The Township of Dummer was surveyed in 1823 by Richard Birdsall, father of the< Asphodel Birdsalls, the contract being let to the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham; but, unlike other southern townships which were surveyed at that early period, the first settler did not enter it until some years later. In the summer of 1831 a party of English, Irish, and Scotch emigrants, numbering about 1,950, arrived at Quebec. According to the statement of Captain Rubidge, R.N., to Sir Wilmot Horton, Bart., these emigrants were made up of 1 50 persons sent out by the Marquis of Bath. 100 commuted pensioners and their families, and 1,700 emigrants who had come to Canada at their own expense. At Quebec they were taken in charge by immigration agents and forwarded to Peterborough, where Captain Rubidge, that inestimable trea- sure of a wise immigration agent, took every means to locate them as soon as possible on lands as yet unoccupied. A large number were settled in Dummer, while the remainder were scattered throughout the townships east and west of Peterborough, li' lis. m The Township of Dunimer. 427 on lands which had not been taken up. The conditions on which these settlers were given land were not difficult to carry out. After he had selected the land on which he wished to locate the settler was given a location ticket, entitling him to 100 acres, provided he fulfilled his part of the contract, which was that at the end of four years he should commence to make for four years annual payments of one shilling an acre. Thus, after being on the land for eight years, the settler would receive a full title to his land, which had cost him $80. On starting out to locate on his land each settler was given a sum of money, ranging from one dollar and a-half to four dollars. With this, aided by some of the older settlers, he erected a shanty on his land. These emigrants, like those brought out by the Hon. Peter Robinson, were supplied with food during their passage and for some time after they were located. The daily rations consisted of half a pound of pork and half a pound of flour to each man ; the women, and children over five years, were each allowed one pound of flour but no pork. All these were paid for by the Provincial Govern- ment. These supplies were suddenly withdrawn, and for a time the settlers were temporarily distressed, but their energy and industry soon overcame this. Between May 17th and September 29th, 87,390 pounds of flour, 24,608 pounds of pork, and 366 axes were distributed among the settlers. These emigrants did not by any means fare as well as those of 1825. Their rations were ,not as large, nor were they supplied with the domestic utensils and stock with which the latter found the commencement of life in the bush not so hard. Notwithstanding this, they made equally rapid progress, and in the end were equally successful. Of course these men, like the pioneers in the other townships of which we have writte.i, had to undergo the usual privations. For some years they had neither oxen nor horses, and when trees T^ \ 1 1 \ J m f . i i f f, l! h it y '■ ■ - - VUHHWIIIP^Bi' ' ; 1 IwinTJ^flsTi^ ■ 428 History of the County of Peterborough. were felled they had to roll the trunks together by what was called "hand-logging," a tedious and most laborious process. It was the ill-fortune of many of these settlers to locate on land of such a poor quality that it was one continuous struggle to exist on what little the earth would yield them ; some of these, after bravely facing the difficulties for a few years, quit the town- ship after having abandoned their claims or sold out to specu- lators, while others continued the straggle with the stony soil, which, by the constant application of industry, at length rewarded them to some extent with profitable results for their toilsome labours. Well did Captain Rubldge repeat in 1831 the noble efforts which he put forth to comfortably settle the emigrants of 1825; as in the latter year, everything had to be provided at once. Temporary shelter had to be provided at Peterborough, the sick had to be attended to, roads had to be cut through forests and swamps, and provisions had to be supplied. A great deal of expense and inconvenience might have been avoided had tem- porary structures been erected, and roads cut before the arrival of the emigrants. This was also the case with the emigration of 1825, as Captain Rubidge pointed out in his evidence before the Emigration Committee of the British House of Parliament in 1847. In his evidence before the above-mentioned committee, Captain Rubidge paid a well-deserved tribute to the emigrants who settled in the Township of Dummer. He said : " The conduct of the immigrants located by me in 1831 was in general most exemplary ; and I never observed a stronger desire to take advantage by their industry of the kind encouragement afforded them by the Government. They invariably vied with each other in their exertions ; and this will always be the case where The Township of Diimmer. 429 provisions are not lavishly or improperly supplied, and the population well mixed, as it vv^as of that year ; for then the sluggard who would not be shamed by greater energy on the part of a countryman, is routed from his indolence by a* national feeling of pride to keep pace with his English, Irish or Scotch neighbour." These emigrant settlers were not long without accession to their numbers. In Dr. Poole's work are related at length the privations endured by three hardy Scotchmen who came out from Glasgow, and obtained a grant of fifty acres of land in Dummer, with the privilege of buying another fifty at a certain price. These men after wandering around at random for two days, at last found their location ; they had been that time doing the distance from Peterborough, twenty miles. Not being thoroughly well acquainted with the proper way of going about the building of a log shanty, they were two weeks in erecting a shelter for themselves. As was usual in those days, the roof was made of a double row of basswood troughs, quite curious in its construction. A^ter cutting the trunk of a basswood tree into lengths ot about fifteen feet each, they split them in half, as equally as possible ; these were then hollowed out, thus making excellent troughs. The troughs of the first row were laid side by side, with the hollowed sides uppermost ; then each trough of the second row was laid over the adjoining edges of the two of the first row, making a roof through which it was impossible for the water to enter. After completing their house, this pioneer trio found that their provi- sions were exhausted. The mill which Joseph A. Keeler had erected on the site of the present village of Norwood was only six miles distant, and they accordingly set out to procure there a supply of provisions. But after wandering through swamp and 4i , 1 ' 1 t' I I i I 430 History of the County of Peterborough. forest, and over hill, all day, they were forced to return to their shanty, which fortunately they could do, as they had "blazed" the trees along their route. The next morning they started out again, and after another day's wandering reached the house of a settler who informed them that they were only three miles from their home, and had yet three miles to go ere they would reach Keeler's mill. Although he could offer them no food, for he was short of provisions himself, he sheltered them for the night. They had had nothing to eat since early in the morning ; but the next day he gave them a little bit of bread, and they started for the mill, which, when they reached it, was idle ; neither could they procure wheat or flour. They pushed on a couple of miles until they reached the shanty of a farmer named Hurley, who sold them some wheat which was still in the sheaf Having threshed it, they returned to the mill the next day. After waiting three days they succeeded in getting their grain ground, and returned to their wild forest home with their well-earned stock of flour. Such were the difficulties which bt'set the path of these and other early settlers. In 1835 the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham erected a mill on Indian River at what is now the village of Warsaw. From that period the Township of Dummer began to prosper. The fact of having a grist and saw-mill conveniently near them induced many to take up their abode in the township, while at the same time it was an inducement to those already there to persevere in their work. At the present time the Township of Dummer is pretty thoroughly cleared and settled, there now being abundance of everything for the descendants of those who fifty years ago had to spend five or six days in getting enough flour to prevent them from starving. The first clergyman in Dummer was Rev. Archibald Colqu- ii The To'wnship of Dnmmcr. 431 houn, who removed there from Otonabee in 1839 ; he held service for some years in James McDonnell's house. In 1834 a building was erected for a church in School Section No. 4 ; in 1842 it was used as a school. In 1850 a Methodist church was built on lot 2 1, 3rd concession, and in 1852 another rose on lot 26, 4th concession. The first Methodist minister was Rev. John Hlackstock, and the first Bible Christian minister, Rev. John Hicks Eymon. The township is now well supplied with churches. Besides the above, or those that have taken their places, there is a Presbyterian church on lot 6, 4th concession. The first school-hopse was erected near John Kidd's in 1836, the teacher being Charles Murphy. There are now a number of school sections supplied with good buildings and teachers. At the breaking but oX the rebellion of 1837-3S a small militia force marched from Dummer as far as Port Hope; it con- sisted of six officers and thirty-five private'; Finding their services not needed they returned home. This force was com- manded by Ensign Robert Wigmore, who will long be remem- bered as one of the oldest residents of Norwood. Mr. Thomas Choate, the oldest resident of Warsaw, says that he sheltered this band of patriots in his mill during a heavy snowstorm. On June 8th the Dummer militia were again called to arms. This time they proceeded to Toronto, whence they shortly afterwards returned to their homes. These men never received any pay for their services, although Colonel Robert Wigmore carried on a lengthy correspondence with the Government concerning it. The officers on this occasion were : Ensign Robert Wigmore, Sergeant-Major Lumsdcn, 2nd Sergeant-Major William Wig- more, and Sergeants James Watson, Robert Sloane, Hugh Moore, Charles Murphy, and Joseph Pegg. In Dummer there are now two cheese factories, both of which iipyii 432 History of the County of Peterborough. are doing good business. One, the Warminster factory, is situated on lot 1 7, concession 2 ; the other is on the road from Warsaw to South Dummer. Warsaw is the principal village in Dummer. It is situated on Indian River, the original and euphonious name of which was Squaknegosippi Creek. As has been mentioned, the Hon. Zaccheus Burnham erected a mill in 1S35 on this creek, where Warsaw now stands. Thomas Choate, who is still living in the village, settled there while the mill was being built. Before it was completed, the foreman, Thomas Hartwell, died, whereupon Mr. Choate took charge of the mill. Squaknegosippi Creek took its rise in White Lake, a small sheet of water separated from Stony Lake by a ridge of hard granite rock a quarter of a mile wide. In 1838 Mr. Burnham conceived the idea of making a cutting through this rock, thus letting a large body of water from Stony Lake flow through the stream into Rice Lake. Mr. Choate took charge of this work, and with the aid of twenty-five men succeeded. The mills all along the stream were greatly benefited by the work which Mr. Burnham had undertaken. Mr. Choate states that when he visited a store and asked for a barrel or two of powder, which he required for blasting pur- poses, he was regarded with suspicion, and was even watched. The reason for this was that, as the Mackenzie rebellion was at its height, the country was alarmed and the fact of a man buying powder in large quantities wn , regarded as ominous. In 1839, when n -office wnv established at "Dummer Mills," as the . lied, Mr. Choate, who was then running th' 1 a store, became postmaster. He gave it th« o 01 a This village has k .own no other postmaster. Mr. Cbvjate is to-day one of the oldest, if not the oldest, postmaster ii. Canada, having served in that capacity for The Toivnships of Bebnont and Methiien. 433 forty-five years. The village now contains several goocl country stores, two hotels kept by G. S. English and Robert Tully, grist and saw mills owned by R. J. Rogers, and three churches — Episcopal, Presbyterian and Methodist. Twenty years ago there were several manufactories, such as furniture, woollen, and cloth mills; these were burned down and never renewed. There is a small village at South Dummer, about two miles from Norwood, where a Methodist and a Baptist church have been built; there is also a store, a post-office, and an Orange Hall. There are post-offices at Hall's Glen, where there is also a Methodist church, and at Stony Lake, both of which are ham- lets in the northern part of the township. THE TOWNSHIPS OF BELMONT AND METHUEN. The Townships of Belmont and Methuen, which are united for municipal purposes, form with Chandos the three eastern townships of the county. They are bounded on the north by the Township of Chandos, on the south by the County of Nor- thumberland, on the east by the County of Hastings, and on the west by the Townships of Burleigh, Dummer and Asphodel. In both of these townships, especially in Methuen, are many lakes, several of them of a good size, but as they have been noticed at length in that part of this work which treats of the lakes and rivers of the county, it is not necessary to refer to thenf here. The land throughout Belmont and Methuen cannot truthfully be said to be of the best kind for agricultural purposes, as it is to a great extent more or less rqcky and stony. But if it is poor as a grain-raising district it is rich in minerals — such as 28 434 History of the County of Peterborough. gold, iron and marble — as a reference to the opening chapter of this work will show. The Ontario and Quebec Railvay, which passes through the southern portion of Belmont, will do much to help the opening up of the valuable iron deposits, and will no doubt cause the development of the now struggling villages of Havelock and Blairton into thriving towns. Belmont was surveyed in 1823, but the first settlers did not enter it for several years after that date. The first actual settler, a man named Fiddick, who brought his family into the wild bush, remained there only a short time, removing to the settlement which was growing up around Keeler's mill, now Norwood. The cause of his removal was the howling of the wolves, which kept up a most unearthly noise all through the night. A gentleman who dro^'^e through the woods in 1876 to visit a family residing beyond the little village of Havelock, states that even then the wolves were a great terror to the farmers. The first settler who received a patent for land was Robert Stewart, afterwards called " the King of Delmont." The first mill in Belmont was built by Jehiel Breckenridge • it was afterwards burned down. Mr. Breckenridge also built a saw and grist mill where the waters of Round Lake empty into Belmont Lake. After the first mill was burned down another was erected in its place by Peter Pearce, a leading settler, who became Warden of the county in the years 1863 and 1864. For years the roads of Belmont had a bad reputation, and much difficulty was experienced by the settlers in conveying their supplies into the township, and their grain to and from the mill. After the incorporation of Belmont large sums of money, the income from taxes on non-resident lands, were spent to improve the roads. But there is yet ample room for improvement. The reader may be convinced of this by driving along the road from w The Toivnships of Belmont and Mcthuen. 435 Norwood to Blairton, through Havelock, as did the writer during the present summer. The road over the high and cleared land is good enough, but that through the numerous swamps is as rough a piece of "corduroy" as there is in the county, being badly in need of repairs. There are nine schools in the township, all of which are well attended. A neat stone Town Hall was erected in 1883 at " Prinevu's," at a cost of $1,000. Outside of the villages there are not many churches in the township. The Methodists meet in the various school-houses. The Episcopalians meet at the Garrison school-house every second Sunday, and are attended by Rev. Mr. Gibson, of Norwood. The Presbyterians meet at Havelock. The principal villages are Havelock and Blairton, the latter in the extreme east of the township. The population of Blairton is about one hundred. It has two stores, kept by Thos. Caskey and Wm. Armstrong ; a post-office ; a hotel, kept by J. F. Purdy; and two blacksmith shops. The school of No. 9 school section is in this village. There is also a Methodist church. Blairton is not nearly as prosperous as it was when the iron mine in its vicinity was being worked, but the opening of the Ontario and Quebec Railway will, it is hoped, restore things to their former state. The Village of Havelock, which is about seven miles east of Norwood, has a post-office, a store, a blacksmith shop, a ca.iage shop, and the school of school section No. 6. " Prinevu's, ' between Havelock and Blairton, is a post-office, established in May of the present year. It has a hotel and store kept by Napoleon Prinevu, and a blacksmith shop. It is only five hundred yards north of the line of the Ontario and Quebec Railway. There are also post-offices at Rush Point and Round Lake. 1 \ _L w 436 History of the Coimty of Peterborough. The Township of Methuen was surveyed in 1823, but it knew not a settler until the year 1857, when Mr. John Vansickles took up his abode there. The settlement did not increase very rapidly ; in j866 the number of ratepayers was 22, and the total assessed value of property, $3,291. As yet it is very thinly settled. This is no doubt owing to the difficulty in getting into it ; but now that the new railway runs through Belmont to the south of it, there is no reason why it should not advance in pros- perity and rapidly increase in population. There can be no doubt but that with its vast mineral wealth, as yet hidden within the bowels of the earth, a great future is in store for Methuen as well as for Belmont. BURLEIGH, CHANDOS AND ANSTRUTHER. The united townships of Burleigh, Chandos, and Austruther, together with the township of Monmouth, now ^n Haliburton County, were originally called the I^urleigh Road Settlement, on account of that road passing through them. They formed a part of Dummer until the year 1865, when they became a separate municipality, Mr. James Goulbourne being elected the first Reeve. These townships, especially Burleigh, which is the most southern, might have been settled much earlier than they were had there been a road by which the settlers could enter them. The construction of the Burleigh Road was not commenced for nearly thirty years after the township of that name was first surveyed. This was in i860, under the superintendence of Mr. Gibson, who had the charge of all coloni- zation roads throughout the Province. The work was let out in certain lengths to contractors, who received their pay on the completion of the same ; these contractors, in some cases, sub-let The Toiunships of Burleigh, Chaudos and Anstruther. /^2)7 portions of the work to others. The first twenty-three miles were constructed by James Walsh ; and the next section, twenty miles, by William Lackey. After a trial of three or four years, the contract system was found to be unsatisfactory, and was abandoned in 1865 in favour of a plan by wh'ch the construction of the whole road was taken charge of by John Carroll, who had been Crown Land Agent for this settlement since the spring of 1864. Mr. Carroll was to employ men by the day, superintend the work personally, and be responsible for its proper comple- tion. The different contractors, who had previously done the work in sections, did it so badly that when Mr. Carroll took it in hand it had to be nearly all reconstructed instead of repaired. In 1864 it became impassable from two causes, the wearing out of the flimsy material used in its construction, and the destruc- tive bush fires which swept over the country, burning down several of the bridges, thus cutting off the settlers from communi- cation with the outside world. In the spring of 1865 Mr. Carroll commenced his work, and pushed it forward so vigorously that in the fall of the same year twenty-four miles of the road had been put into excellent condition. During 1866 eleven miles more were finished ; of these, eight miles were part of the old road, while three were entirely new. This was kept up until the whole distance was made passable. Great difficulty was experienced in carrying the road over the " Burleigh Rocks," which occupy the south-western part of the township. These immense boulders of granite — which some colossal iceberg of the glacial age had swept before it and deposited here for the confusion of the Burleigh settlers, as the iceberg slowly melted away some hundred thousand years ago — are often half an acre in extent. These were overcome by filling up the gulleys between them with large stones, which were covered with a layer of 438 History of the County of Peterborough. broken stone and earth. And yet they were not altogether overcome, for at the present day a drive over the Burleigh Rocks will cause the tourist to wonder if there is possibly a rougher road in all Canada. For six miles after leaving Burleigh Falls it is one continual bump, bump, bump, over rocks of all sizes and shapes. The Burleigh Road proper commences at lot 39 in the 13th concession of Smith ; thence running north-east it crosses Burleigh Falls by means of two substantial bridges of considerable length ; then, after running east for six miles over the Burleigh Rocks, it turns north-east again and runs on through Burleigh, Anstruther, Chandos, and Cardiff, the latter township in the County of Haliburton. This road, from the 13th concession of Chandos North, has been lately condemned by the Government inspector of roads. In its stead the new Anstruther Road, from Apsley to Woods' Corners, will be used. The Township of Burleigh, which is about twelve miles square, was surveyed in 1834, and was re-surveyed in 1864, by J. W. Fitzgerald, P.L.S. A line which runs across the township, about six miles north of Stony Lake, divides the two surveys. North and south of this line the township is sometimes known as Burleigh North and Burleigh South. The following extracts from the report to the Commissioner of Crown Land of the Survey of Burleigh, made by Mr. Fitzgerald and dated Septem- ber, 1864, will give a good idea of the general character of the township : " This township offers, I regret to say, an unfavourable exception to those lying to the rear of it, and is not likely to offer much inducement to settlers, the greater portion of it being of so barren and sterile a character as to render it totally unfit for agricultural purposes. In the part of the township lying to the south of the Bose line — dividing the old from the new ! The Townships of Burleigh, Chandos and Anstruther. 439 survey — a tract of fair arable land extends from the west boundary to concession 8, having an average breadth of a mile. The Burleigh Road passes through this tract, which is covered with a stout growth of hardwood timber, such as beech, maple, basswood, and elm. The soil is fertile and of a dark loamy character, resembling clay ; in places it is shallow, while in others it attains considerable depth. " East of Eels Creek the country continues very rough and rocky, particularly in the vicinity of Stony Lake, where it presents a very bleak and desolate appearance. The timber is generally poplar, small white pine and birch, but a few isolated groves of good white pine nevertheless occur in this area, and on con- cessions 9, 10, II, and 12 good red pine is tolerably abundant. " In the neighbourhood of the boundary line between the Townships of Burleigh and Methuen from lot 9, old survey, north to Jack's Lake, the red pine is very plentiful, large groves composed exclusively of it occurring in several places. The land in this section is of no value: for agricultural puposes, the surface being rocky and broken, and the soil poor and unproductive. " The country through which the Burleigh Road passes from where it intersects the base line to lot 11, concesssion 11, is broken and unfertile. It has been partially lumbered on, and there still remains a large yield of small white and red pine. North of this the country presents a more favourable appearance and many of the lots along the road are settled upon and partly cleared. "In the north-east part of Burleigh the granite rocks are occasionally interstratified with masses of crystalline limestone, which entirely disappear on entering the Township of Chandos." The first settler to find his way over the impeding rocks, that 440 History of the County of Peterborough. he might make for himself a home in the unsettled wilds, was Mr. Giles. Stone ; this was in 1861. During the two following years the township was invaded by other scttlcis, among whom were James Goulbourne, Peter Phelen, Alexander Brown, Atwood Brooks, William Clifford, Edward Sanderson, Richard Spencer, William Myers, Isaac Meers, Christopher White, Ephraim Burt, John McConnell, Charles Burt, John Coon, and William Brunson. James Goulbourne built the first saw-mill on Eels Creek in 1863; in the same year and on the same stream C. J. Vizard also put up a saw-mill. Mr. Goulbourne built a grist-mill in 1866. The first tavern in the township was opened by Peter Phelen about three miles south of Apsley. In 1864 the first post-office was opened at a place called Burleigh, near the eastern boundary of the township; the second was established in 1866 at Haultain, called after the member for the county, the postmaster being Giles Stone, whose son, J. C. Stone, is now keeping it; the third post-office was opened at Burleigh Falls, about five years ago, and is now kept by John Holmes, who has an excellent hotel on the island at that point. The Burleigh Road runs across this island, which is approached from two sides by bridges. There are two schools in the township : No. i, which has about thirty pupils, is open all the year, while No. 2, with about the same attendance, is open only from May to October. There are no churches in Burleigh, the nearest being that at the Village of Apsley, in the Township of Chandos. Divine service is occasionally held in the school-houses. Half way between Burleigh Falls and Apsley is McCauley's hotel, a log structure one-and-a-half stories high. It was erected in 1863 by Edward Sanderson, better known as "Britannia The Townships of Burleigh, Chtmdos and Anstrutlicr. 441 Ned," and was the birthplace of the first white child born in the township, Mr. Sanderson's daughter, Sarah Jane. In the early days of the settlement this house often gave shelter to as many as sixty persons in a single night, the proprietor having to sit up all night to keep a fire going to warm his guests. Eight miles west and six miles east of the Burleigh Road at this point the county is entirely uninhabited, and is a "wolf range," so called on account of the numerous bands of wolves that roam through the unbroken forests, making night hideous with their bowlings; while along the road to the north for several miles the land is rough and mountainous, sparsely covered with dry pines, which tower away up into the heavens like so many ship masts. Thousands of these dry trees meet the eyes, reminding one of approaching the harbours of Portsmouth or Liverpool. Brown's Falls, a short distance north,, situated upon Eels Creek, is crossed by a bridge about one hundred feet in length. The spot is pointed out as being the place where a man named Henry Brown went over the falls some years ago and miracu- lously came out alive. The road at this point is extremely crooked, now dipping down into the deepest hollows and now rising over the tops of the highest hills. Farther on up the creek are the remains of a log structure, 10 by 12 feet, one storey high, erected in 1862 by Christopher White, one of the early settlers in Burleigh. It contained but one door, in which were bored several auger holes for windows. The Township of Chandos was surveyed in the winter of 1861-2 by J. W. Fitzgerald. P.L.S., from whose Report to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, dated October 51st, 1862, the following extracts are taken : — " Following the line of the Burleigh Road, which enters the township at the above starting point (lot i, con. 9) and runs in Ifi i i , I 1 1 !- .1(11 <'' 442 History of the County of Peterborough. a general northerly direction, meeting the north boundary on lot No 9, in the i8th concession, I will take that portion of the township between it and the westerly boundary, and extending eastwards to lot 15, and south to Loon Lake. This whole tract may be described as composed of a dark sandy loam, resting in places on darker mould of an earthy character. In a few places however it rests on a bed of coarse sand and gravel, in which are imbedded small granite, and, in a few cases, limestone boulders. The granite rock also in one or two instances protrudes to the surface ; this, however, occupies so small a proportion that it offers no impediment to settlement, every lot for some distance at either side of the road having been squatted upon. Indeed the whole north-west quarter of the township may be described as rolling land, fully two-thirds of its area being covered with a healthy growth of beech, maple, birch and basswood, which are always indications of a warm, productive soil, and are a good criterion of its fertility. The remaining one-third of this part may be described as being more broken, there being swamps which are generally open, and in places timbered with cedar, spruce and tamarack, the latter small and stunted. The only stream of importance — with the exception of Eels Creek, upon which are many valuable mill sites, and which I have already described in my report of the survey of Anstruther — is one flowing out of Tallan's into Loon Lake. It averages twelve feet wide by eighteen inches deep, and has several pretty falls ; it is of capacity sufficient to be applied to manufacturing purposes ; the banks are in places rock, and the bed strewn over with granite boulders. " The entire east half of the township may be considered undulating, but becomes low and flat towards the southern extremity. It contains fully 75 per cent, of good farming land. n\ The Townships of Burleigh, Chandos and Anstruthcr. 443 covered with heavy beech, maple, basswood and birch. The soil is a rich sandy loam, resting generally on a substratum of com- pact dark mould, free of stone. A large pine grove (white), of about 3,000 acres, lies immediately north of Loon Lake. It is very large and clear, and would turn out some excellent square timber. A similar one and of about equal extent lies directly south of this lake, and has been partly lumbered upon by the Messrs. Gilmour & Co. The south-west quarter of the town- ship, though not broken, is more rocky, and covered chiefly with hemlock, pine and balsam ; the pine will make tolerable saw-logs, but is not generally fit for square timber. The soil is sandy loam and full of stone ; about 50 per cent, of this part is capable of being immediately cultivated. " The shores of Loon Lake are low and in places rocky and stony, but in no case precipitous ; the water is of a brackish blue, and must, from the paucity of feeding streams, be chiefly supplied from springs. Various conflicting opinions exist regarding the description of the fish in this lake. I have heard some maintain that niaskalonge and bass abound, while others have as posi- tively asserted that neither are to be found in it. With the latter opinion I am inclined to agree, as I have on several occasions during the autumn, with a line, and in the winter with a spear, fruitlessly endeavoured to catch one. I have, however, seen on the shores the skeletons of a species of chub and a variety of small shell-fish. The depth of this lake in six places where I sounded it was as follows : 20, 25, 26 J^, 28, 29, and 53 feet. They were taken on the lake as nearly as possible at the centre, where intersected by the side-lines 5 and 6, 10 and 11, 15 and 16, and the three latter along the centre of the east branch in a southerly direction. The outlet of this lake where it joins Crow River flows very gently ; during the spring freshets bi ' ;i ; \ \ ^^ 444 History of the County of Peterborough. the neighbourhood of this junction is covered by water to a depth of from two to five feet. " The Crow River flows out of a large lake in Cardiff, and on its course southwards are many excellent mill privileges. The banks are in places rocky and broken, but generally low or inclining at a small angle, in which case good loamy soil stretches down to the water's edge. Its average width is perhaps about one chain, and its depth from four to six feet. It flows gently." Among the early settlers of this township were Henry J. Maxwell, Samuel Edgar, Cornelius Maher, James Young, Billings Kilburn, Michael O'Brien, Patrick, James, Maurice, John, and Daniel O'Brien, Patrick Horan, John, Robert, and William Horan, William Morrison, John Finnerty, and Patrick Finnerty. The first white child born in Chandos was John Kilburn, a son of Billings Kilburn; this was in 1863. The first of the settlers who died in the township was Uaniel Maher. The parties to the first marriage were Patrick Horan and Mary Finnerty. There are five schools in Chandos, which have an average attendance of twenty-two. On lot i, in the 12th concession, is a Catholic church, 30 by 40 ft., erected in 1873. In this service is held once a month by Rev. P'ather Keating, of Peterborough. There is an Episcopal church on lot i, in the 9th concession, and a Presbyterian church on about lot 26, in the 13th con- cession. Clydesdale is the only post-office in the township. Chandos, as well as the adjoining townships, is rich in min- erals, such as iron and marble. This feature has already been exhaustively dealt with in the first chapter of this work. The Township of Anstruther, which is about eight miles square, and which lies to the north of Burleigh, was surveyed The Toxvnships of Burleigh, Chandos and Austrntlier. 445 during the winter of 1859-60 by. J. W. Fitzgerald, P.L.S. The following extracts from his Report, dated December 15th, i860, will give the reader a good idea of the natural aspect of the township: — " Passing over Eagle Lake, the country becomes more uni- form and level, and a fine tract of land, lying chielly to the north- east, extends also to the westerly boundary. Here are scattered many large and valuable pine trees, girting an average of ten to fifteen feet for a height of fifty to sixty feet. Between this place and the south boundary of the township there is very little land suitable for agricultural pursuits, except a small tract on the south shore of Eagle Lake. In the stream flowing out of this lake, called the Mississagua Creek, farther on its course, and on which a s^iw-mill is already in operation, are many excellent water privileges, capable of working a vast amount of machinery, and, from the character of its banks, of very advantageous application. "I must not forget to state that while engaged on the survey of the west boundary of Anstruther, in passing over a small creek flowing from one lake to another, and falling about thirty feet in 150 yards, my attention was attracted by what at first sight appeared to be a most extraordinary phenomenon, viz., the water flowing up hill. On close examination I discovered the mistake, and, instead of the water flowing up the hill, I beheld swarms of suckers struggling up against the current, so closely packed as to exclude the bed of the stream from my sight — and hence the delusion ! "Along the west boundary — through part of concession 4, all of concessions 5 and 6, and part of concession 7 — the land is capable of being profitably farmed. It is chiefly timbered with beech, maple and basswood, and is tolerably free of stone. \i i 4> ■ '< 446 History of the County of Peterborough. The soil is a sandy loam, of dark colour and good depth. Passing out of concession 7 towards the north boundary the timber is chielly white and red pine, valuable only for saw logs and small spars. The soil is light and sandy; Hat, bare rocks in a few cases come up to the surface. Nearly through the centre of what may be considered the west half of the township runs a narrow strip of good hardwood land, widening towards the north boundary and extending north of it into the Township of Mon- mouth. All this tract is fitted for cultivation, except where partially broken by a small swamp or lake. The observations as regard the land will apply to the north half of the township. " The remainder of the township, from lot 20 to lot 39, which may be considered the east half of the township, is much better, particularly towards the north. The land is also of a superior quality, consisting of a dark, rich, loamy soil, almost entirely free from stones." Some of the early settlers of Astruther were Thomas Stewart, Patrick Breen, William Wilson and sons, Edward S. Hall, D. R. Castidy, C. J. Vizard, Captain Lynch Bloss, Dr. Clegg, Caleb Lousley, John Steen, Philip Lousley, John Young, and David Harris. Most of these located in the township in the year 1862. It was not until 1865 that the township had enough settlers to entitle it to a post-office, which was opened at Apsley, a small village in the south-east corner. C. J. Vizard was the first post- master, which position is now held by Thomas G. Eastland. The village has now a population of about sixty. It contains a town hall, two hotels, the leading one kept by Thomas H. Pratt, three stores, and three blacksmith shops. There is an English church, also a temperance hall, wherein the Presbyterians hold service. The Township of Harvey. 447 There is a Court of the Canadian Order of Foresters (Court McGill, No. 95), also an Orange Lodge, No. 1072. At Apsley there is a Crown Lands Agency, of which Mr, Duncan Anderson has been the agent since 1870. The first agency for the Northern District of Peterborough, then com- prising Northern Peterborough and Cardiff and Monmouth, now in Haliburton, was opened at Paudash, in the Township of Cardiff, about the year i860. The several agents were Joseph Graham, John Carroll, and Wheeler Armstrong ; who was succeeded by Mr. Anderson. The district now comprises Anstruther and Chandos, in Peterborough County, and Cardiff and Monmouth, in Haliburton. At the present time the unoccupied government land in this district is as follows: — In Chandos, 50 per cent. ; in Monmouth, 50 per cent. ; in Cardiff, 60 per cent. ; and in Anstruther, 75 per cent. When the necessity of schools was first felt, two school sections were formed between Anstruther and Chandos, the first school-house being erected in 1866, at a cost of $150. There are now in the township two schools, having an average attend- ance of twenty-two pupils. In these three townships, Burleigh, Chandos and Anstruther, are many large and picturesque lakes. An extended notice of these is not given here, as they have been dealt with in a previous portion of this work. THE TOWNSHIP OF HARVEY. This township is bounded on the north by the Townships of Galway and Cavendish, on the south by Buckhorn Lake, on the east by the Township of Burleigh, and on the west by 448 History of the County of Peterborough. Pigeon Lake and the Township of Verulam, in the County of Victoria. It is twelve miles in length by about fourteen in breadth, Harvey contains several lakes and a number of excellent streams, on which mills have been erected, and which are invaluable for floating timber clown to the lake waters which form its southern boundary. The principal streams are Nogie's Creek, Squaw River, Mississagua Creek and Deer Bay Creek. These, as well as the lakes, have been already spoken of in that portion of this work which deals with the lakes and rivers of the County of Peterborough. About one-half of the land in this township is fair rolling land. The soil is clay loam and sandy loam, and is best adapted for dairying and the raising of cattle and sheep. The geological formation is the Laurentian gneiss, which extends thither, and M^hich forms the islands and the bed of Stony Lake. But the nature of the soil, and the general character of the town- ship, may be best understood by a perusal of the following extracts from the Report of Theodore Clementi, P.L.S, who re-surve) ^d the township in 1864-5, it having been first surveyed about forty years before that date : — "It affords me great pleasure to be able to report of this township very much more favourably than previous statements, made by persons who could have had but a slight knowledge of the land comprised within its limits, would have led me to suspect. " I will speak first of the western portion of the township, or of that part lying to the west of Mississagua Creek. Along the shores of Buckhorn and Pigeon Lakes the land does not present an inviting appearance, and indeed is generally very rough and broken ; but after you proceed in\\ard a lot or two the hardwood timber appears, and the tall, clean trees of maple and beech which are seen, are a s i'a indication of the richness The Tozonship of Harvey. 449 of the soil which supports them. The upturned roots of fallen trees, also show it to be usually a fine sandy loam, with a subsoil of clay. Going a little farther north the hardwood is thickly interspersed with hemlocks, which run to a very large size. Here the soil is rather lighter and the land generally more undulating, but at the same time more free from stone ; and I would not have you to believe that even the lots which are the best timbered v.ith maple and beech are bv any means without a fair share of stone, but as in the adjoining Township of Smith this will no doubt, with labour and perseverance, prove to be the very best land for wheat. "Along the northern boundary of the township the character of the land changes, as the granite ridges appear ; and of this I can only say that I have scarcely ever seen a rougher country. There has been at one time a large quantity of pine timber there, but the fires of late years have destroyed all that the lumbermen had left, and a dense second growth of hemlock "and birch has sprung up, so thick that in places it is almost im|)enetrable. This commences at the 15th and i6th concession line, running into the township about the breadth of three lots, and gradually increasing in width as you proceed eastward. " Around the shores of Sandy Lake the land is very good, with the exception of some few lots. "The rgth concession of the township may be said to be tolerably well settled, and that '^00 with an indi-strious class of men who seem well satisfied with the land of tjieir choice, and look forward to a prosperous future for themselves and their families. The western boundary of this concession is the well- known Bobcaygeon Road. " I regret much that I cannot speak in the same terms of that portion of the township which lies to the east of Mississagua 29 i i 1 /' 450 History of the County of Peterborough. Creek, it being almost entirely useless for agricultural purposes ; but although year after year the lumbermen have been despoiling it of its splendid pine timber, even this year there are no less than four shanties erected. " There is a block of land on the 3rd, 4th and 5th conces- sions, and about the loth, nth and 12th lots, comprising some six hundred acres, which, although stony, is worthy of notice, as being fit for farming purposes. Than the beech and maple which are standing on it, I have never seen finer ; and this is the only portion of what can be termed hardwood land in the eastern section of the township. As soon as you leave this on either side the granite crops out, and the pine ridges are merely diveiaified with tamarac marshes and beaver ponds. " On the north ends of the ist, 2nd and 3rd concessions to the breadth of about three lots, there is a good deal of pine still standing, and that too of a first-class quality ; and I imagine that now (through the energy of Mr. W, A. Scott) the Mississagua Creek having been improved to such an extent that even masts may be taken down with safety, all this timber, which it has hitherto been considered impi'acticable to take out, will find its wav to Quebec. " Of the township generally I should estimate that there is about 40 per cent, fit for agriculture ; and although the land, through the prevalence of stone, may not be properly classified with the very best, still the hardy and persevering settler will find that, by the exercise of patience, he may hew out for himself and his famUy a comfortable home, and have (which after com- pletion it will be) a good level road whereon to convey his produce to market." The first attempt at the settlement of Harvey was in 1832, when a number of Englishmen took up lots in the south-west »'; The Township of Harvey, 451 corner — in the peninsula lying between Pigeon Lake and Buck- horn Lake. Among the early settlers were Robert Dennistoun, Captain Wallis, and Matthew Warren, the latter of whom removed to the Township of Smith after spending eleven years in Harvey. Of the first settlement Colonel Strickland speaks as follows in his admirable book already referred to : — " 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 the industry to cultivate. But, even if they had possessed sufficient persever- ance, their great distance from 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 fev/ years not a settler remained of this little colony. Some stayed till their means were exhausted ; others, more wise, purchased ready cleared farms in the settlements, or followed some j^rofession more congenial to their tastes or more suited to their abilities." For several years after this first attempt at settlement, Harvey remained without receiving any new additions to its very scant population. The land in the township remained in the hands of the Crown, or was held by lumber merchants whose only care was to strip it of its valuable timiier. But during the past twenty years, with the opening of roads and the establish- ment of mills, settlers have been slowly but steadily coming in, until the population at the taking of the census of 1881 was 1,114, '^"tl the number of acres under cultivation 967. On the Mississagua Creek, which traverses the township from north to south, a mill was built in 1863 by William Henry; i \ l \ \ \ \ \' Z' 452 History of the County of Peterborough. ■s, it was afterwards conducted by W. A. Scott. This was an excellent mill site, since, being close to Bald Lake, the sawn lumber could be easily shipped by that and Pigeon Lake to a market. A mill was also erected by John Hail at the narrows of Buckhorn Lake, known as Buckhorn Falls. After a bridge had been thrown across the stream at this point the place received its present name of Hall's Bridge, which is the post- office name, or Buckhorn, as it is also called. This mill is now conducted by Mr. W. H. Hall. Besides these there are in Harvey four saw and shingle mills which do good business; they are mostly situated on Pigeon Lake. What is called the Buckhorn Road, extending north from Hall's Bridge through Harvey and Cavendish into the County of Haliburton, was projected in 1864, the intention being to open up the townships and the lands of the Canada Land and Emigration Company which were in the rear. The town and county of Peterborough agreed to cons*;ruct the road through Harvey, the Government to undertake the rest. The town and county each contributed $1,500. They afterwards proposed that the Government should construct the entire road, accepting their aid to the extent of the amount contributed. The Govern- ment agreed to this, and in 1865 operations were conmienced, the cost being about $1,000 a mile, including the expenses of the location of the road. This road has done much towards opening up Harvey, and making it easy for the settler to reach mill and market. It is, like the other main roads, in a very good con- dition. From where the Buckhorn Road enters the 8th concession, another road, the Bobcaygeon Road, extends west- ward past the north of Pigeon Lake to the Village of Bobcaygeon, in the County of Victoria. Until 1866 Harvey was associated with Smith for municipal The Towns hip of Harvey. 453 purposes. In that year, having a sufficient number of rate- payers,* it became a separate municipality, the first Reeve being W. A. Scott. In the Township of Harvey there are eight school sections. The school-houses are located as follows: No. i — lot 20, con- cession 19; No. 2 — lot 21, concession 16; No. 3 — lot 8, conces- sion 15; No. 4 — lot 4, concession 12; No. 5, at Buckhorn; No. 6 — lot 26, concession 9; No. 7 — lot 15, concession 9; No. 8 will be built shortly. Sections i and 2 have good substantial build- ings; the others are mostly old structures, which will be replaced by commodious new buildings next year. Harvey is very poor so far as churches are concerned, as there are none in the township. The various denominations use the school-houses for religious service. The Methodists and Presbyterians have appointments. For twenty-five or thirty years the Methodists, who divide with Roman Catholics the honours of being the pioneers in attending to the spiritual wants of backwoods settlers, have held meetings in this township. Now that everything seems in a prosperous con^lition, and the population increasing, it is quite reasonable to suppose that no great length of time will elapse ere the spires of neat little churches will be seen peeping over the trees in various parts of Harvey. In the south-west part of the township, in the peninsula where the English settlers of 1832 located themselves, is the small V^illage of Lakehurst. Besides a few dwelling houses, it contains a town hall a cheese factory, a general store and post- office, the latter two kept by Charles Griffin, who also carries the I * In 1855 its ratepayers numbered 65, and the assessed value of its property was .•5i42,520. // 454 History of the County of Peterborough. mail from Lakefield. There is a society of Grangers and an Orange Lodge; both use the same building on lot 6, concession 25, about one mile from the town hall. Hall's Bridge contains a store and a post-office, besides the mill already referred to. No licenses to sell liquor have been granted in Harvey for the last eight or ten years. This alone is a great inducement for settlers to locate in a district where King Alcohol, too often the tyrant-monarch of a new settlement, has no subjects. Little else can be said of the township of Harvey. It is making rapid progress ; its crops of wheat, peas, oats and barley are as good as the older townships can raise ; and the settler who is industrious, persevering, frugal and sober can make for himself as fine a home as if he were in one of the more southern town- ships, which have perhaps slightly better natural advantages. THE TOWNSHIPS OFGALWAYAND CAVENDISH. The Townships of Galway and Cavendish, which are united for municipal purposes, occupy the north-west portion of the County of Peterborough, Galway forming the extreme north- west corner. Galway is bounded on the north by the County of Haliburton, on the south by the Township of Harvey, on the east by the Township of Cavendish, and on the west by the County of Victoria. It contains Swamp Lake, and two others of small size, besides several good creeks. These have already been noticed, as have also the valuable mineral deposits, such as iron, lead and plumbago. The land in general is very stony, and is much better adapted for stock-raising than for the growing of grain. The greater portion of the township, being the north- The Toii'uships of Gahvay and Cavendish. 455 eastern part, was surveyed in 1857 by M. Dean, P.L.S., who says of that portion : — "It is well watered, and although undulating and stony in places, is generally well suited for settlement. However, in the 17th and 1 8th concessions there is a succession of rocky ridges, which may for the present retard the settlement of that section ; hut the many intervening Valleys, in which the soil is deep and fertile, will afford such inducements as will ultimately lead to its settlement." The remainder of the township was surveyed in 1859-60 by William Drennan, P. L.S., from whose report to the Hon. P. M. Vankoughnet, Commissioner of Crown Lands, dated April 24th, i860, the following extracts are taken: — " I commenced the survey on the 14th of July, 1859, at lot No. I, on the line between the 4th and 5th concessions, and completed it on the 4th of February, i860. " I regret that I cannot give a very favourable report of the quality of the land in the greater portion of that part of the township surveyed by me, much of it b'eing little better than bare rock. There are, however, patches of several hundred acres, each of very fair land, in many places, as will be seen from my Field Notes. The land appears to improve very much in the north-east corner of the township, and I think it extremely probable that there is a large percentage of good land in the two unsurveyed townships east of Galway and Snowdon. " The line of junction of the limestone with granite or gneiss runs across the south-west corner of the township of Galway, as shown on the plan, the former lying to the south-west and the latter to the south-east. Several other rocks crop out between the two, especially a description of sandstone which seems well adapted for building purposes, being very compact and, at the 111 456 History of tlie County of Peterborough. same time, easily worked ; it is of a beautiful colour. There is a small patch of isolated limestone on lots 30 and 31, on the 3rd concession. " The timber is almost wholly hardwood ; the line of junction of the limestone and granite corresponds very closely with that of the hardwood and pine in the south-west portion of the town- ship. There is some very fine pine timber, both white and red, much of it being from three to four feet in diameter. It is the only timber of much commercial importance, except, perhaps, tamarac, there being very little elm and no oak. The most fre- quent kinds of hardwood timber are maple, basswood, ironwood and beech. "The greater number of the watercourses run in a south- westerly direction. Two of these — Nogie's Creek and Squaw River — are of considerable size, and there are good mill sites on both, on the former, on lot 10, in the 2nd concession, and on the latter, on lots 31 and 32, in the ist .concession. These are shown in my Field Notes, "There are several lakes in the township, but only one of any great size. This is the lake on the loth, iith, and 12th concessions, from lots 2] to 34. It is known as Swamp Lake, . but as some of the best land in the township is in its immediate neighbourhood and there is no swamp of any importance near it, I have not given it that name on the plan, as it might deter set- tlers from going in. It abounds with salmon trout, black bass. etc. The lake called Bass Lake is also full of the fish of that name. " The township swarms with beaver, as will be seen from the number of their ponds shown on the plan. Deer are also very numerous." The first settlement of Gal way was attempted in 1858-9, The Toivnships of Gahvay and Cavendish. 457 when a considerable number of settlers located there. Among these were Thomas R. White, James Lyle, John Coulter, John Lambert, John Henderson, John Allan, John Doherty, Robert Purdy, Thomas Probert, Thomas McGahey, Anthony Lawrence, John Healey, Maurice Hartnett, John T. Henderson, William Casey, William Craig, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Bick, Duncan Moulineaux, Andi'ew Hamilton, Michael Flaherty, Jas. Flaherty, W^illiam Leeson, Michael, George and John O'Brien, Maurice Sullivan, Michael Kane and James Purdy, During the first year each settler cleared about three acres of his land. In 1866 the settlers, who numbered 122, had each cleared about twenty acres. The road to Bobcaygeon, running along the western boundary of the township, was only partially completed when the first settlers arrived in Galway. The nearest mill and market was at Bobcaygeon, distant from nine to eighteen miles, according to the location of the settler. The Bobcaygeon Road, as well as others in the township, is now in very good condition, thus contributing much to the convenience and comfort of the farmers and others. The census of 1861 gives the population of Galway as 352 ; the census of 18S1 gives Galway and Cavendish combined, 787, the majority no doubt being in Galway. The first store in Galway was opened in i860, by Thomas Probert, at his house on lot 7, concession A, on the Bobcaygeon Road ; Mr. Probert also opened the first post-office in the same year. Kinmount is a village on the line of the Victoria Division of the Midland Railway, and is near the boundary between Peter- borough and Victoria. It contains a post-office, six stores, two blacksmith-shops, four saw-mills, one grist-mill, and an Episcopal j ii j i . 458 History of the County of Pcterborongh. church, of which the Rev. Edward Soward is pastor. There is also a post-office at Mount Irwin, about si.\ miles south-west of Kinmount. In i860 there were twenty children attending school in this township. Now there are four schools, each having an average attendance of about thirty pupils. The first clergymen to visit Galwa/ were Rev. John A. Dowler and Rev. George H. Kenny of the Methodist church ; Rev. Mr. Clark, of the Presbyterian ; and Rev. John Vicars of the Church of England. Besides the church at Kinmount, there is now an Episcopal church on lot 30 on the side line, about twenty rods from the Colonization Road ; there is also a Catholic church on the same line, lot 5. The Township of Cavendish is of the same length, but not cjuite so wide, as Gal way. It is bounded on the north by the County of Haliburton, on the south .by the Townships of Harvey and Burleigh, on the east by the Township of Anstruther, and on the west by the Township of Galway. It is traversed from south to north-east by the Buckhorn Road, along which a certain amount of settlement has taken place. Kitcheoum and Mississagua Lakes, which are connected by a considerable channel, make the surrounding country valuable for lumbering purposes, as the logs can be floated across these lakes, alongside of which runs the Buckhorn Road, and down the Mississagua Creek to Pigeon Lake, and thence to the market. Cavendish was surveyed in i86i~2 by M. Lough, P. L.S., from whose Rejwrt, dated June 5th, 1862, the following extracts are taken : — "The first section, indicated by the pink tint, is burnt land, and occupies a very large area ; a portion in the south-west is entirely useless for any purpose, as there is neither timber nor The Toxviiships of Galxvay and Cavendish. 459 soil of any importance on it, it being for the most part rock grown over with a second growth of inferior timber. That in the eastern section of the township is a little better, as it contains some good pines thinly distributed among the birch and poplar, and is less rocky, but judging from the second-growth timber the soil must be very poor. " The second section (the northern part of the township) is principally hemlock and pine woods, the pine generally very good. It is light sandy land, containing occasional patches of good land, varying in qualities of soil from sandy loam to clay loam, but where these patches are small the soil is generally shallow and stony. The larger ones are less so, partaking less of the quality of the surrounding land. There is a great deal of land in this section that will be fit for settlement, particularly where it borders on hardwood along the western and northern boundaries. This section occupies an area of about one-fourth of the township. " The thirtl division (the south-west portion of the township), occupying an area equal to nearly one-third of the township, is most excellent land of good clay and clay loam soil, timbered for the most part exclusively with hardwood of a very fine descrip- tion. It is nice rolling land, well watered, free from high ridges of rocks, and is in every respect well adapted to agricultural purposes. This tract of good land has the advantage of lying adjacent to a similar tract of good land in Galway, already partly setded." " There is no place in the township that at present particu- larly recommends itself for a town plot, but should it please the Government to make a road into it where it would intersect the line between the 12th and 13th concessions, in the neighbour- hood of Clear and Deer Lakes would be a desirable site for a :mage evaluatbon test target (mt-3) .<^ y ^ V- ,0 ^, # y 5r /^./^ !.0 I.I i== 1.25 " lU 111112.2 ;~ I! 4 2.0 1.8 14 11111,6 V]

^' '>> (? / " ' THE COUNTY OF HALIBURTON. Chapter I. ORGANIZATION AND GEOLOGY. HE history of the Provisional County of Hahburton embraces only a short period of time, its formation being so recent as the year 1874, In that year an Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of On- tario setting off certain townships in the Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, and establishing them as a provisional county. This action was taken in response to the strongly expressed desire of the settlers in those townships, who appear to have been act lated by two motives: the desire to grant a bonus to the proposed Victoria Railway, and the expec- tation that a more rapid development of their district would take place if they themselves had exclusive control of their own local affairs. At that time the Victoria Railway Company were seek- ing most energetically to obtain funds to build a railway from Lindsay to some favourable point in the territory to the north, and the company asked for a large bonus from the northern townships. This bonus the settlers were willing to contribute, but the County Council of Peterborough refused to* permit the settlers in the townships m the County of Peterborough to tax 464 History of the County of Halibtirton. themselves to the required extent. The settlers took action and asked for separation from the County of Peterboron 'h. This request was granted by the Government of the Province, and twenty townShips in the County of Peterborough and three town- ships in the County of Victoria were constituted a separate municipality under the name of the Provisional County of Hali- burton. The Provisional County thus created was attached to the County of Victoria for all purposes connected with the ad- ministration of justice ; and for all political purposes of a provin- cial character the entire Provisional County was thrown into the north riding of the same county. The Act constituting the Pro- visional County provided for the appointment of a Stipendiary Magistrate, who should also be the Division Court Judge ; of a Registrar, and of a Municipal Council possessing all the ordinary powers of a County Council. The Village of Minden was named by the Lieutenant-Governor as the site of the registry office, and as the legal meeting place of the County Council. The twenty-three townships thus formed into a Provisional County were the following : — In Peterborough : Bruton, Cardiff, Clyde, Dudley, Dysart, Eyre, Glamorgan, Grutford, Harburn^ McClintock, Harcourt, Havelock, Lawrence, Livingstone, Monmouth, Nightingale, Snowdon, Stanhope, Minden, and Sherborne. In Victoria : Anson, Hindon, and Lutterworth. At the time of the formation of the county fifteen of these townships were already organized for municipal purposes, whilst eight were still unsettled and had no municipal organization whatever. The six municipalities were those of: i. Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Grutford, Harburn, and Bruton ; 2. Lutter- worth, Anson, and Hindon ; 3. Minden ; 4. Monmouth, Glamor- gan, Cardiff; 5. Snowdon; 6. Stanhope. The Reeves of those ^■^■^ Organization. 46s municipalities formed the County Council, the first meeting of which took place at Minden, on the i8th of June, 1874, when the following gentlemen took their seats : — A. Niven, Esq., Reeve of the United Townships of Dysart, . Dudley, Harcourt, Grutford, Harburn and Bruton ; James Lang- ton, Esq., Reeve of Minden ; William Hartle, Esq., Reeve of the United Townships of Lutterworth, Anson and Hindon ; Philip Harding, Esq., Reeve of the United Townships of Gla- morgan, Monmouth and Cardiff; John R. Calvert, Esq., Reeve of Snowdon ; Joseph Beatty, Reeve of Stanhope. The Council having elected A. Niven, Esq., Warden of the County and ap- pointed S. S. Peck, Esq., County Clerk and Treasurer, pro- ceeded at once to business and took the necessary steps to borrow some money. At two subsequent meetings, on July 2nd and July 14th, the Council considered the proposals to assist the Victoria Railway Company by a grant of money as a bonus, and passed a by law to be submitted to the ratepayers, authoriz- ing the negotiation of a debt to the amount of $55,000, and the gift of that sum to the Railway Company. For this bonus to the railway the whole county was not made responsible, but only the portion immediately contiguous to the proposed line from Lmdsay to Haliburton. The railway group thus formed con- sisted of the townships of Snowdon, Glamorgan. Monmouth, Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Grutford, Harburn and Bruton, and part of the townships of Lutterworth, Minden and Stanhope. A vote of the ratepayers in the group was taken on the by-law, on the 15th of August, 1874, when 248 votes were recorded in its favour and only 60 against it. At the time of the formation of the county there were 886 ratepayers. The County Council having provided itself with money, and having duly sanctioned the gift of the fifty-five thousand dollars 30 466 History of the County of Halibiirton. to the railway, proceeded with its ordinary work, and at first met considerable success ; but as time went on, it became involved in difficulties of a pecuniary character : there was considerable internal trouble and dissension ; the payments annually due on account of the money given to the railway were not met ; the sheriff levied on the county ; and the credit of the county fell to a very low point. So great were the financial difficulties, and so gloomy was the prospect, that the County Council in a body, accompanied by its clerk, treasurer and constable, visited Toronto, and interviewing the Premier of the Province, entreated him to grant the county such assistance as would relieve it from the pressure of the taxation incidental to the railway bonus. The Government, though it gave a sympathetic ear to the county's appeal, could not undertake to give it any money, and the Coun- cil returned home very much discouraged. But it went to work with none the less vigour, and looking at difficulties squarely in the face met them with considerable tact and judgment. It has now, happily, surmounted all its worst troubles : it has weathered the storm, and is safely and strongly moored in port, and at the meeting of the Council, in June, 1884, W. Gainer, Esq., the Warden, in his opening address, congratulated the county on the fact that it had met every engagement, that its only debt was that connected with the railway bonus, and that there was money in the Treasurer's hands to meet every liability as it matured. The expectation rhat the district would make more rapid progress after the control of its affairs was vested in the setders themselves, has only been partially realized ; for hardly had the Provisional County been formed, when the rush to the North- West commenced, and a large number of the settlers migrated to that distant territory. It is computed that not less than one thousand souls left the county for Dakota, Manitoba, and the : I "'■ I ■1 H^'.i 'M il mm MARQUIS OF LORNE. I m mm i ■^ Organization. 469 British North-West. The migratory desire became almost a mania. Well-to-do farmers, possessing large clearances and good buildings, were seized with so strong a migratory impulse, that, failing to find purchasers for their farms, they abandoned them, and selling their live stock, betook themselves i.o the lands of the west with the proceeds. This seriously affected the fortunes of the new county, for not only did settlement not rapidly increase, as had been expected by the friends and advocates of the railway bonus, but population actually diminished. This, however, was only temporary, and it is satisfactory to find, notwithstanding the large numbers of settlers who abandoned their farms to go west, that the population is increasing. From a statement made to the County Council, in June, 1884, by J. H. Delemere, Esq., the County Clerk, and corroborated by M. Brown, Esq., the County Treasurer, it appears that whilst the number of ratepayers in 1881 was 1322, it had increased to 1362 in 1883. Such, then, is the history of the County of Haliburton, since its formation, but though that history commences so recently as 1874, the history of the townships of which the county is com- posed goes back to a considerably earlier date. The settlement of the entire district commenced with the construction of the Colonization Road from Bobcaygeon to the north, and so early as 1859 there were a number of settlers in the Township of Minden, and the nucleus of a village had been formed at the point where the Bobcaygeon Road crossed the Gull River. The Village of Haliburton dates back to the year 1864, when an English joint stock company, formed for emigration and speculative purposes, having purchased from the Provincial Government ten townships, built a saw-mill on the site of a village plot laid out in the Township of Dysart. Even at that date there w.is a considerable settlement in the Townships of < J iHi 470 History of the County of Halibiirton. Minden, Snowdon, Stanhope and Lutterworth, the construction of a colonization road from Bobcaygeon in a nearly northerly direction having been the means of attracting many settlers to the district traversed by the road. The oldest village in the County of Haliburton is Minden, which was laid out by the Government at the point where the colonization road crosses Gull River by a bridge. This village, in 1864, contained an hotel, kept by Mr. Daniel Buck, a blacksmith's shop, several stores, and a saw- mill which was at work about a mile higher up the river. The progress of the village has been only slow, and it in 1879 suffered greatly by a fire which destroyed nearly half the village, but from this fire it has now recovered, and it is now doing considerable business. The population around the village is enjoying a fair amount of prosperity, and there are, it is understood, many deposi- tors in the Post-office Savings Bank. The temperance cause has made considerable progress of late years thr-^ughout the county, and this, no doubt, has contributed to the improved con- dition of the settlers. Twenty years ago, the arrival of a barrel of whiskey at the hotel was an event which was marked by a general meeting of the entire settlemeti- the meeting sometimes lasting several days, and refreshing itself at intervals with a violin and cotillions. There was a dance at Buck's hotel, Minden, which commenced on New Year's Eve, 1864, and lasted, with slight intermissions, for four days and five nights. The population in those days was greatly addicted to dancing, and the festive meetings at Buck's were numerous. The same social character- istics still prevail, but the temperance sentiment is now sufficiendy developed to have caused a great diminution in the number and duration of the dance meetings. Geology of the County. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTY. 471 The whole of the County of Haliburton lies north of the line of demarcation between the limestone and the granite formations. The former extends very nearly to the southern boundary of the county, but the geology of the district is essentially Laurentian The rocks are not a pure granite, but are of a kind which geolo- gists have christened "gneiss," and are formed of feltspar and quartz. These constituent elements, when disintegrated by the action of the weather, are dispersed, the feltspar forming beds of clay and the quartz forming deposits of sand. The clay, being of a close, dense and hard character, underlies the sand, and is known as "hard-pan." There are numerous boulders scattere d on the surface of the land throughout the district, of all sizes and shapes, some of them consisting of immense masses of stone of many tons weight, obviously of a different geological character to the rocks in the vicinity. These boulders have been conveyed to their present locations at a period when the region was beneath the surface of the ocean, by means of icebergs and ice-fields. The icebergs, breaking loose from the shores of the northern seas, were laden on their surface with stones which had fallen from the cliffs, and stones were ."'Iso embedded in the bottom of the icebergs which had formed in shallow water. Both icebergs and ic^-fields drifted south with the currents, and, melt- ing in the warniCr latitudes, dropped their burden of stones to the bottom of the ocean ; gradual elevation of the continent during the lapse of time brought these boulder stones to light, and after remaining for long geological periods at the bottom of the sea they are now one of the chief annoyances of the settler. In many localities there are fine deposits of iron ore, some of them giving as high as seventy per cent, of metallic iron, and ^frwTW"-— 472 History of the County of Haliburton. ev^erywhere throughout the. district there are rocks of corystalline limestone. Several of the iron deposits have been mined, and the ore exported, for the ores are of a character which make them desirable for the purpose of smelting and blending with the ores of the United States, and there is a general expectation that as time goes on the iron industry will develop into one of great importance to the prosperity of the county. At Irondale, in the Township of Snowdon, large works are in progress of erection, and two firms — those of Pusey & Ivatts and Parry & Mills — are engaged in developing th(i mineral resources of the neighbour- hood. Among the other minerals found in the district may be mentioned plumbago, galena, lead, silver, molybdenum and phos- phates. The lai\d everywhere throughout the county is broken by hills, and the valleys between the hills form lakes filled with the purest and most pellucid water. The whole of the county, with the small portions cleared around the settlements, is covered with a dense torest, consisting chiefly of maple, birch, beech, basswood and hemlock, and before the arrival of the lumberman there was a considerable amount of pine. The pine has now nearly all disappeared, but the construction of the Victoria Railway, which was opened for traffic in 1878, has brought the other woods into demand. The ordinary method of the lumberman is to cut the pine trees into logs, draw the logs to the nearest river or lake, and then float L^v-.n in the spring to the saw-mills. The mills are many miles distant, and the time occupied in floating the logs is frequently eight or ten weeks. Hardwood logs will not float, and therefore, until the opening of the railway, the vast quantities of birch, beech and maple, which are the chief woods of the forest, were absolutely unmarketable. Hardwood is coming into con- siderable demand, and though it has not yet developed into a Geology oj the County. 473 profitable business, there can be no reasonable doubt that within a few years the demand for Ontario black birch will be large and the price remunerative. The most remarkable topographical feature of the County of Hallburton is the number of lakes and lakelets scattered in pro- digal profusion throughout the whole region. It would not be an easy matter to find a hundred acre lot distant more than two miles from a lake. They are of all sizes, — from the diminutive lakelet only an acre or two in extent to the noble sheet of water a mile wide and several miles in length. It was owing to ihe large number of lakes in the County of Haliburton that the project for the construction of the Trent Valley Canal was revised. This project originated about forty years ago, its object being the opening of a canal from Georgian Bay, on Lake Huron, to the Bay of Ouinte, on Lake Ontario. The canal, as projected, ascends the River Trent, from Trenton, and passing through Peterborough, Bobcaygeon, and Fenelon Falls, reaches its summit at Balsam Lake, 600 feet above the level of Lake Ontario. Thence it descends through Lake Simcoe and follows the course of the Severn to Georgian Bay, a descent of 200 feet. At the period named several locks were constructed by the Government, but the whole scheme was abandoned under the impression that the water supply at Balsam Lake, the sum- mit, was insufficient. Mr. C. R. Stewart, at that time interested in Mr. Boyd's lumbering operations in the County of Halibur- ton, having occasion to build several dams upon the Haliburton lakes, perceived that every lake in the district might, at a small expense, be converted into a reservoir for the canal, and thus the supply of water be permanently maintained. The idea was developed, a company was formed, of which Mr. Boyd was president, and a charter obtained. The shares were never r \ iii 1 K IP i IP kI 1 ■ Hi i H ■ 1| n E h si B -'•fff 1 i 11 , , J |L ii"'ill^^ 474 Histcry of the County of Halibnrton. floated, and the charter expired; but in 1883 and during the present year the Dominion Government have expended large sums in the construction of locks at Fenelon Falls and other places with a view to the completion of the canal at some future time. There are at present a great many lakes having dams at their outlets, these dams having been constructed for the con- venience of the lumbcinien, whose logs could not be floated down the various streams w .'re it not for the water held up by artificial means. These dams control the spring freshets and hold back the water until the dry months of summer, thus main- taining the free navigation of the lower lakes. The scenery on the lakes in the County of Haliburton is beautiful in the extreme, and when known to the public, will, no doubt, attract at least a portion of the pleasure tourists of the continent. Their utility is equal to their beauty, and the abund- ance of water renders the County of Haliburton one of the most favourable districts in the Province for the raising of cattle and the establishment of dairy farms. It may here be observed that the dams in the whole of the northern district are now built and maintained by the Provin- cial Government, whilst those on the main stream of the Trent are built and maintained by the Dominion Government, the latter Government being represented by Mr, T, Belcher, Superintendent of the Trent Navigation, who has his offices in Peterborough ; and the Provincial Government, having as its officer in charge of the works, Mr, Walters, whose residence is in Lindsay. ^ Chapter II. MINERALS AND HALIBURTON VILLAGE. HROUGHOUT the whole of the extensive region, of which the County of Haliburton forms only a small portion, there are abundant evidences of the wide distribution of various minerals. Iron is found in many places, the deposits being on the most exten- sive scale, and some of these deposits have already been worked, but only to a limited extent. The honour of the discovery of the mineral wealth of the north must be assigned in about one equal degree to Mr. W. Robinson, of Bobcaygeon, and Mr. J. B. Campbell, of Port Perry. It was in the year 1870 that Mr. Robinson found a fine deposit of iron ore in the Town- ship of Snowdon, and took samples of the ore to Bobcaygeon. Mr. Campbell speedily followed with further discoveries of iron, and within a short time numerous deposits of iron ore were found in the vicinity of the Robinson and Campbell discoveries. Mr. Robinson obtained his best samples on lot 20, concession i, Snowdon, a deposit which afterwards became well known under the name of the Snowdon Iron Mine. In 1876 Mr. Robinson made further discoveries of iron on lots 25, 26, 27, and 28, con- cession 4, Snowdon, and sold the right of lot 26 to Mr. H. S- Howland, of Toronto. Lots 25 and 27 are now owned by Mr. W \ *^H' '/ II M ffi .].i: .• ,l^,* ( " f , '!'■ !-■ I 476 History of the County of Haliburton. T. D, Ledyard, of Toronto. The deposit on lot 20, concession i, was discovered by Mr. Campbell almost simultaneously with the discovery of Mr. Robinson. Mr. Campbell arranged with Robert Gibson, the owner of the lot, and formed a partnership with Messrs. Shertis and Savigny, of Toronto, who purchased the lot and formed the Snowdon Iron Mine Company. The deposit on Gibson's lot was very extensive, and a portion of it having been purchased by Mr. \V. S. Myles, of Toronto, that gentleman proceeded to build a railway from the line of the Victoria Rail- way, near Kinmount, to the mine. The line is six and three- quarters miles in length, and in its construction Mr. Myles expended about $60,000 of his own money. It was a fairly good road, and for a time was used, about a thousand tons of ore from Mr. Myles' mine being shipped to the States. The railway took nearly two years to construct, owing to the opposi- tion of some of the parties through whose land the line passed. The operations being on a limited scale, and not being developed systematically, met with the usual result, and Mr. Myles aban- doned the enterprise. Mr. Pusey then came in as lessee of both the Snowdon and the Howland mines, and in 1879 and 1880 shipped about a thousand tons of ore to the States, but though extensive buildings were erected and considerable work was done, the mining operations have now been suspended, and Mr. Ivatts, Mr. Pusey 's partner, a gentleman very popular and highly esteemed throughout the district, has gone to Europe awaiting further developments. In 1880 Messrs. Parry and Mills, two gentlemen from Chicago, conceived the idea of working the Snowdon iron deposits and of converting the ore into charcoal iron. They leased a portion of the Snowdon mine, and proceeded to build a smelting furnace and saw mill on lot 18, concession i, where Minerals of the County. A77 they obtained a water privilege. The smelting furnace is not yet completed, but the saw mill is in operation and will cut about 6,000 feet per day. There is also a shingle mill, five large dwelling houses, a storehouse, workshops, and numerous other buildings. Messrs. Parry and Mills have expended about $40,- 000 in developing the mine, but operations are now partially suspended owing to dulness in the iron trade and other causes. The furnace, when completed, will smelt about ten tons daily. On lot 17, concession i, Snowdon, Messrs, Trounce and Green possess a fine deposit of iron ore, but nothing has been done to develop it. In the Township of Lutterworth, Mr. Thomas Baker, whilst logging and burning, discovered a large deposit of iron ore. He sold the lot to Mr. Thomas Paxton, of Whitby, who opened up the mine, worked it for some time, and shipped a large quantity of exceptionally good ore to Cleveland, in the United States. One of the vessels carrying the ore was wrecked when near Cleveland harbour, and being uninsured, the loss sustained crippled the enterprise so much that work was suspended. Mr. Paxton's appointment as Sheriff of the County of Ontario turned that gentleman's attention in other directions, and the mining operations have not yet been resumed. The ore from the Paxton mine has to be drawn in waggons a distance of about four miles to the Victoria Railway. There are in the Township of Glamorgan deposits of iron ore' as extensive and of equal quality to those in Snowdon. Qn lot 35, concession 4, there is reported to be a very fine ore bed, and another extensive bed is reported to exist in lot 20, con- cession 15. Iron has also been discovered in many other places in the county, notably on a lot in Dysart, owned by Mr. Thompson, of i^K m '"t.j S J r"! I r.i /, . ! •Milflli ? 478 History of the County of Hnlibtirton. Harburn, and a rich magnetic iron sand is to be seen on the shores of Hollow Lake, in Havelock. This last named deposit has been found to bear a small quantity of gold. As regards the last named metal, there is reason to believe it is very generally diffused in small quantities throughout the district, but in no place has it yet been discovered in sufficient abundance to be remunerative to the miner. Though iron is the only metal which has yet been discovered in large quantities, it is worthy of notice that marble is frequently met with, and a beautiful vein of workable marble was discovered by Mr. Robinson on lot 23, concession 3, Snowdon. There has been some fine samples of phosphate of lime found in the Township of Dudley. TIIK VILLACE OF IIALIBURTON. The village is located on Head Lake, the most northerly of a chain of lakes known by the Indian name of Kahshagawigamog, The chain is about twelve miles in length, and extends to within three miles of the Village of Minden and the Bobcaygeon Road. In prehistoric periods, which in this locality means about two hundred years ago, there was a great battle fought between the Chippewa and Mohawk Indians on this lake, but the tradition is very vague and quite unreliable. The first settlers in Dysart had no other means of communication with the old settlements except such as were afforded by the water-way of the lakes. Haliburton has now numerous good roads, branching in all directions, and it is also the terminus of the Victoria branch of the Midland Railway, which railway has recently been absorbed by the Grand Trunk. The village is most picturesque in all its The Village of Halibiirton. 479 surroundings, and justly prides itself on the beauty of its location. It has grown slowly but steadily, since its foundation in 1864, when there was but one settler on Head Lake, viz., Mr. C. R. Stewart. The village now contains about fifty houses, several excellent stores, three churches, two hotels, a fine school house, a handsome town hall, two saw mills, a grist mill, and all the usual conveniences of a first-class village. The first church was a small wooden building, 16 by 24 feet, built by Mr. Stewart, the then Manager of the Canadian Land Company, and the first services were read by Mr. Miles, a surveyor, whilst I3r, Peake, a new settler, just out from England, led the choir with an accordeon mounted on a little frame and worked with a treadle. The doctor could play only two tunes — The Evening Hymn and the March of the Men of Harlech — and both were utilized in a rather miscellaneous manner. But the services were altogether very satisfactory, and were attended by the settlers of all denomi- nations or creeds. A Sunday-school was opened at an early period, and about 1865 the Rev. Mr. Bart, a clergyman of the English Church, was api)ointed to the incumbency of " S'. George's Church." The little wooden building was in due time superseded, and a handsome church, from a design by Mr. John Belcher, architect, of Peterborough, was erected. To this church Mrs. Haliburton, widow of Judge Haliburton, better known as " Sam Slick," gave an organ. The judge was one of the original directors of the English Land Company, and his name was bestowed on the village. About the year 1865 Mr. Erskine opened a blacksmith's shop on the village site, and Messrs. Lucas and Ritchie got a saw mill running. The forest began to disappear from the principal street of the village, and during the next year or two there was about twenty acres of the site of the village partially cleared up. ' I I w ■ ■ ljgyi; ^^j9fl|Hi Miff ^^^H iffi '^^^K 1 m 1 ,") IP 1 480 History of the County of Halibiirton. The next step was the opening of a village store. This was initiated by a son of Mr. Stewart, who retired from business in about three weeks, transferring stock, good-will, premises, and future prospects, to Mr. Adam Garratt, for a sum of about ten dollars. The business was not very extensive, but Mr. Garratt increased the stock, in fact he doubled it, and at the same time opened a boarding house. The business of both boarding house and store increased rapidly. Mr. Garratt accumulated considerable property, and finally followed some members of his family to the North-West. Mr. Samuel Picket was the next to appear upon the scene, and he opened a tavern. The building of a grist mill followed. Mr. Young opened a store in 1868, and Mr. Dover in 1867. The progress of the village was only slow until the opening of the Victoria Railway, after which it increased rapidly in both size and importance. It now contains a popula- tion of about 300, and is the metropolis of an immense district, parties .covering distances of forty and fifty miles to purchase at its stores. Ot these there are several, those of Mr. Young. Mr. Anderson, Mr. James Dover, Mr. Frederick Dover, and Mr. J. M. Irwin being remarkably well supplied. Dr. Spilsbury, the resident M.D., has also a drug store; Mr. Kellatt and Mr. Sleeman keep the two hotels ; Mr. Bowen has a temperance boarding house ; Mr. W. Miller is a builder and contractor ; Mr. J. Read is constable and gaoler ; Mr. Wooley is the painter ; Mr. Grogan keeps a well supplied butcher's shop ; Mr. Dewing is the watchmaker, and a barber's shop is open at uncertain intervals. Mr. Young is postmaster, and the mail is daily ; the first postmaster was Mr. C. R. Stewart, the mail being carried twice a week in a punt. In the autumn the village is visited by numerous parties of sportsmen, who avail themselves. of its advantageous location for The Village of Halibiirton. 481 hunting. The deer are very numerous, sometimes being seen in the immediate vicinity of the village. Mr. Spilsbury found a deer in his yard during the month of June in the j: .esent year. Robert McKelvie has acquired a wide celebrity as a guide to hunting parties, and keeps dogs, tents, canoes, etc., always ready for sportsmen. The village promises to become a favourite summer resort, and during the present year a very handsome building, known as " Newnham, " has been opened for the accommodation of summer visitors on the lake shore about half a mile from the village. The three churches belong respectively to the Church of England, the Methodists, and the Presbyterians, the former having the Rev, Mr. Ledingham for pastor, whilst Rev. Mr. Eves is the Methodist minister, and the Rev. Mr. Cameron officiates in the Presbyterian church. The first duly ordained clergyman in Haliburton was the Rev. Mr. Bart, and successively there has been Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Jupp, and Mr. Ledingham. The village is distinguished for its social gatherings, and under the management of Mr. Crosthwaite its Amateur Dramatic Company acquired more than a local fame. I f k'A 31 Chapter III. THE TOWNSHIPS. HE Township of Minden ranks first in the list of the municipalities of the county in population and in agricultural development. It was first surveyed in, 1859, and immediately began to be settled. In 1858 Mr. Francis Kent had settled in Minden, and the following year there were numerous arrivals, among them being Mr. Malachi Campbell, Mr. Harry Dawkins, the Murrays and the Burns. Mr. William Gainor soon after arrived, and built a saw mill on Beaver creek on lot 9, concession A. A saw mill was built on the main stream of the river in 1861, and a grist mill on the same site was completed in 1862. Mr. Richard Smith also built a saw mill on a creek running into Lake Kushog, at Austin's Narrows, but it was not run to any extent. The lakes furnished a convenient means of access to land, and settlers con- tinued to arrive steadily for several years after the survey of the township, and many of these settled along the shores of Lake Kushog, among the latter being Mr, Jacob Porkel, an Englishman, from Gloucestershire, who, with his sons, speedily made a large clearing. Mr. Porkel had been accustomed to farming in the Old Country, and his experience enabled him to conduct his opera- tions with almost unfailing success. He still resides on his farm, and has accumulated a very handsome competence, whilst his The Townships of Halibiirton, 483 sons and daughters have all settled comfortably, some in Ontario, and some in Manitoba. In 1861 the two Townships of Minden and Stanhope contained a population of 230; in 1873, twelve years later, this number had increased to 1,175, ^^ increase which if not very rapid is at least satisfactory and encouraging. In the year last named, 1873, there were 204 ratepayers in Minden, and as this number had increased in 1883 to 244, it is clear that the increase in population has been continuous. The first hotel- keeper in the township was Mr. Daniel Buck, who kept tavern in the Village of Minden, and who was the first postmaster, the office being opened in i860 with a weekly mail. There are now two mails daily to the Village of Minden. When the County of Haliburton was provisionally formed there was great jealousy between the villages of Minden and Haliburton as to which should be established as the County Town. In this contest Minden was victorious, but as Haliburton succeeded in estab- lishing itself as the terminus of the railway, it bore its defeat in the County Town contest with great equanimity, confident that sooner or later its railway advantages would make it the metro- polis of the north country. But at the present date the Town- ship of Minden derives considerable pecuniary advantage from the village being the seat of the County Government, and the whole municipality is in a sound financial condition. During a great portion of its municipal existence the township has been represented in its Councils by Mr. William Gainor, who on all occasions has taken a prominent and active part in public busi- ness. The Village of Minden has also been for a lengthened period the residence of S. S. Peck, Esq., whose talents and energy have contributed, in no small degree, to the progress made by the entire district. The settlers in the township are all doing well, and anyone who visited the village in the month of [I 484 History of the County of Haliburton. July, in the present year, could not fail to.be struck by the great quantities of butter v/hich were being daily exported to Toronto — a fact showing that the farmers of the district had extensively adopted stock raising and dairying as a remunerative pursuit. TOWNSHIP OF SNOWDON. This township was surveyed by M, Dean, Esq., P.L.S., in 1859, and his report was so favourable that it was the means of attracting many settlers to the township. Among the earliest of these were S. S. Peck, Esq., who located on a farm about two . miles from the Village .of Minden, where he ultimately removed, Richard McCracken, A. Scott, R. Ritchie, Stephen Moore, David Chalmers, and J. B. Edmison. From i860 settlers continued to arrive in rapid succession, and by 1864 about half the township was taken up. In 1863 the first school-house was erecied near Mr. Peck's residence, and the first teacher was Miss Peck. A Methodist church was erected in 1863, on lot 15, concession 13. The arrival of Mr. J. B. Scott, who speedily became one of the most successful farmers in the district, added materially to the progress of the township, and the opening of the Victoria R-ailway, which traverses the tov/nship diagonally from the south-west corner to the north-east corner, has given to the township advantages which have been very generally utilized. Large quantities of forest produce, formerly of no value, have now become merchantable, and railway ties, telegraph poles, cordv/ood, cedar posts, basswood and poplar for paper mills, shingle bolts, elm for staves, and other materials, are now exported from Snowdon to the great advantage of the settlers. The progress of the township is shown by the assessment rolls "^ ^^ Tozvnships of Glamorgan, Monmouth, and Cardiff. 485 to be as follows: In 1866, the ratepayers were 83; in 1873, 100; in 1883, 190. ihe North-West fever, in 1881, materially affected the increase of population, and somewhat retarded the progress of the township, but now that the fever is over the township is again going a-head. TOWNSHIPS OF GLAMORGAN, MONMOUTH, AND CARDIFF. These three townships, on the formation of the County of Haliburton, were included in one municipality, and were repre- sented at the first meeting of the County Council by Philip Harding, Esq., the Reeve of the municipality, a gentleman who afterwards gave up agricultural pursuits, took holy orders in the English Church, and officiated as clergyman at Apsley, on the Burleigh Road. The settlement of Glamorgan commenced about the year 1869 or 1870, on the opening of the Monk Road as a colonization road by the Provincial Government. Among the first settlers were Mr. W. F. Ritchie, Samuel Wiley, of the famed Wiley Hill, on the Bobcaygeon Road, Thomas White, Charles Way, and Samuel Whittaker. Mr. Way took up his location at a point now known as Gooderham, where he is now postmaster and proprietor of the hotel. The township has made fair progress. It is a free grant township, and the settlers who take free grants are usually poor, but the settlers all appear to have done tolerably well. Between 1876 and 1880, Mr. J. J. Hunter built a saw and grist mill at Gooderham, and Mr. Charles Orser and Mr. Anthony Hall have between them a portable saw and shingle mill. This mill is a good one, is of about twenty horse power, and cuts lumber for local consumption. In the course of time it may possibly export iumber to the front,* 1 1 ■m 1 ' ' ''i h Jtliffi 486 History of the County of Halibiirton. :*■ as the timber around is exceptionally good. In addition to the post-office at Gooderham, there is a second post-office at Ursa, Mr. Stephen Kettle being postmaster ; Mr. Kettle is also town- ship clerk, having taken the place of Mr J. B. Palmer, who returned to England in 1882. There are two mails each week to Gooderham, and once a week there is a through mail to Chedoar in Cardiff, Among the settlers whose names deserve mention as having materially contributed to the progress of the township, special note should be made of Mr, Lidley, and Mr. Crogan, both of whom have served the township in the capacity of Reeve. From Gooderham there is a good road to Hali- burton, and the Monk Road extends east and west respectively to Chedoar and Kinmount. There is also a road direct to Buckhorn, in the Township of Harvey, but this last named road is but little used. Extracts from the Report to the Honourable the Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Survey of the Toivnship of Gla- morgan, made by E. R. Ussher, P.L.S., in 186 1-2. : — " The land in Glamoigan, is, in general, undulating, and intersected with numerous small lakes, beaver ponds, etc The principal branch of Burnt River flows through the township. The water of the river is of a darkish colour, and, strange to say, fish are not to be found in it. The river averages about a chain in width throughout the township, and has an average depth ot four feet. There are numerous falls and rapids on this river, many of which, with a little labour, could be made very good mill sites. There is on lot 26, in the 6th concession, a fine site for a mill, having a fall of seme fifteen feet. " The lakes are deep and connected with one another by small streams ; the banks of the lakes are higher and rocky, mostly If' Township of Monmouth. 487 fringed with pine and hemlock. The rocks are chiefly granite or gneiss, and boulders of the same description of rock are often met with on the surface, " The land in the centre of the township, south of Burnt River, is of an inferior description, being a light sandy loam, timbered mostly with pine of a dwarfish size. In the south-west and south-east corners of the township the land is of a better quality, being a good sandy loam, timbered with maple, beech, birch, hemlock, elm, basswood, and scattered pine of a large size. " The portion of the township north of Burnt River, from lot 28, concession 5, to lot 3, north boundary, abounds in pine mostly of a fair description ; the soil is light and unfit for cultiva- tion. The land east of this, and extending to the east boundary, is a deep sandy loam timbered with hardwood, and well adapted for a large settlement, having some of the largest lakes in it, and being well watered. The pine throughout is of a dwarfish size, and quite unfit for mercantile purposes." In the Township of Monmouth settlement commenced about the same date as in Glamorgan, and foremost among the early settlers must be mentioned the Ritchie family — Samuel, Robert, and Mitchell Ritchie being among the first to settle in Mon- mouth, and they all did well. Mr. Samuel Ritchie, in the course of time, opened a store, was successful in business, and being desirous of extending the field of enterprise, removed to Lindsay in the present year. Mitchell Ritchie built a saw-mill at the foot of Providence Lake, and is doing well. The Ritchie settle- ment is now large and prosperous, and the Ritchies have all comfortable houses. Mr. William Hadley was another of the early settlers, and he also has done well. He built a saw-mill on lot 4, concession 8, in 1882, and cut lumber for local pur- II r:'' |.: mm li ii ,*j III J Itti , 488 History of the County of Haliburton. poses. There are two post-offices, Hotspur, of which Mr. Thomas Clark is postmaster, and Wilberforce, of which Mr. Riley is postmaster. There are no churches in the township, but clergymen occasionally visit it and perform services in private houses. Extracts from the Report to the Honourable the Cojumjssioner of Croiun Lands of the Survey of the Township of Mon- mouth, made in 1862-j, by J. IV. Fitzgerald, P. L. S. " From concession i to 7, and from lot 26 to 35, inclusive, the country is undulating, and is chiefly covered with a stout growth of beech, maple, basswood, and other varieties of hard- wood timber, A number of very large hemlock trees are scattered through this tract, and are for the most part dead. These trees when found in hardwood land are generally indica- tive of rich loamy soil ; such trees are usually met with in flat table-land, very seldom in lands of a higher or lesser elevation ; large birch trees are also generally found in this land, and when met with under such circpmstances are likewise a sign of heavy productive soil, composed a good deal of earthy matter. " From concession 7 to 9, although the hardwood predomi- nates, some large groves of very large white pine occur. They appear to be of good quality, and very sound, as pine found in hardwood land generally turns out to be. " The remainder of this part of the township extending from concession 10 to 17, inclusive, is covered with a mixed variety of timber of average size. The hardwood, however, pre- dominates, and where it occurs the soil is heavier, of greater depth, and of course more productive. Where pine, hemlock, etc., prevail, the country is more broken and hilly, and not so Township of Monmouth. 489 well adapted for agricultural pursuits, neither is the pine fit for square timber, but it is nearly all useful for ordinary saw-logs. " The soil in this description of a country is generally light and sandy, and of a yellowish colour. " Of this part of the township I should say that fully 60 to 70 per cent, is well suited for farming purposes, a proportion sufficiently great to ensilre all the requirements of a prosperous settlement. " The south-east branch of the Burnt River flows through ' this tract in a south-easterly direction. Its banks are generally low, though in places steep, offering very fair mill sites. Along its banks are some very fine flats of land of deep alluvial soil, and timbered chiefly with a growth of average-sized beech and maple, the ground being entirely covered. ■ " The country along the boundary from lot 15 to the lake, which commences on lot 22, presents a very favourable appear- ance, for, with the exception of an occasional swamp, the land is almost exclusively covered with hardwood timbers. The surface gently undulates, and the soil is deep and of a rich loamy nature. "Side line 20-21 commences in a swamp, which continues along the line for a quarter of a miles ; the line then enters a fine tract of land, gently undulating, and covered with maple, beech, basswood, and hemlock. On concession line 2-3 the land is of the same undulating character from lot 16 to lot 25. On concession line 4-5 the land is broken and rocky. "In the 8th concession the land improves again, and from this concession to the north boundary is a fine tract of land covered with maple, beech, basswood, and elm of very large growth. This tract extends from lot 10 to lot 25 in all the con- cessions from the 8th northwards. The soil in this section is of 490 History of the County of Haliburton. excellent quality, of a dark colour, great depth and very free of stone. The surface of the country is undulating and in some places rather hilly. The country is well watered by large streams. " There is a large lake, called Otter Lake, in the north part of the township ; it is of a long, narrow shape, and its shores in most places rise abruptly from the water. In the vicinity of this lake is an excellent tract of farming land, the soil being of the most fertile nature, composed of a dark, rich sandy loam; it is everywhere of great depth and generally rests on a substratum of gravel and coarse sand. Large, healthy elm is very abundant in this section, and the other timbers also grow to a great size. "Along concession line 14-15 the land presents the same favourable aspect as !ar as lot 9, where it becomes more broken and rocky. On lots 9 and 10 is a small lake, through which a large creek flows in a northerly direction ; at the south of the lake, where the stream flows in, there is a very good site for a mill. "With exception of the rough tract to the south-west, this township is well adapted for settlement, a greater portion of the area being one unbroken tract of hardwood land, in which the soil is rich and fertile. The country is well watered with lakes and streams, and there are numerous mill privileges on Burnt River and its tributaries. Pine is in sufficient quantities to supply all the wants of the settlers, and large, healthy elm is very abundant throughout the township." So early as 1862 several settlers found their way into the Township of Cardiff. Among them were Mr. Armstrong, Mr. George Patterson, and Mr. Joseph Dunlop. The latter gentle- man settled near Paudash Lake, and for a lengthened period his Tlic Toti'iiship of Cardiff. 491 hospitality and geniality were much better and more widely known than the merits of the township in which he resided. It was not until 1870 that settlers commenced to arrive in any considerable numbers ; but about that date there was a steady influx and the township began to be well settled. The Deer Lake settlement has been among the most prosperous of those in the County of Haliburton, and Mr. W. Ogilvie and Mr. Mclnroy have each been successful as settlers and have represented the people at the County Council meetings as Reeve. In 1873 Cardiff had only thirty-one ratepayers, whilst in 1883 it had 137, showing fair growth for the years of its existence. At Cheddah Mr. Wood keeps a very comfortable house of entertainment, and a post-office has been opened for a considerable period. Extracts from the Report to the Honourable the Coimnissioner of Crozun Lands of the Survey of the Toionship of Cardiff made in 1862-j, by J. IV. Fitzgerald, P.L.S.: — Referring to the west half, which was surveyed in 1862, Mr. Fitzgerald says : — " This portion of Cardiff may be divided into three sections, and generally described as follows : Section 1 extends from the south boundary or concession No. i. up to concession No. xiv., and from lot i to 15 in an easterly direc- tion. It is of an undulating character and in places rolling, while in a few instances small isolated patches of broken land are met with. The granite rock is seldom seen on the surface except in such places and in the neighbourhood of lakes and streams, where it crops out and where the stratification can be distinctly seen. " The soil is a sandy loam of a fertile character and free from stone. It averages a depth of twenty inches on the plains r 492 History of the County of Halibiirton. and tablelands while in the valleys it is much deeper and richer ; but on the higher elevations it is lighter and more sandy. It generally rests on a stratum of coarse sand and gravel, but sometimes on a thick, yellowish compact mould containing granite boulders ; these boulders in many cases differ in colour and in the proportion of their constituent parts from the native formation. " Around the shore of Eel Lake are several heavy pines capable of squaring 25 to 30 inches for a length of 75 feet. The timber on this tract is chiefly composed of beech, maple, and basswood of average size. " From concession xiv. to concession xix., in Section No. 2, the county is more uneven and hilly, and ridges of small white and red pine in a northerly direction frequently occur. The valleys between, where dry, are very fertile. Some few fine patches of hardwood land are also met with in this tract, the soil being like that of the preceding section. " Section No. 3, extending from concession xix. to the northern boundary, is in every respect similar to Section No. i. the character and quality of the soil and timber being as nearly as possible the same." Speaking of the survey of the eastern half of the Township of Cardiff, which was made in 1863, Mr. Fitzgerald says : — " I commenced the survey at sideline 20-21, at its intersection with the south boundary. The country between this boundary and concession vi., and sideline 20-21 and the east boundary, is undulating, and in places considerably broken by low ridges of granite only partially covered with a shallow soil ; in the valleys, however, occasional tracts of fair land occur, sufficiently exten- sive to induce settlement thereon. The prevailing timber in this section is white pine, of a good quality ; hemlock, maple, beech, The Townships of Stanhope and Sherborne. 493 birch, etc., of average size, arc also frequently met with in t]iis tract. " Between concession vi. and Paudash Lake is a tract of land presenting a much more favourable appearance. The surface is gently undulating, gradually sloping to the lake. The soil is composed of sandy loam of good depth, resting generally on a bed of coarse sand, and covered with a healthy, stout growth of hardwood timber. On the west shore of this lake, from concession vi, to concession xi., h, also a tract of land of very good quality, and covered with heavy beech, maple, basswood, birch and hemlock. Small, isolated patches of healthy, average- sized pine also occur. With the exception of a part of the east shore of the north bay, and a portion of the north shore of the east bay, the land around Paudash Lake offers every inducement to the settler ; the soil is rich and fertile. " To the north and north-east of the lake, extending to concession xiii., the land again is broken by low granite ridges; the soil is shallow, and the timber of a stinted growth. To the west of this section, and along sideline 15-16, is an excellent tract of land, extending northwards to concession xix. The surface is generally undulating, and grows stout beech, maple and basswood ; the soil is of great depth, and of a rich, loamy nature." STANHOPE AND SHERBORNE. The Township of Stanhope is intersected by three chains of lakes, and the area of the township is consequently very much cut up, access to some portions of the township being difficult except by water. The township is hilly. The valleys have a very rich soil, and Stanhope wheat is admitted to be the best in 494 History of the County of Haliburton. the county. Several of the settlers on Lake Onishkonk passed a portion of their lives as sailors, and their "yarns" are both interesting and amusing. So early as 1855 Mr. Isaac Hunter settled in this township, and in 1859 Mr. G. A. Mason settled at " The Point," in Bushkonk, and tHere built a very handsome residence. In i860 Mr. J. Melville, afterwards Reeve of the township, and W. R. Clarke, located themselves, and in 1861 the following settlers took up land : Wm. Welsh, S. Sims, B. Clarke, J. A. Ferguson. T. Mason, Caleb Davies, and R. Sturgeon. Mr. Welsh has now a very fine farm and residence, and Mr. Davies has been equally successful in his undertakings. About 1862, Mr, Daniel Buck, of Minden, built a saw-mill on Little Kushog, and at nearly the same date Mr, W, Cameron built one on the river running into the north part of Bushkonk, Later on Mr. Wright and Mr, Jervis settled at the junction of the Peterson Road and the Bobcaygeon Road, and settlement pro- ceeded steadily until there were sufficient settlers in 1866 to be "set off" as a separate municipality. In that year there were 51 ratepayers. The progress can be easily traced. In 1874 there were 77 ratepayers, and in 1881, 106. There is now a good school at Maple Lake, at which Miss H. Illman has taught for some time with great success, and the Rev, Mr. Jones, from Minden, has established periodical services of the Church of England. The present Reeve is Mr. Henry Ferner, who has served the township in that capacity for several years. The township is subjected to inconvenience through the bridge over Bushkonk Narrows being out of repair, and it is expected that the County Council and the Provincial Government will jointly rebuild the bridge, which is of great length. Several of the Stanhope lakes contain salmon trout in abundance, the average weight being about six or seven pounds ; but fish of The Township of Dysart, 495 twenty pounds are commonly caught, and they have been cap- tured, according to report, of a weight exceeding thirty pounds. The Township of Sherborne is still almost unsettled, there being but ten ratepayers on its assessment roll. It is most easily reached by water. It is hilly and rocky, and it is reported to contain only a small percentage of land fit for settlement. It is, however, well known to sportsmen, as its lakes teem with fish, and the deer in its woods are easily driven to water. THE TOWNSHIP OF DYSART. The Township of Dysart, in which is located the village of Haliburton, is associated municipally with eight other townships, all being the property of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company, of London, England. Consequently the history of the Company is, in a great measure, the history of the settlement. The Company was formed for the purpose of buying land in Canada, and selling it at a profit to emigrants from England. The capital was ;^25o,ooo, but only 20,425 shares, at ^5 each, were taken up, and in these shares about ^3, 15s. was paid up. The only return ever made to the unfortunate shareholders, was the odd fifteen shillings, which reduced the amount paid up to ;^3 per share. On this no dividend has ever been paid, and the Company financially has been a most lamentable failure. It commenced business in 1861, when it agreed to purchase ten townships of the Government, the nine townships which it now possesses, and one in the County of Victoria, Longford, which it sold to Mr. Thompson, a lumberman, for $20,000. Mr. Thomp- son realized a handsome fortune by cutting the pine in the township, and at his death, which took place recently, the mills I ! :■' f,': 496 History of the County of Haliburton. I !i he built for cutting the Longford pine had a high vakie by reason q{ the pine limit in Longford, which is attached to the mill. The Company paid down about $95,000 to the Govern- ment, but in the last report of the Directory of the Company, the original cost of the property and the expenditure upon it, is stated to be ;^6o,3i8, or about $300,000. The nine townships were surveyed by Mr. Gorsage, P.L.S. The whole property contained 403,000 acres, but the company were only called upon to pay for 362,125 at 50c. per acre. Some further allowances were afterwards made, and ten per cent, of the ^Turchase money was refunded to the company for the construction of roads. The settlement commenced in 1863, and among the earliest settlers were Richard Thompson, James Holland, J. Leper, John Erskine, Willett Austin, and William Elstone. Mr. David Sawyer had been resident in the township for some time hunting and trapping, fur-bearing animals at that period being very numerous. In 1864. Mr. John Lucas purchased the water privilege at Haliburton, and erected a saw-mill. He had for a partner Mr. W. Ritchie, who afterwards left the district. In 1864 Mr. Miles was the Company's surveyor, and Mr. C. R. Stewart the resident manager. A considerable number of settlers arrived during 1864 and 1865, and great progress was made. The grist-mill was opened in 1865 with a banquet, and many hopeful speeches were made on the occasion. But, though settlement went on favourably, the cash sales of land were comparatively insignificant, and those who were acquainted with the facts said that the Company's speculation, so far as regarded primary profit, was almost hopeless. In 1866 Mr. Hicks and Mr. Stewart ceased to have any connection with the Company, their posts being filled after some time by the appointment of Mr. Niven as resident agent and surveyor, and Mr. Bromfield The Totvuship of Dysart. 497 ire ith md |ny, of as manager. The annual reports of the Company since 1867 have been little more than detailed statements of the manner in which the capital was being distributed, the chief, indeed almost the only source of revenue being the sale of the timber. Mr. Boyd, of Bobraygeon. purchasing the timber in several town- ships and carrying on extensive lumbering operations, paying a royalty of 30c. for each standard log. The Company's reports annually exhibited a steady progress from bad to worse until in April, 1883, the Directory announced that Messrs. Irwin and Gordon, the one gentleman being a lumberman in Peterborough, and the other a lawyer in Toronto, had been appointed thi Company's commissioners to carry out an agreement, the natun of which is explained in the following extract from the report : " Under the agreement, Messrs. Irwin and Gordon are con- stituted the commissioners of the company in Canada, and under- take the whole expense and responsibility of the Canadian management in a payment of $2,500 per annum. They are bound to use their best endeavours to realize for the company, within eight years, a sum of $80,000, with interest on that amount at the rate of five per cent, per annum. This sum is to be applied in paying off the debentures and other liabilities of the company, and distributing the remainder among the shareholders. The sum left for distribution will, it is estima«"ed, yield them about ten shillings per share. When the amount of $80,000 with interest has been paid, the remaining property of the com- pany is to be divided into two halves, one half to belong to the shareholders, and the other half to belong to Irwin and Gordon, or their representatives. This half share of surplus will, practi- cally, be their remuneration for realizing the Company's property." Messrs. Irwin and Gordon felt so assured of realizing a profit that they became the purchasers of a majority of the shares, being 32 M I ■ i 498 History of the County of Halihirton. over eleven thousand, paying ten shillings sterling per share. By this means they secured a preponderating influence in the Com- pany, and they are now engaged in carrying out the terms of the agreement. The chief liability of tho company was a debt incuired in giving a bonus to the Victoria Railway Company. A large portion of this debt is now paid off. It may be here stated that the whole of the Company's land is under municipal assessment, and the taxes amount to about $6,000 a year. The Company, therefore, has to pay a very con- siderable proportion not only of the township expenditure, but also of the county expenditure, and this has produced a large amount of litigation, and still more contention, between the company and the various municipal bodies. The litigation was carried so far that in 1883 the sheriff of the county had to collect a rate, and at the present date the company have procured an injunction restraining the township council from collecting the rates levied for township and county purposes. The result of ihese actions is very detrimental to settlement, and the township of Dysart appears to be retrograding, for the assessment rolls show that whilst the number of ratepayers in 1874 was one hundred and thirty-nine this number has been reduced in 1883 to one hundred and twenty. Extracts from the Report to the Commissioner of Croivn Lands of the Survey of the Township of Dysart, made in 1S61-2, by y. y. Francis, P.L.S. : — " I am happy to be able to report that the greater part of this township is composed of excellent farming land. To the north of Lake Kahshagawigamog the soil is principally light and sandy, with considerable loose stones and boulders ; but to the south of these waters the soij is much richer, being a rich ■ IfFI .{iiiiil 1 IM 1 II ':':fl| li ,»« a|> 1 EARL DUFFERIN. ' I Anson, Hindon, and Ltitterwortk. SOI sandy loam, in some places very dark, varying from six inches to two feet deep and generally free from stones. The soil throughout the township partakes of a light character arid will be easily worked. " The timber is principally hardwood of sound description, such as beech, maple, birch, elm, basswood, ironwood, oak, hem- lock, and balsam, and is uniformly distributed throughout the township, with the exception that there may be more hemlock, balsam and pine to the north of Lake Kahshagawigamog than to the south. The timber grows to a considerable size and is of a first-class quality. There is not much merchantable pine, but sufficient for local purposes. " The township throughout is well watered by fine, clear running streams and lakes, those in the north half discharging into Lake Kahshagawigamog, and those to the south into the Burnt River waters. The streams abound in fish, so likewise do the lakes. " Upon some of the streams are to be found some excellent mill privileges ; Drag Creek esp-^cially affords some of the finest privileges desirable." ANSON, HINDON, AND LUTTERWORTH. The Township of Lutterworth, in the early days of the settle- ment of the district, enjoyed exceptional advantages, inasmuch as it was easily reached by both road and water. As soon as the Bobcaygeon Road was constructed as far north as Burnt River, settlers began to locate themselves in Lutterworth, and about the same date settlers also began to arrive in the westel^n portion of the township by means of its water communication. Gull Lake and Gull River have their outlet into Balsam Lake, and that lake il 1 lilil: m m $02 History of the County of Halibnrton. connects with Cameron Lake, and gives dual communication with Fenelon Falls. These means of transport were for a considerable period largely used, and indeed to the present day the settlers in Lutterworth frequently avail themselves of the water facilities to visit Coboccnk, the terminus of a branch of the Midland Rail- way, and Fenelon Falls. Among the early arrivals in Lutter- worth was Mr. William Harde, who has for a period of more than twenty years been intimately connected with its history, filling many of the municipal offices with credit to himself and advantage to the people. Mr. Killatt was also an early setder, locating on the Bobcaygeon Road, and contributing by his musical abilities largely to the social enjoyments of the entire neighbour- hood. The township has a considerable percentage of good land, and some of the river flats along Gull River are of unexcep- tionable quality. As early as 1 860, there were numerous settlers in Lutterworth, which, at that time, was associated municipally with Galway, Snowdon, Minden and Anson, and was represented by Mr. Charles Austin, who gave his name to the narrows on Lake Kahshagawigamog, in the Township of Minden, at which point he resided. But settlement in Lutterworth proceeded so steadily that by 1882 it was separated from the other townships and was organized as a new municipality, having Anson and Hindon attached to it. This arrangement subsisted until 1878, when the great county contest for supremacy between the eastern and the western portions led to Anson and Hindon being erected into a municipality, as by that means the western section obtained another Reeve in the County Council. The first election for the United Townships of Anson and Hindon was held in January, 1879, when J. H. Delemere, Esq., was elected Reeve. Lutter- worth has made very strong progress. In 1874, it had seventy- nine ratepayers, and in 1883 that number had increased to one ■'■■^ Anson, Hindon, and Lutterworth. S03 hundred and thirty-eight. It is now represented by Mr. D. Galloway, one of the settlers on the lake shore, who has a fine location and some excellent land, celebrated for the production of vegetables and fruit at an early period in each season. The water communication in Lutterworth was at one time made use of so largely, that Mr. Pearce, a storekeeper in the Village of Minden, built and run a small steamboat from Minden to the falls on the river below Gull Lake. The opening of the Victoria Railway, to Kinmount, furnishing a cheaper mode for the transport of freight, led to the steamboat's route being abandoned. Gull River and Lake contain an abundance of remarkably fine salmon-trout. The township is also believed to possess very great mineral wealth, and at Miners' Bay there have been found samples of iron and other ores which at some future period may be further developed. The Paxton iron-mine in the south-east of the township has been already referred to. Gull Lake is a favourite point for camping parties in the summer, and the shores of the lake, in August, are studded with the tents of the pleasure-seeker, whose watch-fires at night lend a wild brilliancy to the silent forest shores. The Townships of Anson and Hindon have always been a little behind in the rate of progress. In 1874 Anson had sixty- four ratepayers, and Hindon eleven; these had increased in 1883 to seventy-two in Anson, and twenty-four in Hindon. The municipality has been represented for the past two years by James Mortimer, Esq., a gentleman who located on his farm, a short distance from the Village of Minden, about seven years since, removing from Dunsford, where he was well known and respected. S04 History of the County of Haliburton. RETURN OF RATEPAYERS. The following is a return of the number of ratepayers in each Township in the Provisional County of Haliburton, for the years 1874 (the year of the formation of the county), for 1881 (the year previous to the North-West boom), and for 1883 (the year after the North-West boom burst): 1874. 1881. 1883. Minden 228 237 244 Snowdon log 167 igo Dysart 139 120 120 Harcourt ig 14 7 Guilford 18 35 46 Harburn 8 10 13 Dudley 12 ig 19 Bruton 2 2 2 Hav'elock i 2 2 Eyre i i i Clyde I I I Lutterworth 79 133 138 Anson 64 GS 72 Hindon 11 20 24 Stanhope 77 106 gg Sherborne g 10 Cardiff 55 139 137 Monmouth 18 115 104 Glamorgan 44 124 133 McClintock Nightingale Lawrence Livingstone , 886 1322 1362 Municipal Returns. 505 The following figures are taken from the assessment rolls of the several municipalities in the year 1873 — the year previous to the formation of the county : — Cardiff Monmouth .... 7 Glamorgan .... 27 ^'^inden 204 Snowdon 100 Stanhope 71 Dysart 139 Guilford 13 Dudley "6 Harburn 12 Havelock .... 15 Bruton 2 No. of Ratepayers. Souls. ... 31 115 Total 627 16 54 901 372 274 585 47 13 40 85 2 Cattle. 68 II 12 387 333 197 392 42 9 39 48 Sheep. 36 4 424 183 193 130 56 Horses. Hogs. 18 3 87 57 31 29 3 2 10 24 7 202 92 73 66 10 3 7 31 Dogs. 49 1 H ' n <■'. " ■ 1 1 iJ Tl PART V. Biograiiftical Hotitt$. U'' )i si: 1 3 1 mm , / . . I '- i ■ i i JUL, tl w BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. it' '»* I ll'ln' nMlli TOWN OF PETERBOROU^tH. I HOMAS ARMSTRONG, of Peterborough, was a native of King's County, Ireland, where he was born February 24th, 18 18 — being second in a family of five sons and one daughter. His father was a captain in the British army ; and, being retired on half pay, came out with the "Peter Robinson Emigration Colony," and received the appointment of chief of the com- missariat for the said colony, with headquarters at "Scott's Plains." He also received a grant of land for his services in the army. At the time of the rebellion he was on active service as an officer of militia. He died at Peterborough, in 1854, in the sixty-second year of his age. Mr. Armstrong has lived nearly his whole life in what is now the Town of Peterborough ; during which time he has been witness to its wonderful develop- ment, and taken part with greater or less degree of activity in all matters of public interest which have stirred the community during the last half century. He was an intelligent and well- informed gentleman, and popular with all who knew him. 510 History of the County of Peterborough, \ i DR. WM. BELL, of Peterborough, is a native of Cumber- land, England, where he was born in 1806, both his parents being also natives of that place. His father w " bram Bell, a house-builder and ship-owner, who came to ^nada with a portion of his family in 1830, and after some years' residence near the City of Quebec, removed to Peterborough County in 1837. The subject of this sketch, who was the youngest of a family of five sons and one daughter, after -eceiving his preliminary education, studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Lontlon, England, graduating therefrom in 1836. In 1837 he practiced medicine for a short time at Trenton, Bay Quintc, and in 1838 settled in Otonabee, where he combined farming with professional practice for a time. In 1840, he removed to the town of Peterborough, and purchased the ''"ug business of Dr. George Burnham, which he conducted essfully for fourteen years, when he disposed of it, and movea into North Monaghan. After eleven years' residence in that township he returned to Peterborough, where he has since resided. While a resident of Monaghan, he was instrumental in securing the construction of the Peterborough and Cavan gravel road ; in fact, it is said to have been mainly through his efforts and influence that this much needed public work was inaugurated and carried to completion. In 1844, Dr. Bell married a daughter of Francis Spilsbury, a post-captain in the Royal Navy, who com- manded a gunboat on the lakes during the Anglo-American war of 181 2-1 5. This officer was granted 2,700 acres of land by the British Government for his services, most of the same being situated in North Monaghan. In 18 18 he came to Peterborough County to see his domain. His course lay by foot route from Cobourg to Rice Lake, thence across that water and up the River Otonabee by canoe. On arriving at the shore of Little Lake (now Biographical Notices. S'l Peterborough), his Indian guide landed, and pointed westward to where his hind lay. The whole aspect was so dismal — nothing but the charred "spikes" of burnt pine trees, and the partially consumed "slash" of the original forest, interspersed with "scrub" underbrush — that the captain became disgusted, and refused to go farther ; and, in fact, returned, as he came, without ever having seen his property. The same land now comprises one of the very finest stretches of highly cultivated farmsteads to be found in the Dominion. What wonderful changes have been wrought by the present generation ! Another evidence of the astonishing progress accomplished during even the reign of the ruling sover- eign may be mentioned : Dr. Bell sailed from London, England, on June 21st, 1837, while the bells of the metropolis were ringing to celebrate the |)roclamation just issued making Victoria Queen. The ro ite to Upper Canada at that time lay via the Ottawa Ri\'er a d Rideau canal. Dr. Bell called at Bytown en rontc. There \\ but on<; bake-shop in the place, and it happened to be out of bread, and there seemed to be no flour in the town, as it was impossible to procure this necessary. Now the ancient Bytown is a metropolis in every sense of the word — the capital of a country as populous as historic Egypt, and greater in extent than the ancient Roman empire, the greatest of antiquity. Such is the progress of the age ; and in these transformations Dr. Bell has performed his part as an enterprising and honourable citizen, respected by all who know him. ROBERT WILLIAM BELL, M.D., of Peterborough. The grandfather of this gentleman was a clergyman of the Established Church, in London, England, where Robert's father was born. He was sent to Canada by the British Government in 181 7 to minister to the spiritual wants of the " Military Settle- , -\ ■'^■■Pl SI2 History of the County of Peterborough. ment," at what is now the Town of Perth, Lanark Councy, Ontario, — at which place he died, regretted by all who knew him, in the year 1857, and the 78th of his age. Robert's father was fourth of a family of eight children, the eldest of whom was but fourteen years when they came to Canada. This gentleman studied mercantile pursuits, and when a young uian commenced business in the dry goods trade at Perth, from which place he removed to Carleton Place after a number of years, still continu- ing to carry on a very extensive and successful business. He was also active in public affairs, popular in his connection there- with, and eminently successful in his conduct of the same. He was Warden of the old District Council of the District then including the present County of Lanark, by appointment of the Crown, before the Municipal Act came into force in 1850. He was afterwards W^.. ien of the original County of Lanark ; and subsequently Warden of the United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew, when the latter county was carved out of the former, but still united thereto for municipal purposes. He was Chair- man of the County Board of Education for twenty-five consecu- tive years, and represented Lanark in the Parliament of Canada for eighteen successive years — 1846 to 1864 — at which last named date he resigned, to accept the position of Inspector of Inland Revenue : and from this he was superannuated about three years ago, after a term of public and official service in many of the most important capacities, extending over more years than an ordinary lifetime, to enjoy his declining years in a well-earned repose. Doctor Bell is the youngest of three children of the above named gentleman, and of the only daughter of Josiah Jones, of Brockville, a U. E. Loyalist of high standing in the early annals of Upper Canada. Born at Carleton Place in 185 1, he attended the public schools of that town till 1868, when he Biographical Notices. S13 entered McGill University, Montreal. In 1873 he graduated thence, with the degree of M.D. He practised for some years in Carleton Place, removing to Peterborough in 1876. He has been for eighteen years prominently connected with the Volun- teer movement, and at the time of his removal from Carleton Place was the youngest field officer in the Dominion. The Doctor is married to the youngest daughter of John Sumner, Dominion Immigration Agent. Like his father, he is Reform in politics, and also takes on active interest in the promotion of church affairs. Is Chairman of the Board of Management of St. Andrew's Church. DANIEL BELLEGHEM, furniture manufacturer, Hunter Street, Peterborough, was born in the City of Quebec, July 7th, 1846. His father was James Belleghem, who was born in the north of Ireland, and who first settled at Quebec, and afterwards, in 1845, at Peterborough, where he died in 1865, aged 45 years; his mother was Ellen McCannon, who was born in the north of Ireland in 18 10, and who died at Peterborough in 1880. Mr. Belleghem was educated at the public school in Peterborough. In 1863 he started to work in a saw mill in the Township of Verulam, County of Victoria. He was afterwards lumbering in the backwoods until 1867, when he had a leg broken in a saw mill in Peterborough. He then became an apprentice for a term of years with George Tanner, furniture maker, in what is now Mr. Belleghem's place of business. At the expiration of his time he worked in Peterborough for six years. In 1879 he leased his stand from George A. Cox, and in 1881 bought it. In 1883 he added a three-story extension 57 feet in length, put a plate glass front in his store, and a new boiler in the factory. He has also added an undertaking branch, and gives employ- 33 ilWI : I i. i,:'^ 1 dv ,7" I ■; : (, i i 5H History of the County of Peterborough. ment to 26 men. In December, 1874, Mr. Belleghem married Hannah Darling, daughter of the late John Darling, of the Township of Smith. He has three children, one son and two daughters living, and one son dead. Mr. Belleghem is a Metho- dist and a Reformer ; also a member of the Masonic, Oddfellows' and Foresters' societies. THOMAS BEST, deceased, one of the pioneers of Peter- borough County, was born in Hereford, England : being fourth of a family of six children. His early life was spent on his father's farm ; but animated by that spirit of independence which has been the guiding star of so many enterprising pioneers, he left his native land for Canada, alone, in 1826, when in his eighteenth year. After a short stay at Kingston, he made his way to the then new settlement of "Smith Town," and located there. The outbreak of ship-fever among the new settlers, threatening to destroy the colony, had a tendency to change his plans, and in 1827 he returned to England, remaining three years, when he a second time came to Canada, and after a short residence at Port Hope, again settled in Peterborough. This time he located just west of Little Lake, where he married a Miss Bruce, by whom he had a family of two sons and two daughters. He died here in 1877, respected and regretted by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. h HENRY BEST, eldest son of the above named gentle- man, was born in Peterborough in 1836. He attended the public schools till sixteen years of age, when he was ajiprenticcd to the tinsmith trade. Four years later he went to the Pacific Coast, via the Isthmus of Panama. After spending some time in San Francisco, he went to British Columbia, and spent nearly Biographical Notices. 515 a year in the mountains, exploring and prospecting, after which he returned to San Francisco. Subsequently he sailed to Val- paraiso, Chili ; and was extensively engaged at that place in the manufacture of wooden cases for storing whale oil, his employes being mostly natives. This yielded encouraging profits ; but, disliking the country, he returned to San Francisco. He was subsequently similarly engaged at Panama ; but after carrying on business there for about a year, he began to yearn for the old Canadian home again ; and in 1867 returned to Peterborough. Business chances, however, induced him to locate in Lindsay ; but the year 1872 saw him again in Peterborough, as a per- manent home ; and the following year he purchased the business of his old friend, James Stevenson, into whose shop he had entered as an apprentice to the trade twenty-one years pre- viously. He has since done a large and prosperous business here ; and is counted among the enterprising and substantial merchants of this exceptionally enterprising and substantial business centre. R. P. BOUCHER, M D., of Peterborough, is of English descent. His grandfather, Boucher, was born in Gloucester- shire, in 1778, and emigrated to Canada in the early part of this century, settling at District Court House (then Amherst), now a suburb of the Town of Cobourg. In 1836, he moved thence to the Township of Seymour. He was one of the oldest and most influential members of the old Newcastle District Council — being identified with the same from its organization, in 1842, till the organization of the present municipal system in 1850. He was a volunteer during the rebellion- — a loyal and public spirited citizen — and one most highly esteemed during life, and sincerely regretted when he passed away, in 1865, in the 86th year of his V m nr77s33r».' 516 History of the County of Peterborough. \\ ;' age, his devoted wife surviving him one year. Of a family of three sons and four daughters, R. M. Boucher, late Judge of the County of Peterborough, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He received his education chiefly at Cobourg, under the instruction of the late Dr. Bethune. afterwards Anglican Bishop of Toronto. Having graduated in law, he began practice in Colborne — having married a daughter of the late Henry Ruttan, a member of one of the oldest U. E. Loyalist families who founded the Bay of Ouinte settlement. During his residence in Colborne he was, for a time. Associate-] udge of the Counties of Northumberland and Durham ; and on one occasion unsuccessfully contested the former county, in the Conservative interest, for the old Parliament of Canada, agaitist the late Adam Henry Meyc.s. In 1858, he received the appointment of Judge of the united Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, then vacant by the death of Judge Hall, and at once removed there in the discharge of his official duties, which he acceptably performed till his death, ten years later, in 1868. Dr. Boucher was born in Colborne, in 1848. At ten years of age he came to Peterborough, with his father's family, and received his preliminary education at the public schools here. In 1865, he commenced the study of medicine at Victoria College. After taking the regular course there, he spent a term at Belleview Hospital, New York, before graduating, in 1870. He subsequently practised two years in the State of Missouri, returning to Peterborough in 1873, and entering into partnership with Dr. George Burnham. This partnership was dissolved in 1880, since which time he has been carrying on an independent practice with much success, and is looked on by all as a " rising man," both for professional and public favour. ^ ' Biographical Notices. 517 DR. BRACHE, Peterborough, was born in England, No- vember, 1820, and came to Canada in August, 1832, with his grandparents who lived in Cobourg. In 1856, they located in Seamore Township, on lot 13, concession 14. His grandfather was born in Gloucestershire, England, and belonged to a younger branch of the "Sussex Mays." He died in 1865, aged 86 years; his wife died November, 1864. He was a member of the old District Council, in which he served for many years. DAVID BREEZE, of Peterborough, was born in Newton, Montgomeryshire, Wales, in 1844. His father lived and died there. Mr. Breeze is the youngest in a family of three children. After the death of his father, his mother emigrated to Canada with her children and settled in Belleville the same year. The elder sons of the family had been engaged in a woollen mill in early life, and they soon found employment at their trade after their arrival in Belleville. In 1861, David left Belleville and came to Peterborough, and served an apprenticeship as a tinsmith with J. Stevenson, where he wrought for nearly fifteen years, when he began business for himself, on George Street, near the post-office, where he now keeps stoves, tinware, and conducts a general trade. In 1866, he married a daughter of William Condon, one of the early settlers of Douro. Mr. Breeze has one elder brother, at Forest Mills, extensively engaged in the manufacture of woollen goods. His other brother is dead. For a young man, Mr. Breeze has succeeded admirably in business. He' began in life without assistance and has, by industry and economy, laid the foundation for prosperity and independence. He is not in danger of founding a bank, or buying a line of ocean steamers, but he enjoys the fair fruit of honest toil ; und is a thoughtful and intelligent man, who keeps thoroughly posted on all current topics, and fully abreast of the times. - . , llii. '^ ^}mm- 1 J .< ■ Si8 History of the County of Peterborough. EDWARD BROWN, hotel-keeper, Peterborough, is the son of Henry Brown and Margaret Foster, and was born near Port Hope, June i6th, 1855. When about fifteen he engaged in the dry goods business with T. M. Pitts & Co., Port Hope, remaining with the firm for nearly five years. For the next four years he kept a fruit and confectionery store in Port Hope, and then went to Bay City, Mich., where he remained only three months. On his return he opened out in the tobacco business in Guelph for about eight months. Then he clerked in Arthur Kidd's dry goods store in Seaforth. In 1877, he went to Texas, and established himself as an auctioneer at Fort Worth, thirty miles west of Dallas. He also dealt in horses and cattle. At the end of two years he was compelled by illness to return to Canada.. For four years he was in the sewing machine line, and in 1883 became the proprietor of the Little Windsor Hotel, at Peterborough. Mr. Brown takes a great interest in all legitimate sporting matters. ELI AS BURN HAM, Barrister-at-Law, of Peterborough, was born in Northumberland County, Onl., In 181 1. His father was a native of New Hampshire, but. came to Upper Canada in the early days of the present century, and settled near Smith's Creek, now Port Hope. He married, there, Hannah, daughter of Myndert Harris, a U. E. Loyalist, and the second settler on the whole north shore of Lake Ontario. He reared a numerous family, all of whom subsequently attained leading positions in the various walks of life, and resided at Port Hope till his death, at a ripe old age. The subject of this sketch received the best education obtainable in the schools of those days ; and afterwards studied law in the office of the late M. F. Whitehead, of Port Hope. He completed his Biographical Notices. 519 studies with the late Chief Justice Draper, in Toronto, and, after being called to the Bar of Upper Canada in 1835, came to Peterborough, then a straggling village, and began a legal practice which has been varied, extensive, and successful. He is now retired from active business, having accumulated a competence by years of close application to his profession. He is now one of the largest property owners in Peterborough, He has given much time and attention to the direction of local public affairs, and sat at the Municipal Council Board for nearly twenty years. Mr. Burnham never married. His household is presided over by a sister. In private life he is held in high esteem by a very large circle of friends. JOHN BURNHAM, M.D., M.P.,' who represents East Peterborough in the House of Commons, is a native of Canada, having been born in St. Thomas. Ont., in 1842. He came to the County of Peterborough with his father, in 1852, and located in the Village of Ashburnham. He received his medical education in Toronto, and graduated in that city in 1862, when he at once commenced practice at Ashburnham, and has since continued. Though closely devoted to his profession, the Doctor also takes a great interest in politics, on the Conservative side ; and in military matters as well. He is a captain in the 57th Regiment of Canadian Volunteer Militia, " Peterborough Rangers." He was first elected to Parliament at the general election of 1878, and re-elected in 1882 by a very largely increased majority. Nor do municipal matters escape his attention ; but his wise supervision of local public affairs has resulted in his election and re-election to the Reeveship of Ashburnham for many years, during four years of which time he has been Warden of the County of Peterborough — the whole 520 History of the County of Peterborough. forming a record which needs no comment at our hands, and is certainly surpassed by none, in regard to faithful, honourable, and efficient service. i DR. WALTER HORATIO BURRITT, now residing in the Town of Peterborough, was born on the i8th of September, 1809, in the Township of Marlborough, County of Grenville, Province of Upper Canada. The place of his nativity, now called " Burritt's ^lapids," is situated on the Rideau River, and was named after his father and uncle, who were the first settlers on the Rideau. The Burritts were originally Welsh ; William, the progenitor of the family in America, emigrated from Glamor- ganshire, Wales, and settled at Stratford, Connecticut, about 1640. Daniel Burritt, the father of the Doctor, was born .t New Milford, Connecticut, on the 22nd March, 1772, and came to Canada when only sixteen years of age, shortly after the close of the Revolutionary War, with his father a most determined U. E. Loyalist, who settled in the Township of Augusta, in the County of Grenville, about three miles north of the St. Lawrence River. In 1795 Daniel Burritt went to the Rideau, and settled on the north bank of the river beside Stephen Burritt, an elder brother, who had preceded him about a year. In 1797, Daniel Burritt married Electa Landon, daughter of Samuel Landon, a U. E. Loyalist, who came to Canada about the same period as the Burritts ; she was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1778. Immediately after their marriage they went to their wilderness home where they continued to reside on the same farm on which they settled, a period of sixty years, her death occurrmg in 1857 and his in 1859. They raised a family of five children, of whom the Doctor is the fourth, three sons and two daughters. During the W^ar of 18 12, Daniel Biographical Notices. 521 Burritt raised a company of volunteers with whom he was stationed and did duty at Prescott and at the taking of Ogdens- burg. He subsequently became a Colonel of Militia and also a Justice of the Peace. His son, Daniel Hamlet Burritt, now owns and occupies the old homestead. Doctor Burritt received the rudiments of his education in the place of his birth. His classical studies were pursued at a private school kept by a Mr. Blackburn, in the town of Brockville. He read medicine in the office of the late Dr. Basil P. Church, in the village of Merrick- ville. As there was no medical college in Upper Canada he attended a medical college at Fairfield in the State of New York ; in July, 1835, he passed his examination before the Medical Board of Upper Canada and received his license to practise. He then settled in the village of Smith's Falls, in the County of Lanark, where he commenced the practice of his profession, and where he continued to reside and practise for upwards of thirty-five years. While at Smith's Falls, Dr- Burritt took a leading part in municipal affairs, ha\''iig been councillor for five years after the incorporation of the village. He was school trustee for twenty years, and for sixteen years was Chairman of the Joint Board of Grammar and Common School Trustees, and took a strong interest in promoting education. He was a coroner for the United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew for twenty-one years, and for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville for ten years ; he was also nominated on the Commission of the Peace for the County of Lanark, but declined to accept. In religion he is an adherent of the Church of England, and in politics a Conservative. In 1870 he removed from Smith's Falls to Peterborough where he continues the practice of his profession. In Sep- tember, 1837, Dr. Burritt married Miss Maria Schofield, '■1% '■'i ■'•■■ ^ $22 History of the County of Peterborough. daughter of James Schofield ; she was bora in February, 1818. at Beverly (now Delta) County of Leeds ; her father was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1782, and came to Canada when quite young, settling in the County of Leeds; he was married in Cornwall to Hannah Chesley, born at Kinderhook, in the State of New York. The issue of Dr. Burritt's marriage with Miss Schofield has been seven children. The eldest, Maria, is married to Lieut. -Col. H. C. Rogers, Postmaster of Peterborough ; the second, Horatio Charles, a graduate of McGill Medical College, Montreal, is practising medicine in Toronto ; the third, Henrietta, married A. R. Ward ; the fourth, Eliza, is unmarried and is residing with her parents ; the fifth, James Henry, a barrister is residing in and practising law at Pembroke ; the sixth, Hattie, died when two years of age ; the seventh, Daniel H., is residing with his parents. JAMES BYRNE, marble dealer and stone contractor, Peterborough, was born at Kingston, March 29th, 1856. His father, who bore the same name, was born in Wicklow, Ireland, in 18 1 7, and died at Belleville in 1875. His mother, Mary Ross, who was born in Armagh, Ireland, in 18 19, is still living in Belle- ville; her first husband was John Carleton, who died in Kingston. When young, Mr. Byrne's parents ' moved from Kingston to Perth, where he was educated at the Union School. In 1866 they removed to Belleville. The subject of this sketch first tried the photographing and the grocery business. In 1869 he com- menced his present business with S. S. McMullen, of Belleville. At the expiration of six years, during which he had risen from apprentice to foreman, he commenced working on shares with one Nicholson in Belleville. He then went to Campbellf rd, where he entered into a partnership with T. Fitzgerald. He Biographical Notices. 523 afterwards sold out his interest and returned to Belleville, where he worked for J. T. Latimer. In June, 1877, he came to Peter- borough, and started business on the corner of George and Macdonald Streets, where he remained for two years, at the expiration of which he moved into his present stand on George Street, which had been occupied by Wright & Farquharson. On March 28th, 1883, Mr. Byrne married Margaret Dobbin, daughter of John Dobbin, of North Monaghan. In religion Mr. Byrne is an Episcopalian ; in politics a Conservative. He is a member of the Masonic, Oddfellows' and Foresters' societies; in the latter he has held several positions. HENRY CALCUTT, proprietor of Calcutt's Brewery, Ashburnham, and also the line of steamers plying on Rice Lake and Otonabee River, between Peterborough and Harwood, connecting with the Midland and Cobourg and Ontario and Quebec Railways. He also owns, outside of his Ashburnham property, the popular summer resort, '' Idlewild," and a one thousand acre tract of mineral lands known as the Galway Mines. He was born in Cobourg, in 1837. His father, the late James Calcutt, came to Canada from Ireland, in 183O' settling near Cobourg, where he owned' and carried on both a farm and distillery. Henry Calcutt lived with his people, in Cobourg, till 1855, when he came to Peterborough and estab- lished the business he still carries on, commencing with a business of five thousand. For years it has steadily increased till it represents fully eight times that amount. As an instance of Mr. Calcutt's enterprise he at one time drilled a well in Otonabee, three miles from Peterborough, for salt, boring 440 feet, till the granite was struck. He also built a flax mill which he ran for four years, when it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Calcutt 534 History of the County of Peterborough. i .,, has taken an active part in the village Council since its forma- tion, and was for three years Reeve of the village. DUNCAN CAMERON, proprieto.- of a merchant tailoring establishment, George Street, Peterborough, was born in Perth- shire, Scotland, in 1852, He came to Canada in 1873 and settled at once in Peterborough, and engaged as tailor with Messrs. McDonald & Elder, a trade he learned, and afterward worked eight years at, in the old country. He continued at his trade with different firms in this place up to 1880, when the firm of Cameron & McHain was formed — a partnership that lasted but about eight months, when Mr. Cameron bought out his partner and assumed exclusive control of the business, and has continued the same to the present time. He is, at all times, prepared to supply, or make to order, anythmg in the merchant tailoring or gents' furnishing business ; and, though a com[jara- tively young competitor in the race for commercial success, he has already established a reputation for fair dealing and promptness, which has already developed his business lo large proportions. ABRAHAM CLEGG, of Peterborough, although a young man, has taken a decided interest in the commen^ial and religious welfare of His adopted town. He ol English extraction, having been born in Lan Jshii ). His mother was a daughter of James Rei<' '^ ngland. His father, Edward Clegg, eldest sc g, manu- facturer, of Nelson, Lancashire, c lo Can; ui, in 1858, with a family of four, three sons and one d; ighter ; the other members of the family, three sons, were born in Peter' )rough After a successful business career in Peterborough, of twenty-tw* Biographical Notices, 525 years duration, he died there, in 1880. His reputation, and the esteem in which he was held, may be judged from the following clipping from one of the Peterborough papers, of a shortly subsequent date : — " Peterborough has lost one of its most highly and respected citizens by the death of Mr. E, Clegg, at the comparatively early age of fifty-eight years. The late Mr. Clegg was born in Nelson, Lancashire, England, where his family, for generations, had been engaged in the cotton manu- facturing business. He was educated there, and spent his early years in his father's country home. Previous to coming to this country, he learned the milling business, as being better adapted to the new country. Shortly after his arrival in this country, in 1857, he went into business on his own account at what was known as Scott's or Peplow's Mills, where he continued for some three years. By an unfortunate accident, the bursting of a mill-stone, he received a serious fracture of the knee and had to relinquish business for some years ; subsequently he engaged as practical manager in Nicholls & Hall's mills, and in 1876 he resumed business on his own account, purchasing the lease of the Ontario Mills from Monroe & Dawson, which business is still conducted in his name. The late Mr. Clegg was a man of quiet, unostentatious disposition, but had established for him- self a wide reputation for integrity and propriety. He was father of Mr. A. Clegg, and leaves quite a large family the inheritance of an honest and upright name." On the death of Mr. Clegg, senr., his business passed into the hands of his sons, Abraham being the manager. It is now carried on by Mr. A. Clegg. In 1872, this gentleman embarked in the manufacture of all grades and styles of furniture, in which business he employs a number of men. Mr. Clegg takes great interest in religious matters, especially the Sabbath-school, being Secretary " Hill (J i f H ■1 J 11 'iff 1! • '. W(^ i t t i / ' 526 History of the County of Peterborough. and Treasurer of the George Street Methodist Church Sabbath- school, and a Trustee of that church. REV. VINCENT CLEMENTI, of Peterborough, is an EngHshman by birth, and has now passed the allotted three- score years and ten, having first seen light in 1812. His father was the celebrated composer, who, at his death, was buried in Westminster Abbey; his mother was a Gisborne. Mr. Clementi was educated for the Church, and is a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge. He first came to Peterborough, direct from England, in 1855. He was ordained deacon of the Anglican Church, December 17th, 1837, by the Bishop of London, England; and priest, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, February 24th, 1839. On Octobe*- 14th, 1863, he was appointed incumbent -^f the Parish of Lakefield by the late Bishop Strachan, of Toronto — the incumbency of which he filled for about eleven years, during which time he erected a handsome and commo- <.iious church, with money subscribed chiefly by his former parishioners in England. He removed to Peterborough in 1873. In 1881 he was inducted as Rector of Lindsay by Bishop Sweatman. Mr. dementi's life — aeide from the duties connected with the clerical profession — has been one of con- stant, arduous, and successful devotion to every cause which presented itself for the amelioration of the condition of his fellows, or th'iir intellectual, physical or material advance- ment. In this connection he has, from time to time, been prominently identified with almost every existing^ society or organization having for its object the attainment of £uch ends. He has long been a very prominent Mason — in Symbolic, Templar, -nid Cryptic Rites. He was a member of the Provincial Grand Lodge before the organization of the Grand Biographical Notices. 527 Lodge of Canada; and is now Grana Prelate under the banner of the Grand Prior of Knights Templar. Among the many representative positions he has held in organized societies for the advancement of social or public objects may be men- tioned: President of the District Rifle Association, President of the Cemecery Cpmpany, President of County Horticultural Society, of the Peterborough Boating Club, of the Peterborough Cricket Club, First Vice-President of the Agricultural and Arts Association, First Vice-President of the Mechanics' Institute, member of the Dominion and Provincial Rifle Associations. He is a great admirer and promoter of art, and was a leading member of the Royal Canadian Society of Arts on its first organization. In short, there has been no movement tending to the general good of the community at large, or of his own section in particular, for the past quarter of a century, in which Mr. Clementi has not been actively and prominently engaged. And it goes without saying, that his record has made his name a household word, not only within every corner of his county, • but even to the confines of the Province, by whose people he is respected for a lifetime of good works. WILLIAM CLUXTON is one of Peterborough's oldest merchants. He, was born March 31st, 18 19, in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. When but six years of age he lost his father, who was followed by his mother in six years after. The family was then scattered among relations, and William went to live with a kind aunt and uncle who lived in Cootehill, County Cavan. He shortly afterwards emigrated to Peterborough, Canada, where he obtained a situation with Hall & Chambers' grocery and bakery establishment, on Charlotte Street. In 1835 he entered the dry-goods store of John R. Benson, and subse- U' i': \\ I i \-making, and subsequently was lumbering in the backwoods until December, 1880, when he and his cousin, John B. Montgomery, bought the livery business of Edward Donnelly. On September 19, 1883, the stable was burned down. Mr. Hopkins then purchased his partner's interest and established his present business. In De- cember, 1881, Mr. Hopkins married Miss Margaret Martin, of Peterborough. JAMES HOWDEN, butcher, Peterborough, was born in Ireland in 1837, and came to Peterborough with his parents in 1840. His father, George Howden, who was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1816, came to Canada about 1838, leaving his family in Ireland. In 1840, after working in Syracuse, N. Y., and on a farm in the Township of Cavan, he returned to Ireland and brought out his family and located at Peterborough, where he began stone-cutting. He subsequently took a farm in North Monaghan, near the south end of the town, and remained there until his death in 1883. He was married in Ireland to Ann, daughter of William Johnson, by whom he had six sons and one daughter, all of whom are living. James, the eldest, began butchering in 1855, and has continued in that busi- ness ever since. He owns 94 acres of land in North Monaghan, in the Council of which Township he has had a seat for about twelve years. In 1861 he married a daughter of John Knox; after her death he married a daughter of J. A. Keefe. Biographical Notices. 557 GEORGE HUTCHINSON, Peterborough, is the son of an Englishman who came to Canada with three brothers when quite a young man ; he settled at Peterborough. He first learned the blacksmithirig trade with John English, with whom he worked for three years. Then he commenced business for himself in Smith township, at the point of the lake, where he carried on business for several years. About 1858 he gave up business but still lived in Smith township where he died in 1868. At his death he left by his marriage with Jane Sanderson, his first wife, three sons and one daughter, and by his second wife, a daughter of John Baskell, three daughters and a son. He was a member of the Baptist church. George Hutchinson is his second son by his first wife. He learned his trade with James Stevenson, with whom he served three years, at the expiration of which he began business for himself THE RIGHT REVEREND MONSEIGNEUR JOHN FRANCIS JAMOT, D.D., first Bishop of Peterborough, was born on the 23rd jf June, 1828, in the parish of Chatelard, a small village in the diocese of Limoges, France. His father was Gilbert Jamot, a retired gentleman, and his mother Jeanne Corna- bat, both of good family ; the former purchased his estate and mansion near Chatelard after the great revolution of 1793. He began his studies for the church in the diocesan seminary, and on October 9th, 1853, was ordained a priest. For a year after his ordination he taught classics in the College D'Ajain in the diocese of Limoges. He then spent a short time in Rome, after which he went to Ireland where he remained for seven months at All Hallows College, Dublin, for the purpose of be- coming proficient in the English language, it being his intention to go to Canada as a missionary. He then came to Canada and ■ I- t ■' ti H' W rn^iT i-r 558 History of the County of Peterborough. arrived in Toronto, in which diocese he was to labour, May loth/ 1855. He was sent to Barrie where he was the iirst resident priest and where he remained for eight years and three months. In August, 1863, he was transferred to St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, and was made Vicar-General and Chancellor of the diocese. He most worthily performed the responsible and arduous duties of his office for a period of ten years and a-ha!f. In the early part of 1874 he visited France, where, on the 24th of February, 1874, in the Basilica cf Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur, at Issoudun, he was consecrated Bishop of Sarepta and Vicar-Apostolic of Northern Canada, which now forms part of the diocese of Peterborough. After a visit to Rome, Bishop jamot returned to Canada where he took charge of his vast mis- sion, his headquarters being sometimes at Sault Ste. Marie and sometimes at Bracebridge. He has the well-earned title of being one of the most zealous missionaries of the Church. His labours among the people of Northern Canada are a continuous record of zeal and ardour in his Master's cause, that recognized no obstacle between him and the advancement of the banner of the cross ; his impartial devotedness to the poor abandoned set-, tiers on the shores of the northern lakes, and the history of the dangers, privations, and sufferings to which he cheerfully exposed himself, in seeking the home of the wild Indian in order to bring the light of Faith to its pagan inmates, form an interesting tale. On the creation of the diocese of Peterborough in 188:?, Bishop Jamot was appointed its first Bishop, and on September 21st, of that year, arrived in his Episcopal See where he was received most enthusiastically. 'GEORGE JOHNSTON, Chief of Police of the Town ot Peterborough, is a son of the late James Johnston, of the Town ■tT BiograpJikal Notices. 559 of Drum, County Monaghan, Ireland, having been born there in 1S23. His father was a tailor by trade, and the same calling was adopted by himself and all his brothers. In 1845 old Mr. Johnston left his native land for America, accompanied by his wife, three daughters and two sons — George being one. They landed at Quebec, July loth, of that year, and though the passage u[) the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers, and via " Bytown " and the Rideau Canal, was by the old-fashioned " Durham " boat, they arrived in Cowan Township the latter part of the same month — a quick passage at that time, though now it is made in a single day. The whole failiily lived in Millbrook a number of years. The old people both died there, while a brother and two sisters are still residents of the place. Mr. Johnston married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Mitchell, one of the oldest settlers in the Township of Emily, and who was an officer of volunteers in 1837-8. He has one son and one daughter, the latter being the wife of J. Wallace, merchant, of Lakefield. In 1851 Mr. Johnston renioved to Peterborough, and here followed his trade till his appointment on the police. He has now been Chief of the force for many years, and the long incumbency of so important and trustworthy a position is sufficient evidence of both efficiency and popularity. WILLIAM KENNEALY, proprietor of the Commercial House at the corner of George and Brock Streets, Peterborough, where he is prepared at all times to satisfactorily care for the travelling public. This is one of the oldest established houses in town. William Kennealy was born in Otonabee Township in 1855, where his people were early settlers. There he lived till 1877, when he was three years on the road as commercial traveller, and in 1880 leased and took possession of his present location, where he has continued to the present time. ■'11 ■, V ■ ■'•'^!Pll; i!;' I > \ 1 W • ' 1 560 History of the County of Peterborough. THOMAS KELLY, dry goods merchant, Peterborough, was born May 24th, 1843, on what is called the "Thorn Hill" Farm, in the Township of Smith. His father, Patrick Kelly, who, born in County Cavan, Ireland, about 1804, came to Canada with Captain Higginbottom, in the year 1831, for whom he worked at farming for some time. In 1837 he purchased from a Captain Thompson 200 acres of k.. :1, being lot 16 in the 6th concession of Douro, for which he paid ^200, which sum he had saved by his industry and perseverance. He after- wards settled on Thorn Hill Farm, lot 12, ist concession of Smith, working the same for Charles Summers. He and Richard Summers, now living in F,dinburgh, Scotland, and son of Charles Summers, were the first to make a clearing on the farm now owned by Captain Wallis, and known as " Merino," and for whom Patrick Kelly worked for twenty years as manager of his farm; in 1858 he removed to Peterborough, where he died in May, 1875. The mother of Thomas Kelly was Margaret, daughter of Owen McDermott, of Monaghan, Ireland. She came to Canada in 1833; she died in December, 1882. Thomas Kelly received a common school education in the Town of Peterborough, and afterwards entered the store of J. Harty, in 1858, to learn the dry goods trade. After working for others for about twenty-three years he entered into business on his own account, in 1882. He has taken an active part in municipal matters, and in 1880 he was elected a member of the Town Council of Peterborough, and has been elected every year since. He represents the best business ward in the town. He is also President of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a society that has done a great amount of good in assisting the destitute poor of the town. He has also been Chairman of the Separate School Board, and Trustee for some years. He also Biographical Notices. 561 takes an active part in election contests, and is a strong sup- porter of the N. P. He is generous even to a fault, and does not consider that he has an enemy living. ROBERT KINCAID, M.D., ex-M. PP., of Peterborough, is a native of the Emerald Isle, and of mixed Scotch and Irish lineage. His father was a native of County Donegal, his mother the daughter of George Virtue, a Highland Scotchman, who settled in Ireland at an early age. Dr. Kincaid's father was born in 1802 and died in 1837 ; he, himself, was born in Done- gal in 1832. Robert was the youngest of four children who all came to Canada with their mother in 1847. His mother, with the balance of the family, at once came to Peterborough, leaving Robert with a relative in Kingston, where he remained at school for two years, when he joined his mother in Peterborough. During these two years he made remarkable progress in his studies, and on arriving at Peterborough he continued m the same, course — early evincing a decided taste for medicine. In 1857 he commenced his professional studies under the direction of the late Dr, George Burnham, and graduated with honours from the Medical School of Queen's University, Kingston, in 1863. But not satisfied with mastering the curriculum of Cana- dian Medical Schools he went to New York and entered a further course of study with Dr. P'rank Hamilton, an eminent surgeon of that city, spending a portion of his time at Bellevue Hospital. On the breaking out of the American War — recognizing the great value of an active field experience — he applied for a position in the Army, was readily accepted, and by order of the Surgeon-General was detailed for duty in the Washington hospitals, where he remained about two years. It may safely be stated that the amount of experience in surgery of the most 36 '^'il ^rlti i 1 n it'* Ell 1 * h / iiil miiii^ 11 II m 1' '\''\\\\ Ym 11 ill TH 562 History of the County of Peterborough. V\ \ ' difficult nature, which fell to Dr. Kincaid's lot during this time, is rarely equalled during long lives of busy pr tice, and the advantages he gained therefrom can scarcely be ^ ver-estimated from a professional point of view. As a proof of the estimation in which his services were held he was, after a subsequent short term spent at the military hospital at Governor's Island, New York Harbour, appointed to the important post of Mili- tary Medical Inspector for the State of Maine. He held this position, with head-quarters at Portland, Maine, till the close of the war, when he resigned, with a view to a European tour of inspection, to compare the system and practice in vogue in the great hospitals there with what he had been accustomed to in America. Just on the eve of his departure he received a telegram saying his mother was dangerously ill, and he at once abandoned the European trip, threw his pre- parations to the four winds, and took the first train to Canada in the hope of being able to aid in her restoration, which he happily succeeded in doing, and at her earnest solicitation he settled down in Peterborough (1865), and has since then been engaged in a practice in this town, which has few to compare with it, even in the large cities, ii we are to credit the state- ments of disinterfsted parties who have the best opportunities for knowing whereof they speak ; and it is superfluous to add that this is the natural result of exceptional ability, coupled with assiduity and devotion to the profession, and an affability and good-fellowship which makes every man his personal friend. We believe it is no exaggeration to state that there does not exist in Canada to-day a more popular man, nor a more success- ful and able physician than Dr. Kincaid. He has been for years the Surgeon of the 57th Regiment, V.M., is the official burgeon of the County of Peterborough, and the medical inspector for a TT" Biographical Notices, 563 number of the largest life companies doing business in Canada. He has considered it incumbent upon him to hold himself aloof from municipal affairs, from the amount of time it would consume, even declining the honour of the mayoralty ; but he has devoted considerable attention to educational matters ; lectured on hygiene before the Teachers' Association and occu- ' pied a seat at the Board of Education for some years. On the death of the late W. H. Scott he was urged by leading men of both political parties to accept the nomination to fill the vacancy, which he did, and as the unanimous choice of the con- stituency, sat out that term of Parliament. Although a Conser- vative, he was urged by Conservatives and Reformers alike to stand for a second term, but declined on account of the necessary interference of such a course with his private business. The Doctor married, in 1866, the daughter of James Bell, present Registrar of the County of Lanark, Ont. He is a large property owner in the County of Peterborough, and the success which has crowned his efforts from the start still faithfully attends him, while the wish of his wide circle of acquaintance is that it may long contmue so. , m 9tl« V 'Iff JOHN KING, deceased, was a native of County Carlow, Ireland, where he was born in 18 16 — the only child in the family of his father, Richard King, of that place, who emigrated thence to Canada in 1850. Mr. King, senior, was a scholar and educationalist of more than local reputation. On first arriving in Canada he located at Ingersoll, and was for five years Head- master of the Ingersoll Grammar School. He subsequently acceptably filled the same position in connection with the following Grammar Schools : — Dundas, eight years ; Peter- borough, three years; St. Catharines, two years. After which €s ' liii f 564 History of the County of Peterborough. he accepted the Principalship of the Brantford Collegiate Institute. Later on he occupied a similar position at Bowman- ville until his death, which occurred there in 1879. This gentle- man acquired his education at Dublin University, from which he held the degree of LL.D. He was intended for Holy Orders, but chose teaching in preference, and was at one time tutor to the Earl of Ross, son of the late Lord Ross, the famous astronomer. Richard King, M.D., son of the above, was born in the County Longford, Ireland, in 1848. He received the ground- work of his education from his father, subsequently entering jNIcGill University, Montreal, at which place he commenced his medical course 'u\ 1863, graduating in 1867. At once com- mencing practice in Bailieborough, Ont., he met with more than usual success ; but in 1879, deciding to remove to a larger place, he chose Peterborough as a permanent location, and has now a most lucrative and successful practice here. In 1873 the Doctor married a Miss Morris, of Delaware, New London, Ont., whose father had been for many years Chief Surgeon of the City Hospital of Dublin, Ireland. Tii"' Doctor is in easy .circum- stances, the result of unciring devotion to his profession ; and is surrounded by such attributes — in the way of a very large constituency of devoted friends, and the comforts of an elegant home — as should satisfy the ambition of even a professional man of his acknowledged ability, or a gentleman of the highest standing in his private capacity, as the Doctor is on all hands admitted to be. H. LeBRUN, Peterborough, merchant tailor and gents' furnishings, was born in the year 1848, in the Village of Ste. Eustace, County of Two Mountains, Quebec, his father being a 7T Biographical Notices. 565 contractor in that village. When fifteen years of age Mr. Le- Brun came to Peterborough and commenced clerking in the store of F. LeMay, merchant tailor, on George Street, remaining with him ten years. He then became Mr. LeMay 's partner for a year. Next, he commenced business for himself in a store on Georsfe Street now occupied by T. Menzies, afterwards removing to his present locat-ion on the east side of George Street, near Hunter Street. Mr. LeBrun has greatly increased his business within the last few years. He employs two cutters and twenty-five hands in the manufacture of ordered clothing ; he employs others at their homes in making ready-made clothing. The first floor of his establishment is devoted to gents' furnishings, the second to ready-made clothing, and the third is the work-room. Mr. LeB un takes a great interest in all legitimate sporting affairs, especially lacrosse. In religior he is a Catholic, and in politics a Conservative. I'lj WILLIAM LECH, of Peterborough, came from his native Germany to America in 1854, from Bremen to New York. He was then married and without family ; but his circumstances com- pelled him to leave his wife behind. After three months' hard woi'k in New York he saved sufficient money to send for his wife ; and after one year's further residence in New York they came to Montreal. Ti-e bitter experiences engendered of poverty followed him persistently, and with equal persistency he struggled against it, spending many extra hours in the study of the English language, the ignorance of which operated very strongly against him. At one time, in fact, his employer discharged him (he was a furrier by trade) because he couldn't speak either English or French ; so he there and then settled down to continuous study at home till he sufficiently mastered the former tongue to lil 566 History of the County of Peterborough. re-engage with his former employer. In six years after entering Montreal he had, in addition to providing for the responsi- bilities of an increasing family, saved about $1,500, with this savings he came, in 1861, to Peterborough and commenced business. Since that time uninterrupted success has attended him, and he now carries on a very extensive and lucrative fur trade, wholesale, retail and jobbing — in the raw as well as the manufactured article. His success has been the means of assisting a large number of friends and relatives from the Fatherland to the New World. He owns one of the finest private residences in the town. Just fifty ye^ rs ago, Thomas Harper cut the first tree on the iot whereon it is built ; and, as if regretting that he had thrown away the time in 'blearing land which would never be of any value, remarked, as he laid his snuff-box on the first stump : "No man now living will ever see the village extend so far as this." This same lot without buildings, is now said to be cheap at $6,000. Mr. Lech was born in Pr. Eylau, Province of East Prussia. He was the son of a Prussian soldier, also a native of the same Province^ who fought through the great Napoleonic wars — was in many of the great battles of that period, including the celebrated Retreat from Moscow (at which time he was in the Prussian contingent under Napoleon), the Battle of Waterloo and the Siege of Piris. He bore arms from 1805 till the conclusion of peace, alter the banishment of Napoleon to St. Helena, and was several times wounded in battle. J. J. LUNDY, Peterborough, was born in that town in 1834. He is a son of William Lundy who was born in Cavan, Ireland, in 1801, and who came to Canada in 1828 ; his mother was born in the same county as his father, and was a daughter of James TT Biographical Notices. 567 Brown. His father settled in Peterborough in 1832, beginning business as a merchant tailor. Two years afterwards he opened a general store, which business he continued until 1874, when he retired upon an ample fortune. From 1845 to 1852 he was engaged in the distilling business in the building known as Lundy's tannery. This, however, was managed by his son Robert. He owned a large amount of land in the county ; by taking stock in the first projected railway to Peterborough, he lost a consider- able amount of money ; he was one of the oldest district Magi- strates. During the Rebellion of 1837 he had the contract for making clothes for the government. He was a Reformer in politics, and for many years was in the Town Council. At his death in 1878 he left a family of four sons and five daughters. J. J. Lundy attended to his late father's business. He is the President of the Little Lake Cemetery Co. In 1877 he was gazetted a Justice of the Peace, and an ex-Mayor of the town, having filled that ofiice for 1880 and 1881. In politics he is a Reformer. He is not married. FRANCIS MASON, florist and seedsman, Peterborough, was born at Cobourg, March 9th, 1842. His father, Francis Mason, born in SHgo, Ireland, in 1805, came to Canada about 1830 and settled at Cobourg; he was a cooper by trade. In 18^2 he came to Peterborough, where he died in 1877. Mr. Mason's mother, Belinda Corneil, born in Limerick, Ireland, in 181 3, and is now living at Omemee with one of her children. He is the fourth son of a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom three sons and two daughters are now living. He was educated at the Public School and the High School in Peter- borough. He began mercantile life as a clerk in the grocery store of B. & E. Green, also in the store of Henry Morrow, in m ■ill I / 'ff • : ■ , ! ' ■ r &■■■ 'it- <' 568 History of tJic County of Peterborough. which stores he remained about two years. He then went to Rochester, where he engaged in the same business. Return- ing, he opened a general store at Minden, now in the County of Haliburton, where he remained nine years. In 1873 he returned to Peterborough and established his present business, having for a partner Philip Giles. The business was con- tinued for a year and a-half, when Giles, after selling the green- house property, put the money in his pocket and absconded, leaving Mr. Mason to pa) the debts. The latter gave the place up and continued in the business with two greenhouses which he built on some property he owned. In January, 1883, he opened out in the seed and flower business at his present stand, in the post-office block. In religion, Mr. Mason is a Methodist, and in politics a Conservative. THE MASON FAMILY, of Peterborough, are of Nor-' man extraction. Their ancestors fled from France at the time of the persecution of the Waldenses, and settled in Sligo, Ireland, in the reign of Queen Anne. Francis Mason, who died at Peterborough in 1876, was the first of the family who came to Canada. He left Sligo in 1827, and settled in Cobourg the same year. There he married a Miss Cornell, and resided in Cobourg till 1842, when he removed to Ashburnham. During the rebellion of 1837-8, he was a Lieutenant of volunteers. His wife was a descendant of the Palatines, a religious body who, on account of persecution by the authorities, left Holland about the same time the Waldenses left France, also settling in Ireland — then looked on as the land, par excellence, of religious liberty and intellectual freedom. This lady still survives her late husband's death, which occurred as above stated. He also left two sons, who are among the leading men of the town, in a business and social point of view. ^T- Biographical Notices. 569 W. J. Mason, the elder son of the above, was born in Cobourg in 1836, coming to Peterborough with his parents when six years of age. He received his education at the public schools of the town, and in 1856 entered the mercantile estab- lishment of Bradburn & Son, to learn the business. He subse- quently became a partner in the concern, and carried on business thus for over twenty years, disposing of his interest therein in 1879. He then opened the grocery on George Street, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged. He is a strict adherent of the Methodist faith, being an influential member of the George Street Church, and is spoken of on all hands as a reliable, affable, and energetic man of business. THOMAS MENZIES, ex-Mayor of Peterborough, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1S32. His father was James Menzies, and his mother a daughter of Donald Mclntyre, who resided near Kennore, Scotland. He is the only son of a family of four children who emigrated to America, in 1851, soon after the death of the head of the family in Scot- land. After about a year's residence in New York, the family came to Peterborough, and Mr. Menzies, then about twenty years of age, at once began his business career by entering the employment of Mr. Rogers, who kept a general store in Ash- burnham. After five years' service here, in the capacity of a clerk, he commenced business in Peterborough, in the stand at present occupied by him, at which place he has built up one of the most extensive and lucrative retail trades in any town of the Province in his line, a result attained, according to universal testimony, by honesty, industry and fair dealing. Mr. Menzies has sat a number of years at the Municipal Council Board. He actively assisted in raising the first volunteer company, the Rifles, .' ■ i Mi«|: ■^ 570 History of the County of Peterborough, in 1856. For many years previous he had been an officer of militia under Major Rogers, his commission bearing the signa- ture of Sir Edmund Head. He is a Justice of the Peace, and during the period between the death of Mr. Hatton, late Police Magistrate, and the appointment of Mr. Dumble, the present incumbent, he was selected to fill that important position, which general rumour states he accomplished in a most credit- able and satisfactory manner. In fact, Mr. Menzies' whole career is a record of the success which follows close application and integrity of action, coupled with ability to direct and control. WILLIAM MORGAN, deceased, was born in Hereford- shire, England, in July, 1804. He came to Canada in 1834, and settled at once in the Township of Otonabee on the Rice Lake Road. - Settled on 200 acres of uncleared land ; this he improved and lived upon till hivS death, which occurred in 1876. He married in 1831, in England, Susan Powell, a native of Wales, who with four sons and two daughters still survive him, all of whom are settled in this county. ALFRED P. MORGAN, son of above, and proprietor of Morgan House, Peterborough, was born in the Township of Otonabee in 1848, at the family homestead, where he lived till 1866. He spent two years as clerk in the lumbering business. He then engaged in the saloon business till 1876, when he purchased the stock and good will of the new Morgan House of one Thomas Chambers, where he keeps a house in every way creditable to its proprietor and the town in which he is located. He married, in 1869, Eliza Ryan, daughter of the late Thomas Ryan, of Otonabee, who was a pioneer in that township, and was one of its first councillors. Biographical Notices. $71 WILLIAM HENRY MOORE, deceased, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 179B. He was the son of a Dublin barrister, was liberally educated, and joined the British Navy on the out- break of the second Anglo-American War. After serving a term in the Navy he was sent to the West Indies, by an uncle, to superintend a sugar plantation there, and during several years' life in that climate he acquired considerable means and became familiar with the French language. Subsequently to this he was successfully engaged in the New Brunswick lumber trade in partnership with a brother ; but their business was ruined by what was known as the Great Miramichi fires, and in , 1830, with his brothers, James and Charles, he came to Upper Canada, settling the same year on lot 9, concession 3. Township of Smith, a " Clergy Reserve." This was, of course, at that time a wilderness, but is now one of the finest farms in Ontario. In 1831 he married a daughter of Francis Page, who taught the first school in Smith, known as the " Page " School, on the fourth line, erected about 1824 or '25. During the balance of his life he remained on the old Smith homestead, and reared a family consisting of: James Moore, deceased, Charles Moore, still residing on the farm ; William Henry Moore, barrister, of Peterborough, who received his early education here, and after studying law and being admitted to the Bar, has carried on a successful practice at this place ; F. D. Moore, barrister, in Lindsay; John K. Moore, now living on the farm ; and one daughter, residing at the old homestead with her mother, who still survives. Mr. Moore, sen., died peacefully in the year 1867, full of years and honours. In Canadian politics Mr. Moore was a Reformer, until William Lyon McKenzie's demands were granted, after which he was an ardent Conservative. For very many years Mr. Moore was a Justice of the Peace, and of all the *t ih li j :' •''! 1 I :nm' % I 572 History of the County of Peterborough, pioneers none were more sincerely respected while living, nor more regretted on passing away. MARCELLO MOWRY, of Ashburnham. The Mowry family are of English extraction — their ancestors having emi-' grated to Massachusetts Bay in the early colonial times. At the time of the Revolutionary War, they espoused the king's cause, and with many others were obliged to leave the land of their nativity when the fortune of war gave victory to the Conti- nentals. It was not till early in the present century, however, that the family found their way to Amherst — now Cobourg. The " town " was then at the present site of the Court House ; * the present locality of Cobourg being then a dismal swamp. A log tavern and some half dozen log cabins comprised the entire settlement at that time. Mr. Mowry's father was an edge-tool maker. He built a shop, did not open it for work as intended, but established a business at Amherst — very small at first — ■ which grew and prospered with the growth of the settle- ment. After his Cither's death, in 1832, Mr. Mowry removed to the Township of Smith, and commenced farming — or rather, to clear a farm out of the forest, on the shore of Mud Lake. He also built a shop at the place, and worked at his trade there. It took him about two years to fully discover that farming was not his forte: upon which he removed to Ash- burnham, and built a small shop on the site of his present establishment, adjacent to the iron bridge. He enlarged and rebuilt his premises in 1S43, and in them conducted a steadily increasing business till his death, which occurred in 1875. He was an active business man, a fine mechanic, and one of the best respected citizens of the place. The management of the business then fell to his son Richard, who has from time to time ' ' Biographical Notices. 573 enlarged his facilities, till he now has a very extensive estab- lishment, where are manufactured machines and implements of almost every description. Many men are employed here, and the establishment is among the most extensive and best con- ducted in Peterborough. JOHN H EATON MOWRY, machinist, is a descendant of the old U. E. Loyalist stock, whose ancestors came from England with the Pilgrim fathers. The father of our subject was Marcello Mowry, born in Vermont, U.S., 1800; came to Canada in 18 16, and settled in Peterborough ten years later. From the time of his settlement in Peterborougl"" until his death in June, 1874, he followed the business of mechanic, and subse- quently iron founder. It was in 1845 he first opened the foundry and machine shop now vSO well known. Mr. Mowry, sen'r., married Mary Sheehan, a native of Cork County, Ireland, by whom he had five children, of which he whose name heads this sketch is one. Mr. John Heaton Mowry was born at Peter- borough, October loth, 1833, In early life he received a good sound English education, which eminently fitted him for the successful business career he afterwards entered upon. Like his father, he acquired a practical knowledge of his business, which no doubt assisted materially in contributing toward his success. In February, 1853, Mr. Mowry married Selena J, Martyn, whose birth-place, as well as that of her parents, was Cornwall, England. Mr. Mowry's father-in-law was engaged in the milling business for a long time, and it is worthy of note that the first Hour shipped from Peterborough was shipped by him. By his marriage Mr. Mowry has six children — Marcello M., Mortimer B., John H., Ipsa M., Martyn, Richard B. Mr. Mowry is connected with the Orange and Foresters' Societies; iii 1 nli 574 History of the County of Peterborough. \ \ in politics he is a Conservative, and in religion belongs to the Methodist persuasion. AMOS McCREA, M.D., of Peterborough, is of Scottish descent — being a son of E. McCrea, by a daughter of Joseph Knapp, a U, E. Loyalist, who emigrated from the vicinity of Albany, N. Y., at the close of the Revolutionary War. With several other families, similarly situated, he started to drive stock through to Upper Canada ; but it was all stolen by "Continentals," or otherwise lost on the way; and the party suffered untold hardship in consequence — having nothing with which to provide themselves and families with food, except game and fish. The party finally succeeded in reaching the long- hoped-for land of promise, and settled at what is now the Village of Merrickville, which subsequently became the home of the McCrea family. In 1837-8, the McCrea brothers — including the father 0*" the subject of this sketch^ — served in the volunteers, till disbanded on the return of peace. Dr. McCrea was born in 1 82 1, and his parents both died near Merrickville, in 1855. He spent his early life chiefly on the farm — commenced his medical studies in 1846, and graduated with honours in 1851. He practised in Stoney Creek, Norwood, and Kitley — only remain- ing a short time in each — and removing to Keene in May, 1852, where, for twenty years, he carried on a large practice — removing to Peterborough in 1882. He was married, in 1853, to a daughter of John Reid, of Brockville. Devoting his time strictly and assiduously to his profession, he has not identified himself in public affairs ; but enjoys the good will and confidence of a very wide circle of friends and acquaintances, both personally and professionally. Biographical Notices. 575 DUNCAN McLEOD, Real Estate Agent, Peterborough, was born in the County of Glengarry, August 12th, 1821, being the fourth in a family of eight children. The following are the names of the family: Norman, who resides in Chicago; Roderick, dead ; Flora, now Mrs. McQuaig ; Duncan, Donald, Margaret, Sarah ; John died at Bowman ville. His father's name was Wil- liam McLeod, who in 181 5 settled in the Township of Lancaster, County of Glengarry. This township, it might be remarked, was the first piece of land surveyed in Upper Canada. Mr. McLeod, with his father and brothers, took part in three engagements in the Rebellion of 1837-8 ; at that critical period his native county turned out four regiments of 1,000 men each. In 1840 Mr. McLeod went to Kingston, where he began business as a clerk in a hardware store, remaining there until 1847, when became to Peterborough; and afterwards, in 1849, removed to Port Hope where he conducted a hardware business until 1858. While here, Mr. McLeod was elected Mayor and also held the position of Managing Director of the Port Hope, Lindsay and Peterborough Railway, in the projecting and building of which he took an active part. Then he spent several years travelling in the Western States ; he resided in the State of Missouri for ten years. In 1877 he returned to Peter- borough, where he received the appointment of loan agent for several companies, prominent among them being the agency for the Waterous Engine Works Co., of Brantford — from Toronto to Belleville — in w)iich business he is still engaged. In 1852, Mr. McLeod married a daughter of Dr. John Gilchrist, one of the first licensed physicians in Ontario, and who died at Port Hope in 1858. In religion, Mr. McLeod is a Presbyterian. In politics, he is a reformer .of the old school, is well posted on the questions of the day, and is a strong partisan politician. He 11 I lifi^ %. 576 History of the County of Peterborough. was one of the first suljscribers to the British Chronicle, of New York, Banner, and Globe, which the late Hon. Geo. Brown started in Toronto forty years ago. JAMES McWILLIAMS, Gaoler of the County Gaol of Peterborough County, was born in the County Cavan, Ireland, in 1823, being the eldest of a family of eight children, four of whom were boys. His father emigrated to Canada, with his family, in I S3 1, first settling in the Township of Cavan, where he lived three years, then removing to Helmont, where he resided twenty- two years. In 1856 he removed to Norwood, then to Peter- borough, where he remained till his death in 1877. During the Rebellion he was a volunteer, and on active service for nearly four years, being stationed, during that time, at different points on the Niagara Peninsula. In 1856 the subject of this sketch came to Peterborough to accept a position as Sheriff's officer, under the late Sheriff Hall. This he filled till his appointment to his present position, the duties of which he has now performed for many years, with acceptability to the public and satisfaction to his superior officers. JOHN E. N ORRIS, deceased, was born in 1847, in Eng- land. He came to Canada, with his parents when quite young and settled in Kingston. His father moved to Toronto and other places in Western Ontario, subsequently returning to King- ston where he died. Mr. N orris was a harness maker by trade, and was also a commercial traveller. In 1879 he commenced keeping the Dominion hotel at Millbrook, removing to Peter- borough, where he kept the Queen's Hotel, in 1883. He died May ist, 1884. In 1879 he married Elizabeth Kinsman Croker, daughter of John Kinsman, a farmer near Millbrook, and widow Biographical Notices, S77 of Henry Croker, hotel keeper at Millbrook. Mr. Norris had no children. In relij^ion he was a Methodist; in politics a Con- servative ; he was also an Oddfellow and a member of the Sons of I*!ngland. WALTER PATERSON, sr. and jr. The first named of these gentlemen was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, February 29th, 1808. His father was Alexander Paterson, and his mother a daughter of Robt. Nisbet, all of that place. He came to Canada alone and without means in 1834, working as a farm hand for one year in the Township of Monaghan. After this he came to Peterborough, taking employment at any work he could procure, till he was engaged by the late Sheriff I lall as a general workman in the tannery. After twelve years' service with V .. Hall, i\nd becoming one of the most thoroughly posted men in the leather manufacturing trade, he leased the tannery from his former employer, and after carrying on the business thus till 1S56, he [)urchased the entire property from his former employer and has since been uninterruptedly engaged therein, of late years in connection with l^ WALTER PATERSON, jr., his only son, by Agnes, daughter of Robert Richardson, whom he married in 1836. Mr. Patterson, jr., is now the ;ictive business partner of the firm. He was born and bred to the business, so to speak, and thor- oughly understands it in all its various departments. He employs quite a force of men, and the establishment is one of the best managed of the kind in the country, as well as one of the leading industries of Peterborough. Mr. Paterson, sr., has always been a warm supporter of the Reform party in Canada, but his advo- cacy of political principles has not been allowed to interfere with 37 Fi r. ^ 578 History of the County of Peterborough. his business or social relations, nor with the right or feelings ,of those whose convictions were opposed to his o\vn. He was a volunteer during the Rebellion of '37-8, and connected with the commissariat. His only daughter is Mrs. Henry Grundy, jr., wife of the present D'^.puty- Registrar of the county. Mr. Paterson, jr., foi' a man of his years, has a very commendable record in local public affairs, having very acceptably filled a position xX. the Town Council Board for ten successive years, and being now a member of the Town Trust Commission Board. In his business and social relations none stand higher, he hav- ing "passed the chair" in a masonic lodge, and is now Z. of Corinthian R. A. Chapt. No. 36, being among the many pleasing and honourable soci^il duties it has been his good fortune to perform. E. A. PECK, of Smith & Peck, barristers, Peterborough, is the son of A. H. Peck, who was born in England, and of Mary Armour, Little York, the daughter of the Reverend Samuel Armour, the first Church of England clergyman in Peterborough. Mr. Peck's father came out to Canada and. after marrying, settled on a farm near Peterborough. In 1855 he with his wife went to Sussex, England, where the subject of this sketch was born, September nth, 1858. They returned to Canada and settled in the village of Ashburnham, opposite Peterborough, in 1869. Mr. Peck was educated at Peter- borough Collegiate Institute, and matriculated at Toronto University in 1876. In the same year he commenced the study of law in the office of Scott & Edwards, Peterborough, where he remained until 1881, when he was admitted to the bar. In the spring of 1882 he formed his present partnership with Henry H. Smith, son of the Honourable Sydney Smith, of Cobourg. Biographical Notices. 579 E. PHELAN, retired gentleman, was born in King's County, Ireland, and came to Canada with his people when but three months of age. His father, Patrick Phelan, settled first in the Township of Dummer, where he lived several years. He afterwards moved to the Township of Douro, opposite Young's Point, where he died about the year 1850. Two sons now are all that survive him — our subject and his brother, Peter Phelan, now living near Burley. E. Phelan left home when about thirteen years of age, and engaged in lumbering for many years. He piloted the first timber that ever came to Peterborough, receiving for his services $16 per day. He run the river for many years. In 1854 he engaged in the hotel business in what is known as the Phelan Hotel, on Simcoe Street. He afterwards bought the same and built additions to his house, until January, 1882, when he leased it to the present proprietor. He married, about 1853, Mary Sullivan, a native of Peterborough, and daughter of the late John Sullivan, an early settler in this place. Of a family of seven sons, three are still living, all of whom are yet at home. Mr. Phelan's residence is on the corner of Charlotte and George Streets. He owns quite an extent of town property, mostly vacant lots. tiii W. H. ROBERTSON, proprietor and editor of the Peter- borough Times, was born at Cobourg in May, 1851. He is the son of Thomas Hepburn Robertson, who was born at Edin- burgh, Scotland, in 1824, and who, after teaching school in Cobourg for some years, died at Fenelon P"alls, in 1864. His mother, Catharine Dixon, born in the north of Ireland, in 1824, is still living. Mr. Robertson was educated in a Public School at Cobourg, and at the High School at Peterborough. His father removed from Cobourg to Peterborough, and thence to ri-.:i'i-iii r 580 History of the County of Peterborough. w . % -:H Fenelon Falls, where he died ; the family then returned to Peterborough. When fourteen years of age, Mr. Robertson commenced to learn the printing business in the Revieiv office, under Robert Romaine. He also studied medicine for two years. In 1872 he, with Walter Walsh, established the Times in an office on George Street over TuHy's diug store. In two months they removed to the premises now occupied by Andrew McNeill. In the fall of 1879, Mr. Robertson, who had bought Walsh's interest in 1875, removed to the present location of the Times, where he also publishes the Canadian Agriculturist. On November i8th, 1874, Mr. Robertson married Miss Ruth Carlyle, daughter of the late David Carl) le ; she died Decem- ber 9, 1875, leaving one child, Ruth Lilian. On June 24th, 1880, Mr. Robertson married Miss Eliza Brandon, of Fenelon Falls. By this marriage he had two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom are dead. In religion Mr. Robertson is a Presbyterian, and in politics a Reformer. In 1879-80 he represented Ward No. 4 in the Town Council. T. W. ROBINSON, of Peterborough, is of English ex- traction. His grandfather, Thomas Robinson, emigrated to Canada with his family in 1820, and was one of the early settlers in the Township of Smith. He hewed out a home in the wilderness, on lot 15, concession 8. In those early days when physicians, ministers and teachers were not only very scarce, but in this locality entirely wanting, the elder members of the Robinson family were for years among the most ardent, if, indeed, not the only, practical advocates or amateur practitioners of at least the two first named professions. They inaugurated a series of religious meetings in connection with the Methodist Church, of which they were, as all the family ever since have T^ Biographical Notices. S8i been, most devoted members. These meetings were held in the log cabins of the settlers. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the elder, were fine singers, and were the leaders in prayer and song at the good old-fashioned orthodox backwoods meetings. Mrs. Robinson was also a celebrated physician and midwife, doing all, however, without remuneration or reward, save what a clear conscience and delight in doing good to her fellows ever carried to her heart. It was quite a common thing for her to go distances of thirty miles on horseback in the night, through storms and forbidding forests, across rivers and morasses, to render aid to the sick ; and many of the most sturdy yeomanry of Peterborough and Victoria Counties were ushered into being under Mrs. Robinson's care. These combined circumstances led to an exceptionally wide field of acquaintance and friendship ; and when the old couple passed away in 1858, nor kings nor •princes could be more lamented by their vassals than were they among the honest pioneers and their families, most especially the six children they left behind, of whom John, third in age, was three years old when his father left Yorkshire, his native place, for the wilds of Upper Canada. This last named gentle- man remained at home, assisting his father on the farm. He married, when twenty-four years of age, a daughter of John How- son, and reared a family of three sons and two daughters. Dur- ing the Rebellion of ' t^j he was a member of the Peterborough volunteers, who marched to Little York. The early teachings of his pious parents still strongly mark the descendants, who are all devoted adherents to the Methodist Church. Of John's family of three sons, one is the Rev. John H. Robinson, a Methodist minister, now stationed at Oakville, Ontario ; another is the Rev. Isaac Robinson, at present a Methodist missionary in the North-West ; and the third is the subject of this sketch. t M hiiii if ' ' IE I " I. 582 History of the County of Peterborough. This gentleman was born at the old homestead in 1842, and educated at the Peterborough Public Schools. When nineteen years of age, he entered an apprenticeship with Messrs. Nichols & Hall, Peterborough, and subsequently became a partner in the firm. On the death of Mr. Hall, Mr. Robinson purchased the entire interest in the business, and has smce carried it on alone. In 1871 he married a daughter of John Maynard, of the Township of Scarborough (formerly of Ottawa). He has been connected with educational matters as a member of the School Board of Peterborough, and has been for many years actively and prominently identified with the George Street Methodist Church. He attributes the success which has at- tended him in this life to his early moral and religious training. Mr. Robinson is known among a very wide field of acquaint- ances as a model man of business, a kind neighbour, and conscientious Christian. • REV. J. MORRICE RODGER, M. A., deceased, was the son of a Scotch Presbyterian minister and was born in the manse of Kincardine O'Neal, Aberdeenshire. His ancestors, for five generations, had been clergymen, so that the Gospel mission appeared an hereditary trait in the character of the family. Mr. Rodger, the subject of this sketch, received the elementary portion of his education at home, and afterwards, at an early age, entered King's College and University, Aberdeen, and passed through the usual divinity course under the Pro- fessorship of the Rev. Dr. Mearns, who had been in early life a pupil of the young student's father. While taking his theological course at his university, he also attended medical classes, receiv- ing a certificate from the Royal College of Surgeons, London. In both these branches he attained a considerable degree of ,' 1 T^dsjii ^jK^I Biographical Notices. 583 eminence, and in after life manifested a strong liking for scien- tific subjects. After a short experience in public preaching in his own neighbourhood, he sailed for Canada in the year 1833 with ardent hopes and the usual youthful aspirations which accompany young missionaries in their journeys to other lands. About the time the Presbyterians in Canada were rallying their scattered forces at Kingston, and had organized "The United Synod " — having for its object, the unity of their churches. Within a short time of his arrival in Canada, Mr. Rodger proceeded to Peterborough (at that time but the centre of a scattered community). There was no church, but the energetic young minister soon succeeded in gathering around him in a hired building the followers of his Church in that district, and in a short time afterwards, by his devotion and perseverance, laid the foundation of St. Andrew's Church, which still remains as a monument of his pious zeal. In 1835 Mr. Rodgers married his cousin, Miss Elliza Morrice, who remained his helpmate for thirteen years. In 1839, accompanied by his wife and family, he made a pilgrimage to his home in Scotland, and after remain- ing about one year, returned to Canada and resumed his minis- terial functions in Peterborough. The erection of St. Paul's Church, in 1858, was due in some part to the energy of our subject. His fervour and earnestness had increased his congre- gation, who on the other hand, by self-denial and love of their pastor, handsomely furnished funds for the building of the new church. Mr. Rodger did not confine his labours to his own immediate neighbourhood, but extended them to all populous parts of the country which, in no small degree, contributed to the respect in which he was generally held. Although pos- sessed of a massive frame and an apparently robust constitution, Mr. Rodger's useful life was abruptly brought to a close on the m t'*'S,' Im, 584 History of the County of Peterborough. 8th of January, 1878. He died of apoplexy, having suffered painfully during the three months previous to his decease. His death was greatly regretted by the Presbyterians of Peter- borough, and his memory will long continue to be reverenced by those who had the happiness of his personal friendship. Mr. Rodger left a family of four sons and three daughters. The eldest is the Rev. W. M. Rodger, M.A., Ashburn. Two sons are in Australia, only one remaining in Peterborough, Mr. G. M. Rodger, attorney, who has a large practice. ROBERT DAVID ROGERS, of Ashburnham, is the eld- est of his generation, now living, of the celebrated Rogers family, whose military record is touched upon in the sketch of the Town of Peterborough. Born in the Township of Haldimand, Nor- thumberland County, in 1809, he has been an eye-witness of the wonderful growth of his native Province from an almost primeval condition, through its marvellous and unparalleled state of development to its present glorious and ever-increasing pros- perity and importance among the nations. With his paternal grandfather, the hero of a hundred battles, in the person of the commander of the Queen's Rangers, and his maternal grand- father, also an uncompromising Philadelphia loyalist in the days which "tried men's souls," a hundred years gone by—and born and bred, as it were, among wars and rumours of wars — little wonder that the ancestral spirit developed itself in ^^^ to an ex- tent which, after considerable service, counting from the first moment of the mutinous outbreak, found Mr. Rogers one of the "forlorn hope" detailed to capture the steamer Caroline, at Navy Island, on the night of the 29th December of that event- ful year. Of the thirty gallant men who performed this most important public service, which at one time threatened a great Biographical Notices. 585 war between two of the most powerful nations, Mr. Rogers is now one of but three surviving members. Without following his many daring adventures and hairbreadth escapes, suffice it to say that he returned home, after the suppression of the Rebellion, with much praise and honour to his credit. And in this connec- tion it may be stated that he subsequentJy organized the first company of Ashburnham volunteers, and was chosen their first captain. The particulars of the "cutting out of the Caroline'' have already been given in another portion of this work. Mr. Rogers' maternal grandfather, George Playter, above referred to, drew from the Crown 200 acres of land, extending from Queen to Bloor Street, and now in the centre of the City of Toronto, which he subsequently sold for $4.00 per acre ! Verily, how have the times changed since then ! ! Reared on his father's farm, and, like most of the youth of those days, possessing but few advantages of education, Mr. Rogers chose farming as his occupation, and in 1834 removed to the wilderness of Peterborough County and settled in Otonabee. Eight years later, he removed to what was then called Peter- borough East, now a portion of the Village of Ashburnham, where he settled, and has ever since lived. He subsequently erected flouring and saw mills on the property, and for forty years carried on a prosperous business there. A large portion of the village is a part of the " Burnham Survey '' — in which a number of streets are named for different members of his family. Mr. Rogers is one of the oldest magistrates in the old Newcastle District, having been appointed by Sir Peregrine Maitland. He was a member of the old District Council, a representative of Otonabee, and afterwards of Ashburnham, in the County Coun- cil, and in 1870 was elected warden of that the highest municipal representative body. All through life he has ever continued in I ■, i !| V'. ; • rhl 586 History of the County of Peterborough. the highest respect and esteem oi all his fellow-citizens, and no man ever stood higher in the sense of one who has added to the well-being and prosperity of the community, by a well-spent life and honourable record. I '0. -' Ikii pin V{ COL. HENRY CASSIDY ROGERS, Postmaster of the Town of Peterborough, is a native of Grafton, Northumberland County — having been born there in 1839. He is a son of the late James Rogers, widely known throughout the Newcastle District, from the days of its earliest settlement till the time of his death, which occurred in Grafton in 1S74. To avoid repe- tition, we may just say here that Col. Rogers is a descendant of the family whose names were the terror of the Continentals dur- ing the War of the Revolution. A brief reference to some of the remarkable exploits of his ancestors may be found elsewhere in this work, and are more fully referred to in Dr. Ryerson's "U. E. Loyalists," and Dr. Canniff's well-known work on the same subject. The Colonel's grandfather represented the old New- castle District (now the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, Peterborough and Victoria) in the old Parliament of Upper Canada. His father was the first magistrate commissioned in the present County of Northumberland ; was many years a member of the old District Council ; was Warden of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham, under the operation of the Municipal Act of 1850; and for many years previous to his death, held, and most satisfactorily filled, the office of Division Court Clerk, at Grafton. The subject of this sketch received his education chiefly in Toronto, but came to Peter- borough when quite young, and entered the employ of Robert David Rogers as a clerk. Subsequently he formed a partnership with Strickland ; the new firm opened up a general store Biographical Notices. 587 in Ashburnham, which they removed to Peterborough in i860. They were also extensively engaged in the lumbering business. In 1869 Col. Rogers sold out to his partner, and retired from active business; but, in 1871, was appointed Postmaster of Peterborough, which position he acceptably and efficiently fills. The Colonel's connection with volunteer matters has been referred to elsewhere. He is commanding officer of "C" Troop, 3rd Regiment of Cavalry, and certainly no finer military organi- zation exists in Canada to-day. Naturally, he takes the greatest pride in this troop, and it is no playing on words to say that officers and men alike reciprocate the affection entertained. It is superfluous to add that in his personal and social relations, Col. Rogers' reputation stands as high as in his official record. ^'Oli 'mm \ II COL. JAMES Z. ROGERS, of Ashburnham, is one of the most enterprising and prominent business men of Peter- borough. He is a son of Robert David Rogers, elsewhere referred to. He has not lost his ancestral military turn, but is conspicuous as one of the most prominent and efficient volunteer officers in the entire force. And without exaggeration or boast, we may vainly ask to be pointed to a militia regiment showing a more excellent standard in all points, or any point, than the 57th "Peterborough Rangers," which he so well commands. But one remark on this subject, under the head of " military " voids the necessity of further reference here — more than to repeat that the admitted superiority of the 57th is said, on all hands, to be in very great measure due to the ability and popularity of its commanding officer. Col. Rogers was born in Otonabee in 1842. He is actively and extensively engaged in lumber manufacture. He is also a rare sportsman and has invented, and now manu- factures, an entirely new model of a canoe which finds great ■s".\ \ I: fi'.': 588 History of the County of Peterborough. favour in boating circles. Nor does his other many public and private duties keep him aloof from a participation in municipal affairs, being one of the "City I'^athers " of Asburnham, and a leading citizen in all matters of public concern, as well as in the commercial " world " of the community. MICHAEL SANDERSON, Smith Township, was born in Northumberland, England, September 26th, 18 15, being the third in a family of seven children. His jiarents were Michael and Mary (Stoddart) Sanderson ; his father was a shepherd. In 1828 his parents came to Canada, and settled in the Township of Smith, where his father purchased 2.00 acres of land. His father died in 1854 and his mother in i860. Mr. Sanderson has always been engaged in farming, and has taken such practical interest in municipal affairs that he has and still occupies posi- tions of honour and trust. He served in the Rebellion of 1837-8. He has been a Justice of the Peace for twenty-seven years, and has been in the Township Council, both as councillor and reeve, for twenty years ; he is now reeve of Smith. For two years he was warden of the county. He is a Reformer, and a strong party man ; he has never been identified with any church, al- though he attends the Presbyterian. He has been a director of the Bible Society for years. In 1850 Mr. Sanderson was mar- ried to a daughter of John Harvey, who was born August 5th. 1824. He has now one son and two daughters, the former a farmer. Perhaps no man in the Township of Smith has taken so much interest in the progress and development of the town- ship as has the subject of this sketch. C. W. SAWERS, Barrister, Peterborough, was born in Peterborough in 1853. His father was Augustus Sawers, who Biographical Notices. 589 111 who was born in Scotland in 1819 ; his grandfather was a Captain in the British Navy. Augustus Sawers came to Canada in 1840 for the purpose of learning farming. Soon after he came he buih a saw-mill in Douro, and subsequently engaged in farming in Smith for about ten years, after which he came to Peterborough; he there founded the Examiner, which he published for four years. He also owned a line of boats running on the lakes between Peterborough and Lindsay. He was mayor in i860, when the Prince of Wales visited Peterborough. He once took part in a political contest for a member to represent the New castle District. In 1845 he married a daughter of Col, Crawford of Douro, by whom he had four sons and one daughter ; he died in 1861. C. W, Sawers is the third son. After receiving his education in Peterborough, he studied law in Toronto with Harrison, Osier & Moss, and was admitted to the bar in 1S77, when he began practising in Peterborough. He was a member of the Town Council for 18^3, and was a candidate for the Mayoralty for 1884. ADAM SCOTT, the first settler on the present site of the Town of Peterborough, was" born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1796, and was a millwright by trade. In 1812 he left England for America, and settled in Delaware County, New York State ; he remamed there for about six years, working at his trade. While there, he married a daughter of J. Mann, of Yorkshire, England, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. In 18 18 he came to Canada, and, locating at Port Hope, worked at his trade, and built a saw-mill. When he came out from Scot- land he had about $4,000. He lost nearly all of this in building, by contract, a mill at Cobourg for old Squire Henry. In the spring of 1820 he came to what is now Peterborough, the site of '^ i>. I :fl!iP=f f 590 History of the County of Peterborough. which was then covered with a dense growth of huckleberry bushes, interspersed with a few pines. The first thing he erected was a small log shanty, i8 by 20 feet, which he covered with black ash bark. Then he put up a saw and grist mill, which was of the most primitive kind. The saw was an "up and down" saw, and the mill-stones were taken from a neighbouring quarry- The few settlers who had located in Smith Township, two years before, gave the place the name of " Scott's Plains." His daughter Jeanette was the first person born in what is now Peterborough; this was in 1820. Adam Scott removed from "Scott's Plains" in 1827, having lost all his property through getting in debt with John Brown, of Port Hope, and located on the Hagerman farm, one mile east of Port Hope, where he resided for two years. He then removed to the Township of Cavan, where he followed his trade. He died February 7th, 1838. Adam Scott was ;ui immensely strong man. He stood 6 feet 4 inches in his stocking feet, and weighed 260 pounds, which was nearly all muscle. With perfect ease he could shoul- der a barrel of salt or cider. In a previous part of this History there is an incident recorded of his having carried a heavy mill- crank from Peterborough to Port Hope to be repaired. His wife died at " Scott's Plains " in 1825, of the fever and cholera which then prevailed among the Peter Robinson immigrants. He was asked by Hon. Peter Robinson to accept the immigration agency but he declined. He owned twelve acres of land surrounding his, and was frequently urged to purchase more, but he declined, thinking that the place would never amount to anything. He often crossed the River Otonabee in the summer season on stilts to reach his oxen, which were pastured where the Village of Ash- burnham now is. One of Adam Scott's sons, also named Adam Scott, who was born at Port Hope, December 21st, 18 18, is now ^Il Biographical Notices. 591 living in the Village of Millbrook, where he follows his father's trade; he has lived in Millbrook for four years. He has filled the office of Reeve of Manvers and Cavan for several years. On March 6th, 1840, he was married to a daughter of James Holmes, of Cavan. lii'iiaii: ' illi SPARHAM SHELDRAKE, proprietor of "The Grove." near Lakefield, was born in Suffolk, England, 1851, and is the son of Edward Sheldrake, Esq., late of Ixworth Priory, Suffolk. He was educated at Thetford Grammar School, and b\' ])rivate tutors; entered Cambridge in 1868 — first Trinity Hali ifrer- wards Emmanuel College. He came to Canada in 187 . In 1872 he was married to Sherife, eldest daughter of \, R. Macdonald, Esq., New York. He was engaged in business in New York for a time, with the firm of S. Sheldrake & Co., Brokers' P^oreign Exchange and Commercial Paper, but was unsuccessful. He opened a private school for gentlemen's sons, in 1878, at "The Grove," Lakefield. Since then his career has been very auspicious, at any rate as far as the primary object is concerned. The situation of " The Grove " is healthy and picturesque ; and Mr. Sheldrake enjoys the reputation of managing an institution in all respects worthy the high purpose for which it was designed. BENJAMIN SHORTLY, harnegs-maker, Peterborough, is the son of Benjamin Shortly, who, about 1823, emigrated from his farm in the north of Ireland and located in the Parish of St. Joseph's, Quebec. His wife's name was Brownridge, by whom he had thirteen children, the subject of this sketch being the eighth. When about fifteen years of age, Benjamin Shortly left his home and went to Montreal where, with J. R. Irwin, he 592 History of the County of Peterborough. learned his trade. He first opened out in business for himself at Lakefield. Then for two years he was in partnership with Thomas Donley at Peterborough, since when he has carried on the business himself. He now employs about twelve hands in making harness of all descriptions. In politics, he is a Conserva- tive, and in religion, a Methodist. JOSEPH SMITH, retired farmer, Peterborough, was born in Cumberland, England, in 1806. His father was John Smith, and his mother a daughter of Jonathan Woodmas, In 1824 his father came to Canada with a colony of lead miners consisting of ten families or about 1 10 people ; his mother died when he was an infant. His father first located at Port Hope where he n sided for twelve years with h'is family. In 1829 Joseph Smith migrated to the Township of Smith where he located upon a wild bush lot, now on the Communication Road. His father, who accompanied him, also drew land, and subsequently died at Port Hope in 1830, aged sixty years. Mr. Smith still owns the farm on which he first settled in Smith. A few years ago, feeling the weight of declining years, he removed to the Town of Peterborough, where he is living retired with his son. He relates many things about the early settlement of T-*eterborough. In his younger days he was a great sportsman, and often shot deer on the site of the present town. He well remembers the circumstances of the visit of the Governor, Sir Peregrine Mait- land. He was one year Treasurer of the Township of Smith. In early life he married a daughter of Adam Knox, of .Scotland, by whom he had a family of ten children, of whom there are now living two sons and four daughters. He has always been a Reformer in politics; in religion, he has ever been a member of the Church of England. TTY^ Biographical Notices. 593 WILLIAM SNOWOEN, the son of John Snowden, whose wife's name was Edgar, was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Eng- land, in 1833, being the youngest of a family of three children. In 1847, with his two sisters, he came to Canada, and settled in the Township of Smith. For one year he worked with Thos. W. Millburn at $4.00 per month, after which he engaged in lumbering for five years. Then he kept an hotel at Bobcaygeon for seven years. In 1882 he came to Peterborough. His wife was a daughter of T. W. Millburn. ANDREW STUTT, of Peterborough, is one of the oldest settlers in Peterborough ; having been there over half a century. He was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1806 ; thus it will be seen he has considerably exceeded the "allotted span" of human existence. His parents died when he was very young, but he lived in his native county till over twenty-one years of age. In 1830 he came to Peterborough and has ever since been a resident of the town. Like thousands of others who left their native land to seek fortune in the new world, Mr. Stutt has experienced untold hardships, rebuffs and disappointments. The blessings of health and a native energy, which knew no fail, however, in time conquered success, and Mr, Stutt, who was at one time in affluent circumstances, is still in the enjoyment of the comforts resulting from long years of careful labour, though he has suffered very severely through the business misfortunes of friends to whom he had rendered pecuniary aid. In 1840 he married a daughter of Robert Sharp, from County Donegal^ Ireland. They have but one son. Mr. Stutt is active in church matters — having been identified with the Methodist body in Peterborough for over thirty-three years, and being now a steward of that church. He is a man highly esteemed by a 38 I ii ^^B'''> Will > Ji twi :■ ■ ■ 594 History of the County of Peterborough. ■}% very large circle of" friends and acquaintances ; and, though closely approaching four-score years, retains both mental and physical vigour in a remarkable degree. JAMES STRATTON, Collector of H. M. Customs, Peter- borough, is the youngest son of Robert and Mary Stratton, of the County Armagh, Ireland, where he was born in the year 1830. his father dying when he was a mere child. In 1845 Mr. Stratton came to Canada, and located in the Township of Clark, County of Durham, then U. C. Subsequently he removed to Cavan, where he was engaged in teaching school, and after- wards to Peterborough. In 1866 he received the appointment of Local Superintendent of Common Schools, having held the appointment for several townships of the county previously. He has held the office of Public School Inspector for the Town ot Peterborough for nineteen years. In 1864 he purchased and, for thirteen years, successfully conducted that most able exponent of Liberal principles — the Peterborough Examiner. As a tribute to his acknowledged ability he was appointed to his present position, by the Mackenzie Administration, in 1876; and it is not too much to say that although he was always a zealous advocate of party government, the usual asperities of party journalism had been so mollified by his management of the Examiner — as well as by his continued unexceptional personal intercourse with political friends and opponents alike — that his appointment was acknowledged on both sides as a tribute to genuine merit — a feeling which his subsequent course has in no manner changed ; and he is among the most popular of the citizens, both as a private gentleman and an official. Biographical Notices. S95 JAMES STEVENSON, Peterborough.— The subject of this sketch is without doubt one of the best known residents of Peterborough, from his intimate relation with the public, extend- ing over a period of forty years. He was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1827, being the eldest of seven children. His father, William, and mother, Mary (Rowe), Stevenson, came to Canada in 1840, and settled in Port Hope. Mr. Stevenson, in early life, possessed but limited advantages for an education, owing to the little means of his parents. He attended the Port Hope school for a short time, and soon saw the benefits derived from mental culture, and purchased books from his own earnings, and sat up nights by the dim light of a tallow candle, or the log fire on the hearth, and drank in that intellectual beverage, which has since marked his successful career in life. In the spring of 1843, in the sixteenth year of his age, he came to Peterborough and began work as a clerk for Richard Barrett, who was conducting a stove and tinware business. By close attention to his duties, in the short space of four years, he had gained the confidence of his employers in such a degree that he became their manager, and subsequently purchased their entire business, which he successfully conducted until 1873, when he sold out, since which time he has been engaged in buying wool, grain, and all kinds of farm produce. He has been seventeen years in the Town Council, four years in the County Council ; and has taken a great interest in educa- tional matters, and every movement calculated to advance the material interests or moral standard of the rising generation. He has been connected with the School Board for thirty years, and its Chairman for fourteen years in succession ; and a J. P. since 1856. He is a strong supporter of John A. Macdonald. He was at one time Director of the Port Hope Midland Rail- H Vi i: iiii lilfil) It ' I. 596 History of the County of Peterborough. way, and was instrumental in promoting the enterprise from its inception. He is President of the Peterborough Gas Company, and owns nearly one half of the stock. He was tendered the nomination for the Dominion Parliament at the General Election of 1882, but declined on account of pressing business engagements. In 1858 he married Miss Emma Appleton, from London, England, by whom he has two sons and four daughters. There is in the life of Mr. Stevenson much to encourage the young men of to-day, who have to depend upon their own resources ; much in fact that is worthy of imitation. He is emphatically a " self-made man ;" and to his sterling integrity, his indomitable business energy, his kind unostentatious manner, does he owe his success in his business relations and daily intercourse with his fellow-citizens, by whom his real worth is best known and most appreciated. He has always been interested in all movements designed to promote the prosperity of the town, and is admittedly one of the most public spirited of its residents, past or present. . H. T. STRICKLAND, of Peterborough, • is a son of the late Colonel Strickland, so celebrated in the early annals of this part of the country, and elsewhere frequently referred to in connection with the early history of the pioneer settlements. He was born in the Township of Douro, at the site of the present Village of Lakefield, in 1835. He lived many of the earlier years of his boyhood days with his maternal grandfather, the late Robert Reid, near Peterborough, from whence he attended the County Grammar School, at that time conducted by the late Rev. Dr. R. J. C. Taylor, Rector of Peterborough, and James McCarroll. Leaving school at the early age of thirteen, he obtained a junior clerkship in the mercantile estab- Biographical Notices. 597 lishment of R. D. Rogers ; four years later, as manager of the business of the late W. A. Scott. Later he formed a partnership with his brothers, George W. R. and Roland C, in the timber and lumber business, at Lakefield, and with them, built the extension of the Midland Railway to that point, and induced the Govern- ment of the late John Sandfield McDonald to construct the Locks at Young's Point, on the Otonabee River. Circum- stances, over which the firm had no control, prevented their reaping the benefit their enterprise entitled them to ; but that part of the county has been developed to a wonderful extent as a consequence. The size and importance to which the Village of Lakefield has attained is sufficient evidence of the fact. Since 1870 he has been engaged in the real estate and mining busi- ness, is connected with the gold-mining interests of Marmora, which promise to become so important an industry, and is also agent of the" Canada Company for that section of Ontario. He assisted Col. R. D. Rogers in organizing the first Volunteer Company in Ashburnham, is a strong supporter of the Con- servative party, and alike respected by political allies and opponents. He has been twice married. His first wife was a daughter of the late James G. Rogers, of Grafton, and grand- daughter of the late Honourable Z. Burnham. She died in 1865, and in 1869 he married the eldest daughter of the late Peter Morgan, of Toronto. He is fifth of a family of thirteen children, ten of whom are still living ; five reside in Lakefield, and are well known to the entire surrounding country. The others are Mrs. Kivas TuUy, wife of the Government Engineer, Toronto; Walter R. Strickland, Architect, Toronto ; Mrs. Bloomfield, of Haliburton, wife of the General Manager of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company ; and Richard, and G. Strickland, now in the North- West. m W: ,.j '. i "■ ' Si m. ' ,ff li m k Is- a m 598 History of the County of Peterborough. THOMAS TULLY, retired farmer, Peterborough, is the eldest son of William and Isabella (Scott) TuUy, who emigrated to Canada in 1818 with their family, three sons and fiv^e daugh- ters ; his father was born in Scotland in 1 782. When William Tully came out he first located in Montreal, where he met a man named Chesser, for whom he worked one year lumbering. At the expiration of his engagement he left his family at Port Hope, while he went to Toronto and drew from the Crown Lands Department the half of a lot in the Township of Smith. In the spring of 1S19 he, with his eldest son, commenced clearing the land. In the fall of 1820, having erected a log house and planted some corn and potatoes, he moved his family to the house he had made, where he and his wife lived until they died ; his death took place in 1871. Thomas Tully was born in Scotland in 1809. After coming to Canada with his father he lived on the latter's farm, until 1832, when he married Mary Drummond, daughter of John Drummond, by whom he has had seven children. He bought, from one John Parker, near Cobourg, 100 acres of land, being the south half of lot 4 m the 2nd concession of Smith. For this he was to pay 100 bushels of wheat within five years. At the expiration of the time Parker demanded $40 in addition to the wheat, which Mr. Tully gave, rather than have a law-suit about it. Mr. Tully resided on his farm until 1870, when he removed to Peterborough, leaving one of his sons upon the farm ; he bought farms for the other sons. He was one of those who, during the rebellion of 1837-38, marched to Cobourg. He brought the first potatoes into the Township of Smith, and, like other early settlers, had to endure many hardships. Biographical Notices. 599 WILLIAM TULLY, Township of North Monaghan, was born in Roxboroughshire, Scotland, on September i6th, 1816, being the third in a family of eight children. His father, Andrew Tully, brought his family to Canada in 1829, and settled in North Monaghan; he died in July, 1870. His mother, whose father's name was John Dickie, died January 20th, 1863. David Tully, an uncle of our subject, was killed by Indians in the North- West in March, 1824. Mr. Tully was married to a daughter of Robert Will, of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has two sons. One, Andrew, is a Presbyterian clergyman at Mitchell, Ont. ; he was educated at Knox College, Toronto, and graduated at Montreal. The other son is a farmer, Mr. Tully is a Reformer and a Presbyterian. He served during the Rebellion of 1837-8. JAMES WALLIS, of Merino, North Monaghan, was born in Scotland in 1808. His father was Henry Wallis, of Marys- borough, County of Cork, Ireland, and his mother a daughter of James McCall, Esq., of Renfrewshire, Scotland. In 1832 he came to Canada alone and located in Montreal, where he was in mercantile business for three years. In 1835 he went to Fenelon Township, Victoria County, where he bought eight or ten thousand acres of land and built a saw mill, flour mill, etc., at Fenelon Falls. Until then the nearest town to Fenelon Falls was Lindsay. He spent about twenty-three years at that place and did a large business in exporting lumber. In 1858, on the destruction of his mill by fire, he removed to the farm where he now resides, lot 10, in the 13th concession, Township of North Monaghan, about two miles west of the Town of Peterborough. At one time he had a flour mill in Peterborough and exported to Montreal and New York. He is an old mili- tary man, being first a major in the Victoria County militia ; , *J- 600 History of tlic County of Peterborough. when he came to Peterborough he was made the Colonel of the Otonabee Battalion. He is a strong Conservative and a member of the English Church. He has been married twice : first to a daughter of Judge F"isher, of the County of Lennox, Ontario ; secondly, to a daughter of Captaftn Forbes, of the Royal Navy. He has three sons living in the North-West. JOSEPH WALTON is the son of Joseph Walton, one of those pioneers who, in 18 18, were the first settlers in Smith. The children of Joseph Walton, sen'r, were John. Nancy, Joseph, William, Matthew, Jacob and Robert. Joseph Walton, the subject of the sketch, was born in England about 18 13, and was five years old when his father came to Canada and settled in Smith. In 1834 he married and settled on lot 7, 13th con- cession. He had twelve children, of whom there are now living four sons and four daughters. Since May, 1883, Mr. Walton has been livinp- in the Town of Peterboroun^h. He is a Con- servative and a member of the Presbyterian Church. THE WALTONS. The experiences of this family exem- plify the fact, that Canada offers to the industrious settler comforts — if not indeed affluence — through perseverance and honesty, even in the face of dire poverty and misfortune. The head of the family, Joseph Walton, sen'r, was one of the early settlers in the Township of Cavan, where he came with some means — as means were in those days — when that now wealthy section was an entire wilderness, only dotted here and there by the small clearings and log cabins of the pioneers. Originally coming from Yonge Street, in the vicinity of Newmarket, he lost all his cattle during the two years he lived in Cavan — supposed to have been stolen and slaughtered by Indians — which left him poor l?i,... Biographical Notices. 60 1 indeed. He then moved to Smith Township, and during the year 1825 was employed by Government in moving emigrants into the Peter Robinson settlement. He subsequently essayed to regain his lost position by service among the primitive agri- culturists of the neighbourhood. In those times, $1.00 a day was the figure for harvest wages — 50c. per day ibr ordinary spring and summer work — and $12.00 dollars per acre for chopping, clearing, logging and burning forest land, and pre- paring it for seed. It was the custom to thresh grain with a " flail " for every tenth bushel ; and sometimes grain could be bartered for necessaries at famine prices — sometimes not. But, in the course of time, Mr. Walton who, by frugality, industry and honesty, gradually, but surely, overcame the adverse circum- stances of his earlier life, gained a position of independence and respect for himself and family, in a high degree, creditable to himself and all connected with him. i ii E. B. WILSON, of Peterborough, is a son of Thomas and Jane Wilson, of Yorkshire, England, where his father was born in 1804, his mother being a native of Hull and born in 1807. They came to Canada in 1829, settling at Roxham, Lower Canada whence they removed, four years later, to " Little York," now Toronto. Here the subject of this sketch (who is fourth of a family of ten children) was born in 1834. Three years later the family returned to Lower Canada, and Mr. Wilson was a volunteer during the continuance of the "Papineau" Rebellion, as it was denominated in that Province. From this time to 1844 he was engaged on Government contracts at Laprairie, Three Rivers and Gananoque, removing to Peterborough from the latter place in the year named. He was subsequently engaged by the Government in the construction of timber-slides at Campbellford, on the Trent r 'ifs « Hi. •, ' i>r 602 History of the County of Peterborough. River; and afterwards received the appointment of superinten- dent of the Trent Valley Locks. He died at Peterborough in 1846, leaving a family of ten children and their mother, who survived till 1880, when she also peacefully passed away. E. B. Wilson resided with his parents till attaining his majority — having meantime completed his apprenticeship as a mechanic — and then commenced business for himself as a builder. Soon after, however, he commenced to work at the manufacture of woollens, and after mastering that trade remained eight years in the employ of the firm with whom he was apprenticed, then removing to Lakefield and commencing business for himself. After carrying on a factory there for three years successfully, he returned to Peterborough and erected the large factory at the Ashburnham Bridge, where he at present does an extensive custom and jobbing trade in the manufacture of woollens. Mr. Wilson was married (i) in 1858 to a daughter of John Milburn, of the Township of Smith; and (2), on her death, to a Miss Heatherington, of Millbrook. He takes a commendable interest in local public affairs, is a Justice of the Peace, and has sat several terms in the Town Council of Peterborough with satisfaction to his constituents. W'^'- WILLIAM YELLAND is a native of Devonshire, Eng- land, where he was born March loth, 1832. His father, William Yelland, was also born there. He came to Canada alone when he was only nineteen years of age. In 185 1 his father and mother both died in England. Mr. Yelland began an apprenticeship at carriage-maling soon after his arrival in Peterborough, with Thomas Hutchinson. In 1857 he married a daughter of Jonathan Sweeting, of the Township of Smith, a farmer. He has been in the Town Council of Peterborough for several terms. He is a good business man, and has been very ilL,2 Biographical Notices. 603 successful since his advent here. For nearly a generation of time he has carried on a large and successful business in his adopted town — employing many hands in the work, and he is now branching out into the coal business, in view of the late • devastation of the adjacent woodlands. In connection with his sons he now carries on a very extensive and profitable trade. He is very much interested in church matters — being a member of the Bible Christian Church, and a Trustee of the "William Hall Charity Fund." TOWNSHIP OF SMITH. THOMAS ARCHER, deceased, was born in Cumberland, England, in 1781, where he remained until 1831, when he emigrated to Canada and settled in the County of Peterborough, Township of Smith, where he purchased 100 acres on conces- sion 3, lots 7 and 8, Mr. Archer married Miss Elizabeth Mason, of England, by whom he had ten children. John, the third son, was born in England, in 18 15, came to Canada with his parents, and has always remained on the old homestead which he now owns, and has added to it so that he now has 250 acres on concessions 3 and 4, lots 5 and 7. In 1841 Mr. Archer married Miss Mary Nicholson, of Cavan Township, by whom he has five sons and two daughters. JAMES BAPTIE, Township of Smith, was born in Peter- borough in 1837. His father was Walter Baptie, who was born in Roxboroughshire, Scotland, in 1805, and who came to Canada in 1828. In 1833 he married a daughter of Peter Currith, of Scotland, by whom he had the following children : b\ h %■ .!< 1' ! i^i: 6o4 History of the County of Peterborough. James Peter, a Lakefield carpenter ; Walter, a carpenter living in Michigan ; William, a Lakefield baker ; Agnes and Jane, living at home ; Douglas, a baker livinnr at Peterborough. Walter Baptie settled at Peterborough, e he remained for twelve years ; he was the first blacksnuth in the town ; he served in the Rebellion. About 1840 he settled in Smith, He died in 1875, and his w'Z1- ^^ 1843 the family emigrated to America, settling the same year in the Township of Smith, lots 17 and 18, concession 7. They resided here till the death of their father in 1865, when the homestead passed in charge of William. The mother died in 187 1. Old Mr. Northey was a man very widely known and highly respected for his integrity and conscientiousness. He was a strong adherent to the Bible Christian Church, and a constant and vigorous advocate of temperance reform. His religious zeal was shared by his good wife, and to her maternal instructions Mr. Northey traces the foundation of a character, the exemplification of which has been no discredit to his pious parents. He is firmly attached to the Christian Church, and a friend and advocate of all species of temperance reform ; and although never seeking official prefer- ment, is looked on as a representative of all social advancement in the community. He is comfortably situated, owning a fine farm- stead of 200 acres, which is one of the most picturesque and comfortable home in this section. JAMES NUGENT, Township of Smith, was born in the County Monaghan, Ireland, in 181 2. His mother died before, and his father two years after, he left Ireland, which was in 1832 ; Biographical Notices. 621 his wife, a daughter of Thomas Piitchard, came with him. For six months he worked in Douro for John Carnegie, father of the present M.P.P. Then he went to Cavan and worked for different farmers for eight years. In 1841 he settled on his present farm, being lots 28 and 29 in the 14th concession of Smith. He is a Conservative and a member of ulie Agricultural Society. He has seven sons and two daughters as follows : — Samuel, Thomas, Jane, Joseph, James, Robert, Mary, William, and David. Robert Nugent, son of the above, was born in 1 85 1 on the old homestead, and now lives in the 13th conces- sion. In 1877 he married a daughter of Benjamin Mcllmoyle. JOHN PAULL, deceased, was born in England in 1799 and emigrated to Canada in 1831, stopping at Brockville for about a year. He subsequently came to Peterborough, and settled in the Township of Smith, on concession 4, lot 8, where he took up 100 acres from the Crown, afterwards added 100 acres more on same lot and concession, which he improved and remained on until his death in 1878. Mr. PauU married Mrs. Margaret Scopp, in England, by whom he had four children. William, the eldest son, was born at Brockville in 1832 and now lives on the old homestead which he owns. He married Miss Mirgaret Ann Young, of Smith, by whom he has had three sons and two daughters. Ui i !*r;i' i!:j:i m JOHN SANDERSON, deceased, was the third son of Michael Sanderson, deceased, born in Berwick, England, in 1818. When he was ten years of age his parents emigrated to Canada and setded in the County of Peterborough, Township of Smith, on lot 7, east of Communication Road. Mr. Sanderson remained on the old homestead, up to the time of his 622 History of the County of Peterborough. death, in 1883, which he owned, containing 150 acres. In 1848 Mr. Sanderson married Miss Martha Finlay, daugnter of John Finlay, of Dummer Township, by whom he had seven children. JAME^- SANDERSON, Township of Smith, was bom in this township in 1858, his father being F^rancis Sanderson, who came to Canada with his brother Michael, in 1828 ; his mother was Margaret Malcolm. Mr. Sanderson is engaged in farming on lot 26, concession 6. GEORGE SCOTT, is the eldest son of George Scott, deceased, of Northumberland, England, where he was born in 1822, and in 1831 came to Canada with his brother and step- father, John Paull. Mr. Scott remained at home until 1844. when he settled on 100 acres on concession 4,' lot 9, which Mr. Paull had previously taken up. This he has cleared, fenced, improved and resided on ever since. In 1846 Mr. Scott married Miss Ann Ivison, of Victoria County, by whom he had twelve children. ALEXANDER SCOTT, is the second son of George Scott, deceased, of Northumberland County, England, where he was born in 1823.. In 183 1 Mr. Scott came to Canada with his stepfather John Paull, and remained with him until about 1843. In 1844, he, in company with his brother George, purchased 100 acres on concession 4, lot 8, where he remained until 1850. Mr. Scott then sold his interest to his brother and purchased 200 acres on lot 8, east of Communication Road, in company with his brv.. -r Israel ; but three years later, Mr. Scott purchased his brother Israel's interest, and soon after sold fifty acres of the Biograpliical Notices. 623 original purchase, the balance of which he improved and still owns. In 1864 Mr. Scott moved on lot 8, west of Communi- cation Road, his father-in-law's old homestead, Mr. Robert Nicholson, where he has since resided. In 185 1 Mr. Scott married Mary Eliza, daughter of Robert Nicholson, by whom he has five sons and four daughters. JAMES STEWART, Young's Point, son of Charles Stewart, is of Scottish birth, having first seen light in Roxburgh- shire, Scotland, in "1835, being the second eldest of a family of six children. His father was for thirty years a commissioned officer in Her Majesty's service, in the East Indies. James came to Canada in 1857, locating in Peterborough for two years, then jnoved to Lakefield, where he conducted a general store until 1864, when he returned to England, where he remained six years, and again returned to Peterborough in 1870— and carried on a general store in Buckhorn, Township of Smith, where he was appointed postmaster, and five years later he removed to Lakefield — then opened out, in 1876, a general store at Young's Point, where he has ever since resided. He was married, in i860, to a daughter of John Finlason, of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Mr. Stewart takes a very active part in political matters, is a strong supporter of Sir John A. Macdonald. and is a fearless advocate of his political principles, in the advocacy of which he often wields his facile pen. Jpright and honest in all his dealings, he does not allow his zeal for his party to deprive him of the friendship of a large circle of political opponents as well as political allies ; and in this his '>xample may be profitably imitated by many whose influence in public and political affairs is much less than his own. hi i * i r' ■!'# im 1 "\ II 624 History of the County of Peterborough. THOMAS STOTHART, the eldest son of John Stothart, born in 1792, emigrated from England in 18 16 with his brother William, and located on the west half of lot 16, 2nd concession of Smith, being one of the earliest settlers. His .father kept "bachelor's hall" for four years, and then married Ann Statker. He died in 1858, and was followed by his wife in 1873. He served in the Rebellion, and was tax-collector for a number of years. He had the following children : — Thomas, Mary, John, EllenI James, William. He was a Reformer and a Presbyterian. Of the above-named children the only one who is married is William, the youngest, who was born in 1852, and who in 1880 married a daughter of James Larrity, who emigrated from Ireland; he owns 100 acres of land, and is engaged in the milk business. Like his father, he is a Reformer and a Presbyterian. JAMES SWINTON, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1803, and in 1831 came to Canada and settled in the County of Peterborough, Township of Smith, where he purchased 200 acres on concession i, lots 6 and 7, which he improved and remained on until his death in 1877. In 1826 Mr. Swinton married Miss Jessie Ingles, of Scotland, by whom he had ten children, sevttn of whom are living. William, the youngest son, was born on the old homestead in 1S41, and has lived there continuously with the exception of eight years spent in Ohio and Pennsylvania, from 1866 to 1874, where he was engaged in the oil business. In 1880 he married Miss E. Huston, of Otonabee, by whom he has one child. THOMAS TIN OLE, deceased, was born in England in 1 80 1, and in 1842 came to Canada and settled in Peterborough, where he worked at the blacksmith's trade, continuing the Biographical Notices. 625 business until the year 1848. He then rented a farm of Mr. Lundy, on concession 4, Township of Smith, where he remained for some ten years. Mr. Tindle then purchased 100 acres on concession 3, lot 3, which he improved and remained on until his death in 1883. In 1829 Mr. Tindle married Mrs, Sarah Black, of England, by whom he had five children. James, the eldest son, was born in England in 1831, and remained on the homestead until 1869, when he purchased 100 acres on con- cession 5, lot 7, where he now resides. In 1858 he married Miss Mary McDougall, daughter of James McDougall, of Smith Township, by whom he has one son and three daughters. GEORGE BLACK TINDLE, deceased, the youngest son of the late Thomas Tindle, was born in England in 1840. Mr. Tindle always remained at home up to the time of his death in 1880, and owned the old homestead at the time of his death, where his widow and son now reside. In 1875 M*. Tindle married Miss Mary Ivison, of Victoria County, by whom he had one son, Thomas J. C. Tindle. ANDREW W. TULLY, the subject of this sketch, is the second and youngest son of the late William Tully. He was born in Scotland in 18 18, came to Canada with his parents, and remained at home until about the year 1844, when he purchased 100 acres on concession 2, lot 6, which he has cleared, fenced, improved, and still resides on, and has since added fifty acres, now owning 150 acres. In 1844 Mr. Tully married Miss Jane Calvert, daughter of Thomas Calvert, who died in 1850, leaving three children. Mr. Tully married a second time — the second marriage being with Miss Elizabeth Walton, of Smith Township, by whom he had six children. 40 lit'* |i !• ,.11 i . ,, III 1 ii,< L 1 1 1^ i n 1 1 626 History of the County of Peterborough. ROBERT TULLY, was born in Scotland in 1800, where he remained until 1831, He then emigrated to Canada, and came direct to Peterborough County and settled in the Town- ship of Smith, where he purchased 200 acres on concession 3, lot 2, in company with his brother Ralph, and his brother-in-law, William Grant, which was soon after divided equally between them. Mr. Tully improved his part, and remained on it for some thirteen years; he then purchased fift_v- acres more on con- cession 4, lot 2, which he moved on and improved, and still resides on, and has since added eighty Eicres more on the same concession, all of which is now owned by his two sons, William and Andrew. In 1827 he married Miss Agnes Cummings, daughter of John Cummings, of Scodand. who died in 1872, leaving five children. ANDREW TULLY, the eldest son of Robert Tully, was born in Scotland in 1828. Mr. Tully remained at home until 1850. He then spent a number of summers in the States, where he was engaged in farming until the year 1858. He then settled on a part of the old homestead, where he still resides. Mr. Tully married Miss Hannah Archer, daughter of John Archer, of Smith Township, by whom he has six children. William, the second son of Robert Tully, was born on the old homestead in 1839, where he has always remained, and now owns 100 acres of the same, and seventy acres on lot i, same concession. Mr. Tully married Miss Mary Porter, of Smith Township, by whom he has four sons and two daughters. WILLIAM J. TULLY, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest son of Thomas Tully. He was born on the old home- stead, in the Township of Smith, in 1835, concession 2, lot 4, which he now owns, containing 150 acres. In 1870 Mr. Tully Biographical Notices. 627 married Miss Louise Hetherington, daughter of John Hether- ington, of Northumberland County, by whom he has three children. THOMAS YOUNG, deceased, was born in Northumber- land County, England, in 1801, where he remained until 1S32 when he emigrated to Canada and settled in the County of Peterborough, Township of Smith, where he purchased 100 acres of wild land on concession 5, lot 8, which he improved and remained on until his death, in 1863. Mr. Young married Miss Elizabeth Edmison, of England, by whom he had eight children. Mr. Young taught school for many years in School Section No. 2, on the 4th concession. ANDRf:\v YouNc, the eldest son of Thomas Young, de- ceased, was born in England, in 1828. In 1832 his parents emigrated to Canada and settled in the Township of Smith. Mr. Young remained at home until 1853 when he went to New York State and remained about six months, then returned to Canada and spent one year in the County of Bruce, and returned to the Township of Smith. In 1872 Mr. Young purchased fifty-four acres on concession 4, lot 10, where he now resides and has since added thirty-six acres on same concession and lot. In 1S58 he married Miss Alice Darling, daughter of John Darling, deceased, by whom he has three sons and four daughters. Thomas Young, junior, is the youngest .son of the late Thomas Young, and was born on the old homestead, in 1835, where he has always remained and now owns, containing 100 acres, and has since purchased ninety-seven acres on con- cession 3, lot 5. Mr. Young married Miss Isabel Darling, daughter of the late John Darling, of Smith Tow.iship, by whom he has six children. i !!."-:"^r3'; ' mmmm 628 History of the Comity of Peterborough, TOWNSHIP OF OTONABEE. J. H. S. ARMSTRONG, Otonabee Township, was bom on the farm where he still resides in the year 1854. His father, James Armstrong, now of Ashburnham, was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland, and emigrated to Canada about the year 1835 ; he settled first in the County of Durham, where he lived but a short time, coming then to Peterborough ; from there he went to the Township of Asphodel, and a few years after went to Dummer, and about the year 1843 he bought the farm — the very one upon which the subject of this sketch still resides. It consisted of 100 acres, which he improved and afterwards added another fifty acres. The family consists of three sons and one daughter, who are now settled in different parts of this Province. J. H. S. Armstrong was married, in 1878, to Eliza J. Sargeant, daughter of Samuel Sargeant, one of the residents of this county. They have two children, a son and daughter. JOHN BLEZARD, deceased, was born in Yorkshire, Eng- land. He emigrated to Canada in 18 19, and the following year took up a tract of land in the unbroken wilderness and settled on the same, where he lived the balance of his days, locating on lot 19, concession 2. He was one of the very first settlers in this county, there being no settlement made in this township previous to that year. He came, by canoe, across Rice Lake, and travelled most of the way from Cobourg by blazed trees. The homestead is now owned by the grandson, Thomas Blezard, the present M.P.P. for the East Riding. Our subject married, in England, a Miss Armstead, who died on shipboard, leaving him three sons and two daughters, only one Biographical Notices. 629 '"1 of whom is still living, Thomas Blczard, of Northumberland County. He afterwards married a Mrs. Fox, who had settled on an adjoining farm, and who had lost her husband soon after arriving in Cobourg. John Blezaru, jun'r, deceased, son of the above, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1807, and came to Canada with his father, John Blezard. On coming of age he bought and settled on the farm where the son and present M.P. now resides, on lot 20, concession 2. He married a Miss Letitia Fox, of this township, a native of Lincolnshire, England, in 1831. Two sons and two daughters survive and are settled in this town- ship. His death occurred in 1866. Thomas Blezard, the present M.P.P. for this Riding, was born on the farm he owns and occupies, in 1838, where he has resided all his life. He came into possession of the same in 1865, It consists of 275' acres, and he has since added another 100 acres, making one of the finest farms in this section of the country. -He has enjoyed places of confidence and trust for many years, and is now on his second term as M.P.P. for this constituency. He was married, in 1864, to Mary Mickle, a native of Scotland ; her parents, too, were among the first settlers of this region. They have two sons and two daughters. ■m % 1 WILLIAM BLEZARD, of Otonabee Township, was born in this" township in 1833. He is a son of John Blezard, late of this township, and grandson of John Blezard, who was one of the first pioneers in this township. He owns 173 acres of land on concession 2, which was given him by his father. He was married, in 1858, to Mary A. Moore, daughter of James Moore, formerly of Emily. They have two children, a son and a daughter. , i! l:iJ 630 History of the County of Peterborough. ZACHEUS BURNHAM, of Otonabee Township, was born in St. Thomas, Ont., in the year 1840. where he lived till 1 85 1, when his people moved to the Town of Peterborough, and has lived in or near the same ever since. He was married, in 1872, to Martha Stewart Fowlis, a native of the State of New York. Mr. Hurnham is one of the descendants of Robert Burnham, Esq., who, according to some old records in his possession, in the year 1642, held the manor of Billington in the County of Kent, England. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was born in the State of New Hampshire, in 1777, and in 1798 emigrated to Haldimand County, Ontario. Here he was one of the first settlers and may be counted among the pioneers of that locality. Mark Burnham, father of our subject and son of Zacheus, last named, was born in Cobourg, Ontario ; was educated in Oxford College, England ; afterwards lived in St. Thomas; then, in 1851, he moved, with his family, consisting of four sons and one daughter, to Peterborough, where the sur- viving family still reside. He officiated as clergymftn in the Church of England during the greater part of his life. JOHN CAMERON, deceased, one of the Scottish clan of Cameron, was born in Scotland in the year 1777. In his early manhood he was with Lochiel, chief of the Camerons, and served with him three and a-half years in Ireland during the Rebellion. He emigrated to Canada in 1820, and settled with his family on the I St concession of Otonabee, where he resided till the day of his death, which occurred in 1831. He married, in Scotland, Mary Knox. Their family consisted of eleven children, seven of whom are still living, five sons and two daughters, the most of whom are settled on or near the ancestral estate. Donald CxVMERON, one of the sons of the above, was born on Biographical Notices, C31 the family homestead in 1827, and has lived on the same, era portion of it, nearly all his life. He bought, about the year 1848, 100 acres of land on lot 13, concession i of Asphodel, to which he has since added 300 acres. He was married in 1852 to Margaret Neilson, of Otonabee Township, a lady of Scotch parentage. She died in the year 1873, leaving a family of nine — five boys and four girls. He married again in 1875, Catharine Neilson, of Otonabee, and has by his second marriage three children — two boys and one girl. WH.LIAM CHAMBERLAIN, of Otonabee Township, was born in Wiltshire, England, in 181 1, and emigrated to Canada in 1834. He settled first in the Town of Peterborough, where he lived about seven years. He then bought 100 acres of new land on lot 29, concession 8, where he moved, and has lived ever since. He has cleared and improved his farm, and may be called a pioneer in the part of country where he resides. He married, about 1843, Ellen Ingram, of Otonabee, a native of Ireland. They have nine children living, two sons and seven daughters, and have lost one child by death. JOHN ELM HIRST, of Otonabee Township, is the son of Richard Elmhirst, deceased. He was born in this township in the year 1852. He has lived on the homestead all his life. He received by heirship a portion of the old place, consisting of 100 acres, to which he has since added another 100 acres. He was married, in 1881, to Christina Shearer, daughter of Gavin Shearer, of this township. I RICHARD ELMHIRST, jun'r, of Otonabee Township, was born on the family homestead in this township in \hi year 1 i ) t 632 History of the County of Peterborough. 1850. His father, Richard Elmhirst, deceased, was born in England in 18 15. He came to Canada about the year 1823 with his parents. They settled at once in this townshij). There remains but one surviving member of his father's family, Philip Elmhirst, of this township. The death of Richard Elmhirst, sen'r, occurred in 1865. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Steele, of Asphodel Township, a native of Scotland, died about the year 1861. Five sons and three daughters still survive them, ROBERT EVANS, of Otonab'^e Township, was born in Grafton, Ontario, in about the year 1838. His father Thomas Evans, a native of England, was born in 1807, arfd came to Canada in 1825. He resided near Kingston for about five years, after which he came to Otonabee and bought 100 acres of land on lot 27, concession 4, where he has lived ever since. He married Elizabeth Laing, in about 1828, who died in 1880. There are three sons and four daughters still living. Robert lived with his father till about 1865, when he built upon the homestead, bought out the heirs, and added another 100 acres, making up a farm of 300 acres. He married in 1875, Jane Forsyth, of Keene Village, daughter of Andrew Forsyth, a native of Elgin, Scotland. JAMES GILLESPIE, of Otonabee Township, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1829, and came to Canada in the year 1850, settling with his people in the Township of South Mon- aghan, where they lived about fifteen years, and then moved to Otonabee, where James bought 400 acres of land, on lots 11 and 12, concession 12, which he still owns and occupies. He was married, in 1854, to Esther Barnard, of South Monaghan I Biographical Notices. ^33 Township, daughter of John Barnard, Esq., now of Lindsay. Of a family of seven children they have five living. He was a councillor in the Township of South Monaghan. His father, James Gillespie, senV, was born in County Down, Ire- land, in 1777. He came to Canada in 1850, and died in the year 1873. PETER GILLESPIE, of Otonabee Township, was born in Roxboroughshire, Scotland, in the year 1834, and in 1849 came with his people to Canada. They all settled in this township, on lot 24, concession 12. His father's death occurred in i860. The surviving family consists of four sons and one daughter, all of whom are settled in this county. Peter was married in 1864 to Jane Thompson, of this township, whose birthplace is near Port Hope. Out of a family of seven children six are still living — three .sons and three daughters. He owns a farm of 120 acres of land, mostly improved, on lot 24, concession 1 2. JOHN GRADY, of Otonabee Township, was born in As- phodel Township, in 1834. His father, John Grady, .sen'r, was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1809, emigrated to Canada in 1825, and settled with his people in Asphodel Township, remov- ing a few years afterwards to Otonabee, where, taking a farm by Government grant, on lot 28, concession 2, he is still living. He married Mary Purcell, a native of Ireland. John Grady, jun'r, is the eldest of nine children, of whom there are still living three brothers and four sisters. He started for himself by buying a farm in Asphodel Township, and in 1869 sold out there and bought 100 acres on lot 27, concession 2. He was married in 1864 to Mary Smith, a native of Ireland; they have two sons and two daughters. 1 634 History of the Coimty of Peterborough. JAMES HALL, of Otonabee, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1820. He emigrated to this country in 1847, and was engaged in farming in this section for about eight years, when he bought a farm, mostly of woodland, on lot 31, concession 7 ; this he has improved, built fine buildings, and added to it till he now owns 380 acres, one of the finest farms in this section. He was married in 1858 to Margery Taylor, of Dummer Town- ship, this county. Of five children, three sons and one daughter are still living. He is a Presbyterian and a Reformer. ROBERT HARRISON, was born in County Down, Ire- land, in the year 1815. He emigrated to America in 1820, with his people, who settled in the County of Prince Edward, where they resided about eight years (here his father, Joseph Harrison, died soon after his arrival). The family settled on lot 12, con- cession 2, of Asphodel. In 1831, Robert Harrison bought an interest in the farm on lot 15, concession 1, of 100 acres, it being a part of a clergy reserve. He was married in 1840, to Margaret Rea, daughter of John Rea, a native of Ireland, late of Dummer Township. They have seven children living, four sons and three daughters (having lost by death two sons). He now owns 253 acres in concession i, of Asphodel ; also 20 acres in Cavan, and 200 acres in Manvers. JOHN HOPE, sen'r, deceased, was born in Wendrum, England, and emigrated to Aiiierica in 18 15, landing in the United States, where he resided about five years ; coming to Canada in 1821, and settling the same year on lot 20, conces- sion 3, of Otonabee where he resided the remainder of his life- His wife was Miss Jane Caines, a native of Scotia'" ! and a most HMiia-kable fact in connection with this fami' is that, of Biographical Notices. 63 s ten children, the eldest of whom, Mr. Thomas Hope, is now seventy-three years of age, death has as yet made no vacancy in their ranks. The father died in 1865, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, and the mother in 1855, at the age of sixty- eight. Their children are all settled in this immediate vicinity. Robert Hope, son of the above, was Drn in North- umberland, England, in 1812 ; and came to America with his people in 18 15. Robert lived on the homestead till coming of age, when he went to learn the trade of carpenter and millwright, a trade he has worked at the greater portion of his life. In the year 1846, he bought fifty acres of land on lot 18, concession 3, and on retiring from his trade at the age of fifty years, he bought 150 acres more which he has improved, and resided upon ever since. It is one of the finest farms in one of the be:.t farming sections in the Dominion. He with others who came here at an early day know well the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life. WILLIAM HOPE, of Otonabee Township, son of the late John Hope, was born in this township in 1822, and he has always resided upon as well as owning the family homestead which consists of 200 acres. He married Jenette Meikle, daughter of James Meikle, an early settler in Asphodel Town- ship, by whom he had a family of two sons and three daughters. John Hope, son of the above, was born on the old farm in 1857, where he has always lived. In 1880 our subject married Louisa Elmhirst, daughter of Joseph Elmhirst, a pioneer in Otonabee Township. E\^ANS INGRAM, of Otonabee Township, was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1816. He emigrated with his father''- 636 History of the County of Peterborough. family in 1832, which consisted of the mother, four daughters and the one son (Evans). They came first to the Town of Peterborough, where they resided about seven y^^ars. Mr. Ingram went to the State of Mississippi, where he hved till 1847, and then returned to this county and bought 100 acres on Ipt 26, concession 11, where he has hewn out of the unbroken forest the well-improved farm he now owns and occupies. He has been reeve of his township about six years ; was warden of the county in 1866, and was a J. P. for several years, an evidence of the confidence and esteem in which he is held by the people of his municipality. Politically, he sympathises with the Reform party, and was nominated for the Commons one year, and for the Provincial Parliament another year. Although these were unsuccessful years to his party, his strong personal friendship in this locality materially reduced the majority -of his opponent. He was married in 1850 to Isabella Esson, daughter of George Esson, one of the pioneers of this township. JOHN LANCASTER, sen'r, was born in Lancashire, Eng- land, in 1843. His grandfather, Christopher Lancaster, now deceased, emigrated to Canada about 1830, settling soon after in this township, very few settlers being in this section at that time. He took up a Government grant of 100 acres, and lived on the same the balance of his life. His father, John Lancaster, now also deceased, was born in England in 1807. He emi- grated and setded in Otonabee, in 1848, on the farm previously occupied by his father, on which he resided until his death, which occurred in 1882. There are surviving six sons and two daughters, who are settled in this vicinity. The subject of our sketch married a daughter of Mr. Hugh Christie, of Asphodel Township. He, with his brother William, own the Biographical Notices. ^17 old homestead, their farm consisting of 200 acres on lot 20. concession i, Otonabee. JOHN LAING, of Otonabee Township, was born in the Village of Keene, 1839. He resided with his father on the farm until he was twenty-seven years of age, and then bought a farm of his own in the Village of Keene, 01 which he resided until 1879, At this time he exchanged his own farm for one on lot 27, concession 6 (old Brown's farm), upon which he still lives. Mr. Laing married in 1866, Elizabeth Shearer, of Otonabee, daughter of Mr. John Shearer, an early settler, and a native of Scotland. Mr. Laing's family consists of one son and six daughters. At the time of writing our subject is holding his fifth year as reeve of his township, and has been connected with the Council for twelve years. James Laing, father of the above, was born in Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1S06. He emigrated to America in 1832, and before he settled in Keene Village spent one year in the United States. In Keene he worked as shoemaker for many years, until 1853, when he bought the farm that constitutes the present family homestead, where he still -esides. He married in •1838 Agnes Stuart, also a native of Scotland, and who came to Canada with her father's family as an infant. I li--31l' ROBERT MATCHETT, deceased, lateof Otonabee Town- ship, was born in County Cav^an, Ireland, 181 2, and came to Canada with his father's family in the year 1823. The family lived for ten years in Cavan Township, when Robert purchased the farm, which is still in the hands of his heirs. His death occurred in 1862, after a long and useful life, during whicli he was a regular attendant of the English Church. In politics he was a Conservative. The family continue to reside on the old it 638 History of the County of Peterborough. farm, and the memory of their ancestor is yet cherished both by themselves and friends /ith profound respect. ALEXANDLR MATCHETT, deceased, late of Otonabee Township, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, about the year 1810. He emigrated to Canada in 1823, and settled first on the family homestead, lot 19, concession 16. He may well be called a pioneer, as this part of the township was at thai time an unbroken wilderness. His death occurred about the year 1852. The surviving family consist of the widow, who was a Miss Margery Stewart, a native of the north of Ireland, and three sons and one daughter. One of the sons is settled in the State of Michigan, and the other two, John and James, still remain at the old place. The homestead consists of 200 acres of land on lots 18 and ly, concessions 15 and 16. HAMILTON T. MOORE, of lot 27, concession 2, was born in Victoria County, Ontario, in 1838. His fa^'ier. James Moore, settled in Victoria County at an early day ; his death occurred in 1849, H. T. Moore is one of a family (jf ele\ en children, eight of whom, five sons and three daughters, are still. living ; they are settled in different parts of the province. Mr. Moore was married in 1864 to Agnes Shearer, daughter of Gavin Shearer, of this township, a native of Scotland. They have seven children living, two sons and five daughters, having lost one child by death. He bought the farm of 100 acres on lot 27, concession 2, Otonabee, in 1868, and still resides upon the same. S. R. PRICE, of Otonabee Tcvnship, was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1848, and settled in this county in 1867. He owns 200 acres of land on lot 31, concession 10. Biographical Notices. 639 GAVIN SHEARER, of Otonabee Township, was born in Lanaikshire, Scotland, in September, 181 1 ; in about the year 1 84 1 he emigrated to Canada, He settled upon, and the year after bought, a farm of 200 acres on lot 22, concession 2, upon which he has since lived. He married in Scotland, in 1833, Janet Gilchrist, whose death occurred in 1871, Two sons and five daughters are now living ; the sons are still upon the homestead, both Thomas and Gavin, and the daughters are married and reside in the same township. RICHARD R. J. H. SHORT, of Keene Village, was born in Otonabee Township, in 1853 ; his father, Richard Short, was born in Scotland in 1803. He came to Canada in 181 7; he was for a time in Cobourg, and two years later settled in this township. He bought 200 acres of land on concession 7, where he lived for several years, which he exchanged for a farm near Keene Village, the home the subject of this sketch now owns and occupies. He only resided here a short time, and soon after moved to the Village of Allan- dale, where he resided the balance of his life. His wife was Isabella Hope, a daughter of John Hope, a pioneer in this township. R. J. H. Short married, in 1874, Eli/:abeth West, daughter of William West, an old settler in this township. They have two children. ( 1 CHARLES F. SPILSBURY, was born near Colborne, Northumberland County, Ontario, in 1824, where he lived until he was about sixteen years of age, when he came to this county and commenced to improve a portion of the land hi:^- father received by Government grant. His father, Capi.ain F. B. Spilsbury, Royal Navy, commanded a frigate in the war of 18 12, w 1il -,:r 640 History of the County of Peterborough. and was stationed at Kingston, Ontario, under Admiral Sir James Yoe. After the war, Captain Spilsbury retired from the Navy and settled near Colborne. In 18 19 he came with the first actual settler in Otonabee, a Mr, George Kent, and pur- chased a block of 1,200 acres; at the same time he took up a Government grant of 800 acres, which was given to him for his services during the war. This land is now divided among his eight children. The subject of this sketch now owns in all 150 acres of the original grant and purchase. He was married in 1854 to Caroline Attrill, daughter of Thomas P. Attrill, Esq., a paymaster in the Royal Navy, and at the time of her marriage was residing in Kingston, Ontario. JOSHUA SMITH SON, of Otonabee Township, was born in South Monaghan, on the 7th April, 1842, and grew to man- hood on the family homestead. Having received a very fair education, he learned the trade of carpenter, and worked at the same for two years, after which he settled upon a farm in Fenelon, presented to him by h's father, which he sold two years later, and bought a farm of 165 acres on lot 15, concession 12, the whole of which now consists of 280 acres of superior land on lot 15, concession 2, and part of lot 15, concession 1 1 ; altogether, it is one of the finest farms in the township. He married in 1869, Annie Armstrong, the only daughter of James Armstrong, who has been for thirty years a resident of this township and one of its most successful farmers. Richard Smitiison, father of the subject of this sketch was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1805, and came with his father and family to Canada in 18 19. They settled in South Monaghan Fownship, where they took up one thousand acres of land, and being possessed of a considerable amount of money, combined Biographical Noiices. 641 with energy and industry, they soon succeeded in clearing up the greater part of their large farm. JOHN GRAHAM WEIR, was born in Otonabee Town- ship, in 1844. His father, Robert Weir, was born in Fermanagh, Ireland, in the year 1787, and emigrated to Canada in 1822, and settled in Otonabee Township. He took by Government grant 100 acres of land on lot 24, concession 1 1 (at that time a dense forest), and spent his life in improving, cultivating and adding to the same. He owned at one time 500 acres of land, and after- wards divided the same among his five sons. Mr. Weir married in Ireland, Catharine Graham, and their family consists of four sons and three daughters. The death of the father occurred in 1878, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. John Graham Weir was married in 1867, to Lavina V. Tennyson, daughter of George Tennyson, of Madoc, a native of England. J. G. Weir owns 200 acres of land, a part of the old homestead, located on lots 23 and 24, concessions 1 1 and 12. T. J. WELCH, of Otonabee Township, was born in England, in the year 1844. He emigidicu with his parents to Canada in 1853, who first settled near Toronto, and about a year after came to Otonabee Township, where our subject has lived ever since. He was married in 1864 to Jane Guthrie, of the same township, a native of Ireland. Their family consists of four sons and two daughters. Mr. Welch is owner and proprietor of a brick manufactory, about two miles out of the Town of Peter- borough, and owns seven acres of land on lot 25, concession 13. JAMES WILSON, of Otonabee Township, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1840, and emigrated with his father's 41 1 642 History of the Cojinty of Peterborough. family in 1857. His father, Alexander Wilson, was a contractor, and superintendent of construction of railroads for several years, and lived in Peterborough. James, on coming of age, rented a farm in this township for seven years, and then went to the North-West, where he was a superintendent of construction for eight years on the C.P.R. ; he returned in 1878, and bought a farm on lot 22, concession 13, Otonabee. He married in 1864 Catharine C. Scully, of this township, a daughter of Robert "Scully, one of the earliest settlers here ; they have three sons and three daughters. His farm consists of 100 acres, with good buildings and improvements. VILLAGK OF KEENE. W. F. HARRISON, M.D., Keene Village, was born in Kent County. Ontario, 1845, and received his early education in London, Ontario. When sixteen years of age he was inden- tured to Dr. Smith, of Ridgetown, with whom he studied medi- cine. Afterwards he attended the Victoria Medical College, York Street Dispensary, and the House of Providence, and was for a short time curator of the museum in the latter institution. He graduated in 1869, took his degrees at the Victoria Univer- sity, Cobourg, and commenced practise the same year in Lucan, Middlesex County. At the end of eighteen months he moved to Ailsa Craig, at which place he remained until 1875, after which time he settled in Keene, where he has an extensive practice, both in the village and surrounding country. Mr. Harrison married, in 1872, Jane Nixon, second daughter of Thomas Nixon, of Toronto. Biographical Notices. <^43 JOHN MASSIE. M.D., Keenc Village, was born in Aber- deenshire, Scotland, 1833, and when four years of age came with his people to Canada. They settled first in Kingston, and afterwards moved to the Township of Seymour, Northumber- land County, where his father purchased a farm of two hundred acres, on which the subject of our sketch lived until he com- menced practise. He received his medical education at Queen's College, Kingston, graduating there in 1865. He commenced professional practice at Colborne, and continued there for eight years, after which he located the same number of years at Campbellford. Norwood next rewarded his toil and energy, and as a result of overwork, and a corresponding failing of health, he removjid to the Village of Keene, where his field of labour does not call so largely on his physical powers. In the spring of 1866 Dr. Massie married the adopted daughter of Rev. James Hughes, Colborne, Miss Mary Marvyn, by whom he has two surviving children, a son and daughter. GEORGE READ was born in Grenville County, Ontario, 1819. He attended school in Brockville for a time and after- wards became clerk in a store in the same town. He acted as clerk in the office of a contractor, who built two locks of the Cornwall Canal, and on its completion returned to Brockville, holding a clerk's position there. Having previously worked in Belleville, Kingston, and Napanee, he finally settled in Keene Village and commenced, with the assistance of a partner, a business which proved so successful. Mr. Read has filled numerous offices, having been M.P. P. in two Parliaments, township clerk and treasurer since 1850, and continuously clerk of Division Court twenty years. Mr. Read has been twice married, first to Miss Crawford Reid, of Brockville, of which ^^^^i 1 iu 1 ■ 1 11: i itli ' III teiiii'^ II 644 History of the County of Peta borough. union there are four surviving children. In 1861 the death of his wife occurred, and the year follow ng he married again, to Jane, sister of his deceased wife, the result of which marriage is one child — a son. The land owned by Mr. Read includes about 1,000 acres in the county. In politics he is a Conservative, and in religion, a Presbyterian. • DOCTOR JOHN SHAW, of Keene, Otonabee Township, was born in Cayuga, Haldimand Count/, in 1854, and is the eldest of seven children, his father, John Shaw, being a Methodist clergyman by profession, and a Canadian t)y birth. The Doctor received his medical education at Trinity College, Toronto, and graduated from that institution in 1880. He practised for .a time in Peterborough, and was a year in the northern lumbering dis- tricts ; he then settled in Keene, in 1882, where he is receiving a fair share of the practice both in the village and the surround- ing country. He was married in 1882 to Miss Kate Dennis, from near Weston, Ontario, a niece of Colonel Dennis, late of Ottawa. The Doctor is coroner both of Peterborough and Northumberland County. « WILLIAM WEST, of Otonabee Township, was born in Scotland, in 18 19. He came to Canada in 1842. He learned in Scotland the trade of millwright, and followed the same in various places in Canada till 1876, when he settled on a farm of 200 acres on lots 12 and 13, concession 3, on which he still re- sides. He married, in 1848, Jane Hope, daughter of the late John and Jane Hope (the first setders in that locality), by whom he had nine children ; three sons and four daughters are still living. Biographical Notices, 645 TOWNSHIP OF DOURO. WILLIAM ABBOTT was born in England in 1832, came to Canada and settled in Peterborough County in 1855, and located on the concession where he now resides. Mr. Abbott now owns 250 acres on concessions 4 and 5. In 1859 Mr. Abbott was married to Miss Jane Hurle, of Peterborough County, by whom he has eight children. His political views are Reform. In religion he is a Bible Christian. JAMES BARD was born in Cornwall, England, in 1810; came to Canada and settled in Township of Douro in 1831, where he took up land from the Crown on concession i, lot 26, and where he remained about twenty years. He then purchased land on lots 19 and 20, same concession, where he now owns 200 acres, on which he resides. MARK CURTIS was born in England in 1833, came to Canada in 1854 and located in Peterborough. In 1863 he began the manufacture of brick, which he has continued up to the present time. In 1855 he married Miss Sarah Dunning, of England, by whom he has seven children. m HENRY DOWNS was born in England in 18 18, where he remained until 1843 when he came to Canada, and in 1852 came to Peterborough County, and in 1861 settled on con- cession 5 where he now owns 150 acres and 100 on conces- sion 4. Was married in 1844 and has six children. RICHARD DUNFORD was born in Cobourg in 1834; ,.A^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ,v<' #J ^/ f^. 1.0 I.I 1.25 f tt IIIIIM " ''"'" IIIIIM ' -^° 12.0 1.^ 1.6 <^ w x^3 ^^' A ^. VI ^^. / ^> / o 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14530 (716) 872-4503 m '<^V iV :\ \ .^ ^9> V '^ , fy ''■ i : I i w r^ -1 5i 660 History of the County of Peterborough. Collins, who was born in 1843, and has always remained at home. In 1868 he married Miss Elizabeth Connel, of Peter- borough County. He had in all seven children. JOHN DOBBIN was born in Ireland, 1815, and came to America with his father in the year 1837. They landed first at New York, and remained in that city ten years, the principal part of which time our subject was engaged with R. J. Vander- water, merchant. Mr. Dobbin came to Peterborough County and purchased ninety acres on lot 5, concession 1 1, where he has resided ever since, but has added considerably to his first pur- chase, and at present owns 475 acres, in the cultivation of which he has experienced all the hardships attendant upon pioneer life. He married, in 1845, Margaret Fowler, daughter of the late William Fowler, by whom he has seven sons and two daughters. Mr. Dobbin was a member of the Township Council for the nine years succeeding the passing of the Municipal Act, and was also Township Treasurer at the same time. ROBERT DUN LOP, deceased, was born in Ireland, 1801, and 1824 emigrated to Canada, making Toronto his first actual residence. He afterwards removed to Cobourg, from thence into Peterborough County, and settled in North Monaghan, purchas- ing 100 acres of virgin soil on lot i, concession 13, which he cl -ared, improved and remained on until his death, which occurred in 1874. Mr. Dunlop married Mary Hermisson, a native of Scotland, by whom he had ten children. Robert Dunlop, second son of the above, was born on the old homestead, in 1841, on which he has continued to reside. In 1 88 1 he married Susanna Padget, of Victoria County. Mr. Dunlop has been a member of the Township Council for about six years. Biographical Notices. ' 66 1 JAMES BALINTINE FOWLER, the youngest son of William Fowler, was born on the old homestead in 1845. He remained at home until 1 864, when he came to Peterborough, and engaged in the mercantile business, which he continued until 1872, returning to the old homestead, where he still resides, and owns 140 acres. In 1872 he married Miss Dollie Gerrie, daughter of Adam Gerrie, of Guelph, Ontario, by whom he has three daughters. JOHN FOWLER, the eldest son of the late William Fow- ler, was born on the old homestead, in 1827, and remained there until 1854, when he settled on lot 2, concession 12, on which he has since resided, and now owns 200 acres. In 1854 he married Miss Ellen Black, daughter of John Black, of Prince Edward County, who died in 1857, leaving three children. Mr. Fowler married a second time, his wife being Miss Agnes Hugan, daughter of William Hugan, by whom he has eight children. WILLIAM FOWLER, second son of the late William Fowler, was born on the old homestead in 1836, and remained at home until 1863 when he went to Victoria County and engaged in farming and clearing new land. Mr. Fowler cleared 1 15 acres of land in six years, then returned to North Monaghan and settled on a part of the old homestead, where he now resides and owns 147 acres of the original farm. In 1862 he married Miss Jessie Lillico. WILLIAM FOWLER, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1775, came to Canada in 181 7, and first settled in Port Hope where he remained two years then came to Peterborough County, settled in North Monaghan Township, and took up 100 acres /. .' ;i\ i I** * n Ti r y i i Pi t ^' 1 I ' * I t 662 History of the County of Peterborough, from the Crown, on lot i, concession 11, and afterward added 240 acres on the same concession, which he improved and remained on until his death in 1878. He was Township Treasurer for many years. In 1821 he married Miss Ann Ingels, of England, by whom he had twelve children, eleven of whom are living and all except three are living in the county. WILLIAM FOSTER, deceased, was born in Northum- berland, Englanc in 1801, and in 1832 emigrated to Canada and settled in Peterborough County, Township of North Mona- ghan, where he purchased 150 acres of wild land, lot 7, con- cession JO, which he cleared, fenced, improved and remained on until his death in 1881. He married Miss Sarah Martin, of England, by whom he had nine children. Joseph Foster, youngest son of the late William Foster, was born on the old homestead in 1843, where he has always remained and now owns 100 acres of the old homestead and 100 acres on lot 6, concession 9. In 1870 he married Miss Isabel Lillico, by whom he has one daughter living. Mr. Foster has been in the Township Council for the past five years. ROBERT GOODFELLOW, born in Scotland in 18 19, is the eldest son of Andrew Goodfellow, deceased, who, in 1824, emigrated to Canada and settled in the Township of South Monaghan. Robert remained at home until 1841 when he came to North Monaghan and settled on lot 5, concession 7, which his father had previously taken up, which he has cleared, fenced, improved, and has resided on ever since. In 184.1 he married Miss Hannah Laing, daughter of Robert Laing, who was also one of the pioneers of North Monaghan, by whom he has three sons and five daughters. Mr. Goodfellow has added to Biographical Notices. 663 his first purchase having now 350 acres, lots 5, 6, 7, con- cession 7. ROBERT GREEN, deceased, was born in England, in 1787, and in 1827 came to Canada. He was first employed on the Welland Canal construction, remaining for five years, after which he removed to Peterborough County, and settled in North Monaghan Township, purchasing 100 acres of land, lot 8, con- cession II, which he improved and lived on until his death, which took place in 1848. Mr. Green married Sarah Champion, also from England, by whom he had nine children. JOSEPH GREEN, the second son of the late Robert Green, was born in England, in 181 1 ; came to Canada with his parents. In 1839 he settled on lot 7, concession 10, which he has improved, and still resides on, but has since added fifty acres on lot 8, concession 10. In 1839 he married Alice Canada, by wnom he had eight children. DAVID HOOEY, deceased, was born in the County Cavan, Ireland, in 1776, where he remained until 1831 ; He came then to Canada, and settled in Peterborough County, Township of North Monaghan, where he purchased 100 acres of bush, at four dollars per acre, which he cleared, fenced, improved and remained on until his death in 1864. He married Miss Ellen McWilliams, of Ireland, who died leaving six children. Mr. Hooey married again to Mrs. Elizabeth Anderson, of Ireland, by whom he had six children. GEORGE HOOEY, is the son of the late David Hooey, and was born in Ireland in 18-^0. He came to Canada with his 'S'^l m .135 8?; ' " . '' Ki ■'l ■ i: ii: >■■ I 664 History of the County of Peterboroiigh, parents, and has always remained on the old homestead, which he now owns ; and includes 200 acres on lot 4, concession 9. He married Miss Annie Sharp, daughter of John Sharp. Mr. Hooey- has held the office of Township Councillor for many years. ANTHONY HUNTER, deceased, was born in the County Antrim, Ireland, 1794, where he remained until 1824. He then came to Canada, and located in Northumberland County, Town- ship of Cavan, and purchased 200 acres of land on lot 22, conces- sion 8, which he improved and remained on until his death in 1868. He was married in Ireland in 1814. The result of this union was four sons and three daughters, none of whom are living except Anthony the third son, who was born on the old homestead in 1825, where he remained until 1872, in which year he sold out and came to North Monaghan Township, purchased 300 acres of land qn lot 3 and 4, concession 10 and 11, and on which he has since resided. In i860 he married Miss Sarah Ward, of Northumberland County, by whom he has five sons. MATTHEW JOHNSON was born in the County Armagh, Ireland, i8or, where he remained until 1829; came to Canada, and located first in Kingston, remained there until 1848 ; after which he moved to Peterborough County, and settled in Town- ship of North Monaghan, where he purchased 200 acres of land on lot II, concession 10, from John Wilson, at three dollars per acre ; this he fitted up for a home, in which he still resides. In 1843 he married Miss Howden, daughter of John Howden, of Kingston, by whom he had nine children. Matthew Johnson, the eldest son, was born in Kingston in 1845. Iri ^874 married Miss Mary Gow, daughter of Charles Gow, of Ashburnham, who died the following year. Mr. Johnson Biographical Notices. 665 married again to Sarah Donelly, of North Monaghan Township, by whom he has three children. Mr. Johnson has held the office of Township Treasurer. CHRISTOPHER LEARY was born in Kingston in 1823. Ir 1829 his father came to Northumberland County, where he had previously purchased 400 acres of land in the Township of Haldimand, on which Christopher remained until 1849, when he removed to the Township of Otonabee and purchased 100 acres, and 200 acres also in Douro. He remained three years on his land, and then went to Peterborough and engaged in the dis- tilling and brewing business, which he carried on for two years, when he exchanged his business for 175 acres on lot 9, concession II, North Monaghan, on which he has since resided. In 1849 Mr. Leary married Miss Ann Weir, daughter of Robert Weir, of Otonabee, who was one of the pioneers of that township, by whom he has six children. Mr. Leary has been councillor for many years, and now holds the office of License Inspector for the West Riding of Peterborough. JOHN LILLICO, deceased, was born in Cavan Township, County of Northumberland, in 1823, where he remained until 1845. He then came to North Monaghan and settled on a purchase of 150 acres, on lot 8, concession 12, which he im- proved, cultivated, and remained on until his death in 1879. Mr. Lillico married Miss Martha Willson, daughter of Thomas Willson, by whom he had seven children. ALEXANDER McINTOSH, deceased, was born in Scot- land in 1793 ; came to Canada and settled in Northumberland County at an early day. He remained on his first settlement 666 History of the County of Peterborough. until 1826, and in that year removed to North Monaghan and took possession of lot 2, concession 7, on which he remained until his death, which occurred in 1856. His son John was born in the County of Northumberland in 1823, and remained on the old homestead until his death in 1870. He was married in 1848 to Miss Mary Kennedy, of Cavan Township, in the same county, by whom he had nine children. John, his third son, was born on the old homestead in 1857, where he has con- tinued to reside. In 1881 he married Miss Jane E, McEwan, of his native country, by whom he has one child. MALCOLM McINTYRE, the only son of the late Donald Mclntyre, was born in Port Hope in 1824. Has always lived on the old farm, and was thirteen years of age when his father died. In 1870 he married Miss Jane Lesly, daughter of Andrew and Janet Lesly, of Glengarry County. DONALD McINTYRE, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1790, where he remained until 1823 ; then emigrated to Canada, landing in Quebec City, staying there until the following year, when he came to Peterborough County and settled in the Township of Monaghan on free grant land, lot 4, concession 13, which he improved and cultivated until his death in 1837. Mr. Mclntyre's brother and sister came to Canada with him, but died soon after. In 1823 he married Margery Davidson, of Scotland, by whom he had two children. ISRAEL PAYNE, farmer, on lot 3, concession 13, was born in the Township of Dummer, 1842, on which he remained until 1865, and that year removed to North Monaghan Township, and settled on 100 acres of land, which he cultivates. In 1868 Biographical Notices. 667 Mr. Payne married Miss Isabel Young, daughter of the late George Young, by whom he has a son and two daughters. URIAH PAYNE, the second son of Israel Payne, was born in the Township of Dummer, 1838, and lived there until 1865, after which he removed to North Monaghan, lot 3, con- cession 13, where he still resides. In 1864 he married Mary Ann Chowen, by whom he had four children. WILLIAM SPILSBURY, the subject of this sketch, was born in the County of Northumberland in 1830, where he remained until i860, after which )^ar he removed to Peter- borough County and settled in the Township of North Mono- ghan, on lot 7, concession 11, which belonged to his father's estate, and where he has resided ever since. In 1859 he married Miss Mary Ann Ashby, by whom he has seven children. JOHN TULLY, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest son of Andrew Tully, deceased, and was born in Scotland, 18 10. In 1829 his parents came to Canada, John remaining at home until the year 1843, when he settled on 100 acres, which he had previously taken up from the Crown on lot 9, concession 13, but has since added to it, and he now possesses 200 acres in the Town- ships of Smith and North Monaghan.' In the year 1843 Mr. Tully married Miss Esther Ann Sheriff, daughter of David Sheriff, of Scotland, by whom he has seven children. JOHN WHITFIELD was born in the Parish of Allendale, Northumberland County, England, in the year 182 1. When twenty years of age he emigrated to Canada and settled first in Cavan Township, Northumberland County. He remained here m 668 History of the County of Peterborough. \'iW- . ¥ but one year, at the expiration of which he changed his locality to Peterborough County, and purchased fifty acres of land in the Township of North Monaghan, lot 7, concesssion 11, after- wards adding to his property by another purchase of seventeen acres in the same concession, on which he lived until i860. About this time he secured 200 acres of wild land, lot 8, con- cession 9, which he cleared, fenced, improved and has since lived on, in the meanwhile buying eighty acres in the tent'i concession. In 1844 Mr. Whitfield paid a visit to the soil of his nativity, and brought back a wife, whom he had there married, and whose maiden name was Mary Brodie. She died in 1856, leaving two children, and Mr. Whitfield married a second time to Isabel Wilson, daughter of the late Thomas Wilson (an early settler in this township) by whom he has three sons. Mr. Whitfield has held the offices of township collector and assessor. GEORGE YOUNG, deceased, born in Scotland in 1800. In 1834, came to Canada and settled in Peterborough County, Township of North Monaghan, where he purchased 100 acres of wild land, on lot 3, concession 12, which he improved and lived on until his death in 1869. Mr. Young was very popular in his township and held the office of reeve for many years, holding that office up to the time of his death. He married Mary Brunton, of Scotland, by whom he had ten children. George, the third son of the late George Young, was born in Scotland in 1830, and in" 1834 his parents emigrated to Canada and settled in Peterborough County. Our subject remained at home until 1857, when he purchased 200 acres of bush land in the Township of Douro, which he improved and lived on until 1870. He then came to North Monaghan where he purchased 200 acres on lot 5, concession 13, where he has Biographical Notices, 669 outbuildings equal to any in the township, his barns being over 200 feet in length. In 1857, he married Miss Mary Davidson, of Smith Township, by whom he has ten children. Andrew, the sixth son of the late George Young, was born on the old homestead in 1841 where he has always remained, and now owns. In 1882, he married Agnes Dunlop, daughter of the late Robert Dunlop, by whom he has one son. TOWNSHIP OF ENNISMORE. THE REVEREND FATHER KEILLY, the first resi- dent priest of the parish of Ennismore, was born in Prescott, Ontario, in 1846. He was educated at Kingston and also at the "Seminary," Quebec, at which latter institution he completed his studies in the year 1868. He was 'stationed at Kingston from this date until 1873 and then removed to the parish of Kitley, Leeds County, where he remained for six years, after which he located in his present parish. The Church of St. Martin, of which the Reverend Father Keilly is pastor, is of brick and was built in 1873. His predecessors were Fathers Coyle and Hogan. The parish is a large and flourishing one embracing over five hundred inhabitants. Adjoining the church is the residence of Father Keilly, a large two-story brick building, which was erected in 1879. WILLIAM CUMMINGS, a native of Scotland, was born in 1826 and came to Canada in 1852. He went direct to Peterborough County, and about two years after his arrival pur- chased sixty acres — lot 9, concession 8 — in the Township of Ennismore, on which he has since lived, having cleared fifty ■ill ;i 111 id 1 1 .1 In 1 II-' 11 H 1 Kb -Jm> 1 1 1 m ;M| M Hi n '?2. iJjIi 6;o History of the County of Peterborough. 11, ^f ':; I r i: acres. Our subject was twice married, first to Harriet Edwards, of Otonabee Township, who died in 1875, leaving five children. His second marriage was with Mrs. Brough, of Asphodel. TOWNSHIP OF ASPHODEL. HUGH BECKET was born in the Township of Asphodel in 1830. His father, John Becket, deceased, a native of Scot- land, was born in 1780 and came to Canada in 1820, settling at once in this township, where he lived till his death which happened in 1848. Hugh is the youngest of a family of nine children. When he arrived at manhood he bought a farm on the 8th concession of Asphodel where he lived for nine years. He then purchased a farm in Percy Township where he lived another nine years. 'While living here he left his family on the farm and made a two years' visit to California. On his return he sold out and bought a farm on lot 14, concession 9, where he lived three years, after which he moved to Norwood Village and kept a hotel for ten years. He then bought the farm of 150 acres, on which he now lives, lot 10, conces- sion 10. He owns in all 450 acres of land in this township. Mr. Becket married, in 1852, Janet Spiers, of Percy Township, a native of Glasgow, Scotland. She is the daughter of John Spiers, of that township. They have six children living, four sons and two daughters, and have lost a son and a daughter by death. LIEUT.-COL. RICHARD BIRDSALL, deceased, was born in Yorkshire, England, 1799. He came to Canada about the year 181 7, and settled on lot i, concession i, of Asphodel. Biographical Notices. 6yi He was a Provincial Land Surveyor and surveyed the Town- ships of Otonabee and Asphodel ; he laid out the Town of Peterborough besides a considerable portion of the county. He was the first Reeve of Asphodel ; was agent for the Canada Company and sold for them, to settlers, large tracts of land in this locality. He served too, in the war of the rebellion as a Loyalist, He was married first to Miss Elizabeth Burnham, daughter of the late Zacheus Burnham, by whom he had four daughters. Some time after her decease he was again married, in the year 1S36, to Charlotte J, Everett, of Belleville, Ontario ; of this union there are three surviving children. He was one of the first settlers in this part of the country and occupied a prominent position in the early times. Richard E. Bikdsall, deceased, son of the above, was born in 1837 and, like his father, was a civil engineer and surveyor. He married Charlotte M. Birdsall, who still survives him ; his death occurred in 1877. He, too, during his lifetime was a prominent man and was at one time Warden of the County, Reeve of the Township, etc. Francis Birdsall, brother of the above, was born on the family homestead in 1838, where he has lived all his life and owns the farm originally secured by his father, by government grant, at an early day, consisting in all of about fourteen hundred acres in Otonabee Township and Asphodel. He was married in 1859 to Amanda E. Birdsall, of Toronto Township, Peel County. They have one child, a son, Richard E. Birdsall, who was born in i860. He is at present Captain of No. 4 Company, 57th Bat- talion, Volunteers, and resides at home with his parents. JOHN BRECKEN RIDGE, of lot 9, concession 3, of Asphodel Township, was born in Ayrshire, Scodand, in 1829. !i!l tm pi 1 4. t EX * n • ' • I K <1* 11^ , 6y: History of the County of Peterborough. He came to Canada in 1846, settling in Otonabee Township, where he lived until 1853; in that year purchasing 100 acres of land on lot 12,, concession 3, of Asphodel; here living on, clearing and improving the same. In 1864 he sold out and bought the 400 acres where he is at present located, since which time he has also been engaged in the lumber trade, having a mill on his property worked by water. Mr. Breckenridge mar- ried, in 1854, Agnes Stephenson, of this Township, who is also a aative of Ayrshire, Scotland. They have eight sons and seven daughters living. He has been Assessor and Collector of the township for about five years and Justice of the Peace for twenty years, an office he still holds. JOHN P. BROWN, of Asphodel Township, was born in the City of Quebec in 1825. His father, the late Richard Brown, was from England, and had served several years in the navy ; and had resided in various places throughout Canada, eventually settling in Goderich, Ontario, where he died in 1871. John P. Brown lived with his people in Quebec till about twenty years of age, when he learned the trade of carpenter, and has worked at the same in the States and Canada till recently. He settled in Norwood in 1857, where he has lived, and in the Township of Asphodel ever since. He owns 100 acres on lot 13, concession 10. He was for eight years a deputy-reeve of the Township. He married in 184*4 ^ Miss Cairn, a native of Tyrone, Ireland. They have six sons and four daughters. DUNCAN CAMPBELL, was born in Alnwick, Northum- berland County, 1845. His father James Campbell (of the old Scottish Clan of Campbell), was born in Argyle, Scotland, and in 1 8 10 canie to Canada, and four vears after his arrival settled Biographical Notices. 673 in Alnwick Township, Northumberland County, on Government land (paying four dollars per acre), which he secured. He improved this, and lived on it till his death, which occurred in 1877. The subject of this sketch remained on the farm until six months previous to his father's death, when he removed to Asphodel Township, purchasing eighty-four acres of land on 1 h 15, concession 9, where he still resides. Mr. Campbell married in 1879 Hannah Honey, of Percy Township, by whom he has two children. HUGH CHRISTIE, of Asphodel, was born in Lanark County, Scotland, 1812. He emigrated to Canada in 1828, c^nd three years later settled on the farm on which he still resides, lot 14, concession i. Asphodel. He first bought 100 acres, and has since added forty-seven acres to the original purchase. He married in 1832, Jane Cameron, daughter of John Cameron, one of the pioneers of Otonabee Township. Of a family of twelve children, three sons and four daughters are still living ; a son still resides at home, and the remainder settled in different parts of the Province. 1 1 i 1 1 1 \^i i 1 i P'SII fpi' III' i^>ii£iiij m 1 111 H |ll| \ ! GEORGE ELLIOT, of this township, was born on the family homestead in 1836. His father, John Elliot, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, 1805 ; coming to Canada in 1823, and setding first in Smith Township, where he lived five years, after which he bouQfht from Government 200 acres of land at two dollars per acre, on lot 12, concession 10. This he cleared, improved, and lived on until 1870, when he moved to Norwood Village, where he remained till his death, which transpired in 1879. George Elliott resided at home with his people till 1862, when his father presented him with 100 acres of land (a part of 43 p . J. "^ J . ■. s 1 *■ „ 41 ' J ' * flb ' JB If ( > ** ' '^^1 9 t( t* '^^H 't% ^M . :fl Ijtv; -m'.. ■■-■■'-'■ r:-/ .- i^■^ :. iif. ^ ■'■ p; • f i ■ " i 1: li- ;S '1 ' fl ' fl ■J' Ui I i li il I ii ii 674 History of the County of Peterborough. the old homestead) the same he still owns and resides upon. In addition he owns some village property in -Norwood, He married in 1862, Mary Ann Finlay, of Dummer Township, daughter of John Finlay, late of that township ; of a family of eight children, they have two sons and five daughters living. Mr. Elliot has taken considerable interest in educational matters, and has held the school trusteeship in his district for the past twelve years. THOMAS HOWSON was born near Wheeling, Virginia, United States, 1819. His father, John Howson, deceased, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to America in 181 7, settling first in Virginia, United States, where the subject of our sketch v/as born. A.fter five years spent in Vermont, the family came to Canada, and settled in Cobourg, Ontario, where they remained five years, removing afterwards to Otonabee Town- ship, where the father died in 1878. Mr. Thomas Howson is one of a family of five children, and at the age of twenty-one left the old homestead and bought the farm upon which he at present lives, owning altogether about 500 acres in the township. He married, in 1844, Ann W. Connell, of Dummer Township, of Irish extraction. Mr. Howson has always taken consi lerable interest in the municipal and other matters of the district, was a member of the council eight years, and for a time captain of militia. JEREMIAH MURPHY, deceased, was born in Ire- land, and came to Canada in 1829, settling three years after on the land which is now the residence and well improved farm of his son, Timothy Murphy.. Timothy was born in Ireland in 1824, coming to Canada with his parents at the age Biographical Notices. 67 s of five years. He is the only surviving member of the family, and has resided on the homestead ever since the first settlement of the family, and received the same by will from his father. It consists of 200 acres of land on lot 19, concession 7. He married, in 1847, Catharine McCarthy, also a native of Ireland. They have six children, two sons and four daughters. One of his sons is Dr. John Murphy, of Belleville, and he has a daughter married and settled in the adjoining Township of Dummer. V<\'. CHARLES O'REILLY, the present reeve of this town- ship, was born in the Township of Percy, Northumberland County, in 1837. His father, James O'Reilly, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1800, and came to Canada in 1S30, settling first in the Niagara District, where he remained but a short time. He was afterwards for a short time in Oueenston, and in 1834 settled in Percy Township, in the bush, ten miles from any human habitation. He bought his land from Father Carroll, now of Chicago, who is reputed to be the oldest Catholic priest on this continent. Charles O'Reilly is one of a family of four children, having one brother and two sisters living. In 1862 he commenced for himself on a farm presented to him by his father, on which he lived till 1870, selling that, and buying a farm of 100 acres on lot 5, concession 4, of Asphodel Township, upon which he lives at the present time. He married, in 1862, Nora Kennaly, of Percy Township. They have six sons and four daughters. He has held for some time the offices of collector and assessor of the township, and is now holding the office of reeve of the township. M'i JOHN POWEL, of Westwood was born ii? South Wales in 1845, and came to Canada in 1862, settling at once in West- 15 m ^^it » ' I 676 History of the County of Peterborough. wood. His brothers, Duncan and Stewart Powel, preceded him, the former coming in 1854 and the latter in 1855; Duncan settling in Westwood in 1858. They both died before the subject of our [sketch reached here. He at once took charge of, and now owns, the farm stock owned previously by his brothers ; he is also proprietor of the only general store in the place. Mr. Powel has been clerk, treasurer . id reeve of the township. He married, in 1872, Anna Read, daughter of George Read, Esq., of Keene Village. They have a son and four daughters. THOMAS RORK was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in the year 1833, and came to Canada with his people in 1838. His father, John Rork, now deceased, after five years' residence in Kingston, settled in the Township of Dummer, and a" few _ years later bought a farm, living upon the same till the time of his death, which happened in 1858. Thomas Rork, making his first start in life, bought a farm in Dummer Township, where he lived about four years. He sold out and bought the farm on lot 10, concession 11, of Asphodel, where he has lived to the present time. He now owns 165 acres. Mr. Rork married, in 1 86 1, Elizabeth Burgess, of Belmont Township. They have living one son and four daughters. Mr. Rork has taken an active part in the municipal affairs of his township, and was in the council nine years, four years of which he was the reeve of the township. WALTER SCOTT, sen'r, deceased, was born in Scotland, and came to Canada in the year 1820, having landed first in the United States, where he spent two years. He first settled on a tract of forest land, where still stands the family homestead. He may well be called a pioneer, being among the first to make Biographical Notices. 677 a settlement in the Township of Asphodel. He was for many years a Justice of the Peace, and for a time an officer in the militia. He married, soon after coming here, Jane Scott, who was also a native of Scotland, and purchased lands in this town- ship until he became the owner of 1,200 acres. His death occurred in the year 187 1. Walter Scott, jun'r, son of the above, the fourth of a family of six sons and one daughter, was born on the old farm in 1828. He resided on the old place till about 1862, receiving then 400 acres by gift from his father, which he afterwards exchanged for a farm of the same number of acres on lot 9, concessions 8 and 9, of Asphodel, where he still resides. He married, in 1853, Louisa Fife, of Otonabee Township. They have two sons and three daughters. JOHN WALSH, son of Richard Walsh, who came to Canada with the " Robinson Colonists," 1825, was a native of County Cork, Ireland. He took up a Government grant of land upon which the subject of our sketch now lives. The latter was born in 1838, and lived on the old farm till 1857, when his father died, and John received the old homestead by will, con- sisting then of about 100 acres, to which he hafe since made considerable addition, owning now about 650 acres on lot 11, concession 6. He is the youngest son of a family of ten children. In 1871 he married Catherine Clary, of Otonabee Township, by whom he had three children. She died in. 1874, and four years later he married his present wife, whose maiden name was Anna Elmhurst, and by whom he has two children. Mr. Walsh has •been for many years a member of the township council, and for four years was deputy-reeve. I! ^ 678 History of tJie County of Peterborough. VILLAGE OF HASTINGS. ROBERT COOPER HUMPHRIES, deceased, a pioneer of Asphodel, and one of its most respected citizens, was born in Wiltshire, England, and came to America in 181 2. He travelled for a time through the States and the Maritime Provinces, and was last for some time in the State of Pennsyl- vania. In 1822 he settled in Asphodel Township, on the farm lot 3, concession 3, where tVie son Thomas now resides. He bought first seventy-five acres, and to this he added from time to time till he owned at his death 1,275 acres of land. This is now divided among his sons and daughter. He married in Nova Scotia. Catharine McGuire, who is still living, being over ninety years of age. There* were in their family eleven children, ten sons and a daughter, of whom three sons, William, Joel and Robert, are now deceased. The sons James C, Israel, Job, Thomas and Henry, are all settled in this town- ship ; Joseph is in the far North-West, and John and Mrs. Sarah Humphries who are living in the Township of Percy. The subject of our sketch departed this life, on the family homestead, in 1879, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. James C. Humphries, son of R. C. Humphries, was born in the State of Pennsylvania, 18 19, coming with his parents to this township when but between two and three years of age. He lived on the home-stead till of age, and then engaged in mechanical pursuits in various places for about thirty years, his family living on a farm he had purchased in the Township of Otonabee. In 1876 he moved to his present farm residence on lot 4, concession 4, of Asphodel. He married Rachael Stork, a native of England, in the year 1846. They have four Biographical Notices. 679 sons and two daughters, all living, their issue bringing up to the total of thirty-four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. JOHN ELM HIRST, deceased, was born in England, 1 818, and came to Canada when only four years of age. His father, the late Joseph Elmhirst, settled in Otonabee Township on a portion of the 1,000 acres, Government grant, drawn by his brother, the late Lieutenant Elmhirst, on which he died in 1843. John lived on the old homestead until he attained his twenty- first year, and then bought seventy-five acres on lot 5, conces- sion 3, of Asphodel (which same farm the family yet own and occupy), afterwards adding 100 acres from an adjoining lot to his original purchase. When Mr. Elmhirst first came upon this land not a stick had been cut, and for which he paid 8s. gd. per acre. The surviving family consists of eight sons and five daughters, two of whom are in the States and the remainder on or near the old homestead. Modest Elmhirst, son of John Elmhirst, deceased, was born on the family homestead in 1849, where he has since resided. Jn 1875 he married Helen Leeper, daughter of Robert Leeper, ot this township. They have four children, all sons. LIEUT. PHILIP JAMES ELMHIRST, deceased, was an officer in the British regular army, and drew for services rendered 1,000 acres of land in Otonabee Township, together with a pension. He located his land about 1820, returning to England and bringing back with him to Canada his brother Joseph and family, and settling on his uncleared lands, where he lived until his death in 1865, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. He never married, and the property he willed to his brother's children. 'MA iillll II I... '1 i. 680 History of the County of Peterboroug/i. WILLIAM ENGLISH was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in the year 1804. He came to Canada in 1833 and settled on the farm where his son, George English, now lives. He bought first 100 acres of forest land from Mr. Birdsall. There was at that time but very little draining done in that locality. He continued to live on this place until 1864, when he moved on an adjoining farm belonging to his son George, where he still lives. He married in Ireland his present wife, whose maiden name was Jane Oakman. George English, son of the above, was born in Antrim, Ireland, in 1839, coming with his parents to, Canada when but five years of age. He has lived upon the homestead ever since, receiving it four years ago from his father. He now owns his father's original purchase and an additional 100 acres, which land is located on lots 5 and 6, concession 4, of Asphodel.- He married in 1865 Catharine E. EInihirst, of this township, daughter of the late John Elmhirst. They have four sons and four daughters. He was Township Councillor in 1879 and 1880. • WILLIAM GILCHRIST, of Asphodel Township, was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, in 1822. He, with his sister (who is now the wife of Gavin Shearer, of Otonabee), came to Canada in 1842. He lived four years in Otonabee Township, and then bought the farm on lots 6 and 7 of Asphodel, which he still owns and occupies. His place had at the time' he bought it but very little clearing or improvement. He bought first 100 acres, and has since added another 100 acres. Mr. Gilchrist married in 1847 Hannah Elmhirst, of Otonabee Township. They have three sons and seven daughters. JOB C. HUMPHRIES, son of R. C. Humphries, deceased. Biographical Notices. 68 1 of lot 8, concession, 2 of Asphodel, was born on the family homestead in this township in 1831, where he resided till coming of age.' He was then engaged at the trade of carpenter and in lumbering for about five years, when he settled upon the farm of uncleared land given him by his father, which he has cleared and improved, and lives upon at the present time. It consists of 200 acres. He married in 1857 Anna Douglas, of this township, a native of Scotland. They have three sons and three daughters. DENNIS HURLEY, of lot 15, concession 7, was born in 1835 on the farm where he now resides. His father, Dennis. Hurley, a native of Cork, Ireland, came to Canada in 1825 with the Peter Robinson Colony, and settled on the farm, then a dense wilderness, which the subject of our sketch now owns. Dennis is one of a family of four children, being a son by his father's second marriage. His mother's maiden name was Johanna Keating, also a native of Ireland. Dennis has lived on the homestead all his life. His father died 1850, at the age of eighty-three years The homestead was willed to himself and brother, he buying his brother's share in about i860. He married Mary Shea, daughter of Michael Shea, late of this township. They have two sons and five daugh- ters. He owns 200 acres of land where he lives, 265 acres in . Dummer Township, and some town property in Peterborough ; also a small tract of land in North Monaghan Township. MICHAEL LYNCH, lot 1, concession 2, was born in Otonabee Township in 1846, being a son of Edward Lynch, who settled in that township at an early day, and was regarded as a pioneer of that section. Michael is one of a family of eight It'"'?' ■I m^' >„' ^->i Vfi I I ■ 682 History of the County of Peterborough. children — seven boys and one girl ; three of the brothers are living in Sagmoir, Michigan, and the remainder of the family are settled in this immediate vicinity. In 1854 the family removed to Asphodel, on lots 3 and 4, concession i, where the father died eleven years later. The subject of our sketch re- mained on the homestead till he came of age, and for two years after this was variously engaged, eventually settling down for four years to farming in this township, north of Westwood. In 1874 he bought the farm of 180 acres, on which he has since lived. Mr. Lynch married, in 1868, Elena Mahoney, of this township, who died in 1873, by whom he has three children. • He married again in 1875 to Mary Ryan, also of this township ; their issue being four children. Our subject has taken consider- able interest in the affairs of his municipality, having served in the council three years, and being a school trustee for many years. VILLAGE OF NORWOOD. J. D. ACKERMAN, merchant, Norwood Village, was born near South Bay, Prince Edward County, in 1841. His father, Gerrit H. Ackerman, a native of the City of New York, came to Canada, and settled in Prince Edward County, where he lived until his death, which took place in 1853. Mr. Ackerman in early life followed agricultural pursuits; but, becoming owner and • captain of a vessel, he sailed the lakes for several years. In 1873, he took a position as clerk at South Bay, where he remained about five years, and in 1878 moved to Norwood, establishing himself in the grocery trade, and has continued the same, merging the grocery into a general store up to the present time. He married in 1863, Anna Hudgins, a native of Prince Edward County. i^' ■• 'T Biographical Notices, 683 D. BRAN NAN, is proprietor of the Norwood House, which comfortable hostelry is always ready to meet the requirements of the travelling public. The hotel is a large and convenient one, and the amiability of both host and hostess is such that will be appreciated by all visitors. THOMAS BUCK, an old settler in Asphodel, and one of the leading business men in the Village of Norwood. He was born in Yorkshire, England, 18 19, and came to Canada in 1834, staying for a time near Port Hope, afterwards settling in the Township of Asphodel. His father, Thomas Buck, deceased, bought 100 acres of land, from the Canada Company, on which the subject of this sketch remained until he attained his twenty- first year, purchasing then 100 acres on lot 13. concession 8, on which he lived from 1843 to 1881. Three years ago he moved to the handsome village residence he erected, where he has since continued to live. Mr. Buck has been extensively engaged in the timber business, and in 1857 bought the old saw and grist mill, formerly the property of Mr. Grover, but which was des- troyed by fire four months after it changed hands. In 1863 he built a carding-mill on the same property, and having since that time made considerable additions to it, a large and prosperous woollen manufactory is the result. He also owned a saw-mill in Dummer Township, and carried on that business for twenty-four years. Besides owning these mills, Mr. Buck is possessed of some agricultural land and farm property in Dummer Township. He married, in 1843, Mary Ann Starr, of the last-named town- ship, by whom he had a family of eight children, five of whom are living. ill seller, JOHN ALMUS BUTTERFIELD, postmaster, book- id druggist, at Norwood, was born in the Township of srp li: ii. I *> 1 ■ » V . ^^H * '9P9 1 . 1 L ill k - 1 J^SKt 684 History of the County of Peterborough^ Hope, Ontario, in 1832. His father, Almus Butterfield, came to Canada about 1827, settling in Hope Township, where he lived the remainder of his life. His death occurred by cholera in 1832. J. A. Butterfield came to Norwood in 1842, and remained but about one year; was afterwards two years in Peterborough, and was bookkeeper in a bank in Chicago for two and a-half years. From the age of ten to twenty-one he spent m Colborne, and in 1858 took up his residence in this village, where he has since resided. He has been postmaster since 1864. On his return from Chicago he entered into partnership with the late James Foley, who was his uncle. He succeeded him in the offices of postmaster and Clerk of Division Court, and has held the same ever since. He married a Miss Vars, of Colborne. They have three daughters. The second one is married to the Rev. J. W. McClary, now living at Duntroon, Ontario. He owns a residence on Queen Street, and three other houses and lots on same street; and two lots and building on Peterborough Street. JOHN FIN LAY, manufacturer of carriage good^ at Nor- wood Village, was born in Dummer Township, this county, in the year 1836. His father, John Finlay, ser>'r, was born in Ireland, and came to Canada in 1832, settling soon after in Dummer Township, where he resided till about 1870, removing at that time to Peterborough, where he died two years later. John Finlay, jun'r, learned in his youth the trade of carriage making, and followed the same for fourteen years, when he engaged in the manufacture of carriage goods. In 1877 he was burned out, losing in factory fixtures and goods $25,000. He soon after built his present large manufactory, where he turns out large quantities of goods, employing from sixteen to thirty Biographical Notices, 685 men. He married, in about 1846, Mary Ann Wilson, of Dummer Township. They have three sons and four daughters. DR. SAMUEL P. FORD was born in Peterborough, 1840, and is the son of Joseph P'ord, still living in that town. The doctor received his early education at the High School of Peterborough, attending afterwards the Buffalo University of Medicine, from which institution he graduated in 1864. In 1 869-' 70 he had conferred upon him the degrees of M.B. and M.D. at the Toronto University, Mr. Ford is a poet of con- siderable note, and in " Dewart's Canadian l^oets " are to be found some of his productions, the conipiler of th work giving 'him a highly favourable mention. He was man ' in 1865, to Miss Connor, daughter of Robert Connor, Esq., of Niagara. The year after he graduated Dr. Ford was an assistant surgeon in the American Army, and in 1865 came to settle in Norwood, where he has since resided, and built up a large and prominent practice. THOMAS ERASER was born in Cobourg, Ontario, 1846. His father was Archibald Fraser, a native of Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in 1830, and commenced the tailoring business in Cobourg, which he continued for many years, after- wards removing to a farm in the district. He lived for a number of years at Baltimore, Ontario, and came to Norwood in 1882, where he has since lived with his son Thomas. He was three times married, first in Scotland to Ellen McCall, the mother of our subject, and who died in 1853. Her family con- sisted of seven children in all, four of whom only survive her. Mr. Fraser's second wife was Jane Brown, whom he married in Baltimore, a native of that place. On his second wife's death si *■ 1*1.1 ■ * 686 History of the County of Peterborough. he married a third tiine to Anna Hurley. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, left the parental roof at the age of fourteen years, and came to Norwood, where he learned the trade of tinsmith, and with the exception of one year and six months' absence has resided in the village ever since. In 1871 he commenced busi- ness on h"s own account in conjunction with Mr. H. Daughty, but the partnership only lasted one year. Mr. Fraser has since carried the business on himself, adding considerably to his trade, which he continues to conduct with success. He married, in 1869, Mary Jane Foster, of this village, by whom he has two sons and five daughters. Mr. Fraser was elected a member of the Village Council in the year 1883 by the largest vote ever polled in the village, and on the resignation of Mr. J. B. Pearce, in July of the same year, he was by acclamation elected to the vacant reeveship. JAMES GREENBANK, of Norwood Village, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 18 19, and came to Canada in 1838 and settled, a few years after his arrival, upon the farm he still owns, near Norwood Village, buying 100 acres of uncleared land. Here he lived till about 1876, when he gave the management of the farm to his sons. He owns now 200 acres of land and a residence in Norwood. He was Township v_ollector for five years, when Dummer, Asphodel and Belmont were united as one municipality. He was married, about 1840, to Mary Parker, of Dummer Township, a native of England, who died about the year 1876, and by whom he has two sons and five daughters. He married afterwards his present wife, whose maiden name was Alice Parker, sister of the first wife. PEREGRINE MAITLAND GROVER was born in Biographical Notices. 687 Grafton, Ontario, in 181 7, being the son of Major John Grover, a native of the State of Massachusetts, United States, where he was born in the year 1771, coming to Canada in 1792, and after four years' rambling, settled on a Government grant of land in the Township of Percy. In 1800 he moved to Grafton, and lived there until his death. He was Major in the militia, serving in that capacity for many years. The major married Mary Mirriam, of Connecticut, United States ; of a family of nine children, only two sons and one daughter survive. P. M. Grover, in the early portion of his life, was engaged in various occupations in the different towns of this Province. His first commencement in business on his own account was in Peter- borough, where, in conjunction with a Mr. F"oley, he opened a dry goods and general store, also a lumloer yard, and continued here till 1850. At this time he removed to Norwood Village, where he has since been engaged lumbering and farming. Mr. Grover married, in 1846, Harriet Keeler, of Colborne, daughter of Joseph Keeler, a representative of one of the oldest families in that section, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. The family own about 1,000 acres, the Village of Norwood being built upon what was originally Mr. Grover's land. Our subject has held nearly every office in the gift of the people, from Councillor of the township to M. P. of the Dominion House, representing his Riding in the latter from 1867 until 1874. Thomas M. Grover, attorney-at-law, Norwood, son of the above, was born at Grafton, Ontario, in 1847. He received his B.A. at the University of Toronto in 1868, and was admitted to the bar three years later, 1871, since which time he has practiced in Norwood Village. He married Isabella Farrar, daughter of the Rev. W. A. Farrar, of this township. ■ ( 1 ■ ■ 1- ii,' i " i ) \ m I «p'"^--" V i ■■ II ft: !'f;.. ' . ^. 688 History of the County of Peterborough. JOHN A. HARPER, editor and proprietor of the Norwood Register, issued every Thursday. It is a lively twenty-eight column newspaper, and is well patronized by the inhabitants of this village and surrounding country. The proprietor is the son of James Harper, a native of this place. He, with his father, John Harper, sen'r, are contractors and builders. John A. Harper is one of a family of nine children ; his mother was, before m^irriage, a Miss Eliza Morrow, who was born in Belfast, Ireland. ,^\ -WILLIAM J. RISEBOROUGH, merchant-tailor, is a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, where he was born in 1832. Af the age of sixteen years, he crossed the border into England and resided there until his departure for America. A few months after his arrival here he established himself in Norwood Village as merchant-tailor (having previously had experience in that trade in the old country), which he has continued up to the present lime, and has now a very extensive connection. Mr. Riseborough married in England, Mary A. Adamson, of English birth and parentage, who died August 26th, 1884. . WILLIAM E. ROXBURGH, was born in Ayrshire, Scot- land, 1834, He emigrated to Canada in 1855, settling in Norwood Village, and for a time occupied the position of town- ship clerk. He was afterwards in Westwood and Keene, and in i860 entered into a partnership with Mr. Buck, by whom he was formerly employed, as general merchants and at the expira- tion of three years from the commencement of this partnership, Mr. Roxburgh purchased the remaining interest from Mr. Buck, and carried on the same alone, until 1877, at which time, he in turn sold to Mr. Reynolds, who still continues it. He married Biographical Notices. 689 in i860, Miss E. Meikle, of Westwood, a native of Scotland, by whom he has a family oi four sons and two daughters now living. Mr. Roxburgh has closely identified himself with everything that tended towards the advancement of the village, and has fot many years been chairman of the school board, besides acting as secretary and treasurer of the Agricultural Society of his riding since 1868. He ran for Membership in the Com.mons in 1882, but was defeated by Mr. Burnham, by a small majority. He owns considerable property in Norwood, including a fine resi- dence, a number of tenant houses and stores, and large tracts of land in the Townships of Dummer and Belmont. ROBERT WILSON, saddle and harness manufacturer, was born in Port Hope, Ontario, 1831. His parents, Adam and Margaret Wilson, were natives of County Down, Ireland, and came to Canada the year their son Robert was born. They first resided at Port Hope, removing to the Township of Hope soon after, where they had the misfortune to be burned out, losing almost everything thev possessed. From here they went to the Township of Cavan, bought and settled upon a farm. In 1836 they removed to Cobourg, where the father died in 1859. Robert Wilson left his parents at the age of sixteen years, and journeyed to Rochester, N.Y., and there learned the trade of harness-maker, an occupation he has followed the greater part of his life. At the conclusion of his residence in Rochester, he spent a short time in Albany and other places in New York State, and then returned direct to Canada. He worked at various places in the province at his trade, and in 1862 settled in Norwood Village, and opened out a branch of the harness business for Messrs. Hopkins & Donnelly, of Peterborough, working for that firm one year, and then beginning business on 44 Eri el {ill n liiin 11 fl' nr^ .15 'Ji V ..y 1 ■ fc ,^1:' • ■ V'l • tg 1 690 History of the County of Peterborough, his own account, which he has continued to the present time; this with the exception of three years he conducted a grocery, fruit, and oyster store. He married July 23rd, 1854, Isabella Waller, of Peterborough, a native of County Cavan, Ireland. They have one child, a daughter, now Mrs. John McMillan, of this place. TOWNSHIP OF DUMMER. GEORGE BARR was born in the west of Ireland, and emigrated to Canada in 1840, settling first in Lanark County, where he remained three years, after which time he came to Peterborough County, and located on lot 7, concession 4, Dum- mer Township, where he has resided ever since. In 1837, Mr. Barr married, in Ireland, Miss Rebecca Mark, by whom he had twelve children, three of whom are dead. ROBERT BRYSON, deceased, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1818 ; came to Canada in 1831, and settled in Peterborough, where he remained a short time, removing to Toronto, in which city for four years he was engaged working at his trade of shoe- maker. He again returned to the Township of Dummer, and located in the Village of Warsaw, where he continued to work at his trade up to the time of his death in i860. In 1835 Mr. Bryson married Miss Isabella Douglas, of Dummer, by whom he had eight children. Mr. Bryson was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin ; but preferred a trade to a profession. Samuel, the eldest son, was born in Toronto, 1840, and in 1871 purchased about 300 acres of land on lot 29, concession i, where he now Biographical Notices. 691 resides. In 1872 Mr. Bryson married Mrs. Amelia E. Harvey, of Dummer. JAMES CROWE was born in Ireland, in 1805, and in 1832 came to Canada, settled in the Township of Dummer, County of Peterborough, where he took up 100 acres on lot 26, concession 3, which he has improved and resided on ever since. He has since added 200 acres, lot 27, same concession. Mr. Crowe married Miss Margaret Madill, of Peterborough. THOMAS CROWE, deceased, was born in the County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1803, and in 183 1 emigrated to Canada, and settled first in the Township of Dummer, on lot 26, which he received as a Government grant, and afterward exchanged it for lot 22, which he cleared, fenced, improved, and remained on until his death in 1843. Mr. T. Crowe married Miss Jane Welch, of Ireland, by whom he had six children. Gordon Crowe, the second son of Thomas Crowe, deceased, was born on the old homestead in 1841. When two years of age he went to live with his uncle, James Crowe, with whom he has always remained. In 1862, Mr. Crowe married Miss Eliza Graham, of Douro Township, who died in 1868, leaving two children. He married for his second wife Miss Mary E. Madill, of Hastings, by whom he has six children. i-.m.Tiit..^ Biographical Notices. 699 WALTER KIDD, deceased, was born in Scotland, 1808, and was the third son of the late Alexander Kidd. Walter remained with his parents until 1832, at that time taking up 200 acres on lot 8, concession 2, Township of Dummer, which he improved and remained on until 1875, after which he removed to Warsaw Village, where he died in 1882. Mr, Kidd married, in 1832, Miss Elizabeth McDonald, who died in 1866, leaving eight children. He married again, his second wife being Mrs. Hannah Mcintosh. Alexander W., eldest son of the above, was born on the old homestead in 1835, remaining there until 1858, when he settled on lot 4, concession i, having purchased 100 acres, which he improved and still resides upon. In 1858 Mr. Kidd married Miss Sarah Ann Hamblin, daughter of Simeon Hamblin. They had eleven children, fen of whon-^ are still living. Daniel Kidd is the second son of Walter Kidd, deceased, and was born on the old homestead in 1839. In 1853 Mr. Kidd went to Keene, and learned the blacksmith's trade, and in 1859 came to Warsaw and engaged in that business which he has carried on ever since. In 1864 Mr. Kidd married Miss Isabella Anderson, of Dummer, who died in 1871, leaving three children. Mr. Kidd married for his second wife Miss Lucy Moore, of Dummer, by whom he had four children. James E. W. Kidd, the third son of the above, was born on the old homestead in 1841, where he has always remained, and now owns the south half of same, containing 100 acres. In 1866 Mr. Kidd married Miss Mary Ann Tucker, daughter of George Tucker, of Douro, by whom he has three daughters and one son. Walter E. Kidd, youngest son of the late Walter Kidd, was born on the old homestead in 1844, where he now resides, :;';|!lllll^|iii ■;'/ ''A fm V . .a* 700 History of the County of Peterborough. Si and owns the north half of same, containing 100 acres. In '871 Mr. Kidd married Miss Mary Ritchie, daughter of Robert and Margaret Ritchie, who were also pioneers of Dummer, by whom he had five children, three of whom are living, JOHN LUMSDEN, deceased, was born in Wexford, Ire- land, 1783, and during the early portion of his life joined the British Army, serving for twenty -seven years. He was present under the "Iron Duke" during the last campaign against Napoleon Buonaparte, and survived the great conflict of Water- loo. He came to Canada in 183 1, landed at Quebec on the 2nd of May, making a short stay at Quebec, Brockville, and Kingston, moving into Peterborough County a little later. He remained in the then Village of Peterborough a few months, afterwards settlin£ in the Township of Dummer, where he had received a free grant of land from the Government for services rendered as Paymaster of the 27th Regiment of Foot. He located on his land, lot 16, concession 5, but at the expiration of three years disposed of it, and went to the Township of Otona- bee, where he stayed a short time, thence to Peterborough. His restless spirit is discernible, for soon after he moved to the Township of Cavan, thence to North Monaghan, and returning again to the township (Dummer), where he had formerly farmed his Government grant, died there in 1852, after a life of toil and danger spent in his country's service. During the Rebellion of 1837 his old military ardour was inflamed, and together with four of his sons — William, George, Samuel, and John — he took up arms in defence of law and order, and, in command of the Dummer Company, marched to Toronto. Mr. Lumsden married Miss Frances Allen, of Wicklow, Ireland, who died in 1832, leaving five sons and two daughters, as follows: William, 1^ Biographical Notices. 701 George, Samuel, John, Francis, Elizabeth, and Mary ; the late Rev. William Lumsden, M.A., of Hamilton, being the eldest son. Francis Thomas Lumsden, the fifth in order in the family of the late John Lumsden, was born in the City of Wexford, Ire- land, in 1822, and came to Canada witn his parents, remaining at home until his mother's death. On reaching man's estate, he taught school for some time in the Town of Peterborough, afterwards travelling one year in the United States, visiting the States of New York, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsyl- vania. Returning again to Peterborough, he again engaged in school teaching, which he followed for another three years, resigning that profession in 1852, and taking up his residence in Dummer Township, lot 11, concession 2, on a purchase of 100 acres, which he considerably improved and has resided on to the 'present time. Mr. Lumsden has also been engaged in the piano and organ trade for the last seventeen years, his sales during that time amounting to over $40,000. In 1852 he married Miss Charlotte Lukey, daughter of Sampson Lukey, of Dummer Township, by whom he has two sons and six daughters, in the following order — Frances, Charlotte, Ann Jane, George, Henrietta, Mary, Elizabeth, and John. He holds the office of Township Treasurer, and was appointed Justice of the Peace. tin ::*ii DANIEL PAYNE, deceased. The subject of this sketch was born in England in 1798, and in 1833 emigrated to Canada, settling in the Township of Dummer, Peterborough County, where he took up 100 acres of land from the Crown on lot 15, concession 2. About ten years afterwards he moved on to lot 24, in the same concession, remaining here some time, eventually taking up his abode with his son, George A. Payne, La Mi 702 History of the County of Peterborough. with whom he remained until his death, which took place in 1868. Mr. Payne married Miss Anna Lloyd, of England, by whom he had six children. GEORGE PAYNE, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest son of the late Levi Payne. He was born in England on the 26th September, 18 14, and came to Canada with his parents. He remained at home until 1836, settling that year on the east half of the old homestead, where he resided up to 1882, when he removed on lot 17, concession 2, and has succeeded in fitting up a comfortable little home. Since 1836 Mr. Payne has added to his first purchase over 600 acres in the Township of Dummer, which he has placed at the disposal of his sons. Notwithstanding, he yet owns himself 100 acres on lot 19, concession 6, and. fourteen acres where he lives. In 1836 he married Miss Sarah Edwards, of Dummer, by whom he haS ten children living. Mr. Payne was in the township council for eleven. years. He has been a consistent and devoted member of the Bible Christian Church for over thirty-seven years, and during the greater portion of that time has with unremitting zeal attended to the duties of class-leader, earnestly fulfilling his part on earth as a true Christian, and relying on the Master he has so faithfully served for recompense in the life to come. IF m-- GEORGE PAYNE, jun'r, mill owner and lumberman, is the third son of Mr. George Payne, sen'r, and was born in 1848. He remained at home until 1872, and then moved to Norwood, where he was employed in Finlay's factory for about three years, after which he returned to Dummer, and built the water saw mill, which he now owns. This mill is situated on lot 19, con- cession 3 — and a good business is carried on in shingles and I Sj, <■' !l Biographical Notices. 703 IS: general lumber. In addition to the land the mill occupies, tlie rest of the lot is composed of 170 acres, all belonging to Mr. Payne. In 1872 he married Miss Alice Wilson, of Dummer. . LEVI PAYNE, deceased, was born in England, and emi- grated to Canada in 1831. He settled in the County of Peter- borough, Township of Dummer, on lot 18, concession 2, where he took 100 acres from the Crown, which he cleared, fenced, improved and remained on until his death. Mr. Payne married Miss Sarah Curtis, of England, by whom he had three sons and three daughters, four of whom are living. GEORGE A. PAYNE, the youngest son of the late David Payne, was born in England in 1832, being only twelve months old when his parents came to Canada. Mr. Payne remained at home until 1853, when he purchased 100 acres on lot 23, con- cession 3, which he has improved and remained on ever since, considerably enlarging his possessions by the addition of 200 acres in the same township, on lots 25 and 26, concessions i and 2. In 1855 Mr. Payne married Miss Mary Head, of Dummer, who died in i860, lea\ing one daughter, who is now Mrs. Ephraim Bickell. 1 SIDNEY PAYNE, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest son of Lazarus Payne, of Peterborough. He was born in England in 1830, and at the age of two years came with his parents to Canada, who settled in the Township of Dummer, County of Peterborough. Mr. Payne remained at home until 1855, when he purchased 100 acres in the Township of Douro, on lot 13, concession i, and afterwards added fifty acres on lot 12, same concession, where he resided until 1873. He then moved %m^:- m m * ip , If.. '.V iff ri ? 704 History of the County of Peterborough. to a farm which he had previously purchased, on lot 1 3, conces- sion I, Township of Dummer, where he has since resided, and has added ninety acres on same lot and concession. Mr. Payne has the finest improvements in house and out-buildings. In the year 1855 he married Miss Susan Jory, daughter of Joseph Jory, of Dummer, who died in 1872, leaving two sons and two daughters. Mr. Payne married for his second wife Miss Frances C. Maguire, daughter of Patrick Maguire, formerly of Mill- brooke, Cavan Township. JOHN ROBB, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1793, and in 1831 came to Canada, remained a short time in Toronto and then came to Peterborough County and settled in the Township of Dummer, on lot 11, concession 6, where he died in May, 1833. Mr. Robb married Miss Marion Greenshields, of Scotland, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. James Robb, the youngest son of John Robb, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1828. In 1852 Mr. Robb purchased 200 acres on lot 5, concession 8, Township of Belmont, on which he built a saw mill and remained one year, after which he lived with his brother John for some twelve years in the same town- ship. In 1865 he came to the Township of Dummer and pur- chased 100 acres on lot 30, concession 8, which he has cleared, fenced, improved and remained on ever since, during which he has added 900 acres in the same township, concessions 8, 9, and 10. In 1875 Mr. Robb was elected to the Township Council. He has held the office of Assessor for the past three years, the office of Postmaster at Stoney Lake since 1871, and has been Justice of the Peace since 1876. In 1853 Mr. Robb married Misii Jane McMillan, daughter of Hugh McMillan, of Dummer, by whom he had twelve children, ten of whom are living. ill Biographical Notices. 70S JOHN ROSE, deceased, was born in Scotland in 1797, arid in 1 83 1 came to Canada and remained in Nova Scotia until 1857, after which he came to Peterborough County and settled in the Township of Dummer, where he purchased 100 acres on lot 12, concession 3; this he improved and remained on until his death in 1873. In 1819 Mr, Rose married Miss Isabella' Smith, of Scotland, by whom he had two sons and one daughter. Mr. Rose was in the Township Council for two years, Treasurer of the Township for fifteen years, and held the office of Justice of the Peace from 1853 up to the time of his death. David Rose, the second and youngest son of the late John Rose, was born in Scotland, 1829. He remained with his parents until 1851, when he moved to Warsaw and engaged in the business of carriage and waggon manufacturing, which he carried on for a period of three years. After this he settled on 200 acres of land, lot 9, concession 3, where he has since resided, adding in the interim 500 acres to his original ownership, bring- ing his total acreage in the township up to 700 acres. The list of offices filled by Mr. Rose in the township are quite numerous; he being, as early as 1867, elected to the Township Council ; he was afterwards elected Reeve and again, in 1870, re-elected to the same office. From 1874 to 1879 he held the office of Town- ship Treasurer, and has been Justice of the Peace since 1866. He has also occupied the position of Wood Ranger, and up to 1878 was actively engaged in these duties. In 1851 Mr. Rose married Miss Annie Anderson, of Dummer, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter. (I III JOHN WILSON was born in the County of Wicklow, Ireland, in 181 3 and, in 1834, came to Canada and remained a short time near Dundas, after which he came to Peterborough 45 7o6 History of the County of Peterborough. County and settled in the Township of Dummer, where he took up 200 acres on lot 16, concession 5, which he cleared, fenced, improved and still resides on. In 1836 Mr. Wilson married Miss Eliza Finlay, of Ireland, by whom he has eight children living. , . Richard, the youngest son, was born on the old homestead in 1854 where he has always remained and now owns — contain- ing 200 acres. In 1878 Mr. Wilson married Miss Maggie Tompkins, of Norwood, by whom he has three children. VILLAGE OF WARSAW. THOMAS CHOATE, the fourth and youngest son of Jacob and Fanny Choate, deceased, of New Hampshire, U.S., was born near Cobourg in 1809. The subject of our sketch came to the County of Peterborough, and settled in the Township of Dummer in 1836, and in this year opened the first store in the municipality. He also took charge of a saw-mill, and super- intended the erection of a grist-mill, in what is now the Village of Warsaw. He continued in the milling business till about 1858, then carrying on a general store to the present time. In 1842, Mr. Choate was successful in getting a post-office established at Warsaw, and suggesting its name, which it has ever since continued to bear, besides having himself been postmaster since its establishment, and is now one of the oldest in the Province, holding the position for the last forty-two years. Mr. Choate was the first a,cting councillor for Dummer, also the first Township School Superintendent. As early as 1840 he was appointed J. P., which office he held for many years. JACOB CHOATE, deceased, was born in New Hamp- Biographical Notices. 707 shire, U.S., 1778, and exactly twenty-three years later came to Canada, locating near the City of Hamilton. Here he remained a few years, and then removed to the Township ot Hamilton, near Cobourg, and stayed -there until 18 12, after which he engaged in hotel business at Port Hope. Becoming tired of hotel keeping, he purchased a large tract of bush land in that district, which he improved, besides building a large saw mill. He lived on this property until his death; in 1842, having during his lifetime passed the greater portion of it among those eventful scenes with which the early history of this Province is connected. Mr. Choate married Miss Fanny Burnham, of New Hampshire, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. Jacob Choate, father of the above subject, on emigrating to Canada with his family in 1798, started from the home in New Hampshire in the depth of winter, and before their arrival in Canada passed through a series of difficulties and dangers, scarcely understood or appreciated in these days of quick and luxurious locomotion. They journeyed with ox teams and sleighs, and came west through the northern part of New York State until they reached the Niagara River. Above the Falls the stream was found to be frozen over, but it being late in the day on arriving there, Mr. Choate concluded to wait till morning before crossing. At daybreak, what was their dismay to find that the ice on which they had depended for a safe and easy passage of the river had disappeared during the night. But the head of the family did not despair. Having a little knowledge of the sailor's art, he determined to attempt the ford by means of an old flat-bottomed boat, moored to the bank a short distance up the river. He first cut a loi.g pole and lashed it firmly across the boat, letting the ends of the pole extend over the sides of the craft. This done, he drove an ox team into the river, one !!.' Ill M f 7o8 History of the County of Peterborough. , r I';: I each side, up to the pole ends, which he fastened to the heads of the oxen, and by making them swim the river the boat was thus propelled, the whole at length arriving in safety on the Canadian shore. ROBERT D. TULLY,, proprietor of the Commercial Hotel, Warsaw, is the second son of Thomas Tully, of Peter- borough, and was born on the old homestead, in the Township of Smith, in the year 1842. He continued on the old homestead until 1873, and then settled on a farm on lot 7, concession 2, which was given to him by his father. In 1S75, Mr. Tully sold his farm, and engaged in the hotel business in Peterborough, remaining only two years however, removing to his present hotel in Warsaw in 1877. Mr. Tully in 1876, married Miss Eunice Morgan, of Otonabee, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. il« TOWNSHIP OF BELMONT. JOHN BONAR, on lots 4 and 5, concession 4, was born in Donegal, Ireland, in 1840. He came to Canada in 1855, settling with the family, which consisted of the mother, two sons and two daughters (the father having died in Ireland), in Stirling, Ontario, where they lived about eighteen months, moving after- wards to Marmora. In 1864 he bought the farm of 100 acres where he still resides. He has been identified with the muni- cipal affairs of his township, and is serving his second term as councillor. m m JOHN BROWN, the present Reeve of the Township of Belmont, was born in Athol Township, Prince Edward County, Lir. ' ^ Biographical Notices. 709 in 1836. His father, Ira Brown, a native of the United States, of Irish parentage, came to Canada when only fourteen years of age and settled in Prince Edward County. Afterwards they lived about eight years in Percy Township, Northumberland County, coming to Belmont in 1865. The family located north of Round Lake, and three years after their settlement there the father died. John remained at home till twenty-three years of age, when he bought the farm on which he still lives, and, by the additions he has made, now owns 230 acres on the east side of the beautiful lake called Belmont. Mr. Brown was for fifteen years engaged as wood ranger for the firm of Gilmour & Co., and has traversed all the northern country as far as York River. In 1858 he married Elizabeth Dufoe, of Richmond Township, who died in 1872, leaving .a son and three daughters. Mr. Brown married a second time to Ellen Dufoe, by whom he has two sons. JAMES BURGESS, son of David -_.id Rosana Burgess, living on lot 4, concession 11, Belmont Township, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1828, and came with his people to Canada in 1836. A few years after their arrival they settled in this township, and James lived witH his parents at the homestead till twenty-six years of age, at which time he settled on 100 acres given to him by his father, where he has since lived. By the erection of commodious buildings, and a further addition of 100 acres, which he purchased, the farm has a greatly improved appearance to what it presented at the time of our subject's first occupation. Mr. Burgess married, in 1854, Mary Jane Bannan, of this township, who died in 1863. A family of one son and four daughters survive her. :i/ \ ■t III Si, m ^:i I'fl i'i' m ill siImiih ;i '•■■' ?';il ; f \ %. \i ll * ir ■ i 710 History of the County of Peterborough. WILLIAM BURGESS, of Belmont Township, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1826. He came to Canada with his parents in 1836, who, after a few, years spent in the Town of Peterborough, came and settled in this township, where they have since lived. The father of the subject of our sketch, David Burgess, now in his eighty-seventh year, on first locating in Belmont, purchased sixty acres on lot 5, concession 12, to which he made considerable additions at different times, so that before dividing among his family he owned about 1,000 acres of land. He was one of the first settlers in this section. He married, in Ireland, Rosanna McWilliams, of which marriage four sons and one daughter survive the mother, who died in 1861. Mr. Burgess married again in 1863, his wife's maiden name being Ann Spiers, also a native of Ireland. William Burgess lived with the family on the old farm till 1854, and then moved on the farm presented to him by his father, where he still resides, having since his first occupancy added to it another 100 acres, besides owning 100 acres in the Township of Methuen. He married, in 1854, Mary McPhee, of Dummer Township, a native of Scotland, who died in 1868, leaving two sons and three daugh- ters. Mr. Burgess married his present wife in 1869, whose maiden name was Eliza Thortipson, her birthplace being County Donegal, Ireland. They have one child, a son. Mr. Burgess has been prominently interested in the municipal affairs of his township, and since 1859, with the exception of four years, has filled a seat in the council. He was Reeve for nine years, and Collector and Assessor in the early history of the township. SAMUEL ELLIOT, located on lots 3 and 4, concessions II and 12, of Belmont, was born in the Township of Smith in 1844. His father, the late Wm. Elliot, of that township, a Biographical Notices, 711 native of Donegal, Ireland, came to Canada in 1823, settling in Smith Township two years after, being one of the first settlers. He located on lot 16, concession 4, where he lived to the day of his death. He died about the year 1876, at the advanced age of seventy-six years. Samuel Elliot, one of three brothers and two sisters living, who are novv^ scattered in both the States and Canada. He lived on the homestead till of age, when he settled on the farm given him by his father, where he still resides and owns 220 acres. He married, in 1865, Winnifred Blewitt, daughter of Josiah Blewitt, of Smith Township. They have one son living and have lost a son by death. Mr. Elliott is, by .religious belief, a Methodist, and his political views are those of a Reformer. He was Town- ship Councillor one year and for nine years was School Trustee. PHILLIP J. GARRISON, lot 5. concession 6, Belmont, was born in Fredericksburg, Lennox County, Ontario, in 18 19. His father, John Garrison, deceased, was also born in the same county, lived a useful life and died there. Phillip's grandfather, the late Marvil Garrison, was a U. E. Loyalist; he came and settled in Lennox County at the time of the Revolutionary War. Our subject lived on the family homestead, in the Township of Richmond, till March, 1851, and in that year came to this town- ship and settled on the farm where he still resides. He may certainly be called a pioneer, there being but two settlements in the east part of the township when he came, and by energy, perseverance and skill has succeeded in developing the full agricultural resources of his farm. Mr. Garrison is the eldest of a family of seven children, four .sons and three daughters, all of whom were living three years ago, when the first vacancy in their ranks occurred. He married, in 1847, Elizabeth Bartils, also of « 1 m 1 ii 1 1; 111 ■WTT' 712 History of the County of Peterborough. U. E. Loyalist parentage, and who hailed from the same town- ship as himself. She died in 1878, leaving three sons and one daughter. Mr. Garrison married a second time, his wife being Mary Ann Young, of Madoc, who died in 1880. Our subject has been Assessor, Collector and Treasurer of Belmont Town- ship. JAMES JOHNSTON, deceased, was born in Ireland ; came to Canada and settled in Belmont Township at an early day, buying land on lot 7, concession 10, where he resided till his death in 1866. He was about the third settler in this township. He was twice married. The second wife, now also deceased, was a native of Scotland ; her name, before marriage, being Elizabeth McKinnon. Two sons and a daughter of the first, and three sons of the second marriage are still living. Mr. Johnson left home when fifteen years of age. He learned the trade of plasterer, and works at the same in connection with his farming. He owns 100 acres on lot 5, concession 8. He mar- ried, in 1879, Maggie Shearer, daughter of Archibald Shearer, of this township. DANIEL McBURNEY, lot 6, concession 10, of Belmont, was born on the farm where he still resides in 1845. 1 (is father, Thos. McBurney, deceased, was born in Ireland. ^ mie to Canada and settled on land, a portion of which '■ 1 fawned by a son named Daniel. He married An- \ "■ a nati\ e of Ireland. Five sons and five dr ir parents, who are settled in New Zealand. )Latcb . iiada. Daniel McBurney lived with the family I of ag , and he then settled on 100 acres given him by his parents. \.here he hn? lived ever since. He married, in 1879, Martha ';mipbell, of North "^ona- Biographical Notices, 713 ghan Township. They have three children, a son and two daughters. ANDREW MATHESON, deceased, late of Belmont Township, was born in Scotland in 1793. He came to Canada with his wife and two children in 1841, settling on lot 9, in the loth concession of Belmont. He bought 100 acres, and after- wards made other purchases till he owned 700 acres of land. His death occurred in 1877. Alexander Matiieson, son of Andrew and Jeanette Mathe- son, was born on the family homestead in 1848. He is one of a family of six children, and all of whom are living on the parental estate, or in the immediate vicinity. He lived with his people till 1879, when he married Esther Patterson, of the Township of Cardiff, Haliburton County, and settled on 400 acres given him by his father on lots 8, 9 and 10, in concession 9 and 10 of Belmont, where he still resides. William Matiieson, also son of Andrew' and Jeanette Matheson, was born on the "old place" in 1853, and lived with his parents till he came of age, when he commenced life for himself on 250 acres of land presented to him by his father, on which he has since resided, and to which he has himself added another 100 acres. On the latter lot he runs a lumber and shingle mill, where is annually turned out about 1 50,000 feet of lumber, and about 200,000 feet of shingles. Mr. Matheson married in February, 1877. Agnes Bannon, of Artemesia Town- ship, Grey County, by whom he has a family of three children, two sons and one daughter. EZEKIEL NIXON, of lot 4, concession 6, Belmont, was born in Prince Edward County, Ontario. His father John ji ill !:il ^•B^P- 714 History of the County of Peterborough. Nixon, a native of Ireland, came to Canada, and settled in Picton, where he carried on the tailoring business. He resided in Prince Edward County till within about eight years of his death, which took place in Seymour, Northumberland County, 1862. Ezekiel started in life for himself on a farm in the County of Lennox, where he resided three years. He then came and settled upon the 100 acres of land he now farms in this town- ship. He married in 1849 Mary Ann Garrison, a sister of Phillip J. Garrison, of this township. Of a family of three children, one son and a daughter are living. The son has settled on 100 acres of land in the Township of Seymour, which was given to him by his father. PORTER PRESTON, of lot 21, concession 2, was born and gre v to manhood on Amherst Island, Lennox County, Ontario. His father, Robert Preston, a native of Ireland, was born in 1S02, and came with his people to America in 1804 They settled first in Genesee County, N. Y., and a few years later came and located on Amherst Island, Robert moved to Belmont in 1854, and it is worthy of note that he was the first settler in this section. They located on 600 acres of land drawn from Government by the grandfather of our subject, whose name was Isaac Preston. Mr. Porter has lived on the old farm since the family first settled here, and owns 200 acres of land on lot 21, concession 2. The death of Robert, his father, occurred in 1869. Mr. Preston married in 1877, Mary Eliza Young, daughter of William Young, late of this township. They have two children, a son and a daughter. JOHN F. PURDY, proprietor of the Purdy Hotel at Blairton Village, was born in the Township of Kingston, Ontario, in 1834. He is the son of Samuel and Parmelia Ferris Purdy, TW^ Biographical Notices. 715 and is the filth in a family of seven children. He engaged in farming and butchering till 1874, when he bought the hotel where he and his wife preside as mine host and hostess. He married, in i860, Victoria J. Williams, a native of the County of Adding- ton, daughter of Joseph Williams, late of Sheffield, Addington County. They have five sons and a daughter living, and have lost a daughter by death. • THOMAS TAYLOR, lot 18, concession 5, was born in England in 1838, coming with his people to Canada the following year. They settled soon after their arrival in the Township of Seymour, where his father, Thomas Taylor, and family resided till 1848. They then moved to Cobourg, where the father died about a year after. Thomas Taylor has be^n engaged in saw milling and carpenter work the greater part of his life, and was for some time in Campbellford. He came to Belmont in 1878 and settled on his present location. He bought, in 1880, 200 acres of land and saw mill, where he turns out a considerable quantity of lumber. He married, in 1878, Susan G. Bracken- ridge, of this township. JAMES WILDS was born near Napanee, Ontario, in 1833. His father, Jonathan Wilds, came from Ireland, where he was born in 1825. settling soon after near Napanee, and lived there the remainder of his life. James learned in his youth the trade of blacksmith at Norborough, Ontario, and from there he went to the neighbouring Village of Roblin, and set up in business for himself, where he remained about ten years. He then went to California, remaining about ten years ; then again took up his residence in Roblin, staying four years. He then settled in Belmont Township, near Havelock P. O., where he still resides. Here he owns a farm and carries on a general blacksmithing #'■!■ li;:A\Ai\ li 7i6 History of the County of Peterborough. business. He has been twice married ; his first wifr 'vas Miss Mary Mills, of Whitby, Ontario, who died in 1868, leaving him one child, a daughter; he married his present wife in 1870, whose maiden name was Charlotte J. Dafoe, of Richmond, Ontario, They have four children — three sons and a daughter. Mr. Wilds is now serving his eighth term as Councillor of his township. WILLIAM EDWARD YOUNG, deceased, was born in Perth County, Ontario, in 1824. He was of Scotch and English parentage, his people living for some time in Ireland before coming to this country. They came to Canada at an early day and settled in Perth County. Mr. Young started in life as a shoemaker, but afterward carried on a general store and mill at Marmora Village, which he gave up and came to Belmont Township in 1856, settling on lot 17, concession '2, where the family still live. He owned at his death about 1,000 acres of land, his original amount being about 500 acres. He married, in 1 85 1, Maria Campion, of Marmora Township, who, with three sons and seven daughters, survive him. Mr. Young was prominent in the municipal affairs of the township, and was about nine years in the Council. He was a faithful and consistent member of the Canada Methodist Church. He died in 1878. Daniel T. Young, son of the above, was born in Hastings County, Ontario, in 1853, and at the age of eighteen months his people settled in this township. He lived with the family at the homestead till the spring of 1S83, when he exchanged his right in the old place for 300 acres on lot 14, concession 8, to which he "--con after moved, and where he now resides. He married, in 1682, Mary J. Aunger, of Blairton, daughter of John L. Aunger, of Blairton, an Englishman by birth. T^ Biographical Notices. 717 TOWNSHIP OF METHUEN. JOHN BULLIED, of lot 29, concession 4, Melhv.cn Town- ship, was born in Devonshire, England, in 1843, and is a son of Thomas Bullied, who came with his family to this country in 1857, and settled in the Township of Chandos. John remained with his people until 1873, when he moved to Anstruther Township and lived there for five years. He then came to Methuen and rented the farm of 600 acres which he still occupies. Mr. Bullied married, in 1873, Catharine Wilson, daughter of John Wilson, of Chandos Township, whose native country is Ireland. They have a family of two sons and three daughters. Ill ■ iii'll J:: / \ 1 JOHN SPRATT, of lot 28, concession 3, Methunt Town- ship, first saw light in the County of Dundas in 1834. He is a son of the late James Spratt, a native of Ireland, and an early settler in Dundas County, where he died in 1854. James left home at the age of eighteen and for four years followed lumber- ing, afterwards taking up some uncleared land in Russell County, on which he remained fourteen years. He then sold out and went to Manitoba, but returned to his native Province before twelve months had expired. In 1874 Mr. Spratt took up 100 acres of a Government grant at his present location, on which he has built a house and barn besides clearing thirty acres. He married, in 1855, Elizabeth Henry, daughter of William Henry, of Russel County, a native of Ireland. i I ■; ir ''11 7i8 History of the County of Peterborough. TOWNSHIP OF BURLEIGH. ALEXANDER BROWN, Burleigh, was born in Killin, Perthshire, Scotland, in 1835, his father being Duncan Brown, and his mother a daughter of Alexander Mcintosh. He was the third in a family of eight children, and was brought up in hotel keeping. Coming to Canada with no means, he received a Government grant of 100 acres in the Township of Burleigh, being lot 17, concession 12, which he cleared, and on which he has erected a comfortable log house. He has been in the council one year, and received the appointment of Justice of the Peace, but failed to qualify. He has done much towards repair- ing the roads, having expended all the money granted by Government since 1876 for the Burleigh Road. He is now the auditor of the municipality. In 1859 Mr. Brown was married to a daughter of John Garrow, of Stirling, Scotland, He is a Reformer and a Presbyterian. MRS. JANE BELLWOOD was born in Yorkshire. Eng- land, in 1806. Her father was Robert Wade, a farmer, and her mother Mary Hodgings, daughter of Ralph Hodgings, In 1819 her parents, with the family consisting of eight children, emi- grated to Canada and settled at Port Hope; her father afterwards located on a farm in the Township of Hamilton, near Cobourg, where he died. In 1825 Mrs. Bellwood was married to Charles Bellwc! d, who died about fifteen years ago. Her daughter is married to George J. Chalmers, of Young's Point. OLIVER CHURCH, Burleigh, was born in the County of Lennox in 181 5. His father was William Church, and his ^s^ Biographical Notices. 719 « grandfather Oliver Church; his mother was Maria Nash. His grandfather was born in Nova Scotia, and emigrated to the United States, where he joined the British Army. After the close of the war he came to Canada with the U. E. Loyalists and settled in the Township of Fredericksburg, where he died. Captain William Church, the father- of this sketch, was acci- dentally shot by a pistol which fell from the pocket of one Mur- chison in a hotel in Shannonville. Oliver Church served in a company of dragoons commanded by Captain Charles Benson. He was for one year a Government employe, bearing despatches between Kingston and Belleville. In Fredericksburg he learned the trade of a carpenter. In 1843 he married a daughter of Daniel Piatt, of the Township of Cramahe, where he first settled. In 1870 he removed to lot 4, concession 4, of Burleigh, which he cleared himself He has the following children: — Emma Jane, William M., Maturia M., Israel D., Oscar O. and Allen H. In politics, he is a Conservative, and in religion, a follower of the English Church ; his wife is a Wesleyan Methodist. igi''' :i )k w m AVrnW Ki ROBERT CLIFFORD, of the Township of Burleigh, believing in the good old Scripture adage that the house founded upon a rock would stand the storms of life, determined to test the truth of the maxim. He accordingly selected lot 24, con- cession 14, a few rods west of the Burleigh Road, a spot of ground which rises at an elevation of 100 feet, for a foundation of a house which is a huge granite rock, the white glittering sur- face of which has been polished by the suns and storms of many a century. At a distance it has the resemblance of a snowbank, and has been admired by every traveller who passes over the Gov- ernment road. Mr. Clifford is a Canadian, born in the Township of Hope, Durham County, Ontario, in 1827. His mother was a ill II 720 History of the County of Peterborough. daughter of Captain James Adams. The family are of English descent, his parents having emigrated from Woolwich. His father was for many years employed as a ship carpenter in the Government dockyards. His grandfather, Captain Adams, owned at one time a large portion of land on which the City of Kingston is now built, which he drew for his military services. He held a commission in the British Army, and fought in the Warof 1812. Mr. Clifford's father resided in Kingston for a long time, and subsequently removed to the Township of Hope, where he remained four years, and then moved to the Township of Smith on concession 13, on the bank of Chemong Lake, where he cleared a farm and resided for twenty-eight years. Robert Clifford moved to the Township of Burleigh in 1862, where he has ever since remained. He is the third settler in North Burleigh; he has two brothers in Peterborough, and is the fifth of a family of nine children. He is Conservative in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. ROBERT GEORGE CLIFFORD, of North Burleigh, was born in the Township of Smith, and lived with his parents till eighteen years of age, when he apprenticed him- self to John Isbister, of Lakefield, to learn the blacksmith's trade. After remaining there five years he came to Apsley ; and having worked at his trade there for a short season he opened a shop for himseif, two miles south, on his own farm, lot 23, concession 14. He is married to Mary, eldest daughter of Thomas Harris, of Burleigh. Being an energetic and indus- trious man, Mr. Clifford has gradually built up a good business, and a good reputation in the community, by every member of whom he is held in deserved esteem. x^rn Biographical Notices, 721 WASHINGTON COONES, the third son of John Coones and Hannah Rlakeley, was born on the 22nd May, 185 1, in the County of East Northumberland, where he resided with his father until the year 1864. The latter finding that he had a family growing up around him determined to try his fortune in the backwoods. Selecting for his future prospects the Town- ship of Burleigh, in northern Peterborough, he settled on lot 24, concession ' 15, and with the aid of his boys, soon had a clearing hewed out of the woods, sufficiently large to maintain himself and family. In 1872, Washington, the subject of this sketch, thought that it was time to be doing for himself, so leav- ing his father's house he took up lot 24, concession 15, in the same township, and also took unto himself a wife, Jessie Anne Clifford, eldest daughter of Robert Clifford, one of the early settlers, by whom he has six children, ready to follow in their father's footsteps. Washington from a boy was always fond of hunting, and when quite young, by chance, one day got hold of a rifle, which was offered him for sale, and with the 'cuteness of a boy asked for a trial of the gun, which was allowed him ; on the same day he went out and killed three fine deer, which amply paid for his investment. At last he had gained his long-felt wish to own a gun of his own, and from that day to this he has been a most zealous hunter, killing bears, wolves and deer in abundance. Few hunters in northern Peterborough to-day can equal him, either in woodcraft, or in drawing a bead on a head of game. wmA \ v^ WILLIAM HENRY LANGFORD, of Burleigh, was born in Bath, near Kingston. His parents were John and Mary (Hunt) Langford, who had a family of fourteen children, of which he was the fourth. After living in the Township of 46 722 History of the County of Pctcrborotigh. Percy, County Northumberland, his father removed to the Township of Cramahe, where he died in 1878, aged sixty years, leaving a family of eleven children. In 1870 William Henry Langford settled in Burleigh and located on lot 6, concession 4, consisting of 153 acres, of which he has cleared forty-five acres. He was engaged for a time during his youth in working on the Burleigh Road, which was then being constructed. His wife's maiden name was Emma Jane Church. He was brought up in the English Church ; his wife is a Presbyterian. JOHN LEAN, Burleigh, was born in Cornwall, England, 1838. His parents were Richard and Nancy (Stethrage) Lean, who were born in the same county. He was the third in a family of six children. In 1843, his father, who was a miner came to Canada with his family, and settled in the Township of Hamilton, near Cobourg, where he worked on a farm for two years, at the expiration of which he took up a farm in the Town- ship of Hope, where he lived four or five years. Then he took a farm in the Township of Hamilton, at the head of Rice Lake. After about eight years he bought a farm near Gore's Landing, on which he spent five years. In 1866, he removed to lot 25, concession 15 of Burleigh, where he still resides. About the same time John Lean, the subject of this sketch, commenced farming for himself on lot 21, concession 15 of Burleigh, where he has cleared sixty acres and erected a house. He has been in the Council for two years. Secretary and Treasurer of the School Section for six years, and Auditor for several years. In politics he is a Conservative. He was brought up a Methodist, but is now a member of the English Church. JAMES LICKLEY was born in Sligo County. Ireland, in 1823. His father, John, and mother emigrated to Canada when T\y\ Biographical Notices. 723 n n he was but nine montlis old, having but twenty sovereigns in his pocket — his entire wealth — when he landed. His father's death occurred at Quebec ; while assisting some passengers with their children from the vessel he lost his balance, fell into the river and was drowned. This circumstance left his mother a widow, in a strange country, without the necessary means to purchase for herself and offspring a meal or night's lodging. She sought the assistance of kind Christian friends who found a home for her and then employment as a domestic. In the meantime her child was entrusted to the kind care of a nurse. From her meagre earnings she maintained herself and educated her son. In 1834 she moved to Montreal where she died from an attack of cholera, leaving her son James an orphan without a relative to exercise for him parental care. For a short time he secured employment as an errand boy or messenger, and was subsequently bound out by his guardian as an apprentice for a term of four years, to John Converse, a rope maker of that city. At the expiration of his term of service he shipped, on board of a trading schooner, commanded by Captain Lesperance, who was engaged in the fish trade at Fortune Bay, Cape Cod, St. George, Big River, and other forts, remaining three years in this service. He then returned to Quebec, and was engaged at Hinchinbrooke for some time lumbering, subsequently removing to a place called Ellenburg, in the State of New York, where he remained until the spring of 1862, during which time he realized the necessity for a better knowledge of the English language. He accordingly devoted his entire leisure hours to the rudiments of a common school education, and studiously attended night schools, and soon laid the foundation of his success in after years. In March, 1862, he came to the County of Peter- borough, and assisted in the construction of the Burleigh !'i ■ . \ ' 1 1 1 ( i N ■^•! * ' 724 History of the County of Peterborough. 'tS^Bi Government road, the contractor being James Walsh. He was employed in chopping and clearing the way from Burleigh Falls to the twenty-first mile post, situated about half a mile north of Apsley. He soon entered the services of Campbell & Hughson, lumbermen, and was stationed at their supply camp, as chief clerk, it being situated on the Burleigh road, lot 14, concession 6, in Burleigh Township. Four years later the firm transferred their interests to UUyott & Saddler, of Peterborough, in whose employ he has ever since been receiving and disbursing annually thousands of dollars' worth of supplies, used in their lumber camp. Mr. Lickley laid by his hard earnings and soon accumu- lated a few hundred dollars. In 1863, many of the settlers of Northern Peterborough, not having the means of purchasing stock, induced him to buy them a cow. In accordance with their wishes he organized a system of loaning a cow to each applicant, for the term of three years, when she was to be returned to him with the first birth. If by any accident she was killed by lightning or the falling of a green tree, the loss was to be borne by himself His first applicant was Billings Kilborne, the present postmaster and farmer, of Chandos Township, who located in March, 1863. Since that date Mr. Lickley's filocks and herds have increased to such an extent that he is at the present time the largest owner in the county, notwithstanding he has annually sold a large number. His herd numbers 160 head, besides a large flock of sheep, scattered over an area from Young's Point to the Provisional County of Haliburton, the value of which would exceed several thousand dollars. If by any chance he meets a stray cow in the road, he never throws a stone at her, for fear she may belong to his herd. He is strictly temperate, honest, accurate in all his dealings, and shares the confidence of his employers to the greatest degree. During the Biographical Notices. 72$ long sixteen years of his residence in Northern Peterborough, he has indulged in that life-long cherished sport, hunting the wild partridge, duck and doe. He is often seen, with his gun and dog, scaling the rocky heights, or by the waters' edge of some lake or pebbled brook, in quest of fish or game. When the shades of evening gather round, he retires to his humble log cabin, laden with the proceeds of the day's hunt, and after placing his trusty rifle in its accustomed place, over the door, prepares, with his own hand, his repast of partridge, venison, or other game, while his faithful dog, his only companion, sits by his side and patiently waits his share of the spoils. Mr. Licjkley never married, the object of his admiration having died, and in obedience to the love he cherished for her memory, never trans- ferred his affections to another. ROBERT McCAULEY, of South Burleigh, was born in Gait, Ontario, in 1845. He is a son of William and Sarah (Boyd) McCauley. William Boyd, tiis maternal grandfather, was one of the pioneers of West Flamborough, emigrating thither from Scotland, in 1842. Mr. McCauley is the youngest of a family of fourteen children. His father followed farming for many years in the vicinity of Gait — subsequently removing to Collingwood, where the family now reside. At the age of twenty, the subject of this sketch married Mary Jane, only daughter of Henry Defries, of English extraction, and next year (1866) came to northern Peterborough, and located on lot 39, concession i. Having cleared over thirty acres of this, he built the Wellington Hotel, at Apsley, in 1871 ; and next year sold both farm and hotel and purchased his present property, where he is engaged in farming, and keeping a temperance hotel. He is very popular^ and, in his last-named occupation, is certainly the right man in *f ■Mt 726 History of the County of Petcrborpui^h. the right place so far as the comfort and convenience of travellers is concerned, in a country where a "stopping-place" is a luxury, and a well-kept one is trebly welcome. CYRUS McFADDEN, of Burleigh, was born in the County of Grenville, U. C, in 1830. His father, John McFadden, was of Irish descent ; and his mother, formerly Miss Hannah Snyder, of German extraction. Cyrus was third in a family of seven children, all reared on the farm. The father was a volunteer in 1837-8, but the troops from the Old " Johnstown " District were not ^^ctively engaged during that outbreak. The difficulties of acquiring education when Mr. McFadden was young, are well understood, but not fully appreciated, in these days of such extended facilities. Such as they were they were diligently improved by our subject ; and the dim light of the back-log in the old cabin was witness to many a night's study till the "small hours " waxed long again, while poring over books, which in those days it entailed much personal sacrifice to secure. When a young man, Mr. McFadden was for a time engaged in carrying the mail between Prescott and Bytown, before railways had an existence. He aftewards lived a period in New York State, but in 1856 took up residence in the Village of Peterborough, entering the service of Samuel Dixon, in the milling and lumbering business. He here married Johanna, youngest daughter of John Gardner, from Selkirk, Scotland ; three sons and three daughters, now living, being the fruit of this marriage. From i860 to 1867, Mr. McFadden was in the employ of McDougall & Ludgate, lumbermen. In the last-named year he settled on lot 11, concession 11, of Burleigh, which he has since cleared and improved. He has the reputation among his neigh- bours of being a conscientious upright man. He is an active Biographical Notices. 727 member of the Presbyterian body, and deservedly esteemed for his many good qualities. EDWARD SANDERSON, of South Burleigh, is the third son of John and Nancy (Boyd) Sanderson. His father was a farmer of County Cavan, Ireland, where Edward was born in 1 82 1. When a child of three years his parents emigrated to Canada, his father purchasing a farm in the Township of Smith, two miles west of Lakefield. Here Edward spent the early part of his life, assisting in clearing the farm, and procuring such education (chiefly in the winter months) as the limited facilities of the time and place afforded. At the age of twenty-one he married Eliza, fourth daughter of Edward Fletcher, from Ire- land. In 1862 they removed to Burleigh, where he took up lot 9, concession 6. During the American Civil War he joined the Northern Army, and was engaged in that conflict for about a year, till its termination, returning on his discharge to his home in Burleigh. He recently sold his original homestead to Robert McCauley. In this place he kept a " stopping place " for travellers for nearly twenty years, and in it wiis born his daughter Sarah Jane, the first white child in the township. In the early days of the settlement his place was the rendezvous for travellers and lumbermen within a wide radius, and it is stated that sixty men have slept in his little log cabin, which, as originally built, was only twenty by twenty-four feet. Mr. Sanderson therefore enjoyed an exceptionally extensive acquain- tance, and, it may be added, an exceptional degree of popularity. He has served in the Municipal Council, and has been prominent in the development of the local agricultural societies. He is a highly respected member of society, enjoying the confidence of all. He is at present solely engaged in farming — in the prose- \{ 728 History of the County of Peterborough, cution of which he has been successful. His family consists of five sons and two daughters, whose mother receives from Mr. Sanderson the credit and honour of what success and comfort now attend them. GILES STONE, Burleigh; was born in the County of Northumberland, Ontario, in 1818. His parents were William and Catharine (Turner) Stone. His grandfather was Giles Stone, of English extraction, who was born at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1756. In 1801 he, like many another U. E. Loyalist, emigrated to Canada with his wife, whose maiden name was Obediania Clark, and family of seven children, settling in the Township of Percy, County of Northumberland, where he lived until his death in 1846, at the age of ninety. William Stone with his wife, whom he married in the State of New York, and his family, resided in Percy from iSoi until 1865, when he removed to lot 7, concession 5, in the Township of Burleigh, being 200 acres of land on the shore of Cedar Lake; he died there in 1869, aged eighty-iour years, leaving live childrei:^ of which Giles Stone was the third. Giles Stone, who was the first settler in Burleigh, entered the township in 1 86 1, before the completion of the Burleigh Road ; he pur- chased his 100 acres of land at eighty cents per acre. In 1862 he helped to build five miles of the Burleigh Road. In 1862 a post-office, called " Haultain," was opened at Mr. Stone's resi- dence ; his son is now postmaster. He was commissioned a J. P., but never qualified. Mr. Stone is a Conservative in poli- ti:s. In 1840 he married Julia Hoxie, daughter of William Hoxie, by whom he had seven children ; she died shortly after her husband located in Burleigh. Biographical Notices. 729 WILLIAM WHITE, Burleigh, was born In Surrey, England, in 1825 ; his father's name was James White. In 1832 his father, with his wife and thirteen children, came to Canada and settled in Oxford County. He lived with his father until he was eighteen, when he went out to work for himself In 1869 he settled in Burleigh on lot 9, concession 10, and cleared the farm. His father, wno died two years ago, was in the Mackenzie Rebellion, and fought at the Battle of the Windmill ; his mother died three years ago. In 1850 Mr. White was married to Charity McFadden. He is a Conservative and a member of the Church of England. THOMAS J. WILSON is a native of Hull, Yorkshire, England, was born October 24th, 1835, ana came to this country in 1847 with his grandparents. His father, Joseph Wilson, was a seafaring man, and on one of his numerous voyages was frozen to death on the bleak coasts of Northern Russia. His niother was originally from Dorsetshire, England, came with her daughter to Canada in 1881, and died in Euphrasia Township on June 15th, 1883, aged seventy-six years. Mr. Wilson has followed farming from an early age, having received only such an education as was possible in the common schools at that time. In i860 he married, at Port Hope, Betsy Ann Cox, whose home was Chappie Hill, Lincolnshire, England. By his marriage he has eleven children, viz., Joseph K., Eleanor, Emma Lucy, Samuel George, Edmund, Norman Adney, Eleura Louisa, Thomas J., Lily Ann, Lottie Jane, Burton. Mr. Wilson's political leanings are Conservative, and his religious views those of the Church of England. 730 History of the County of Peterborough. m ' TOWNSHIP OF CHANDOS. WILLIAM BASS, owner of 143 acres of land on lot 15, concession 2, Chandos Township, was born in Bedfordshire, England, 1843. He came to Canada in 1847, and lived three years in Stirling, Ontario, afterwards removing to this township, and taking up by Government grant the land he at present owns and occupies. Mr. Bass was married in England, July, 1868, to Sarah West, a native of Stotfold, England, by whom he has four children. In politics our subject is a R<: former, and in religion is a member of the Baptist Church. RICHARD BULLIED, of Chandos, was born in Devon- shire, England, and was the youngest of a family of seven children. His father was Richard Bullied, and his moilier v/as a dauQ-hter of Thomas Ware — all natives of .Devonshire — where their ancestors had lived for many generations. In 1847 Mr. Bullied, sen'r, with his family, emigrated to Canada, and settled on lot 20, concession 2, of Hope Township, near Port Britani, then a wild lot. From here the various members of the family spread in different directions. Richard remained with his father over four years, helping to clear the farm, at the end of which time he married a daughter of John Gilroy, of the Township of Clarke, and commenced business (farming) on his own account. In 1869 h*. came with his .family to Chandos. and took up lot 2, concession 7. He has since added to this, by the purchase of an adjacent lot ; and after years of hard labour now sees the fruits in a fine clearing of 100 acres, on which are good com- fortable residences and substantial outbuildings. Mr. Bullied is an Episcopalian in religion, and Liberal in politics. His Biographical Notices. 731 present independent position is the result of energy, honesty and industry. He is a substantial citizen, a kind neighbour, and highly respected by his entire acquaintance. GEORGE A. BULLIED, of Chandos, is the eldest son of a family of three sons and seven daughters, of Richard Bullied* of Devonshire, who settled in Hope Township, Upper Canada, in 1847, his mother being a Miss Gilroy, of Clarke Township. George was born in Hope in 1859, and was ten years of age when his father removed thence to the Township of Chandos. Ten years later he left his father, and returning to the Township of Clarke, remained there some three years, January 22nd, 1 88 1, he married Sarah, daughter of John Lowery, of Clarke, and early in the present year purchased lots i, 2 and 3 in con- cession 6, Chandos, where he now resides. Mr. Bullied has fine improvements, and has started out with the most comfortable surroundings, and under most favourable auspices. The verdict of his acquaintances is that he is a very promising young man, and, barring unforeseen casualties, will make a valuable addition to the citizenship of the back townships. SAMUEL BULLIED, lots 16 and 17, concession 2, was born in Devonshire, England, 1849, and emigrated to Canada in 1857, settling on his present location. He owns 240 acres of land, only a small portion of which is yet improved. Mr. Bullied married in 1878, Bessie Wilson, a native of Donegal, Ireland, by whom he has two children. THOMAS BULLIED, Township of Chandos, was born in Devonshire. England, 181 7. He came to Canada in 1857, and joined his father, Richard Bullied, v/ho had come out from 732 History of the County of Peterborough'. England eight years before and settled in the County of North- umberland, and who now lives in the Township of Manvers, aged ninety years. His mother was a daughter of Thomas Ware. Thomas Bullied was married in England to a daughter of William Tottenton, by whom he had one daughter and eight sons, one of whom is dead. About 1843 he lost a leg in Exeter, England, and was laid up in ^n hospital for twenty-one weeks. In 1865 he located in Otonabee. He removed from there in 1867, when he came to Chandos, and settled on lot 12, con- cession 4. He now owns 300 acres of land in Chandos, Mr. Bullied is a Reformer, and a member of the Episcopal Church. CHARLES BURT, the only surviving son of Ephraim Burt, elsewhere mentioned, was the eldest of a family originally consisting of throe children. He was born in Somerset, England, in 1839. His early life was spent in company with his father — working upon a farm until they saved money sufficient to bring the family to this country in 1862. Having decided to settle in Burleigh, they carried their entire store of this world's goods on their backs from Peterborough, in addition to a food supply, the latter being renewed from time to time, in the same manner, till land was cleared, and the new clearing gave forth a crop. This journey required several days of hard tramping, at that time, varied by night bivouacs in the forest or open field. Inured to the most rigid economy by the necessities of his early training, this trait stood the family in good stead in their new home, which was first the proverbial log cabin, but is now surrounded by the comforts of a higher civilization. Mr, Burt being the only child, still resides with his father. He is married to Matilda Parker, daughter of one of the oldest residents of Otonabee. Though a most assiduous worker, in the material Biographical Notices. 733 sense, Mr. Burt, happily finds time to store his mind with useful knowledge ; and for one whose early life was handicapped by so many and so great disadvantages, he has certainly made noble use of his talents, and is at present one of the most intel- ligent and thoroughly posted men in the community in all the current topics of the time, particularly all matters affecting hi'- own county and community, and he is justly looked upon as one of the most promising of the rising young men of the northern township. EPHRAIM BURT, of Chandos, was born in Dorsetshire, England, 1815, the youngest of a family of Mathew Burt, of the same place. Mr. Burt's father was a farm hand, and he also followed that occupation. As an instance of the struggle of the average English agricultural labourer, it may be here mentioned that Mr. Burt has worked year after year, early and late, in Dorsetshire, for the sum of six shillings sterling per week, and "found himself " out of that! In 1838 Mr. Burt married. It may be imagined that with a young and increasing faniily, in a country where labour commands the pittance of six shillings per week, it was almost a life-and-death struggle to keep the wolf from the door. But when his son Charles grew up sufficiently to assist his father, they, together, by working over-time, and practicing the most rigid economy, saved over three hundred dollars in money, and came to Canada in June, 1862. They at once went to Burleigh, and located in that township, on the Government Road. Without following Mr. Burt's varied and trying experiences, suffice it to say that he subsequently removed to Chandos, locating on lot 7, concession 3, where ht nov/ resides in comfort and independence, after passing a lifetime of rugged experience's in a battle against poverty and unpropitious fortune, J 734 History of the County of Peterborough. during which time he has encountered and conquered the many trying incidents and manifold phases of pioneer life in the back- woods of Canada ; and that he is now one of the substantial citizens of northern Peterborough and proud of his adopted country. HUGH CALDWELL. Township of Chandos, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, May 24th, 1824, being the youngest in a family of nine children. His father who was a farmer in Scotland, came to Canada in 1843, with three sons and two daughters, and located on the west half of lot 10, concession 14, of the Township of Mornington, County of Perth. Hugh Cald- well also took up land in that township, on which he lived for about ten years, and cleared fourteen acres. He sold the place and went to the Township of Carradoc, in Middlesex County, where he remained only one year. In 1867 he came to Chandos, and purchased 200 acres of land at one dollar per acre, being lots 16 and 17, concession 13, on which he erected a log house, twelve by sixteen feet. In 1855 he married Ann, a daughter of John McDonald, of the Township of Dumfries, Waterloo County. Mr. Caldwell is a Reformer, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. I'he first post-office in Chandos was opened at his residence, September 3rd, 1878. GEORGE CHRYSTLER, lots 28 and 29, concession 3, Chandos, was born in Kingston, 1844. The birthplace of his father, the late John Chrystler, was Morrisburg, Ontario, who, during his lifetime, followed the occupation of farmer. He died near the Village of Uxbridge in 1882. The family lived for several years in Garden, Victoria County. In 1870 George moved to Percy Township, resided there for six years, and in Biographical Notices. 735 1877 settled near his present locatioti, where he took up a Government grant of 200 acres of land, twenty acres only of which he has yet cleared and improved. Mr. Chrystler in 1866 married Mary Foster, of Garden Township, daughter of Robert Foster, a native of Ireland, late of Golborne, Ontario. Their children number four sons and four daughters. MOSES GOUGH, of Ghandos, is of mixed German and English extraction. His father, Daniel, was born in Germany ; and his mother was the daughter of John Simmons, of the Township of Murray, Ontario, of English descent. He was himself born in Murray, the third in order of a large family, in 1 85 1. When only sixteen years of age he came to Ghandos, and located a " Free Grant," consisting of lots 7 and 8, conces- sion 7, comprising 136 acres on the south bank of Loon Lake, where he has ever since resided. He began life here literally without a dollar ; and after sixteen years spent in the " Back Townships," has now a fine farm, with a clearing of over 100 acres, on which are all the conveniences requisite for a comfort- able home — the whole being the result of industry and persever- ance, not unmixed with a share of what is usually called good fortune. Mr. Gouch's father was also a pioneer in this locality, having started the first blacksmith shop north of Stoney Lake. This was on lot 39, concession 5, Anstruther, where he resided a number of years, afterwards returning to the Township of Murray, and dying there in 1879. Mr. Gouch has a young family of six children, whom he is trying to rear in the path toward v/hich his religious faith has ever pointed in his own daily walk, beinof a zealous adherent of the Methodist Ghurch, and one of its most esteemed and influential members. Hill mm 736 History of the County of Peterborough. SAMUEL EDGAR, born in the County Down, Ireland, in 1 8 14, is the son of John Edgar and Margaret Harvey. He came to Canada in i860 with his wife, a daughter of Robert McKee, and family, one son and two daughters. After working for nearly two years in Hamilton and Peterborough at his trade, that of a stonemason, he came to Chandos in the fall of 1862, and built a shanty, eighteen by twenty feet, on lot 1, concession 7, to which he soon afterwards brought his family. His provisions were all brought from Peterborough on waggons ; he paid $14 for having a barrel of flour brought forty-three miles. He after- Vk^ards took up lots 3, 4 and 5, concession 7. His wife Wc^s the first white woman who entered the Township of Chandos. Mr. Edgar is a Reformer and a member of the Presbyterian Church. He stocked Loon Lake with fish by order of the Government, but the deposit did not amount to anything. Robert Edgar, Township of Chandos, was born in the County Down, Ireland, in 1852, and came to Canada in i860 with his father, Samuel Edgar, and his mother, a daughter of Robert McKee. He is the third in p family of one son and three daughters. In the fall of 1862 they came to Chandos and located on lot i, concession 7, where Robert Edgar now resides. At the time of the Red River Expedition he went along as coxswain, to take charge of the boats. He was married on October 29th, 1869. He is a Reformer and a member of the Presbyterian Church ; also an ardent sportsman. JOSEPH FLETCHER, of Chandos, is a son of Joseph and Anne (Parsons) Fletcher, of Nottingham, England, at which place he was born in 18 14. His father, who was a barrister of high standing, was thrice married, and at his death left hvenly- niuc children, of whom Joseph was the youngest ! In addition Biographical Notices. 717 to his legal practice, the elder Tletcher carried on extensive nurseries, near Nottingham, until his death. Mr. Fletcher married an English lady, Miss Mary Ann Rowbottom, of Torbay, and coming to Canada soon after, resided one year at Port Hope, He then removed to Keene, and was employed as miller (to which trade he had been brought up) in the Burnham mills there. He subsequently removed to Wvoming County, New York, and became an extensive operator there ; but his health failing, he resolved to quit the milling business and return to Canada. He carried out this resolve in 1866, and settled in Chandos, the paramount object being healthful climatic surround- ings and occupation, all of which conditions are certainly to be found here. His wife died there in 1869, leaving him two sons and a daughter. With the help of his boys he has cleared 1 40 acres of lots 16 and 17, concession 15, where he has a comfort- able home, and enjoys the friendship and respect of his neigh- bours. Having received a fine education in early life his many years' " life in the backwoods '" has not obliterated his literary tastes — all his leisure time being spent in the study of useful books, and he is consequently an admitted authority on all matters of general interest. He is Liberal in his political views ; and what some would designate as radical, in hio ideas of the "problem of life" — enjoying heterodox opinions as to the future — believing that that state, as well as the present, is governed by certain immutable and natural laws, which the science of man has as yet been unable to fathom. HENRY FOSTER, lot 25, concessions 2 and 3, was born in Percy Township, where his people resided till he was about twelve years of age. They then moved to Carden Township, and four years after returned to Percy Township. He settled 47 i« 738 History of the County of Peterborough. at his present location in 1877, where he received by Govern- ment Grant 200 acres. Mr. Foster married, in 1878, Arvilla Hubbell, of Chandos, formerly of Seymour Township. Her demise occurred in 1881 ; one child, a son, survives her. «'l BENJAMIN J. HALES, of the Township of Chandos, was born in the " Seventh Town," so called, of the County of Prince Edward, Ontario, named thus in order of the original survey of the Bay of Ouinte region, on the first settlement of Upper Canada. His father was William Hales, from County Cavan, Ireland, who emigrated to Canada in 1818, and com- posed one of the military colony which formed the settlement of Perth, Lanark County, Upper Canada, in that year. At that place Mr. Hales' father was many years engaged in the boot and shoe business, but removed to Prince Edward County subsequently, and took up a farm. In 1852 Benjamin married a daughter of William Sayers, of Hungerford, the fruit of which is four sons and fiive daughters. In 1867 the family came to the wilds of Chandos, and took up a free grant on lot 8, concession 4 ; this Mr. Hales has cleared and improved, and now has a comfortable home. The trials and hardships incident to pioneer life have been ameliorated by the advantages of a\ iron constitution and a generous sympathy and co-operation on the part of his family. He is a Conservative in politics, and in religion a strict adherent of the Methodist faith. He has been one year in the Town- ship Council, and is everywhere regarded as a most reliable and responsible citizen, devoted to good works, and popular with his neighbours. ROBERT HAWKES, Township of Chandos, was born in Herefordshire, England, in 1837, being the youngest in a family Biographical Notices. 739 of six sons and one daughter. His parents were Robert and Hannah (Worsley) Hawkes. In 1858 he married Catharine Brydges, and in the same vear came to Canada, locating first near Toronto, where he engaged in farming. From there he went to Valcartier, in the Province of Quebec, where he remained several years, and then to the City of Quebec. In 1875 he located on lot 8, concession 10, of the Township of Chandos, where he has made for himself a good home. He is a Reformer and a member of the Church of England. He has two sons and seven daughters. HENRY HILLCOX, of Chandos, is the son of John Hillcox (his mother being a Miss Prindeble) and both of Irish birth. Emigrating to Woodstock, New Brunswick, in 1825, the elder Hillcox was engaged in copper mining there for some years, and there the children were all born. Henry the youngest in 1835. The family subsequently removed to the Township of Wellesley, Waterloo County, Ontario, where the father was engaged in farming many years, and v here he died at the ripe age of seventy-five. Henry's youth and early manhood were passed in his father's family. In 1865 he married Marguerite, eldest daughter of Elisha Hewitt, an Englishman. In 1875 Mr. Hillcox came to Chandos and purchased 200 acres of land, being lot 17, concession 13, where he now resides, engaged in farming. He has a large clearing, and good improvements, the result of industry, honesty and perseverance. He is a deservedly esteemed citizen, a devoted adherent of old-school Presby- terianism, and an ardent and active advocate of the temperance cause. Old Mr. Hillcox served many years in the British Army. Among his many warlike experiences, he went through the Peninsular Campaign with Wellington. His campaigning was ^Itl sOi %. >%. ^; .0* IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 t IIM .c mm 1.1 I 40 IIM 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 IIIIII.6 - 6' y {/ A Q.- 9 Q.r Ux fA <% w /, 'm ^m o^. VI ■^ / >^ Photographic Sciences Corpordtion d .^. M 4, SS# ,\ S v %^ \ \ 6^ %^ r^>^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 W ip //^ 740 History of the County of Peterborough. i^»': T , ttM ^^ IIP lill^ 'SrtiiJ.ils . .i'> -^ '''!■■■■: hi i ar.; ' "'^ ■ , ' closed however at the ever memorable Waterloo, where he was wounded, and in consequence received his discharge and a life pension ; being already the wearer of medals earned by gallant service. BILLINGS KILBORNE, the present postmaster of Chan- dos, resides upon lot 3, concession 10; was born in 1819, in the Township of Elizabethtown, County, of Leeds, near Brockville, and concession 2, Lynn Road. His father, Hiram Kilborne, was a native of Vermont, U.S., and came to Canada when eight years of age. Old Mr. Kilborne was a tanner, currier, brewer and farmer. He reared a family of eight children, of whom Billings was the third in order of age, there being only one sister in the family. Old Mr. Kilborne subsequently moved three miles back of Brockville, on the Lynn Road, where he died. At the age of fifteen Billings left the parental roof to learn the trade of a tinsmith with an uncle, with whom he was employed six years, after which he went to Smith's Falls, and embarked in business for himself. After remaininq: there three years he returned to the old home, but subsequently engaged in business in Brockville. In the fall of 1861 he came to Peterborough, and in 1862 to the Township of Chandos, where he erected a small shanty on the lot where he now resides. In 1863 (having been married three years previously) he moved his family to his new home, consisting ot ninety-six acres, upon which not a tree had been cut, and before even the Government Road had been made. This post-office was estab- lished fifteen years ago ; it was first located in concession 8 ; Henry Maxwell being the first postmaster. In 1880 the post- office was located in Mr. Kilborne's house, he receiving the commission of postmaster. Mr. Kilborne's son John was the Biographical Notices, 741 first white child born north of Stony Lake, September 6, 1863. Mr. Kilborne in politics is a Reformer; in religion, a Presbyterian. The first meeting of that denomination was held in his log barn, in 1867, by the Rev. James Thom, of Lakefield, who held divine service two or three times a year. Since that time, and for about three months during the summer season, through the intercessions of the Rev. Mr. Cleland, of Port Hope, several students during vacation have visited the locality, breaking the bread of life to the people ; and there is a church (Anglican) now erected on the same lot, Mr. Kilborne has a family of eight daughters and two sons. In his private relations he is eminently respected ; and in his official capacity is obliging and efficient. ROBERT HENRY McGILL, of Chandos, is a son of James McGill, who emigrated from the Old Country in 182 1, and settled on lot 18, concession 12, Township of Cavan, U. C. Here our subject was born in 1842, and here he lived till eighteen years of age, receiving his preliminary education at the public school. He then spent some time from home preparing for the profession of teacher, and afterwards followed this occu- pation for two years. At the end of this time he went to the United States, where he spent two years in commercial business, after which he represented an American firm in the agency business in Canada for a time. This was followed by a return to the teacher's desk — this time in Belmont : but this being at variance with his health he entered upon commercial business at Norwood. This occupation also proved too sedentary for one of active temperament, so he decided upon farming, and coming to the Township of Chandos, settled on lots 31, concessions 7 and 8, where he still resides. Mr. McGill has been twice married: first, in 1863, to Miss Jane Batison, of the Township % i'\ ;/l')1 m i, w m IIIk^'v' 742 History oj the County of Peterborough, of Hope, who died leaving five children; second, in 1879, to Janet, daughter of William Wilson, of the Township of Lake. His abilities have been publicly recognized on more than one occasion. He was Clerk of ihe municipality of Belmont, during his residence there ; and has sat at the Council Board of the municipality where he now resides. He is Liberal in politics ; belongs to the Anglican persuasion, and is one of the best posted men to be found, on all current topics and matters of general interest. JOHN Mcpherson, of Chandos, is the fourth son of Duncan and Jane (Dunn) McPherson, and was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where his parents had been reared. In 1843, he came with his parents to Canada, his father locating in Wellesley, Waterloo County, Ontario, where he still resides, a farmer "in affluent circumstances. Our subject spent his early life on the Wellesley farm, gaining the best education afforded by the public schools, fostered by a literary taste which prompted close application to books during every interval of leisure from farm work. In 1859 Mr. McPherson married the eldest daughter of John Campbell, of Wellesley, and in 1869 came to Chandos with his young wife, where they together began the battle of life,- with but very little means. Settling on lot 16, concession 13, they have by dint of united and continuous exertion, economy and good management, built up a comfortable and attractive home, and V the foundation of a competency. Mr. McPherson is now one of the leading farmers of the locality, and a large stock- raiser. He is Liberal in politics, and Calvinistic in his creed. He is widely known as a cautious, thoughtful, enterprising citizen, who keeps well abreast of the times in all political and social reforms of the period. Tl Biographical Notices. 743 CORNELIUS MAHER, Township of Chandos, was born in the County of Tipperary, Ireland, in 1831, and came to Canada in 1833 with his parents, who located on lot 4, conces: Ion 2, of Douro, where his father died. In 1852, when twenty-ofte years of age, he married a daughter of Thomas Roach, of Otonabee, in which township he lived for about fifteen years. In the fall of 1862 he removed to Chandos, where he took up a farm of 175 acres on lot 5, concession 8, of which he has now 100 acres cleared. He is a Conservative, and a member of the Catholic Church. When Mr. Maher settled in Chandos he was the happy possessor of a horse, which he used for logging, but it was' drowned in a beaver meadow, and he had to " hand log " for two years until he could afford to get another. ^1; FRANCIS MIDDLETON, of Chandos, is the son of Thomas Middleton, of Derbyshire, England, his mother being a daughter of William Renshaw, of the same place. He was born there in 1824, the fourth in a family of seven children. His people were engaged in farming. At forty years of rge he came to Canada, and entered the service of George Stethem, of Peterborough, in the hardware business, afterwards being in- the employ of William HamiUon, foundryman. In 1864 he came to Chondos, and selected a beautiful location on the shore of Loon Lake, where he took up land, and brought his wife after he had erected a shanty, where he has since resided. Chandos post-office, then just established, and one mile from his loeation, was the only meeting place then for the Scotch settlers. He subsequently returned to Peterborough and brought his family in. He has now a large clearing, and is in every way com- fortably situated. His -esidence stands upon a high elevation, from which a lovely landscape spreads before the gaze, includ- >il,: ^ Biographical Notices. 745 who came to the municipality to attend to the spiritual wants of the people, and afterwards Father Lynch. There are about 3CK) members of the church in the municipality. During the time Mr. O'Brien resided in the Township of Douro he held the office of Municipal Treasurer for many years. I GEORGE PAYNE, of Chandos, was born in Blandford, Dorsetshire, England, in 1839. He is the son of James and Mary (Nipherd) Payne, and fourth, in order of age, of a large family of children. His father was a master carpenter, con- tractor and builder, and carried on an extensive business in that line. From him George inherited a mechanical "turn," and was looked on as quite a genius in that direction, when yet very young. At an early age he acquired a fair knowledge of the ordinary branches of education, being an apt and industrious student. When still quite young he entered an apprenticeship under his father, and in the usual course became thorough master of his trade. On the death of his father in 1871 (with whom he had up to that time been associated in business), he came to Canada, and was shortly afterwards married to Margaret, youngest daughter of George Cummings, of Toronto. Subsevquently he took up his residence in Barrie, and during the few years which he remained there he built a number of the finest buildings in that beautiful town. In 1879, however, he determined on agricultural pursuits, and selected Chandos as his future home. He occupies lots 9 and 10, concession 7, where he has a pleasant home, surrounded by reace, prosperity and plenty, the reward of honest toil. Mr. Payne is Reform in his political predilections, and from early life has been closely asso- ciated with the Episcopal Church. n 746 History of the County of Peterborough. |.1 % , PATRICK SCOTT, deceased, of Chandos. It would be impossible to render justice to the reminiscences of the early settlements of Peterborough without giving more space under the above heading than the plan of these historical sketches V juld allow. Mr. Scott, who was the founder of the Scott Settlement, and the head of the influential family of that name in this section, as well as one of the earliest pioneers of Northern Peterborough, was at the same time one of the most successful, popular and prominent men of the community wherein the latter portion of his life was spent. He was the son of the late Stephen and Catharine (O'Donnell) Scott, of Tipperary, Ireland, he himself being born in the County Down, in 1822, the eldest in a family of ten children. The family came to America in 1838, and settled in Quebec, where they resided three years, removing in 1841 to the Township of Markham, Upper Canada. He here married Miss Margaret Kinnear, and after a ten-years' residence in Markham, removed to the Township of Mornington, Perth County, where he was engaged in farming till 1862. During this year he came to Chandos, and took up lots 1 1 and 12, concession 13. It may truly be said that few men have so forcibly realized the hardships, privations and sufferings of pioneer life, or more successfully overcome the severities of backwoods' experiences, handicapped by the adversities of fortune. But an indomitable will, incessant application and a determination to succeed, coupled with the blessings and material aids which a devoted family freely offered, soon showed' most satisfactory results. Nor did his success stop here. The prudence and honesty with which he managed his own affairs made him conspicuous for municipal honours. He served in the council a number of years, only retiring to attend more closely to his own private business. He was ever zealous, even beyond <' V'Kk 'I - li I biographical Notices. 7A7 his means, of promoting the moral and spiritual advancement of his fellow-citizens. Mainly through his untiring exertion, and by his liberal contributions, he saw the Roman Catholic church erected, hard by his dwelling. He laboured earnestly, according to his best lights, to promote the intellectual development of the young, in striving to furnish them those facilities for mental training, of which he himself was deprived when a boy. The success and respectability of agriculture, as a profession, also received his strong support and advocacy, among other ways, in the promotion and growth of local agricultural societies. He was always an outspoken advocate of Responsible Government, taking great interest in all public questions of the day, and leaning strongly to the principles of Liberalism, as likely to bequeath to the future the rights of man, universal mental and religious liberty, and freedom from class and caste. In Mr. Scott's death the people of Northern Peterborough lost one of their truly representative citizens. He was the friend of every man, and every man was his friend. Well would it be for the nation and for humanity, if every citizen would, with equal honesty of purpose, strive to shape his individual destiny so nearly in accordance with the " chief end of man." James Scott, of Chandos, son of Patrick and Margaret (Kinnear) Scott, was born in the Township of Markham in 1850. His early life was spent at his father's, home and in attendance at the public schools of the township. He accompanied his father's family to Chandos in 1862, and having selected lots 12, concessions 13 and 14, as his "location" and future home, was married in 1870 to a daughter of Michael O'Brien, "one of the oldest settlers in the municipality. Mr. Scott enjoys the confi- dence of his fellow-citizens in a marked degree, and has sat in the municipal council for four years. His present status is but i ■|! ■il: ii if *"> ' -t; Hi 'il- 748 History of the County of Peterborough. K Is''^ ."> the legitimate result of emulating the example of his respected parents, by engrafting in his daily walk the principles of industry, economy and integrity. He has firmly fixed views on politics and religion — Conservatism and Catholicism most closely meeting his view ; yet he holds in highest respect the principle of equal rights and liberty of conscience, whether in matters of public or ecclesiastical concern. Mr. Scott has one of the finest farms in the township — literally a beautiful home hewn from the wilderness — the result of his energy and industry. He is rightly considered one of the most promising of the rising men of the community in which he has cast his lot. William Scott, of Chandos, son of the late Patrick Scott,' elsewhere referred to, was born in the Township of Markham in 1845. He came to Chandos in 1862, locating on lot 14, conces- sion 14, with his father's family. At this time the Crown Lands were offered at fifty cents per acre, but subsequently an Act of Parliament made free grants to actual settlers. In 1872 he married a daughter of Daniel O'Brien, and took up a farm for himself, on which he has now a large clearing, and comfortable surroundings. Mr. Scott is a zealous Roman Catholic, but an independent partyman. He takes great interest in the success of schools and churches. He has been many years on the local school board, and actively identifies himself with all measures promising needed reforms. or beneficial results to the citizens at large. The record of the Scott family is so widely known throughout Northern Peterborough that the gentleman's reputa- tion needs no further comment, than to say he is everywhere regarded as a worthy member of the clan. ROBERT STEIN, lot 20, concession 2, is a native of Ireland, being born in County Tyrone, 1852. Like to thousands Biographical Notices. 749 of others, so to him did the prospects of the new wO"d offer greater inducements and more substantial return for labour than had hitherto been his lot at home. In 1870 he landed on these shores, and soon after setded upon 100 acres of Government land, located as above ; and having erected comfortable buildings, besides clearing twenty acres, his prospects for the future are of a cheering nature. Mr. Stein married Miss Ann J. Wilson, of this township, also a native of Ireland, from County Donegal. ALEXANDER TROTTER, Township of Chandos, was born in Douro in 1837, and is the second youngest son of Joseph and Agnes Trotter. He spent his early life in Douro, and received his education at Lakefield. In 1878 he married a daughter of John Anderson, of Douro, by whom he has one son and three daughters. He is comfort? bly settled on lot 15, con- cession 14, where he has a farm of 100 acres, of which sixty acres is cleared. He also owns 200 acres in the Township of Cardiff, County of Haliburton. He is a Reformer in politics, and a Presbyterian in religion. He is also a member of the Agricultural Society, and of the School Board, and takes a great interest in educational matters. ,■( : m JAMES TROTTER, Township of Chandos, was born in Douro in 1846, his parents being Joseph and Agnes Trotter. He is the second of his father's family. He remained on the old homestead farm till 187 1, when he removed to Chandos, and settled on his present farm, lots 18 and 19, concession 4. He has 260 acres, half of which is cleared land. On this farm he raises the finest fruit in the county. Many people deemed it impos- sible to raise fruit so far north, but Mr. Trotter has demonstrated the fact that it can be most successfully done. In 1872 he ». ii'^ fl¥" ■ \ ':uyl 750 History of the County of Peterborough. planted some natural fruit, and the plants grew to a great size. The result has been that he carried off the prizes at several agricultural shows for the largest and bf^t fruit in the county. Mr. Trotter has been twice married. is first wife, whom he married in 1870, was Mary, daughter of Thomas Davidson, by whom he had three children, one of whom is dead. In 1878 he married Carrie, daughter of Sebastian Leidwood, by whom he has two children. He is a Reformer, a Presbyterian, and a member of the Agricultural Society. He has also served in the Township Council. JOSEPH TROTTER, Township of Chandos, is a son of Joseph and Agnes Trotter, and was born in the Township of Douro. Until 1870 he lived with his parents. In that year he settled in Chandos on a farm of 200 acres, being lots 18 and 19, concession 12 ; he has cleared sixty acres. Like his brothers, Alexander and James, he is a Reformer and a Presbyterian. He is unmarried. ANDREW WILSON, jun'r, Chandos Township, was born in the County of Donegal, Ireland, 1853, and is the youngest in a family of six children. His father was John Wilson, deceased who emigrated to Canada, and settled in Chandos Township with his family in 1868. His mother (also dead) was a daughter of Mr. Andrew Jarvis, of Donegal, Ireland. Mr. Wilson farms his own land of 100 acre, lot D, concession 4. In 1874 he mar- ried a daughter of Joseph Stein of the Township of Anstruther. He is a Reformer in politics, and in religion a member of the English Church. He is a man who has worked hard since coming to this country, and has hewed out a home from the woods for his family and self He is well calculated to make a mark in his county amongst men and measures. »?■. v Biographical Notices. 751 WILLIAM WILSON, Township of Chandos, was born in tlie County of Donegal in 1835, his parents being John and Jane (Jarvis) Wilson; he is the eldest of six children. In i860 he came to Canada, from the United States, where he had been since 1857, and settled in the Township of Anstruther. • In 1862 he removed to Chandos, where he took up lot 17, concession 2, which he cleared; he afterwards purchased lot 18 from his brother. He is now and has been in the Township Council for eight years. He is a Reformer, an Episcopalian, and a member of the Agricultural Society. He has been Tax-collector for one year. He married a daughter of Robert Weir, of Scotland. TOWNSHIP OF ANSTRUTHER. DUNCAN ANDERSON, Crown Lands Agent, Apsley, Township of Anstruther, son of John Anderson ; born ia the Township of Dummer, 1833. His father was John Anderson of that place, and his mother was a daughter of Archibald Robertson. His .parents were both of Scottish birth, having emigrated from Perthshire, Scotland, to the Township of Dummer in 1832, and located on the north half of lot 5, concession 5, where the subject of this sketch resided until 1870, and which he still owns. In 1857 he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the late Robert Ritchie, of the. same township, who settled there in 1831. Mr. Anderson received his education at the common schools, and until 1870 was engaged in farming, when he received the appointment of Crown Lands Agent of North Peterborough (which embraces the municipalities of Burleigh, Anstruther and Chandos, also Cardiff and Monmouth) ■iii] '• ! '^\ (■ i fi- - 1'; 1 752 History of the County of Peterborough. which office he has ever since held. He received this appoint- ment under the Government of Hon, John Sandfield Macdonald. He is also engaged in farming. He has acquired 300 acres of land, seventy acres of which are improved, and with good build- ings; his residence is located on lot 32, concession i, Anstruther. In his father's family there are three sons aud four daughters, he is the second eldest. His father died in 1843, and his mother in April, 1884. His brother, Archibald, is bailiff, and carries on geheral business in Norwood. His youngest brother, John, is farming in the Township of Dummer. In politics he was always a Conservative since receiving the appointment from the Crown. ^ He has in conformity with the regulations so wisely enacted by the founders of our Government, refrained from participating in the political issue's of the day. In religion he is a member of the Baptist Church. He is the incumbent of several public and private official positions, being a Justice of the Peace, Issuer of Marriage Licenses, and agent of several of the most popular and "solid" Life and Accident Insurance Companies who do business in Canada. As regards both official and private busi- ness, he is a man who is widely known throughout the country, as one who has ever discbarged his duties, with fidelity, and given entire satisfaction to the Government, as well as the set- tlers whom he has located. MRS. JOHN H. ANDERSON, the efficient lady-teacher of School Section No. i, Anstruther, was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland. She received her education in Dublin, and came to Canada in 1874. She was the first teacher employed in School Section No. 2, in the Township of Anstruther, after the erection of the new school-house in 1876 ; the term in those days was only for six months. She subsequently taught in the 'f, >., Biographical Notices. 753 Township of Burleigh for three years, and is at present employed at School Section No. i., in the Township of Anstruther — there being but one other section at present in that township. The number of scholars in School Section No. i, is now between forty and fifty, and the average attendance of school age is about half that number. Mrs. Anderson was married in 1879 to John H. Anderson, son of D. Anderson, Crown Land Agent for north Peterborough. Her long term of school service in her adopted home is sufficient indication of her popularity and efficiency in her chosen avocation. il[ CHARLES R. D. BOOTH, of Anstruther, Clerk of the Fifth Division Court of the' County of Peterborough, is of a race, on both sides of the house, who spent their lives in the service of the Empire. His maternal grandfather was Sir John Wild, K. C. B., appointed Chief-Justice at the Cape of Good Hope. His father was James R. Booth, an officer in H. M. navy, who was for many years Post-Captain in the same, and was Governor of Montscrrat, West India Islands, at the time of his death, which occurred in 1853. Mr. Booth is the eldest son of his father's family, and was born in New South Wales, Australia, when his father was stationed in that Colony. His next brother, Augustus B. C. Booth, is a retired com- manding officer of H. M. naval service ; and Alfred J. Booth was for eighteen years naval officer, but is now in the Chinese service, by special permission of the British Government. The first six years of Mr. Booth's life was spent in New South Wales, when his father's family returned to England. Subsequently, on two different occasions, he spent some years in Africa, finally returning to England in 1858. Two years later he embarked for Canada, and first located in Lakefi-^ld, where he resided nine 48 li 754 History of the County of Peterborough. years. He then received the appointment of Deputy Registrar of West Durham, and removed to Bowmanville to fill the duties of that position. Subsequently the Judge named him for the bailiwick of the Fourth Division Court of the County of Peter- borough, and after satisfactorily occupying this office for one year — 1878-9 — he was appointed to the clerkship of the Fifth Division Court, of which he is the present incumbent. Mr. Booth resides on lot 36, concession 13, Anstruther, where he has 125 acres of land, and a comfortable and pleasant home. In his official intercourse he is affable, painstaking and conscientious ; while in his social relations he is extremely popular. It is no exaggeration to say that in Mr. Booth's selection to fill an impor- tant public position, the righc man has been found for the right place. CAPTAIN THOMAS O. BRIDGEWATER, now a farmer of Anstruther, has (as his title implies) spent a large portion of his life in military service, amid "wars and rumours of wars." He is a Welshman by birth, and first saw light in Montgomeryshire, in 1836. He was third in age, of the family of John Bridgewater, a practising physician of Montgomery- shire, by a daughter of Thomas Roberts, a prominent agricul- turist of that part of Wales. At sixteen years of age our subject ran away from home, and joined the British Army, as a private. T*^ is unnecessary to follov/ him through his many and perilous adventu/es, covering nearly every portion of the globe, and consuming over eleven years of time. It will suffice to say that he was in many battles (including a number of those fought in India during the Sepoy Mutiny) and was advanced step by step till he was Sergeant-Major of his regiment. But tiring of the service, he purchased his discharge in 1863 ; and after a short T ,t n Biographical Notices. 755 residence in England, came to Canada in 1866, and settled in western Ontario. On the breaking out of the Fenian disturbance in June of that year, he joined the Volunteers, and was com- missioned Captain of the celebrated Mooretown Troop of Inde- pendent Cavalry, which was in active service under his command on the St. Clair frontier during the whole of that trouble. His conduct on this occasion was the cause of his being officially thanked by General Napier. In 1877, Captain Bridgewater conceived the idea of leading a quiet and secluded life, and selected Anstruther — which at that time was certainly as much secluded as miles on miles of " wolf-range " and unbroken primeval forest could n.ake it. He took up lots 38 and 39, concession 13, containing 236 acres, twenty of which he has since brought under cultivation. He is married to a Miss Rickles, of Anstruther, and is very comfortably situated. His place is very picturesquely located within a short distance of Howdon Falls, on Eel River — so-named from Mr. J. Howden being carried over the cataract some twelve years ago, from which remarkable accident he miraculously escaped with his life, however. Captain Bridgewater has a great penchant for thoroughbred stock. He has recently imported the celebrated animals " Red Duke" and " Lady Durham " {vide British Herd Book, Vol. VI., p. 375, and Vol. VII., p. 186). which are the first thoroughbreds ever seen north of Stony Lake. The Captain is a great advocate of Temperance. On the first agitation on the subject in this locality, he took the ground that the best way to promote the cause was by the license system, strictly enforced. He thereby made enemies of many genuine temperance advocates. Later on he changed his views as to the methods desirable to promote the end, and joined in the prohibition movement, of which he has shown himself an ijil 'i I \ ^t ;■:■ ; I ; >:■ . >: 756 History of the County of Peterborough. honest and most able advocate, being a fluent and entertaining public speaker. In his general intercourse with his fellow- citizens Captain Bridgewater's conduct has been such as to merit their esteem, which he has received in a high degree ; and he is on all hands looked upon as one well qualified to take a leading part in all matters pertaining to the public welfare, as affecting the general condition of society. NELSON BRISSETT, Burleigh Township, was born in one of the Eastern Townships, and is of Irish descent. His fathers name was Francis Brissett, and his mother was a Miss Aubry. Until about six years ago he resided in Montreal, where he was engaged in mercantile life. Then he removed to his present residence, lot 34, concession 5, Burleigh ; he also owns lots 36 and 37. About thirty years ago Mr. Brissett was married to Mary Stewart, of Scotch descent. His son Henry, aged thirty- six, and married, is practising medicine in St. Johns, Quebec ; he is a graduate of McGill College, Montreal. He has a son farming in Sherbrooke. Mr. Brissett and his family are Presby- terians. THOMAS EASTLAND, general merchant, Apsley, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1820, being fourth in a family of eight sons and one daughter, two of whom were born in Canada. His father came to Canada in 1831 with his family, and located at Cobourg. Then he bought a farm about one and a-half miles from Peterborough, and lived on it until his death. When Thomas Eastland was twenty-eight years old he married a daughter of Barnabas Bletcher, who carried the mail from Port Hope to Peterborough, and moved into Peterborough, where he established the first livery stable, and commenced taking ■^ "^ Biographical Notices. 757 contracts for carrying the mails. The first contract he took was for carrying the mail from Peterborough to Bobcaygeon ; he also delivered to Chemong Lake and Lakefield. He also delivered the mail to Apsley and Cheddar, sixty miles north- east of Peterborough, which contract he still holds. While in Peterborough he was a member of the Town Council for four or five years, and was also School Trustee. In 1867 he opened a general store at Aspley, where, in 1880, his son built the hotel known as the Eastland House. He also owns a general store at Lakefield. During the Rebellion Mr. Eastland served in the Peterborough company, commanded by Captain John Walton. He is a Conservative and attends the English Church. He takes great pleasure in hunting, and is one of the best shots in his part of the county. He has living two daughters and one son out of a family of three sons and four daughters. Mr. East- land and his sci are doing a large business in Apsley. They have the post-office and run the mail route. JOHN ELLERTON, who resides upon lot 39, conces- sion 8, of Anstruther, is of English birth and parentage, having come to Canada from Beverly, England, where he was born in 1838. His parents, Thomas Ellerton, and a daughter of Thomas Tait, of Beverly, emigrated from England to the County of Wentworth, Upper Canada, where his father resided until his death, which occurred a few years since. James resided at home with his parents until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he married, in 1865, a daughter of Joseph Parnell, of East Flamborough. In 1871, without one dollar, he started for the wild forests of North Peterborough. Perhaps there are but few people in this present municipality who have encountered greater hardships, or displayed a greater spirit of perseverance in A I > 758 History of the County of Peterborough. >: .. If 'il battling with the stern realities of poverty in early life than the subject of this sketch. When he began his clearing he had but one axe and ten pounds of flour. He erected a log shanty and chopped and cleared a small piece of land, and having no team he rolled his logs together by hand and put in his first crop with a hoe. Since that time he has cleared and improved forty-five acres. In erecting his buildings he carried 2,000 feet of lumber on his back a long distance through the woods. There is located on his farm a valuable iron mme, also a large deposit of lime-stone, from which Mr. Ellerton has been supplying the requirements of the settlers throughout the municipality ; it being the best formation of lime-stone in Northern Peter- borough. In politics, Mr. Ellerton is a Reformer ; in religion, a member of the English Church ; and in the estimation in which he is held by his neighbours and the community at large, no man stands higher. FRANK ELM HURST, Reeve of the united municipali- ties of Anstruther, Burleigh and Chandos, is a son of Richard Elmhurst, one of the pioneers of Otonabee Township. His mother was a daughter of a sea captain, Richardson by name, who for many years sailed his own ship in the West India trade. In old Mr. Elmhurst's family were eight children. The parents died in Otonabee, the place of birth of the children. The subject of this sketch married, in 1862, a daughter of Robert Weir, one of the early settlers in Otonabee. In 1870 he came to Anstruther, and took up lot 36, concession 10, where he has cleared seventy-five acres of land, and erected substantial house and outbuildings. Besides farming, he has been quite exten- sively engaged in lumbering, cutting about one and a half millions of pine annually. He superintended, in conjunction \ 1 Biographical Notices. 759 with William Tucker, the hew Government Colonization road, built in 1 88 1, from Apsley to Haliburton, along Eel Creek. He has been four years in the municipal council, and in 1883 was elected to the Reeveship of the three united townships. He is a shrewd and capable business man, and has already succeeded in placing the affairs of the townships in a better financial position. JAMES GOLBORNE, Township of Anstruther, was born in Cambridge, England, in 1826, and is the youngest in a family of two sons and two daughters. His father, James Golborne, and his mother, a daughter of John Pap worth, died before he came to Canada, which was in 1862, accompanied by his sister. He stayed in Cobourg for two months and then settled in the Township of Burleigh, on lot 12, concession 11, where he took up a Crown grant. Having learned milling in England, he erected on his lot a small mill, the first in the township. He was the second settler north of Stony Lake, Giles Stone being the first. In 1863 the first post-office in that part of the county was opened at his farm. In 1872 Mr. Golborne removed to the Township of Anstruther, where he built a grist mill, having only one run of stone. It now has three and is patronized by many farmers, some of whom come thirty-five miles. In 1869 he was commissioned a Justice of the Peace, the duties of which office he well performs. On the formation of the municipality of Burleigh, Chandos and Anstruther, in 1864, Mr. Golborne was elected the first Reeve, which position he held, on and off, for eleven years. He is a Conservative, and is also a member of the Agricultural Society. Mr. Golborne takes a great interest in all matters which assist in the development of the municipality in which he lives. m, t ( ! I 76o History of tJie County of Peterborough, JOSEPH B. HAWLEY, proprietor of a blacksmith and waggon shop, cabinet and undertalcing business, at Apsley Village, was born in the Township of Percy in 1848, and is a son of Charles Hawley, a native of the same place, but now living in South Burleigh. In the early part of his career our subject worked with his father as millwright, combining also cabinet-making and general carpentering. In 1882 he estab- lished his . present business, having taken up his residence in Apsley five years previously. Mr. Hawley, in 1872, married Miss Catharine Bell, whose birthplace was Barrie, Ontario. Their family consists of six children, four sons and two daughters. REV. PHILIP HARDING, of Apsley, Incumbent of the Anglican Church in Northern Peterborough, is the son oi the late John Harding, of Herefordshire, England, where he was born in 1819. In early life he received a good education, which well fitted him for the duties of later years ; though it was not till a comparatively recent date that he has been engaged in ministerial work in this section, where his mission extends over a territory embracing an area of several hundreds of square miles. When he first came here, in 1875 (having that year been commissioned by the late Bishop Bethune, as a "Lay Reader" for the mission), he found a very strong need existing for clerical ministrations, and at once set about to supply existing wants. By continued exertions he raised sufficient funds to complete the then partially finished edifice of "St. George's" — chiefly from personal friends in England — a few from Toronto and Peter- borough, aided by A. J. Wright and James Golborne, Esquires, of Apsley. Among other contributions was one of ;^ioo for this purpose from the penny monthly called The Net, pub- "A ! Biographical Notices. 761 Hshed in London, England. He was, by the liberal help of Mrs. Shewen, of Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, enabled to purchase 125 acres of land, with a partly built parsonage thereon, since neatly improved, besides clearing and improving over fifty acres of the same ; and recently he has begun the erection of the churches of " St. Stephen" and "St. Paul," in outlying districts of his mission. Though advanced in years, Mr. Harding is blessed with a good amount of vital energy, and is a persistent and effective worker. His large experience, which a fair allowance of native common sense has taken the best advantage of, eminently fit him for the arduous and honourable duties which have fallen to him ; and if his past success in his present sphere be any indication of coming results, a most promising and prosperous future awaits the church of North Peterborough under his ministration. THOMAS HARRIS, son of Joseph Harris, was born at Rice Lake, in the Township of Hamilton, in 1838. His mother was a daughter of William Nichols, of Cobourg, Ontario. Mr. Harris is of German- American descent, his grandfather Harris being a U. E. Loyalist who emigrated from Duchess County, New York, after the close of the Revolutionary War, and located in the Township of Hamilton, on lots 18 and 19, concession 21, where he cleared a farm. Mr. Harris resided at home until he was twenty-one years of age and married, in 1858, a daughter of F. Ferguson, of Prince Edward County. In 1866 he came to the Township of Anstruther, being one of the first settlers, and located on lots 26 and 28, concession i, then a wilderness, and about fifty acres of which he has since improved with his own hands, whereon he has erected a good house and barns. In politics he is a Reformer ; in religion, a Methodist. Like all 1 [I 1 7: JGS History of the County of P -terborotigh. ;■'» t: clearing of i lo acres, and improvements such as would ornament any homestead of the old settled portions of the Province, together with stock, implements and equipments to match. Being a man of sound judgment, quick perception, and a natural intelligence which has been cultivated by the best application surrounding circumstances would permit, he has been enabled to share rhe confidence of his fellow-citizens in no small degree. He has been in the Municipal Council a number of years, and has always struggled to promote the educational interest of his section. This feeling is shared by his family, and one of his daughters is a very promising school teacher, at present engaged in this township. Although Mr. Tucker is in sympathy with the Liberal party, he never neglects private business (as so many good citizens have done to their sorrow) to mingle in political strife. It must therefore be conceded that it was in recognition of his ability alone that he was appointed by the Government as a Superintendent or Commissioner (in company with Mr. F. Elmhurst) to build the new Colonization road from Apsley into Haliburton. Mr. Trucker lives in a romantic and delightful situation. Being isolated he has been the subject of attention from marauding hordes of wolves ; but this t.vil disappears with every stroke of the pioneer's axe. The great abundance of fish and game give the luxuries of venison, bear, partridge, brook trout, etc., a place in the cuisine which would be considered an extreme of extravagance in the best city hotels ; and altogether he and his family are most happily situated, while the verdict of all acquaintances is that they deserve the best the land can supply. Biographical Notices. 767 TOWNSHIP OF HARVEY. WILLIAM BENNETT was born in the County of Nor- thumberland, and remained there until 1859, removing in that year to the Town of Peterborough, in which place he resided till the year 1872, afterwards purchasing 186 acres of bu^ii land in Harvey Township, on which he settled, and at present continues to improve and cultivate. Mr. Bennett married Miss Eliza Jane Walsh, of Otonabee Township, by whom he has one child. GEORGE BRUM WELL, deceased, was born in Eng- land in the year 1 8 1 7, and at the age of eight years came with his parents to Canada, who settled in Peterborough County. In 1848 he removed to the Township of Harvey and settled on 200 acres of forest land, on lot 16, concession t?, which he improved and cultivated, and on which he remained until his death in the year 185 1. Our subject married Miss Jane Nichols, of the Township of Smith, who died shortly after, leaving one child. Mr. Brumwell married a second time to Miss Helen Staples, also of the Township of Smith, by whom he had five children. GEORGE BRUMWELL was born in the Township of Smith in the year 1842, and in 1872 came to the Township of Harvey and purchased 200 acres of bush land, on lot 19, con- cession 13, adding afterwards 100 acres on lot 23, in the same concession. Mr. Brumwell married Miss Elizabath Adelaide Goodenough, of Smith Township, by whom he has eight children. JAMES S. CAIRNDUFF is a native of Ireland, having been born in the County Down, in the year 1827, and came 76S History 0/ the County of Peterborough. to Canada in 1843. He settled first in the County of Prince Edward, and remained there thirty years, twenty of which he filled the offices of township clerk and treasurer. In 1873 our subject came to the Township of Harvey and purchased 100 acres of land on lot 20, concession 16, which he has cleared and considerably improved, besides adding fifty acres to his original purchase. Mr. Cairnduff has held the office of Township Clerk in Harvey for the past nine years. In 1847 he married Miss Elizabeth Tarwood. of Prince Edward County, by whom he has four children. JOHN PARKER DAVIS, general lumberman and saw and shingle mill owner, was bori. in Prince Edward County in 1842, and at the age of ten years came to settle in Peterborough County. In 1864 he moved to Lindsay, Victoria County, residing there until 1872, during which time he built a saw mill in the Village of Balsover, Eldon Township. In the last named year he came to the Township of Harvey, and built a large shingle mill on lot 19, concession 16, and in 1882 he erected a large saw mill. Mr. Davis was married in 1863 to Miss Mar- garet Lang, of Victoria County, who died five years after, leaving three children. Our subject married again, h's second wrife being Miss Ann Kelly, of Bridgenorth. Mr. Davis is a large land owner in the county, holding something like 550 acres. THOMAS FLYN was born in the State of New Jersey in 1857, where he remained until 1873, and on coming to Canada he settled in the County of Peterborough. In 1876 he pur- chased 187 acres of wild land in the Township of Harvey, which he has very much improved and now resides on. ••\ Biographical Notices. 769 J. N. GOODENOUGH was born in Northumberland County in 1831, and in 1871 came to the Township of Harvey and purchased 100 acres on lot 23, concession 16, to which he has since added fifty acres on lot 27, concession 16. In 1873 Mr. Goodenough married Miss Eliza Rupert, of Hastings County. 1/ W. H. HALL, saw-mill owner and lumberman, was born in 183 1. His father was a surgeon in the British Army, and in that capacity was almost continuously abroad, but our subject has been a resident of Peterborough County since 1S43. He received his education in Toronto and Peterborough, which being completed, he engaged in farming up to 1847, from which date until 1859 he was employed on the engineering staff of the Grand Trunk and Grand Junction Railway. He afterwards entered the lumbering business at Buckhouse, which he has carried on successfully ever since. Mr. Hall, in i860, erected a saw-rnill on the site of the old one built by John Hall in 1830. ' Our subject, in 1864, married Miss Elizabeth Hall, daughter of James Hall, deceased, by whom he has five children living. NOXON HARRIS was born in the County of Northum- berland in 1850, and in 1866 came to the Township of Harvey and settled on lot 20, concession 17, where he purchased 150 acres of land which he has improved and still resides upon. He has since added 100 acres on lot 23, concession 15. In 1872 Mr. Harris mari'ied Miss Ellen Crow, daughter of Francis Crow, of Harvey Township, by whom he has three daughters. WILLIAM IRWIN was born in the Township of Smith in 1845, where he remained until 1S71, coming to the Township 49 > I 770 History of the County of Peterborough. of Harvey and purchased 125 acres on lot 8, concession 15, in that year. This he cleared, fenced, improved and has since added 235 acres. In 1869 Mr. Irwin married Miss Isabel Wood, second daughter of William Wood, of Harvey Township, by. whom he has six cnildren. Mr. Irwin has been township collector for five years. PATRICK LAVER\, born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1809, and in 1848 he emigrated to Canada and setded in the Town- ship of Clark, County of Durham, where he remained until 1868, coming then to the County of Peterborough, settling in the Township of Harvey, and purchased 200 acres on lot 21, concession 16, where he now resides. Mr. Lavery married Miss Ann McVea, of Ireland, by whom he had seven children, who died some years ago. Mr. Lavery married for his second wife Miss Bridget Ree, of Nprthumberland County. ANGUS McMARTIN was born at St. Andrew's, Province of Quebec, in the year 1828, where he remained until he was* about twenty years of age, at which period he removed to Montreal and engaged as salesman in a dry-goods establishment. In the year 1856 he came to Peterborough and opened a general store on Hunter Street, which he coaducted until i860. Three years later he was engaged by the late Mr. W. A. Scott to manage the lumbering business then owned by that gentleman, which he did up to the time of his (Mr. Scott's) retirement, after which he took the same position under Messrs. J. Benedict & Son, the successors in the business, and still continues in the service of the firm. In 1873 Mr, McMartin married Mrs. John Reid, daughter of William Morgan, of Otonabee Township, by whom he has one son. Biographical Notices. 77 \ WILLIAM VENTRESS was bom in Yorkshire, England, in 1827, and in 1842 came to Canada and setded in the County of Northumberland, where he remained until 1S65, after which he came to Harvey Township and settled on lot 22, conces- sion 1 7, where he owns 200 acres, besides having carried on a general lumbering business for about twelve years. He was in the Township Council fon four or five years, and has also been Township Assessor and Collector. In 1849 Mr. Ventress married Miss Ann Belamy, of Northumberland County, who died in June, 1864, leaving four children. Mr. Ventress mar- ried a second time to Miss Mary Ann Clark, who died in December, 1S74. The fruits of this union was one child — a daughter. COUNTY OF HALIBURTON. ! VILLAGE OF HALIBURTON. • DOUGLAS KILL AT. proprietor of the Queen's Hotel, Haliburton, was born in the Township of Smith, Peterborough County, in 1845. His parents George and Caroline Killat, were born in England, and came to Canada in the year 1840, and settled first in the Township of Smith. In 1849, they moved with their family, cattle and household effects, into the Township of Lutterworth. This journey was not accomplished without great difficulty, for having to traverse about fifteen miles of dense woodland, they were compelled to carry their goods and pro- visions on their backs, and lead the horse, besides having also to share their bread with the animal. The subject of this sketch, 772 History of the County of Halibtirton. when a boy, earned considerable sums of money by hunting and trapping in the evening after his daily duties were completed, being quite skilful with the snare and rifle. His mother died when he was eight years old, and, although his father married again the children never received that parental care so necessary f6r them at the age when the mind is more impressionable than at any other period in life. On coming of age, Douglas com- menced to fight the stern battle o*" life without a single dollar he could conscientiously call his own, and taking charge of his two sisters, he entered upon hotel-keeping, becoming proprietor of the Spring Hill Hotel, between Minden and Kinmount. He remained here two years, and afterwards followed teeming in the backwoods for fifteen years, carrying on farming in connection with the sa-ie. Ini874 Mr. Killat took possession of the Buck Hotel at Minden, and remained there four years, afterwards selling out his interest in that concern and purchasing that of the Queen's Hotel, Haliburton, fro*m his brother-in-law, R, McKelvey, in 1883, where he offers the best accommodation to the travelling public. We may add that this is considered one of the best hotels in the county. Our subject was married in 1867, to Nancy Jones, of Dummer Township, by whom he has eight children, five sons and three daughters. ROBERT McKELVEY, general dealer, etc., Haliburton, is a native of the North of Ireland, being born in Belfast, 1843, and came to America with his people in 1851. They first lived in New York City, and four years later removed to Peterborough, where they remained about five years, removing to Minden Township in the year i860. Our subject's first commencement in life was in Snowden Township, where he took by Govern- ment grant 100 acres of forest land, which he sold a few years ^ > Biographical Notices. 773 afterwards, and rented a farm for a time. He engaged in the hotel business at Minden for several years, after which he removed to Haliburton, and kept an hotel on the present site of Anderson's store for twelve months. The Dominion House was his next venture, and after six years proprietorship of that establishment he assumed control of the Queen's, which he retained for four years, then selling out to its present pro- prietor. Mr. McKelvey married in 1863, Martha J. Kellat, and of a family of eight children, six are still living, five sons and one daughter. Our subject owns 100 acres of land in Dysart Town- ship, a residence, and some lots in this village. He is one of the Councillors of the municipality, and polled the highest number of votes at the last election. Mr. McKelvey's reputa- tion as a hunter is more than local, and numerous deer in the season fall before his unerring rifle. E. A. SPILSBURY, M.D., and proprietor of drug store, Haliburton, was born in the Town of Peterborough in 1855. He is the son of E. T. Spilsbury, Esq., of Haliburton, and received his early education at Peterborough Collegiate Institute, from which he passed to the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N.Y., from whence he graduated, taking the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then took up the study of medicine at Trinity College, graduating with honours in May, 1881, and the following month commenced practice at Haliburton, where he has since remained. JOHxN FARADAY YOUNG, merchant and postmaster, Haliburton, was born in Cavan Township, 1849, and is the son of Thomas Young, of English birth, who came to this country at an early day. Mr. Young, sen'r, first lived in Port Hope, i 774 History of the County of llaliburton. afterwards removing to Cavan Township, where he remained several years, and is now. a resident of Minden Township, in this county. His son John, the subject of our sketch, entered upon, the stern reality of life as clerk in a general store, and was for four years with George and Henry Andrews, Minden, at the end of which time ,he entered into partnership with his employers, and opened a branch store of the business in Haliburton. This arrangement continued in force until io, in which year (a dissolution of the firm taking place) he assumed exclusive owner- ship and control of the business, and has since conducted it with energy and ability. Mr. Young is the Treasurer of the Munici- pality, and is also owner of two acres of land in the village, with store and dwelling. He married Abzina V. Geegan, daughter of the late Patrick Geegan, of Cavan Township. Vf TOWNSIIir OF MONMOUTH. EDWARD n<\VIN BUCHANAN, the present Reeve of this township, was born in Reach Township, Ontario County, in 1850. His father, a native of Ireland, came to Canada nearly fifty years ago ; settled first in Glengarry County, and afterwards moved to Ontario County, where he still resides. Mr. Buchanan, in 1 86 1, bought 100 acres in Victoria County, where he lived six years, and, \i\ 1877, lie moved on lots 27 and 28, conces- sion II, of Monmouth, where he lives at the present time. He owns 200 acres of land, about forty of which he has cleared. He married, in 1873, Catharine Dack, of Victoria County, a daughter of Benjamin Dack, a native of Ireland, who was an old settler in that township. ^ Biographical Notices. 77S ' ANSON W. BURTON, lots 23 and 24, concession 12, Monmouth, was born in the Township of Plantagenet, near Ottawa, in i860. His father, William Burton, also a native of that place, came to Monmouth Township in 1879 and located ofi the farm where the family still reside. His death occurred the year following his settlement here. The surviving family consist of the wife, six sons and three daughter.^:. They own 200 acres, about thirty of which is improved. HENRY CONKHH^L, lots 11 and 12, 30 and 31, con- cessions 15 and 16, Monmouth Township, was born in Pickering Township, Ontario, in 1837. His father, the late John Coiikhill, came from England to Canada at an early day. He at first located in Toronto, and chopped cordwood on Yonge Street, where now stands the thriving suburb of Yorkville. In 1832 he removed with his family to Pickering Township, being one of the pioneers of that section. Soon after his settlement here he lost two sons by small-pox. The family afterwards removed to Mariposa Township, Victoria County, where Mr. Conkhill, sen'r, died in 1875, the surviving children, numbering six, two sons and four daughters. Henry, the subject of our sketch, remained on the homestead, in Mariposa Township, up to the time of his settlement in Monmouth. On his arrival in this township he bought a farm from Isaac Ritchie, which he now considers to be the best in the district, and equal to any in the county. Mr. Conkhill is the first importer of thoroughbred stock to his township. He married, in i860, Isabella Adams, of Uxbridge, a native of Scotland ; of a family of nine children, five sons and three daughters are still living. DANIEL ESSON, farmer and postmaster, at Essonville, was born in Otonabee Township, Peterborough County, in 1 848. -* 71^ History of the County of Haliburton. Alexander Esson, father of the above, a native of Scotland, came to Canada and settled among the first in Otonabee, coming about the same time as the P. Robinson Colony, before the Town of Peterborough was in existence. He resided in Otonabee till his death in 1872. Daniel lived at the homestead till the death of his father, when he went to Coboconk, In 1875 he came to Monmouth Township, and settled on lots 16 and 17, conces- sion 14, where he remains at the present time. Mrs. Esson's maiden name was Miss Anna E, O'Brien, daughter of Roderick O'Brien, of Somerville Township, Victoria County. They have three daughters. M". Esson owns 202 acres of land, having taken the same by Government grant. He has cleared and improved about thirty-five acres of the same. •%^ ABSALOM GIBSON, of lot 15, concession 15, of Mon- mouth, was born in Ottawa County, Quebec, in 1855. His father, James Gibson, a native of Ireland, came to Canada about 1839, and settled iifc Ottawa County. Absalom Gibson settled on his present location in 1879, where he owns 100 acres of land, only a small portion of which is yet improved. He married Emma Laugh, a native of Philadelphia, who was living at that time in Glamorgan Township, and is a daughter of Robert Laugh of that township. Mr, Gib.son has been Councillor for two years, and is the present Assessor of the township. JOHN W. HALES, of lots 3 and 4, concession 13, Mon- mouth Township, was born near Gore's Landing, South Mona- ghan, Northumberland County, in 1857. His father, W. H. Hales, at present living in Burleigh Township, was born near Belleville, Ontario ; he came and .settled in Otonabee Township, when his son John was less than twelve months old, and II i Biographical Notices. 777 remained until he had reached the age of nine yearsf at which period they removed to Burleigh. John W. lived with his parents until the year 1882, and then launched out in life for himself, settling on 200 acres of land, in the Township of Mon- mouth, presented to him by his father, the latter .receiving the same by Government grant. In January, 1884, our subject was elected a Councillor of his township, and at the polls received the highest vote ever accorded to any candidate in any preceding municipal election, an honour fully deserved by the recipient, whose devotedness to all that concerns the general welfare of his municipality is known and appreciated. Mr. Hales was married, in 1880, to Isabella McFadden, daughter of Cryrus McFadden, an old settler in Burleigh Township. Mr. Hales has up to the present fifteen acres of land cleared, and is adding to this about ten acres yearly. ^ RICHARD N. HALES, lots 15 and 16, concession 10, Monmouth Township, was born in Hastings County, Ontario, in the year 1839. His father, William Hales, a native of County Cavan, Ireland, settled in Canada at an early day, and was one of the first shoemakers in Belleville. He afterwards moved to Hungerford Township, where he died in 1870. Richard N. was engaged for several years in various parts of the Province as saw filer, but in 1881, he settled at his present abode, which contains 171 acres, received by him as a Government grant. Mr. Hales married, in 1874, Ellen Baxter, of South Monaghan Township, Northumberland County, who is of English parentage. ISAAC HUNTER, residing at Gooderham Village, was born in Ireland in 1818. He came to Canada in 1830, settling first in Argenteuil, Quebec, where he lived about ten years. 778 History of the County of Halibtirton. While there he was a member of the North Gore volunteers, and was in the Rebellion of 1837, He soon after moved to near where now stands the Town of Brami)ton, there being but one little store there at the time. In 1872 he came to Kinmount, where he kept a store, and was afterward some time in the northern part of the Province. In 1881 he settled in Gooderham, where he takes charge of his son's (John J. Hunter) milling interests. John J. Hunter came to Gooderham in 1875, and built first a saw, mill, and afterwards the first and only grist mill in the township. In 1877 he was elected reeve of the united town- ships, and served four years. ^\ GEORGE LITTLP3, jun'r, was born on Grindstone Island, one of the Thousand Islands, in 1862. His father, George Little, sen'r, a native of Canada, follows the occupation of lum- bering, and is now a resident of Muskoka. George left the parental roof in 1881, and has since wrought at the trade of carpenter and joiner the greater portion of his time. JAMES NEWBUTT, farmer, owning 184 acres of Govern- ment grant land, on lot 34, concessions 13 and 14, was born in Grantham, England, in 1826, and came to Canada in 1861. He resided in Ottawa ten years, and was afterwards two years in Grenville and one year in Lachute, and in 1874 came to Mon- mouth Township and located at his present abode. He married, in England, in 1864, Ellen Gipson, of the Village of Revesby, England, Of a family of eleven children, two sons and three daughters remain to them ; two of the daughters are married and settled near the homestead. '' lit;: Biographical Notices. 779 ' MITCHP^LL RITCHIE, owner and occupier of 185 acres of land on lots 29 and 30, concession 12, Monmouth Township, was born in Duinmer Township in 1849, and is a brdthfir of Isaac and Samuel Ritchie, the pioneer settlers of the township. His father, the late Robert Ritchie, was a native of Scotland, and emigrated to Canada, settling in Peterborough County at an early day, the Town of Peterborough then consisting but of a few rough shanties. He made his home in Dummer Township, and, with the exception of ten years' residence in Snowden Township, lived there until his death, which took place in 1869. Mitchell removed from the township of his birth in 1873, and took up a Government grant of 185 acrrs (the location of which is given above), fifty acres of which he . cleared and improved. Mr. Ritchie married Miss Emma Drai. aughter of Mr. Hugh Drain, of Norwood Village. Our subject is serving his fourth year as Township Clerk, and third as Township Treasurer, JOHN SHARPE, school teacher, residing on lot ;^^, con- cession 13, was born in Scotland, 1854, and came to Canada in 1857. Pte was two years near London, Ontario, removing after- wards to Minden Township, in this county, where he lived about eighteen years. He came to Monmouth Township and took up a Government grant of 200 acres of land, on which he has lived about three years. He is by profession a teacher, and is serving his fourth year. Mr. Sharpe m? Tied, in 1878. Ruth Riley, a native of England and daughter of William Riley, one of the earliest'settlers in Monmouth Township. 78o History of the County of Halilmrton. m TOWNSHIP OF GLAMORGAN. SYLVESTER HADLEY, lots 33 and 34, concession 6 of Glamorgan Township, was bom near ' Kingston, on Wolfe Island, in 1815. William. Hadley, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of the State of New York, and came to Canada with his people about 181 3. They settled on Wolfe Island, then nearly or quite uninhabited, and lived there many years. He was the fourth settler in the Township of Reach, Ontario County, where he resided several years. Sylvester, on leaving home, first took up his residence on Scugog Island. He travelled quite extensively in his younger days through the United States and Canada. In 1874 he settled at his present home, taking by Government grant 200 acres of land in the unbroken wilderness, of which he has since improved about fifty acres. He married, in 1840, Mary Fralick, a native of Albany, New York, her father leaving there when she was but two years old, and settling first in the Province of Quebec, afterwards moving to Reach Township. Mr. and Mrs. Hadley have a family of eight children, four sons and three daughters living, and are settled in this section of the Province. Their grand- children number about forty. ^ SOLOMON O. HADLEY, lot 27, concession 5, of Glamorgan Township, was born in the Township of Reach, Victoria County, in 1843. He is the son of Sylvester Hadley, of this township. He resided on Scugog Island till 1867, when he moved to Verulam, Victoria County, where he resided till 1875, settling afterwards in Glamorgan Township and purchas- ing TOO acres, upon which he still resides. He has since taken up by Government grant 200 acies of land, upon which he has. Bio^,aphical Notices. 781 and is still, making considerable improvements. He married, in 1864, Adelaide V. Mayers ; she was from Mariposa, Victoria County. They have seven sons and five daughters. He h s been Councillor and Treasurer of the Township two years, and has been constable for several vears.